“You have it?” Ash caught his breath. He took the page from her and scanned it. It was as he’d hoped—Miss Bannockburn’s address in Little Shelford, Cambridgeshire.
“She and my friend Marianne, share an interest in books and used to correspond regularly. Miss Bannockburn was a keen reader, but not so much of late perhaps. Marianne hasn’t heard from her friend for a year or more.”
Might she have died?
“You are wonderful.” Ash enveloped his aunt in a hug.
Aunt Clara flushed and half-heartedly pushed him away, then made a business of finding her fan before waving it gracefully. “I was pleased to do it for you, dear boy. It’s my hope that it will put an end to this dreadful business. I want to see you happy. You have your wedding to look forward to.”
Ash couldn’t face telling her that his engagement was at an end. Best to deal with that later. He still hoped… But he pushed that thought away and said his goodbyes.
Arriving home, he ordered his valet to pack a small portmanteau and then walked to the stables for his curricle. Blessed with a clear sky and the predicted hunter’s moon, with luck, he would arrive at Meadows not long past dinner.
It was close to eight o’clock when he drove his curricle along the drive. The huge mansion was ablaze with candlelight, the front doors standing open.
A footman rushed out to take the reins. “The earl will be happy to see you, milord.”
Thoroughly unnerved, Ash strode inside. His grandfather hurried across the marble floor of the great hall to greet him. His cheeks were an unhealthy red, and he was breathless.
“Are you well, Grandfather?” Ash asked, concerned to find him in this state.
“Some scoundrel has abducted Thea and Julia. I have organized a search party, but it appears they have escaped the estate lands. Nor have they been seen in the village.”
Ash cursed under his breath. “What happened?”
“They attacked my groom, Phillips. Some hours passed before he came to and staggered back to alert us. He described his assailant. Tall and fair with a hard face.”
“That sounds very much like Farnborough,” Ash said, fighting fury and a sense of dread.
“A tenant farmer saw a coach heading east while working in his field.”
Ash took his arm. “Come to the library. I’ll pour us a brandy. There’s nothing to be done tonight. But at first light, I’ll ride out to see if I can discover their direction.”
They would have left the estate at the eastern boundary where the wall ended and a thick hedge grew. Where to from there? Too much time had passed. The odds were against following them, but Ash wasn’t about to accept it. He handed a crystal tumbler of brandy to his grandfather and sat down. He’d become increasingly uneasy when he couldn’t find Farnborough in Town. He should have come sooner, but he didn’t think for a moment that Farnborough would risk everything by entering Meadows lands. The man was mad. He gritted his teeth. The woman’s address, which had meant so much, lost its importance. He took a deep sip and let the brandy burn its way down his dry throat. The hours to dawn would be long ones.
Chapter Sixteen
After Farnborough rodeaway, the coach continued on. Thea placed an arm around Julia, who had stopped crying and grown silent.
“Where are you taking us?” Thea asked the surly man Farnborough called Bertram, sitting opposite them, his beefy arms folded.
“Shut your trap,” he snarled. “You’ll know soon enough.”
Soon after, the vehicle pulled into the forecourt of a down-at-heel inn. Bertram opened the door. “Fred has a shotgun. If you attempt to leave the coach, you’ll be very sorry.”
He disappeared inside.
Thea held a finger to her lips and leaned across Julia to open the window on the far side. Removing her hat, she dropped it to the ground. Then she took Julia’s hat and placed it on the seat beside her. If they should notice, they might think that hers was under Julia’s. Then she sat back, waiting for Bertram or Fred to come and discover her hat lying on the ground, her stomach so tight she felt sick. If they did, would the men turn on her?
Bertram came back and climbed aboard, and the coachman cracked the whip. The coach rattled away, leaving her hat behind. Anyone might pick it up, but there was the slightest chance Ash would find it and recognize it as the one she wore when he last saw her. Although if he did, she held little hope it would lead him to them.
A mile farther along the road, the coach turned off onto a rutted narrow road.
They entered dense woodland. Thea and Julia felt cramped, exhausted, and hungry by the time the coach entered through a pair of gates. It jounced along a bumpy driveway and pulled up before a small hunting lodge. No one came out to greet them, the building sadly neglected. Ivy grew over the walls and partly covered the casement windows.
Bertram pushed them inside the dusty, stale-smelling room. She peered through the poor light. Cobwebs covered the mounted stag heads on the walls, and ashes and mouse dirt were scattered across the grate of the massive stone fireplace.
He disappeared through a door. Thea turned to check, but the coachman was still outside, seeing to the horses. She considered running up the wooden staircase, but Bertram would only find her again and probably punish her, and she didn’t want to leave Julia. The girl’s subdued demeanor worried Thea. It seemed uncharacteristic when she’d been so determined and fiery before. Thea’s heart ached with compassion for her. She had endured much disruption and uncertainty in her life. Surely it would not end like this for both of them.
