Shameless Highlanders and Virtuous Ladies by Tarah Scott & Samantha Holt & Louisa Cornell & Summer Hanford & Amy Corwin

Author:Tarah Scott & Samantha Holt & Louisa Cornell & Summer Hanford & Amy Corwin [Scott, Tarah]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Scarsdale Publishing, Ltd
Published: 2019-07-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

“Lads, get the horses saddled.”

Harry paused brushing down the gelding to peer around the horse at the stable master. He scowled. The day was growing late. There had to be some kind of emergency to need the horses saddled.

“What’s happening, Johnson?”

The man removed his cap, pushed a hand through his sparse gray hair and put the cap back on. “Lady Lilith hasn’t returned home. We need to send out as many men as we can to search. How many horses can go out now?”

Harry hardly heard the words. His gut tightened to the point of agony. He’d seen Lilith leave for the orphanage this afternoon. Or at least he had assumed that was where she was going. Lilith’s enthusiasm for helping those children had been a source of conversation for many of the servants. Some said the novelty would wear off before long, but Harry wasn’t so sure. She had the sort of sweet temperament that children adored.

“She’s missing?” The words sounded hollow to him.

“Yes, damn it. Now how many horses can we ready?”

Harry thought briefly. “Seven. If you get Tom and Will to finish here, we can send out another two.” He dropped the brush and swiped his hands down his trousers. “You’re sending the footmen out?”

Johnson nodded. “The kitchen boy is going out, so is Mr. Morris and the gardeners. I can’t find Holmes, but Lady Thornefield is talking of going out herself. If the master were here, you know he would never allow it, so we need to ensure we have enough men to occupy all the saddles.”

“I’ll go out.”

“As you will. I need to find the gardener. He better not have bloody gone home already.”

Harry set Will and Tom to work and saddled his own horse. Several men arrived as he did so, ready to head out and search. The day was growing dull, the sun dropping behind the fields. It was late—too late. Lilith would not ever think of staying away from home so late. Her brother would never allow it and he didn’t think she would do such a thing just because he was away.

His hands were clammy on the reins. “I’ll head toward the orphanage,” he told Mr. Morris, the valet, who was waiting for Tom to finish readying a horse.

“Shouldn’t you wait for—”

Harry didn’t let Morris finish. Johnson would organize the search party properly but he couldn’t wait, not knowing Lilith was out there in the increasing dark, god only knew where.

His breaths came hard, his pulse raced, he didn’t think his skin could get any hotter. Images of Lilith burned in his mind as he drove the horse hard across the fields toward the woods. Lifeless. Hurt. Kidnapped.

Had his sister been right? Could she have been attacked? Was there another reason for her disappearance? He’d been avoiding her for days. He shouldn’t have done. What if she had run away? What if she was still upset about her debut and she had no one to talk to?

Damn, if he found her, he would never avoid her again.

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