Page 29 of Quest of Fools

"We won't get much further today, anyway, may as well make the most of it and stop here for the night," Viletti said."I'll put the horses up and then get to work on these rabbits.You two have a look around."

Warf handed off his horse with a murmured thanks before following Kaltin into the house.

They stepped into some sort of mudroom, where a floor that had probably been meticulously cleaned before the house was closed up was now covered in dried mud and the odd still-damp spot.The door from there led into an enormous kitchen, at least twice the size of Warf's old home.

He was never going to understand why rich people insisted on so much wasted space.

Like the mudroom, no one had bothered to clean up after availing themselves of the kitchen.Scraps of food and dirty dishes were littered about, along with three empty bottles of wine.Anger coiled through Warf.

Because it wasn't Lady Clarkson who would be punished for breaking into the home and stealing food and who knew what else.It would be the servants who worked here.For not locking up properly.For not making certain the expensive wines were inaccessible.For "allowing" this to happen.It was entirely likely somebody would be fired, even though none of the staff was responsible for the actions of a spoiled, entitled noblewoman so determined to have everything her way that she'd resorted to kidnapping.

Mouth flat, Warf pressed on further into the house to see what other damage had been wrought.

Muddy footprints led the way up the stairs and into two of the bedrooms.One set seemed to stop outside the door of the second room, as though someone had been standing watch."I never thought to ask: how many people are traveling with Lady Clarkson and Marian?"

"Just one now.She had me and another man so we could switch off driving the coach.I was in the coach at the time of the accident, trying to convince her to make Joster slow down, but she wasn't having it.She was determined to go as quickly as we could for as long as we could, no matter how the horses felt about the matter."His lips pulled back in a sneer."Joster is the one who usually does her dirtier work.He used to be a soldier, I think, and didn't come out of it very well."

That surprised Warf not at all."Check Her Ladyship's bedroom, would you?I'm going to look through Marian's."

"Of course," Kaltin said softly, with entirely too much understanding.

Warf opened the door and slipped inside the room, closing the door behind him and leaning against it with a sigh.

How did his life keep getting stranger and stranger?From working the docks to breaking into a duke's summer home in search of his kidnapped fiancé.If he told this story at the bar, everyone would accuse him of making it all up.

Sighing, he looked around the room.It was done in shades of gray and lavender, with touches of gold and green.The bed was rumpled, unmade, and Warf was helpless against trailing his fingers over the sheets where just hours ago Marian had lain.Had he managed to get some sleep, or had he tossed and turned the whole night?Had he tried to escape?Or given it up as fruitless since alone and on his own was as much a death sentence as staying with Clarkson?Was he hurt?Starving?Had he been warm enough, here in his borrowed bed, alone for one night while Clarkson slept across the hall?

Too many questions.Too few answers.

Turning away from the bed, hand curling into a fist, he looked over the rest of the room.A wardrobe that looked as though Marian had taken clothes from it, and the door immediately to the left of the wardrobe proved to be a washing room.The scent of the flowery soap Marian must have used lingered in the air.Had he found something to use as a weapon in here?Warf hoped so.

Back in the bedroom, he looked over a small bookcase, though what he was hoping for, he hadn't the slightest.Sighing, he trailed his fingers along the spines of books he'd never be able to read and moved on to the next piece of furniture: a writing desk.

It was the kind that had a piece that folded over to cover it and locked in place.This one wasn't locked, though—and as he pushed the cover into its slot at the top of the desk, Warf spied something sitting right in the middle of the desk's surface.

An envelope, something scrawled across the front of it.Not Warf's name, he'd seen that often enough of late to know this wasn't it.Picking it up, he headed back to the hallway and then into the room Kaltin was investigating.

The room was a filthy mess.Dirty clothes had been dropped carelessly across the floor, the bed looked like three people at least had gotten into a full-on brawl on it, and half-eaten food had been left to rot on the table by the window.

Kaltin looked up at the sound of his entry."This place is disgusting, and I can find nothing of interest.Did you have better luck?"

Warf held up the letter."I think Marian left this.Would you read it for me?"

"Of course."Kaltin abandoned the filthy clothes he'd been delicately looking through and took the envelope."The front says 'Help Me'."

Warf's stomach churned.

Pulling out the single sheet of paper inside, Kaltin cleared his throat and read,

To whoever finds this letter,

My name is Marian Crispin Willow, second son of the Earl of Bellowen, betrothed to Master Warloff Diggson, who won my hand by Right of Tournament.I have been kidnapped by Lady Emendi Clarkson, youngest daughter of the Earl of Charr.She intends to take me to her estate in the foothills, where I believe she will force me to marry her instead, on threat of harming Warloff and his children.

We currently are resting here in the summer manor of the Duke of Hawthorne, until the weather clears enough for us to continue the journey.She does not know I write this, and I fear what will happen to me should she discover it.

I do not want to be here with her.I am here against my will and under great duress.I do not know if anyone will find this in time for it to matter, but please notify whatever authorities you can.

Please also contact Warloff and let him know that I am deeply sorry this has happened.I want to marry him and no other.I regret I ever gave this madwoman a single moment of my time.

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