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Her eyes closed for a long moment.
“This is the way. My partner cannot suspect anything or he’ll move Eva and Torrie. He already has plans in place for that. All he needs to know is that I’m delivering you. We find out where he’s putting you and we will find Eva and Torrie. And then I will get all three of you out. It is as simple as that.”
“Or as complicated. Or as dangerous. Or as stupid.” She bit her bottom lip, staring up at him. “You won’t leave me behind?”
His hand slid in along her jaw, clutching the side of her face. “I would never leave you behind. Never. For what you are worth to all of them, you are worth ten times more to me, Vic. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”
He said the words with such raw vehemence, her breath caught in her throat. She bowed her head for long seconds, running through all the possible scenarios in her head. But this, this was the way. She would be put with Eva and Torrie and in the process, discover who the man was that had abducted them. Then they could send her uncles and her father after him.
She just had to be ready to do what she’d always known she would. Put her life on the line for her family.
She lifted her gaze to him and nodded. “I am trusting you, Rafe.”
“And I am trusting you, silver bell.”
~~~
Rafe left Seahorn.
He rode off on his horse under the guise of taking care of his businessin Portsmouth,with the understanding that he would return in a fortnight.
Jules stared at his back as he left, the glare in her eyes obvious.
She didn’t trust Rafe. And Victoria could hardly blame her. She barely trusted him herself at this point.
Sloane had waved goodbye to him, blissfully unaware of what had transpired. All she knew of Rafe was that he had saved her on the road and brought her to Seahorn.
Thankfully, Jules hadn’t shared what she came upon in the woods with Sloane just yet. Victoria was surprised by that, but then again, Jules was always one to consider her next move carefully, and she didn’t want Victoria to be ruined if she could help it.
Victoria didn’t have to feign sadness at Rafe’s departure. The anxious rock rolling about in her stomach took care of setting her into a melancholy, sour mood, and Sloane and Jules gave her a wide berth for the rest of the day because of it.
Perfect, for she needed time to choose her clothing well for the upcoming journey. With a simple blue wool walking dress with a long hem that could suffice on a horse but also allow for easy movement, her sturdiest boots, warm stockings, and an extra petticoat paired with a practical pelisse layered under a dark wool cloak for warmth, and she was ready to escape the guarded perimeter of Seahorn.
After saying good night to her younger brother and sister and her cousins, she descended into the kitchens to gather silver mugs and a kettle of hot tea. Kettle and mugs in hand, she made sure to stop by the library to tell Sloane and Jules where she was going.
It would have been suspicious if she hadn’t done it countless times before. She always felt bad for the guards at Seahorn in the winter, out there, surrounding the estate in the bitter wind. Her father paid them well for their loyalty and their steadfast watch around the estate, but still, the wind could be brutal in this area just off the coast. She always made sure when she was in residence to bring them warm tea. Not all twenty guards at once, but three or four a night until she’d made the complete round.
She visited George and Hammond first, before she made her way to Fredrick.
“Well, aren’t ye a sight for tired eyes, sweet girl,” Fredrick said after turning her direction long before she appeared out of the shadows.
Victoria smiled—her teeth flashing in the light of the torch several feet away from Fredrick. For how much she hated being called “girl,” he’d said those same words to her for the last three years and he was easily double her age, so it didn’t sting quite as much as it normally did. Plus, he was big and burly with the softest voice that didn’t fit his stature, and that made him oddly comforting to talk with.
“I should have come out last night to say hello, but it has been a whirlwind.” She set the extra mug onto the ground, then tilted the kettle, pouring tea into the mug still in her hand. “You know you’re always one of my first stops.”
“That’s because I’m the most charming one out of the wretched beasts in the crew.”
She laughed. “You are that. Hammond only grunted at me this eve, his eyes trained on the forest even as he took his mug from me.”
A frown jutted Fredrick’s bottom lip up as his look shifted to the adjoining woods, his eyes vigilant even as he talked to her. “As is right. I don’t care for what has happened and it is making all us men unsettled. ‘Tis not right, taking women like that. Especially two of our own. I hope mi’lord found Lady Vinehill and Lady Glenford and they are already fast on their return trip.”
“As do I.” She handed him the steaming mug. “I won’t keep you.”
“Thank ye, sweet girl. Ye visiting Nevis next?”
“Last stop.” She picked up the last mug from the ground. “Have a good night, Fredrick.”
“Shall I walk you over to Nevis?”
