Miles Lesson - Jennifer Connors.pdf

Chapter 7
It was late, but Natalie had to retrieve her book from the grove. After
dinner, she excused herself from her aunt and cousin and returned to
her room. After all the excitement of being invited to dinner, she had
forgotten all about the book. She would have waited until morning, but
Lord Summerfield mentioned how his bones were aching which meant
that it would be raining tonight. The book, a gift from her father, was
too precious to her to leave out in the rain.
She waited until she heard most the household settle down to bed.
Still in her gown from dinner, Natalie took the servant's stairs to the
door out to the garden. With only a candle to light her way, she walked
among the fragrant bushes to the edge of the garden. From there,
she had only a short walk across the open expanse to get to the grove
of trees she used earlier to hide from her cousin and aunt.
Looking back at the house, she wondered if she should try to make it
without the aid of the candle. What if someone saw her make her way
across and came to investigate? Natalie didn't relish the idea of having
to explain the reason for her being out and about so late at night. On
the other hand, she could never forgive herself if she allowed the book
to be ruined.
Using her hand to cover the candle as much as possible, Natalie
slowly made her way across the open field. As much as she wanted
her task completed quickly, she didn't want to fall in a rabbit hole and
break her ankle. She was nearly halfway to her destination when she
felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Turning around, she
saw a figure following her. The figure's steps were sure and quick and
Natalie felt herself begin to panic.
Turning on her toes, she continued toward the grove, hoping she
could extinguish her candle and hide from whoever was pursuing her.
She could see the trees, but as she heard her pursuer approach, her
hiding place seemed to get further and further away. Moving more
quickly, Natalie was nearly in the safety of the trees when she
stumbled over a rock and came down hard on her chest. The wind got