Chapter Twenty-Five
“Call the magistrate!”Lady Eamont shouted as Nate and Bridget entered the main landing on the first floor, where a crowd of guests had gathered. “Adelia has been abducted!”
Nate blinked, trying to make sense of the frantic woman’s statement. “Abducted? What makes you think that?”
“She’s not in her room! Clara readied Lydia and me for breakfast as usual, and then she went to dress Adelia, only to find her bed empty. She’s vanished.”
“Perhaps she went out for a morning stroll,” Lydia said, her tone perfectly calm and lacking her mother’s hysteria.
“Yes, that sounds right. Early morning is the most beautiful time of day.” Bridget forced a cheerful tone but glanced worriedly at Nate as she spoke, and it was clear to him what she was thinking. Why had Adelia disappeared the same morning that Abigail had been found floating in the fountain? Either Adelia was a killer, or she was another yet-to-be-discovered victim. The thought made his blood run cold.
“Since when does Adelia take walks on her own?” Lady Eamont wailed to no one in particular. “She’s not permitted to go out unaccompanied! She’s been abducted, I tell you!” She whirled around and glared at her husband. “Why haven’t they sent for the magistrate yet?”
“Because you’re suffering from hysteria,” Lord Eamont barked. “Adelia went for a walk, and you are screaming the house down.”
“She is not permitted to go out on her own!” Lady Eamont repeated in a thunderous voice. Her face turned red as a beet, and Natefeared the woman might faint.
He held up his hands in a calming gesture. “Before anyone panics, we should go out and search for her. If we don’t find her, we will call the magistrate.” He locked eyes with Bridget and saw the same fear in them as he felt weighing on his chest.
“You expect me to go traipsing all around Windermere when my daughter has been abducted?” Lady Eamont shrieked.
“Miss De Lacey and I will go, and we’ll enlist the gardener’s help. The three of us know the grounds best, so the search will be more efficient. I am certain Adelia is enjoying a stroll in the rose gard—” He stopped, the image of Abigail’s floating body rising in his mind. “I’m certain we will find her and escort her safely back to the villa.”
“When you do, tell her I’m going to lock her in her room and throw away the key.” Lord Eamont huffed audibly, turned, and marched back to his chamber.
Nate raised his eyebrows. He was starting to feel sorry for the Eamont sisters.
*
“I shan’t beable to stomach it if we find another body,” Bridget said as she stepped into the garden with Nate and Bijou. How did Villa De Lacey go from being her safe and peaceful home to being a killer’s haven?
Nate shook his head. “I hope that isn’t the case. This is starting to feel like a nightmare.”
They located Thomas near his cottage and explained what needed to be done. Then the three of them set out, combing the grounds. Nate and Bridget traipsed through the thicket that surrounded the garden. The deeper she ventured, the more rapid her heartbeat became. She stopped at the spot where she’d fallen, still marked with her dried blood. Her mind flashed back to the night of her accident,restoring flickers of her memory.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”
A cold wind snuffed out her candle, but not before she glimpsed a flash of red. Fear gripped her throat. She turned and ran. Then everything went black…
“Bridget?” She felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped.
“What is it?” Nate asked. “Have you remembered something?”
“I—I’m not sure. I think I saw a flash of red before the wind blew my candle out.”
“The person was wearing a red coat?”
“I don’t think so. It might have been a red dress or vest. It was just a flash. It could have been my imagination. I don’t know.” She trembled. “I’m sorry, I can’t be certain.”
“Don’t be sorry.” Nate inched closer to her. “You’ve done well. This could be important. But perhaps we should turn around and go back now. Thomas and I can finish the search on our own.”
“No, I’m just being silly. I’ve walked this path a thousand times, and I won’t stop now.”
Nate nodded and took a polite step back. “All right, then, I think we should go down to the lake. Let’s hope we find Adelia enjoying the serenity of the water and mountains there.”
“Yes, let’s hope,” Bridget said, exhaling to release the tension that had nested in her chest.
*
