‘I’m not going to die just yet, boy,’ the earl said. ‘Find Roxanne and bring her back for all our sakes.’
Luke smiled oddly. ‘I promise I shall leave no stone unturned, sir, but for the moment it seems that she has disappeared into thin air.’
‘That isn’t possible, Luke. Roxanne was on foot. It would have taken her hours to walk anywhere.’
‘Unless…’ Luke shook his head. He would not distress the earl yet by suggesting that she might have been kidnapped. Somehow Roxanne had avoided detection, but he would find her if it took him the rest of his life.
Roxanne stirred and moaned, turning her head on the soft pillow. She was dreaming and tears were on her cheeks as she cried out, ‘Mama, please don’t leave us. Papa, why must she die? I want Mama, I want my mother…’
‘Your mother is dying of a fever. Her heart is not strong enough to fight it. You should blame me, child. I should never have brought you both out here to this dreadful climate. It is my fault, but you shall not fall victim to this accursed place, as she did. I shall take you home to your aunt.’
‘Mama…please don’t leave us. Mama…’
‘Hush, memsahib,’ a soft voice said and gentle hands stroked her brow. ‘You are ill, but you will be better soon.’
‘Mama is dying…’ Roxanne’s eyes flicked opened and she saw a face, the face of her nurse. The Indian woman was kind and loving and she was comforted. ‘Mama is so ill.’
‘That was long ago, little one. Rest now and when you wake you will be well again.’
Roxanne closed her eyes as the soft hands stroked her forehead and she smelled the exotic perfume of flowers and spices.
The dream was changing. She was in a different place and someone was saying she must die. Now she was lost…running from something…someone. Her uncle wanted her father’s ruby, the precious jewel Papa had asked her to keep for him until he returned from India. Her uncle had demanded that she give it to him, telling her that she could not look after it properly.
‘No…’ she cried out. ‘Please help me. He will kill me…he wants Papa’s ruby.’
A cool dark hand touched her brow and a woman’s beautiful, dusky-skinned face appeared through the mist for a moment.
‘Do not fret, little mistress,’ the woman’s soft musical voice soothed her. ‘You are safe now. My lord is angry they hurt you so. He will not let more harm come to you. Rest now and sleep.’
‘My uncle…he wants the ruby,’ Roxanne moaned, her eyelids fluttering as the words came tumbling out. She clutched at the bedclothes with restless hands. ‘My aunt said she would steal it while I slept, but he said it would be best if I were dead. He says they will tell my father I died of a fever and the ruby was lost. I must get away…I must get away…’
‘Hush, little one. You are safe now.’
‘No…Luke, I want Luke…’ Roxanne’s cheeks were wet with tears as the fever raged through her. ‘Please, ask him to come to me. I need him so…’ She was sobbing, tossing restlessly on the pillow, her long hair damp and clinging to her forehead.
‘The memsahib is very ill,’ another voice said. ‘Those fools hit her too hard. If she dies, the lord will be angry and he will punish them harshly. She must drink this medicine; it may ease her. She must live or all will be lost. Without her to help us, the ruby may never be recovered and our people will continue to suffer.’
‘Give me the cup,’ the woman’s soft voice said. ‘I will get her to swallow your potion, honourable doctor, but she is wandering in her mind and she may not remember where the ruby is or even her own name.’
‘It is in the hands of the gods,’ the doctor said. ‘I shall pray for her life, for if she gives back what was stolen our people may prosper again.’
‘Help me…’ Roxanne cried. ‘Sofia…help me. Papa, why do you not come back to me? I need you…I need you so.’
‘Drink this and it will ease you.’ The woman’s soft voice was close to her ear and gentle hands stroked her face.
Roxanne gave a cry of fear. ‘They are searching for me. I’m so hungry and thirsty. I want Papa…if they find me they will kill me.’
‘No one will kill you. You are going to get well and strong again.’
‘Sofia, please don’t leave me, don’t die. I shall be so alone…’ Roxanne sat up, her eyes wide open. ‘Luke! Please don’t hate me. I love you. I love you.’
‘Hush then, the medicine will work soon.’
The soothing hands were stroking her brow, helping her to relax. Roxanne knew there was something she must do or say, but she was sinking back into the darkness and a strange lassitude was binding her limbs and her mind. She fell back against the pillows, her eyes closed.
‘She will sleep now,’ the doctor said. ‘We must pray that the fever will leave her and when she wakes she will tell us what we need to know.’
Roxanne felt that she was dying and feared she would never see Luke again. The words she wanted to say were in her mind, but would not come. She was slipping away, away into a deep dark place. For a moment everything had been so clear, but the drug claimed her senses and she slept.
‘She has not been seen in the village and she did not board the stage for London. The coachman and ostlers were quite adamant that they had not seen her. I do not know where to look next.’ Luke ran his fingers through his thick hair in frustration. There was a shadow of beard on his chin and his clothes were less than immaculate. ‘Where could she have gone?’
‘She must either have been picked up by a carter or she has walked in another direction,’ the earl said, looking at Luke in concern. He’d hardly slept for the past week, spending every daylight hour out riding or walking in the hope of discovering Roxanne’s whereabouts. ‘She cannot have gone very far on foot, Luke. Perhaps she has found work somewhere, in an inn or a farmhouse.’
‘She would not?’ Luke stared at him in horror. ‘I think she had very little money. I gave her jewels, but she left them behind. She is proud and independent and would take nothing we had given her.’ He sank down onto a chair, a look of despair on his face. ‘What can I do, Grandfather?’
‘You cannot give up yet,’ his grandfather said. ‘She must be somewhere, either hiding or working.’
‘Unless…’ Luke held back the fears that haunted him night and day.
‘What?’ The earl’s brows met in a frown. ‘You are hiding something from me, Luke. Tell me the truth or I shall worry more.’
‘Someone has been searching for that damned ruby. I don’t know why, but it is important and these people might do anything to recover it.’
‘But she no longer has it. You placed it in a bank in London.’
‘The men who want it may not know that—they may think Roxanne has it or that, if they hold her captive, we shall give it back to them.’
The earl looked at him in horror. ‘You think she might have been kidnapped?’
‘I don’t know,’ Luke said honestly. ‘No one has seen her, but one man did tell me that a closed carriage was seen in the lane near the woods on the day Roxanne disappeared. It is possible that she might have been abducted.’
‘Surely we should have been sent a ransom note? They must know she does not have the ruby by now.’
‘Perhaps.’