“A Lady Blanche. She seemed acquainted with Lady Danvers. They chatted for a while, then the lady left.”
The conniving woman’s name made James instantly wary. What would Lady Blanche want with Nella? What possible reason could she have for coming all this way to see her?
“My lord,” the stable master said rushing into the house. “It’s her ladyship’s horse. It’s gone.”
“Blast! Tell anyone who can ride to find a horse. Now! We need to locate her before dark.”
James divided the men into three groups and they rode in search of his wife.
His first destination was the small grouping of tenant households. Perhaps there had been an emergency. She might have been outside when they came to the house for help and went with them in haste.
But no one had seen her.
He turned his horse toward the creek and found the tree where she stowed her paints. But they were tucked away. Now his worry escalated. With every pounding hoof beat he searched his mind. Where could Nella have gone? And why?
He imagined her going for a ride and having an accident. He could see her lying in a ditch bruised and bloody. Or falling into the stream unconscious and drowning.
And in the back of his mind, another question lurked. She shouldn’t be riding in her condition, should she?
Bloody hell. He didn’t know. He didn’t know anything about pregnancy. He didn’t know what was safe for her to do and what wasn’t. He didn’t know what she should be eating and what she shouldn’t. He didn’t know how much rest she needed, or anything. What worried him most was whether she even realized yet that she was pregnant. If not, would she cast caution to the wind and throw herself into dangerous circumstances?
“Bloody hell,” he growled as he rode over the countryside. He couldn’t even see tracks to indicate where she might have gone.
He rode through the meadows and pastures. He went to the sheltered vale where they’d picnicked. But there was no sign of her.
Finally, it became too dark for anyone to see and he was forced to call a halt to the search.
James sat in his study with a decanter of brandy beside him and filled his glass time and again.
Where could she have gone? And for what purpose?
Something was obviously wrong. What possible reason might Lady Blanche have had to come see Nella? James knew well the flighty woman’s careless tongue. Had she said something to upset his wife?
James knew if he hadn’t married Nella he no doubt would have married Blanche eventually, although her personality didn’t suit him nearly as well as Nella’s did.
He filled his glass again and took a long drink. He knew he should thank God every day for putting Nella in his life. He should say a prayer of thanksgiving because Nella was his wife instead of one of the simpering debutantes who cared more for parties and balls and expensive clothes and jewels than for a beautiful piece of music or a picturesque painting.
James lowered his head and felt the first tear run down his cheek. Where was she? What if she was dead? How bleak life would be without her! He had never even told her that he loved her. Why was that? He was more at ease with her than he was with anyone. He appreciated the finer things in life when he was with her. The beauty of music. The magnificence in a painting. The enjoyment of a quiet conversation. Delighting in mutual friends.
He bounded to his feet and threw the remainder of his brandy to the back of his throat, then paced the room from one end to the other. What if she was out there hurt and bleeding? What if she’d been injured and had lost their babe? What if he never found her? What if she was lost to him forever?
James paced the length of the room more times than he could count. He couldn’t sleep. And time seemed to have stopped. The clock on the mantel seemed not to have moved from one time he looked to the next. He couldn’t wait for it to be light enough to begin his search again.
At last the pre-dawn light was faint enough for him to return to the stable and saddle his horse. Several stable hands milled about, waiting to join him in his search and he wouldn’t turn down their help. The more men searching for Nella, the sooner they’d find her.
They rode away from Colworth Abbey, then scattered when they reached the end of the lane, each rider taking a different area.
James didn’t know where he was going. He stopped on a small rise and assessed the options. As he was about to turn toward the village, he realized he’d been on this very spot with Nella. With their friends. The day they’d stumbled across the old stone quarry foreman’s cottage.
Excited, he urged his horse to a full gallop. As they crested a knoll, the small cottage came into view. His hopes were high, but it was the smoke coming from the chimney that threw his heart into tumult.
The moment they drew near the cottage, James threw himself from his horse and raced through its small garden. He smashed his hand down on the door’s latch and burst inside.
It was early in the morning, and from her looks, Nella had just wakened. Or she hadn’t slept yet. Dark circles rimmed her red, swollen eyes and her complexion was a pale shade of gray. It was obvious that she’d been ill.
“Nella?” he said, cautiously stepping to where she stood next to a wash basin.
With one more stride he pulled her into his arms.
“No,” she said, holding a wet cloth to her face. “Leave me.”
“I’m not leaving you. You need someone with you.”
She shook her head. “Not you. Oh, God help me.” She clutched at her stomach. “Not you, my lord. Not after what I’ve done to you.”
“Sit down, Nella.” He moved her to a chair next to the table.
She sat. Not because she was following his orders, he was sure, but because she was so weak she couldn’t stand on her feet.
“Stay here. I’ve got to let the rest of them know I’ve found you.”
James stepped out of the house and fired his gun. Moments later, several of the men rode into the yard and he told them he’d found her. He ordered them to return to the house and tell Covey to have a bath and food prepared.
When everyone had gone, he went inside to be with his wife.
She stood beside the basin as if she needed to be close to it in case she became ill again.
He closed the door and stood there for several moments. There was something about the expression on Nella’s face that terrified him. An expression that told him something truly awful had happened.
“What is it, Nella? Why are you here?”
She shook her head, then turned her back to him. “I needed to think. Please, leave me alone.”
“I’m not leaving you, Nella.”
She walked over to the small table and sat on one of its two chairs.
“I think we need to talk.”
She lifted her gaze. “Do you?”
“Yes, I do.” James stepped over to the table and sat in the chair opposite her. “Please, tell me what’s wrong.”
“I need time, James.”
“Time for what, Nella?”
“Time to work out what I’m going to do.”
“What do you mean, what you’re going to do?”
She didn’t answer him, but sat in silence. At last she lifted her gaze and looked at him. “Are you hurt? Did you get into another fight while you were in London?” she asked, reaching for his hands. She ran her fingers across his knuckles, then searched his face for any evidence of bruises.