AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Serena however put a finger to her lips and said, “Hush.” She went to the open crypt door and peered outside. Daybreak was upon them, but it was cloudy and the light still fairly dim. “I thought I heard something.” A flash of movement caught her eye, and she whispered worriedly, “Freddy, someone is moving about near the church. We shall have to make a dart out of here.”
“But … the tunnel … the gold …” Freddy objected in astonished accents.
“Freddy, listen to me. This discovery puts us in some real danger. You must see that, and why I thought we could get in and out with so little time before sunrise, I do not know. I usually have more sense, but there you are. Must use our common sense now. I should have used it earlier.” She shook her head. “We have to get away before we are seen. We can return here tonight with none the wiser.” She put a hand over her mouth and then slowly took it away. “Freddy … ’tis Reverend Eustace. We cannot allow him to find us here.”
Hurriedly, they closed up the trapdoor and slithered out of the tomb. Freddy took a moment to discard the broken link and make the chain look as though it was still bolted before they took off at a run. “We can only hope no one checks the bolt before we get back here.”
“Yes …” Serena took his hand and said, “Hurry now.”
Some moments later, they found their way back to their horses, mounted, and moved them at a quick trot through the woods until they reached an opening and entered the main road.
They took a moment as each needed to catch a breath of air. They looked at one another, and Serena sighed with relief.
She knew Freddy was thrilled. She was, herself, very excited with their find. Suddenly as they looked at one another, they burst into laughter. She knew the mirth was caused by frazzled nerves and excitement, but she couldn’t stop laughing.
Finally, their mirth subsided, and as she put a hand to her stomach, Freddy reached and took Serena’s hand. “You are the best of good friends. I have hounded you with my courtship, and I am sorry if it made you uncomfortable, Serena.”
“Oh Freddy, never mind that. In truth
, at first I was quite flattered,” she responded, much pleased with his new attitude. This is what she had been hoping for.
He reached over and gave her a hug and a kiss upon the cheek.
* * *
His lordship had not been able to sleep. Serena occupied his thoughts, and he was in a state of confusion. He had come to the New Forest to save his nephew from a siren of a woman, but instead had found himself a victim to her charms.
She wasn’t a siren; he knew that. She was everything that was good, and kind, and gracious. She was dear and sweet and the most desirable woman on earth, and he loved her with all his heart.
She was not a grasping woman. She was not responsible for keeping a young man from school—at least, she said she did not encourage him, and he wanted to believe her.
She was, although headstrong, a delight in every possible manner, and he was fairly certain he did not wish to spend the rest of his days without her in them.
A sound caught his attention, and he got up and opened his door to see Freddy dressed in buckskins and slinking down the hall. What the bloody hell is that boy up to now?
He sighed heavily and would have gone back to bed had not some sixth sense driven him to wash quickly and throw on his riding clothes.
He reached the stables in time to see Freddy quietly leading his horse down the drive. His guard was nowhere to be seen, no doubt still asleep. This was not his agreement with Freddy, who had promised to always let the man know when he wished to leave the premises.
A few moments later his lordship was mounted on his own steed and attempting to follow his wayward nephew.
When he came to the crossroads, he had to dismount in order to try and track Freddy’s direction. In the end, he took an educated guess and followed the trail to the Piney Wood. This had to have something to do with the ugly business of the gold theft and the murder they had come across. This was precisely what he had warned Freddy about. He was putting himself in danger once again, and his heart became anxious. He, in fact, loved his nephew deeply, and the thought that he might be hurt or killed spurred him on.
He lost Freddy’s direction for a time, and then made a discovery that wrenched a few curses from his throat.
He found not only Freddy’s horse, but another as well, and one he recognized immediately, Serena’s mare. What the devil was going on?
This was not acceptable. He had to put an end to this absurdity.
Serena, what are you doing, Serena? How could she meet alone with Freddy. It could not mean … no, she had been an innocent. She would not.
She was his and no other’s, and yet … what was she doing here with Freddy?
He had hoped that Serena loved him as he loved her, and here she was frolicking about in the woods with his nephew! Jealousy, incredulity, and irritation worked itself into a frenzy that made a stew in his head as he waited for them to return to their horses.
A sound in the woods caught his attention, and he led his horse off. A bit further down the road he saw two men before they split up and rode off in different directions. It was too dark for him to make out their faces, and besides that he was fairly certain they had the hoods of their cloaks pulled low over their heads. What the hell was going on, and did it have something to do with Serena and Freddy being here? He did not believe in that kind of coincidence.
When he got back to the place where Serena and Freddy had left their horses, the animals were gone, and there was no sign of his nephew and Serena.
