Aidan looked over Cole’s shoulder to Burk and then back at Cole. “All right, let’s go.”
He led Rhia, and Rose in first and Lydia followed behind. Burk and Cole brought up the rear and Cole shut the door. He leaned against it for a moment, needing the strength of the wood.
Rhia was seated beside Aidan, holding his hand and Rose and Lydia were still waiting for Burk and Cole to sit.
Cole kissed his mother and Rose on the cheek and kissed Rhia as well, smiling at her. He knew it didn’t reach his eyes, but he certainly tried. The women sat down on one of the settees and Cole walked to the fireplace.
He leaned back against the mantle and noted that Burk stayed by the door. They all looked at him expectantly, and Cole cleared his throat. “Let me start at the beginning.”
He told them about his meeting with Eden, and how he accidentally spilled his drink all over her dress. Aidan chuckled and Rhia giggled.
He then told them about Eden’s orphanage, and introduced them to Burk. Aidan stood, and held out his hand to the big man. Burk looked down in surprise and back up.
He shook Aidan’s hand, “Thank you for helping my brother, for keeping Eden safe, and for your help now.”
Burk nodded, speechless. Cole let out a low laugh, “He has a good reason why he has stayed around so long,”
Aidan looked over at Cole in confusion, and Cole said, “He is in love with Lily.”
Burk looked down, and Cole saw a blush rise on the big man’s cheeks. When Burk looked back up, Cole could see determination on his face.
He said, “I know I am not what you would have wanted for your daughter, or your sister. And I know that she is a titled woman, but I love her. But I will take care of her and treat her like the queen she is.”
Aidan smiled at him, “I don’t know if Cole told you this, but we aren’t the sort of people to judge others. Nor do we care about your station in life.”
Rhia rose from the settee she was sitting on and walked slowly to her husband's side. He reached out a hand to her, and she took it.
Her limp was still as bad as it was before, and Cole smiled. Burk looked down at the Duchess, and the big man smiled down at her.
She looked up at him, “Hello Burk. I am glad you love Lily. She is so wonderful, as is Rose, and she deserves to have someone love her for who she is.”
Rose smiled at him, and Cole laughed. Aidan guided Rhia to sit back down, and he kissed her, in front of everyone.
Burk looked shocked by the revelations, and he finally walked to a chair and sat down.
Lydia reached over and grabbed his hand, and she smiled at him. “Good luck with her, you will have your work cut out for you.”
Burk shook his head, and Cole cleared his throat. He continued telling them about Eden, her brother and his threat, how she had come to live with him and his proposal to her.
Lydia laughed and clapped, “Another daughter to add to our family, I cannot wait.”
Cole smiled sadly at her, “I know mother. She wanted nothing more than to meet you.”
Lydia grasped his hand, “It will be all right Cole. I just know it.”
Cole sighed, and squeezed her hand back, finally telling them of how Eden, Lily and their friend Persephone went missing and how they had searched nonstop for them for the last few days. Only stopping to sleep for an hour here and there, and barely eating as they felt they needed to search everywhere.
Before anyone could say anything, about Eden and Lily’s disappearance, a knock sounded on the sitting room door, and Cole rose from his chair, walking to the door, and opened it, to find Brooks standing there, along with Cabe.
Cole smiled at his friends and led the men into the room. It was filling up quickly and Cole pulled Cabe aside. “Thank you for being here Cabe. I know that you don’t feel comfortable around a lot of people yet, but I needed your help and you came. So, I appreciate it.”
Cabe grimaced, “I am trying. This is a much-needed push because I do need to get back into society, but it isn’t easy. And, after I received your letter, I had to see if everything was all right.”
Cole sighed, “Well again, I appreciate you being here. And you know a little from my letter, but nothing is all right. Eden, my sister Lily and their friend Persephone have gone missing and I have no idea why they were taken, or what happened.”
Cabe sighed, “Damn it, I was afraid of that.”
Cole’s eyebrows drew down in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Cabe reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper with a broken red seal on the front. “I received this letter late last night. It is from one of my captains on one of my ships. Blake wrote me what appears to be a quickly penned letter, that must have been secreted out of the ship to let me know that my ship has been taken over. Because a woman kidnapped his wife and daughter and threatened to kill them if he didn’t take her, her small crew of men and her ‘cargo’ to India.”
Cole’s eyebrows went up, but he was still confused, so Cabe continued, “He wrote me this to let me know where they were headed, what the ‘cargo’ is and how he is going to head to a small island we discovered, and not go to India. He thinks that it will give us the chance to catch up to them, as this letter was written a few days ago, and they have the advantage of those few days. We need to take my smaller ship and hopefully, we can catch up with them before anyone notices they aren't headed toward India. Blake doesn’t think the crew the woman brought know anything about sailing, but you never know, so we need to leave as soon as we can.”
Cole stood there, knowing his mouth was hanging open. This was not what he was expecting to hear when Cabe walked in the door, and it still was something that Cole didn’t fully grasp. Cabe handed him the letter, and Cole quickly read it.
Aidan walked to where they were talking and cleared his throat. Cole turned to look at his brother. “Aidan, this is Cabe Michael James. He just saved the girls.”
Aidan looked confused, but held out his hand to Cabe, which Cabe shook. “I have heard a lot about you. I hope your injury is well.”
Cabe nodded, “I have heard about you as well. It’s getting better. I am still getting used to my prosthetic, but I am alive. So, to me that’s all that matters.”
Aidan smiled, “Tell me how did Cabe save the day?”
Cole handed the letter to Aidan, and after his quick perusal, Aidan turned shocked eyes to Cabe. “This is good news. I heard some of what you said. I just hope this plan works and that we don't alert them too soon or at all. We don't want anything happening to the girls. Or your captain's wife."
Cabe smiled, “I appreciate that, truly. I would hate to see anything happen to my captain or his family. I told Cole that we need to get to my ship as soon as possible. As I told Cole, if we take my smaller boat, we can catch up to them sooner. Blake left the coordinates for us.”
He pointed to the numbers written on the bottom of the page. Cole and Aidan both nodded, “The woman and her crew know nothing about sailing. Or direction. My captain figured this out quite quickly and is going to take them to this island instead. Let’s hope that our small bit of luck continues, and they don’t figure out Blake’s deception. If we hurry and leave soon, we can make it there around the same time they do. My smaller boat is much faster than his bigger one.”
Cole nodded, “I can pack my things and be ready to leave within the hour.”
Burk had come up to them at this point, “Where are you going Cole?”
Cole turned to the room and looked at all the faces watching him. He explained Cabe’s presence and told them the story. Rose stood, “I am going with you Cole.”
Cole started shaking his head, and Rose held up her hand. “Whoever it is that took Eden also took Lily. I am going to find my twin.”
Cole let out a sigh and looked at Aidan. He shrugged. “If someone is injured, she could help them Cole.”
Cole pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded. “Fine, but I want you to promise that if
there is fighting you stay out of the way.”
Rose clenched her teeth. “I am just as good of a fighter as some of you. I won’t make that promise.”
Cole groaned, “Rose, I am not saying that you aren’t. I just worry about you. Please. Just do as I ask, or I am keeping you here. I don’t want harm to befall you.”
Rose sighed, “Fine.”
Rhia stood, “I want to come as well. I worry about Lily and Rose, but I am frightened. I would most definitely get in the way if there is fighting.”
Aidan walked to her and kissed her softly. Cole heard her say quietly, “You and I have never been on a ship before. But I don’t want to be left behind. I want to be with you, to go on adventures together. Besides, our baby needs their father.”
Cole grinned and heard Rose gasp. “Rhia, you are with child?”
Aidan turned his wife and smiled, “She has been feeling poorly for a little while. And it’s still early, but yes we believe she is.”
Rose jumped up and ran to her brother and sister in law. Cole laughed as he watched his sister cry and laugh at the same time.
Lydia joined in with the celebration and Cole knew that she must have already known.
Burk cleared his throat. “I will go home and get my things in order. I will be here with Brooks as soon as we can. I will get Lily back. Make no mistake.”
Cole watched him walk out the door and turned back to Cabe. He was staring at Rose, and when he looked away, he caught Cole watching him.
His cheeks went red, and he cleared his throat. “I will be back in an hour to get whomever is coming with us.”
He turned on his heel and walked out with no limp or anything to indicate his lack of leg and his use of a prosthetic.
Cole turned back to his family and walked to where Rhia was still being hugged by his sister. He pulled the woman from his Rose’s grasp and gave her a soft hug.
“Congratulations, Rhia. You will be an excellent mother.”
Rhia looked up at him and had tears shining in her eyes. “Thank you, Cole.”
He kissed her cheek softly and then pulled Aidan into a hug. “You deserve this and more.”
Aidan laughed, “Thank you Cole. I am a little nervous and hope I can be the best father there is.”
Cole smiled, “You will be. No doubt.”
Aidan cleared his throat, “We will be going with you. I wish to find Lily and help with Eden.”
Cole went to protest, “Mother will stay here then?” Lydia nodded, “I have a feeling that here is where I am needed. Please be safe. All of you.”
“You will be safe here by yourself?” Aidan asked Lydia and she nodded, “I will be perfectly safe. Just take care of Rhia. She is carrying your heir.”
“Cole, you and I still have much to discuss.”
Cole’s brows drew down. “What do you mean Aidan?”
Aidan turned to the desk and produced a bag. He pulled out a few packets of letters each bound together with a length of twine. Some packets looked older, and worn, while others were newer. And a few small leather-bound books.
Cole looked to his brother, “What is all this?”
Aidan sighed, “This is something we have been searching for. We have had it the entire time, right beneath our noses. One of the maids found this bundle the other morning after cleaning one of the rooms we had for the guests of Katarina’s ball. She said that when she was dusting a painting in the room, that the painting wobbled and started to fall off the wall, and when she grabbed it, so it didn’t break, that these things fell out. She was shocked to say the least, and decided to check a few others, and more things fell out around the room. She also found a hair darkening syrup, and a few different changes of clothes, that were not the norm of what people wear. So, we assume they were some kind of disguise. They were placed in places they shouldn’t be. Mother and I think this is, where Braddock must have stayed. He was in our house Cole. For who knows how long. Saw things he shouldn’t, heard things as well. And, all I know is that these letters and things hold the key to our answers. So, while we are chasing down your love, we are also going to do the research we have to do.”
Cole looked up at Aidan with wide eyes. “All right. We can do our research while on the ship.”
Aidan looked over at his wife, who had sat back down and was talking with Lydia and Rose. “I don’t want Rhia to know everything that is in these books. Nor our mother unless she really needs to know. She has been through enough already. I don’t want them upset until we truly know what is going on inside each of the pages.”
Cole nodded, “I agree.” He helped Aidan put everything back inside the bag. “I want to eat, pack and bathe before we leave. I have been searching all night and am starving.”
Aidan smiled, “I will have something delivered to your suite, along with a bath. Go pack. We don’t want to wait to get going.”
Cole ran up the stairs and got everything packed. Took a quick bath and ate all that he could.
Cabe arrived with a carriage in tow, the small party of Burk, Brooks, Cabe, Cole, Aidan, Rhia and Rose were all ready to leave.
Rhia hugged Lydia tightly, “Are you certain that you don’t want to come with? Maybe I should stay here?”
Lydia hugged Rhia tightly, “Rhia, my darling girl, this is where I am meant to be. I feel it deep down. Go, have an adventure. But, please be safe. You have precious cargo. Take good care of her Aidan.”
Aidan nodded, and wrapped his arm around Rhia. “I will mother. She is my life.”
They made it to the docks and on Cabe’s ship in record time. Cabe made certain Rose and Rhia had his large cabin to themselves, while the men shared cabins.
Cole sat on his small bunk in the ship and sighed. He was exhausted, and the long night and day was hitting him hard.
Knowing Eden was so far out of reach and was in more danger than he wanted to think on, he hated it. And he was helpless to help them if the men of the bad crew caught on to the other ship’s deceit. Cole didn’t know what he would do.
He put his head in his hands and groaned. He wished he could hold his woman again, kiss her and make love to her. They had only had one chance to make love, and he longed to hold Eden in his arms again.
He knew he wouldn’t sleep well until she was back where she belonged.
And he hoped and prayed that no harm would befall her. He would kill any man who did anything to her. That was his vow and promise.
A knock sounded on the door, and Cabe peeked his head in. “Just wanted to tell you we are weighing anchor.”
Cole nodded, “I would love to see it. Being on a ship is something I never thought I would do.”
Cabe grinned. “Seeing a noble man like yourself on my ship isn’t something I thought I would see either.”
Cole laughed, “You are a noble yourself.”
Cabe snorted, “That may be true, but I was practically raised on a ship. My father may have been nobility, but his ships were more important than his title. And, as I was the second son, the title wouldn’t pass to me. I joined the Navy, and that was going to be it. Until my brother decided to forgo his name, his title and any claim to it when he married who he did. He was tired of the life he had led, and ashamed of himself. So, he and his wife left for America, and the title then fell to me. But I was already at sea and didn’t find out until after I was injured.”
Cabe shook his head, “Sorry, too much rambling. I need to get up there.”
Cole nodded, and followed his friend. He now knew that he didn’t know Cabe as well as he had thought. Not in the least.
But he didn’t care. Cabe was his friend, and had come to help, was doing more than helping, by following in his ship.
Most of the men Cole knew would let you fail and laugh when you did it. He was grateful Cabe was not that kind of man. It was why Cole was such good friends with him.
When he emerged from the dark hold, he blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the bright sun.
Cabe had hurried ahea
d and was barking out orders to his crew while he walked quickly to the helm.
Cole watched in awe as Cabe turned from his dear friend, into a battle-hardened naval captain. It was majestic to see, and Cole was a little envious of his friend and the life he had led.
He felt a touch to his arm and looked down to see Rose at his side. “Seeing Lord James like that is a sight isn’t it?”
Cole laughed, “It certainly is. Seeing him in this light is a new thing. He is quiet and unassuming around society, barely speaking and not at all like this.”
Rose laughed, “He is handsome.”
Cole looked down at his sister, and her face was a shade of pink. “Handsome?”
Rose nodded and walked away quickly. Cole followed her, “You think he is handsome?”
Rose turned to glare at him. “I am allowed to think men are handsome, it doesn’t mean anything.”
Cole laughed, “I wasn’t saying anything. Cabe is one of my only friends Rose. I think he is a great man.”
Rose nodded, “I know nothing of him, aside from the few things you told our family. But he certainly doesn’t act like he was injured.”
Cole laughed again, “No he doesn’t. But Aidan never did either. Remember how difficult it was to keep Aidan in his bed for as long as we did? And me for that matter? Cabe is a lot like us. No injury will keep him down.”
Rose laughed, “I believe you are right.”
She sobered for a minute, “I hope he is correct, and that his captain will help us. And that we can find Lily. I worry about her, and Eden.”
Cole wrapped his arms around his sister and kissed the top of her head. “I worry too. We will find them Rose. It is the only acceptable answer I will acknowledge.”
Rose sighed and hugged him back. He walked them to the railing and watched as the ship started moving slowly into deeper and deeper water.
Cabe kept calling out orders, and soon the ship was at full sails, the billowing fabric catching the wind and they were moving through the water quickly. Cole yawned, and Rose looked up at him. “Are you all right?”
Cole nodded, “I am just tired. I have been searching for Eden and haven’t stopped to rest much.”
The Marquess Who Adored Me Page 20