“It belongs to Frau Lockwood.”
“Thank the Lord.” Elliot was able to breathe freely again. “More than likely he’s found a mistress and forgotten all about this absurd need for revenge.”
Grace winced at his reaction and said after a slight hesitation, “Frau Lockwood lives in the castle high up on the hill. She has lived there for ten years. Frau Lockwood has golden hair, wears a dark cloak and is seen mostly at night.”
With trembling hands, Elliot grabbed the bottle, filled his goblet and downed the potent liquid so fast he almost retched.
Grace sighed. “The wench believes she may have been dreaming, but she thought Leo had a sword strapped to his back. We found an empty scabbard under his bed.”
“But why would she allow him into her
carriage knowing he had a sword?” Alexander shook his head. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“You know what this means?” Elliot sucked in a breath. “I will have to go up to the castle. I can’t leave here until I know what’s happened to him.”
“I’ll come with you,” Alexander said.
“Perhaps we should all go together?” Evelyn suggested.
“No!” both gentlemen cried in unison, aware they had attracted the attention of a few curious locals.
“No,” Elliot whispered firmly. “You will both stay here. You promised you would else I would not have let you come. Do not make me compel you to do so.”
Grace’s eyes grew wide. “You wouldn’t.”
When it came to their safety, there was no room for negotiation.
“We both will,” Alexander added ignoring Evelyn’s irate stare.
“We will all go to my room,” Elliot commanded. “We will go to my room now without hesitation.”
They escorted the ladies to Elliot’s room, used mind manipulation on their wives to keep them there as they could not risk them coming up to the castle. Then they compelled them to lock the door behind them.
“I’m going to have to make Evelyn forget about this else she will find a way to punish me. I know it.”
Elliot patted his friend on the back. “I hated doing it, too, but their safety has to be our priority. They will understand. Besides, come the morning they will be free to do as they please.”
“You assume we’ll return tonight?”
“I sincerely hope so. But that is why I told you only to force her to stay in the room until sunrise. If we fail to return, I have instructed Gibbs to take them home.” Elliot removed his pocket watch and glanced at the time before replacing it. “We’ll have nine hours to get there and back. It should be plenty of time. But it would be wise to note how long it takes us to reach the castle, should anything unexpected occur.”
They headed out into the night, followed the path leading up through the forest. No clouds littered the inky sky and the light from the full moon cast a silvery-blue hue to illuminate their way.
“What will we do if she’s killed him?” Alexander asked, vocalising the words Elliot dared not think let alone speak.
“Then we will have two choices. We kill her, or we return to the tavern, jump into the carriage and head back to England.”
They fell silent. The crunching of twigs underfoot and the rustling of leaves in the breeze did nothing to distract from the gravity of their situation.
“If it comes to it,” Elliot continued after contemplating how best to proceed, “if we’ve got no choice but to fight, then I want you to let me deal with it. I want you to leave, take Grace and Evelyn and get as far away from this place as you can.”
“I won’t leave you,” Alexander declared. “I could not live with it on my conscience.”
“You must think of Evelyn. And you must promise me you will take care of Grace.” Hell, just saying the words caused his airways to constrict.
“Hopefully, we will find Leo locked in the dungeon sucking on the blood of rats. The devil woman will have left the key in the door, and we’ll all be in our beds come the morning.”
Elliot admired his friend’s optimism even though he knew it was feigned purely for his benefit. “I’m sure you’re right.”