Chapter 16
After the bitter confrontation with his father, Philip paid a visit to Humberly Hall.
When he rang the bell, Jarvis answered the door. “Good afternoon, your lordship.”
“Tell Sir William that Lord Waverly is here to see him.”
“I am sorry, but Sir William is not at home, your lordship.”
“When do you expect him to return?”
“Due to Sir William’s declining health, I don’t think he will be returning to Humberly Hall. His daughter Elizabeth has taken him to reside with her, so that she might look after him. We are, at the moment, packing everything in readiness for closing the house.”
Taken completely by surprise, Philip was too stunned to respond. He could not think. He could not breathe. He was already overwhelmed and infuriated over the recent turn of events, and now this? Gone to London? Closing down the house? “I will have a word with Lady Weatherby then, if you will tell her I am here.”
“I regret to inform your lordship that LadyWeatherby is not here, either. There is no one here, save myself and the other servants.”
Philip could think of nothing he loathed more than his father for putting him through this. “If you will give me Lady Elizabeth’s address in London, I will pay Lady Weatherby a call when I arrive there tomorrow.”
“Lady Weatherby did not go to London, your lordship.”
“All right, if she is not here, and she is not in London, then where is she? Come, come, my good man. Tell me where I might find her.”
“I do not know, your lordship. No one knows. She has simply disappeared. Vanished into thin air, she has.”
“Don’t be a fool! People do not vaporize and leave no trace, no clue as to where they have gone. Tell me what you know of this!”
“I only know Lady Meleri went to her room after dinner, and the next morning when Betty took her breakfast tray up to her room, she wasn’t there.”
“And her things? Were they missing as well?”
“According to Mrs. Hadley and Betty, nothing was missing. She must have left with only the clothes she was wearing.”
“And her horse?”
“Missing as well.”
“Was her sister here when all of this occurred?”
“I believe she disappeared the night before Lady Elizabeth and Sir William left. Or it might have been the night after.”
“Then give me Lady Elizabeth’s address, and be quick about it.”
Once he had the address, Philip returned home. Of all the things he expected, he never considered this. He was dazed by the backlash that whipped through him. Desperation burned like a brand in his brain until the reality of what she had done forced him to think.
She was gone…and his hopes for a future along with her.
That there would be consequences ripped into his consciousness and filled him with a new hatred. Thanks to Meleri, his life was no longer his. His mind was clouded with rage, and he knew she was to blame for all of his misery. His hands curled into fists as he thought about what he would do to her when he found her. And he would find her. When he did, he promised himself that she would never, ever do something as foolish as to run from him again.
Without her, his future was ruined. The knowledge that he was in imminent danger of losing everything made him desperate. She had to be found. Time was working against him.
He called for a fresh horse to be saddled, after deciding he would leave for London as soon as he changed clothes. As he dressed, he cursed his ill fortune. Damnation! He had just come from London. He did not need to waste more time—time that he did not have.
As he rode away from Humberly Hall, Philip was no longer thinking about his irritation over having to return to London. He was thinking about all the ways he could avenge himself upon Meleri for what she had put him through. Whatever he decided upon, it must be severe enough to prevent her from ever considering such actions again.
Once they were married, she would be completely under his control.
That was exactly where he wanted her.