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“I’ll find her,” Oliver vowed. “I’ll ensure she’s protected. If I go on horseback it will be quicker.”
“I want to come with you.”
“Not on your life.” The firm set of his jaw brokered no argument.
“What ofyourlife? It could be dangerous going alone. Who knows what sort of person Caroline has hired. I remember her as a cold sort of woman. She certainly had no time for me.”
“I will be perfectly safe but not if I have to worry for your welfare so stay in London and find this woman.” He released her arms, and she missed the gentle pressure of his hands. “But take someone with you. Your lady’s maid at the very least or Anton.”
Eleanor nodded numbly. The words burned on her tongue.Do not go, do not leave my side.A twisting sensation deep in her gut told her it was too dangerous. What if more than one man had been hired? To agree to such a plan, a person would have to be lacking in morals indeed. Who knew what could happen to Oliver?
A crooked smile appeared on his lips as though he knew the very thoughts tracking through her mind. Oliver dropped the briefest kiss to her nose. “I can look after myself, Ellie.”
“Can you?” she rubbed the end of her nose while it still tingled. “You are a gentleman, Oliver, not a fighter.”
“I can fight when needs be.” He gestured to his bruised cheek. “Now make haste and see if you can find anything out.”
She nodded again but he twisted upon his heel and marched briskly down the hallway. She waited a few moments, staring at the empty space where he’d been standing. He wasn’t wrong sending her to find something out but what use would it be now? Her sister was alone and vulnerable, and Oliver was going to potentially confront criminals. Her heart thudded hard against her chest. Anton wasn’t home and she didn’t have time to fetch Blake and send him after Oliver. For all she knew, by the time she tracked her sister’s fiancé down, Oliver could have found the men looking for her sister and…
Eleanor swallowed hard. She couldn’t let anything happen to him.
Spinning about, she marched out of the rear of the house, the warmth of the day a drastic contrast to the coolness of the stone building, and took a sharp right to the stables, stepping into a stable hand’s path. “ Has the driver left to meet Lady Demeter yet?”
“Not yet, my lady.”
“I need a horse. Quickly.”
“N-Newton is being rubbed down, my lady.”
Eleanor shook her head. “Any horse is fine. The faster, the better.”
Whatever she did, she could not let Oliver face the danger alone.
∞∞∞
Oliver arrived at the coaching inn with sweat upon his brow and sore legs. His heart pounded as he approached and looked for signs that the mail coach had already come past. If he’d missed Demeter, he’d never forgive himself. Eleanor wouldn’t either. She was depending on him to protect her sister. He couldn’t fail her.
The duke’s coach could already be here but he didn’t spot it through the large iron arch leading through to the inner courtyard. He hadn’t even thought to bloody ask if it was on its way.
Reins clenched tight in both hands, he approached the front of the generous inn. The stone building rose to three stories high and included numerous rooms and two waiting rooms, one to York, the other to London. Oliver had stayed here on many an occasion and knew it well. He only hoped Demeter was either still on the road or sitting in the waiting room, entirely unaware of Caroline’s foul plan.
If she was not, he’d continue on, and pray he met up with the mail coach on the road north.
He guided his horse to the front of the building, dismounted and tethered her to the hitching post there. A cart loaded with farming equipment rolled by. No mail coach, though, and there were no people around. Maybe the coach hadn’t arrived yet.
Or maybe it was already gone and it was too late for Demeter…
The fragrance of roasted meat emanating from the building made Oliver’s stomach grumble. He paused by the front door when he spied another coach coming down the road. Black with no visible crest, the closed carriage hobbled down the road upon uneven wheels from the direction of London.
Oliver pivoted sharply, head low, and moved back toward his mount, acting as though he had just exited the building. He murmured words to the horse, smoothing a hand down her flank while he waited for the driver and his passenger to climb down from the front of the carriage.
Could this be men sent to accost Demeter? Dressed in fine clothing with an ill-fit, the passenger glanced around as he dismounted and met Oliver’s stare.
Oliver looked away swiftly and made a show of adjusting his horse’s tack. His driver’s clothes were basic. The two men’s fidgety manner and surreptitious looks, not to mention the first man’s clothing, had Oliver on alert. Why had the first man even been riding atop the carriage unless the vehicle was full? But from what he could see it was just the two of them.
Either that or they’d already snatched Demeter farther along the road and she was inside.
He waited as they approached the building, breath held as the two men murmured to one another.
