Page 27 of The Vanished

“I’ll walk ye back,” Rory said. He was already pulling on his clothes. “Unless ye want to have another go,” he added and smiled suggestively.

“No,” she cried. “Really, I must get back. You don’t need to walk me.”

She hastily dressed and almost sprinted towards the door as soon as she put on her jacket and boots, and pulled the cap low over her eyes. But Rory blocked the way.

“Genny, ye needn’t worry. It will be all right,” he promised. “We will be married, and it will be like this always.” He kissed her again, his tongue sliding into her mouth. “We’ll be together every night,” he whispered when she broke the kiss and pulled away.

“Yes,” Geneva croaked and ran out into the silent night.

SIXTEEN

Geneva felt better once she was on her own and her unease began to recede. She was being silly, she told herself as she hurried down the path. Of course it would be embarrassing and uncomfortable the first time. She had no experience of these things and had not been prepared. She and Rory had been overtaken by passion, just like the lovers in the romance novels she liked to read. But Rory had been tender and gentle, and had tried to reassure her when he had sensed that she was spooked. And now the difficult part was behind her and the lovemaking was bound to get better with time.

Much as she hoped that was true, it wasn’t the most pressing concern to occupy her mind. Rory’s proposal had felt like a life preserver thrown to a drowning woman, and Geneva was buoyed by his affection and commitment to her, but as she neared the house her optimism began to ebb, and she acknowledged that her relief was nothing more than a temporary reprieve from the inevitable. For one, there was the estate, and her father would be heartbroken if she was to walk away from the home and land her family had cherished for generations. For another, there was Honor, and the staff, who would look to her for confirmation that everything would continue as before once Douglas passed. Geneva could hardly leave it to some unknown relation to look after them properly.

And then there were the differences in her and Rory’s stations and their faiths. They hadn’t come up against any real obstacles yet, but that was because they had kept their budding romance secret and had never had to settle on a compromise. Rory went to Mass, and Geneva attended St. Michael’s with her family, and had done since she was christened there as an infant. Rory was Catholic, and he might want his children to be raised in his faith. And if her children were to be brought up in the Catholic Church, Geneva would have no choice but to convert, a prospect she didn’t relish. But it wouldn’t do to have a divided family, in which she might one day become an outsider and possibly even the enemy.

And who would even marry them? A Catholic priest would not perform the ceremony if Geneva wasn’t indoctrinated into the faith, and the vicar of St. Michael’s wouldn’t be too keen to marry her to a Papist. Conversion seemed like the logical solution, but was she prepared to make such a commitment and live as a Catholic in a country that was predominantly Protestant? And would Rory even wish to stay? He might want to go back to Ireland so they could be closer to his family. Was she ready to promise him that?

Geneva supposed if she loved the man, she’d have to accept his background and faith, but if she were honest, the question of religion felt weightier than the question of love or the prospect of lifelong commitment. Was that a sign that she had doubts? Did Rory? Did he assume she would do whatever was necessary to make their marriage work? Would he? They had never spoken of these things. Until tonight, they had never discussed marriage, or even their immediate future. They’d stepped out a couple of times in recent weeks and had avoided focusing on their differences, instead giving in to their mutual attraction, and allowing it to carry them on a wave of emotion. But now the wave was about to crash against the rocks, and they would either be broken apart or find a way to float.

Geneva came to a sudden stop as another realization dawned on her. Rory had offered to marry her, but, although he’d told her she was beautiful, he’d spoken no words of love. What if he had his own reasons for offering her a future? Geneva resumed walking, her steps slow and ponderous, the brief surge of hope firmly replaced by fear and doubt.

The only thing she knew for certain as she crossed the darkened foyer and started up the stairs to her room was that nothing would ever be the same. For any of them.

SEVENTEEN

SEPTEMBER 2023

London

It was still dark when Quinn came awake, but, although she had ample time until her alarm went off, there was no way she could go back to sleep. She reached for her mobile, her heart aflutter with hope, and turned the screen away from Gabe so as not to wake him. It was just after five o’clock, and she realized with mounting panic that her mobile had been silenced since ten o’clock, per the schedule she had set. She should have thought to take it off Do Not Disturb, in case Logan tried to call, but there were no missed calls. There was, however, a text sent from an unregistered number just after midnight. Quinn opened it.

Keep Max safe. Don’t involve the police.

The text had to be from Logan. Perhaps he’d lost his phone, or maybe he couldn’t text from his own number. Or what if someone was impersonating him?

She decided to risk it and immediately replied.

Where are you? What happened?

But the message showed undelivered. Perhaps Logan was out of range, or maybe he’d taken out the SIM card or had disposed of the phone. Something was clearly very wrong, but she now had more questions than answers, and she wasn’t about to get any clarity.

“What is it?” Gabe asked as he came awake and peered at the screen over her shoulder.

Quinn passed him the phone. “What does this mean?” she exclaimed, her frustration boiling over.

“It means Logan is in trouble.”

“What sort of trouble?”

“Maybe he got mixed up in something he shouldn’t have,” Gabe said disloyally.

“But what if someone else sent that text? Logan could be in danger, and now they know I won’t go to the police because I’ll think that I’m following Logan’s instructions. What should I do?”

“Tell Sean. It’s the only thing you can do.”

Quinn shook her head. “I just don’t understand. Logan hasn’t put a foot wrong since Max was born, and he hardly goes out these days. He responded when Emma texted him yesterday afternoon. What could have happened since then?” She turned to look Gabe full in the face. “Do you know anything?”