Page 47 of To Win a Viscount's Heart
Selena snorted and laughter filled the air.
“Seriously, I know you are worried, but they will be back. Christopher said they thought Prinny’s men would be ahead of them and anticipated his men may have the situation well in hand by the time they arrived. Gerald’s been in difficult situations. He can take care of himself. As can Christopher and Wright.”
Believing Diana might think her strange, she decided not to share the weird prickly feeling she had, even though it usually served as a warning for her. Instead, she forced a smile.
They spent the next hour talking about the babies and the outfits that Diana and her mother were making for Christmas. Selena found herself fantasizing about the children she might have one day with Gerald. The time with Diana and Gabby was proving to be the diversion she needed, and she found herself laughing and enjoying the funny antics Gabby shared about herself and Gerald.
She silently prayed that Gerald and the other men returned safely…with Vern and Grom in shackles.
~*~
Chapter Eighteen
Rose Point Chateau
Nottingham, England
A day later
“The place appears to be eerily deserted,” Gerald said, running his hand through his hair. “Which means what?” The other four men pulled up alongside him, and the small party continued to move slowly as they progressed onto Rose Point’s grounds. They’d thought there was the possibility they’d face some sort of fight.Instead, they faced destruction…chaos.
“Good God!” Wright said as they took in the smoldering piles scattered across the grounds in front of the manor house. “They’ve burned furniture, clothing, linens. It’s almost like the man is set on punishing the Bowles family. What kind of person impersonates a man to steal everything of value, yet leaves a trail of destruction behind?”
“A narcissistic, crazed person,” Banbury said in a grim tone. It’s conceivable he may not have found what he was looking for and decided to burn things in a fit of pique. As you know, we’ve seen worse,” his brother-in-law elaborated.
Gerald knew his brother-in-law and his friend had seen depravity and destruction in their work. The marquess had worked for the Crown. And Wright occasionally worked alongside friends who still worked for the government—in one branch or another— doing reconnaissance. The Napoleonic wars had ended giving rise to riots and fears of conspiracy—too much with real basis for fear.
Banbury had been an indispensable agent, having saved the Prince Regent’s life on more than one occasion, earning him Prinny’s undying friendship. Gerald was thankful his brother-in-law had given up that dangerous line of work and was now happily settled with Diana, raising a family, and managing his estates and investments. It was what he’d wanted most as well. Spending time with Selena had only solidified that for him. He wanted to spend the rest of his life caring for her, giving her babies, and expanding his racehorses.
“I wonder if Prinny’s detail caught them and are on their way back to London or if they ended up giving chase,” Gerald murmured out loud.
“Possibly,” Banbury replied. “Although judging from this destruction Vern and his minions certainly took time to destroy as much as they could.”
“Then again, this could also be the work of vandals who might still be inside. Let’s proceed with caution, gentlemen,” Wright said.
“It hasn’t rained in the last two days, so it’s easy to see tracks in the driveway.” Gerald pointed to the tracks of horses. “Perhaps Prinny’s security detail was here. That’s a lot of horse tracks. It’s impossible to say how many men, but it’stoo many for two men.” Once they caught the bastards, they would have to look to restore all the damage done to the estate. He would do everything in his power to assist Lady Fleur. He was positive Connery would be leading the way. Gerald couldn’t help but notice the burgeoning friendship between Lady Fleur and Connery. Under better circumstances, he would be teasing Connery about it. Gerald had seen the way Connery looked at Lady Fleur when he thought no one was paying attention. He was happy for his friend. Connery deserved to be happy, God knows the man had suffered enough in his life, losing both his wife and child.
“Well, gentleman, I think it’s time we ventured inside,” Banbury said.
“No matter what we find,” Gerald said in a steely voice. “Leave Vern to me.” Everything Selena had told him had been burned in his brain. He would not rest until Vern was captured.
“Let’s start with the bed chambers and work our way down,” Banbury suggested. “It’s conceivable we might find something of importance there as to their whereabouts.”
The men quietly made their way upstairs. They fanned out each taking a bedchamber to search. Gerald instinctively knew when he entered Selena’s room. The evidence of the vile invasion was everywhere. Selena’s armoire was empty of gowns, no doubt stolen by the crude women Vern had given free rein to. The window curtains had been yanked down, the delicate wallpaper had been shredded, and bed linens had been ripped and strewn about. Her vanity had been toppled over, and drawers from her dresser had been taken off their tracks and tossed to the floor. Despite the destruction, Selena’s lovely floral scent still lingered. He breathed it in and took strength from it.
Selena had told him about the secret passage, and he wondered if he could find it. Crouching down, he felt along the bottom of the bookshelf, his fingers felt a catch where the shelfmet the wall. He pressed it and watched as the passage sprung open. It appeared Vern had never determined there had been a secret passage. The man probably assumed she had jumped from the window to the sturdy branch of the tree that stood outside. Gerald shuddered as he imagined the terror Selena must have felt to leave in the middle of the night, alone, with only her horse. Leaving her mother’s supposed grave, unseen. She was the bravest woman he had ever known.
Having found the passage and seeing little use now for it, he closed the door and continued to poke around the room. He spotted an empty brandy decanter on the fireplace mantle, and an empty bottle of gin under the bed. He felt another wave of anger knowing that Vern and his friends had been in Selena’s room and had defiled it. Thank God she was safe at Bellwood. As he made his way into the hall, he saw Banbury emerge from the master bedroom. “Anything?” he asked.
“Nothing but lots of empty liquor bottles and decanters. The man had an unquenchable thirst, it seems,” Banbury said in a disdainful tone.
“From all the bottles we’ve seen up here alone, it appeared he and his friends must have guzzled everything in the house and probably whatever might have been in the cellar.
The other men emerged from the rooms, all shaking their heads.
Aside from the destruction and disarray, they’d found nothing to indicate where Vern or Grom might be.
“I’ve seen no evidence anyone is still here…so far,” Wright said as they made their way back down to the main floor.
