“No, she’s not going to be my wife.” Anthony then increased his pace and reached the orchard. He found Prudence with her father, but not Evie. Her back was to him, and she was yelling.
“She would never do this, Father! Never leave us like this.”
“Prudence?”
She spun, and he saw the tears and devastation on her face. Anthony knew instantly that look had nothing to do with what he’d done last night.
Evie!
“Where is she? Where is Evangeline, Prudence?” His words sounded desperate.
“When she d-didn’t answer my knock on her door this morning, I opened it and entered.”
Anthony watched Prudence inhale a deep breath like her sister did when she wanted to steady herself. He wanted to roar at her to tell him where Evie was.
“I found this.” She thrust a paper at him. “It is her handwriting, but she was forced to write those words, Lord Hamilton. She would never leave us.”
He read them twice before looking at her again. Toby and Jamie also read the note over his shoulder.
“Well. I think it’s clear what her intentions are,” Anthony said feeling like he had something sharp stuck in his throat.Had she done this to get away from him? Was there another man?
“No!” Prudence said stomping closer. “Nothing is clear, and if you truly knew my sister you would know she would never do this to her family.”
“Prudence,” her father cautioned.
“See the way she’s written my name and hers.” Prudence wrenched it from Anthony’s grasp. “Evie is telling me something is not right, and she wrote that note under duress.”
“I agree,” Heathcliff Spencer said, stepping closer. “My eldest daughter is the most honest and loyal person I know. She would never leave us, or you, without a word.”
“Why would someone force her to write that note?” Toby asked. “Surely she’s under your protection, Anthony?”
“She wrote that note,” he said, turning away from them. “There is no other reason for her disappearance.” If this is what feelings gave you, he didn’t want it. The pain inside him was crippling.
Anthony couldn’t seem to think clearly. Evie had left to be with another man.Correction, you sent her into the arms of another because of your behavior.
“No!” A small hand shoved him hard in the spine. “My sister would never do this, and shame on you for believing she would.”
He spun to face her. “I don’t know your sister, and we both know this is not real,” he snapped.
“Not real?” Heathcliff Spencer gasped.
“Not now, Father,” his daughter said with her eyes on Anthony, looking every inch as strong as her older sister in that moment.
“And what about the other night?” Jamie said moving to Prudence’s side to look at him. “Cavendish and Calthorpe,”he added. “You don’t think they could harm her after the humiliation they suffered at your hands?”
“No…” His words fell away, but suddenly he wasn’t so sure. Cavendish would never stop seeking revenge on Anthony for his humiliation.
“My Lord, my sister loves us,” Prudence said. “I had thought, watching you and Evie, that something had changed between you since arriving here. Please, if you feel anything for her, then help us find her.”
“I may not see much, but I have watched you both together, Lord Hamilton. My eldest daughter cares for you deeply,” Heathcliff Spencer added.
He was not the only one surprised by those words. His daughter was looking at her father wide-eyed.
“I know I’m a silly old fool, but I still see things.”
Prudence wrapped her arms around him briefly. “You’re our silly old fool.”
“Take us to where you found the note,” Anthony demanded.Was she in danger?Had someone taken her to seek revenge on him? The thought filled his veins with ice.
