Beth checked everywhere and then checked her own room. Her bed was turned back, exactly as she’d left it last night, and nothing else had been disturbed that she could see. Yet when she took two steps forward, she discovered a grubby scrap of paper lying upon her sheets. Trembling, snatched it up and read.
I’ve no use for a slut who dishonors her family by spreading her legs for Oliver Randall. You’ll never see the boy again.
Beth stared at the paper as her hand began to shake, blurring the words completely. Her breath came in short, painful gasps and she clutched the bedpost to support herself. How could Henry have come and taken her son without her permission? How dare he?
Sure that she had only just missed him, Beth strode across the room and wrenched her door open to begin a search, starting with the nearest chambers. At one room she encountered Leopold Randall, half-dressed for the day, the young duke playing at his feet. His eyes widened at her abrupt appearance. “Good God, woman. What the devil are you doing?”
Beth’s tongue thickened. She couldn’t speak the words out loud. She slammed the door shut on Leopold and the child and continued her search alone.
In an unoccupied chamber she saw signs that someone had used the bed, disturbing the coverlet and smearing mud upon the once pristine coverlet. She studied the marks. Whoever it had been had made quite a mess. They must have waited here for night to fall and the abbey to grow quiet before taking George. Had no one heard?
A sob tore from her throat as she retraced her steps, following the path of mud back to George’s room. More mud was scattered on the floor rug beside the bed. From George’s room she followed the small crumbs of dirt as far as she could. At the top of the staircase, the marks grew less apparent, as if they had only passed this way once.
Beth flew down the abbey staircase, checking the floor for signs as she went. At the long gallery there were more marks and a chill cut through her nightgown. She glanced down the deserted hallway and saw that a window had been left open. She couldn’t believe such a mistake was possible after everything that had happened here these past months.
She reached for the window and lowered it, making sure to secure the latch properly. George couldn’t be going to America without her. He was just hiding in the abbey. It was a terrible, cruel dream she would wake from soon. He was safely tucked up in bed with a book hidden beneath his pillow.
“Beth?”
Leopold Randall’s voice cut through her dream like a hot knife through butter. She turned slowly, staring at him as panic rose. George could not be gone. He had to be here somewhere.
Leopold came closer. “What are you doing at the window?”
“George is gone.”
He rushed to her side. “What do you mean George is gone?”
She gestured to the window behind her, noticing that she still held the proof of his abduction in her hand. “He’s not here anymore. Henry’s taken George away from me. I’ll never see him again.”
She stared at the note as her hand trembled. She’d brought this down on her own head by loving Oliver. She moaned as the room began to spin about her.
Leopold drew closer, but he too swam before her eyes. “Why the devil would he do that?”
Beth squeezed her eyes shut. Henry had warned her he’d be watching. He’d learned about Oliver somehow and was punishing her for her faithlessness to his family. That explained his anger last night. She crumpled into a heap on the hard floor and covered her face. She only had herself to blame.
The note disappeared from her lax fingers before she could prevent it as footsteps pounded toward her. Beth looked up helplessly as Leopold read Henry’s words and learned her real character. He seemed to sway and then he looked down at her, pity in his eyes. “Is there any truth in this?”
Tobias moved into her line of sight. Shame filled her that the good people around her would find out this way, but she nodded. She wouldn’t lie and pretend to be virtuous when she was anything but.
“Damn him,” Leopold cursed. “You should have left him to burn, Tobias. That bloody bastard knew he was leaving and seduced Beth anyway.”
Tobias rushed to her side and lifted her from the floor. “Here, lean on me while Leopold gets over the shock. I’m sure you need more comfort than this. He could be at it for a while.”
Beth held tight to Tobias, her legs lacking the strength to stand unaided. “I deserve it and worse.”
Tobias led her to the drawing room and eased her into a chair before the fire. He rubbed her hands briskly. “Shh, don’t talk such nonsense. You’re so cold, luv.”
Without waiting for a reply, Tobias threw his coat about her shoulders and rubbed her arms. “Just blot out what my brother says for the moment and catch your breath.”
Beth wrung her hands, trying to instill warmth into her fingers. She’d never felt this cold or empty before. She’d never not known where her son was. He should be in his bed, not on his way to America with her duplicitous brother-in-law.
Lighter footsteps drew to a halt some feet away. “Well, I’m not surprised entirely, so do shut up, Leopold,” Blythe exclaimed with considerable heat. “Can’t you see your timing is terrible? Forget about Oliver for the moment and think about Beth. She’s in shock. Make yourself useful and pour a whiskey while we consider how to get George back.”
Leopold stopped ranting long enough to complete the task and in the sudden silence, Beth sobbed. She’d lost everything she loved. Oliver was gone, George was gone, and there was nothing she could do about the loss of either of them.
A soft arm curled about her and a glass appeared before her eyes. “Sip this, slowly. mind,” Blythe advised, rubbing her arms the way Tobias had done but more gently. Beth sipped the liquid. Her throat burned but the sensation was preferable to the cold that was consuming her. She didn’t want to think. She didn’t want to exist. She handed back the empty glass and requested another to blot out the pain. “He has a right to be angry. I’ve done a terrible thing.”
“No more whiskey for you if that’s what you’re thinking,” Blythe chided as she set the glass down. “You’ve done nothing but follow your heart. I think we can all agree that love makes us risk much when the reward can be so great.”