Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Fear rushed down Marina’s spine. Evan did not look at her as he raced out of the room. She followed as quickly as she could.
Evan was already speaking with Carlson. “How long?”
“Thirty minutes, Your Grace.”
“Gather as many servants as you can find and organize search parties. You’ll need at least ten men to check along the river.
Check the stables, too. She might have stopped to visit the horses.
I must speak with Lord Heeway at once. After all, she was lost on his property, so he should be organizing search parties as well. ”
Marina looked outside. Night had fallen not long before they came back home, which made her nervous. What if Lilly slipped and hit her head? What if she got too close to the river and fell in? What if …
The thoughts raced through her mind as they reached the entrance to the manor. Her parents were standing just inside, having the grace to look sheepish. “Your Grace,” her mother said. “We sincerely apol—”
“Don’t,” Evan growled at her as he opened the doors and walked off.
Her mother looked imploringly at Marina. “We never meant for her to get hurt. Can’t you make him understand that?”
Anger rushed through her. “Now is not the time,” she snapped. “If you want to make yourself useful, then you can talk to Carlson and join one of the search parties. Otherwise, you may leave.” She didn’t give either of them a second glance as she rushed out the door after her husband.
Evan wasn’t looking at her as he made his way to the stables, but she knew he was scared. His shoulders were tense, and his hands were curling and uncurling into fists. “We’re going to find her,” she said, wanting to reassure him.
He stayed silent as he opened the doors to the stables.
In the light from the lanterns hanging near the doors, she caught a glimpse of his face.
He looked absolutely wrecked. His expression was twisted into one of worry and anger.
Unshed tears glittered in his eyes. Her heart twisted at the sight of him.
She knew there was nothing she could do to make him feel better until they found Lilly.
“Go back to the manor,” Evan said as he grabbed his horse out of the stable.
He didn’t know how he got the words out.
He could barely breathe through the tight knot that seemed to be binding his entire chest. He looked around, hoping to see Lilly playing with Prince William in a stall, but he knew that was foolish thinking.
“Let me help you,” she said.
“You will only slow me down.” He could not look at her.
If I hadn’t met her—if I hadn’t let her influence me, then Lilly would be safe right now.
He knew, deep down, that Marina had brought warmth and love into the manor.
She had saved him and Lilly on more than one occasion.
But he could not think rationally at the moment.
There was too much fear coursing through his veins as he thought about his daughter.
He grabbed an oil lantern off a shelf and lit it.
How could I have let her out of my sight for even one second?
“Do you blame me?” Marina’s voice cracked. He turned to look at her to see unshed tears in her eyes. Her bottom lip was trembling, and her shoulders were hunched, as if she was expecting a scolding. Something inside of him broke at the sight of her.
He knew, despite his harsh thoughts earlier, that this was not Marina’s fault. Her influence had not hurt Lilly or led to her disappearance. All Marina had done was bring joy into Lilly’s life and his own.
“I could never blame you,” he said. “How could I? You’re … you’re perfect. But you need to go inside and let me find our daughter.” He kissed her cheek.
A tear fell from her eye when he said ‘our daughter’, but she nodded and stepped aside, the worry clear on her face. He mounted his horse and rode out of the stable while holding the reins in one hand and the lantern in the other.
Anger and frustration filled him as he urged his horse into a canter. Why did this happen now? He was just starting to let himself be happy. Lilly had just started to heal from her incessant nightmares. And then she went missing. He doubted he would ever recover if she …
No. Do not even think it.
Evan rode his horse to his neighbor’s property.
He did not even make it to the front door because he found Lord Heeway walking outside with a lantern of his own.
The man looked anxious. “Your Grace,” he said when Evan approached.
“We are going to find her. I have my entire staff combing my property. My manor has already been searched, including the servants’ quarters. There’s no sign of her.”
“What happened?” Evan asked, his voice gruff.
“Lady Lilly left with my niece, Emily, and her nanny. They were playing in the garden while I had tea with Viscount and Lady Shirley. Then it began to rain, and Emily fell into a mud puddle. Her nanny rushed her inside to get cleaned up. She had assumed Lilly would follow her. But she did not.”
Frustration filled Evan. He should have known better than to expect Lord and Lady Shirley to keep Lilly in their sight at all times, or even check in with her from time to time.
They clearly gave little regard to their own daughter, let alone a child that wasn’t theirs. “Did Emily see where she went?”
The lord shook his head. “I already asked her. She didn’t see much of anything after she fell in the mud because her nanny was so quick to get her inside.”
Evan gritted his teeth as he looked out at Heeway’s expansive property. It was pitch black outside, and it had been raining on and off all day. Lilly could have slipped in the mud and injured herself. Or worse…
Do not think like that. She is alive unless the… alternative is confirmed. “If you find any trace of her, then let me know immediately. My butler, Carlson, will be waiting anxiously for any news.”
Lord Heeway nodded. “Absolutely, Your Grace. We’ll find her.”
Evan urged his horse into a trot. Now that he had talked to his neighbor, he had his own property to scour.
Marina would certainly not go back to the manor. Lilly was her daughter, too—Evan admitted it as much himself. The words had made happiness flicker inside her chest for a moment before it was crushed under the weight of the situation. She wished he had said it under any other circumstances.
However, she could admit to herself that she was not as good on horseback as Evan was. He was right about her slowing him down.
She grabbed and lit a second lantern from the stable shelf.
It did little to cut the gloom in the wet, cold night, but it at least provided a little bit of illumination.
“Just because I am no horsewoman doesn’t mean I have to wait at the manor, wringing my hands,” she muttered to herself as she walked to the nearest side door leading into the manor.
She opened it up, revealing an empty, darkened hallway, and called out as loud as she could. “Prince William! Come here!”
For a moment, there was silence. Then she heard his paws scampering on the hardwood floors before she saw him sprinting down the hall. “Let’s go,” she told him. “Find Lilly.”
He cocked his head at her, and she tried again. “Where’s Lilly?” She tried to keep the impatience out of her voice. He might not even know where she is. He loves her, but he is not a trained hunting dog. Can he even track her?
Prince William looked around, as if expecting Lilly to be in the hallway with them.
When he didn’t see her, he started to sniff the ground.
Her jaw relaxed slightly. She didn’t even realize she was clenching it so hard in her anxiety, but now it ached.
Marina urged him outside, where he continued his search.
She followed the dog away from the manor as the lantern illuminated her surroundings.
She felt sick in her stomach, terrified that she would be too late.
Oh, how could we have trusted my parents of all people with her?
She was going to have a stern conversation with them when all of this was over …
assuming they found Lilly alive. She doubted she would be able to say much of anything to anyone if they didn’t.
I don’t even want to think about what Evan will be like if we don’t find her. Losing Lilly would break him, and Marina doubted she would be able to pick up the pieces.
Prince William let out a bark and took off running in the direction of the river. Marina kicked off her shoes and lifted her skirt just enough to be able to run after him as fast as she could.
Cold, wet mud seeped through her stockings, but she ignored the unpleasant feeling.
A few hours ago, she would have cringed with the way mud was soaking into the silk hem of her skirt, but now she could not have cared less.
All she could care about was finding her daughter before something horrible happened.
“Lilly?” she called. The rain started to pick up again, stinging her skin.
She shivered, and her teeth chattered, but she did her best to ignore it.
If I’m cold after only a few minutes, then Lilly will be even colder if she’s been outside all this time.
“Lilly, it’s Marina! Come on out, sweetheart! ”
She reached the river, which was higher than usual from the rainfall earlier that day.
Usually, she loved the sound of the river, but now it sounded sinister, as if it whispered all of the cruelties that rushing water and slippery rocks were capable of.
She felt sick as she looked down at the water, scared of what she would see on the riverbed …
“Marina?”
The small voice had her spinning around with a gasp. Tears started to fall from her eyes, mixing with the rain. Lilly was huddled up against the bushes, her dress covered in mud. She was shivering and certainly needed a bath, but she looked uninjured.
“Oh, my goodness.” Relief took all of the strength out of her legs, and Marina dropped to her knees in front of the little girl.
She pulled Lilly into her arms and shut her eyes as she willed her racing heart to slow.
“We were so worried about you,” she said.
“Everyone is scared out of their wits looking for you.”
“The neighbors are boring,” she mumbled. “So, I came down to the river to look at the fish.”
“In the rain?”
“Rain doesn’t bother me.” She shivered. “But then it got dark out, and people were calling my name, and I got scared, so I hid behind the bushes. Am I in trouble?”
Marina pulled back to smile at the little girl, even as she tried to think about what to say. “Well, you cannot run off like that,” she said. “It is dangerous, and your father will tell you as much. So perhaps you’re in a little bit of trouble.”
Her lip trembled.
“But it’s only because we love you,” Marina said quickly. “We will discuss this calmly and rationally once we are back inside.” She would make sure Evan did not take his newfound temper out on his daughter. He would certainly regret it if he did.
Marina stood up and grabbed Lilly’s hand. “Let’s go home,” she said as Prince William ran ahead of them to the manor. “Your father will be ecstatic to see you alive and well.”