Light to Valhalla (7 page)

“
My l
ord.
”
Hastings s
curried into the
study
.

Glad for th
e distraction
Alex
pulled murderous
thoughts away from
Sidney
and
Charlotte
stuffing the emotions back into the tiny crevice of
his soul where they belonged
.
“I say, Hastings, why aren’t you asleep?  The hour is
near
midnight.”

The butler ignored the query
.
“This missive just arrived
for you
,
milord
.
T
he currier
stated
it is most urgent.
”

“A missive for me specifically?
”
He shook his head
.
“It can’t be
.
No one knows I’m in London.”

“The messenger specifically stated Lord Major
Coverstone
.”

Witherspoon,
Alex
thought wryly,
scraping his chair back and
snatching
the note
.
The general was one of few to know he’d returned to
Town
.
He unfolded the missive and flicked his gaze across the bawdy scrawl.

I
f you wish to see Lady
Coverstone
alive again bring 5000 pounds to the abandoned mill at
Harvetshi
r
e
Road
.
Send one man
, unarmed, and on foot
at six o’clock tomorrow evening
.
Failure to obey these instructions will result
in the lady’s death.

A cold rush washed
Alex
from head to toe, nullifying the liquor’s effects
.
He read the words a second time
, struggling to digest the threat
.
Anger
lashed his mind, and
he
leapt to his feet so quickly the
chair toppled backward
.

“What is it?
”
Instantly,
Sidney
rose
.
“
What’s wrong?”

Result in the lady’s death… the lady’s death…
The words
swirled through
Alex
’s mind
.
Charlotte
’
s death
.
A vision of her
years
before
, no more than eight
,
trembling and frightened, staring up at him with
those
huge
green
eyes pierced his memory
.
P
rotectiveness
gripped
his
every instinct
.
Whether by choice or by circumstance
Charlotte
was his to keep and protect
, and no one,
no one,
took what was his
.

“
Alex
?
”
Sid
waved
a
n irritable
hand before his face
.
“
Alex
?”

He shoved the note into
Sidney
’
s chest
, and
scrubbed
both hands through his hair
.
“
Hastings, where is the
messenger
that delivered the note
?”

“Gone, milord.”

“What do you mean gone?  He can’t have gone far, go find him.
”
Dragging his gaze from the butler to his friend,
Alex
’s mind whirled
,
already forming a plan of action.

All color drained from
Sid
ney
’s face
.
“
Charley
’s been kidnapped!  How the hell did this happen?
”
The paper rattled between his fingers
.
“
You said she was with
Lady Carmich
a
e
l.”

“
This is
Witherspoon
’s doing
,”
Alex
growled
.
“I’d stake my life on it
.
The
son of a bitch threatened to make me pay
.
I just thought he’d come after me
directly
instead of
involving
innocents like my wife.”

“Do you have 5000 pounds?
”
Sidney
grilled
.
“If not I’ll contact my solicitor immediately for the funds.”

“You can’t think I’m going to pay the bastards?”

Sidney
stopped short
, body rigid with disgust
.
“But you must.”

“Never give in to blackmail,
Sidney
.
Did the army teach you nothing?
”
Swiftly he tugged his red jacket into place and strode to the door
.
Blasted limp
.
“
I’m going after her
.
You’re welcome to join me.”

“Of course.
”
Instantly
Sidney
fell into step
beside
him.

“Hastings
,”
Alex
snapped
.
“
H
ave my horse and supplies enough
for two
days prepared.”

“Certainly, milord, I’ll see to it straight away.”

Fuming,
Alex
marched toward the stairs
.
To think he’d once thought General Witherspoon an honorable man
.
The bastard would pay for this
.

“Just what is going on here?
”
His mother’s shrill voice pierced the hall
.

Alex
stopped and turned his gaze up
the staircase
.
Regina
stood halfway down the stairs, still fully clothed, one hand rested upon the rail
.
“A messenger just brought word that
Charlotte
’s been attacked
and—”

“
Charlotte
’s dead?
”
A hand fluttered to
Regina
’s
breast as she
slid coolly
down another step
.
“How awful,
Alex
.
”
No
remorse reflected in her
face.

“No, not dead!
 
Abducted.
”
Alex
shook his head, only his moth
er would jump to such a morbid
conclusion
.
No doubt wishful thinking
.
He refused to entertain the idea
Charlotte
could not be saved
.
She’d saved him on the battlefield and i
f he did one thing right by her, it would be this
.
“A 5000 pound demand was made for her safe return.
”

“5000 pounds?
”
Sheer horror laced her expression
.
White knuckled,
Regina
grasped the rail and stumbled down two more stairs
.
“
What g
reedy, underhanded rabble
would dare to blackmail a peer? 
Alex
, you
cannot pay them
.
I forbid it.”

Unwittingly a fist clenched at
his
Side
.
“No need to worry over the family coffers
,
mother
.
Sidney
and I
are riding
out straight away to find her.”

“
No
.
Absolutely not
.
I forbid you to
put yourself in danger yet again
.
Surely there are men more equipped and better trained for the task than
you
.”

“
Such confidence,” he quipped
.
More seriously he added, “
Mother, you forget,
I am a trained officer
in his majesty’s service
.
As i
s
Sidney
.
We
are
the men trained and equipped for
just this situation
.
If you’ll excuse me,” he nodded dismissively,
and back
ed away from the stairs
.
“
I must see to the preparations.”

“
We’d be better off without her,
Alex
.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.
”
He
pegged his mother with a reproachful glare,
turned and fell into stride with
Sidney
.
Casting his cousin a
sidelong
glance he muttered, “If my mother is the Devil what does that make me?”

*
             
*
             
*

W
ind howled through the trees
, blistering and
nefarious
, whipping shards of snow and ice
across the i
ce-
hewn ground
.
Inadvertently
Charley
shivered,
hunkered beneath
a shoddy wool blanket
beside
the fire
.
For hours she’d feigned sleep
, praying for rescue…
praying for a miracle
… praying
, at the very least,
for
the sun to rise
and warm her
.

Ridiculous scenarios whirled through her mind
.

Alex
charging on horseback into the clearing, resplendent in his
crimson uniform, saber drawn as he bore down on her captors…

Alex
gathering her in his arms,
whispering words of sweet nothing into her ears…

“I still think we should slit
‘
er
throat and be done with it,”
t
he man called
Halverson
grumbled from the opposite
s
ide
of the fire.

T
he words snapped
Charley
from her fantasy
.
She
held her breath to stem the terrified whimper threatening to burst forth, and squeezed her eyes
more tightly shut
.
If only she could disappear.

“
If ‘is lordship
don’t
pay fo
r her return we’ll slit ‘
er
throat and collect th
e 1000 pounds we was
hired for,
”
Johnston
, the man with the devil’s
eyes, replied indifferently
.
Pure evil dripped from his
tone
.

Charley
shuddered
.
1000 pounds to see me dead? 
The notion was unfathomable
.
Unwittingly
she opened her eyes, but
snapped them back shut the
moment
orange flames struck her gaze
.
Who
would hire men to kill me?
The
terrifying question
plagued
her
as she lay
curled in a
helpless
ball
on the ice hardened ground
, deep in the forest
.
She had no real enemies
.
Except perhaps
Regina
, but truthfully whatever her personal feelings the dowager would never stoop to murder, and she’d never part with 1000 pounds
to see it done.