did not stop. He simply wrapped his long fingers around her elbow and pulled her gently, yet firmly, along. “Mrs. Ashcroft and I will head north a quarter mile and work our way down. You two gentlemen head upstream from the south. We will meet in the middle, or until we find Meghan. Agreed?
“Yes, my lord,” came their reply.
“Good luck, gentlemen.”
They walked in tense silence until the men were out of earshot.
“You think something has happened to Meghan, don’t you?” she asked.
“I cannot be sure.”
“What do your instincts tell you?”
“That this day is going to end badly.”
Catherine bit her lip, trapping the grief welling up in the back of her throat. “Who would want to harm such a sweet girl?”
“Bad people do bad things,” he said. “Sometimes for personal gratification, other times out of fear.”
She sent him a sideways glance. “You sound as if you know firsthand, my lord.”
“I do.”
“Did my husband also know?”
His fingers tightened around her arm. “Yes.”
“You won’t share his travails with me?”
He released her arm to grasp her hand, guiding her through a thicket of shrubbery. “Start scanning for anything out of the ordinary. Discarded clothing, a disturbed area… anything.”
His mention of discarded clothing had the desired effect, for Catherine’s line of thought quickly reverted back to Meghan. They traipsed through the thicket for several more minutes until the underbrush gave way to a twenty-foot bluff overlooking a stream.
Under different circumstances, she would have stopped to enjoy the gently rolling hill, the fluttering leaves, and the twittering birds. But the earl paused only long enough to determine the best path downward. Every unsteady step they made toward the stream increased her trepidation, her certainty that they would find Meghan in an unwelcome situation.
She shrugged off the vile images. Meghan was alive. This business with the unnamed father had everyone suspicious and on edge. Perhaps the girl ran away with her lover, knowing her parents wouldn’t approve of the match.
Then again, Meghan could have taken a nasty tumble and now she lay injured somewhere, awaiting rescue. So many possibilities. So many unknowns. She glanced around. So much ground to cover.
“Hold on.” The earl did his best to keep their descent steady and sure, but the steepness and decaying leaf litter made it impossible. Every few steps, her foothold would give way and she would slide several inches until he steadied her again. Three-quarters of the way down, they gave up the fight and barreled down the hill.
The moment they hit firm, even ground, he turned south. “We will stay to this side. The stream is wide enough and deep enough here that it’s unlikely the girl crossed over.” He scanned in front of them. “Are you able to keep to within five feet of the water without my assistance? I would like to increase our efforts by moving up the hill a bit.”
Because she had walked to the earl’s, rather than take Gypsy, she had her sturdy boots on. “I’ll manage quite well.”
He rested his hand on her cheek. “You’re being very brave, Catherine.”
She nodded, unable to speak. His unexpected gentleness and praise threw her off balance. “Thank you for not insisting I keep Mrs. McCarthy company.”
He cradled her other cheek, studying every nuance of her face. Before her eyes, his features grew stormy, almost savage in their intensity. “Be careful,” he said in a rough whisper.
Then he kissed her. Not a quick, hard, possessive kiss. But a hot, I’m-fighting-against-my-natural-instincts kiss. The pads of her fingers had barely grazed his back when he pulled away, almost as if he feared her touch.
“Remember,” he said, “do not discount anything you see, no matter how small.”
“I won’t.”
They continued in a southerly direction, often in concentrated silence and sometimes stopping to investigate. As they closed in on the small waterfall, Catherine couldn’t decide if she was relieved or disappointed. She mentioned as much to the earl as they picked their way along a rocky edge that led down to a small pool of water.
“If she’s not here,” he said, “we will continue until we find her.”
His calm assurance amazed her. “Have you even met Meghan?”
“I caught a glimpse of her once.” He eyed her. “Why do you ask?”
“Simply trying to understand your willingness to help the McCarthys, when others who knew them were not.”
He held out his hand to help her around a particularly difficult area. “Despite my absence these last few years, I take my responsibility to my estate and those who care for it seriously.”