‘Yes, I must.’
Liam was about to sayHang society, and put an end to this strangely off-tone conversation, when Mr Brown appeared at the door,sanscoffee. The look in the butler’s eyes told him there was a reason for that.
‘If you will excuse me,’ Liam said, in what amounted to a gracious growl.
‘Of course.’
‘What is it, Thomas?’ he whispered as he reached the butler, shooting Mellors a falsely placating smile. ‘I swear, if you find an excuse to get me out of here, I will raise your salary to an obscene amount.’
‘There is something you should know, my lord,’ Thomas breathed. ‘Though I am not sure whether you will be so thrilled once you hear it.’
‘Out with it, man,’ Liam said sharply, giving the butler his full attention. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s Mrs Hardwicke. She’s gone, my lord.’
‘Gone,’ Liam repeated, uncomprehending, dread growing in his stomach. ‘What do you mean,gone?’
‘I happened to see her heading towards the village via the west woods, my lord. She had a travelling bag, and when I went to her office...I found these.’
Liam looked down at Thomas’s outstretched hand and saw Rebecca’s set of keys.
A hundred emotions and questions vied for attention within him but he pushed them all away, focused on only one thought:I need to stop her.
He looked at Thomas, and in an extraordinary show of opinion, the butler nodded and stepped aside.
‘I’m afraid a matter of urgency has arisen,’ Liam said to Mellors, who was on his feet in an instant. ‘You will excuse me. We’ll resume this another day.’
‘Of course.’ The Viscount bowed.
‘Thomas will see you out,’ he threw over his shoulder, already marching out of the room.
He marched straight to the stables, not even bothering to stop for his coat, borrowing instead the one Tim kept hanging in the tack room. Neither Tim nor Sam said anything as he strode past to get Orpheus, his expression warning against any interruption. He jumped bareback astride the stallion, the two grooms threw open the doors and Liam galloped out as though his life depended on it.
There was not a second to waste. He didn’t know what had prompted Rebecca’s hasty, and cowardly departure, for surely if this was about last night, she might have fled earlier, but he knew that he couldn’t let her go. Not like this.
He deserved more, something,anything, he thought as he rode across the park, caring little for his own safety. She was utterly witless if she imagined things could end like this. To think he wouldletthem. To believe he could bear for things to end between them, and that he could part from her.
Liam slowed Orpheus as they approached the woods. He might not care about his own safety, but the animal had done nothing to deserve any further carelessness. Rebecca could not be much further. At least, so he hoped. He had no desire to offer the village a public spectacle. He needed to find her quickly, and bring her back before she could harden her heart any further against him.
I will not lose you, Rebecca.
Finally, just as he was beginning to lose hope that he would find her before she reached the village, Liam spotted Rebecca on the path ahead. He saw her turn, stumbling on some roots as she did, and felt his stomach flip when he caught her expression before she recognised him.
Utter terror...?
Liam slid off Orpheus as she turned from him, her pace quickening as she continued to flee.
Oh no you don’t, he thought, breaking into a run.
She must have heard him, for she, too, began to run, though luckily her bag and skirts impeded her.
‘Rebecca, stop, please!’ he shouted, easily catching her up. ‘Not like this!’
‘Go back to Thornhallow, my lord, I beg you!’
‘Damn it, Rebecca!’
‘Let me go!’ she screamed, even as Liam grabbed hold of her arm and whirled her around to face him. Tears were streaming down her face, though she was trying valiantly to fight them. ‘Let me go, Liam!’
