Page 94 of Sacrificing the Untamed Lady Henrietta
Ewan walked back into the ballroom, searching for Averson and Henrietta. He had spoken with General Oliver about the soldiers, but there had been no disturbance as of yet. The General had been liaising with Davids, whose job it was to run between the other four soldiers and have them report any peculiarities. So far, they had seen nothing.
He frowned as he approached Averson, glancing around for his wife. “Where is Henrietta?” he asked, without preamble.
Averson shrugged. “Haven’t the foggiest.”
“Are you inebriated?” He shook Averson by the shoulders.
“I have imbibed, but I would not say I am inebriated.” A giggle spilled out of his mouth, confirming Ewan’s suspicions.
“Where is my wife, Averson?” he asked again, his tone sharp.
“She left.”
“Where did she go?”
He smirked drunkenly. “I cannot say, for I do not know. She disappeared into the crowd and I have not seen her since. She looks extraordinarily splendid this evening, does she not? Quite divine.”
“Averson, where is my wife?” He raised his voice, his eyes narrowed in anger and panic. He scoured the ballroom for any sign of her, but her face could not be seen amongst the revelers.She is not here. She is not here! Where can she be?
Just then, a figure approached. A figure that Ewan had not expected to see. Indeed, it took all of his strength not to lunge at the wretch, who dared to stand before him.
“You,” Ewan hissed, scowling at Seth Booth.
“Her Ladyship is missing, is she not?” he asked bluntly.
“How dare you! Where have you put her? What have you done with her? I demand that you answer me this instant.”
Seth folded his hands behind his back. “I am not the man you seek, My Lord. I did not do anything to your wife, though I believe I know who has taken her. Indeed, I made efforts to interject, but he got there before I could speak to Her Ladyship. And, given our past history and your present suspicions, I did not think she would believe me, even if I were to warn her.”
Ewan frowned. “Warn her? What are you babbling about, man? What have you done with her?”
“My wife gave her a warning, as I had suspicions of my own—suspicions as to who was terrorizing you,” he explained swiftly. “I heard some of it from my master, and the rest I was attempting to piece together. I feared he may strike tonight, but I did not know how to alert you. You would have thought it another ploy of mine, and so I came to try and stop it myself.”
“Be plain with me, Mr. Booth,” Ewan urged, his mind in turmoil. Seth looked rather too calm for a man who wished to cause harm to Henrietta.
“Your manservant, Gerome—he took her. Shortly after you left her here with Lord Averson, Gerome came running up to her and said something that I could not hear. I imagine he told her that you had asked him to collect her, or something of that ilk. She trusted him—you both did—and so she left with him. I tried to trail them, but I lost them in the darkness.”
Panic ricocheted through Ewan’s nerves. “Gerome? You are certain?”
“Yes, My Lord.”
“Why, Gerome should not even be here. I left him at the Old Bell to attend to his duties.”
Seth nodded. “It was the perfect ruse, to get close to Her Ladyship.”
“Which direction did they go in?”
“I did not see.”
Ewan gritted his teeth, trying to fathom a solution amidst his confusion. Why would Gerome have betrayed him like this? He did not want to believe it, and yet… he had not instructed Gerome to come here. There could be no reason for his presence and no reason for his conversation with Henrietta. He hated to admit it, but it sounded as if Seth was correct in his assumptions. All this time, they had been watching the wrong manservant.
“I must go to General Oliver,” Ewan said abruptly. “You must come with me, to tell him what you have told me. We must decipher Lady Peterborough’s whereabouts, before he can cause her further distress.”
“Certainly, My Lord.”
Without wasting another moment, they hurried out of the ballroom and headed towards the location of Ronscales. After speaking with Aaron earlier, the General had informed Ewan that he would be accompanying Davids to check in on his men, starting with Ronscales. Ewan just hoped he would still be there. These gardens were vast, and they had a ticking clock above them, counting down the minutes of Henrietta’s safety.
They raced towards the Northern exit, arriving not a moment too soon. By the looks of it, Aaron was preparing to leave, no doubt heading to visit with another of his men.I am not too late. We can waste no time.The General looked up in alarm as Ewan hurtled towards him at a fearsome sprint, skidding to a halt on the gravel path leading up to the grand entrance.
