Chapter 26 #2
“Michael!” she cried, using his given name for the first time since he was a child. “Do you happen to know where my daughter might be? I cannot find Emmeline anywhere.” Distress darkened her eyes, panic causing her hands to flutter nervously at her throat.
“She is not here?” Michael’s heart thudded in his chest.
Theodocia shook her head. “I have had the servants search the entire house. I have not been able to find Mr. Hardy either.”
Emmeline’s friend, Louisa, came to stand beside Theodocia. “Have you found her?” she asked, looking at Michael with concern.
“We found Rebecca. Colin is bringing her home as we speak. The laundress, Martha Gouldsmith, was also found. She overheard some of Mr. G’s men speaking of taking Emmeline hostage, but she did not know where.”
“Why is this man taking my children?” Theodocia demanded to know, her voice rising to near hysteria.
“He wants something that your husband left Emmeline,” Michael explained.
“My husband only left Emmeline a pendant necklace, a painting, and some small amount of money for her to use in the pursuit of art. It is not enough to justify the abduction of my two daughters and a laundry maid,” Theodocia argued. “How would he even know about my daughter’s inheritance?”
“Mr. G is Norman Livingston, the Marquess of Worthington, Emmeline’s husband,” Michael solemnly informed them.
“Surely you jest,” Theodocia argued, her face contorted in disbelief.
“I do not,” Michael reassured her. “With this new knowledge, might you know what it is that he seeks?”
“The treasure map,” Louisa murmured.
“What?” Theodocia turned to frown at Louisa.
“Emmeline’s father left her a map to a treasure,” Louisa informed her.
“Where did the map lead? Where is this treasure?” Michael questioned. “Did she tell you?”
Louisa nodded. “I have been there with her. It is in a place between the Ravenshollow and Frampton estates. It is in the place where you confessed your love for one another.”
Michael’s brows rose in surprise that Louisa would know such a thing. He wondered if Emmeline’s father had known the same, but he did not ask the questions that arose from the old antiquarian’s choice. “And you are certain that this is what Mr. G seeks?”
Louisa nodded. “I am as certain as I can be.”
“Thank you,” Michael inclined his head in respect, then turned and mounted his horse once more.
“I will send word as soon as I have found her. Please inform the Bow Street Runners of what you have told me when they arrive. They will have questions for Rebecca, but they will be respectful and wait to ask them once she is returned home to you. Colin will make certain of it.”
“Take our carriage,” Theodocia offered as it came trotting around to the front of the house. “We were about to depart for the magistrate to speak with him about Emmeline’s disappearance when you arrived.”
Michael nodded in agreement. Just as he was about to step foot in the carriage, Colin arrived with Rebecca in tow.
“Mother,” Rebecca cried out as she ran forward into her mother’s arms, sobbing.
“Rebecca, my darling,” Theodocia cried out in relief as the two women embraced, crying.
“I am leaving now for Ravenshollow. According to the viscountess, the treasure that Mr. G seeks is between our family estates,” he told Colin as he passed him on the stairs.
“I do not wish to take you from your beloved Rebecca, but I could use your help. I refuse to lose the woman that I love a second time,” Michael declared, his heart and mind filled with a dread that threatened to be the undoing of all that he held dear.
“You helped me save the woman that I love. The least that I can do is to help you save yours,” Colin agreed. Bidding Rebecca a loving farewell with the promise to return as soon as he was able, Colin joined Michael in the coach.
The head of the Bow Street Runners stepped forward. “We will follow along behind to provide support.”
“Thank you,” Michael said.
The Runner nodded, took a step back, and began commanding his men to mount up and follow after the carriage.
Michael shouted for the coachman to drive with all haste, then braced himself for the bumpy ride. To his surprise, Rebecca took a step forward.
“You are not leaving without me,” She said.
“Rebecca, you have just been through a harrowing ordeal. You are within your rights to remain here in the safety of your home with your mother. Bathe, rest, we will bring Emmeline back to you.”
“With all due respect, Michael, no,” Rebecca retorted. Running into the house, she quickly changed her clothes, then emerged with a food basket and a blanket in tow.
It looked as though she had taken a wet cloth to her skin and pinned her hair up in a haphazard way, but she did not seem to care one jot about her appearance or everything that she had just been through. All she seemed to care about was being there for her sister.
“You have chosen well, Cousin,” Michael complimented Colin under his breath. “Not every woman would be so strong in the face of such danger and adversity.”
“That I know,” Colin agreed, smiling in adoration at his love.
Rebecca tucked herself in next to Colin, placing the basket at her feet and covering her lap with the blanket. Michael noted that she shivered as she did so, and he wondered if she was cold or if the blanket was her own secret armor that separated her from the world she had just been rescued from.
The ride to Ravenshollow seemed to take forever. When they finally arrived after many hours on the road, Michael hit the ground at a run. Colin followed along close behind. Michael’s heart pounded as he raced toward the love of his life.
So help me God, we will save Emmeline and bring her safely home, or I will die in the trying.