Page 85 of When the Rogue Returns
“No,” Victor said, his heart in his eyes as he looked at her. “He had a horse waiting; I heard it whinny and then hoofbeats as he rode away. By the time I got to the road, he was long gone. It’s been so dry, I couldn’t even tell which way he went. And he may not have taken the road at all.”
“A poacher with a horse,” Rupert mused aloud. “That’s peculiar.”
“Lochlaw,” Victor said in a tight voice. “Could you hurry ahead to the house and make sure there’s some wine waiting for Isa?”
“Oh! Of course! Come, Miss Gordon, let’s go.”
As soon as they were out of earshot, she grabbed Victor’s arms. “He’s gone? Disappeared?”
The howling in Victor’s eyes mirrored that in her heart. “Yes,” he snapped. “But he’s a dead man. This time, nothing you say will keep me from murdering that bastard.”
“I would rather see him hang.” She cupped his cheeksin her hands. “But first, we must get Amalie back.”
“And how are we to do that?”
Through a throat still raw from Gerhart’s abuse, she told him what her evil brother-in-law wanted.
20
ASHORT WHILElater, Isa watched Victor change into his riding clothes in their bedchamber at Kinlaw Castle. She’d never seen him like this, so driven... so deadly cold.
He’d been like this from the moment she’d told him what Gerhart wanted. It worried her. Especially when he shoved a flintlock pistol into each greatcoat pocket.
“Victor, you must listen to me—”
“No!” His gaze turned desperate, trailing down over her neck, where bruises were surely showing already. “Forgive me for not protecting you,lieveke,” he said hoarsely as he came up to cup her cheek. “The very thought of him hurting you—”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“It was. I should have been there with you.” He gave a shudder, then stiffened his stance and returned to stuffing items in his pockets. “Dom and Tristan are on their way here, and we will find that bastard and Amalie if we have to search all day.”
Any discussion of not involving Manton’s Investigations had ended once Amalie was taken.
“You couldn’t find him before,” she said. “What makes you think you can find them now?”
She regretted her words the instant Victor tensed. “This time I have help; surely Dom, Tristan, and I can run him to ground before evening.” He took out a powder flask and checked its contents. “No matter what I have to do, I will set everything right and rid us of the Hendrixes forever.”
“But if Gerhart sees the three of you searching,” she cried, “he’ll bolt, and I won’t have the chance to get her back!”
Victor rounded on her so swiftly that she jumped, and he cursed under his breath. “You are not meeting alone with him ever again.” His gaze dropped to her neck, and his mouth formed a grim line. “He could have killed you today. I would never have forgiven myself if he had.”
She swallowed. “But he didn’t. And he won’t. Not as long as he thinks he can get something from me.”
“You’re not stealing the Lochlaw diamonds for that man!” he growled.
“I quite agree.” She squared her shoulders. “I merely mean to borrow them.”
He stared at her. “What the devil are you talking about?”
“Rupert adores Amalie. He will certainly loan me the necklace long enough to save her. Then you and your men can hunt Gerhart down for however long it takes to retrieve it.”
“And what happens if I can’t get it back before he sells the gems out of it, the way he did before? That necklace is a family heirloom. Lochlaw might not care if it disappears, but the baroness most certainly will.”
“Rupert won’t involve her,” she said stoutly.
“The minute she needs to wear the necklace for some society affair and it’s not to be found, she’ll start pestering him about where it went. You know Lochlaw. He won’t stand firm against her. He’ll give you up, and next thing you know, Lady Lochlaw will have you prosecuted. She won’t care why he ‘loaned’ them to you, especially once she hears about what happened in Amsterdam.”
“We have no choice! Amalie is at stake!”
