by Brenda Hiatt
"Of course not, although—" She broke off as Lady Rumble hurried toward them, her expression concerned.
"Is something wrong?" Thor asked, half expecting his mother to chide them for their brief disappearance.
She looked from him to Dina, then peered behind them. "Is Violet not with you?"
He shook his head, as did Dina. "I last saw her over there, speaking with Silas." Dina pointed toward the loft.
"Silas? Your brother returned?" Lady Rumble asked in surprise, which surprised Thor in turn.
"Yes, not half an hour ago. Did he not speak with you and Father?" His earlier suspicions revived. "He said he came back to apologize for leaving so precipitately yesterday."
Lady Rumble looked relieved. "No, we have not seen him yet, but perhaps he and Violet stepped outside to talk, as it is so noisy in here."
Glancing at Dina, however, Thor detected an alarm in her eyes that echoed his own. "We'll go look for them," she offered. "They must be nearby."
"Very well," Lady Rumble said, "though if she is with Silas, I've no doubt she is perfectly safe."
Thor wished he shared his mother's certainty. Together, he and Dina first circled the large barn, then checked the loft. Once assured that Violet and Silas were nowhere inside, they retrieved their cloaks and stepped out into the yard.
"I don't see any sign of them," Thor said, more grimly than he'd intended.
Dina glanced up at him. "Surely you don't think that they —that Silas—"
"You tell me. Is your brother the sort of man who would persuade an innocent like my sister into a tryst—or an elopement?" He couldn't help remembering Moore's threat on Christmas Eve.
Though she paled slightly, Dina did not flinch. "If he thought to profit by it, then yes. I fear Silas is indeed capable of such a thing. I cannot believe that Violet would agree, however. She may be romantic, but she is by no means stupid."
"No, she is not, but that did not prevent her from eloping with Plunkett. You, there," he called to a farm lad just returning to the barn, most likely after answering a call of nature. "Did you happen to see Miss Turpin out here?"
The lad approached them, blinking. "Oh, aye, sir, she were out here just a bit ago, with a gent near as tall as yourself. They was talking, private-like, so I hurried off, so's not to seem to be eavesdropping."
"Did you see where they went after that?"
"Nay, but they was headed toward that green coach what's gone now, so like as not they drove off in it. Mayhap he took her back to Plumrose."
Thor nodded and thanked the lad, who tugged his forelock and went back into the barn. "I suppose we'd better make certain that's where they went," he said to Dina.
For all of their sakes, he hoped they had.
"Why don't you go back inside while I ride up to Plumrose? There's no need for both of us to miss more of the party."
Dina shook her head. "I'm coming with you."
"No. If I don't find them at the house, I'll be heading off in pursuit at once. You don't—"
"Yes, I do," she interrupted. "You are looking decidedly murderous, and I'm not about to let you become a criminal over any idiocy Silas may have committed."
Thor snorted. "Nor, I suppose, do you want your precious brother killed."
"That, too," Dina conceded, realizing guiltily that hadn't been her first concern. "I can also act as chaperone to Violet if it turns out they have eloped—or something." She still couldn't believe Violet would be that foolish.
"Come on, then," he snapped, veering away from the stables to the barouche the family had driven there and shouting for the coachman. When the man finally appeared, he was clearly very much the worse for drink, so Thor waved him back into the barn and climbed onto the box to take the ribbons himself.
Dina scrambled inside without a word, praying that they would indeed find Silas and Violet at Plumrose.
Unfortunately, her prayer went unanswered, for there was no sign of them at the house, nor of Silas's coach or horses.
"If I set out at once on horseback, I'll have a better chance of catching them," Thor said after he finished cursing.
"Or of getting drenched and frozen," Dina retorted, looking pointedly at the lowering sky. As if in response to her words, a thin, icy rain began to fall.
Thor cursed again. "But you'll want to pack and every minute of delay plays into their hands."
"I won't be five minutes," Dina promised. "And I'll bring a few things for Violet, as well, since she can't possibly have planned this in advance. Against the very slight chance that we don't catch them at once," she added hastily, when he began to glower again. "Meanwhile, why don't you arrange for whatever carriage is the fastest?"
Not waiting for his answer, she hurried into the house, then raced up the stairs to her chamber. Dragging out her valise, she began flinging into it the barest necessities for a night on the road— necessities she prayed she would not need. Then she ran down to the east wing and burst into Violet's room, startling her poor maid half to death.
"Never mind," she said in response to the woman's questions. "Miss Turpin can explain when she gets home. Run down to the kitchens and get some of those pasties left over from breakfast and meet me in the front hall with them."
The confused maid hurried to comply and Dina threw a change of underthings and some sturdy shoes of Violet's into the valise, then headed back downstairs. She had just reached the hall when Violet's breathless maid appeared with a cloth-wrapped parcel. Dina thanked her as she snatched it from her hands, then ran out the door and down the front steps.
Thor was just rounding the corner of the house in a covered curricle, pulled by a pair of restive bays. He appeared startled to see her.
"You did mean five minutes, didn't you?" he said as she climbed up beside him under the awning. "This should be faster than your brother's landau, unless he's got a crack coachman."
"He doesn't," she said. "He usually drives himself. When old Jefferson, his manservant, drives, he tends to slow down whenever Silas isn't shouting at him to hurry."
Wasting no more time on conversation, Thor whipped up the bays and they were off, back to the Kibble farm to pick up whatever trail there might be. There was still no sign of Silas's green landau anywhere about, so Thor turned the horses to head down the only other track leading away from the barn.
"They'll have reached the road by now," he muttered savagely. "I should have ridden in the direction of Alford the moment we saw they were gone."
"No, we had every reason to think they had gone back to Plumrose," Dina reminded him gently. She knew from long experience that men in a temper were never reasonable, so she braced herself for the tongue-lashing that was sure to follow.
It did not come, however. "Yes, yes, you're right of course," Thor said in a calmer voice after a short pause. "I'm sorry, Dina. I should not take my anger out on you, when I'm as much at fault as anyone."
Amazed and gratified, she put a hand on his arm. "Silas is the one at fault, not you. If we are to apportion blame to all and sundry, surely I should have my share as well, since I never did specifically warn Violet against him."
Thor seemed to relax a fraction. "I believe I'm glad after all that you're along," he said. "You have a remarkable way of putting things into perspective."
"Like your father?" she teased, hoping to lighten his mood further. The less angry he was when they caught up with Silas and Violet, the better—for everyone.
"Rather like that, yes— though I hope the implication doesn't follow that I'm like my mother, always flying into a tizzy over something."
Dina scooted closer to him on the seat, tucking her hands around his arm. "Somehow, I can't imagine you in a tizzy. In fact, you are the most level-headed man I've ever known —not that I've known so very many men, of course."
Instead of laughing, as she'd hoped, he nodded soberly. "From what you've told me, the men you've known best haven't been particularly fair-minded. I'm glad to know they weren't able to sour you on the who
le of my sex."
"In truth, I had become quite cynical about men in general before I made your acquaintance," Dina confessed. "I must thank you for showing me that there are kind, trustworthy men in the world."
"That means a lot to me, Dina. Thank you."
She wanted to say more—to tell him that he'd won not only her respect and admiration, but her love—but the words would not come. Not yet.
Then they rounded the corner from the track onto the road and they both had other things to think of, for there, only a short distance ahead, was Silas's green landau, headed toward Alford at a leisurely trot. With a shout, Thor urged the horses faster, and in minutes they drew even with the other coach.
"You, there," Thor called to the coachman. "Stop—I want a word with your master."
Instead of stopping, however, the man on the box sent one panicked look their way and whipped Silas's grays to a startled trot. The coachman's hat was pulled low over his eyes, but Dina could see at a glance that he was neither Silas nor Jefferson. In fact, he looked surprisingly like—
"Mr. Plunkett? Thor, I believe that is Mr. Plunkett driving Silas's coach," she exclaimed. "How on earth—?"
But Thor was too busy goading his own pair to greater speed to reply. Though the landau had leaped ahead again, the curricle was lighter and their horses presumably fresher, so well before they reached Alford they had caught up again.
This time, Thor did not slow until he had moved well ahead of the landau. Then, with a maneuver that brought Dina's heart to her mouth, he turned the curricle to block the narrow road, leaving Plunkett with no choice but to stop or to drive right into them. For a moment, she thought he intended to do just that, but at the last minute he swerved onto the verge, as though to go around them.
Unfortunately, he had not reckoned on the shallow ditch that ran along the road, all but obscured by dead, overgrown grass. The landau lurched, then tilted, finally coming to a halt with two of its wheels in the air, spinning idly. Mr. Plunkett scrambled off the box and turned to run, even as Thor leaped to the ground and lunged toward him.
"Check the coach," he called to Dina over his shoulder. "Make certain Violet is uninjured."
Dina hurried to comply, and by the time she reached the door of the landau, Plunkett was on the ground with Thor standing over him. "You won't escape me so easily this time, Plunkett," he was saying. "I don't know how Moore inveigled you into helping him, but—"
"It's empty." Dina stared into the interior of Silas's coach in disbelief. "They're not here."
"What?" Placing a booted foot on Plunkett's chest, Thor turned toward her. "How—? They must have switched vehicles. So, that was your role in this enterprise, was it, Plunkett? What is Moore driving now?"
The man on the ground looked up at him fearfully. "I . . . I don't know what you mean," he stammered. "I bought this coach from Silas Moore fair and square two days ago and haven't seen him since."
Dina came toward him now, anger and heightened concern for Violet warring in her breast. "Then how did Silas come to be driving it less than an hour ago?" she demanded.
"I don't—that is— Please, ma'am, you won't let him hurt me, will you? Back in Gretna, you and I were . . . were friends, were we not?"
"Hardly that. I knew the moment I met you that you were a weak-willed, opportunistic fortune hunter, but now I see I gave you more credit than you deserved. If you do not tell us where Silas has taken Miss Turpin, along with a complete description of the coach they are in, I will not only allow Mr. Turpin to hurt you, I will assist him in doing so." Picking up the whip he had dropped, she moved closer.
Plunkett's eyes widened and he looked frantically from Dina to Thor and back before finally capitulating. "Very well. I doubt Moore intended to pay me the rest of what he owes me anyway. Let me up, and I'll tell you all I know."
Removing his foot from Plunkett's chest, Thor heaved him into a sitting position. "Well?"
Plunkett glanced at Dina, who continued to finger the whip, half hoping he would give her an excuse to use it—not that she actually knew how.
"I . . . I don't actually know much. It was just last night he told me what he had in mind, though he seemed to think Miss Turpin would be going with him willingly."
"But she did not?"
The steel in Thor's voice made him flinch visibly, then he shook his head.
"She was mad as a hornet. I . . . I should have backed out of the plan then, but the money— Besides, she tried to hit me."
"Good for her," Dina said, proud of Violet. "Hard, I hope." She hadn't convinced Violet to learn any boxing, but perhaps her example had helped somewhat.
Plunkett shrugged. "She showed spirit, I'll give her that. If Moore gives her the least chance, she'll most likely manage to escape from him. As it was, she delayed him long enough that—"
"That we were able to catch you," Thor finished. "How much of a start do they have? And what are they driving?"
"A quarter of an hour or so. Brown coach, no markings. A mismatched pair, one black, one sorrel. They were the best I could find on short notice, with the money Moore gave me."
"Which direction did they go? Were they heading for Scotland?" Dina asked.
When Plunkett did not answer immediately, Thor took a step toward him, fist raised.
"Yes, yes, I think that was the plan, though Moore wasn't specific. They took this road, at any rate—they'd have to, wouldn't they? As for their lead, the more time you spend here with me, the longer it gets."
Thor cursed. "He's right, damn it. Let's go." He turned back toward the curricle, but Dina hesitated.
"We're not going to just let him go, are we? Shouldn't he be . . . arrested or something? Surely, assisting in a kidnapping is a crime."
"It is. But taking him to the magistrate —even finding the magistrate, on Boxing Day—could cost us hours."
Dina had to admit he was right, though she didn't like it. "Suppose we tie him up, then tell someone in Alford to come collect him?"
"But it's freezing out here," Mr. Plunkett protested. "Besides, if you get the law involved, it will be difficult to keep this whole thing quiet—as you seem to have managed the last time. You won't want Miss Turpin's name sullied for something that isn't even her fault, will you? If you let me go, I promise never to breathe a word of it, on my honor."
"Your honor doesn't particularly impress me, Plunkett," Thor said. "How's this? If I ever learn you've said a word against my sister, I will hunt you down and kill you."
Mr. Plunkett paled visibly and Dina felt a bit of color leaving her own cheeks. Thor sounded deadly serious —not that she blamed him.
"Actually," Thor continued, "you may wish to consider leaving England entirely to make certain that can't happen."
Plunkett scrambled shakily to his feet and began dusting off his clothes. "Leave—? I, well, yes, I may just do that." He glanced from Thor to Dina and back, with what Dina thought was a calculating expression.
"Now I think on it, I'm sure there are things you'd prefer I keep to myself about your little wife, as well." He smiled, regaining a degree of his earlier swagger. "Of course, I'd be able to leave the country sooner if you could spot me enough to pay my passage . . ."
Thor took a step toward Plunkett, but Dina was closer. Almost without thinking, enraged by his impudence and, even more, by the phrase 'little wife,' she took two quick steps and drove her left fist into Plunkett's stomach. He doubled over with a startled "oof," bringing his head down to her level, allowing her to throw a right punch straight from the shoulder into his nose.
Plunkett crumpled to the ground, clutching at his face, blood flowing freely down his chin. "What—? How—?" he mumbled, his eyes wide with shock.
"Remember that if you think again to bargain or bully—or to take advantage of any woman," Dina told him severely. "Breathe a word about Violet—or me—and you'll find more than your nose broken."
She then turned her back on him to face Thor, whose eyes were as wide as Plunkett's
. He stared from her to Plunkett and back, his mouth opening and closing without any words escaping.
"Let's go," Dina said, her anger subsiding to be replaced with renewed concern for Violet. "We shall have to hurry if we are to catch up to Silas after this delay."
Without a backward glance, she walked to the waiting curricle, leaving a flabbergasted Thor to follow or not.
Chapter Twenty-One
Blinking, Thor forced his feet to move. Still stunned by the masterful way Dina had dispatched Plunkett, he hurried to her side, opened the door, and handed her into the vehicle —not, he realized, that she really needed his help. He then climbed inside himself and took up the reins.
One last look at Plunkett showed him still sprawled on the ground, making no attempt whatsoever to rise. No doubt he was as astounded by what had just happened as Thor was.
Not until he had turned the curricle and whipped up the horses to continue the pursuit did Thor find his voice. "Good show," he finally managed. "How, er, where did you learn to fight like that?"
When Dina did not reply at once, he glanced down to find her regarding him warily. "Are you angry with me?" she asked.
"Angry? Of course not. A bit startled, perhaps." That was a monumental understatement. "I mean, I knew you were quite fit for your, ah, size, but—"
"I did tell you that I had learned to box," she reminded him.
Again, he blinked. "Yes. Yes, you did." He had not quite believed her at the time, but clearly she had not exaggerated in the least. "I apologize for doubting you," he said now.
"Apology accepted," she replied, the worry leaving her eyes, her lips curving into a tentative smile.
They reached Alford then, and Thor stopped long enough to discover that Moore had gone south rather than north, as expected, no doubt to throw off pursuit.
He also penned a quick message to his father and let someone know about the disabled coach on the road behind. "For the horses' sake," he explained to Dina as he climbed back into the curricle. "Plunkett can rot, for all of me, but those poor beasts don't deserve to freeze out there."