Chapter 27
They rode without delay, and Eleanor had not yet slept at all, but she did not care.
Carter led them away from the main road almost at once, choosing narrow byways that wound between fields and wooded stretches of country.
The moon appeared and disappeared behind the clouds, leaving them to follow the faint outline of the road and the occasional lantern carried by one of the investigator’s men.
Eleanor’s hands ached around the reins. She could feel every mile in her body, yet she scarcely noticed the discomfort. Sophie was somewhere ahead, and every moment spent searching felt unbearable.
Gabriel rode beside her. He had remained close since they left the roadside, keeping his horse near enough that their shoulders nearly brushed whenever the path narrowed. Several times, Eleanor glanced toward him and found him already watching her.
Neither spoke. There was too much waiting between them.
At last, when the others had ridden several lengths ahead, Gabriel drew slightly nearer.
“Are you managing?”
“I am.”
“You should tell me if you are tired.”
“I will.”
He gave her a look that suggested he did not believe her.
“You have been saying that for hours.”
“And you have been asking for hours.”
“I cannot help it.”
Eleanor looked ahead, but in spite of how terrible everything was, having a husband that she loved and who loved her in return and cared for her so deeply gave her an overwhelming urge to smile.
“I know,” she replied.
The words carried more meaning than either of them acknowledged.
The road narrowed again, forcing them closer. Gabriel reached across and steadied her elbow when her horse stumbled over a rut.
“I have you.”
He did not immediately release her. For several seconds his hand remained around her arm, warm even through her coat.
Suddenly, Carter raised a hand.
“There.”
The riders slowed. Ahead, beyond a low stone wall, stood a small house surrounded by trees. It was secluded enough to escape notice from the main road, with a narrow lane leading toward the entrance.
Carter dismounted. “We should leave the horses here.”
Gabriel nodded. “Keep the men back until we know what we are facing,” he instructed.
The investigator quietly gave the necessary orders. Eleanor climbed down, her legs unsteady after the long ride. Gabriel reached for her hand as she landed, and she held it for a moment longer than necessary before she released him.
They moved through the trees on foot. The ground was damp beneath their boots, and the branches caught at Eleanor’s coat as they crept toward the house. Gabriel walked immediately ahead of her, with Carter close behind and the investigator following at a distance. No one spoke.
The house grew clearer through the trees, and they saw that a man stood outside the front door.
A watcher.
Eleanor stopped breathing. Gabriel raised one hand, silently ordering the others to remain still, and they crouched behind the cover of a low stone wall. The watcher moved slowly across the entrance before returning to his position.
Then Eleanor saw the upstairs window. A single light burned behind the glass, and her heart began to pound.
Someone was there.
She leaned forward slightly. At first she saw only the pale glow of the candle, but then a small shape moved behind the curtain and Eleanor’s breath caught. The figure came closer to the window, and she saw the unmistakable dark curls that she had spent years gazing at.
Sophie.
Eleanor nearly cried out her name, and she went to run toward her, but Gabriel caught her hand before she could move. His fingers closed around hers, and when she looked at him, she saw the same stunned hope and fierce determination that she felt inside herself.
“She is there,” Eleanor whispered.
“I know.”
Her eyes filled with tears. They had found her. Now they only had to bring her home.
The sight of Sophie behind the upstairs window left Eleanor scarcely able to think.
She had spent the entire day imagining every possible danger, yet seeing her daughter alive had brought a different kind of terror.
Sophie was close enough to touch and was still separated from her by walls, locked doors, and men who had been willing to carry her away from Ravenscourt.
Gabriel crouched beside her behind the stone wall.
“We need to know how many men are inside,” he explained.
Carter leaned closer. “I saw two when I came here before. One keeps watch outside, and the other stays in the house.”
Gabriel glanced toward the upper window. “Was there anyone else?”
Carter shook his head. “Not that I ever saw.”
Gabriel looked toward the investigator. “Keep your men back until we have Sophie. If anything goes wrong, then you may come in.” He turned toward Carter. “Is the watcher expecting someone?”
“Yes. He believes Julian is coming.”
“Good.”
Carter studied the house, clearly in thought, although Gabriel did not quite know what he was thinking about.
“I can draw him away,” he suggested. “I know where the garden’s wall breaks. If I make enough noise there, he will investigate it and you can enter.”
“You cannot let him see you.”
“I know.”
Gabriel looked toward the door. “If you can distract him, then I can make my way inside.”
Eleanor touched his sleeve. “And I will get Sophie.”
He looked at her. “Eleanor—”
“I can reach her. I can find the room she is in.”
“I know you can.”
He wanted to tell her it was too dangerous, but there was such fear and love and determination in her eyes that he did not dare.
“Very well,” he sighed, “but if you hear anything, you are to leave.”
“I will not leave without her.”
“I know.” He took her hand. “You will have to move quickly,” he warned her.
“I will.”
Gabriel squeezed her fingers once before releasing them. Carter shifted his weight.
“Then we had better begin.”
They waited until the watcher turned his back. Carter slipped away first, moving through the trees toward the far side of the property. Several moments passed before a sharp crash sounded from beyond the garden wall.
The watcher stiffened. Another noise followed, and he glanced toward the house, then toward the garden. Finally he moved away from the door.
Eleanor’s heart hammered.
“Now,” Gabriel whispered.
They crossed the distance silently. Gabriel reached the door first and eased it open, and Eleanor followed him inside. The hallway was dark and cold. Somewhere upstairs, a floorboard creaked, and instinctively Eleanor looked toward the staircase.
Sophie.
Gabriel pointed toward the stairs, she nodded, and they moved. The first few steps were silent, but then Eleanor’s foot came down on a loose board. It gave a quiet creak.
“Who is there?” A man’s voice came from above.
Eleanor froze.
The man began descending. They could not retreat. Eleanor’s eyes moved quickly around the dark hallway and saw that a candle stood on a small table beside the stairs. She reached for it.
Gabriel’s eyes widened, but he understood. Eleanor pinched the flame between her fingers and extinguished it. In an instant, darkness swallowed the staircase and the man stopped.
“What was that?” he called.
Eleanor picked up the candle and threw it toward the opposite side of the hall. It struck the floor with a dull clatter, and the man turned toward the sound then stepped away from the stairs.
Gabriel moved silently behind him. A brief struggle followed, almost entirely soundless. The man swung once, but Gabriel caught his arm and drove him against the wall before forcing him down.
Eleanor did not wait. She climbed the remaining stairs. Her heart pounded so hard she could hear it. At the end of the corridor stood a closed door.
“Sophie?” she whispered.
There was a small gasp from inside.
“Mother?”
Eleanor nearly broke. She opened the door and saw Sophie stood beside the bed, her face wet with tears.
“Mother!”
Eleanor crossed the room and gathered her into her arms. “My darling!”
Sophie clung to her. “I knew you would come.”
Eleanor pressed her face into her daughter’s curls. Behind them, Gabriel appeared in the doorway.
“Are you both all right?”
“We are.”
A noise sounded downstairs, and Gabriel’s expression changed.
“We need to go,” he said. “Now.”
Eleanor nodded and lifted Sophie into her arms. Sophie wrapped herself around her mother’s neck.
Eleanor looked at him. For one brief moment, everything they had endured seemed to pass between them.
They had found Sophie, and they had done it together.
Sophie was perfectly fine, albeit shaken, Eleanor was holding her, and they were going home.
“Can you hold on?” she asked.
Sophie wrapped both arms around her neck.
“I can.”
Gabriel moved toward the door. The guard remained unconscious on the landing, and Gabriel glanced toward him before looking back at Eleanor.
“We need to get downstairs before the other man realizes something is wrong.”
They moved quickly but quietly. Gabriel reached the bottom of the staircase first and looked toward the entrance. The watcher had not returned, and Carter’s diversion had evidently held.
“Come.”
They slipped through the side door and into the garden. Cold air struck Eleanor’s face as she held Sophie tighter and hurried toward the trees, with Gabriel immediately beside her.
After several steps, Gabriel stopped. “The guard.”
Eleanor turned. “What about him? It is not as though he is in any position to stop us.”
“We cannot leave him where he can raise the alarm.”
He returned inside, dragged the unconscious man into a small adjoining room, and bound his wrists with a strip of cloth taken from the man’s own coat. Eleanor watched from the garden while Sophie clung to her, trembling against her shoulder.
Gabriel emerged moments later carrying a leather satchel.
“I found this beside him.”
Carter approached from the trees. “I lost the watcher. He is searching the garden.”
“Then we must leave now.”
Gabriel dropped the satchel onto the ground while Carter moved toward the horses. The buckle had broken during the struggle, and its contents spilled across the damp grass. Several folded letters scattered beneath the hedge.
Gabriel crouched to gather them, but then he stopped. Eleanor saw the change in his expression.
“What is it?”
He picked up the first letter.
“Julian.”
Carter came closer. “Are those his?”
“I believe so, yes.”
Eleanor knelt beside him. There were several letters, some sealed and some already opened, with a small bundle of papers beneath them covered in notes. Gabriel unfolded the first sheet. His eyes moved quickly over the writing before he looked at Eleanor.
“This mentions the hunting trip.”
Her breath caught, and she unfolded another page.
“Lord Marbury is mentioned in this one,” she whispered.
Carter went pale.
“I told you.”
Gabriel gathered the papers together. “These may finally tell us what happened.”
A shout sounded from the house. Gabriel stuffed the papers back into the satchel and rose.
“We must go.”
Carter ran toward the horses while Eleanor followed with Sophie in her arms. Gabriel stayed beside them as they hurried through the darkness, the satchel secured beneath his coat and the evidence of Julian’s scheme close against his chest.
Behind them, the house erupted with voices. Ahead, the horses waited in the darkness, and Eleanor held Sophie tighter as they ran toward them. They were carrying their daughter home, but they were also carrying the evidence that might finally reveal what had happened to Lord Marbury.
And if they made it home with it all, Eleanor trusted that her husband would make Julian pay. Even if he did not, she would. Julian had tried to destroy her family.
She was not going to let him get away with it.