Adam descended the steps. “Don’t worry, I’ll find her.”
Not five seconds later, John was shrugging into his coat. “I’ll come with you.”
“There’s no need.”
To his credit, the young man persisted. “You need help, Mr. Coates. This storm’s getting worse, and if Madeline’s not at home, she might be stranded somewhere.”
Adam mounted his horse. “All right. I’ll meet you back at my house. We’ll see if she’s returned there. If not, we’ll search the hay barns on the marsh. She might have taken shelter in one of them.”
With a grateful nod to John, Adam steered his horse directly into the wind and galloped across the rain-soaked field.
Feeling the chill of the first few raindrops strike her skin, Madeline picked up her skirts and hurried into the yard. She entered the house just as the storm unleashed its fury and the skies opened up with a violent downpour.
Thankful to have outrun it, she removed her shawl and shook away the wetness. The house was quiet and she felt guilty for having been gone so long, but she had needed some time to herself.
After John had ridden away, she had turned to see Adam through the window, sitting across from Diana in his study, reaching for her hand. It had shaken Madeline, for although she had consciously accepted their love, it was another thing entirely to see them alone together, exchanging intimacies. Gazing at each other. Touching.
A tremendous swell of tears had filled her eyes and she’d had to leave the yard. She’d walked up the hill to the towering old oak, sat on the swing by herself and wept until she couldn’t weep any longer. She’d needed to weep, for she had bucked her tears for too long.
She realized that although she’d tried to resist and deny it, her desire for Adam had taken over her entire soul and she could not conquer it. The only way to save her heart was to leave. She would have to make her own future somewhere other than under Adam’s roof. Whether or not John Metcalf would be a part of that future, she did not know. That remained to be seen.
So here she stood, feeling a little stronger from the tears now out of her system, and determined once again to move on with her life. This time, she would succeed.
She went to light a candle, for the storm had made the house seem almost as dark as night.
Madeline jumped, however, when Penelope came bounding down the stairs. “It’s you!”
Charlie came down behind her. “Where is everyone?”
“What do you mean?” Madeline said.
“There’s no one here except for Hilary,” Charlie replied in a tense, clipped voice. “We returned from Jacob’s house, and saw Lady Thurston riding out of the yard toward the marsh on Penelope’s horse. She didn’t stop when we called after her, and when we came inside, Hilary didn’t know where Lady Thurston had gone. And now it’s raining.”
Hilary came hurrying down the stairs, too. “Begging your pardon, Miss Oxley. We’re dreadfully worried.”
“Where’s your father?” Madeline asked Charlie and Penelope.
The children shook their heads. “We don’t know.”
Madeline walked to the window and looked out at the rain streaming down in a forceful, almost horizontal torrent. Huge Scotch pines and maple trees in the yard were swaying in the gusting winds, their branches flapping about. Raindrops noisily battered the glass panes. She thought of her sister, getting caught in this. It wasn’t dark yet, but it would be soon. Would she find shelter? Or would she become disoriented and get lost?
“Diana doesn’t know her way around,” Madeline said. “She’s never been down on the marsh. Why would she ride off like that?”
“We don’t know,” Penelope replied.
“And you’ve looked everywhere for your father?”
“Yes. He’s not here. His horse is gone.”
Madeline tried to consider all the possibilities. “Perhaps Diana was following him somewhere.”
Hilary put her arm around Penelope. “No, miss. Mr. Coates left over an hour ago. He was looking foryou.”
Madeline pressed her palm to her forehead. “For me? Why? I had just gone for a walk.”
They all shrugged.
“This is all my fault,” Madeline said. “I should have told someone where I was going.” She directed her gaze at Charlie. “Is your horse in the barn?”
