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Chapter 23
Never before had she been amongst such chaos. Titles of the staff meant nothing as everyone seemingly did the same thing, panicked and searched for Matilda. Whether they were a maid, a chef, a steward, no one had an answer where she had gone. Catherine wasn’t sure if she should have been worried or angry. Her gut said to lean more towards anger.
Her daughter Matilda had always run away to hide from the responsibilities that she needed to avoid. The last time that it happened, she was supposed to meet Charles and her maid Ann had to go find her. But then, Catherine was pretty sure she had snuck away from the party that same day. It was most likely where she first met the driver.
Was it that the driver kidnapped her? Would he have gone to such lengths? If so, then he was not of the proper character to be with Matilda anyway. That notion didn’t sit right with her. It was more in the character of her daughter to run away.
Wondering wasn’t going to solve anything—Catherine knew that. Worrying wouldn’t either, nor would anyone respect her if she had lost her composure. Within the house that had lost its control, someone had to remain in control, composed, and with a clear mind. Her daughter could not have gotten far. She was in an unfamiliar town, after all.
Catherine stood and watched as everyone searched and the outside surrounding it. It seemed like the logical thing to do at first. Perhaps her daughter had found a decent-sized crevice to hide in. But as time went on and three people searched the same spots, she soon realized that everyone had just been looking because there were no better plans. That led Catherine to think.
Maybe the neighbours next door saw something. After coming up with that possibility, she called for the steward and took a deep breath. Her intelligence would solve it. Her brain had always come through on things before.
“Yes, my Lady, you summoned me? I had just gotten finished searching the kitchen.” The Steward had said while entering into the room. The was sweat on his forehead.
“Are you aware that a maid, a groundskeeper, and another maid all checked the kitchen before you?”
“I…am not aware of that…I mean, I am aware of that now,my Lady.”
“Good.” She gave him a sarcastic. “These efforts are proving fruitless. My daughter is clearly not in this house. Have someone question the neighbours.”
The Steward nodded and went to take his leave, but Catherine had one last thing to say. “And see if they saw someone that matched the description of the driver.”
“I will,my Lady. I shall return with my findings.”
There was an abundance of anger inside of her at the thought that the driver had possibly ridden off or kidnapped her daughter. And since there was a flurry of other emotions inside her, vying to take over, she focused on the anger, sitting there with her fists clenched. In many ways, she hoped that it wasn’t the driver because that would only make her angrier.
It had taken the Steward much longer than she had expected to return with information from the neighbours, so she found herself pacing. Back and forth she went, doing her best to remain calm.
On one of her paces back, she spotted a book on the bookcase titledThe Prince and The Girl. It had been one of Matilda’s favourite books when she had finally learned to read. She read the book so much that the pages had become withered, and they needed to get rid of it. She cried so much that Catherine thought she was going to pass out. Seeing that book again almost brought a tear to her eye. But then the Steward had returned.
“My Lady, they did not see Matilda.”
Catherine’s heart sunk. It was one less source to find her. How else would she find her daughter if no one had seen her?”
“But they did see a man matching the description of the driver Aaron.”
That made Catherine clench her teeth. She knew right then and there who had taken her daughter or who her daughter had fled with. There was no question.
“Aaron who?” She asked.
“His full name is Aaron Masters.”
“And…” Catherine noticed the door open. “Close that.”
The Steward did, and they stood idly by in preparation of whatever Catherine was going to say next.
“What do you think he kidnapped her?”
“My Lady, Matilda, from what I have heard, is fully in love with the driver. If it were a kidnapping, I presume it is the first-ever one that has happened where the person being kidnapped is smiling and happy.”
“I do not have time for your sarcasm.”
“My sincerest apologies. But…”
“Speak your mind.”
“You have been blind to your daughter’s wishes. And Matilda, as you know, is someone who crafts her own—”
