She rushed over to her writing table in the corner of the room and scribbled a quick note on a piece of paper which she then folded and handed to Selina.
“Give this to the footman and tell him to take it to the Duke of Combston,” she instructed. “We shall start looking for her in the meantime.”
Selina seemed confused for a moment then rushed out of the room in search of the footman. Lydia quickly got dressed and ran outside. She wasn’t even thinking. She was led by some inner instinct that told her that her sister needed to be found at all costs. She would do whatever she needed to do to bring her home safe and sound.
Suddenly, Lydia realized why Edwin pushed her away. With Anna missing, she could not think of anything or anyone else. No one else existed. The world stopped spinning. Life was put on hold. She finally understood.
A tear slid down her cheek. She quickly wiped it then headed outside. Every second counted.
CHAPTER27
When the message reached him, Edwin knew he needed to act fast. He quickly got dressed and immediately returned with Lydia’s carriage to her home. Her note was brief. It told him little other than the fact that he needed to come urgently. Still, he trusted her judgment. He knew that she would not come to him for aid unless the situation was dire.
As soon as the carriage came to a halt, Edwin jumped out of it, flying towards the main house. Just as he was about to knock on the door, it opened, and Lydia appeared.
“Lydia!” he exclaimed upon seeing her. “I came as quickly as I could.”
“Come, there is not a moment to be wasted!” She pulled him by the hand, her touch both tender and urgent at the same time as they rushed towards the garden behind the house. “She is nowhere in the house,” she continued as they ran with the cool nightly breeze raking its invisible fingers through her strawberry blonde locks. Her freckled cheeks were even rosier now under the strain. “We have to search in the garden,” she announced as they took a left turn behind the house. “The servants were already sent out into the streets to see if she’s already left us…”
He could hear the concern in her voice. He understood her completely. The memory of that fateful night when he woke up and realized that Rachel was not sound asleep in her bedchamber. He remembered that heavy feeling in his gut, that dull, throbbing ache that frightened him into believing the worst. It took him a lot of effort to escape the talons of those convictions. But he was here. He was hopeful. He was so close to finding Rachel.
This was the same memory all over again. He and his mother also employed the help of every single servant. They searched the entire house first then the garden and the rest of the premises. The search was widened into the surroundings streets then the entire city of London. But Rachel was nowhere to be seen or heard from. He could only hope that Lydia wasn’t too late for her sister, the way he was late for his own.
They tried to see in the darkness, but the garden was dim. It was illuminated solely by a few torches, but the woods behind the garden were pitch black.
“We need to go there,” he pointed towards the darkest part.
She stopped, gazing into the distance in the direction where he was pointing. He could tell she was afraid. Petrified even. He knew that feeling well. She wanted to rush over there and to find Anna. But at the same time, she was afraid of not finding her there. Then, she would be one step further away from finding her.
Without saying a word, she started first. He followed her silently, looking around. Every shadow could have been Anna. Every tree seemed to have a human shape. He wanted to hear noises, but there were none, apart from the sound of their own footsteps.
Then suddenly, Lydia stopped. Her hand flew to his side, bidding him silently to do the same. His heart was beating wildly. He didn’t know where to look, but she obviously did. Her eyes were focused on something in the distance, something he could still not see. She tiptoed towards a tree, trying to make as little sound as possible. He did the same.
He looked hard in the same direction that she was, squinting, until his eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness. Then, finally, he could see it. There were two silhouettes, one facing the other. One was taller with broader shoulders. The other one was smaller, standing close, but her body language seemed uneasy, frightened even.
He was just about to tell Lydia to wait until they could come up with a plan when Lydia stepped out of the shadows that were hiding them and shouted.
“Anna!” Lydia’s voice echoed throughout the area, awakening anyone and anything that might have been sleeping soundly up until that moment.
Both silhouettes turned to face her. He could see them clearly now as the soft light of the moon shined down upon them. It was Anna and the Viscount.
“Lydia?” Anna called out to her sister.
Even Edwin, who didn’t know Anna that well, could tell from the sound of her voice that something wasn’t right. The Viscount wasn’t holding onto her, but she was still by his side.
“I know this looks suspicious,” the Viscount suddenly started to explain without being asked anything, “but I merely needed Anna’s help with… Selina.”
“Why didn’t you come to me then?” Lydia flared up as she took one step closer to the couple.
“I could not,” the Viscount assured her. “Selina is closer to Anna, and I needed to find out why she called off our engagement.”
Lydia ignored his comment. She turned her attention to her sister. “Is that true, Anna?” she demanded although Edwin was certain that they all knew the answer to that question.
Seconds felt as long as an entire hour. Edwin wanted to interfere, to show the Viscount that the ladies were not here alone and unchaperoned. He was there to keep them safe. But Lydia had taken charge of the situation. She was bold enough to prove it to that man, and Edwin didn’t want to take that power away from her. That was why he stood behind her, close enough for her to know that he was there if she needed him, but far enough away so that she could do this on her own terms. He knew that she needed that.
“I…” Anna started to speak, but she was unable to finish her sentence.
It had become clear to everyone that she wasn’t here of her own accord.