“No, I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.” Harold weaved through the gathered crowd. “Lila, have you seen Richard?”
She frowned and then her eyes went wide when she spotted me. Accusation burned in her gaze.
“What is Tessa doing out here?” She turned in a circle, trying to find Richard. When she realized he was gone, panic gripped her voice. “He’s missing! What if he’s been killed by the witch?” She wrung her hands in distress, fear clouding her gaze.
This was getting old. If one more person accused me of murder…
“Everyone, stay calm!” Derrick demanded, bringing the room to order. “Tessa had nothing to do with Mae’s death. We have evidence to believe Richard is responsible, and now he’s escaped and considered dangerous.”
There was a hushed gasp through the hall.
“Evidence? What evidence?” Harold asked.
“Forged shipping documents, and I also suspect Richard was responsible for Tessa’s attack in the woods. There was a quiver with arrows in his belongings. We need to organize an immediate search party.”
Lila shook her head, a cry of denial on her lips. Her disbelieving gaze found Cynthia’s, but it crumbled when Cynthia gave her a confirming nod.
“With this storm, he couldn’t have gone far. He’s likely headed toward the stables to flee with one of the horses, but he might try to hunker down and hide in the house. We’ll have to be methodical in our search,” Derrick said.
Andrew stepped forward. “Whether or not he’s involved, we need to find my father. I’ll take Gerard and two of the footmen. We’ll search the south side of the house and the stables.”
Derrick nodded. “All right. Edward, my father, and I will take the north side and then double back to search the house. Meet back here if you don’t find him. Everyone else, I want you to remain in the drawing room down the hall until we return.”
I wrapped my hand around Derrick’s forearm. “What about me? Let me help search.”
He lowered his voice and pulled me aside. “No, Tessa. We don’t know why Richard is targeting you. It’s not safe.”
A spark of anger flared in my chest. “Don’t sideline me now when we’re this close. I can be useful, and we need all the eyes searching for him we can get. Besides, if he is targeting me, maybe it will draw him out of hiding.”
“It’s too big of a risk.”
“For you. It’s too big of a risk for you because you can’t be one hundred percent in control. But that’s not how this works. I’m trained for this, and we’re supposed to be partners.”
Derrick’s hands dropped to my shoulders. Exasperation dripped from his tone. “Partners listen to each other. You never listen! You go off on your own without telling anyone.”
“That’s not fair.” My voice sounded hoarse, and I notched my chin higher to hold my ground. “I wasn’t alone—I just wasn’t with you.”
He tried to rein in his frustration, but he tightened his grip on my shoulders, his eyes pleading with me to understand. “Tessa, I need you somewhere safe. After everything that’s happened—”
I knocked his hands off my shoulders and took a step back. “There’s nothing wrong with my memory. But this is more than that. This stems from the same reason you refuse to take the director position. You don’t trust me to get myself out of dangerous situations. I can take care of myself. I did it long before we were together, and I’ll do it long after—” I snapped my mouth closed, shaken by what I’d been about to say and from the ravaged look in Derrick’s eyes.
“Long after what?” His voice turned to steel. “Finish your sentence.”
“Don’t you see what’s happening? You won’t let me work with anyone else, and the second things get too risky for you, you shut me down. We can’t go on like this.”
“What are you saying?”
My chin trembled, and I looked over to see everyone watching us. Shame flushed my cheeks.
Isabelle smirked, pleased by the cracks in our relationship that were on full display.
What was I saying?
All I knew was that we couldn’t keep tiptoeing around the fact I was holding him back from the job he’d worked so hard for, but he was holding me back too. It wasn’t a balance anymore; we were just stuck, and eventually, we’d grow to resent each other for it.
I swallowed around the painful lump in my throat. As much as I wanted to keep pushing, I was afraid of going over that ledge, and I had to put the case before our personal issues.
“I’m saying, go find Richard. I’ll stay here.”
