Blood Blade Sisters Series (38 page)

She looked up at him, her eyes rounding with surprise. “I’m sorry, Richard, can it wait a moment?”

“I’m sorry, I’m afraid this can’t wait.”

He took her by the elbow, ignoring her little squeak of protest, and steered her into the study, closing the door behind them.

“Richard, what on earth—”

He took her face in his hands and kissed her, letting every ounce of love and passion that he felt for her wash over them. When she was trembling in his arms, he pulled away just far enough so he could look into her eyes.

“Brynne Richardson Forrester, I love you more than I will ever be able to adequately express. Until you came into my life, I didn’t even know that it was possible for me to feel so deeply for a woman. I would gladly lay my life down for you. You already own my heart. You and Coraline have brought me more love and contentment than I ever knew was possible. I want you both in my life. I
need
you in my life. I know I made a terrible botch of it before, and for that I ought to be horse-whipped. I can only beg your forgiveness for my terrible lapse in judgment.

“If you would do me the supreme honor of being my wife, I swear to you I will spend every day of the rest of my life showing you how much I love you.”

Two fat tears rolled down Brynne’s cheeks as she smiled up at him. His heart thumped at the sight. He’d gladly give everything he owned to keep that smile on her face. He wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

“Will you marry me?”

Brynne nodded. “Yes, Richard. I would be honored to be your wife.”

Richard wrapped his arms about her waist and spun her around, her laughter joining his as she clung to his arms. He set her down and kissed her again.

“Let’s send for Coraline in the morning. I want our family to be together as soon as possible.”

“Oh, Richard. I love you so much.”

He took her hand and led her back out to where the staff still waited. He didn’t care why the damn butler had left. Nothing had been stolen. And truth be told, Richard had never been comfortable with him in Brynne’s household, anyway. Good riddance, as far as Richard was concerned. But Brynne cared, and so he would support her in finding the man if that’s what she wished.

They sent a letter off to Lucy the very next morning, asking her to bring Coraline home.

But before the letter had a chance to reach her, Lucy was on their doorstep. Without Coraline.

The first words out of her mouth had Richard’s heart sinking into his gut.

“Is she here? Do you have Coraline?”

“What do you mean, is she here?” Brynne shrieked. “Where is my baby?”

Lucy’s already pale face went so white her lips were nearly invisible. “I don’t know,” she muttered. “Dear God, I don’t know where she is.”

Chapter Nineteen

Brynne heard Lucy’s voice from a distance, as if there were cotton stuffing her ears. She could see Lucy’s mouth moving, but she couldn’t focus on her sister’s face. Everything seemed muffled, blurry. Richard shouted. Lunged toward her. And then she was looking at the ceiling and Richard bending over her.

“Did I faint?” she asked.

“For a moment. How are you feeling?”

“Get me up.”

Richard pulled her to her feet, keeping his arm about her waist. She didn’t bother stepping away. She needed his support. The thought of her baby missing…blackness licked at the edges of her vision again and she shook it off with a ferocious impatience. Being insensible wouldn’t help find Coraline.

“Let’s go into the study and we can figure out what’s going on,” Richard suggested.

“Shall I bring in some tea?” Mary asked. She didn’t wait for confirmation, but rushed off to the kitchens.

“Tea,” Richard snorted. He led Brynne into the study, deposited her in a chair, and went straight for the brandy decanter. He poured two glasses and handed one to Brynne before knocking back a healthy swallow of his own.

“I’m so sorry, Brynne. I don’t know what happened.” Lucy dropped to the floor at her sister’s side and laid her head on Brynne’s lap, her body wracked with sobs.

“Shhh,” Brynne murmured, smoothing back her hair. “Just tell us. Please.”

Lucy made a heroic effort to pull herself together. She sat next to Brynne, her hands kneading at the folds of her dress.

“It was Finn…Mr. Taggart. He came to fetch us.”

“What?” Ice ran through Brynne’s veins, making every breath she drew fresh agony. Her gaze shot to Richard, whose own eyes were narrowing with anger. The vein at his temple was pulsing and Brynne could see the joint of his jaw popping in and out as he clenched his teeth.

“What do you mean Taggart came to fetch you. I didn’t send him.”

“Oh no, no, no!” Lucy buried her face in her hands, her whole body seeming to shrink in on itself.

“Lucy, tell us exactly what happened,” Richard said, his voice gentle but firmly insistent.

Lucy took a few deep breaths. “Two days ago, he arrived at the farm, said that you’d sent for us and wanted us to come as soon as possible and that he had train tickets for first thing the next morning and would escort us home. I didn’t let her out of my sight. She was by my side until we got on the train. But…” The tears welled in her eyes again and her lower lip trembled.

Brynne could scarcely breathe.
What had happened to her sweet baby?

“Lucy,” Richard prompted.

“I was so tired. I’d been up very late the night before. It had been such a long time since I’d seen Finn…Mr. Taggart…and we got to visiting and lost track of time. And the train left so early. Coraline wanted to explore, but I wanted to get settled in. Mr. Taggart offered to show her around the train while I rested. I didn’t see any reason why I shouldn’t trust him. He’d been alone with her before. He’d taken us on excursions. I never dreamed…”

Brynne patted her sister’s hand, but inside she was screaming. Part of her wanted to berate Lucy for being so naïve, so trustingly stupid, so blinded by her infatuation with the butler that she’d willingly put Coraline in danger.

But deep down, Brynne knew none of that was true. Lucy would never have put Coraline in harm’s way. They’d all trusted Taggart. Brynne herself most likely would have done the same thing. It wasn’t Lucy’s fault. It was Taggart’s. And if she ever got her hands on the man again…if anything happened to Coraline…

“Continue, please, Lucy.” Richard hadn’t moved from the spot where he stood near their chairs. His body was so taut with tension Brynne was afraid to touch him. He was too controlled, too calm. And Brynne knew it was all a cover for what seethed under the surface. She could see the rage and fear in his eyes. He’d never looked so dangerous. It almost frightened her.

“I fell asleep,” Lucy said, her voice barely audible. “Not for long, only a few minutes. But by the time I awoke, the train had already left the station. And Coraline and Mr. Taggart weren’t back yet. I raised the alarm immediately. I had them search the entire train and when they were nowhere to be found, I wasn’t sure what I should do. I thought of going back to the station, but then what if they were on the train but had been missed? Or what if they’d gotten on a different train and were on their way home?

I got off at the next stop and wired the station in Maryland, asked them to conduct a search. If they found Coraline and Mr. Taggart, they were to wire ahead to the Boston station. But when I arrived here, their telegram stated that no one had seen them. The later train to Boston won’t arrive for another few hours. They might be on that…but…”

Brynne looked at Richard, a faint hope sparking in her heart. Maybe they’d gotten off to look at the outside of the train and hadn’t been able to re-board. They could have boarded the later train. They could be on their way to Boston at that very moment. Richard’s hooded eyes met Brynne’s briefly and he shook his head slightly.

There was no reason for Taggart to take Coraline off the train unless he planned on abducting her. And if he had intentionally run off with her, the last thing he’d do would be to board a train to Boston. It would be too easy for them to lie in wait at the station and discover them as they disembarked.

“What do we do?” Brynne asked, for the first time in her life feeling utterly helpless.

Richard went over to her and knelt down. He brushed a thumb across her cheek and let his hand trail down to her shoulder. He gave it a gentle squeeze.

“We’ll go to the train station, to be certain they aren’t on that train. And then…I think we must go to the police.”

If he’d plunged a knife through her heart, Brynne didn’t think she’d hurt as badly. If Coraline was lost to her forever, she didn’t think she’d be able to go on. Losing Jake had shattered her heart. Losing Coraline…she’d never recover. It would obliterate her soul.

…

They weren’t on the next train. Or the one after that. No telegrams arrived.

Brynne and Richard came back to the house and Brynne slumped on the sofa in front of the fireplace. Richard sat beside her and drew her into his arms.

“What do we do now, Richard? Where is she?”

“We’ll find her. I promise you.”

Brynne looked into his worried eyes and uttered the one word that filled her with despair. “How?”

Richard didn’t answer. He didn’t know how they were going to get Coraline back any more than Brynne did. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“I think it’s time we contact the authorities.”

Brynne nodded, though she had no idea how they would be able to find her little girl.

A gentle knock sounded at the door and Mary entered.

“Excuse me, ma’am, but this was just delivered for you.” She held out a small note on the silver platter that Taggart had always used for the mail.

Brynne took it and murmured thanks. The envelope had
Mrs. Forrester
printed on the front, but no other information. Brynne opened it and cried out. She slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from howling, her body trembling from the effort.

“What is it?” Richard asked, his face paling in alarm.

Brynne upturned the envelope, spilling a small gold locket on a delicate chain into her hand.
Her
locket, the one Coraline had taken to wearing. Brynne squeezed it tight in her fist and ripped the envelope apart in her haste to remove the note.

Each word printed on the parchment sent a stab of fear and anguish straight through her heart.

Brynne handed Richard the paper. Someone with a heavy hand had meticulously printed out the short note.

WE HAVE YOUR DAUGHTER. CONTACT NO ONE. WAIT FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

That was it. Nothing more. Nothing on where she was, how she was doing, who had her, what they wanted.

It was maddening.

“Mary, who delivered this?” Richard asked.

“No one, sir. The bell at the door rang but when I answered it, there was no one there. Just that note under a rock on the stoop.”

“How long ago?”

“Just this minute, sir.”

Richard jumped up and ran from the room. Brynne followed, waiting at the front door as Richard ran outside and stopped passersby, gesturing to their door as he questioned everyone he could.

But it was to no avail. No one had seen anyone leaving anything on their doorstep. They went back into the house, Brynne’s body sagging in defeat.

“Well. At least we know what’s happened,” Richard said, his voice dangerously low. “And we can prepare.”

“How?”

“They’ll want to ransom her. If they’d meant to harm her, we’d have never heard from them. If they are telling us to contact no one, they don’t want the authorities involved. They’ll send instructions for where to meet them, and how much they want.”

“But how do we know she’s unharmed? They could be doing anything to her. She could be cold, or hungry, or hurt.”

“She’s no good to them if she’s harmed. They’ll take care of her so they can get their money.”

Lucy, who’d barely said a word since she’d arrived home, finally spoke up. “I don’t think Finn will let any harm come to her.”

Brynne couldn’t contain her emotions any longer. Hearing Lucy defend Taggart after all he’d done was more than she could take. She surged to her feet, rounding on her sister with a fury so strong her head swam.

“Your precious
Finn
is the one who took her! He’s already harmed her. He’s stolen my baby! How can you think well of him?”

Lucy cringed, drawing in upon herself as if making herself smaller would shield her from her sister’s wrath. “I know he’s responsible for this. And I don’t know why he did it. But I know him, Brynne. I
know
him. He won’t hurt her.”

Brynne’s chest burned with the rage that was beginning to eat her alive. She prayed with every ounce of her being that Coraline was returned to her. Because she was very much afraid that if she wasn’t, if her baby was lost to her forever or was in some way irreparably harmed, she’d never be able to forgive her sister. She knew how unfair that thought was, but she couldn’t keep it from festering in her mind.

She couldn’t bring herself to respond to Lucy’s remarks. She didn’t trust what would come out and some still sane part of her didn’t want to say anything that she’d later regret.

Richard, heaven bless him, came to her rescue. He stood and wrapped his arms about her. She grabbed the lapels of his jacket and buried her face against his chest, breathing in the scent of him. He was her haven, the only place she felt safe.

He held her tight and kissed the top of her head. “All we can do is wait and see what they want. I don’t think we’ll have to wait long. The longer they drag this out, the more danger they are in of being caught. They’ll want this to be over as much as we do.”

Brynne took a deep breath and prayed that he was right.

Chapter Twenty

Richard was thankful when his words proved to be true. Within a few hours, another note was delivered. This time, they were waiting. Richard had positioned Mary by the back entrance with instructions to watch the windows for anyone approaching the door. And he took up position at the front door. They’d get some answers this time.

When a young boy ran up the steps, a note clutched in his hand, Richard had the door open, and had yanked the poor boy inside before he could knock.

Richard snatched the note out of his hand. “Who gave this to you?”

The boy twisted in Richard’s grip. “It weren’t no one, just a man. He paid me real good to bring it here, said to leave it under the rock on the doorstep.”

“What did he look like? Where did he find you?”

“Hey, leave off,” he said, pushing at Richard’s hand. “Let me go if you want me to talk.”

Richard frowned but let the boy go, taking care to stand in front of the door so the mongrel couldn’t escape.

“Talk.”

Now that the boy was no longer being threatened with bodily harm, a bit of the fear had drained away. He crossed his arms with a cocky grin. “He gave me a whole dollar to deliver that note and to say nothing about it. Doesn’t seem right to break that agreement.”

Richard took a deep breath, trying to calm the fury threatening to break through. The kid was filthy, scrawny, and was obviously used to surviving on his wits and whatever he could con out of people. The child had no way of knowing what was going on and would probably be rightly more interested in his own survival if he did.

“I’ll triple whatever he paid you.”

The boy’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “It was in Haymarket Square. I don’t know who the man was, he seemed a regular sort of fellow. Not dressed real fancy, but not like the likes of me either.”

“Did he have any marks on his face? Anything about him that was out of the ordinary?”

“No, sir. Nothing different about him at all. Couldn’t pick him out of a crowd to save my life, I reckon.”

Not Taggart then. His face would definitely have been one the boy remembered. Which meant that Taggart wasn’t working alone. And that made things considerably more complicated.

Richard dug three dollar coins out of his pocket and dropped them into the boy’s eager hand. And then he added a ten dollar bill. “If you see the man again, follow him. Don’t let yourself be seen. Don’t put yourself in any danger. But I want to know as much about him as you can find out.”

“Yes, sir!”

Richard opened the door and the boy scampered off with an ear-splitting grin. Brynne came out from the parlor.

“We’ll probably never see him again.”

Richard shrugged. “If not, at least the boy will be able to keep himself fed for a while. But I have a feeling he’ll do his best to find out as much as he can. After all, if we were willing to pay that much up front, he’ll be pretty sure we’ll pay even more to get the information out of him.”

A ghost of a smile touched Brynne’s lips, but quickly faded. Richard went to her, his heart aching at the sight of her haunted, pale face. He gave her a quick kiss and then opened the note which was once again addressed to Mrs. Forrester.

COME TO THE COMMON AT MIDNIGHT. $10,000.00. TELL NO ONE. COME ALONE.

Brynne leaned against him.

“Do you have that much?”

Brynne nodded.

“If it will be a hardship, I have some—”

“It won’t be a hardship.”

Richard’s brows furrowed. It was an enormous amount of money. He’d known, of course, that Brynne was wealthy. But still, that amount would leave a sizable dent in even his substantial fortune.

“Well, at least I know you aren’t marrying me for my money, since you don’t appear to realize how much I’ve got,” she said, her eyes twinkling with genuine amusement for the first time since this whole nightmare had begun.

He stroked her cheek and pulled her in close. “I wouldn’t care if you were a penniless beggar on the street.” He kissed her, exploring her mouth until she began making the little noises that he loved so much. His heart lightened a bit at the little moan of protest she made when he released her.

“We’d better get to the bank. It might take a while to withdraw such an amount.”

“No need,” Brynne said, pulling out of his arms. She led him to the library and closed the door behind them, taking care to draw the bolt. Then she went round to each window and drew the drapes. The room would have been plunged into darkness save for the twin windows set high in the walls that overlooked the back gardens.

“Follow me.”

Richard obeyed, wondering where she was taking him. Surely she couldn’t have that much money hidden in the house. She stopped in front of one of the bookcases and pushed on it. The case swung open to reveal a small room. Inside, the room curved into a small alcove, the mahogany walls carved floor to ceiling with an incredible relief of a large tree, its branches encircling the room, each leaf and twig exquisitely carved into the wood. The room was empty save for a bench on either side of the carved trunk of the tree.

“It’s stunning,” Richard said, at a loss for any other words to describe the incredible room.

“It is. There were several reasons I choose this home over one in the more fashionable neighborhoods,” she said. “One of those reasons was because the previous owner was a bit on the eccentric and secretive side. He made several alterations that were appealing to me. This is one of them.”

She went to the relief, to where a large owl had been carved sitting in a recessed hollow in the middle of the trunk. Brynne grasped the left edge of the branch forming the carved hollow and pulled it toward her. It swung open to reveal a small safe.

“Good gracious,” Richard said before he could stop himself. He’d seen hidden safes before, naturally. In fact, he had one himself in his own home. But he’d never seen one so elaborate.

Brynne twisted the dial as she entered the combination and pulled open the safe to reveal a small stack of documents, a few items of jewelry, and more money than Richard had ever seen in one place before. Brynne removed what she needed, leaving behind only one small stack, and closed the safe, sealing it once again behind its façade.

“Why do you keep so much in your home?” Richard asked. He kept a decent amount of money in his house as well. It was convenient to keep a certain amount on hand so one didn’t have to run to the bank whenever a bit of currency was needed. But she had a fortune hidden behind that tree.

“I find it more convenient than having to make a withdrawal or having someone from the bank bring me funds whenever I need them. And I’m not used to relying on a bank to control my money. I don’t trust them much,” she said with a shrug.

Having met some of the bankers in town, he couldn’t say that he faulted her. Especially after the panic from the year before. He followed her out of the alcove and pulled the door closed behind them. Brynne went to a small writing desk in the corner of the room and grabbed a book that rested there. She opened it, revealing its false center; a clever way to keep trinkets and odds and ends nearby without cluttering up one’s space. She upended it, sprinkling its contents across the desk, and layered the money inside.

“Now, we wait,” she said, her forlorn tone making Richard’s heart clench.

“We’ll get her back, my love,” he promised. “And then we’ll make Taggart and his associates pay.”

For the first time since Coraline had gone missing, a genuine smile crossed Brynne’s lips.

…

Waiting for midnight to approach was the hardest thing Brynne had ever had to do. She sat in the study, watching the second hand of the clock slowly tick by. She knew watching it only made the time go by more slowly…

Tick
.

But she couldn’t make herself do anything else.

Tick
.

Richard and Lucy had left at ten o’clock to take up their positions. Despite what the note said, they had no intention of Brynne arriving alone. They would make certain that her back was covered. And if at all possible, they would make certain the kidnappers didn’t get away with what they had done.

Tick
.

The money didn’t matter to Brynne. They could have it.

Tick
.

But they had taken her daughter. That she would never forgive.

Tick
.

For that she would follow them to the ends of the earth.

Tick
.

The clock struck the half hour. Eleven thirty.

Brynne stood, gathered her book full of money, and strode to the front door. The weight of the gun strapped to her ankle, the one in the pocket of her skirt, and the knife in its sheath at the small of her back gave her confidence as she strode toward the door. She wished she could face her enemies unencumbered by skirts. She needed her limbs free so she could fight. But Richard convinced her that their best bet at the element of surprise was if all appeared as normal as possible. Showing up dressed like a male gunslinger might scare off their prey.

And alerting any innocent passersby that something was going on wouldn’t be wise either. The last thing they wanted was for anyone to find them interesting enough to pay attention to what they were doing. Brynne cared less than a two-headed pig about what people might think of her clothing choice. But Richard had a point on the rest. Alerting Taggart and his cronies that she was there to fight wasn’t the smart thing to do.

The one concession she’d made to her own comfort was the absence of a corset. The ridiculous skirts were one thing; at least the hoops kept them from tangling around her legs. If she couldn’t give all her limbs freedom, she’d at least ensure that she could breathe.

She did, however, don the leather gloves she’d worn on the ranch. They slipped onto her fingers, the familiar leather molding to her skin. They still smelled of California; a tang of horse and the outdoors that hit Brynne with a wave of homesickness so strong she had to hold her breath for a moment. They never should have left. If they had stayed where they belonged, Coraline wouldn’t be in danger now. But then, Brynne would have never met Richard. The thought of never having known him was almost physically painful. But even that she’d gladly suffer if it meant her baby would be safe.

Brynne nodded her thanks to Mary and turned to leave.

“I’ll have the little one’s bed all ready for her when you bring her home,” Mary said.

Brynne choked back the tears that burned at the back of her throat. “Thank you, Mary.” The girl’s kindness and belief gave Brynne strength. She marched into the night to rescue her daughter.