Page 21 of The Heir's Fortune
He came to a stop ahead of them, lifting his hands from the reins and holding them in a show of peace.
“You are one of them!” Gideon said, beginning to charge toward him. “Where is she?”
“Whoa,” the man said, as though Gideon was a horse. “Message.”
He held the paper out toward Gideon, who would have loved to rip the man off the horse and beat him until he revealed all, but he could hardly attack an unarmed man.
“What does it say?” Devon asked, as he came to stand and read over Devon’s shoulder while keeping one careful eye on the messenger.
“Brother. I am fine, as of now. The men have not hurt me. They will return me to you in exchange for the map, or the treasure if you have found it. They ask us to meet at the abandoned mill tomorrow at noon.”
Gideon lifted his head to glare at the man. “Where is she?”
The man shrugged his shoulders before flashing a grin at him, and Gideon would have loved to wipe that grin off his face, but Devon leaned in and spoke lowly in his ear.
“Killing him will accomplish nothing.”
Gideon nodded slowly, a plan forming in his mind.
“Go tell your friends. We will see you tomorrow.”
The man nodded before turning his horse around and taking off. Gideon turned to Devon.
“Are you thinking the same thing I am?” he said.
“That your horse is saddled and ready and this man is headed to meet the rest of his friends and likely Madeline? Yes. Go.”
Gideon was already running to the stables when Devon called out to him again.
“Don’t do anything stupid. If you cannot escape with her, then we have another place we can meet them tomorrow.”
Gideon nodded, agreeing.
He had to be smart about this. As he swung himself upon his horse, Knightly, he reminded himself that he was Lord Ashford, future duke. He had repaired all manner of things, from relationships to accounts to debts paid.
Surely he could save one woman from a pack of thieves.
He kept the messenger just within his line of sight as he tracked him through the land that he knew better than anyone, having spent his youth riding its paths and his adult life caring for them.
It was then he realized that since Madeline’s disappearance, he had not once considered the treasure or the possibility of having to give it up.
For, if it came to that – he would, he considered with dawning realization.
No treasure was worth more than a person’s life, especially when that person was such close friends with his sister.
That was the only reason. He was sure of it.
The messenger didn’t travel far, thank goodness, for Gideon was not prepared for an overnight journey. Gideon realized exactly where he was going as he neared the abandoned cabin, just a couple hours’ ride from Castleton. At one point in time, it had been a dwelling for one of the tenants, but no one had lived there for years, not since they had parceled the land. He wondered if these men had planned to use it or had simply gotten lucky and stumbled upon it.
Either way, he had explored it years ago, so he knew where the bedroom was located and where he guessed they would be trying to keep warm around the fireplace – that is, if there was anything left of it. The stone had been near to crumbling the last he had seen it.
The darkness had set in as he was riding, and there was a slight enough glow through the grimy glass panes of the front windows to tell him that they had been able to start a fire.
Gideon tied his horse to a tree a fair distance away so that he wouldn’t make any noise and signal his arrival before creeping toward the house as quietly as he could. He drew one of the pistols out, holding it in front of him in case any surprises awaited, but from what he could tell, they hadn’t expected company.
The captors’ horses were tied to a long post at the side of the yard, but besides one soulful whinny, they didn’t make much note of him.
Gideon rounded the side of the house, trying to remember just where the bedroom might be – he’d start there and, if he had to, wait until the men were sleeping before attempting any rescue.
