Time for Love (30 page)

Lord Downing sat next to the fire, his head in his hands. “How did this happen?” he asked in a whisper, his voice strained and tired.

Lord Tyndale paced the room, looking just as anxious. “He must have sent that fake message from Sebastian to lure me away from my country estate in order to kidnap Charlotte. He then used her as a means of forcing Lady Alexandra to follow his demands.” He shook his head. “Why is he doing this?”

“Obviously he’s afraid the ladies can identify him as the man who kidnapped them fifteen years ago.” Nicholas turned to Sebastian, who looked white as a sheet as he listened to the panicked men surrounding him. “Tell us again what she said.”

“She simply said to let you know that Alex had gone after Charlotte, and Lord Stone was providing the carriage.” He screwed up his face in concentration. “She didn’t tell me her name, so I assumed Alex was a man.”

He paused, and Nicholas watched him eagerly, hoping for some small clue that could lead him to her.

“Actually, she said to say it exactly as she did. Let me think.” He closed his eyes and stood perfectly still, his mouth moving slightly. “She said Alex had gone to find Charlotte
at the cave
.” He opened his eyes. “At the cave, does that help?”

Nicholas started to shake his head when Lord Tyndale gasped. “The portal! That’s it.”

“What?” Nicholas asked, hope rising in his chest. “Do you know where they are?”

“Yes. Lord Stone’s country estate shares a border with mine. I used to explore the system of caves there when I was a child. That’s where Charlotte…” his voice trailed off and he looked around. “What has Lady Alexandra told you about her life for the past fifteen years?”

Lord Downing spoke from his spot near the fire. “She told us everything. I gather Charlotte has confided her past to you as well?”

“Yes. And did you believe Lady Alexandra’s story?”

Nicholas caught Lord Downing looking at him. “Lord Downing and his family did, yes. I have to admit to some doubt.” He couldn’t believe he was having this conversation now, of all times.

Lord Tyndale snorted. “Can’t say I blame you. I had a time believing it myself. Time travel! The concept was too incredible to comprehend. Until she showed me her proof of course.”

“Proof?” Nicholas demanded. “How could she prove her story to you?”

Her story couldn’t possibly be true, could it? The first seed of doubt entered his mind. The knots in his stomach tightened. If it was true, no wonder Alex didn’t trust him. Why would she put her trust in someone who didn’t trust her?

“She had certain items that couldn’t possibly exist. I found no explanation other than that they came from the future. They defied belief.” He waved the thought aside. “That doesn’t matter now. When the girls were kidnapped as children they were taken to a system of caves that lie along the boundary of my property and that of Lord Stone. He must have planned on killing the girls and hiding their bodies in the caves. Charlotte told me she and Lady Alexandra tried to flee but fell through the portal instead. Charlotte was forced back through that same portal two months ago. That is when I met her. Lord Stone or one of his servants must have seen her and made the attempts on her life. I am an idiot for not suspecting him in all Charlotte’s troubles.” He stopped pacing and looked directly at Nicholas. “We must hurry. If he brought them to those caves, he must be planning on killing them.”

“We shall have to make sure we get to them first,” Nicholas said as a knock sounded at the door.

“Enter,” said Lord Downing.

Grayson entered, followed closely by the butler, who carried several great coats draped over his arms. “We have searched everywhere. Lord Stone left less than an hour ago. I sent two footmen around to his townhouse to look for his return there. If they locate him, I have instructed one to stay with him and the other to bring word back to us.”

Nicholas nodded at his first mate to acknowledge his efforts. He couldn’t bring himself to speak past the fury that threatened to strangle him.

“Excellent,” Lord Downing said. “Preston, please have the carriage prepared. We have an idea where he may have taken Alexandra and will leave immediately.”

“Yes, sir,” Preston responded. He placed the greatcoats on the back of a chair and left.

“I believe it would be best if you were to wait here,” Nicholas said to Lord Downing. He held up his hands to forestall the anticipated resistance. “Someone needs to wait here in case Lord Stone did indeed return to his townhouse. We also have no idea if Lord Stone has an accomplice keeping an eye on matters here. You have a house full of people and your absence would be difficult to explain. Besides which we would not care to upset Lady Downing unnecessarily.”

Lord Tyndale turned to his brother. “Sebastian, wait here with Lord Downing. If Lord Stone has returned to his townhome, I will need you to detain him. Make sure he does not have a chance to surprise us at the portal. We shall return as soon as we have Ladies Charlotte and Alexandra safe.”

“I will contact some old
friends
of mine and see what I can discover about Lord Stone,” Grayson said. “You should take this.” He moved closer and held out a pistol. “It’s primed and ready.”

“Thank you,” Nicholas replied, well aware of the nature of Grayson’s friends. If Lord Stone had anything underhanded to hide, Grayson would soon discover it. Nicholas took the pistol and shook his friend’s hand. Grayson nodded and left the room.

Lord Tyndale spoke a few quiet words to his brother and then turned to Nicholas. “Let’s go.”

Nicholas grabbed his coat off the chair, tucked the pistol into his pocket, and preceded Lord Tyndale out of the room.

Maybe Tyndale wasn’t as bad as Nicholas originally thought. He looked as though he might be useful in a fight.

Nicholas had the feeling he was about to find out.

****

Alex figured it took about three hours before they reached the caves. She’d thought over her problems until her head spun and couldn’t come up with anything new that could help.

She did manage to destroy the inside of Lord Stone’s carriage though. It gave her a perverse pleasure to take some of her frustrations out this way. She’d heard her mother complaining about how expensive carriages were, and if she managed nothing else, at least she could give Lord Stone a little kick in the wallet.

Finally, the carriage rumbled to a stop. The coachman jumped down to lower the steps and helped her out. “You sure is one fancy lady.” He looked her up and down. “You’re right pretty too, like that other one.” He motioned behind him with his chin. “Let’s go join her.”

He grabbed her elbow, and Alex jerked it out of his grasp. She did not want him touching her. He gave her the creeps. “I can walk, thank you. Now show me to Charlotte.”

“Well, ain’t we all high and mighty.” He sneered. “Won’t be so picky after a few hours in there. You’ll be beggin’ for me. No light, air so thin you can barely breathe.”

Alex quailed at his description, the fear threatening to choke her. Until she saw the leer on the man’s ugly face and anger saved her.

“Never,” she said. “I’d rather be buried alive than beg you for anything.”

His leer turned to rage, and he shoved her toward the cave mouth. He laughed when she stumbled. “So you already know the plan? That’s good, much less to explain. Lord Stone wants to talk to you and that sister of yours first, so enjoy your last few hours.”

Relief washed over her. Charlotte was alive. In the midst of all the horror of the situation, Alex felt a tingle of excitement. She was actually going to see her sister again.

Well, seeing her might be a bit optimistic, she thought as she made her way toward the dark maw of the cave entrance, the meager light from the coachman’s lantern barely lighting the path. She stumbled over a root, and the coachman laughed softly behind her.
Jerk
.

He went to push her again as they neared the entrance, but anticipating his move she shifted to the side and stuck out her foot. His momentum carried him forward, and he tripped. She caught the lantern as it flew out of his hands and raced past him into the tunnel. She rushed around a corner and used her skirts to hide the lantern’s light, hissing as her leg brushed up against the hot metal.

She could hear the coachman stumbling around and cursing her in the dark outside the cave. She waited for the shouting to die down and then made her way carefully into the tunnel, hoping there weren’t any other lanterns in the coach. She didn’t think the coachman was brave enough to follow her without a light.

“Charlotte?” she whispered. “Can you hear me?” Her voice hissed eerily in the enclosed space.

“Who’s there?” a weak and terrified voice sounded from out of the darkness.

The sound echoed all around her, she couldn’t pin point the source. “Charlotte? It’s me, Alex. Where are you? Lord Stone’s coachman is outside. We have to come up with a plan to get out of here.”

The tunnel went steadily down. Loose rocks and dirt made it difficult to keep her balance as she slipped and slid down the path. She kept an eye out for tunnels, but there were none large enough for an adult to walk through. The tunnel grew narrower with her every step.

“Alex?” Charlotte asked, her voice laced with suspicion, but also much closer than a moment ago. “That’s impossible.”

“It’s true. We spoke on the phone, remember?”

“Oh no! He got you too!” Charlotte sounded angry, her voice more recognizable now her spirit was back. She sounded like Alex, though with a British accent.

Alex was glad to hear the anger, it was much better than the weak and feeble sound of a moment ago. They were going to need all their strength to escape.

“I’m afraid so. Where are you?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t leave me a light, the bastard.” Her voice vibrated with the force of her anger, but there was also a note of terror in her voice Alex recognized.

“I have a lantern; let me know when you start to see the light, and we’ll know I’m getting close.”

Charlotte called out after only a moment, “I can see some light. Keep coming; you’re almost here.”

The path narrowed drastically, and Alex stooped to continue. Not an easy feat in her party dress. She grabbed hold of her skirts in front and held them high to keep from tripping. The burn in her legs began almost immediately. She couldn’t bend much at the waist because of her corset, so all the pressure of stooping was in her legs. Her breath came in quick gasps, and she paused frequently to rest against the rough wall.

Finally, the tunnel opened, and she groaned as she stood tall once more.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Charlotte’s voice came from a few feet ahead. She sat with her back against a huge boulder on the opposite side of a decent size cavern.

“I’m fine. It’s just this stupid dress. Looks great, but not meant for spelunking.” Alex approached her sister. This wasn’t how she’d pictured their reunion all those months ago when she first set up all those social media pages.

Dirt streaked Charlotte’s pale face. Disheveled hair escaped from what had probably been a neat chignon. Her clothes were rumpled and torn. She had obviously not had an easy time of it. She squinted at the meager light from the lantern.

“Alexandra! It is you. But how?” Charlotte struggled to stand. Her arms were bound to her sides, her hands tied together in front. More rope lay on the ground where Charlotte had managed to untie her feet.

Alex put the light down in a smooth patch of dirt and went to help her. It took some time, but she loosened the ropes enough for Charlotte to slip out of them.

With a cry, Charlotte threw her arms around Alex, and they hugged each other with all their might. Fresh tears followed the path of the dried ones down Charlotte’s dirt-coated face. Alex swiped a hand through a coat of sweat, tears, and dust covering her cheeks. She must look awful.

Charlotte pulled away first. “I just can’t believe it’s you! I thought you were dead for so long. When I saw that web page, I almost fainted. Then I got trapped here and thought I’d lost all chance of ever seeing you.”

“It’s a long story, and we’ve got to think of a way out of here, so I’ll give you the quickie version.” Alex gave a hurried description of the last two months, starting with Sawyer but leaving out many details that included her time with Nicholas. She couldn’t afford to dwell on him.

Charlotte was a good listener, only interrupting when Alex told her the story Sawyer had given her about Charlotte’s own disappearance. “That bloody bastard! I wasn’t a client, and I bloody well didn’t come here on purpose. He drugged me and forced me to come back here. I caused a cave-in when I tried to fight my way out of there.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Just go on, tell me the rest. I’ll tell you my sordid story later, when we have more time.”

When Alex finished, they looked each other in the eye for a moment before Charlotte asked, “So what now?”

Alex sighed. She had hoped some grand plan would magically come to her once she found Charlotte, but she had nothing. “I have no idea. How about you?”

“No, nothing.”

“Well, good thing I came, huh?” Alex snorted. “Hopefully Nicholas and Lord Tyndale got my message and will be able to figure something out.”

“Lord Tyndale?” Charlotte asked. “How do you know him?”

Alex peered closely at Charlotte. Obviously there was something between the two, her whole face lit up at the mention of his name.

“He thought I was you and approached me at a party in London. He realized his mistake immediately, but we all went to a private room to find out what he knew about you. We’ve had people searching for you since I arrived in London.

“I wanted to leave some sort of clue where I had gone and who was responsible so I left a message saying I had gone to find you at the cave, and that I was using Lord Stone’s carriage. I never told anyone about the London portal, but I was hoping maybe you did?”

“Yes, I did. We’re actually on James’s property. He got trapped in these caves once when he was a child, so he knows just where we are.” Her face was hopeful. “I thought I would never see him again,” she whispered. “He asked me to marry him, and I said no. Do you know what I’ve been thinking about most as I sat here in this damp, dark hellhole? I’ve been thinking about what an idiot I am. I had a chance to marry the man I love, and I said no. Do you think he’ll ever forgive me?”