My Once Handsome Husband - Chapter 265

“Delaney you can’t listen to him.  He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  Vincent loves you.”

Turning to look at Constance, Delaney felt numb.  Her emotions were being jerked all over and now it was as if the band holding them had snapped.  She couldn’t feel anything.

“I don’t agree with him.  He’s wrong about Vincent.  This letter from the King means he can be with you and he doesn’t have to ever feel guilty about it.  You can both be happy together forever and this never has to be a fight again.”

“What if… What if Miles is right and he does try again to get Daniel to break our contract?  What if he really does convince him to do it?”

“Well you’ll just have to convince him not to,” Constance gave her an encouraging smile, “He loves you, Delaney.  He doesn’t want to be away from you.  He’s just being foolish and thinks he’s helping you somehow but you can just show him he’s wrong and you should be with him.”

“You really think so?” she asked quietly, feeling hope start to creep back into her heart.

“I do,” Constance nodded, “I think you should go straight to Vincent and show him the letters and tell him you don’t ever want to leave him again.”

Delaney smiled nervously but then it dropped away.

“I can’t though… Miles is outside.  He won’t ever agree to let me go.  You heard him.”

Constance frowned and rolled her eyes, “We’re smarter than him.  We can get you out of here.”

Delaney felt the hope grow as she looked at her friend.  “What… What can we do?”

The other woman’s brow creased as she thought about it.  Delaney waited anxiously.  She would have loved to have thought up something on her own but her mind felt too exhausted from everything that had happened.

At last, a wicked grin filled Constance’s face.  “Wait here.  I’ll be right back.”

She got up and walked to the door but paused and looked back, “Don’t let Miles in.”

Delaney bit her lip and nodded.  Her friend left the room then, closing the door behind her.  She sat alone on the couch nervous that Miles would figure out what they were up to and be very angry with her.  She also felt guilty to be ignoring what he’d said and sneaking away after he’d been so sweet to her the last few days.  He wouldn’t be happy about this at all.  He would probably be very worried about her too.

What if he came after her and told her to come back?  She would have to listen to him because the carriage was an Adair carriage that belonged to him.  The drivers were his men and they would listen to him.  She wouldn’t have a choice in the matter and they could drag her back here if they wanted to.  She would have to make sure Constance had a plan to keep him distracted.

When the door opened it gave her such a fright she nearly jumped out of her skin until she saw it was only Constance.  The woman closed the door and turned around with a big smile and a bottle of wine.

“What is your plan?” Delaney asked in confusion, “To make him drink more?”

“Oh no,” Constance laughed, “This was just a ruse.  I told him you were very upset so I was getting you more to drink.  He wanted to come in with me but I said you didn’t want to see him.”

“So why did you need the wine then?”

“I didn’t.  I went to the bar and got it and told one of my girls to be discrete and sneak out and tell the men to prepare the Adair carriage.  She’s going to tell them to hurry because you have an urgent letter to give your husband from the King himself.”

Delaney giggled, “I suppose that’s true.”

“It is,” Constance grinned, “That’s what makes it easier.”

“How will I get outside to the carriages without being seen though?  All the doors that lead outside can be seen from the card room.”

“Yes,” Constance gave her an apologetic look, “You’re going to have to get out another way.”

Delaney frowned, “What other way?”

–

“Alright, so the grass will be soft.  Even if you fall when you land it won’t hurt much.”

Delaney bit her lip and looked down with worry.  Her friend acted like this was going to be easy.

She leaned out the small window in the sitting room that she and Constance had managed to pry open.  They couldn’t get it very far though so she was going to have to squeeze through it.

This section of the building was up off the ground a ways so it was going to be a decent drop in her dress.  It was dark except for the moonlight and she could see the dew shining on the grass.  She didn’t have faith that this jump wasn’t going to hurt.

“You need to go,” Constance urged her, glancing out to the stables where the Adair carriage was waiting, “Miles is going to want to check on you soon.”

“And you’re sure you can distract him?”

“Oh please,” Constance scoffed, “He’s not as smart as he thinks he is.”

Delaney smirked and giggled.  Constance laughed too before they both trailed off.  She pulled her friend into her arms suddenly then, hugging her close.

“It’s going to be alright,” she whispered, “Vincent is going to be so happy to see you.  Just wait.”

Delaney nodded, biting her lips as tears stung her eyes.

“You want this, don’t you?  You want to be with him no matter what?  Because after this I don’t think there’s any turning back.”

“I do,” Delaney answered seriously, “I want it more than anything.  I never would have left him if he didn’t make me.”

“Good,” Constance smiled, “I thought so.  Now get going.”

Turning to the window, Delaney took a deep breath and lifted up her legs, first one and then the other, until she was sitting on the window ledge with her legs outside.  She and Constance both worked to shove her skirts through the window until they were satisfied the majority was outside.

“Thank you,” Delaney whispered to her friend, hugging her tightly one more time, before turning back to the window and closing her eyes.

She slid out, feeling her back slide over the window ledge.  She had to lean back so she could make it under the stuck window pane above.  It happened quite suddenly then that she realized there was more of her outside than in.

Delaney gasped as she realized she wasn’t easing herself out any longer.  Now she was dropping out of the window.  As she went she felt her skirts that had been underneath her catch on something and for a moment she was jerked to a stop.  She had been mostly straight up and down but when her skirt caught it pulled her until she was now facing downward.

Before she could so much as blink, she heard the loud rip of her skirt and felt herself drop again.

Delaney landed on her feet but because of the trouble with her skirt, her momentum sent her forward, sprawling into the wet grass on her hands and knees.  As she landed she felt a sharp pain in her wrist before she crashed down, planting her face in the dirt.

“Delaney!” Constance hissed in panic from up above, “Are you alright?  Wait there I’m coming!”

“No!” Delaney called back quickly, as loudly as she dared, “No Constance don’t!  Miles will see you.  I’m alright.”

She looked over her shoulder and saw her friend had stuck her head back out the window.  Breathing a sigh of relief, Delaney moved to get up but when she put her weight on one of her wrists the pain shot through it again and she yelped.

“What is it?”

Delaney managed to get up without the help of her other arm although not very gracefully.  When she looked up towards Constance she noticed a large section of at least two layers of her skirts were hanging from a nail sticking out from below the windowsill.

“I just hurt my wrist,” she whispered up to her friend, “Do I look terrible?”

Constance smiled fondly down at her, “Dear girl your husband isn’t going to care how you look.  He’s going to be too happy to see you there at all to even notice anything else.”

Delaney smiled, feeling relieved then.  “Alright, I’m going then.  Keep Miles distracted as long as you can!”

“Of course,” Constance grinned, “I love you, Delaney!”

“I love you,” Delaney beamed before turning and lifting what was left of her skirts so she could dash out to the waiting carriage.

The drivers looked shocked to see her in such a state.

“Lady Adair is everything alright?”

“Everything is wonderful,” she smiled with dirt on her cheek, feeling her heart begin to bubble with happiness, “Now please get me to Edgewood as fast as you can.”

The men nodded and helped her up into the carriage, not brave enough to question a duchess.  Delaney was relieved they weren’t Vincent’s men or they would have questioned her further and not been foolish enough to leave without talking to Miles.  She felt a moment of guilt about getting yet more servants in trouble but she couldn’t think about that now.  She was too excited.

She was going home to Edgewood.

She was going home to the man she loved.