“Yes,” Vanessa whispered, frustrated tears streaking down her cheeks. “Yes, I’ll make sure they know that.”
“Good,” Anne whispered. “I’m so tired... Can you hold Felicity while I close my eyes?”
“Of course,” Vanessa reassured her, taking the tiny baby and cradling her in her arms.
For a long time, she watched over Anne, but she seemed to be sleeping deeply. The things she’d said though... Vanessa was terrified to go to sleep, even though exhaustion pulled at her heavily. Another hour stretched by, and then another. Felicity was a warm comforting weight in her arms. At last, Vanessa stretched out beside Anne, the baby cradled between them. She closed her eyes and finally slept.
* * * *
AFTER SOME DISAGREEMENTon the matter and a trip to where the girls had been abducted that turned up absolutely no leads whatsoever, the brothers decided to split up.
Adrian and Clinton headed for Roger’s house where he kept his mistresses, while Morgan and Lucien went the other direction, toward Roger’s townhouse. Morgan had wanted them all to stay together, but Lucien had seen the sense in splitting up.
The earl had decided if either group found Roger or the girls, one of them would go find the others before making a move.
There had been further argument over whether Roger was even behind the kidnappings, but in Adrian’s mind, there was no doubt. Adrian chafed under the restrictions and hated that so much time had already been lost. It was already dark, and they were no closer to finding the girls than they’d been when Morgan had burst into his home this afternoon.
Adrian was convinced that his stepbrother would be at the house where he’d found Bridget. Perhaps that was even where he was keeping Anne and Vanessa.
He wished now that he’d made more of an effort to find the bastard on his wedding night. If he’d had the inevitable confrontation with his stepbrother then, the girls would be safe now. If something happened to them, it would be entirely his fault. He prayed that Vanessa was all right and keeping her spirits up and that she knew he’d do anything to find her.
* * * *
VANESSA WOKE WITH Astart, stunned to realize she’d drifted off. She had no idea how long she’d been trapped in this cellar before she’d fallen asleep, and now that she was awake again, disorientation made her sick and woozy. Not even the faintest stream of light crept into this dank, dark place, and she didn’t know whether night had fallen or if she’d slept the night through and it was already daylight.
She shifted uncomfortably, moving a strange weight off her shoulder, only to have the bundle move and mewl. She scrambled to a sitting position and pulled the Felicity into her arms, the baby’s birth suddenly flooding back to her.
The little girl began to cry and sucked helplessly at her finger. She needed to be fed, poor thing.
“Anne, are you awake?” she whispered hoarsely.
Anne didn’t reply.
Vanessa fumbled around for her friend in the darkness, only to freeze as her hands closed around Anne’s arm.
Something was wrong. Anne didn’t feel right. She groped up her arm, then shook her. “Anne. Wake up, Anne. Your baby needs you!”
Horror gripped her as she frantically searched Anne’s neck for a pulse of life, but all she found was cold stillness.
The spark had gone out of this beautiful, vibrant woman, and Vanessa feared she’d been gone for some time.
With a shudder, Vanessa scooted away, clutching Felicity to her chest, and then doubled over, tears racking her body.
Why had she fallen asleep? She should have been trying harder to figure out what was wrong with Anne. What if there was something she could have done to prevent this?
The tears came faster, crippling her for quite some time with guilt, fear, and regret. She thought of Anne’s beautiful children, including the tiny life in her arms, and how they would grow up without a mother. Morgan would be devastated, and she knew how much Adrian would feel his brother’s anguish.
The lock at the top of the stairs rattled as someone inserted a key.
Vanessa caught her breath, forcing back her grief and tears, scrambling to her feet. She moved through the dark, feeling desperately with her free hand for some kind of weapon. She couldn’t let those bastards and whoever had hired them get away with this.
When she could find nothing to defend herself with, she moved instead toward the stairs, hiding underneath them, holding her breath and trying to remain as still as she could while rocking the baby and praying she didn’t make a sound.
Slow steps descended, and fear made her breathing so loud she was certain they could hear it. The man reached the bottom of the stairs, the light from the lantern he held in his hand making crazy shadows on the earthen walls.
Vanessa searched the room desperately, trying to find something that would help her. Much to her regret, she realized the room was completely bare. It might have been a storeroom at one time, but they’d taken care to remove everything before they’d thrown her and Anne down here.
The light hit Anne, and the man cursed beneath his breath. The amount of blood that streaked Anne’s skirts and pooled beneath her made fresh tears well up in Vanessa’s eyes. As the man knelt and began frantically trying to wake Anne up, Vanessa crept from beneath the stairs. Keeping a careful eye on her captor, she put one foot gingerly on the bottom stair.
