Unexpectedly Wed to the Officer (Regency Belles of Bath 2)

‘What?’ She felt a stab of panic. Peter hadn’t seemed in a particularly celebratory mood when he’d seen his father that morning. Instead, he’d looked angry and guarded, but she’d thought some time alone together would help.

‘I don’t know what happened.’ David pushed a hand through his hair. ‘I was just trying to talk to him...’

‘Which way did he go?’ She grabbed hold of his arm. Why it had happened wasn’t as important at that moment as finding him.

‘I don’t know. He charged off through the trees.’

‘Tobias!’ She ran out of the room and hurtled down the stairs, trying to think clearly and not panic. Despite the storm, there was still plenty of daylight left. It wasn’t even time for luncheon. And Peter wouldn’t have been foolish enough to go near the lake, not after everything Sebastian had taught him.

The thought of her husband made her heart contract almost painfully. If only he were there to help! If only they hadn’t argued—and in front of Peter, too! The boy hadn’t been within hearing distance, but it would have been obvious from their body language that they were arguing. He’d probably guessed that it was about his father. Which was probably why he’d gone on to argue with David himself...

‘Henrietta?’ Lord Tobias emerged from his library just as she reached the bottom step.

‘It’s Peter. He’s run away.’ She could hear herself panting, from barely controlled panic as well as her flight down the stairs. ‘We need to organise search parties.’

‘Of course. Dennison!’ Lord Tobias started towards the servants’ quarters. ‘We’ll send some men out at once.’

‘Oh, my dear.’ Elizabeth emerged from the drawing room and put an arm around her shoulders. ‘I’m sure he can’t have gone far.’

‘I know. It’s just that the weather’s so terrible...’ She winced at a roll of thunder outside. If the rain now lashing against the windows was any indication, the t

empest was increasing by the minute. ‘I’m going out to look for him.’

‘Absolutely not. I’m sure Sebastian and your brother would both want you to stay inside.’ Elizabeth looked around. ‘Where is Sebastian?’

‘I don’t know. He went off somewhere, too.’ Henrietta shook her head. ‘But I need to go.’

‘I really don’t think—’

‘But I must.’

‘Very well.’ Elizabeth sighed and unravelled her shawl. ‘But at least wear this. I don’t want you getting sick again. Now where are Michael and Oliver?’

‘Up in the nursery.’ David was already opening the front door.

‘I’ll go and keep an eye on them.’

‘Thank you.’ Henrietta flung the shawl around her shoulders and then followed her brother, almost blowing back inside the house again as the wind caught her on the front steps. There was no lightning yet, thank goodness, but the clouds were skidding by at a ferocious pace. It wouldn’t be long before the centre of the storm was upon them.

‘Where do we start?’ she called after David, shouting to make herself heard over the roar of the wind. The outside world felt strange, as if she’d fallen into water and was fighting against the current, which, since she was already drenched, seemed an appropriate image. She had to bow her head and hunch over to make any progress at all.

‘In the woods! That’s where I last saw Peter!’

‘Do you think—? Look!’ She caught her breath, looking past David’s shoulder towards a dark shape coming from the direction of the lake. It was roughly the same size as a horse, only it wasn’t a horse. It had two heads and two of its legs were dangling in mid-air and it looked like...

‘Sebastian!’ she shouted, running across the lawn as fast as the wind would allow, which was still slower than David, who darted like a streak of lightning himself. He was already lifting Peter into his arms by the time she arrived.

‘What happened?’ She stretched her arms out, grabbing hold of Sebastian’s shoulders as he sank to one knee, clasping his side with a groan.

‘I fell out of a tree and landed on top of him,’ Peter answered for them, water streaming down his small face.

‘Out of a tree?’ She looked between them in horror. ‘Are you injured?’

‘I hurt my ankle.’

‘And I came to my senses.’ Sebastian leaned forward, eyes like hot coals though his eyelashes held tiny droplets of water as he rested his forehead against hers. ‘I don’t want my freedom back, not from you. I don’t want to go anywhere or lose you. I should never have expected you to choose. Whatever our reasons for getting married, I want to stay married.’

‘Yes!’ She pressed her lips to his wet cheeks, then his chin and nose, covering the whole of his face with kisses. ‘Yes to all of that. Everything you just said, especially the part about staying married.’