Chapter Nine
Hours Earlier
There was no other choice. As much as it physically pained her to admit it, Nobi had no other choice. She recognized the situation in an instant.
She had been standing at the front door just about to leave, still pondering how to find Chris, when Jacob had emerged from the forest and told her that he had just said his farewells to Chris.
And Nobi could feel the twisting roots crawling over one another, forming a giant knot in her stomach. She knew she had to go after him. Now. She had to tell him about what she had just heard. There was no point in bothering the new groom. He was far too distracted to think straight.
Jacob had already gone inside vowing to pass along her well wishes to Sally. Nobi stood in front of her carriage ready to transport her home. But she obviously couldn’t do that yet.
If Chris had just left, he was maybe five minutes down the road, she could catch him on horseback.
And there, of course, was a horse saddled up. Right there. Apparently one of the other guests was ready to depart soon.
If ever there had been a moment when the divine, fate, Heaven, angels, something—anything—beyond the physical, was prompting her, this was it.
This. Was. It. Nobi’s heart thudded in her chest. She had never been as decisive about something in her life as this.
And no, she wasn’t going to steal the horse.
She was going to borrow it. For maximum twenty minutes.
The plan was to ride out, catch up with Chris, and tell him what she heard. Knowing him as well as she did, he would insist on returning with her, and then they would sort out what needed to be done. Together, they would fix this.
So…although this was exactly the type of adventure Nobi had never asked for, she knew it would be over shortly. Or, at least handled by someone other than her. And it was to potentially save someone’s life.
She could no more stand there and do nothing than could she not take another breath.
It was now or never.
Digging into her pocket, past the intentional gap, she tucked her pistol into the thigh strap that both she and Joan used to carry (more so than to conceal) their weapons.
She called over to the waiting footman to tell the horse’s owner her plans and that she would be back shortly.
Then, she mounted the horse and took off down the dirt road with one thing pressing upon her mind. She needed to find Chris.
Soon, she had the horse in a gallop and was turning onto the road.
After several minutes she could see Chris’s carriage in the distance.
Her heart felt lighter, just knowing he was in sight.
But when a second carriage came into view, the foreboding feeling that had been festering since eavesdropping on those two men returned in full force.
This was not good. Not good at all.
Instinctively, she pulled back on the reins. Something was wrong. Pulling off to the side of the road, cloaking herself in bushes, she tried to keep herself out of sight.
As she watched two men alight the second carriage, she could feel her heart slam against her chest. First they took care of the carriage driver, leaving him on the side of the road. Then, when she saw Chris being manhandled by the two and tossed into their carriage, her heart ripped in two.
They took off.
She had to follow them. Where were they taking him? If she left now, or tried to get help she might never know where he went. God, her heart’s jagged edges were raw and aching.
When she figured she could follow without being seen, she rode up to Chris’s carriage. She called out to the driver.
“Are you all right?”
He groaned while rubbing his head. Then grabbed his foot in pain. “I’m all right, milady. Go after him. Find out where they’re taking him. I can’t ride your horse on my own. My foot.” He winced as he grabbed his foot again. “But I can drive this carriage back and send riders after you.”
“I–I–can’t—”
“You can do it. Ride after them. Ride like the wind. Just stay out of sight. When the riders catch up to you, they can handle it from there.”
She shook her head. She was not the adventurer. This was a higher order. Something more fitting for Mimi. Or even Boudicca. They were the strong ones. The valiant ones. The warriors. She was the helper. This was not what she was supposed to be doing.
But it was Chris. She had to get to him. Her heart would fail her if she didn’t follow him.
With a firm nod, she turned the horse to ride.
“Go!” He called out, as if knowing she needed that final encouragement.
And then she took off.
It was supposed to be twenty minutes. Maximum.
But the ride was turning into hours. Once she caught up to the carriage, she maintained her distance.
When they pulled up to a tavern and yanked Chris out of the carriage, hauling him into a small shack, she muffled her gasp and stifled her tears.
She was no good to anyone if she was a sobbing mess.
And those riders, she kept looking back for them. Waiting. Why hadn’t they caught up to her yet? Had they lost her trail? Had the driver not returned to the house?
Too many questions that would go unanswered for now threatened to overwhelm her. But she remained focused on her task. Follow Chris.
She had one mission. Know his whereabouts.
Just when a plan came to her that she could try to enlist the help of some men from the tavern to storm the shack, she saw the three men leaving it.
Chris had a dark hood over his face, but she knew it was him.
It looked as though he could walk, and he didn’t seem beaten up. That much was a small relief.
Obviously the men wanted something from him, but for the life of her, she didn’t know what that was. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to know.
Once their carriage was on its way, she again followed them. As close as she dared.
As they continued, she found herself on a long straight stretch of road. It was dangerous now. It was highly unusual for a woman to be traveling on her own. On a horse. For all to see. Riding astride, with her skirts pulling in a slightly revealing way.
It was beyond awkward and unsettling. It was precarious.
If they saw her…there was no chance in hell that they wouldn’t recognize her if they saw her again.
She could be caught. It wouldn’t be the worst thing to be caught if she was with Chris, but really, if they were both bound up they were no help to each other. She had to keep her distance…
So long as they didn’t see her.
At just that moment, a skinny head with floppy hair popped out of the carriage window.
Of course he had to go and do that now. On this road.
At this moment. Dash it all. Her cover might be blown.
The head looked around and caught sight of her, locking in on her and the horse.
She had been spotted, there was no doubt.
She was the only other traveler on the road.
It made sense that from time to time they would want to survey their surroundings.
Clearly, they were up to something nefarious.
It was useless to think that the man wouldn’t recognize her if she continued to shadow them.
And it would be quite suspicious if she (on a horse) were to maintain her position behind them, since she was obviously the faster of the two modes of transportation.
It was expected that she would pass them.
Perhaps she should ride by them.
A plan was formulating in her mind. This road led to Chris’s main estates. If she were able to ride ahead of them, she might have a way to stay on their trail even though she would be in front of them.
If she rode on by them and found a place to pull over and watch if they turned down the road to Chris’s castle, then she might be able to continue tracking them. The trees were her friends. She could duck behind a small cluster once far enough down the road, and then she would lay in wait.
Lay in wait? Who was she? She had no idea how to deal with the manifesting emotions within her. Namely, terror. Was this the type of adventure some people craved? She thought not. Not many people thrived on living this close to death.
Death?
Tears threatened to pour from her eyes. She couldn’t think about that possibility right now.
Chris, despite his dreams, had always been something stable in her life.
He was always there. For her. For his friends.
For people. For his father. He had sacrificed everything, putting his own dreams on hold, to take care of his father.
He was a truly selfless man, and now he might die? Having never lived his dreams?
No.
Hell, no.
She would do everything in her power to ensure he lived and one day could follow his dreams. If anyone deserved it, he did.
Her heart, though hammering, was flooding. How did a hammer feel moving in water? Now she knew, as that was the sensation within her.
No matter what happened, she had to follow Chris. And passing the carriage, lying in wait, and attempting to get one step ahead of the abductors were her next tasks.
That was the plan anyway, no matter how terrifying and assuming it was.
But it was her best chance.
With all the dignity and guilelessness that she could muster, Nobi trotted past the carriage.
As she did so, she sent up multiple prayers for her own safety and that of Chris.
She was sure the curtains in the windows shook as she went by.
So she added another prayer. That somehow, some way they wouldn’t take the time to memorize her face.
Her legs were shaking under her skirts as she approached the carriage.
Sweat dripped down her back, and with clammy hands, she gripped the reins more tightly.
Quietly she clucked her tongue to the horse to pass the carriage.
Thankfully the horse paid no mind to his surroundings other than to continue on the straight and narrow.
If there was a way to still her erratic heart, or untangle the knots in her stomach, or loosen the lump in her throat, she would have paid good money to do so.
But as it were, there was no diminishing the tight coiling of her body.
She could only manage to keep as pleasant a look as was possible (given her state) plastered to her face.
She didn’t bother with a glance at the window. If, perchance, she did see Chris through the glass, she wasn’t sure she could keep the recognition (or other emotions) off of her face.
Once she passed them, she kept trotting ahead until she was far enough away that there was finally a slight curve in the road. Trees lined the road, as if divining the perfect hiding spot. Gently, she tugged the reins and led the horse into hiding.
Now she had to wait. Wait and watch. Watch and wait.
Time could not tick by more slowly than when a woman was waiting for a man to show up for her.
But waiting was all she could do. Birds chirped in the trees above without a care in the world.
How no one else knew of what was threatening to decimate her world, she didn’t understand.
It was one of the universe’s tricks. That one person’s entire world could be crumbling, but no one else knew.
No one else felt it. Yet she felt nothing but this moment.
It was enough to entice her to rest and regroup. But she dared not leave her sentry. The birds could chirp, the trees could sway without worry. She would carry the burden no matter how heavy it got, no matter how far it took her.
The horse nickered, and the puff of air disrupted her thoughts.
She only wished she had water and food for her horse.
At least he was plucking away at some grass while they bided their time.
Another seemingly unaffected entity in the universe.
And that was a strange thought. This horse was helping her with what had to be the most dangerous activities she had ever endeavored to take before, and he was equanimity personified. Animal-ified?
Maybe this horse, the birds chirping, the tree branches swaying were exactly what she needed in this moment.
With her world being ripped apart at the seams, or a better analogy, shot at as if it were target practice, she was due for something to balance the scales.
With the deepest inhalation she had taken all day, Nobi took a moment to gird herself.
To breathe in the calmness and allow it to permeate the tension within her body.
She needed every ounce of peace she could collect.
It was certainly an awkward place to be though. Waiting for something bad yet willing something good to happen.
Never had she felt so awkward in all of her life. Well…actually, that wasn’t true. Not that she really wanted to recall it here and now…but there was at least that one another time.