He’d lost money already due to Louisa’s absence. He threatened all the children to find her. And every night as they returned to the house and had no information for him, he took out his anger on them, whipping them soundly. Someone had to know something!
Louisa had disappeared into thin air. Literally. There was no trace of her whatsoever. This wasnotacceptable!
Since her disappearance, he’d searched completely through three towns. Any woman he came upon who resembled Louisa, he stopped. None of them were the thin, pretty girl with wavy blonde hair. And as each minute passed without finding her, he became that much angrier.
As he neared the town he was headed for, he slowed his animal just a mite as not to draw attention to himself. Although he furiously searched for Louisa, he couldn’t alert the police to his panic. He’d kept himself—and his thieves—away from anyone suspicious. Whenever the police started sniffing around and asking questions, Richard had taken his band of miscreants to another town to set up camp.
He rode slowly through town until he spotted an inn. His throat was dry and he needed something to moisten his mouth—and alert his mind. Richard stopped his horse, jumped down, and tied him to the post before entering the establishment.
Only a few gents lingered in the smoke-filled room. The scent of alcohol hung thick through the air as Richard made his way toward a table. When the familiar looks from a nearby man caught Richard’s attention, he turned and hurried to that table instead. The gent was heavily into his cups already this early afternoon, and Richard realized the scent he’d detected when first entering the inn came from this table alone.
“I should’ve figured ye’d be in here,” Richard snapped as he sat across from the other man.
Percy Featherspoon jumped in his chair and nearly toppled over, but grasped the table to keep himself from falling. His wide, glassy eyes latched on to Richard. After a couple of blinks, the other man nodded.
“Macgregor. What do I owe this hon-nor of your pres-sence?” he slurred.
“I thank ye for recognizin’ me considerin’ how foxed ye are.” Richard drummed his fingers on the table. “But nonetheless, I’m happy to have found ye. I need to talk with ye about an important matter.”
Featherspoon straightened in his chair, but still swayed as if the room were spinning. “Whot about?”
Richard rolled his eyes. “What do we usually discuss?”
The other man bobbed his head once. “You want another child.”
“Indeed, I do,” Richard said softly. “And soon. One of my best has run away, but I’ll find her.”
Featherspoon’s forehead creased. “Your best, you say? Which one?”
“Louisa.”
It took only a moment before Percy’s eyes widened and color left his face. “Oh, dear. This isnotgood at all.”
“Of course it’s not, but…” Richard scratched his chin as he studied the lanky man with thinning hair sitting across from him. “Why doyethink this isn’t good?” He leaned closer. “What do ye know about this chit that ye haven’t told me?”
“If memory serves, I think Louisa Hamilton grew up around this area.”
A different kind of anger hit Richard, exploding in his head. “Yethinkshe grew up around here? Ye brought Louisa to me in Scotland. Ye told me she was orphaned.”
“Uh… well, you see…” Percy ran his long fingers through his receding hair. “I’d only told the girl she was orphaned when in reality, I… um… kidnapped her.”
Grumbling a steam of curses, Richard leapt across the table and grabbed the other man’s overcoat. “What kind of insipid fop are ye, man? Do ye know what kind of problems could arise now?”
Percy peeled Richard’s fingers off his garment. “You don’t understand. I did it for my… um, a family member. Several years before I took Miss Hamilton, I was disowned by my family. By taking Louisa, I found a way to get back into their good graces.”
Richard righted himself in the chair and scrubbed his face. This couldn’t be happening. Macgregor didnotmake mistakes, and he killed those working for him who did.
He jumped to his feet and lifted Percy with him. “Then I suggest ye sober up quickly, because Louisa is missin’ and ye are goin’ to help me find her.”
Percy nodded quickly. “Indeed, I will. I assure you, we’ll find her quickly.”
*
Louisa had beenwoolgathering. Again. Yet what else could she do? All she had to think about was the wonderful, kind, and loving man who had kissed her so passionately.
She’d wished Trevor hadn’t asked Mrs. Smythe to give her some time off because she needed something to keep her mind and hands occupied. If she worked with her hands, then her mind wouldn’t relive every minute, every incredible second she had been in Trevor’s arms at the pond. He’d kissed her with such gentleness it took her breath away, and when he’d touched her so tenderly…it was all she could do not to swoon.
What would have happened if Mrs. Smythe and Beth hadn’t come to find her? Would Trevor have taken things further—and would Louisa had allowed it? Not once did she think about what they were doing as being wrong. In fact, it was the greatest feeling she’d ever experienced. Her body told her no man had kissed her like that before, and for certain no man had touched her in such a way that made her toes curl and her mind float as if on an endless cloud spinning toward paradise. Every time he touched her it had been so sweet and endearing.
