“Where have you looked?” she asked as she practically ran down the hallway trying to keep up with his long strides.
“Everywhere,” he said grimly.
She looked at him, surprised. “So you weren’t telling Maggie the truth?”
“I did what I said I was doing – looking, but not turning it into a full-scale manhunt.” He raked a hand through his normally neatly combed hair. “They’re here somewhere. But like the dowager said, there’re a million places to hide in a place like this if you don’t want to be found.”
“And Mads and Casper don’t want to be found.”
Yesterday during the hike Celina had picked up on the pressure they’d been under. She’d heard Mads say half a dozen times that if he did something, his mother wouldn’t like it. And Casper had complained that he was tired of wearing a suit. And this afternoon they would have to be at the wedding rehearsal. More demands.
“The princess called about forty-five minutes ago,” Fredrik said. “Miss Barnes had apparently gone to wake them for breakfast and discovered they weren’t in their beds. She thought they’d just got up and gone down to breakfast already. So she was getting Katja ready when Princess Anna appeared and wanted to know where the boys were.” He grimaced. “Miss Barnes doesn’t do emergencies well. She got flustered. Started to cry. Miss Barnes always cries.”
She did. A not terribly satisfactory governess, to Celina’s way of thinking. But what did she know?
“Anyway, the princess turned to her icy vitriolic best and called me.” Fredrik sighed. “And here we are.”
Standing in the middle of the upstairs hallway looking at each other.
“Where do you want me to start?” she asked.
“Massimo and Alberto are checking the stable and the outbuildings. I told them to look in the new stables, too, and the garage. I’ll do the cellars again. I didn’t do a thorough check last time. If you’ll do the other wing, that’d be great. All the bedrooms, storage areas, and any tempting turrets or towers – you know, the sorts of things boys hiding out would like – that’d be great.”
“On my way.”
“Knock on the doors, but if no one’s there, go in anyway.”
“Will do.” She gave him an encouraging smile. “We’ll find them.”
He let out a long breath. “Of course we will.”
Celina started down the hallway toward the other wing, then turned back, unable to keep herself from asking. “Fredrik? Have you seen Jack?” She shouldn’t ask. She shouldn’t care! But she needed to know.
Fredrik had turned back at the sound of his name. Now he frowned. “Not today. Last night,” he said, then nodded. “Yeah, last night he left with that band guy. Red scraggly hair. Bit of a beard.”
Dex.
He had left with Dex.
Celina managed her best smiling-in-spite-of-it smile. “Thanks, Fredrik.”
She turned away quickly and hurried down the hall.
It wasn’t how he’d intended to spend the night.
Christ, Jack thought, scrubbing a hand over his face and silently urging Dex to drive faster. He needed to get back and see Celie. He needed to touch her, to hold her, to kiss her. He needed to make love to her.
But at 9:45 in the fricking morning, he didn’t imagine that was going to happen any time soon.
“Can’t you go any faster?” he finally asked Dex who was squinting through the driving rain and muttering under his breath.
“You want to start married life in a coffin?” Dex snarled. “Why didn’t you just call her?”
“Because I don’t have her damn number!”
Yeah, okay, a smarter guy, a more organized guy, would have made sure he had Celie’s number. But he hadn’t really thought of it. Up until last night, she wouldn’t have answered it knowing it was him – and she would have known because he still had the same number.
He hadn’t counted on Dex saying that he and Mark and Peter and Tobin, their manager, were all staying at a private house they’d rented about fifteen miles away and wouldn’t it be much better to just go there and sort everything out?
He’d agreed because, well, why wouldn’t it be better? If he got it all done that night, he could come back to Celie’s room and give her the good news.
He hadn’t figured it would take another fifteen hours.
But they’d done it. It hadn’t been easy. There were all sorts of things to discuss, to consider, to negotiate. Dex had ideas for a solo career of his own, which had surprised Jack. But Peter and Mark were less enthused. Tobin could see a good chunk of his meal ticket disappearing if he didn’t convince them to do some projects together.
It took hours. And hours. Mark had to explore a variety of options and be assured there would be a market for his drumming, something that would support him well, if not as well as South Face continuing to tour would. Peter, who had a wife and kids, relished the idea of being home more, but he also liked live gigs.
And Dex had been adamant. “We’re not leaving this room until we make sure everybody is happy,” he’d said at eight o’clock last night.
Everyone was happy now. Except probably Celie. Jack checked his watch again.
He had a meeting with Ally Parker at ten. It was almost that now. Shit.
He’d stand her up if he had to in order to find Celie and tell her his news first. Maybe they could go together to tell Ally. Then she’d have a scoop about their getting married again and a scoop about the dissolution of South Face as a touring band.
Dex swung the car into the drive to the manor house. The rain had slacked off a bit, but there were puddles everywhere and Dex hit most of them.
“Come in?” Jack suggested. “You can talk to the reporter while I find Celie.”
“That’ll work.”
Except Jack couldn’t find Celie. She wasn’t in her room and she wasn’t in any of the main receiving rooms on the ground floor, she wasn’t in the breakfast room. He hadn’t wanted Maggie as an avid audience to his explanations so he’d put off knocking on her door. But when he did, it didn’t matter. Celie wasn’t there.
“Goodness, you look like a drowned rat.” Maggie regarded him with something bordering on dismay. “Wherever have you been?”
“Looking for Celie. Have you seen her?”
“She was helping Fredrik look for the boys.” She smiled conspiratorially. “I expect they’re escaping Anna.”
“Probably. Where’s she looking?” He wouldn’t have been surprised to hear she was looking for him. Or maybe she wasn’t because she was done with him.
Why the hell hadn’t he taken her number? He needed to talk to her. He didn’t need any more misunderstandings screwing up his marriage.
“I don’t know,” Maggie said. “But I told Fredrik and Celina to give the boys some space, not rush them right back to their mother when they find them. Don’t worry, Jack. I’m sure Celina will be back when they’ve found them. Would you have a cup of tea with me while we wait?”
But Jack said, “I need to find her. And I’ve got an interview with Ally Parker.”
“Very well.” Maggie waved him off. “When you see Celina tell her I want a full report.”
Jack went out, making no promises. He didn’t know what Maggie wanted a full report about – and he wasn’t going to ask.
He ran down the stairs to find Nico talking to Dex and Ally Parker in the alcove off the entrance area. From the big smile on Ally’s face, it was clear that Dex had already told her the gist of their news.
“How exciting!” She greeted him eagerly.
“It is,” Jack agreed, then turned to Nico. “Maggie said Celie’s looking for the boys. Did she find them? Where is she?”
But it wasn’t Nico who answered. It was Ally. “She went over to Hasebury Hall.” At Jack’s blank look, she clarified. “That’s where Hope lives. Fredrik thinks they might have gone to play with Ben. She should be back soon.”
Jack ground his teeth in frustration, but then reminded himself t
hat things were sorted. He just needed to explain. He knew enough to explain now. So he took a deep breath and let it out again. “I was hoping she’d be here. I thought you might like to talk with her, too. But I guess you’re stuck with just me.”
“I’m sure I’ll survive.” Ally grinned. “So it’s true, then? You and Celina are getting back together?”
“We’re getting back together,” Jack said firmly. “And I’m not touring anymore.”
“That’s what Dex told me. So what are you planning? He didn’t tell me that.” While she was asking, Ally led him to a pair of chairs by the window where the rain still sluiced down. “May I record this?”
“Go ahead,” Jack said. So she flicked on a tiny voice recorder and they sat down opposite each other and she started again asking him questions.
It was good practice, actually, he thought. He’d have it better sorted in his mind when he had to explain it all to Celie. “We’re turning our upcoming tour into a three-month farewell tour.” They had agreed on that after much arguing, negotiating and discussing half the night. “I’m sure Dex told you his plans, and Mark and Pete are staying with Tobin and looking for new talent to join them. And I’m going solo with an unplugged instrumental release.”
Ally’s brows lifted. “That’s a change.”
“It’s a risk,” Jack said candidly. “People might hate it. But it’s what I’ve loved about music – the playing and composing. Not performing as much. And touring is just part of it. To develop a fan base. I’m not at that place in my life anymore. I shouldn’t have been then,” he reflected. Not without making it a two-person decision.
“No?” Ally cocked her head.
“It put too much strain on my marriage. It was all about me. I blew it once,” he said roughly. “I’m not blowing it again. We want a home and a family and a life together.”
“The whole nine yards.” Ally said quietly, an understanding smile on her face.
“You know the expression?”
She nodded. “It pretty well sums up what I want for my own marriage. That and knowing you can count on the other person, trust him. And know that he trusts you.”
“Yeah.” Was she talking about anyone in particular? Fredrik Jensson perhaps? For Jensson’s sake, Jack hoped so. Ally Parker seemed like a good catch.
As they’d chatted, Jack had been watching the front door, hoping to see Celie come in. A dozen people had, all of them talking, scowling, and dripping rain onto the marble floor. Jack heard the names Mads and Casper again and again, but there was no smiling and no sign of the boys.
Then the door opened again and Fredrik Jensson himself appeared, his suit wet, his hair plastered against his skull. His mouth was set in a grim, hard line.
Ally saw him, too, and stopped mid-sentence, getting to her feet and crossing the room to put a hand on his arm. “What’s wrong?”
Jensson slid his arm around her shoulders. It might have been to comfort her, but Jack thought it looked more as if he was grateful for the support.
“The earl says there are bicycles missing.” Jensson’s voice was loud enough for everyone to hear and it brought absolute silence to the room. “We need to expand the search. Obviously the boys aren’t in the house.” His jaw tightened. “They’re probably not on the manor grounds at all.”
With the ease of a field marshal, he started issuing directives. “Round up the maids and the kitchen staff and anyone else local,” he told one of the men. “They know the area. They can help. Discretion is of utmost importance. We don’t want a media circus. We don’t want the media involved at all.” The fact that he had his arm around Ally, a journalist, didn’t seem to faze him in the least. “The rest of you, take these –” he passed out the same first page of the set of printed maps that Jack had printed out yesterday “– and go by twos about twenty yards apart. We’ll cover the grounds completely. If we have to, then we’ll move outwards. I’ll be checking the main roads with Prince Carlo. Text me at once if you find any clues at all.”
They all began to move.
All except Jack who stood staring at the map Jensson had just handed him and felt a cold shiver run up his spine.
Celina hurried up the slippery-when-wet steps of Westonbury Manor, hoping she would open the door and see Mads and Casper none the worse for wear and a smile on everyone’s face.
She saw no one except Nico who was talking on his mobile phone, his expression grim, his sentences curt. When he saw her, he finished the call and came striding over.
“Any luck?”
She shook her head. “No one had seen them. We looked every place Max and Ben could think of. They’re still looking. I left Alberto there because he’s thorough, and I know Fredrik will want someone on the ground just in case there’s some place we missed. But I needed to come back. I’m sure Maggie –” Celina’s voice quavered and she stopped, then noticing the look on Nico’s face, she didn’t finish.
They both knew Maggie would be beside herself. She wouldn’t be showing it, of course. She’d be all stiff-upper-lip and they’re-my-great-grandsons-they-can-do-anything. But inside she would be dying. Worried sick. Celina knew she couldn’t stop the dying feeling, but no one would be thinking about Maggie now, so she needed to be there.
She also needed to know what had happened to Jack.
She’d been gutted this morning after her night alone, a night that Jack had promised to share. But now she had a bit more perspective.
Dex had appeared and Jack had gone off with him. He might have been sure he’d talk Dex around, but Celina had only dared hope. She knew how persuasive Dex was. Jack had been the heart and soul of South Face, but Dex had always been the go-to guy when it came to making things happen.
And if Tobe and Mark and Peter were all there, too ...
It was what they’d all wanted, what they’d all worked for. He’d only offered to quit because she had been right in front of him. Temptation.
Well, she shouldn’t be surprised.
“Did Jack come back? Did he go looking, too?” she asked because she had to know.
Nico’s jaw tightened. “He came back with Dex. They were here about an hour. Then Fredrik came in with the news about the bicycles being missing and sent everyone out. Jack went upstairs. Then he came down a few minutes later and left with Dex.”
Celina gaped. “Left?”
“I called to him, but he waved me off. Said he was in a hurry. Then he got in the car and Dex took off like a maniac.” Nico’s teeth ground together. “Jerk.”
Putting it mildly.
Celina couldn’t believe it. How could he do that? The boys were missing, for heaven’s sake! And he’d just hopped in Dex’s car and left?
Well, yes.
Because apparently it was still all about him.
What Jack wanted, Jack went after.
Even she, the trusting wife, then gullible ex-wife, was only important as long as he wanted her to be.
And yesterday? That beautiful day with the children that had given her such hopes for the future?
He had wanted it then.
Not now.
Celina closed her eyes as she felt the last of her hope and joy seep right out of her.
She drew herself together and opened her eyes again, focusing on Nico. “I’ll go check on Maggie. Are you supposed to be staying here?”
Nico shook his head. “I just got back from the greenhouse.”
“Let me check on Maggie. Then we can go look some more. In the village perhaps?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Nico said. “If Maggie wants to come, bring her.”
Got ’em!
The group text message came from Fredrik halfway through Celina and Nico and Maggie’s scouring of Westonbury village.
They ok? Celina texted back quickly, as did dozens of other concerned searchers.
There was a long pause while Celina and Fredrik and Maggie all stared at their phones and waited for an answer.
Ok.
As a conv
ersationalist, Fredrik left a lot to be desired.
“Knew they would be,” Maggie said briskly, the color returning to her cheeks. The light was back in her eyes, too.
“Of course you did.” Nico humored her as he walked her back to his car. He winked at Celina and they both grinned and let out long pent-up breaths. It didn’t matter where they had been. They were home.
Nico’s phone dinged with another message. Celina’s didn’t. She frowned.
“Oh, hell. The rehearsal.”
They’d all forgotten about that. But now apparently it was business as usual. And maybe, she reminded herself, thank God for that.
“They want me front and center in half an hour,” Nico grumbled, shaking his head. He was a groomsman. “You’d think they could give it a miss. Haven’t we had enough drama for one day?”
Celina gave a shaky laugh. “I suspect the rehearsal is so they don’t have any more high drama tomorrow.”
Nico grimaced. “You could be right about that.”
He dropped Maggie off at the manor on his way to the church in the next village. Celina offered to stay with her, but Maggie shook her head.
“I think I’ll just have a little lie down,” the dowager said. “Rest my eyes a bit.”
Celina scrambled out of the back seat of Nico’s car and opened the front passenger door for her. “Sleep well.”
“I’m not sleeping.” Maggie gave her a severe look from beneath arched brows, then allowed her expression to soften. “Check on the boys for me.”
“I will.”
“And Jack.”
Celina couldn’t make herself reply to that.
Mads and Casper were already at the church, clean and freshly showered, their hair ruthlessly tamed. Whatever they had been doing, from where Celina sat in the middle of the church, they didn’t look too much the worse for wear. She did spot a scrape on Mads’s cheek when he walked as directed to the front of the church. And Casper seemed to be missing a tooth he hadn’t been missing yesterday. She saw that when he grinned and waved at her.
Celina gave a small wave back. She didn’t know where they’d been. From the scowl on their father’s face, she imagined that wherever they’d been, they were in trouble for it.
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