He kissed her fingers. “I didn’t intend to marry you, at first. And perhaps it was wrong of me to lead you on. But I wanted to rescue you, as well as escape my parents' scheming.”
Emily gripped his hand, sadness creasing her face. “Do you remember what happened to my brother on the night he died? Why did you leave him behind?”
“I tried to save him, but I arrived too late. And there were more of them that night. If I had stayed, they would have killed me, too.”
“Did Nigel kill Daniel?”
Stephen relived the events but did not recall Nigel among the attackers. Most of the men had worn hoods to obscure their faces and were not Nigel’s size. “No. These were hired men, but that was the night I got this scar.” He touched the healed wound upon his rib. “I have no doubt the stolen money went into Nigel’s pockets.”
“Where were you those three months?” Emily asked. “Do you remember?”
He thought back and answered, “I stumbled aboard a steamship. The crew tended me after that, I suppose.” He thought back and remembered the ship had been bound for India. He’d endured weeks of endless rocking with the waves and the taint of a sickly-sweet aroma. Opium, he now realized.
“When we arrived in India, the Chinese officials were waiting. They recognized the ship and confiscated it. They tattooed me, sending me back to England on another vessel that docked at Portsmouth. I was beaten upon arrival, as further punishment. Afterwards, I managed to drag myself to a hired coach. Falkirk was the closest estate.”
She looked stricken. “I’m so sorry about the way I treated you. I was angry and hurt that you'd abandoned me.” She stared outside at the night sky. “And worst of all, you didn’t remember me.”
He could say nothing to take away her pain and fear. But he would atone for them, somehow. “I remember now.”
When they arrived at Nigel’s town house, Stephen lifted her down. Emily did not look at him, keeping her gaze focused on the residence. He could see the wariness in her demeanor, mingled with the hope that they were wrong and the children were fine.
She opened the door softly, but no footmen came to greet her. Inside, a strange silence seemed to hover. The servants were in their quarters with only the distant sounds of scullery maids cleaning the kitchen.
Emily rushed up the stairs, two at a time, while Stephen followed. The door to Anna’s room was closed, but in his gut, he predicted what Emily would find in the children’s bedchambers. As he’d feared, Victoria’s crib was empty, along with Royce’s bed.
Emily picked up Victoria’s blanket, and the devastation upon her face struck him like a physical blow. “He took them.” Her eyes shimmered with tears, her fingers clutching the soft wool.
Stephen knew there were no words to comfort her, but he said them just the same. “I’ll get them back. I promise you.”
“What does he want?” Her words were lined with a sob as she clenched the baby's blanket. "They're only children."
“I don’t know.” Stephen studied the room and spied a folded paper with his name upon it. As he read the contents, he relayed the information to Emily. “The children were taken to Nigel’s country estate. I am to come alone, with all records of the shipment, if we want them back alive.”
Stephen handed her the note to read, but her face clouded with doubt. “If you go alone, he’ll kill you,” she whispered.
“Nigel can’t have gone far, Emily. I’ll get to him before anything happens.”
She shook her head. “Nigel didn’t take them. Look.”
At the bottom of the page, a small marking of ink had escaped his notice, the initials A. P.
“Anant.” Emily emitted the name like a curse. “He was with our family for so many years. I thought he was loyal to us.”
Stephen wanted to reassure her that everything would be all right, but the truth was, he didn’t know. “Stay here until my return.”
He cupped her chin, but she turned her face aside so his kiss brushed her cheek. “You are not leaving me behind. The children are my responsibility.”
“They areourresponsibility,” he corrected. “And I am going to finish this.”
“And what of me? You expect me to wait at home while you go off again? The last time it happened, Daniel died, and you were injured, too.”
His own anger rose up, that she refused to trust him. He distanced himself from the emotions coiling inside of him. He would do what was necessary to protect his family. “I won’t return until I’ve brought them back to you.”
He did not try to kiss her again, knowing she would refuse him. As he left her in the shadow of her uncle’s house, he pushed all thoughts away until only the icy mindset of retribution remained.
He would not stop until he had redeemed himself in the eyes of his wife.
Chapter Twenty-Three
