Page 55 of Part of Your World

"In the water?" Alana's voice rose in pitch. "Are ye mad? We need to alert the city police. Have her arrested."

"Fer what? She doesn't have Fletcher. He's out on a boat. We've got no proof that she ordered the kidnapping outside of her maid's say-so, and ye know how the serving class is treated. No one will believe Vanessa over her well-connected mistress. Fer all we know, Mrs. Underhill has the constable in her pocket, too. The woman seems to have blackmailing tentacles stretching across the entire island. Besides, we've no time. I'll barely have time to swim out to the schooner once I spot it."

"Ye don't even know where it is?" Alana reached for the bench of the hall tree positioned near the front door and lowered herself onto the seat. "Saints above."

"I know 'tis west o' the hotel. Zane'll meet Mrs. Underhill in the dunes, and the boat will be near enough to signal." Muriel strode past her sister and turned into the kitchen. "Do ye still keep yer keys in the top drawer?"

She yanked open the nearest cabinet and found what she sought. Brass keys jangled as she clasped their ring and pulled it from the drawer. She spun back toward the hall only to find that her niece had followed her and stood in the doorway.

"Shannon, fetch yer da's spyglass fer me, would ye?"

The little girl stared at Muriel with wide eyes then turned toward Alana. "Ma?"

""Tis all right, Shannon. Do as yer auntie says." Alana rose from the bench. Holding Colleen tight against her chest, she approached Muriel and took her husband's ring of hotel keys. "The center dome is the highest point of the hotel. 'Twill give ye the best view of the Gulf." She held out a short, stubby key. "This 'un will get you into the attic space beneath the dome. There's dormer windows facing each direction, so ye can scout west as well as south. Take the service stairway at the back."

Muriel grabbed the key. "Thank ye." She met her sister's worried gaze. "I'll get him back, Alana. I swear it."

Something deeper than fear entered Alana's eyes as her desperate grip closed around Muriel's hand. "I know ye love him nearly as much as I do, Muri, but I beg ye not to do anythin' foolish. I couldn't bear to lose two pieces of me family in one night."

Muriel blinked back tears and nodded. After clearing her throat, she tipped her head toward the door. "There's a carriage outside. The driver's name is Eddie. Tell him ye're me sister. Bring out some towels and a set of dry clothes for Fletcher. I'll meet ye there when I get down from the dome."

Shannon returned and held out the small, telescoping spyglass Liam kept with his collection of nautical tools.

Muriel smiled and bent down to accept it. "Thank ye, dear heart." She straightened and returned her attention to her sister. "Zane is lookin' fer Da and Liam. If they miss each other, tell Da to row out west of the anchored schooner. When I get Fletcher, the currents will pull us that direction. We'll look for his light and head for the boat."

Alana gave a sharp nod, renewed energy evident in her straight posture. "I'll have the hotel's caretaker ready the water taxi."

"Good. That'll save time." The hotel's Whitehall rowboat would be fast, especially with Da at the oars.

Muriel took the keys and made her way up to the fourth floor of the hotel. Hurrying up three flights of stairs winded but didn't tire her. Too much urgency flowed through her muscles to let a few stairs slow her down. It took a minute to wind her way through the odd collection of items stored in the hotel attic, but after banging her shin on an iron bedstead turned on its side, she made it to the round window that overlooked the Gulf.

She polished the glass with her sleeve then peered out into the sea, angling her line of sight to the west as she searched for a mast. A shadowy shape caught her eye, but the fading light played tricks on her vision. Muriel pulled the collapsed spyglass from her skirt pocket and extended it to its maximum length. It took a few attempts to locate the ship through the spyglass, but once she did, her heart gave a triumphant thump. A schooner with sails snugged down. A dark line trailed down the bow—likely the anchor cable. She scanned the rest of the area and found no other ships. She had her target.

"I'm comin', Fletcher."

Muriel darted back through the attic and down the stairs. Finding Alana at the carriage, she handed off the keys then directed Eddie to take her as far west into the dunes as the carriage could go. The undeveloped area of the island boasted no roads and only a few rutted paths, so he wouldn't be able to take her the entire way, but any distance would help.

"I found the boat," she told Alana. "Looks to be less than a mile offshore. Once I get past the breakers, I should be able to reach the vessel in thirty minutes or so."

Alana pulled a watch from her skirt pocket. "'Tis twenty to eight now."

"I'll make it." It'd be tighter than she'd hoped with the time required to travel into the dunes, but she'd make it work. She had to.

Alana touched her shoulder. "I know ye will." She pulled Muriel into a one-arm hug, squishing wee Colleen between them.

Forgiveness flowed in that embrace, and Muriel drank it in, drawing strength from it.

"Take care, Muri," Alana said as she released her hold. "I love ye."

Muriel blinked back the mist forming in her eyes. "I love ye, too."

Alana gave Muriel a little push toward the carriage's open door. "Now go get me boy."

Eddie took the horses farther into the dunes than Muriel expected. He risked miring the wheels in the sand but seemed to realize that getting to the shore was more important than getting home afterward.

"Sorry, miss. The carriage is too heavy to go farther." He climbed down from the seat and looked at her as if waiting for more instructions.

She handed him the spyglass. "See that ship there?" She pointed at the schooner anchored slightly to the west of their position.