Page 47 of His Perfect Bride
“But why would he take her?”
Sage’s forehead was wrinkled with worry. “What could she possibly have that anyone would want?”
“Unless he intends to hold her for ransom.” Jackson circled back around to the only reason that made sense, that someone wanted a share of his family’s wealth.
“If so, then there should be a note explaining the demands. But I’ve found nothing.”
“Maybe the note is in my bedchamber or my study?”
Together they searched his chamber and then went down to his study, but they didn’t find anything in either place. They scoured the hallway and the dining room and every other possible place where the culprit might have left a note itemizing his demands.
After they’d concluded that perhaps the kidnapper would send them a letter in the mail, Jackson returned to his chamber to change his clothing and freshen up after having slept in his current garments. Sage also reluctantly gave up the search for the time being to change.
He’d barely had time to unbutton his shirt when her voice came from down the hallway. “I found something on my bed.”
He threw open his door and stepped out of his room and nearly bumped into her.
Her eyes were alight, and she dangled a piece of jewelry from her finger. “It’s Augusta’s charm bracelet, and it was on my pillow.”
“Maybe she dropped it there in her haste?”
“No, it was positioned too neatly and strategically to be accidental.”
“Then you conclude that it is a clue to what happened to her?”
Sage held up the bracelet. All the charms were jewels except for the one Sage was fingering. “Look at what this charm says.”
He took it and read the neat print. It said only one word. “Hope.”
“Hope,” Sage repeated. “What does it mean? Is she suggesting we have hope that we can find her? That she’ll be okay?”
Why would Augusta leave a bracelet with the wordhopeon Sage’s pillow? Why not leave a detailed note? Unless the kidnapper hadn’t given her the time. Perhaps she’d only been able to sneak the bracelet into Sage’s room before being whisked away.
He could feel Sage watching him, waiting for him to analyze the word and draw his own conclusions. She was standing close enough that he could hear her exhalations and feel the tension radiating from her body.
Her proximity reminded him again of the previous evening in the barn, feeling at ease with her, as if he didn’t have to pretend to be someone he wasn’t. She accepted him for who he was, which wasn’t something many people had ever been able to do, especially not his father.
In fact, Sage had not only accepted him, but she’d also seemed to be able to step in and help him in his weaknesses, as though she was a piece of him that had been missing and now was found.
Why was he so set on keeping her at arm’s length and remaining alone and single? He’d had reasons a moment ago, but he couldn’t think of what they were now that she was so near.
“This is all my fault.” Her voice trembled.
“Your fault? Of course it’s not your fault. Why would you think so?”
“If I’d been here to watch over her—if we’d both been here—then maybe she’d still be here. At the very least, we would have been present when the fellow came into the house, and we could have tried to stop him.”
While Jackson wished he would have been home to help Augusta resist the intruder, he was relieved Sage hadn’t been present, that she hadn’t been taken too.
“Don’t blame yourself,” he said almost too severely. “She could have been kidnapped anywhere, even off a street.”
“But it’s my job to be at her side and help her.”
“It’s not your job to remain with her every second.”
Her head drooped. “Why, Jackson? Why her? She’s a wonderful woman—so kind and generous and helpful.”
He wanted to give Sage an answer and felt suddenly helpless that he couldn’t. “We’ll find her. I promise.”
