Page 45 of His Perfect Bride
“Something has happened to Miss Lennox,” Gustave managed between gasps.
Sage slipped out of her cloak, alarm racing through her. What if that’s why Augusta had stayed abed the morning they’d left?—because she’d been ill and hadn’t wanted to alert them.
Jackson halted and gave the cook his attention.
“What is it, Gustave?” Sage asked. “Is she sick?”
“No, she’s gone. She’s been kidnapped.”
Fifteen
“Kidnapped?” The endless racket in Jackson’s head—the constant wrestling with himself over what to do about kissing Sage last night—came to a halt.
“What do you mean?” Sage’s voice filled with alarm. “That someone came into the house and took her against her will?”
“Aye, I believe so.” The cook’s French accent had disappeared, and a thick Scottish brogue rolled off his tongue.
Sage clutched at her chest, her face pale. “When?”
“It happened yesterday, not long after you left. I heard a screech followed by commotion upstairs, and by the time I came to check on Miss Lennox, a fellow was carrying her out to a waiting carriage.”
“Oh my.” Sage let her cloak sag to the floor. “Who would have taken her? And why?”
The same questions were swiftly rising inside Jackson, and his body was growing more tense with every passing moment.
“I don’t know. I tried to follow her, but the carriage was too fast, and I lost track of where it went.”
Sage’s eyes widened with growing horror at the unfolding situation.
“I went to the police station and asked for help,” Gustave continued. “They searched around Victoria, but they couldn’t find Miss Lennox either.”
“Perhaps you should start at the beginning, Gustave.” Jackson needed to remain calm, not just so that he could think straight but so that he could be there for Sage.
“That’s all I know.” Gustave shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry I don’t have more to share.”
Jackson scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Did you get a look at the kidnapper’s face?”
“Not much. From what I could tell, he may have been a fellow in his forties or fifties, with fair hair, maybe some gray. Long sideburns and a long nose. A real big guy and hefty, strong enough to hoist up Miss Lennox.”
“And you didn’t recognize him?” Jackson persisted. “He was no one you’d ever seen before?”
“I know plenty of the locals, but never once have I seen the likes of him in town.”
“Who would do this?” Sage cut in, her tone laced with angst. “Poor Augusta.”
Jackson hadn’t kept abreast of the Victoria news or his social circles to know if there had been dangerous criminals in town recently. But why would anyone want Augusta? Unless, of course, they knew about his family’s wealth and prestige and hoped to capitalize on that. “Do you think the fellow took her in order to get me to pay a ransom?”
Sage glanced around the hallway. “Maybe he left a ransom note.”
“I didn’t see anything,” Gustave responded. “But I wasn’t specifically looking for a note.”
Without a word, Sage crossed to the stairway and raced up, the tapping of her footsteps filling the silence of the home.
Jackson watched her climb all the way to the top until she disappeared from sight. No doubt she intended to search every inch of Augusta’s room to look for clues.
With a grave expression, Gustave waited, clearly expecting some direction or plan of action. But Jackson didn’t know where to even begin searching for his sister. Their only hope was that the kidnapper had left them some kind of explanation, his motivation, and what he would expect for Augusta’s return.
“Is there anything else you noticed?” Jackson had never paid sufficient attention to his surroundings and wouldn’t be able to tell if anything had changed between now and when he left yesterday. “Any other information that would be helpful as we try to determine what may have happened?”
