Page 15 of No Ordinary Lady

But Mama had never laughed with him.

Daniel slipped a finger inside his waistcoat pocket…but did not encounter the object he sought for comfort. He absently checked his other pockets and then frowned as he realized he’d misplaced the promise ring he intended to give his future bride again.

Puzzled by the absence of the family heirloom, he glanced around, assuming he’d dropped it somewhere near his chair by accident. But it wasn’t anywhere he could see. He’d surely still had it yesterday when he’d arrived at the inn.

His stomach pitted.

But that was before he met Marian and been run into by the small boy. Both thieves.

When he’d left money beside the bed for Marian’s journey, he couldn’t recall the ring being in his possession—though it was possible the ring might have been dropped there. Falling to the floor or the bed, which meant Marian could have found the ring!

Daniel groaned under his breath, realizing he might never see the ring and her again. Marian would surely take something so valuable away with her. She was headed in the opposite direction and at this hour she must be miles and miles away from him now.

Marian was the only one who’d gotten close enough to touch him, other than that rude boy and Sunday. And she’d made it clear that she had been mixed up with shady characters all her life.

And she’d begged for his embrace and cried on his shoulder about her fears for the future, and like a fool, he’d not seen a reason to deny her. But had it all been for the purpose of robbing him, pretending she needed his protection when it might have been him who’d needed it all along?

Had she feigned sleep and spent the night in his bed waiting for the chance to search him and his trunks? And he’d given her that opportunity, dropping off to sleep without realizing it.

He cursed under his breath again. To think, he’d actually considered remaining at the inn just to protect her or see her safely underway!

He burst to his feet, angry at himself and her.

He needed that ring back. He’d always pictured his wife wearing it.

He’d have to go after the ring, and Marian, too. When he found her again, he wouldn’t be listening to any more of her sob stories about hardship and some made-up danger.

But before he left, he would check everywhere he’d been since leaving the inn just to be sure, and then hurry after her if he did not find it tucked among his belongings.

He headed for the door. There was always a chance he’d merely dropped it in the carriage and not noticed.

“Danny, come back here and talk to us about this,” Granny called. “There’s no rush, surely, to make a foolish match. You’re still young.”

“I’m nearly thirty,” he growled, turning back to his family at the doorway to the terrace. “Should I wait until sixty like Father did and die before the boy is ten, too?”

“No, of course you should not wait that long,” Mother said firmly. “You need an heir.”

“Look, I think I left something important in the carriage. I’ll be right back, I promise.”

“Danny,” Granny called. “Daniel!”

But he strode away without offering further explanation and headed directly for the carriage. The men hadn’t put it away yet, but snapped to attention as soon as he appeared.

“I lost a ring,” he told them. “Small, opals, for a lady’s finger. Did any of you see one inside the carriage somewhere?”

“No, my lord,” the coachman promised, following him to the carriage door. “But then we never looked for one, either.”

Daniel darted inside and searched the conveyance from top to bottom.

The ring wasn’t there, and he groaned. Marian had taken it, or the thief she’d consorted with earlier in the day had done so. Either way, one thing was obvious—he’d be leaving the estate today to go fetch it back.

His shortest ever visit yet. Mother would not be pleased about that.

He turned back to the manor and stalked into the drawing room in a terrible mood.

Granny’s eyes met his and widened. “I take it you didn’t find what you’ve lost?”

“No. And I’m afraid I must be on my way again. Excuse me.”