AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She was just reaching for the door when it was yanked open from the outside. Somehow, she wasn’t even surprised to see Henry Wagner standing there.
“Time to get out, you two,” he demanded. Connie thought he was there for her. He looked dangerous and she had to swallow her fear, but she couldn’t allow him to hurt her friend.
“Leave her out of this, Mr. Wagner,” she demanded as she stepped closer to the open door.
“No such luck. It’s not you I want this time,” he sneered. “Your usefulness has been replaced by hers,” he continued.
A wave of relief crashed over her, quickly followed by confusion. “Whatever do you mean? What do you want with us?”
“I wanted your money, but now I will have to make do with keeping my neck out of a noose. And for that, this one will be much more helpful.”
“What are you talking about?” Connie demanded.
Daisy must have been briefly stunned into silence but her uncharacteristic quiet came to an end. “I’m not going anywhere with you,” she said haughtily, not budging from her seat.
“Get down and make it quick,” Wagner snarled. “I’ll shoot this pretty lady straight away if you don’t hurry and do as I say.”
Connie swallowed the bile that threatened and tried not to appear as terrified as she felt when Wagner pulled a gun out of the waistband of his pants.
“You could have just asked politely.” Daisy sneered as she reluctantly did as he demanded, stepping in front of Connie and through the open door.
Both girls fought their fear as they surveyed the scene that confronted them when they stepped down from the leaning carriage. It seemed they had narrowly avoided overturning in a ditch when the carriage had been brought to such a sudden stop.
Mr. Wagner’s valet had his gun trained upon the carriage driver from where he sat on a large horse. He had another two horses tied to his saddle horn while what was obviously Mr. Wagner’s mount waited patiently for his rider.
“What is the meaning of this?” Connie demanded, sounding far braver than she felt.
“I’ve got no time for you and your infernal questions,” Mr. Wagner growled. “I’m in a hurry. Mount up or I’ll put a bullet through you. While I’d still happily wed your inheritance, I’ll get rid of you if you are going to be more trouble than you’re worth.”
“But what do you need with Miss Alcott?” Connie was more than confused.
“She is even better insurance than you are at this point since it’s her fiancé who has become much too suspicious of me for my comfort. And it’s not going to take him long to notice we turned off from following the other carriages. Hurry.” He was shouting by the time he got to the end of his speech. Wagner’s frenzied gaze stared over the women’s shoulders. “Hurry, we’ve got to get moving.”
Rather than obey his imperative, Daisy and Connie followed his gaze with their own. They could all see the cloud of dust off in the distance. It would seem pursuit had already begun.
~~~~
Florent had known something was wrong even before he set out. There was a dull ache deep in his bones. He didn’t know what it meant and worried it was something to do with his mother, but when he encountered the train of Lady Adelaide and her guests heading back to Everleigh, he found his mother happily ensconced with her friends.
“Where’s my sister?” he demanded of Foster, who was riding post at the front of the convoy.
With a few choice words it became evident that the carriage with Daisy and Connie in it was missing. In moments, the rest of the guests carried on while Foster, Florent, and a gang of grooms turned back to investigate.
“Wagner isn’t here, either,” Foster said to Florent when they were away from the others.
“I noticed,” Florent said without further comment.
Panic settled low in his belly as they began the search for the missing women. Florent was thankful on one hand that he knew the area so well. But knowing all the roads and byways also meant that he was well aware of how many places there might be to hide if one was inclined to do so.
Before he could despair, though, they caught sight of the missing carriage off in the distance and galloped toward it with little heed for any possible danger.
The carriage was empty of its occupants with only the coachman tied up and unconscious beside the left front wheel. They saw the man was still breathing, but they doubted they would get many answers from him. Leaving one groom behind to see to the older servant, they set off in pursuit. They could tell from the hoofprints that several horses had recently left, and the answers they sought would not be found in the empty carriage.
Thankfully, within minutes, they saw their quarry off in the distance and once more they urged their horses into a neck or nothing pace.
As they neared, Florent’s heart lodged itself in his throat when he realized that both Connie and Daisy had their wrists tied together while Wagner and his henchman were leading their horses at a reckless pace. Suddenly, though he didn’t see how she managed it, Connie tugged her horse’s lead out of the valet’s seemingly inattentive grasp and urged the horse away from the cluster of horses.
Confusion followed and Florent almost lost sight of what was taking place, wishing he could have his gaze divided between what was happening with his sister, who was held firmly in Wagner’s grasp, and Connie being pursued by the henchman.
