In Pursuit of Eliza Cynster by Stephanie Laurens Read Free Book Online Page B

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    Jeremy sat in the stationary curricle, reins in his lax hands, and stared unseeing down the road.
    Assessing the situation, and what needed to be done, what was possible, what his options were.
    He needed to get word to the Cynsters, or if not that, to Wolverstone. The thought of notifying anyone else occurred, only to be dismissed. He might be a social hermit, but he knew well enough that in such circumstances preserving a lady’s reputation was high on the list of “things that must be done at all costs.”
    But if he drove south to Newcastle, the nearest town from which he’d be able to send a fast courier-rider south, or alternatively turned back to Wolverstone and Royce, all he’d be able to tell anyone was that Eliza had been taken in a coach across the border.
    While he was sure her parents would like to know even that much, he was equally sure they would prefer that he followed and tried to help their daughter escape.
    If he tried to send a message south, he would lose track of her and lose any hope of helping her directly.
    And clearly she needed help. She wouldn’t have tried to attract attention in such a way if she hadn’t been down to her last reserves.
    Help was what she’d screamed for. It wasn’t for him to question the call, but to respond appropriately.
    Especially as he doubted she would have recognized him, which meant she’d been reduced to soliciting help from any gentleman who might have ridden past.
    Such actions in a young lady of her ilk smacked of abject desperation.
    He thought back to the details of the kidnap plot that Royce had read out. It was believed that some laird, most likely a highland nobleman, was, for reasons unknown, intent on kidnapping one of the Cynster girls. A novel, and to Jeremy reassuring, aspect was that the laird, whoever he was, had insisted that Heather, once kidnapped, was taken excellent care of, even to the extent of providing a maid during the long journey north.
    Breckenridge — whom Jeremy knew slightly — had by chance seen Heather seized in a London street and had given chase, ultimately rescuing her and leaving the laird empty-handed.
    Now, it seemed, the laird had managed to seize Eliza Cynster. The question of how was intriguing; knowing the Cynsters, the males of the family, Eliza’s brothers and cousins, Jeremy couldn’t imagine how they’d come to let down their guard … but he pushed the fascinating question aside and concentrated instead on the more pertinent question staring him in the face — namely, what he should do. Now. This minute or the next.
    The facts were clear: Eliza Cynster had been kidnapped and was in a coach that would shortly carry her over the border. Once in Scotland, her trail would be hard to divine, especially if her captors took her into the wilderness of the highlands. Finding her then would be close to impossible.
    If he let her be taken across the border and didn’t follow, she might well be lost, or at least find herself at the mercy of the mysterious laird.
    If he did follow … he would have to rescue her, or at least do his best to help her escape.
    He wasn’t any sort of hero, but he’d spent the last decade in the company of such men, with Tristan and the other members of the Bastion Club. He’d been involved in a few of their civilian adventures and had seen how they thought, how they approached problems and dealt with the exigencies of such situations.
    That experience couldn’t compare with proper training, but in this case it would have to serve.
    As far as he could see, he was Eliza’s only hope.
    He’d been looking forward to going home and settling into his comfortable chair before the fire in his library to bask in the glow of his discovery of Royce’s manuscript, then later applying his mind to solving the problem of how to find his ideal wife, but clearly all that would have to be postponed. He knew where his duty lay, what honor demanded.
    Lifting his reins, he clucked at Jasper.