Twisting about, Drake kept one arm around her and started walking towards his house. ‘I’ll find him. I’ll take you to my house first and have George take you home.’
She planted her feet firmly on the ground, stopping their movements. ‘No, we have to go now! We have to hurry!’ She gestured towards his horse standing in the street. ‘I can ride with you.’
‘Mr Taylor? Is everything all right?’
Recognizing George’s voice, Drake scanned the darkness and saw the man standing on the front lawn of his house.
‘I’m going with you,’ Meridith stated.
Forcing her to go with George would only cause more problems, therefore, Drake replied to the man, ‘Hugo has escaped from the zoo. We are going to find him. Please deliver a message to Lady Meridith’s family, letting them know that she’s with me, looking for Hugo.’
‘Right away, sir,’ George replied.
‘My family is at the theatre,’ she said, ‘but our butler, Mr Kent, will be worried.’
‘George will let him know,’ Drake said, quickly guiding her towards the horse. A few steps later, he lifted her onto his horse, then mounted the animal himself.
Once settled behind her, he sent the horse into a quick gait. ‘Tell me exactly what happened, and where you last saw Hugo.’
She repeated the story as they rode, including how she hadn’t gone to the theatre with her family, had taken a walk in the park, and ended up at the zoo, just as the elephant escaped.
He asked a series of questions, and her answers made him believe it was older boys with Hugo, and as she’d said, most likely up to no good. Still, he hoped that none of them were injured. Falling off a running elephant could do more than break a few bones. Especially if Hugo turned on them.
Meridith was sitting in front of him on the horse, with both legs hanging over one side, and he kept one hand around her waist and his thigh beneath her knees, holding her in place, as the horse galloped towards the park.
With so much to worry about concerning a scared elephant, there shouldn’t be room in his mind to be thinking about her. About how much he’d missed the smell of her rose water, and how good it felt to have his arm around her. He’d never wanted to touch someone as much as he did her. To just hold her hand or touch the small of her back was thrilling. Had been since they’d first met.
‘That way!’ she said as they entered the park.
Within no time, they found Hugo’s trail, and it was easy to follow. Flower beds and hedges were left in complete disarray. Before long, they also came upon a bobby who was clutching the shirt collar of a boy who appeared to be fifteen or sixteen.
‘Is he hurt?’ Drake asked.
‘A few bruises,’ the bobby replied. ‘Fell off an elephant.’
‘What about the other two?’ Meridith asked.
‘Are you the lady who went to fetch someone to stop the elephant?’ the bobby asked.
‘Yes, she went to fetch me,’ Drake replied. ‘We’ll find him.’
‘Others are looking for him, too,’ the bobby replied. ‘Following his trail of destruction.’ Nodding to the boy at his side, he continued, ‘This is the only lad we caught. The other two are nowhere to be seen. He says they just wanted to ride the elephant and decided to do it on their own rather than waiting for the zoo to open. I’ll be taking him to his home, where his father can deal with his misdeeds.’
With a nod to the bobby, Drake urged his horse forward, following the route that Hugo had created through the park. It was good to know that the boys hadn’t been hurt, but Drake was still worried about others. Hugo was running scared and anyonein his way was in danger. Serious danger. He was as tall and wide as a covered coach, but weighed five times more. That was a lot of mass and weight, moving fast.
‘Where do you think he’s going?’ Meridith asked.
‘I have no idea, and neither does he,’ Drake replied, wishing elsewise.
They encountered other bobbies in the park, who were also following the destruction, but as of yet, no one had seen the elephant.
Though his eyes were searching, his ears alert, and his mind chasing thoughts of what might become of Hugo, Drake was still fully aware of Meridith sitting before him and kept his arm firmly around her. She was practically sitting on his lap. His thigh tingled at the connection of her legs resting atop it, and the blood in his veins was pulsing with the familiar heat of desire.
‘Why didn’t you want to go to the theatre tonight?’ he asked, needing some sort of distraction before certain sensations got away from him.
‘Because I didn’t want to be introduced to any more eligible men.’
He had wondered about that with practically every passing thought the past week. What her brother had said had made sense, yet, at the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder if, with all the men they were introducing her to, Meridith would eventually meet someone who she would fall in love with and marry. That was what she wanted, and he should want her to be happy.
