Austin felt the floor spin beneath his feet.
How could he let her go?
“What do you mean she did not go?” Dominic demanded. “Those are the only places she could go to. Surely, she would not have headed back to Paris.”
“I sent word ahead to Greystone,” Selina said, wringing her hands. “They were expecting her, but she never arrived.”
Austin sank into his seat, weighed down. When Leonard left, and Deena failed to come back in the evening, he called for Dominic, but panic overtook him when he learned that Deena was not with them either.
“How long ago did you send word, Selina?” Dominic asked, barely hiding the rising panic in his voice, too.
“Hours,” Selina whispered, but they heard her loud and clear.
Silence fell around them. Austin imagined Leonard finding Deena and?—
“We should send riders,” Dominic said under his breath.
“We already have,” Selina said. “And I sent word to Penelope as well. But we will not hear back until morning at the earliest.”
Austin dragged a hand through his hair. His thoughts raced, dark and relentless. He just wanted to know that she was safe.
“She should not have gone alone. I should have stopped her. I should have followed her.”
“This is not your fault, Austin,” Selina said gently.
“Deena would not abandon us,” Dominic said firmly. “Nor you, Austin.”
Austin did not answer. Fear had lodged too deeply in his chest to be soothed by reason and his friend’s kind words. Time stretched painfully, and there were no signs of her return. The candles burned low as the moon rose higher and the stars began to gather.
Dominic left a glass of brandy in front of Austin, but he did not reach for it. He could not get the image of Deena, leaving him, out of his head.
God help me.
If she did not return, her departure would stay with him forever, haunting his dreams and every waking moment. What scarred him the most was that he let her go. It was for her own safety, but he still could have tried harder. He should have stopped her, yet he watched her leave.
“I see a carriage,” Dominic said from the window.
The sound of wheels on gravel made Austin freeze. Dominic turned sharply to him, and their eyes met.
“Go,” Dominic said.
Austin did not hesitate. He jolted from the settee and ran down the steps. The carriage came into view, and he sprinted to it. When the door opened, and Deena stepped down, relief crashed through him so violently his knees nearly buckled.
“Deena!” He reached her in three strides and pulled her into his arms, holding her as though she might vanish if he loosened his grip. “Do not ever do that again,” he said hoarsely.
Deena clutched his coat. “Austin? What do you mean?”
“I thought—” His voice broke. He pressed his forehead to her hair, breathing her in, grounding himself in the reality of her. “I was worried sick.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I am so sorry. But I needed to go to your estate, and I knew you would stop me.”
“You know it is not safe, Deena.” He pulled away from her and scolded her softly.
Deena looked up at him, flushed and breathless from her journey. “I know, but—I must speak to you. Alone.”
He was about to argue further with her, but her eyes glistened with hope and excitement. Austin nodded, and they entered the house together. He looked around the street before he shut and locked the door.
“You had us all worried.” Austin placed his hand on the small of her back as they climbed the stairs.
