Page 114 of The Betrothal

In the empty room, I took the opportunity to search for the duffel and snatched it from its storage space in one of the cupboards before I furiously but carefully stored my belongings inside. The cash, the clothing, the brick that was my phone, followed by the important phone number and the patchy maps.

My careful review of one of the books provided by Alex showed me the error I’d made the day I arrived here. I’d carefully marked my new location on the blotchy maps I had retained and had planned out a route that felt like an age ago.

My task completed, I shifted my attention from the offending baggage to the broad window. The patter against the pane. It was raining heavily. I snarled as my heart sank.

This was perfect, truly. So why did it feel fucking horrendous?

After storing my bag where I found it, I looked back at the shelves. My clothes were now clearly gone, but there was no need to leave the duffel on display. No need to upset anyone any more than necessary. Then, I wandered to seek out my men downstairs, pausing to look through the hallway windows at the downpour and the thinning snow.

Disappointment at the emerging drive hardly had opportunity to take root when I saw a huge vehicle idling outside the property. It had large thick tracks where tyres would have been, under a large steel body. Almost like an all-terrain vehicle, but on steroids.

The brightly coloured, high-visibility panels along the side indicated it to be an emergency services vehicle, and the pair of giant men wearing thick combats and black jackets with ‘MPIT’ emblazoned on the back confirmed as much. This was a missing persons team.

Their mouths moved, but I couldn’t hear what they said to whoever would have been standing under the porch, talking to them.

One of them cast their eyes upwards and I ducked quickly out of sight, my breath quickening and palms turning clammy.

The front door slammed heavily and I waited a beat for my body to calm. While the visit could have been for anything, something told me it wasn’t and I worked hard to reassure myself. A search party was already underway and had been for weeks. This was not new.

Eventually, I slipped down the stairs, listening out for voices.

The main room was empty, so I wandered to the back windows and looked outside. I couldn’t be sure, but the workshop looked dark, the outhouses closed. No-one was outside.

I crossed the room to the last place they could be. Sure enough, Alex’s study was open, the unmistakable sound of quiet arguing trickling out. I hesitated, then slipped closer to the door.

“There are fucking photos of her, she won’t make it!” Seb was pleading.

“They don’t have anything, Seb. Two snowmobiles going to the manor, a photo from a helicopter of a woman they can’t make out. It’s invasive, and fucking ridiculous, but it doesn’t mean anything,” Alex snapped.

The helicopter was a news channel. They were taking photographs?

“The fuck it doesn’t. Did you see that vehicle? She won’t make it as far as town, they know she’s around here and if we let her go they’ll find her. Then what, Alex? You know the alternative, we could do it, we could!” Seb was emphatic.

“It doesn’t matter that we could, Seb. What she said was true. Her father won’t accept anything less than the Fairchild match. He wrote the fucking book on this, Sebastian.” Alex was growling now.

Seb tried to complain, but Alex was quietly raging. How he was so quiet, I didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. I could still hear him.

“You want to think about her future? What do you think will happen to her when they find her? When they confirm she ran away? How do you think her being found with another man and claiming to be married will affect that?”

Silence greeted him.

“Best-case scenario, she’ll be brought back in line. Drugs, treatments, only the best for a disagreeable society wife.”

“Fucking hell, Alex,” Seb whimpered.

“Worst-case scenario? Institutions, Seb. Enforced compliance. If they find her, it’ll be bad. If they find her with us, it could mean the very worst of what our society has to offer. We can’t do that to her.” Alex’s voice cracked slightly.

“We can’t do that to her, Seb.” Ben joined Alex’s argument. “It’s not worth the risk.”

“She needs a chance at freedom, Seb.” I heard the clap of a hand on someone’s body. “She needs a chance.”

The door swung inward, Alex appearing in the frame, a look of grim determination on his face.

He looked between my eyes, and his lips turned down. Then he pulled me into him, wrapping me up so tightly I wasn’t sure I’d be able to breathe. Then I realised maybe I didn’t want to anymore.

The others came to bracket us, and I was engulfed, and that was how the rest of the day went.

No-one mentioning the visit, or the supposed photo. No-one speaking of the next day.