Evan urged his horse into a trot. Now that he had talked to his neighbor, he had his own property to scour.
Marina would certainlynotgo back to the manor. Lilly was her daughter, too—Evan admitted it as much himself. The words had made happiness flicker inside her chest for a moment before it was crushed under the weight of the situation. She wished he had said it under any other circumstances.
However, she could admit to herself that she was not as good on horseback as Evan was. He was right about her slowing him down.
She grabbed and lit a second lantern from the stable shelf. It did little to cut the gloom in the wet, cold night, but it at least provided a little bit of illumination. “Just because I am no horsewoman doesn’t mean I have to wait at the manor, wringing my hands,” she muttered to herself as she walked to the nearest side door leading into the manor. She opened it up, revealing an empty, darkened hallway, and called out as loud as she could. “Prince William! Come here!”
For a moment, there was silence. Then she heard his paws scampering on the hardwood floors before she saw him sprinting down the hall. “Let’s go,” she told him. “Find Lilly.”
He cocked his head at her, and she tried again. “Where’s Lilly?” She tried to keep the impatience out of her voice.He might noteven know where she is. He loves her, but he is not a trained hunting dog. Can he even track her?
Prince William looked around, as if expecting Lilly to be in the hallway with them. When he didn’t see her, he started to sniff the ground. Her jaw relaxed slightly. She didn’t even realize she was clenching it so hard in her anxiety, but now it ached. Marina urged him outside, where he continued his search.
She followed the dog away from the manor as the lantern illuminated her surroundings. She felt sick in her stomach, terrified that she would be too late.Oh, how could we have trusted my parents of all people with her?She was going to have a stern conversation with them when all of this was over … assuming they found Lilly alive. She doubted she would be able to say much of anything to anyone if they didn’t.
I don’t even want to think about what Evan will be like if we don’t find her.Losing Lilly would break him, and Marina doubted she would be able to pick up the pieces.
Prince William let out a bark and took off running in the direction of the river. Marina kicked off her shoes and lifted her skirt just enough to be able to run after him as fast as she could.
Cold, wet mud seeped through her stockings, but she ignored the unpleasant feeling. A few hours ago, she would have cringed with the way mud was soaking into the silk hem of her skirt, but now she could not have cared less. All she could care about was finding her daughter before something horrible happened.
“Lilly?” she called. The rain started to pick up again, stinging her skin. She shivered, and her teeth chattered, but she did her best to ignore it.If I’m cold after only a few minutes, then Lilly will be even colder if she’s been outside all this time.“Lilly, it’s Marina! Come on out, sweetheart!”
She reached the river, which was higher than usual from the rainfall earlier that day. Usually, she loved the sound of the river, but now it sounded sinister, as if it whispered all of the cruelties that rushing water and slippery rocks were capable of. She felt sick as she looked down at the water, scared of what she would see on the riverbed …
“Marina?”
The small voice had her spinning around with a gasp. Tears started to fall from her eyes, mixing with the rain. Lilly was huddled up against the bushes, her dress covered in mud. She was shivering and certainly needed a bath, but she looked uninjured.
“Oh, my goodness.” Relief took all of the strength out of her legs, and Marina dropped to her knees in front of the little girl. She pulled Lilly into her arms and shut her eyes as she willed her racing heart to slow. “We were so worried about you,” she said. “Everyone is scared out of their wits looking for you.”
“The neighbors are boring,” she mumbled. “So, I came down to the river to look at the fish.”
“In the rain?”
“Rain doesn’t bother me.” She shivered. “But then it got dark out, and people were calling my name, and I got scared, so I hid behind the bushes. Am I in trouble?”
Marina pulled back to smile at the little girl, even as she tried to think about what to say. “Well, you cannot run off like that,” she said. “It is dangerous, and your father will tell you as much. So perhaps you’re in a little bit of trouble.”
Her lip trembled.
“But it’s only because we love you,” Marina said quickly. “We will discuss this calmly and rationally once we are back inside.” She would make sure Evan did not take his newfound temper out on his daughter. He would certainly regret it if he did.
Marina stood up and grabbed Lilly’s hand. “Let’s go home,” she said as Prince William ran ahead of them to the manor. “Your father will be ecstatic to see you alive and well.”
Chapter Thirty
Evan searched all through his property and then down the road before talking to Lord Heeway again. The lord was most apologetic, but he had still not found any sign of Lilly.
He stayed out until past midnight before returning to the manor.Maybe someone has leads, at least. Hopefully, there will be a clue as to where she could have gone.His initial terror had given way to a dull feeling of dread that had permeated through his entire body. He dismounted his horse in front of the manor before going inside.
He expected to see a crowd of grief-stricken faces or people frantically talking, but it was quiet. The front entrance was empty. He walked further into the manor, looking for anyone to talk to.
Carlson emerged, and the relief was on his face when he saw the duke. “Your Grace. I was beginning to consider sending a search party afteryou.”
“Have you heard anything?” Evan asked. He was almost scared to ask.
His butler nodded. “Her Grace returned with Lady Lilly an hour ago.”
