Page 28 of Captured By the Cold Duke
Lady Minerva and Cherie shared a glance, and he read the understanding that passed between them.
“What?” he asked, looking between them. “You think a viscount would behave so improperly?”
“We’ve just had enough experience being treated terribly by titled gentlemen to know that rank does not necessarily guarantee virtue,” his wife said.
Thomas clenched his jaw. He knew she was right. And he would need to inquire more about her experiences with titled gentlemen—and which ones he needed to destroy—at a later date.
“Yes, I wouldn't like Chastity married to a man who would take such liberties as bringing her out to a terrace,” Lady Minerva said, “but it would be better than… well, whatever has happened.”
“We don't know anything is amiss yet,” Cherie said firmly. “Everything could be well, and this could all just be a misunderstanding.”
But even Cherie didn't look as if she fully believed her own words. There weren't many reasons why a young, innocent debutante would have disappeared from a ball with a wealthy, entitled, older gentleman.
The three of them were out of the ballroom now, and they all hurried towards the stairs, Thomas leading the way.
“Maybe she was hurt?” Lady Minerva asked uncertainly as they sped across the marble corridor. “And Lord Dawson went to fetch help?”
“He wouldn't have taken her from the ballroom if she were hurt,” Thomas said at once. “He would have sought help then and there and made sure her family knew what was happening.”
They turned right at the stairs, then Thomas paused, his foot on the top step.
“Should we check the gardens, Or…?” His gaze flickered upwards, towards where the private quarters of their hosts were. He looked at Cherie, and he could tell from the sick look on her face that she knew what he was asking:Is there a chance Lord Dawson took her upstairs to a bedroom?The thought made him sick.
“The gardens,” Lady Minerva insisted. “My sister might be young and naive, but even she would know something was wrong if Lord Dawson tried to take her upstairs. And I believe she has enough sense that she would say no to such a proposition.”
Thomas and Cherie shared a look.Unless he forced her upstairs, their eyes seemed to both be saying. It wouldn't be hard to overpower a girl as fragile as Lady Chastity.
“Okay, let's check the gardens first,” Thomas said, making a decision. “It would be foolish for Lord Dawson to take Lady Chastity upstairs where servants could see them. Dawson, I’m sure, would want the cover of night and the anonymity of the gardens to hide his ill intentions. He is a sneak, after all. He would operate under cover of darkness.”
“I thought you didn’t know him well,” Cherie said.
“I don’t. But I know men like him: the ones who pretend they are simplyshyorsensitive, when really, they are monsters. They aren’t always as easy to spot as the outright rakes and cads, but they are just as dangerous.”
Lady Minerva looked as if she might faint, so Thomas said nothing more.
They hurried down the stairs, Thomas taking them two at a time, then out the front door. Thomas led the way around the side of the house to the opening to the gardens, which were hedged, providing the perfect cover for prying eyes.
“It's so dark,” Lady Minerva whispered. “We'll never find them.”
“We will,” Cherie reassured her.
If I have to die trying,the voice in Thomas's head growled.
Not only did he feel responsible for whatever had happened because he had made the introduction between Lady Chastity and Lord Dawson, but his wife's fear had awakened something primal in him. Everything inside of him had become single-minded. His mind was focused and clear. And he knew that he would go to lengths beyond the capacity of man to ensure Lady Chastity's safety and assuage his wife's fear.
They stepped into the gardens, and immediately, the light and sound from the house seemed to be swallowed up by the hedges. It was dark and very quiet. They crept forward, trying to peer through the trees to see if they could see anything, but for several minutes, there was nothing.
They rounded a corner, and then, all at once, two figures emerged from the darkness, holding hands. They didn’t seem to have seen Thomas and the ladies yet. The smaller one, a woman, was giggling, while the taller person was adjusting the front of his cravat.
“Chastity?” Lady Minerva said, rushing forward, but the couple drew back, and Thomas quickly assessed that this woman was much too tall and curvaceous to be Lady Chastity.
“I beg your pardon,” Lady Minerva said, shrinking back. The couple quickly turned and disappeared back into the bushes. Lady Minerva’s shoulders slumped.
“We’re never going to find them,” she said desperately.
“Don’t give up,” his wife said bracingly to her friend.
“Let's keep going,” Thomas said. With each passing moment, he could feel time running out.Lord Dawson might have compromised her already. We can only hope that Lady Chastity is made of sterner stuff than Dawson gives her credit for.
