Page 69 of Alone with the Beastly Duke
Axel was startled to hear about the arrival of Jasmine’s family. He wondered what they wanted with him as he headed to the hallway where they all stood. All except Jasmine. Axel’s heart skipped a beat.
Where is Jasmine? What has she done?The memory of his last moment with Jasmine came to his head, and he felt incredibly guilty.
“Lord Thornhill, what do I owe this visit?” he asked.
The Earl, on the other hand, did not seem so pleased to see him as he had a murderous look on his face.
“Where is my daughter, Hexington?” the Earl asked.
“I do not understand,” Axel replied. “Is this some jest?”
“Where is my sister?” the eldest brother, William, also demanded. “What have you done to her?”
Axel looked at the Thornhill family, and with the worried looks on their faces, he could tell that they were, in fact, not jesting.
“I do not know where Lady Jasmine is, and I would appreciate it if you all stopped accusing me, yet again,” he replied.
“We know that Jasmine is here. She said that she wanted to come here to apologize to you for our family’s action,” William said. “I tried to dissuade her from coming here with no chaperone, but she would have none of it.”
Axel was even more confused now. He turned to his butler.
“Maxwell, have you seen Lady Jasmine here tonight?” He asked.
“Not at all, Your Grace,” Maxwell replied.
“I know that nothing I say will make you believe me, but I promise that I have not seen Jasmine since I left your house,” Axel said.
This time, they seemed to believe him.
“Then where is my daughter?” Lady Thornhill asked, close to tears.
Jasmine is missing?
Axel’s heart skipped another beat as an array of thoughts came crashing down on him. Where could she have gone to?
“We need to look for her!” he asserted.
“We?” Rose, Jasmine’s sister, said, peering curiously at him.
“I know your family thinks the worst of me, but I will have you know that I care about Lady Jasmine. She...she is a pleasant person, and if there is anything I can do to ensure that she is safe, then I would not hesitate to do it,” he offered.
“I do not trust you one bit,” the Earl snarled, staring daggers at him.
Axel turned to Maxwell. “Arrange for the groundskeeper to search these grounds and around the area for Lady Jasmine or any sign of her,” he ordered.
“She may have gone back to the house,” the Countess said wistfully.
Axel, however, knew that that was most likely not true. He felt something terrible had happened to Jasmine, and he could not shake off the feeling that he had caused it.
“Let us go back home to organize a search for her,” Lord Thornhill said.
“I would like to go with you. I want to do everything I can do to help find Lady Jasmine, even if it is the last thing I do,” Axel said.
“Father, I cannot help but agree with the Duke. He may be able to help us,” William, Jasmine’s brother said.
“Fine!” Lord Thornhill agreed grudgingly. With that, they left for the Thornhill residence through the gardens.
By the time he got to the Thornhill’s house, they had already assembled their maids and servants, and they were addressing them. The house was in a state of pandemonium.
