Christopher took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Frances, you must see reason. I can see that you are driven by your concern for the children, but this is not the way to go. If you join the rescue mission, then it will only hinder my progress, as I will continue to worry about you instead of focusing my whole attention on the issue.”
Frances pouted. She knew that he was right. “But I feel so helpless here, sitting at home…”
“You must trust me,” he said firmly. “Please, I shall be back before you know it.”
With that, they finally departed.
Frances stayed glued to the window, tracking his every move and watching his horse disappear into the distance.
“Please come back soon,” she whispered.
She had never felt so helpless in her entire life.
Outside, Phillip awaited him and together they took off to find the twins.
* * *
Christopher’s mind was riddled with all manners of unwanted thoughts as he rode back to the park. The usually lively space now felt like a ghost town, or the scene of a crime.
He dismounted his horse near the entrance and began searching on foot, his eyes scanning the corners and hidden nooks of the park. Anything that he might have missed before.
His mind was racing, filled with a thousand thoughts and fears.
What if they were hurt? What if they were cold and scared, crying for someone to save them?
“Peter, I’m sorry,” he whispered to himself, his voice breaking. “I was supposed to look after the twins.”
His thoughts were a tangled mess of regret.
How could he have let this happen? How could he have been so careless? The faces of Ernest and Edwin haunted him. They were too young to know anything, and it was his job to make sure that nothing happened to them.
“I should have been more vigilant,” he muttered, his fists clenching in frustration. “I should have protected them.”
He couldn’t shake Peter’s image out of his mind. Peter had trusted him to keep his children safe.
As he wandered deeper into the park, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. He turned to see Phillip catching up behind him.
“Christopher,” Phillip called out softly, standing beside him.
Christopher shook his head, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “Nothing. They’re gone. I’ve searched everywhere, but there’s no sign of them.”
Phillip placed a reassuring hand on his friend’s shoulder. “We’ll find them,” he reassured him. “But you need to stay calm. Panicking won’t help anyone, least of all the boys.”
Christopher clenched his jaw. “I should have protected them,” he said bitterly. “I should have known something like this could happen.”
“You couldn’t have predicted this,” Phillip pointed out gently. “You’ve done everything you can. And we’re not giving up. We’ll search the entire town if we have to.”
“I know it is easy for you to say, considering that you do not have a stake in this.”
Phillip was taken aback by his words. As he should be.
It took a moment for Christopher to realize that he was being unneededly harsh.
“I apologize. That was?—”
“No need. I know that this is not you talking right now, but your worries. You are correct that I would have been in a similar state of distress if it was one of my children missing.”
Christopher knelt by the fountain where the children had played earlier, his fingers brushing over the wet stone surface. “I just do not know how this could have happened. Did Theodosia say anything else? What else did she see?”
