Duke Looks Like a Groomsman - Valerie Bowman Page 0,59

Mary had arrived and asked to take Whisper out on a trot around the paddock, and the horse had got away from her (which seemed unlikely) or…

“I brought her Alabaster and she took off right quick,” Henry continued.

Or Lady Julianna had come for a mount and left, and now her mother was worried because a nasty-looking storm was brewing. The sky had turned an ominous shade of dark gray, bordering upon black, and the wind had whipped up enough to knock over some small tables in the paddock.

Based on Henry’s last words, Rhys knew the latter had happened.

“We’ll send a party out ta look fer ‘er,” Mr. Hereford was saying. He began shouting orders to groomsmen and stablehands to mount up.

Rhys didn’t wait to hear more. He’d already gone in search of the second fastest mount in the barn. Clayton’s second Arabian, Midnight.

He had the horse saddled and was flying out the back doors of the stables by the time they’d finally convinced Lady Montlake to calm down and allow them to search for her daughter.

Chapter Twenty-Six

She wasn’t at the pond, she wasn’t at the lake, she wasn’t even on the hillside by the paddock, and he’d already scoured every part of the stables and barns for her. No, Julianna had taken off somewhere on Alabaster, and he needed to find her before this storm broke.

Acting on instinct, he turned from the lake and spurred his mount in the direction of the far end of the property, just as fat raindrops began to splash his hat and shoulders. He had to find her quickly.

By the time Rhys made it around the copse of trees near the edge of the forest and pulled Midnight up short, the rain was lashing him in wave after wave. The black skies had opened, and a deluge had begun.

He could barely see the outline of the gamekeeper’s cottage through the cloud of rain. When he got close enough to make out the front door, he could also see that the door to the small barn next to the cottage was slightly ajar.

He rode Midnight up to the barn, jumped down, and pulled open the door. He quickly led the horse inside. Despite it being mid-morning, the barn was nearly dark. Flashes of lightning were his only light.

Rhys expelled his pent-up breath. There, in one of only two small stalls, was Alabaster, his saddle and blanket removed, busily chomping on fresh hay.

Rhys quickly settled Midnight into the adjoining stall, removing his tack and providing him with a meal as well.

Then, bracing himself against the wind, Rhys braved the elements again. After closing the barn door, he sprinted across the slick grass to the cottage porch. He banged on the door with his fist, but didn’t wait for an answer before swinging open the door and barging inside.

Julianna’s head snapped to face him. She was sitting in a pile of blankets on the floor in front of a roaring fireplace. The fireplace and a few random candles blinking around the room were the only light.

“Rhys?” Her face was filled with confusion. “What are you doing here?” She had to raise her voice to be heard over the roaring wind and the rain.

“Looking for you. Your mother’s worried sick,” he shouted back.

“You’re soaked.” She eyed him up and down.

Rhys glanced down at himself. His shirt was plastered to his chest and his breeches left even less to the imagination than usual. He discarded his water-logged hat. Then he stamped his feet on the rug in front of the door before taking a seat on a nearby stool to remove his drenched boots.

Julianna clambered up from the pile of blankets and went immediately into the small bedchamber that adjoined the main room. He could see her shuffling around in the wardrobe before she returned carrying a dry white shirt, no doubt belonging to the gamekeeper.

“Here, take this,” she commanded, tossing the shirt to him. Then she returned to the pile of blankets and pulled a fur from the heap.

Rhys caught the shirt in one hand. He’d finished removing his boots and quickly pulled his wet shirt over his head, before Julianna handed him the fur, which he used to dry off as best he could before pulling the dry shirt over his head.

The shirt was a bit smaller than his own, but it was dry and clean, and at the moment, that was all that mattered.

Rhys wrapped the fur around his waist and Julianna offered him a spot on