“Nicholas, what about Bella?”
Nicholas’s face reflected the dawning horror Mira felt. Without a word, he took her hand and pulled her through the cavorting crowd, his head swinging back and forth as he searched the throng of faces.
“I do not see her. Either of them. Bella or Beatrix.” His low voice, barely audible over the increasingly boisterous festivities, thrummed with tension.
“I last saw Bella by the carriages,” Mira offered.
Instead of Bella, they found Lady Phoebe leaning against the largest of the Blackwell coaches, a dreamy smile brightening her usually dull face, her hair tousled, bodice askew, lips swollen and red.
“Phoebe,” Nicholas snapped. She drew back and frowned, suddenly focused on the world around her again. “Phoebe, have you seen either Bella Fitzhenry or Lady Beatrix?”
“Both of them,” Phoebe answered, in a voice that was surprisingly rich and low. “Miss Fitzhenry took off walking toward town a bit ago.” Her mouth quirked up in a tiny smile. “She was acting rather cagey, if you ask me. Moving quickly, looking over her shoulder. Nervous as a cat.
“Lady Beatrix followed not long after. Walking fast, too. But she did not look anxious, just determined.” Phoebe’s smile widened. “I believe Miss Fitzhenry may be in a spot of trouble.”
Nicholas tightened his grasp on Mira’s hand. “Thank you, Phoebe,” he muttered, already moving away from her, heading toward the horses that were tethered at the rear of the carriages.
“We need to move fast,” he said, throwing a sidelong glance at Mira, “and I cannot on my own.”
Indeed, his limp was already growing more pronounced, his stride broken and slow.
“Can you ride?” he asked as they reached the horses and stopped beside a massive creature with a fey silvery coat.
Mira shook her head. She had never had the occasion or the means to go riding, had always lived in Town and taken hackneys or the Fitzhenry coach wherever she wanted to go.
“Then you shall have to ride with me. You’ll have to mount astride, at least until I am there to steady you.”
Nicholas bent down and clasped his hands to give her a boost onto the animal’s broad back. With just a moment’s hesitation, Mira placed her foot in the cradle of his hands and, as he lifted her, swung a leg over the horse. The bulk of the horse between her legs forced her gown up, exposing her ankles and calves.
Nicholas smiled up at her. “Brave girl,” he said, bending to place a quick kiss on her ankle. He then swung up behind her, and, settling into the saddle, pulled her into the curve of his body. “Hold tight,” he breathed into her ear. And they were off.
Mira focused only on holding tight to Nicholas until Blackwell Hall came into sight, its windows lit and blazing against the stygian dark of the night, and the knot of panic in her stomach tightened.
Nicholas drew the horse up in the front drive. They left the sweating, heaving animal where he stood, and, hand in hand, clambered up the main steps.
The house was empty, all of the servants having been given the night off to attend the festivities, and Jeremy was likely behind them, bringing a coach from the livery in Upper Bidwell. The housekeeper, cook, and a few maids and grooms were expected back after midnight to prepare for the late supper Beatrix would serve her guests. But midnight was still nearly an hour away, and Mira’s ears rang with the eerie silence.
Both Nicholas and Mira slowed their pace when they entered the house, and they traded a questioning look. Almost simultaneously, they shrugged. Neither knew quite what to do next.
“I don’t suppose I can convince you to wait outside, can I?” Nicholas whispered.
Mira tilted her head in chastisement. “Absolutely not.” She offered him a thin smile. “Besides, what if Beatrix is out there?”
“Mmmm. Good point.”
Giving her hand a reassuring squeeze, Nicholas started up the stairs, steps cautious and quiet.
Nicholas had his foot on the top step when a sudden cry echoed through the silence. The sound galvanized them into action. He took off at a loping run, his limp almost disappearing in the spurt of energy. Mira trotted along behind him with her skirts lifted nearly to her knees.