Page 62 of Love in the Wild

“It was something Jacob and I knew together as boys. He must have shown it to Thorne. No one else could have possibly known about it.”

“Dear,” Isabelle sighed. “You’re beingoverlycryptic.”

Cameron chuckled. “A secret door, my love. That’s all.”

“A secret door? And you’ve never told me?” Isabelle didn’t appear upset by this, but rather amused.

Cameron bowed and kissed his wife’s cheek. “A man must havesomesecrets, my dear.” He then turned to Eden and held out his hand. “Ms. Matthews, you have no idea what you’ve given me today. You’ve given me back something so precious I cannot even imagine how I could repay you for it, but I will move heaven and earth in the attempt.”

Eden shook her head. “No, I don’t want anything. I owe Thorne my life. If he hadn’t saved me from those men, I’d be dead in the jungle. The least I could do was reunite him with his family.”

Cameron cleared his throat, his face a ruddy color. “Right, well, I am still indebted to you, Ms. Matthews, so consider yourself owed a favor.”

Eden hesitated a moment. “Actually, there is something you could do, Lord Somerset. The men who killed those tourists weren’t simply poachers. Thorne and I believe that his jungle is in danger, and we need help to find whoever those men worked for, and stop them. I was planning to write an article and use my photos to publish inNational Parkmagazine. I think Thorne’s story would be very powerful, and it could help us gain support in trying to find the men who attacked me and the others. I’m convinced they were hired by an Englishman, from what Swahili I picked up from the Ugandans in the group. They spoke about an Englishman with cold eyes like death. But it was clear they weren’t talking about a man currently with them, so it wasn’t the man they called Cash.”

“If they weren’t poachers, then who were they?”

“Why don’t we sit, and I’ll tell you everything we know.”

An hour later, when the last bit of tea had been drunk, Eden was satisfied that she had convinced Cameron of the truth and secured his support to help protect the Impenetrable Forest.

“I have an idea.” Cameron toyed with the handle of his teacup. “But it’s a rather risky endeavor.”

“I am not afraid.” Thorne had been quiet during most of the discussion, only speaking to add details that Eden had left out.

“Well,” Cameron continued, “what if when Ms. Matthews publishes her article about your rescue of her and the discovery of your identity, she includes some details about the caves and the treasure. It will go viral. Whoever is in charge of the men you encountered in the jungle is likely someone who has influence in London, based on what you’ve told me. He’ll have to see the article, or at least hear about it. I have enough pull that I can make sure that the BBC will heavily cover the story. Unless this fellow is living under a rock, he will hear about you, Thorne. He might send someone to silence you if he thinks his secret about the cave and the gold and diamonds is threatened. We will be ready for him.”

“Do you expect danger?” Thorne queried, his tone quiet, but Eden heard the warning in his voice.

“I do, but we’ll be smart about it. I doubt he will act quickly. While the story builds attention, we have time to put protection in place. On a much happier side, I think we ought to have a rather big party here at the house, something that we can invite the news crews to and everyone we know. If this man has any influence and power at all, he’ll likely hear about this either from the BBC or from the old rumor mill after our party welcoming Thorne home.”

“It’s a good plan,” Eden agreed. They needed to do something to draw out the people behind the gold and diamond thefts. She also wanted to make sure that the Ugandan government was involved in the discussion too, because at some point, they needed to decide if the cave should be accessed for archeological preservation.

“Excellent. Why don’t we get you two settled in your rooms, and then we’ll talk more this evening over dinner. I’m sure you’re both exhausted.”

“Thank you.” Eden stood, and Thorne held out his hand to her. Eden panicked as she saw Cameron and Isabelle watching with wide eyes.

“My mate sleeps with me,” Thorne said to Cameron.

Oh God.She had warned Thorne not to mention the whole mate thing, that it was something his aunt and uncle would likely not understand. How was she going to explain this? No matter what she might try, it looked bad, like she was using Thorne to get close to Cameron and his wife for any number of reasons.

“Eden.” Thorne gently took her hand in his, but she tried to pull free.

“I’m sorry, Lord Somerset. He’s just teasing, we aren’t—”

“We are,” Thorne interjected. “Eden feels you will not approve of her belonging to me. But I will have no secrets with you. We are mates.”

At first Cameron said nothing, his face an inscrutable mask of English stoicism. Then there was the ever so slight smile that seemed to say,I won’t question love.

“If she is with you, I will accept that.”

Eden didn’t know what to make of that response. If she had been in Cameron’s shoes, she would have questioned anyone with a journalism background like hers and the circumstances in which she and Thorne had met.

“Let me take you upstairs,” Isabelle offered as she led them out of the room. Eden squeezed Thorne’s hand. All she could do was hope that this would all work out.

* * *

Cameron stood alonein the sitting room, his cup of tea cold and untouched on the table. Isabelle had taken charge and escorted Thorne and Eden upstairs, but he’d needed a minute to collect himself. It was as though the pieces of his heart, once shattered and scattered upon the winds, were truly tumbling over themselves at his feet and he was trying to collect them all and find a way to put them back together.

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