Raven (Gentlemen of the Order #2) - Adele Clee Page 0,22

the white wooden ledge and found a key. After slipping briefly into the gatekeeper’s lodge, she returned with an iron key.

“This way.” She drew him to the wooden door in the boundary wall.

They exited onto the main road, a coaching route that began at Hyde Park Corner and stretched to Land’s End. In bygone times, it was a road frequented by highwaymen. Indeed, it was the road where D’Angelo witnessed the murder of his parents when he was but a boy.

The narrow path through the woods started at a rickety stile. Finlay climbed over first before helping Sophia navigate the unstable structure. He had no choice but to settle his hands on her waist and lower her down to the ground. For a few seconds, their bodies were but inches apart, their misty white breath mingling, making love in the gloom.

“Thank you.” She placed a steadying hand on his chest, covering his heart.

Her pale skin looked translucent beneath the faint sheen of moonlight. The sight of her parted lips, moist and full of promise, tugged at his core. Were they not hunting for Jessica, he feared his traitorous body might betray him.

“We should hurry,” she said in a tone full of uncertainty, an echo of his internal struggle. “You must take my hand, Finlay. This way is less trodden. The exposed roots are a danger in the dark.”

His reluctance to touch her waned by the day, the hour, the minute. Besides, what choice did he have but to capture her hand and lead her onto the overgrown path? Though the intimate action warmed his soul, the ancient wood wielded an incomprehensible power. As their boots squelched in the sodden earth and the trees loomed large, he was overcome by a sudden morbidness.

Perhaps his mood reflected the horror of that day in the Sonian Forest—these woods felt like enemy territory, too. Perhaps his mood reflected the horror of the night he’d argued with Hannah and she’d raced into Rectory Wood during a heavy downpour. Like Jessica, she often went missing, rarely remembered where she had been, didn’t care if she caught a chill.

“Hannah!” The involuntary call left his lips, a cry in the darkness.

Beside him, Sophia inhaled sharply.

“Forgive me.” He mumbled a curse but gave no further explanation.

They continued in silence but for the hypnotic whispers of the trees in the night breeze. Mist and moonlight filtered through the overhead canopy, the hazy veil reducing visibility on an already uncertain path.

“Miss Draper!”

The doctor’s distant call reached Finlay’s ears.

Could the fool not follow instructions?

“Miss Draper!”

Sophia gripped his hand as they ploughed through muddy puddles. “What if this is the night I lose her forever?”

Having asked himself the same question in the past, he tried to ease her anxiety. “We won’t stop looking until we find her.” Aware of a light ahead and hearing the hounds bark, he said, “Look. Blent is approaching the deadwood.”

The deadwood posed a powerful presence in the dark. To the naked eye, the circle of seven leafless trees looked healthy and robust. One might be fooled into thinking they were deciduous trees standing dormant in the depths of winter, but autumn was still weeks away. But for the charred logs and powdery ash of the burnout campfire, the ground was a barren wasteland.

Blent entered the clearing, whistling and calling to the white and tan dogs who had their noses pressed to the ground, sniffing for Jessica’s scent. Dr Goodwin stumbled behind, holding the lantern aloft and complaining about the state of his expensive Hessians.

“Any sign of her?” Finlay asked, releasing Sophia’s hand.

“No, sir.”

“This is ridiculous.” Dr Goodwin groaned as his boots squelched in the mud. “Why the devil would Miss Draper wander out here in the dead of night?”

It was an odd thing to say. As Jessica’s physician, he knew her fragile mind made her behave irrationally. Surely he had questioned her about the night she met the nameless figure in the woods. And what of her sleepwalking? Wasn’t that part of the problem?

“We should have checked the house before charging outdoors,” the doctor added, determined to air his frustration.

In this instance, he had a valid point.

Finlay thought back to the figure in the window signalling to someone outside. Perhaps the plan was to have them all head to the woods at night so the stranger could gain access to the house.

Panic flared.

“Does she always come to the deadwood when sleepwalking?”

“Blent found her here twice.” Sophia struggled to remain focused, her nervous gaze kept drifting beyond the clearing.