Page 85 of The Mister I Married

Chapter Twenty-Three

Two hours later and Alex still hadn’t found his father. He’d searched every room in the house, every nook and cranny, before scouring the gardens, the folly, and now the stables, though he knew he wouldn’t find him here. His father did not like to be around horses.

Still, he’d had to check. Even knowing he would not be here, and that at least a dozen others had likely already searched the stables, he’d had to confirm it with his own eyes.

“Where are you, Father?” he muttered to himself, peering into an empty stall in the hopes of finding him napping there on the hay.

A low nicker sounded from the neighboring stall and Alex followed it, reaching up to stroke his favorite mount’s nose.

“Good day, Neptune,” he said, giving the large, gentle gray a scratch about the ears. “Have you any idea where my father has got to?”

The horse gave no reply, though his soft brown eyes seemed sympathetic.

Alex sighed as the worry churning in his gut—the worry he’d been steadfastly ignoring—seemed to grow and turn to lead. What if his father was injured somewhere? Or trapped and unable to free himself, stuck where no one could hear when he called out for help?

But where?

There was nothing left to do but search the grounds. His father was not a wanderer and rarely left the house, but if he was not inside, he must be outside. He only hoped he was somewhere out of the cold and rain.

“Come, Neptune,” he said, stroking the horse’s neck. “Perhaps you can help me find him.”

Alex swiftly saddled Neptune then led him from the stables on foot, pausing just outside the doors when he caught sight of his sister walking toward him.

“Here you are,” she said, her brow furrowed beneath the hood of her rain-spattered cloak. “I’ve been looking for you.”

Hope surged in his chest. “Have you found Father?”

“No,” she said, nibbling her lower lip. She stepped closer. “Alex, it’s…it’s Emmy. She’s here. She’s come back.”

The words buzzed through his brain, a confused swarm. “What? Emmy is here? I don’t—”

The words died as his gaze fell upon his wife. His heart pounded as she walked toward him, the picture of calm with her hands clasped at her front, even as the sky continued to weep, soaking her gown, her bonnet, and speckling her cheeks.

Alex swallowed. The sight of her sent a shock of pleasure through his body, and relief washed over him, followed by a flicker of annoyance, though he didn’t know who had annoyed him more, Emmy or himself.

What was she doing here? Why had she come back? She was supposed to be on her way to London right now.

The questions begged to be asked, but he held his tongue and watched her in silence as she drew nearer, only vaguely aware of his sister slipping away.

“Alex.” Emmy’s husky voice was faint, tentative. “I—you—I’m so…” She trailed off awkwardly, emotion shimmering in her large, gray eyes, and she swallowed hard, as if saving the unspoken words for later. “What can I do to help?” she asked instead.

“We’ve already searched the house from top to bottom,” he said briskly, signaling for a groom. “I’m going to search the grounds now. I don’t know what else to do.”

“I’m sure you will find him safe and sound,” she said softly, though the well-meaning words rang hollow. There was no way she could be sure.

Alex gave her a tight smile.

“Do you think he—” She broke off, her troubled gaze meeting his. “Did my leaving upset him so much that he ran away?”

He shook his head, his hands clenching with the need to comfort her. He ignored the impulse. “I don’t know why, Emmy,” he answered softly. “He was quieter than usual last night, but he did not seem to be…”

He trailed off as a memory flashed through his mind from long ago, of his father in those months after his mother had left them.

Of his father out on the lake in a boat.

Horror filled him.

“I think I know where he is,” he said gruffly, reaching for Neptune’s reins.