Page 16 of Miss Flibbertigibbet and the Barbarian
There was respect as well as a degree of protective loyalty in the faces turned her way.
Finally, with the men dispersing in every direction, she turned and, collecting him with a glance, strode briskly toward the house.
She looked at him as he fell in beside her. “I’m sorry.”
He met her eyes. “Not your fault.”
She faced forward and flung up her hands. “I can’t believe that just as we’re about to conclude the sale, someone steals the horse!”
He’d already considered that. “One other possibility did occur to me.” He caught her gaze as she glanced at him. “Could the horse have been taken for a lark? Misguided, admittedly, but is it possible that your brothers and sister heard about the sale and thought to give you a shock?”
She halted at the bottom of the front steps and stared at him. “They heard me questioning Papa over the luncheon table. I asked about the papers and discussed various points regarding the sale.” She frowned. “That said, I doubt they would have risked getting that close to The Barbarian, but one can never tell with that horse. He might have gone along with it quite happily.” Her chin firmed. “We should check.”
He followed her up the steps. In the front hall, they came upon the butler.
Adriana halted. “Merriweather, did my brothers and sister leave the house after luncheon?”
“No, my lady. They spent the morning on the lake fishing, then retired to the old nursery to play soldiers. Waterloo again, I believe. They were so engrossed, I had to send a footman to fetch them to luncheon, and they scampered back upstairs as soon as they were freed from the table. Miss Tonkins came down later, saying the three were making so much noise she couldn’t concentrate to write her letters, so it appears they remained there. Indeed, I suspect they’re still there. Would you like me to fetch them?”
“No, thank you. I just needed to know that they’ve remained in the house.” Adriana arched a brow at Nicholas. “So, no lark.”
Grimly, he nodded. “Given that, we need to accept that The Barbarian has, indeed, been stolen. I heard a rumor that he was here. Others might well have heard the same rumor and been less scrupulous about getting their hands on such a magnificent horse.”
She huffed. After a moment, she declared, “They won’t get far. As you’ve already noted, The Barbarian is not usually the most placid of beasts.”
“True. And in this instance, that will, very likely, be to our advantage.”
Her eyes narrowed on his face. “Ouradvantage?”
He smiled, a predatory gesture of intent. “We were about to conclude the sale. As far as I’m concerned, at this moment, that horse is as much mine as yours—as much a Cynster asset as a Sommerville asset. Consequently, throughout the search, I’ll be by your side every step of the way.”
She stared at him for several silent seconds; what she saw in his face, he couldn’t have said, but eventually, she nodded. “All right.” Swinging around, she stalked down a corridor leading deeper into the house.
* * *
Addie strode straight to the study. She needed to clear the desk. She picked up the bundle of papers on the end and realized they were the papers pertaining to The Barbarian.
She turned to Nicholas, who had followed her into the room. “You asked about The Barbarian’s papers. These are what Papa had.” She held out the bundle.
He came closer and, without taking the papers, glanced at several and nodded. “That looks correct.” He met her gaze. “Do you have a safe?”
She tipped her head toward the wall behind the desk, which hosted a framed map of the estate.
“I suggest you put the papers there. After all”—his lips quirked—“I haven’t paid for the horse yet.”
She crossed to the wall, swung the framed map aside, opened the safe, and stuffed the papers inside. After shutting the heavy door and locking it, she pushed the frame into place, then bent to investigate the rolls of maps stacked on the shelves beneath.
A mixture of emotions roiled inside her; she felt as if she and her family had been about to close their hands on some promised treat, and at the last second, someone had snatched the prize away. A simplification, perhaps, but the feelings were the same; as a result, she was beyond determined to get The Barbarian back.
She found the map she wanted, drew it out, and turned with the roll in her hands. “Let’s spread this out and see what we can make of things.”
He helped her unroll the detailed map of the local area, and they anchored the corners with the inkpot and books.
Standing on either side of the desk, they were studying the map when Rogers, the head stableman, and Hicks, the chief groundsman, appeared in the open doorway. She saw them and beckoned. “Come in, and let’s see where we are.”
Nicholas shifted to one end of the desk, allowing Rogers and Hicks to line up along the front. Both men ran knowing eyes over the map.
“I was explaining to Hicks that The Barbarian was in his paddock here”—Rogers put his finger on the spot—“at around eleven o’clock this morning.”
