Page 82 of When the Rogue Returns
“Your son.”
“Nonsense. He will grow out of it. My point is, with so many eligible females about, why must he always fix on the unsuitable ones?”
Lady Lochlaw wouldn’t like hearing that she’d brought it on herself by trying to fit her square peg of a son into a round hole. Any young man would balk atthat.
“Think of it this way,” Victor offered. “A quiet and malleable woman like Miss Gordon will be more likely to allow you to ‘guide’ her actions once they marry. If you make an ally of her, you might have a say in your son’s life yet.”
Though he doubted it. Miss Gordon had some experience with avoiding a scheming mother. With Lochlaw to bolster her confidence and him to bolster hers, they might prove more formidable together than they’d been apart.
And if they didn’t, they’d simply remove themselves as far away from their mothers as they could.
Lady Lochlaw was tapping her chin. “He does have to marry; we must have an heir, after all. And I’ve had no luck in coaxing him to marry a lady of my choosing.” As she spotted her son headed toward her, she added in a whisper, “But don’t tell him I am even thinking of allowing it. That will surely make him throw his latestchère amieover for some washerwoman, just to spiteme.”
Somehow Victor doubted that. Anyone could see from looking at Lochlaw and Miss Gordon that they had eyes only for each other.
“Cale!” Lochlaw called out as he approached. “We’re going on to the next part of the course. Did you see which way your wife went?”
A sudden unease settled in his gut as he scanned the area. “The last time I saw her, she was heading into the woods after her ball.”
“Well, she hasn’t returned, and we’re ready to move on. Those woods are pretty deep; she’ll never find it in there. I could have told her that.”
And Isa was stubborn enough to look for it until dark, just so she could show him up. “I’ll go fetch her. She can’t have gone far.”
Perhaps it was the arrival of Dom and Tristan that had him on edge, or perhaps it was just that his life felt unsettled. But as he headed for the spot where he’d last seen her, his sense of unease wouldn’t leavehim.
♦♦♦
ISA WANDERED THROUGHthe beeches, feeling a bit silly as she peered through the underbrush for her ball. Pray God there were no snakes or ferocious beasts about. She’d lived in cities all her life; she wasn’t comfortable with wild creatures.
She should have just abandoned the stupid ball. What had she been thinking, to wander into the woods after it?
A sigh escaped her. She’d been thinking to win her wager against Victor. He’d been far too quiet until she’d hit the ball into the woods. It was time to jolly him out of whatever memories had thrown him into a pensive mood. She enjoyed her glimpses of the joking Victor; she saw that side of him far too seldom.
The sound of footsteps in the brush made her smile. He had come after her!
But before she could turn to tease him, she was grabbed roughly around the waist from behind and a forearm was shoved up against her throat so hard she could scarcely breathe. “Good morning, Isa,” said a voice that she remembered only too well.
Gerhart!
She fought him and tried to scream, but she couldn’t get a breath to do so.
“Hold still, damn it!” Gerhart growled in Dutch as he increased the pressure on her throat until spots formed before her eyes. “If you want to see your daughter again, you’d best keep still.”
Her heart dropped, and she froze. Then she began to shake.
“That’s better,” he murmured, releasing his hold a fraction. “We don’t have much time. Victor will come looking for you any moment, so listen to me and listen well. Amalie is with Jacoba.”
Terror gripped her. How did he know Amalie’s name?
He’d probably known from the beginning. What a fool she was! Jacoba had spoken of following her to the cottage after Amalie left, and Isa had believed her. But if the Hendrixes had followed Victor into town, there was no reason they couldn’t have then followed Isa to her cottage while Amalie was still there. Or when she took Amalie to school.
“Do you understand?” he growled.
Her throat was on fire, but she managed to rasp, “Yes.”
“So don’t be screaming or trying to summon your husband. Jacoba knows that if I don’t come back by evening, she’s to move the girl elsewhere. And you’ll never see your daughter again.”
The thought made her blood run cold. He relaxed his grip, and she dragged air into her lungs. “How... where...”
