Page 63 of Choosing Her Earl at Last
“That is of no consequence.”
A thump sounded from behind Emmeline, and she turned around to find Ezra Hardy lying on the ground with blood on his head.
“What have you done?!” She whirled around, ready to go to battle with the man in front of her.
“He is not dead. He will awaken and have a headache, nothing more. I could not rightly allow him to follow us or tell your family where we are going, now could I?” He eyed her carefully. “Does anyone else know where the treasure is?”
Emmeline shook her head. “No,” she lied. She was not about to tell him that Louisa knew everything. She was not about to place her dearest friend in jeopardy.
He held her eyes as if assessing the true or false nature of her statement. The muscles in his jaw tightened, but he did not press her further.Does he know that I am lying? Did he have us followed?Her panicked mind raced.Of course, he did not. If he had, he would know where the treasure is already, and he would not need me.
“On the possibility that you might concoct a plan that involves escaping or bringing another person into this, I have left orders that, should I not return, Rebecca will be killed. The man I assigned the job will do the task with pleasure,” Norman warned.
Emmeline glared at him, clenching her teeth with such ferocity she felt as if they might break. “If you harm her, I will kill you,” she swore, nearly spitting with the venom that she infused in her threat.
“It appears that we are more alike than I first thought,” Norman noted, as he motioned for his men to seize her. “Perhaps I should have taken you with me into my criminal enterprise.”
“Never!” Emmeline spat out in refusal as she elbowed the nearest man who tried to grab hold of her. Stomping down hard on his foot, she moved away from them. “I am perfectly capable of walking,” she informed them firmly. Turning to her husband, she raised a brow in question. “Your carriage or mine?”
Chapter 26
Michael and Colin raced for the place where Rebecca was being held. When the Woolery Mill had burned, it had been forced to shut down until repairs could be managed. This lull in activity had given Mr. G the opportunity to use one of the storage warehouses that had survived the fire without interruption.
The man that the Bow Street Runners had taken into custody had given them all of the information that he knew about the place and who was standing guard over her.
When they reached the gates of the Woolery Mill, the Bow Street Runners broke the lock and charged through, surrounding the warehouse in mere moments. Michael and Colin stood at the door with the head Runner, braced for battle.
The three men, as one, kicked the door open and charged into the building with fierce determination. They had been prepared for almost anything that they might encounter, with the exception of finding nothing at all.
“No!” Colin yelled in frustration, falling to his knees in desperation. “Where is she?!”
The lead Runner turned to his men as they poured in behind them. “Search the entire grounds and the surrounding area.”
Nodding, the Runners left Colin to mourn in peace. Michael walked up behind his cousin and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “We will find her.”
“He knew that we were coming with help. How did he know?” Colin asked, his hazel eyes red with tears that threatened to overwhelm him.
“He has spies everywhere. One of them must have seen the Runners coming,” Michael offered as an explanation. “Perhaps one of the men with us is not as trustworthy as my father’s friend believes. Either way, there is nothing that can be done here now. We must find another way to free Rebecca.”
“He said that he would kill her if we told the authorities. We are responsible for everything that happens to her from this moment forward.” The agony in Colin’s eyes was palpable.
Michael sighed, pulling his cousin up from the floor. Laying hands on both of his shoulders, he held his eyes in earnest. “We will find her.”
Colin nodded. “We had better, or I will not be responsible for what I do if we do not.”
Michael squeezed his shoulder in understanding. “If it comes to that, I will help you dispose of the bodies,” he promised.
It was a morbid moment, but it made both of them feel better to have an outlet for all of the fear and anger that coursed through their beings.
As they turned to leave, Colin’s foot thumped against something hollow-sounding in the floor. Frowning in curiosity, he paused and stomped his foot again. Cocking his head to the side, he lifted his eyes to Michael’s in question. Michael stepped forward, and both men stomped their feet, finding the parameters of the hollow sound.
Kneeling, they traced their fingers along the wooden boards. Michael’s finger slipped into an empty space big enough to lift the board, and to his surprise, an entire section of floor came up. There, lying on the floor beneath them were two human female forms, with their hands and feet bound, bags over their heads.
“Rebecca,” Colin breathed, jumping down into the hole. Lifting the woman in finer clothes, the very dress that Rebecca had been wearing the night of the concert, he removed the bag from her head.
Rebecca’s eyes widened as she cried out from behind the gag that filled her mouth. Tears springing to his eyes, Colin removed the gag from her mouth. “My love, my love,” he repeated over and over again as he set her free from her bindings.
“Colin, you found me!” Rebecca wept, throwing her arms around his neck as she sobbed into his shirt.
