Page 38 of An Arranged Betrothal with an Icy Duke
Her stomach dropped.
Someone was missing.
“You must hurry to the vicarage,” she shouted over the cries and the tears of the younger children. “Matthew, Hubert, Jill – take the hands of the younger children and lead them up towards the vicarage. Do you understand?” She looked to the eldest one. “Matthew, you are responsible for getting everyone up to the vicarage. I must go back in. Someone is missing.”
“It’s Caleb!”
Edith’s heart beat a little more quickly, fear beginning to lick up into her heart as she turned back to the orphanage. She could see flames at the windows of the upstairs rooms and, as she opened the door wide to step back in, all she could see was smoke.
“I don’t think you should go in,” one of the children cried. “You could get hurt.”
Edith shook her head, her heart pounding but her determination steady. “I must get Caleb,” she said, turning to look at them all. “Now go to the vicarage. Hurry!”
Waiting until she had seen Mathew and the other two children ushering the others up towards the vicarage, Edith took in a deep breath and, without hesitating, stepped back into the smoke-filled orphanage.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Henry frowned. “No, Mother, I do not know where Miss Tidemore is.”
His mother clicked her tongue and shook her head. “That is unfortunate. I do not know why she is tardy and dinner cannot wait any longer!”
Rather than finding Miss Tidemore’s absence an annoyance, Henry began to grow concerned. “It should not be held back. Continue on with it, though I myself shall be absent also.”
His mother’s eyes flared. “Why ever wouldyoube absent? You are the host, this evening is to be the dinner and then the ball and you cannot be away from that!”
“My betrothed is missing,” Henry told her, firmly. “You cannot expect me to care about the dinner and the ball when she is not present and I do not know where she is. I presume her parents are unaware also?”
Spreading out her hands, the Duchess shook her head. “It should concern you, Fairglen, that your betrothed is not only absent from this but also from the awareness of her parents! This is yet another reason that I do not think she is suitable for you.”
Henry’s jaw tightened, his anger flaring suddenly. “I have already spoken to you about this, Mother. I will not have you saying anything about my betrothed. If she is absent, then it is for good reason. Or mayhap it is for aconcerningreason, in which case, I will do all that I can to find her. Now,” he continued, making his way to the door, “if you will excuse me, Mother, I will leave the dinner – and the ball, mayhap – in your very capable hands.”
Without waiting for her response, Henry made his way from the room and went straight out of doors. He was quite certain that if Edith was not at the house, then she would be at the orphanage – and something must have held her back there. He had no anger or frustration at her absence, trusting entirely that there was some good reason for her absence rather than being afraid that she had chosen to step back from him without warning. After what they had shared earlier that day, Henry was more than confident in Edith’s affections and in his own. There was no doubt in his mind that she cared for him and he, he was glad to admit, cared for her too.
***
“What has happened?”
Henry jumped down from his horse, his heart pounding as he took in the frightened children banded together in front of the vicarage and smelled the smoke which poured up into the sky. “Mr. Wilkins, where is your wife?”
“She is here, she is safe,” Mr. Wilkins replied, his shirt sleeves rolled up and sweat on his forehead. “She has gone to the village for more help. I assume the man we sent to your estate found you?”
Henry shook his head. “No, I was looking for Edith.”
The vicar’s eyes rounded. “The last I knew, Miss Tidemore was visiting the orphanage and went to fetch the children from the rooms while my wife went in search of help. Has she not returned to the estate?”
“Please, Your Grace.” A small hand tugged at his jacket and Henry looked down to see a little girl with wide, frightened eyes looking back at him. “She went back to get Caleb. He was the only one missing.”
Swallowing hard, Henry took off running without so much as a look back at the vicar or the child. The orphanage was ablazeand he could hear the wood cracking and splintering as it was licked up into nothing but smoke and ashes. A few men were throwing buckets of water from the well towards it but from what he saw, Henry was sure it would do very little indeed.
“Edith?” he cried as the men looked to him. “She is still inside!”
Heedless to the danger, Henry pulled his jacket over his face and stepped into the orphanage. The sounds of cracking and groaning grew ever louder but Henry did not hesitate. He tried to call out Edith’s name but his voice was hidden behind his jacket, his chest growing tight as smoke fought to get in. Coughing, he found the door to one bedroom and, bending low, took in a deep breath and began to search on the floor for Edith or the child. His mind whirred with fright, his thoughts tormenting him. What if he was too late?
Not finding her, Henry again pulled his jacket over his face but it was not enough to stop the smoke from pushing into his lungs. Eyes streaming, he searched the second bedroom, hearing a dull roar of the fire from the other side of the orphanage.
His hands touched something solid.
“Edith?”
