The young boy scrambled around the docks of the large, bustling port, clutching the locket that hung around his neck as his eyes searched the names of the ships docked. His journey across the sea had been long and he had almost been discovered a couple times, so he was thankful to have his feet back on solid ground. However, he was still somewhat disoriented and nervous since he was unfamiliar with his surroundings.

Nevertheless, he was determined to complete the lady’s errand so that he could finally figure out who his family was and where he truly belonged. He trusted that the lady was telling the truth when she said she could help him. And besides, he was tired of taking orders from his demanding boss, the leader of a large thief gang, so this trip was somewhat of an adventure for him.

Taking a deep breath, the boy continued walking along, weaving his way through a number of different sea-faring men who were hard at work. He passed ship after ship, wondering if the ship the lady had mentioned was no longer in port. Just when he was about to give up and look for shelter for the night in the fading light of the day, he spotted her.

The Christina was an impressive vessel, especially in the eyes of a boy his age. Floating gently in the fading light of the day, sails blowing in the slight breeze, her decks gleamed with cleanliness, uncluttered and well organized. A few crew members roamed around, their seafaring clothing an odd mixture of pirate and English government, but neat nonetheless.

The boy could certainly tell that the vessel, without a doubt, belonged to a man of means – the lady’s Duke of Schellden.

Satisfied that he had found the right ship, the young boy scanned her width, looking for a way to board without being noticed. Spotting a rope that was anchoring the ship to the dock, he quickly strode forward, confident of his plan. After making sure the lady’s note was securely stashed in his pocket, he began to shimmy up the rope, his eyes trained on the deck.

About five minutes later, he dropped silently to the deck, his ears trained for any sound that would alert him to the fact that somebody had seen him. Thankfully, he didn’t hear anything. He stood up and strode in the direction he thought the captain’s cabin lay in.

His heart dropped to his shoes, however, when he felt a large hand on his shoulder, preventing him from taking another step on the highly polished deck.

“Jus’ where do ye think yer goin’ eh laddy?” a deep voice questioned.

The boy looked up, eyes wide, as he saw one of the biggest men he had ever come across in his young life. The man was dressed in dark breeches, white tunic and gray vest, his legs encased in knee-high boots. A grim, untrusting expression was on the man’s face, and immediately the boy felt a shiver of fear run down his spine.

“What’s yer name boy?” the man suddenly barked, becoming more wary as the boy continued to keep silent, “And what ye be doin’ sneakin’ onto this ‘ere ship?”

“P-please sire, I only wants to talk to the duke, I don’t mean no harm to yer ship,” the boy stuttered, fear still coloring his eyes.

“There ain’t no duke aboard this ‘ere ship. Now if that’s all ye gots to say fer yerself, then I’m going ta have ta return ye to dry land,” the burly man stated, his wary expression replaced with a frown.

“Please! The lady said it’s urgent I deliver this ‘ere letter to Justin Timberlake, Duke o’ Schellden,” the boy spit out as he dug into his pocket and pulled forth the parchment he had so carefully guarded the past few weeks.

Immediately, the burly man let him go, his frown gone, replaced with an excited, hopeful light in his brown eyes. He began to walk away and the boy looked after him, confused by what had just happened and wondering if he was supposed to follow after.

“Follow me…”

“Benedict,” the boy nervously supplied, “Me name’s Benedict.”

“Follow me then Benedict. You’ll get yer chance to talk to the captain,” the burly man supplied as Benedict hurried after him, “I’m warning ye though, ye better not be pullin’ the wool o’er our eyes, for the captain ain’t been in a good mood for some months now.”

Benedict felt his eyes widen. Why was he going to the captain and not the duke? The duke was who he had come all this way to see. Was the captain going to question him before he was allowed to talk to the duke? Unfortunately, Benedict had no answers for his questions.

All too soon, the burly man was knocking on the door of a cabin located below decks. Benedict nervously shifted from foot to foot as they waited for a reply, his mind working overtime. The door suddenly opened and Benedict found himself staring up at a very tall, muscular man with curly hair and blue eyes.

“What is it Jackson?” the young man tiredly questioned, not even noticing his first mate’s reluctant companion.

“I found this ‘ere lad sneaking onto the ship and he says he needs to talk to ye,” Jackson responded as he pushed a nervous and silent Benedict in the pirate captain’s direction. Justin’s eyes immediately focused on the young boy.

Benedict, who was not expecting this sudden movement from the first mate, and surprised that the duke and captain were the same man, found himself stumble. He caught himself on the doorway and quickly straightened, a blush burning his cheeks. But the duke didn’t seem to notice for he was staring at Benedict’s neck, a strange look on his face.

“Where did you get that?” Justin sharply questioned of the lad. From one glance, he immediately recognized Kalinna’s locket and his heart began to beat faster in his chest.

Benedict looked down, and realizing what the duke was referring to, breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately handed the trinket over to the tired-looking man, who took it and intently began to study it.

“It looks like we have much to talk about,” Justin softly stated as he fingered the locket of the woman he loved, “Jackson, go get Anthony and Benton, for they need to be here to hear the lad’s story.”

“Sure captain,” Jackson responded, and was immediately gone to carry out the young man’s orders.

“What’s your name kid?” Justin asked as he turned his attention to the nervous lad.

“Benedict sir,” the boy replied.

“Well Benedict, come on in and make yourself comfortable,” Justin said, waving the boy in as he spoke, “Are you hungry?”

“Yes sir,” Benedict replied, warily eyeing the tall man as he straightened some papers and stowed them within a desk drawer. He was quite unsure of what had just transpired and was shocked, and confused, by how nicely the duke was treating him – a common pickpocket.

“Alright, well once Jackson gets back and we get everything squared away with your information, we’ll wake Trenton up and he can get you something to eat…” Justin trailed off as he sat back in his desk chair and stared at the necklace sitting on the desk’s surface.

How had the lad come to be in possession of the young woman’s locket? Justin knew that she never took it off – it was the one keepsake she treasured from her late mother. And judging by the lad’s accent, Justin knew without a doubt that his love was somewhere in France, possibly even married to that scum of a Frenchman by now.

At that thought, Justin scowled. He would kill any man that laid a hand on his betrothed. He would search the ends of the earth for any person that made her upset or angry and…

“Are you going to throw me in jail?” Benedict suddenly questioned into the silence as he sat uneasily in his chair. Justin quickly banished his thoughts to the darkest corner of his mind and focused on the situation at hand.

“Of course not kid,” Justin said with a short laugh, “You have information I want and it was very brave of you to travel so far to tell me all of this. If anything, I am in debt to you.”

“But I don’t really have nothin’ to tell ye,” Benedict protested as he quickly brought the parchment forward and held it to the light, “The lady just told me ta give this ta ye, that’s all.”

Justin quickly leaned forward and took the parchment from the lad’s outstretched hand. His heart began to thunder in his chest and he became lightheaded as he saw it was addressed to him. In Kalinna’s handwriting…

“I think you need to tell me exactly what is going on,” Justin stated as he forced his eyes back to the lad who had brought him this small piece of hope right when he was sure everything had become hopeless.

“But aren’t you waiting for…” Benton trailed off as he finally noticed the lost look in the duke’s eyes. This was the man the lady loved!

“I don’t think this can wait any longer,” Justin stated as he stood up and began to pace around his cabin, trying not to let the tremor in his voice show, “Please, start from the beginning and tell me everything.”

With a slight nod of acquiesce, Benedict immediately began his story of how he had come to be in the possession of the lady’s locket and note…

“I ain’t no highborn lad, I’m just a common pick pocket,” the lad began, slouching in his chair, embarrassed at the profession that was all he had ever known, “Me boss is one o’ the biggest thief bosses in all o’ France and if ye displease him, then ye be in big trouble.”

“Go on,” Justin encouraged as he saw the lad hesitate. With renewed courage at the friendly smile the duke gave him, Benedict continued on with his tale as Justin returned to sit behind the desk, “How did you get this note?”

“I was jus’ doin’ me job,” Benedict continued on, a little worried when he noticed the frown starting to grow on the duke’s face. He was unaware that Justin’s look was not meant for him, but rather another; the one who had kidnapped the lady who had stolen his heart.

“Do explain,” was all Justin could manage in a gruff tone, unaware of the tautness of his body and his hands clenching into fists where they rested on the desktop.

“It was tha night o’ tha big party at the castle,” Benedict began, his hands quivering in nervousness, “The marquis be celebratin’ gettin’ married to some English lady and me boss wanted me to takes all I could and bring it back to ‘im.”

“Tell me about this English lady,” Justin prompted, not wanting to condemn a boy who didn’t know better about the life he was leading, “Is she the one who gave you this note?” Benedict readily nodded his head to the question.

“She was a very purty lady, that she was,” the young boy stated.

“How did you come to speak with her?” Justin questioned, his heart beating rapidly in his chest out of anticipation.

“I was sneakin’ ‘round ‘er chambers, lookin’ fer valuables to steal,” Benedict honestly responded, blushing, “She caught me. But ‘stead o’ rattin’ me out, she wanted to help me.”

“Help you?” the young duke vaguely questioned, confused.

“I ain’t never known who me family was ‘cept for a pendant I’ve had all me life,” Benedict explained as he shifted in his seat, “The lady said she thinks me real family is English. She said she’d help me if I helped ‘er by deliverin’ that there note to the Duke o’ Schellden.”

“What was the lady’s name?” Justin asked after inhaling a shaky breath and attempting to relax some of the tension out of his body.

“She didna tell me. But she didna want to marry tha marquis, I know that fer sure,” Benedict stated, “Which is why she wanted me ta come ‘ere to England. Said you could help.”

“By now it may be too late,” Justin murmured, frowning as his heart dropped in his chest at this new information. A journey across the sea had to have taken Benedict at least three weeks if the ship had good weather. Which meant Kalinna had long since been married to the French marquis she so obviously despised.

“I don’ think so,” Benedict commented.

“What?!?” Justin demanded, sitting forward. Did the lad have more to tell?

“I think the lady was plannin’ on runnin’ away,” Benedict said, shrugging, “She don’ know that I returned to tha castle a couple days later on me boss’s orders. I overheard her plannin’ on sneakin’ off with another lady named Adele.”

“Are you sure you heard correctly?” Justin demanded, frowning.

“Absolutely.”

With a growl of disapproval at the young woman’s rash plans, Justin grabbed the piece of parchment from where it sat on his desk and opened it. What he read made his worry for Kalinna’s safety grow by leaps and bounds.

Dear Justin;

If you are reading this then my plan has been set into motion. I cannot sit around, waiting for somebody to figure out my whereabouts and save me from this hell I am currently living in. I am engaged to be married to a French marquis, the man who paid my father so handsomely for my hand, however, I cannot go through such a travesty. So I am going to escape and find my way back to England on my own. Do not come looking for me, for if you do, you will be in grave danger and I cannot live with that on my conscience. I merely wanted to assure you that I am fine and will reunite with you in England as soon as I am able to. I have much to contribute to our investigation, and have recovered the chest that was taken the night I was kidnapped. I believe it still may hold a key to the map my father is still searching for, which I have come to believe is hidden in my mother’s childhood home, Barclay Manor. I ask that you wait until I return to start in that arena of the investigation, for I would like to talk to my grandmother first before we turn the manor on its head. Until that time comes, I remain respectfully yours,

»Kip

Justin didn’t quite know how to react at first. How could she do this? Did she know what kind of danger she was actually in? Did she have no thought for her own safety? He let out an agitated grunt as his thoughts continued to run rampant.

Thankfully, it was in that moment that Jackson returned with Anthony and Benton. The four of them would have to put their heads together to come up with a plan for there was no way Justin was going to leave Kalinna in France to fend for herself. He didn’t care that she didn’t want to be rescued…the protective male inside of him couldn’t live with just sitting on the sidelines and waiting for her to return safely on her own.

“Justin, what is going on?” Benton demanded as he lowered himself into the chair next to Benedict; he gave the lad a fleeting glance before turning his attention back to his friend.

“The night is only halfway over and we have still not learned anything,” Anthony added, frowning, “And we will not learn anything by being here. Now, have you crafted a different plan or something such as that which would attribute to our summoning?”

“Better than a plan,” Justin said with a half smile, “I believe we’ve found Kalinna.”

“What?” Anthony cried, eyes wide.

“Where is she?” Benton demanded, practically leaping from his chair to pace the room in agitation, “Is she alright? She’s not hurt is she? Does she need our help?” Justin would have cracked a grin at the younger man’s rapid-fire questions had the situation not been so serious.

“Benton, Anthony, take a seat, we have much to discuss,” Justin stated after taking a deep, calming breath, “Jackson, if you could close the door?”

The two noblemen quickly took a seat, both silent and waiting for the explanation that was coming. After the first mate had closed the door and taken a seat of his own, Justin began the tale.

“Benton, Anthony, this is Benedict,” the Duke began as he waved a hand in the boy’s direction, “He has come all the way from France with news of Kalinna and her whereabouts. Benedict, this is my friend Anthony, Duke of Maddox, and Kalinna’s cousin Benton, the future Duke of Barclay.”

“Pleased ta meet you,” Benedict stated; the two lords nodded in his direction, obviously curious about where exactly he fit into the picture.

“Benedict has seen and talked to Kalinna and has brought me this,” Justin stated as he held up the parchment that was Kalinna’s letter, “I believe you will both find it quite interesting.”

Anthony quickly grabbed the parchment, unfolded it and began to read aloud. After he was done, he turned questioning eyes to his friend; this was the best lead they had had in awhile. They hadn’t had any clue where to search for Kalinna, and their investigation, too, had hit some snags. With the information that Kalinna had provided, they might very well be able to wrap up this investigation and put a stop to whoever was selling governmental secrets once and for all.

Now the only thing they needed to figure out was where exactly Kalinna was in France. It would be a daunting task and unless they had some clue…

“You do understand that I will not just sit here while my cousin attempts to free herself, right?” Benton demanded, startling Anthony from his rapid-fire thoughts.

“My thoughts exactly,” Justin responded as he ran a hand through his hair, “The only problem is that I don’t know where to begin looking, and France is a rather large country to go looking for somebody in.”

“You don’t have any clue where she might have been heading, do you?” Anthony questioned as he turned his eyes on Benedict. The lad quickly shook his head in the negative.

“Alls I know is that tha lady was set on goin’ north,” Benedict supplied with a shrug of his shoulders, “She thought if she gots far enough north, the marquis wouldna be able ta find ‘er.”

“Northern France,” Anthony mused, lost in thought.

“Well at least that narrows down our search somewhat,” Benton halfheartedly commented as he slouched in his chair.

“We’ll have to assemble a crew of men to accompany us to France. I believe it would be wise for me to don the disguise of pirate again, for the sake of staying inconspicuous,” Justin stated, drumming his fingers on the desktop as he mused aloud.

“Benedict, you know France quite well, would you object to being our guide?” Anthony questioned of the young boy.

“Not a’tall,” Benedict readily responded, glad that the four men had deemed it necessary to include him in their rescue mission.

“She’s in Bellacomb,” Jackson suddenly stated; the room immediately fell silent as the other four occupants stared at him.

“What? How do you know that?” Justin demanded as his first mate walked forward, studying the parchment he held in his hands.

“Look here,” Jackson stated as he set the parchment down on the desk and they all crowded around to look at it, “See how she has capitalized some of the letters in the middle of the sentences. They spell out Port Bellacomb.”

“Smart woman,” Justin muttered to himself, a half smile lighting his features before he straightened and turned to his friends, “Jackson, I want you to assemble the best men we have and stand at the ready to leave in two days time.”

“Aye captain,” Jackson responded with a nod of his head.

“Anthony, I need you to make a full report to our governmental contact about what is going on. I’ll send word if we gather any other pertinent information before the Christina sets sail,” Justin continued, “Meet back here to leave for France in two days’ time.” Anthony gave his friend a small bow in agreement.

“What do you want me to do?” Benton questioned.

“You are going to accompany me to Barclay Manor,” Justin stated as he glanced down at the locket his held tight in one of his hands.

“Whatever for?” the younger man asked, confused.

“I believe we will find something there that will help bring a closure to this investigation…” Justin stated, his voice soft as he held up the locket of his beloved.

“Are you sure about this?” Benton questioned the next day as he, Justin and Benedict roamed through the dim, unused back halls of his childhood home, “I know this place like the back of my hand, and to my knowledge, there is no hidden room that has not been discovered by at least one person of my family.”

“Perhaps we are not looking for a room, but merely a secret compartment,” Justin responded as they traveled towards the front of the house.

“That is highly possible,” Benton agreed.

They continued on in silence for the next few minutes, both men lost in thought, and Benedict merely trailing after them, his eyes huge as he took in the lavish quarters of Barclay Manor. After a moment, however, Justin abruptly stopped walking as a thought came into his head.

“Where did Kalinna’s mother used to have her quarters at?” the pirate captain demanded as he turned excited eyes in Benton’s direction.

“Second floor of the east wing, why?” Benton questioned.

“Let’s go,” was all Justin replied with as he motioned for Benton to lead the way. Without another word, the younger man began to walk, his friend and Benedict following quickly after.

The room was dusty, its furniture covered in linen sheets, the curtains drawn to keep out the harsh rays of the sun. It was a good-sized room, with a four-poster bed and the usual trappings of a female’s room. Justin immediately set to work, with the help of his two companions, to set the room on its head, knowing, in his heart, that whatever he was searching for would be located in this very room.

After about ten minutes of searching, however, the three of them were unable to turn up anything. Justin was covered in dust, his curls in wild disarray, a frown, yet again, marring his features as he sat on the edge of the bed. He was so sure he had been right about this room…

“I don’t think we’re going to find anything here,” Benton commented as he walked in his friend’s direction.

Before Justin could utter a word in reply however, Benton tripped on the edge of a rug and went flying, face first towards the floor. In an effort to stop his fall, he grabbed onto a candle holder that was mounted in the wall. Justin’s mouth fell open when a panel of the wall next to the dressing table suddenly slid to the side, revealing a secret passageway.

“Nice going,” Justin stated, his eyes alight with excitement as he hopped off the bed and strode in the direction of the passageway.

“T…thanks,” Benton weakly muttered as he righted himself and moved to his friend’s side. Benedict came up behind the two men and quickly pushed his way forward and into the secret passageway, while the two men just stood staring in.

“Benedict…” Justin began, unsure of where the tunnel actually led.

“What are you waiting for?” was all the pickpocket said in reply as he followed the curve of the tunnel and was out of the two men’s sights. Benton and Justin exchanged looks with one another before grabbing candles, entering into the passageway and following after their young friend.

It seemed like they walked for an eternity. The passageway turned this way and that, and dipped down, then back up. Finally, though, the passageway gave way to a decent-sized room, in obvious disuse as it was full of dust, grime, and critters on four legs. Justin, however, didn’t seem to notice as his eyes were trained solely on the desk that sat in one corner of the room.

“Benton, search the left side of the room, Benedict, the right, and I’ll tackle this desk,” Justin barely got out as he quickly lit a few candles that were in the room to cast a cheery light about the dank, unused room.

Without a word, the three of them set to their task. Justin, his heart beating rapidly began to search through the desk, hoping against all hope that they would find what they were searching for. It became apparent, after only a few moments, that this room and the contents of this desk, belonged to none other than Kalinna’s great grandfather, the man who had been part of the exploration group to America. That could only mean that the map must be located somewhere within these chambers, as long as nobody had been here before them…

“Justin, I don’t think we’re the first to discover this room,” Benton suddenly stated, as if reading his friend’s thoughts, “Look at the footprints on the floor.”

There was a set of footprints showing clearly through the dust that seemed to circle about the room before coming straight to the desk Justin was searching through. The odd part about it, though, was that the prints were obviously female. Justin sighed.

“I think this may ‘elp you,” Benedict announced as he sidled up to Justin’s side, a piece of folded parchment in his hand that he had discovered laying on the daybed on the right side of the room. Justin felt his jaw drop as he read Kalinna’s name on the front of it.

Quickly, he grabbed the note, unfolded it and began to read, not caring that it was not addressed to him. His eyes widened, first in surprise, then in puzzlement.

“It’s from Kalinna’s mother,” Justin quietly said.

“But I thought Kalinna’s mother was dead,” Benton protested, confused.

“No, not at all,” Justin responded.

“What does it say?” Benedict eagerly prodded, curious and excited.

“It says that…” Justin trailed off as he grabbed Kalinna’s locket from around his neck, picked up a rather large book, and inserted it into a lock that kept the book shut.

As he turned the locket, Justin felt his heartbeat rapidly increase and his breathing become shallow as the lock popped. The book, which was a book on exploring America much to Justin’s amusement, immediately fell open to reveal that it was not, in fact, a book after all, but a small safe.

And inside, all that lay there was a piece of parchment that greatly resembled a map…

“What do you mean you can’t find her?” the angry male voice shouted, startling more than one servant in the household with the volume of his voice.

“My lord, we have searched high and low, cities and countryside and have found no trace of your fiancée,” another voice, much quieter, replied, “It is as if she and your sister have just vanished.”

“Detective DuBoise, young women who are kidnapped in the middle of the night do not just disappear off the face of the earth,” Barnaby LaCroix, Adele’s fiancé and Andre’s best friend, responded.

“I assure you, we are doing all in our power to locate the two young ladies,” Detective DuBoise stated as he nervously shifted from foot to foot under the watchful gaze of the two lords.

“Well perhaps your best just is not good enough,” Andre growled as he ran a hand through his hair in agitation.

“Perhaps if we provide more men…?” Barnaby suggested in an effort to calm his friend’s frayed nerves and give the detective a break from Andre’s unforgiving wrath.

“We could cover ground more quickly with more hands,” DuBoise truthfully responded, his eyes glued on the back of Andre Carlton, the more dangerous of the two lords.

“Take whatever men you want. I don’t care if you have to turn every city and every household on its ear, I want you to find my fiancée and I want you to find her now,” Andre boomed, a scowl marring his features, his body taut with frustration and anger, “And whenever you find those two scoundrels who kidnapped the two ladies, I want them brought to me immediately, for I will deal with them personally.”

“Of course my lord,” DuBoise agreed with a slight bow, “I shall personally see to it that we double our efforts and leave no tavern or store unsearched.”

“Very good. Report back to me the moment you hear anything and if you don’t discover anything, report back in three day’s time again,” Andre said with a dismissive wave. The detective, after making his bows to the two lords, quickly scrambled from the room, thankful the meeting was over.

“I just don’t understand how this could have happened,” Barnaby commented as he watched his friend pace the length of the study where they were ensconced, “With as many men guarding this castle, I don’t see how these two men could have managed to kidnap Adele and Kalinna with only a couple stablemen having seen them.”

“Yes, it doesn’t make much sense,” Andre agreed as he finally slouched into a chair, his mind running with half-formed thoughts.

“My lord?” a new voice questioned from the doorway. Both lords immediately turned to see a dark-haired, stocky man, a few years older than them, standing there.

“What is it Jenks?” Andre stated.

“I have some information that you might find useful,” the older man stated, coming fully into the room as Andre beckoned him to do, “It concerns the two young ladies who have gone missing.”

“Do tell,” Andre encouraged, indicating a chair to his left, “You remember Barnaby LaCroix, my sister’s fiancé?”

“My lord,” Jenks said with a quick bow before he settled his well-muscled frame into the straight-backed chair.

“Jenks has been my right-hand man for some years now, and the eyes and ears of the castle in the places I cannot be,” Andre explained to Barnaby as his friend gave him a somewhat confused look. LaCroix immediately relaxed. “Now, what exactly have you discovered Jenks?”

“Well, I was going about my duties and stopped in the kitchen to check on Cook’s progress. You know how she can get when she gets in one of her moods,” Jenks began; Andre immediately nodded his head, “As I was leaving, I overheard two of the maids talking.”

“Have you brought me mere gossip?” Andre suddenly demanded, a frown beginning to mar his features yet again.

“At first that is what I thought, and would not have bothered you if that was all it was. But I checked into the gossip to find it is true,” Jenks hurriedly continued, picking up on the fact that his boss was not of a happy disposition, “As I was saying, these two maids were talking about the O’Hara brothers and how they have suddenly disappeared.”

“Marcus and Jeffrey O’Hara? Aren’t they two of your best horse trainers?” Barnaby questioned as he turned curious eyes towards his friend.

“Indeed they are,” Andre responded, scratching his chin in thought.

“There is more,” Jenks added, shifting in the chair as he spoke, “Apparently the two men have been planning, for some time, to head to England, where they have family, and have just been biding their time. I discovered, after searching their rooms, a letter from a relative in England that confirms all of this.”

“Well what a coincidence it is that the O’Hara brothers turn up missing the same day our fiancée’s do,” Barnaby commented, puzzled.

“Not mere coincidence,” Andre bit out, his frown deepening, “The stable hands who fought the two kidnappers said they were very well built and both had blue eyes, exactly like the O’Hara brothers.”

“You mean to tell me that the kidnapping was staged?” Barnaby demanded, his eyes widening, first in shock, and then in anger.

“Precisely,” Andre confirmed, “I know for a fact that despite her brave façade, my fiancée does not wish to marry me. After all, her father forced her into it in order to get the money he desires, so it does not seem so surprising that she would find some way to thwart my carefully laid plans.”

“And Adele?” Barnaby prompted.

“Adele knows this castle as well as, if not better than anybody else who lives here. She would know which secret tunnels lead to where, hence they were able to escape without being undetected until they got to the stables,” Andre provided.

“This is outrageous,” Barnaby fumed as he suddenly stood up and began to pace around the room, “To think that we were actually worried for the women’s safety.”

“Don’t worry, we will get them back and then make sure that they never pull something of this magnitude ever again. And I also will be having a word or two with the O’Hara brothers,” Andre concluded with a grimace, “Jenks?”

“Yes my lord?” the older man questioned as he rose from his chair to await the orders of his master.

“Gather a party of the best men we’ve got. If I know my sister, she’s going to be laying low before attempting to sail to England and we definitely can’t allow her to do that,” Andre stated.

“England?” Barnaby questioned in alarm, “What on earth is there for her in England?”

“A past that should have died long ago,” Andre practically growled.

“My lord, I shall assemble as many men as I can and send you word once we are all gathered in the stables,” Jenks suddenly announced, anxious to escape his lord’s black mood.

“Good, I shall see you then Jenks,” Andre off-handedly stated as he waved the servant away. The man didn’t have to be told twice.

“What do you propose we do?” Barnaby demanded as he sat back down in his chair, only to have Andre stand up and begin pacing.

“We are going to find Adele and Kalinna and bring them back here,” Andre stated in a deadly voice, the blackest look on his face, “Then I intend to teach my fiancée the meaning of obedience once and for all.”