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“He won’t shoot me. If he loves me as we think he does, he won’t hurt me.”
“My lady….”
“Stop arguing, Mayfield! I’m coming with you.”
Mayfield growled and turned away.
“Fine. Just don’t run in front of me.”
Victoria followed him into the woods, and they went along the main path. Victoria had a moment of fear, thinking they were going to get lost. Neither of them knew where Richard’s body had been, and the woods were quite large. It was going to take forever to find them.
She wanted to scream Rafe’s name, try and find out where he was, but Victoria stopped herself. If Gregory had come out here with ill-intent, that could more than likely make him kill Rafe before they reached him.
Please, let him be alive. I don’t want him to die.
Mayfield came to a sudden stop, and Victoria almost bumped into him. She started to ask what he was doing, only for Mayfield to signal her into silence. He crouched down, looking at the undergrowth at the edge of the path.
“They went this way,” he whispered.
“How can you be sure?” Victoria asked.
“Come and look.” Mayfield urged her to crouch beside him, gesturing at the pressed-down leaves and brambles. “These were recently trodden. If it had happened more than a day ago, they would be less green, and the broken twigs wouldn’t be fresh.”
Victoria couldn’t understand what he was talking about. She frowned at the mass of brambles.
“How do you know it wasn’t an animal that did this?” she whispered.
“I’ve been doing this for a while, Victoria. I know when it’s human or a wild animal.” Mayfield rose to his feet. “Watch where you put your feet and keep your eyes open.”
“What should we be looking for?” Victoria followed him off the path, lifting her skirts, so they didn’t get snagged. “What can I look for when I’m not a tracker?”
“Just open your ears and listen. The slightest noise that sounds out of place could be them. Also, look at your surroundings.” Mayfield moved a pointing finger at the woods in front of them. “Watch out for signs of a scuffle or something that doesn’t look right. You see anything, tell me.”
Victoria didn’t know if she could find something out of place. The woods were pretty big, after all, and she hadn’t been here since before Richard’s death. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to enter the place where her brother had died. As it was, her chest was tightening at the thought.
But Rafe needed them. She needed to find him, and Victoria wasn’t about to wait with the horse. The quicker they found Rafe, the better for all of them.
She wasn’t about to let a chance of happiness get ruined because of Gregory.
It was still hard to comprehend her cousin’s actions. He said he loved her, so wouldn’t he do what would make her happy? Wouldn’t he support her instead of trying to break a marriage apart by suggesting an affair? The more Victoria thought about it, the more she realised that Gregory was only doing things for his own selfish gains. If he wanted something, he was getting it no matter what.
It made her feel nauseous that Gregory would even contemplate something like this. How did he think this was all right? If Lord Selkirk had died and Richard inherited, all Gregory needed to do was wait until Richard passed away, and then he would be the Viscount. It would take a little longer, but that was logical.
But that was providing Richard didn’t marry and have sons. Maybe that was what Gregory had worried about. Victoria knew Richard had wanted to settle down eventually. Maybe his courtship had been enough to worry Gregory that he would end up further down the line for the Viscountcy.
And with Rafe and Richard courting the same woman, having them at each other’s throats made Rafe a perfect scapegoat. Sebastien had mentioned that Gregory was the one who brought the situation to their attention that morning. Had he been hoping they would fight?
Victoria was feeling colder at the thought that Gregory had committed premeditated murder. Surely, this was a mistake? Surely, he didn’t do it.
Something out of the corner of her eye made her stop, and Victoria turned to see something different about a tree trunk. It had some bark missing, but it didn’t look natural. There was something wrong with it. She hurried over, waving Mayfield over when he turned.
“Come and look at this.”
Mayfield joined her, running a hand over the graze in the trunk.
“This was made by a bullet. And it’s recent.”
“As in a few minutes ago recent?”
