0373298811 (R)

by Ann Lethbridge

  ‘The house. The outbuildings.’

  ‘Set the indoor staff to looking again. And have two of the younger lads go through every nook and cranny in the stables and outbuildings. Places only they can squeeze into. The rest of us can spread out further afield. I will take the woods. Ned, you can go east. The stable master and grooms can go south towards the road.’

  ‘I will go with you,’ Caro said to Blade. ‘He likes walking in the woods.’

  ‘I will take the west,’ Thornton said, eyeing the lake. ‘Sims, you’ll come with me.’

  Blade tried not to think about dragging that benighted pond. It would be the last thing they would do. He certainly wasn’t going to ask Caro if the lad could swim.

  It took a few minutes to get the servants sorted into search parties and give them their instructions. Each group of men searching outside were given a pistol or a shotgun and told to fire once if they found the boy. One shot and everyone would return to the house.

  Finally, he and Caro set off. It felt good to be doing something, though getting the search organised had been good, too. It had been almost like old times in the army, when he’d been a soldier with real duties and an enemy to fight. This time the enemies were time and the weather.

  As they walked, they called out for the boy until they were breathless. Blade helped Caro over a stile set in a hedge between them and the woods.

  ‘Why Tommy? If someone was to be punished, it should have been me.’ Caro’s voice was filled with anguish and the misery of loss and the agony of guilt.

  He wanted to put his arms around her, offer his strength as comfort. Hold her and promise her all would be well. As a mere house steward visible to all and sundry, all he dare risk were words. ‘He’s a male of the species. As such he will wander off on adventures. We will find him. You will scold. And all will be well.’ He offered up a prayer that he was right.

  ‘I should not have been so selfish,’ she muttered, quickening her pace as they marched across grass eaten short by sheep. The flock off in one corner of the field watched their progress with interest. ‘It is all my fault.’

  Clearly his homily had not reached her ears. ‘It is not your fault.’

  She glared at him. ‘If I had given him up the first time they asked, he would have been safe here. Happy. There would have been no need for him to run off.’

  His heart nigh broke for her. ‘Your logic defies common sense. We have no reason to think he ran off. We will find him safe and sound and apologetic.’

  She stopped and looked up at him, elbows akimbo. ‘I would do anything to make it so.’ Tears ran down her face unheeded. ‘They can have him, if we find him safe. I swear it. No conditions.’ She picked up her skirts and ran.

  His heart sank. These were the words of a desperate woman. He jogged to catch her up. ‘Slow down, Caro. We need to look for signs that your son passed this way.’

  She slowed her steps—somewhat. ‘He has been gone all night. He could be hurt.’

  But that wasn’t what she was thinking. She was expecting to find him lifeless. And there was nothing he could do or say to change her mind until they discovered him otherwise. And if they did, the lad was going to have his breeches dusted for the worry he had caused his mama.

  Even that thought didn’t make him feel better.

  Chapter Fourteen

  At the edge of the woods, Caro shaded her eyes and looked back down the hill to Thornton Manor. A beautiful old brick mansion in the shape of an H surrounded by green rolling park complete with sparkling lake. Here and there across the grounds were little groups of searchers. Her ears strained to hear the sound of a single shot. Instead birds twittered in the trees and sheep bleated barely loud enough to be heard above the sound of her own laboured breathing.

  Beside her, Blade was large and warm and equally as helpless.

  She plunged into the gloom of the woods and shivered. There were well-worn paths winding through the trees and the undergrowth of brambles. Would Tommy have walked such a distance from the house and been brave enough to enter such a dark and mysterious forest? She wished the answer was no. But what would have led him so far from the paddock and the horses she hadn’t even known he loved?

  How could she not have known?

  Blade took her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. ‘We will find him.’

  Pain ripped through her chest. ‘What if we do not find him in time?’

  ‘Hush,’ he said. ‘We will find him.’

  The feel of his palm against hers steadied her, gave her encouragement. ‘Tommy,’ she called again, her voice hoarse.

  ‘Tommy,’ he yelled.

  Somewhere in the distance a dog barked.

  Blade pulled her to a halt. ‘Listen,’ he said.

  She heard nothing.

  ‘Tommy,’ he roared, his voice deafening to her ear.

  A faint cry. Perhaps. And then the barking.

  ‘It might have been a bird,’ he said doubtfully.

  ‘Which way?’ she said, turning around. ‘Which way is the dog?’ She hadn’t known about the horses, but Tommy had always wanted a dog.

  ‘This way,’ Blade said, pointing.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  He pointed at the ground. At the tracks of a dog in the loam. She peered closer. ‘Are those boot prints?’ Small ones.

  He grinned. ‘I believe so.’

  She broke into a run. He caught her up, dodged around her, then went ahead. When she would have gone faster, he set a steady pace. ‘Hurry,’ she gasped.

  He stopped short, grabbing at a sapling.

  She ran into his back. ‘What the deuce are you—?’

  The path fell away right in front of them. A huge gouge in the soft earth. A landslide down the bank of a gorge with a small stream running in its bottom. On either side, the banks of the gorge overhung the valley.

  ‘Tommy?’ Blade yelled.

  ‘Down here,’ a thin little voice cried.

  If not for Blade, Caro would have flung herself over the edge. ‘We’re coming,’ she called out, pressing against his outstretched arm.

  Blade glared at her. ‘Hold still, madam,’ he commanded brusquely. ‘We already have one casualty. I do not wish to deal with another.’

  ‘I’m not one of your soldiers,’ she said, shoving at his arm and finding it immovable.

  ‘Tommy,’ he called out. ‘I am going to fire my pistol to let the others know you are found.’ He fired off one shot. Rooks rose from the trees in a cacophony of objection, as did the smaller birds.

  Right then a large black dog appeared at the bottom of the slope, barking madly. It shot off to the right, following the stream.

  ‘He must have followed the dog,’ Caro said. ‘Why did no one mention the dog? He was always begging me to buy him a puppy.’

  A few moments later, the animal appeared behind them, pink tongue lolling from its mouth, tail wagging and looking very pleased with itself.

  ‘There’s another way down,’ Blade said. ‘Take my arm and have a care where you put your feet. This whole area looks unstable.’

  While she would have run, he made her walk and keep clear of the edge. The dog galloped down yet another earth-slide, this one less steep.

  ‘I suppose it’s of no use my asking you to wait here,’ Blade growled at her.

  ‘None.’

  ‘Then hang on to my arm. You will be of no use to Tommy if you are injured.’

  Her heart full of affection and relief, she went up on her toes and kissed his cheek. ‘You are such a dear.’

  He merely grunted and carefully worked his way down the loose earth bank, testing each step before trusting it with his full weight. And then they were at the bottom, walking alongside the burbling stream that had carved its way throug
h these woods for what looked like centuries.

  A few yards along, they came across Tommy lying against a tree.

  ‘Mother,’ he said, his dirty little face pale and streaked with tears. ‘You came.’

  ‘Of course I did.’ She sat down beside him and put her arms about him. ‘Thank God you are safe.’

  ‘I hurt my ankle when I fell.’

  Blade knelt at his feet and removed the boot from the indicated foot. ‘It’s badly strained, but not, I think, broken.’

  ‘I couldn’t get up the hill,’ the little boy sobbed. ‘I was so cold when it got dark, till Buster came back and cuddled me.’

  ‘Buster?’ she asked, suddenly terrified.

  Tommy pointed to the dog. ‘He’s my friend. I didn’t know dogs were so warm.’

  ‘Buster has earned himself a roast dinner,’ Blade said, removing his coat and bundling it around Tommy. ‘You were fortunate, young man. You could have broken a leg or worse.’

  His neck, for one thing. ‘No need to scold, Mr Read,’ Caro said. ‘That is a task I will undertake with relish once I have Tommy safely back indoors and the doctor has seen him.’

  ‘I w-wanted to c-come home,’ Tommy said, clearly trying not to cry. ‘But I got lost in the trees. You aren’t going to leave me here, are you, like that man said?’

  Her throat filled with a hot hard lump and she had difficulty speaking around it. ‘Tommy—’

  ‘We will talk about all that later,’ Blade said harshly. ‘First we need to get you back to the house and warmed up.’ He picked Tommy up in his arms. ‘Follow me, Mrs Falkner, and we will see if we can find a way up this bank that won’t involve any more accidents.’

  * * *

  A house steward did not expect to be entertained in the parlour by the lord of the manor, even if he was an earl’s illegitimate son and close friend to a ducal heir, but Caro had insisted he join her there once Tommy had received a visit from the doctor and been given a dose of laudanum for the pain.

  Insisted out of gratitude for finding her son, no doubt. And perhaps for moral support since there were now serious matters requiring attention. Like an abduction and the future of a child.

  Lady Thornton had not come down from her rooms. Still prostrate, her husband had declared, though thoroughly relieved to hear that her miscreant grandson had been found alive and almost whole. As the only female present, Caro presided over the tea tray. If Thornton noticed that Caro did not ask Blade how he took his tea, he had the grace to give no indication of disapproval.

  While of concern, the niceties of tea were the least of Blade’s worries. He had a strong sense of impending disaster. And there was nothing he could or would say. It was not his place to interfere. Though to his surprise, he found he wished it were.

  Wishes rarely came true.

  Thornton harrumphed into the growing silence. ‘I owe you an apology, Mrs Falkner. By any standards, my measures were draconian.’

  The man went up a notch in Blade’s estimation. Not for the apology, but for his continued use of her courtesy title.

  Caro stirred her tea and put down the spoon. She folded her hands in her lap and gripped them tightly together as if she did not trust herself to raise the cup to her lips. Blade understood completely. Inside, he trembled for her.

  ‘I understand an act of desperation, Lord Thornton,’ she said coolly. ‘Though your actions were inexcusable.’

  Shame flashed in old eyes, before Thornton dropped his gaze to the contents of his cup.

  ‘It would be unconscionable of me not to shoulder some of the blame, however,’ she went on more gently. ‘Had I been more accommodating...’

  Blade ground his teeth. This woman had shouldered alone more than any woman should. ‘Abduction is a serious crime,’ he said.

  Thornton stiffened, then shook his head, putting his cup and saucer on the table at his elbow. ‘Butterworth overstepped his authority, but I make no excuses for the actions of the man I hired. He made the assumption I would be pleased with his efforts.’ His lips pressed together for a moment, deep crevasses forming around his mouth. ‘I cannot say I was not thrilled to see the boy at long last. As was my lady. He is not a bit like his father.’

  Caro’s eyes widened. ‘Do you think I—?’

  The old man put up a papery blue-veined hand. ‘He is the image of his uncle, my oldest son, Redmaine. Lady Thornton almost fainted when she saw him.’

  ‘I can assure you, I never met your oldest son.’

  ‘I think what his lordship is trying to say,’ Blade intervened, ‘is that Tommy bears a strong resemblance to a beloved family member.’

  ‘Exactly,’ Thornton said. ‘But more than that. Among my youngest son’s effects that finally found their way back to us at the end of the war was your letter and the beginning of his missive to my wife and me asking us to take care of the matter as we saw fit.’ He inhaled a deep breath. ‘It had come to my notice that my youngest son was...wild at times.’

  ‘Your son was spoiled rotten,’ Blade bit out.

  ‘Mr Read,’ Caro warned.

  Damnation, if she had not wanted his help, why the devil was he here?

  Thornton tugged at his neckcloth. ‘Harry was rackety. His older brother pointed this out on more than one occasion. It was the reason we bought him a pair of colours. He made an excellent soldier. He was mentioned in dispatches twice.’ Pride tempered with sadness glowed in his eyes.

  Harry Carothers’s derring-do had been well known, his recklessness boding ill for any fellow unfortunate enough to join his corps. But who was he to destroy a father’s pride in a dead son? Fortunately, by the time Carothers had command of the unit, Blade had moved to another regiment. He sipped at his tea and wondered if it would be ill mannered of him to reach for a biscuit. He did it anyway.

  Taking a deep breath, Thornton continued. ‘On his deathbed, Redmaine exhorted us to find our grandson and bring him home.’ He pressed his palms together between his knees. ‘He had consumption, you know. He said we made a mull of it by trying to separate you from your child. He had looked into your circumstances, you see, Mrs Falkner. He said you were a decent gal before—’ The old man wrung his hands. ‘He placed the blame squarely with Harry. With Redmaine’s passing I was left the last of my line. It has taken more than a year of searching to find you after you returned our last letter unopened.’

  ‘Thomas cannot be your heir,’ Caro said, lifting her chin. ‘Your son and I never married.’

  The old man’s eyes looked watery and he passed a hand over them. ‘He is all the family my wife and I have left. There is some unentailed property. Personal funds I can settle on the boy.’

  ‘In exchange for leaving him with you, I presume.’

  The heartbreak in her voice was hard to hear. Blade wanted to hit something. Surely she wasn’t about to keep the promise she’d made when in such a panic of fear? He suppressed a groan of frustration. Not that the damage wasn’t already done. His lordship’s eyes had brightened considerably.

  ‘Mrs Falkner, why not wait for his lordship to state his terms,’ Blade said.

  His lordship turned his gaze on Blade. ‘Read,’ he said musingly. ‘The name is familiar.’

  ‘I doubt it.’ Blade had no wish to muddy the waters, though any number of gentlemen had known his mother.

  The old man shook his head. ‘It will come to me.’ He turned back to Caro. ‘As you see, we will offer your son every advantage.’

  Apart from legitimacy and a loving mother. The latter being most important in Blade’s mind. He kept his words behind his teeth. If she wanted his advice she’d ask for it, but right now he wished himself anywhere but here, knowing what this would cost her and her son. He reached for another biscuit. Anger made him hungry.

  ‘I would not have my son spoiled,’ Caro said slo
wly, frowning at her hands. She brought her gaze up to meet the old man’s eyes full on. ‘I insist on supervising his upbringing before he goes to school and I will be consulted on the choice of institution.’

  Since he didn’t have a hat, Blade almost threw the biscuit in the air at this display of courage.

  ‘I am sure you will not object to his going to Eton, as our sons did,’ the old man said proudly. ‘And thence to Oxford.’

  Caro’s hands gripped so tightly about each other, the knuckles showed white. ‘They sound suitable, but he is too young to go yet.’

  The old man frowned. ‘I cannot approve of him living at this establishment of yours. It is no place for a grandson of mine.’

  The pain in her eyes was awful to see. Blade got up and went to the window, looking out on the drive, before he strangled one or other of them.

  ‘I thought perhaps you both would stay here,’ the old man finished. ‘You and Thomas. With us.’

  Blade spun around.

  Caro made a sound between a sob and a cry of surprise.

  Her eyes shone with unshed tears as she stared at the old gentleman who was offering her a hesitant smile.

  ‘You are offering me a place in your home?’ Her shock and disbelief rang in her voice, but also heartbreaking hope.

  Blade held his breath.

  ‘Mrs Falkner,’ Thornton said, ‘I regret nothing more in my life than turning you away the night you came to Grosvenor Square. Believe me when I say that if it were in my power to change anything I did in the past, it would be that. I would have insisted that my son make an honest woman of you, too, had I the opportunity. You were a decent gel and have been an excellent mother to our grandson. He is all that we have left of either of our boys and we are grateful to you for raising such a splendid, if adventurous, little chap. Our only request would be that he be permitted to change his name to Carothers. After all, recognition by a peer of the realm will do a great deal to smooth his path in life.’ He gave her a gentle smile.