Just as Mara reached the bottom of the main staircase, Parkins was opening the front door to admit Lord Bridgeton. He looked as if he hadn’t slept all night.
“Why, Lord Bridgeton! What on earth are you doing here?” she asked. It was rather early for paying calls. Yet from his manner, she knew a friendly visit was not on his agenda.
“Good morning, Lady Mara,” he said quietly. “I’ve come to discuss something with Captain Fleming.”
“Do you have any idea what happened last night?” She rushed over to him, wringing her hands together. “Oh, and I have the most terrible suspicion that Sara ran off with Alexander Drake.”
“What?” he said, clearly alarmed, a shocked expression on his face. “You mean to tell me that Sara is not here?”
She shook her head. “No. I just arrived myself, but she’s not here. I was just up in her room. Everyone thinks she’s still sleeping, but from the looks of things, she hasn’t been in her bed all night.”
Frowning, he asked, “Where are her parents?”
“Parkins told me everyone is in the dining room having breakfast. Come with me.” She grabbed his arm and guided him toward the Devon House dining room. Her heart racing, Mara hoped against hope that Sara hadn’t already married Alexander Drake.
Her two aunts and two uncles were having a leisurely breakfast when they interrupted.
“Mara? Lord Bridgeton?” Colette Sinclair looked up from the table as they entered, quite surprised to see them both. She smiled at first, then she saw their faces. “What’s wrong?”
“Excuse us for intruding, Auntie, but . . .” Mara took a deep breath. “Aunt Juliette, Uncle Harrison, have you seen Sara yet this morning?”
Harrison Fleming stood up so quickly his chair fell backward, causing both Juliette and Colette to gasp in surprise. “Where is she?”
“That’s just it, Uncle Harrison. I don’t know,” Mara began to explain. “I only arrived a few moments ago to see her. Her room is empty and her bed hasn’t been slept in. Leighton said she hasn’t seen her since last night. I have a feeling she may have . . .” It was too awful to say the words aloud.
Captain Fleming looked toward Lord Bridgeton. “What do you know of this, Bridgeton?”
Christopher shook his head. “I just arrived myself as I have something very important that I need to discuss with you before Saturday, Captain Fleming. But I’m just as shocked as you are to find Sara gone.”
Confused by Lord Bridgeton’s statement, Mara looked between him and her uncle. What had happened last night? And what had Saturday to do with anything?
Juliette stood, her face pale. “She’s gone to him, hasn’t she? She’s run off with that awful Alexander Drake.”
The room grew quiet as tension mounted and they all feared the worst.
“Let’s go get her,” Lord Bridgeton declared, his face full of determination. “Let’s go after her. Maybe it’s not too late to stop them.”
“He’s right,” Lucien Sinclair said, also rising from his seat. “We can try.”
Everyone looked at Mara. Juliette asked, “Mara, do you have any idea what their plans were?”
Mara shook her head.
“The investigator told me Drake was staying at the Savoy Hotel,” Harrison said in a voice tinged with edginess. “But I doubt they’d still be there at this point. I don’t see Drake wasting time. Where were they planning to get married? And where were they going afterward? Do you know, Mara?”
“I’m sorry, Uncle Harrison . . . Sara only talked of them marrying, but she never told me anything specific. Just that Alexander Drake wanted to marry her as quickly as possible.”
Harrison scoffed, “Of course he wanted to marry her in a hurry.”
Colette offered anxiously, “Well, if they were planning to marry as soon as possible, chances are they’ve probably left for Gretna Green by now.”
“Oh, Harrison, we must stop them!” Juliette cried, looking toward her husband with worried eyes.
“Well, they’re two Americans unfamiliar to how things work in England. I don’t know if Drake could have gotten a special license while he was here,” Harrison said, walking to his wife to comfort her. “They could be marrying anywhere. They’re both of age.”
Lord Bridgeton, sounding impatient, said, “Let’s split up and search the churches in London first.” Mara thought he looked quite panicked.
Lucien spoke up. “That’s exactly what we shall do. In the meantime, I can also inquire with the archbishop to see if a special license has been issued to Drake. If that’s not the case, then we’ll head to Gretna Green.”
Harrison began to make plans. “Mara, let’s send for your father to help us. And we’ll get Roxbury and Eddington as well. We should hurry for we’ve no time to lose.”
Phillip and Simon sauntered into the dining room just then, hungry for breakfast. “Good morning, all!” Phillip greeted them with a chipper voice and a smile. Then he stopped short, upon seeing Mara and Lord Bridgeton and everyone’s grim faces.
Simon asked with a frown, “What’s going on here?”
Captain Fleming spoke up. “Well, boys, it seems that Sara has run off to marry the man from America we were trying to keep her from and we need to go find her, hopefully before it’s too late. From what I learned from the investigator I hired, not only is Alexander Drake a heartless fortune hunter, but he is also a common criminal. A jewel thief and a swindler, who has had more than one arrest with the New York and New Jersey police. He may even be violent. And the woman with him is not his sister, as they are claiming she is. Her name is Lucy Camden and they are more than . . . merely good friends.”
Mara gasped in surprise. “Oh, Uncle Harrison, I saw that woman! She was in the bookshop yesterday talking with Sara! She told Sara that she was Drake’s sister and naturally Sara believed her.”
Crestfallen, Juliette placed her hand over her heart. “This is all my fault. Now I wish we had told Sara all of this last night, instead of waiting until today. Now it may be too late.”
“It may not be,” Lord Bridgeton said. “We have to search for her. Come with me, Waverly.”
Mara, appealing to Lord Bridgeton and her cousin, said, “I want to come with you. I can be of help too.”
Phillip and Lord Bridgeton exchanged glances with his father.
Lucien looked back at her and said, “All right. Mara, you can go along with Phillip and Lord Bridgeton. But be careful! Simon, you’ll be faster at getting the word to Jeffrey, Declan, and Quinton. Let’s get going, everyone, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”
Mara hurried out of the house, joining her cousin and Lord Bridgeton in his carriage to search for Sara and Alexander Drake before it was too late.
23
All Hands on Deck
“They could be anywhere. This is hopeless,” Phillip Sinclair grumbled as the three of them made their way down a busy street after searching a handful of London churches with no luck.
Christopher had been thinking the same thought, but there was something inside of him that would not let him give up. He had to find Sara. He had to. He loved her. She was his now. He’d just given up everything and changed his life for her. She was his. Or at least she would be his on Saturday after he married her. And he’d be damned if he’d allow this lowly American thief to take what belonged to him.
From the moment Christopher had heard the news that Sara had left, he’d been panicked.
Why had Sara run off? Christopher hadn’t dared to hope that she was in love with him, but he would have at least hoped she didn’t find marriage with him so unappealing that she risked losing her family for this other man. Especially after what they’d done last night and knowing there was a possibility that she was carrying his child. What was she thinking? In any case, Christopher was the one who was going to marry her. Not this Drake fellow.
When they reached his carriage, he assisted Lady Mara back inside and he and Phillip climbed in after her.
“Where to now?
” Phillip asked, gazing intently out the small window, watching the people on the street, hoping to catch a sight of Sara among them.
The entire Hamilton family had paired off and headed out to search London for her. In fact, Mara’s parents, Lord and Lady Cashelmore, had already left for Gretna Green, in case Drake had taken her there. Captain Fleming and Mrs. Fleming had gone straight to the docks to see if perhaps Drake had decided to sail back to New York with her. Lisette and Quinton Roxbury and the Duke and Duchess of Rathmore were searching churches, just as they were, while Lord and Lady Stancliff were checking with the archbishop to see if a special license had been issued. Simon Sinclair was acting as messenger, relaying messages between all of them. It amazed Christopher how strong the familial bond was between them. Not one of them questioned what needed to be done to rescue Sara, they simply did it, because they loved her and she was part of their family.
It stunned him to think that this would become his family too when he married Sara. If they found her in time, that was. Yet he couldn’t think about that.
“I think there’s a little church down this street here,” Phillip suggested, his eyes on the buildings ahead. “Do you see that spire? We should look there.”
Lady Mara folded her arms in frustration. With her lilting Irish accent she said, “I don’t know why we just don’t check the Savoy Hotel first. Maybe Uncle Harrison is wrong and they haven’t left yet after all. Or maybe the clerk or someone there might have seen or heard where they were going. It certainly couldn’t hurt to ask. We may end up with more information than we have right now.”
Both Christopher and Phillip stared at her in stunned amazement. Mara was right. Why didn’t any of them think to check the hotel first, instead of running around searching churches?
“Lady Mara, you’re brilliant. That’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Christopher said. Then he gave directions to the coachman to take them to the Savoy Hotel.
Mara gave them both a disdainful glance. “I said those exact words when we first left Devon House and the two of you ignored me.”
Shrugging sheepishly, Phillip apologized. “We men are dolts sometimes, Mara. You know that. We’re just too worried about Sara to think straight. We’re sorry for not listening to you earlier.”
Smiling in satisfaction, Mara said, “I forgive you.”
As the carriage headed toward the Savoy, an unsettling thought that had been nagging him since they left Devon House floated to the surface. Christopher questioned the two of them. “May I ask why a fortune hunter would be wanting to marry Sara? It doesn’t make sense, if her father no longer has a fortune.”
Phillip Sinclair looked at him as if he had two heads. “What the devil are you talking about, Bridgeton?”
“Well, I’d heard that Captain Fleming recently lost all the money he had. That’s why they’re staying with your family at Devon House,” Christopher said. “So if Sara has no fortune to inherit, then why is a fortune hunter so keen to marry her?”
Clearly shocked, Lady Mara’s mouth fell open. “Oh, Lord Bridgeton, the Flemings are worth millions and millions of dollars! Sara is an heiress who will inherit all of it. It’s the main reason her parents separated her from Alexander Drake. But once they were in London, Uncle Jeffrey thought it would be safer if everyone believed Sara to be penniless, so he started the rumor that Uncle Harrison lost all his money.”
Christopher couldn’t breathe. It was unbelievable. “You mean Sara is an heiress?”
“Yes.” Phillip chuckled in amusement. “I thought you knew.”
“I’m marrying her on Saturday and I had no idea. Not a clue.”
Christopher was stunned by the news. After all that, after everything, Sara was worth millions. After believing he couldn’t afford to marry her even though he loved her, after putting himself through the agony of proposing to the likes of Bonnie Beckwith, he could have pursued Sara Fleming all along.
“What did you say, Lord Bridgeton?” Lady Mara cried, her gray-green eyes wide.
“What do you mean you’re marrying Sara on Saturday?” Phillip demanded, his expression one of disbelief. “You told me you were engaged to Bonnie Beckwith!”
“You’re engaged to Bonnie Beckwith?” Lady Mara stared at him in utter astonishment.
The muddled conversation would have made Christopher laugh if it weren’t all so serious, and if he weren’t on the verge of losing Sara Fleming forever. He looked at Sara’s two cousins staring at him in confusion.
“Well, at the ball last night . . .” Christopher began to explain to them what happened the night before as delicately as he could. “Sara and I were alone in one of the empty rooms, and unfortunately, her parents walked in and caught the two of us . . . in a rather . . . compromising position, shall we say? So as an honorable gentleman I offered for her. Her parents agreed and we planned for the wedding to take place on Saturday. I broke off my engagement to Miss Beckwith first thing this morning. And here we are. I believe you know the rest.”
Utterly speechless, Lady Mara covered her mouth with her gloved hand and continued to stare at him, while Phillip broke into a wide grin.
“Well, that is simply fantastic!” he exclaimed happily. “Why didn’t you say something to me last night? You and Sara! I knew it! I told you that just the other evening that I wished you would marry my cousin. I’m so relieved you’re not marrying that Beckwith chit. You’d have been miserable with her.”
“Oh, I’m aware.” Christopher shuddered at the idea of Bonnie Beckwith as his bride. Instead, he’d be able to have the life he’d wanted all along. A life with Sara Fleming as his wife. But first he needed to find her. “Lady Mara, are you well?”
Her complexion had gained a little color at his news. But she slowly lowered her hand from her mouth, and smiled shyly at him. “Oh, I’m happy for you, Lord Bridgeton, but it’s just that . . .” She broke off, looking a little embarrassed.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Well, it’s just that if Sara knew she was going to marry you on Saturday, but she still ran off to be with Drake, I don’t believe that that speaks well for your future together, even if we do find her in time,” she said with a touch of hesitation.
It was that very thought that he didn’t wish to entertain and had ignored all morning. Sara was still in love with Alexander Drake. Even though she kissed Christopher willingly, passionately, and allowed him to make love to her, Sara would still rather marry the American. In spite of knowing that her parents disapproved of the man. That really stung.
Sara Fleming did not love him.
Meanwhile, he was completely and thoroughly head over heels in love with her. And he had fallen in love with Sara Fleming the moment he met her. It just took him a little while to fully realize it.
Christopher looked directly at Mara. “I love Sara, which is much more than we can say for Drake. I’ll take better care of her in that regard.” Recalling how Sara melted in his arms and sought his kisses last night, he added, “And I think she cares for me more than she realizes. When we find her, which I have no doubt that we shall, I will marry her. In the end I think we’ll be quite happy together.”
At least he hoped so.
When the carriage arrived at the grand Savoy Hotel, the three of them hurried through the elegant lobby to the front desk. To their great surprise, it turned out that Mr. Alexander Drake had not yet checked out of the hotel and was still in his room.
“I told you so,” Lady Mara could not resist saying to them with great satisfaction.
As they took the electric lift to the fourth floor, Christopher wondered why Drake hadn’t fled with Sara in tow. Then an awful thought occurred to him. If Sara had left Devon House early this morning, perhaps they were already married? When they knocked upon the hotel room door, Christopher could discover that Sara was Mrs. Alexander Drake when it opened. His heart sank. But if they hadn’t already wed this morning, then what had they been doing at the hotel all day? It was close to two o’cloc
k in the afternoon now.
With his clenched fist, Christopher pounded loudly on the door. Holding his breath, he waited, impatient and angry.
Finally the door opened just a crack. A blond woman peeked out. “Who’s there?” she asked suspiciously.
Wasting no time, Christopher shoved the door wide open, sending the woman stumbling backward in surprise with a startled little shriek. Mara gasped in alarm. He continued to push his way into the room, striding forward with Phillip close behind him. Sara’s little dog, Boots, yipped vociferously at the intrusion, running around the room, wild with excitement.
Then Christopher saw her.
Sara was seated at a table with who could only be Alexander Drake across from her. They held each other’s hands and looked as if they had been deep in conversation, but both looked up in surprise at the sudden and explosive intrusion. Christopher stopped short at the sight.
“What the hell is going on here?” Drake yelled angrily, rising to his feet.
Ignoring him, Christopher only had eyes for Sara. “Did you marry him?”
“What are you doing here?” she cried, shocked by the sight of him and her cousins. And she seemed none too pleased to see the three of them. Boots continued his little barks, scurrying from person to person, excited by the sudden commotion.
The blond woman, who had picked herself up from the floor, glared at Christopher with a disapproving scowl. “This is the man I told you about, Drakey.”
Frowning, Alexander Drake ordered, “I don’t know who you are or why you’re here, but this is my room and I’m ordering all of you to get out! Now!”
Christopher stared at Sara, demanding to know the answer to his question. “Tell me it’s not too late, Sara. Are you already married to this man?”
Drake moved toward him, his stance menacing, and pointed at the still open door. “That’s none of your business. Now get the hell out of here!”
“We’re not going anywhere unless Sara comes with us!” Phillip declared.
Sara rose to her feet, her expression a mixture of worry and annoyance. “Alexander, it’s quite all right. Let me handle this, please. These are my cousins, Lady Mara Reeves and Lord Waverly. And that is Lord Bridgeton.”
The Heiress He's Been Waiting For Page 24