She gave him a shaky smile. “None of the animals were harmed, that’s the main thing.”
“And you were not. But where is Clementine? She went in search of you apparently.”
Aunt Mary’s eyes widened. “I never saw her. I only arrived home about ten minutes ago. But she would not have been in there, surely?” She eyed the stable.
“No.” Fear made his gut tighten. “No, why would she be?”
But why had she not returned to the stables to give out more orders after not finding Aunt Mary? Something was wrong.
“I’ll go and see if she’s in the house.” He gave his aunt as reassuring a smile as he could manage.
She had to be in the house. She just had to be. Someone would have noticed had she started tackling the blaze and ended up hurt.
He headed to the library first then down to the drawing room and the second parlor room. Each open door and shout of her name made his heart race harder. Where the devil was she? He took the stairs two at a time and headed for her bedroom first, not bothering to knock. His heart dropped when he spied a neatly made bed and no sign of her.
“Musgrave!” he bellowed. “Where the hell are you?”
Let her scold him for his language. He didn’t care so long as she was safe.
After he’d sprinted his way down the corridor, a sound Roman only registered as a cry of distress rang in his ears. Heart in his throat, he shoved the door so hard it slammed opened. A man whirled, his eyes widening upon spotting Roman.
“You,” Roman said at the same moment his stepcousin snatched Clementine by the arm and dragged her hard against him.
She and Roman froze the second Jones brought a knife to her neck. Glinting in the sunlight, the blade hovered dangerously close to the delicate skin of Clementine’s neck. Her throat worked and Roman silently willed her to remain as still as possible. She met his gaze and for the first time since he’d known her, he saw fear.
His gaze narrowed in on the mark on her cheek. Balling his fists at his side, jaw tight, Roman forced himself to inhale slowly. Whatever was going on, he’d make Jones pay if he was responsible for that mark. By the looks of the blade at Clementine’s throat, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine.
“Jones,” he said slowly, inching a foot into the room.
“Stay where you are!” Aunt Mary’s stepson demanded. “I’ll do it.”
Roman eyed the blade in an unsteady hand. Jones was known for being a lazy scoundrel and for making bad decisions. He wasn’t scared of Jones, but he was scared that the man may make yet another bad decision and harm Clementine. He slowly exhaled an unsteady breath and eyed her.I’ll get you out of this, I swear it.
Clementine strained backward against his hold in an attempt to keep the knife from her skin. “Y-You do not want to do this, Mr. Jones.”
“Shut up,” Jones barked. “I need to think.”
“Please...” she begged.
“She’s right.” Roman took another slow step. “I don’t know how you think you’re getting out of this situation, Jones, but harming an earl’s daughter isn’t going to get you anything other than the noose.”
“Shut up!” his stepcousin snapped again. “All I wanted was the damned letter, but she won’t hand it over.”
“She doesn’t have it,” Roman said coolly. “And there’s nothing you could do with it anyway.”
“All she had to do was hand it over...” Jones spat. “I could have made a fortune.”
Roman nodded and eased forward once more. “You want money?”
“It’s fine for you, the perfect marquis, with reams of resources at his fingertips.” Jones shook his head. “You could never understand what it’s like to live without.”
If it were not for the knife at Clementine’s throat, he’d laugh. None of his uncle’s children had been left without but Jones was known for spending money on everything from the latest fashions to horses to women.
“I could have used that letter. It would be worth a lot to a collector.” Jones’s gaze fixed upon Roman. “Or to you.”
Ah. Roman suspected blackmail might have a role to play in this letter business. He should have known it would be a family member who was after it. If only his aunt had recalled that Jones knew of the thing, it would have solved this matter much more quickly.
“Well, you can hardly blackmail me with a letter you do not have, can you?” Roman lifted both hands. “Now release Lady Clementine.”