Page 86 of An Uncommon Earl

The sound of breaking twigs and muted voices swirled around him, but a responding call or the cry that someone had been found was torturously absent.

Not wanting to revisit an area one of the servants had already searched, Alexander cut through the narrow strip of woodland. He wove between the larger trees, heading to the far side. At last, the trees began to thin, and he shook himself free of a clinging vine as his mount stepped over some shrubbery and into the field beyond.

Pausing to take his bearings, Alexander listened intently. The sounds of the other searchers had faded. No one else had come this far. The moon broke through the clouds long enough for him to see the open space before him delineated by the dark hedge in the distance. He frowned, trying to think logically through his mounting dread. If Jane had been thrown from the horse, was it more likely that she’d been knocked off her seat by an unseen branch in the woods or that she’d taken a tumble on the open field when the horse could have been traveling at greater speed? Indecision gnawed at him. Which way to turn?

He gazed out toward the Hadfords’ orchard, his eyes probing the darkness. And then he saw it. Or at least, he thought he did. A pinprick of light off to his right. He held perfectly still, straining to see. The light came again, flickering slightly as though caught on a breeze. Barely daring to hope, Alexander urged his stallion out of the dark shadows of the trees and across the grass.

It had been years since he’d walked this field with his steward, discussing the possibility of using the acreage for cattle or sheep. The two factors that had decided them against making it grazing land had been the bordering woodland and a deep gully created by a long-gone stream that cut across a small portion of the field. It seemed to Alexander that the gully extended as far as the flickering light, but whether the light was on this side of the crevasse or the other, he could not tell.

The closer he drew, the more sure he was that the light was coming from a lantern and that the lantern was on the ground. As far as he could tell, however, there was nothing else lying beside it. It appeared abandoned in the center of his field. Darker than the night sky, a long swathe of blackness marked the earth before him. He reined his mount to a halt and slid out of the saddle. Leading his stallion, he walked slowly to the rim of the gully, his gaze on the lantern on the other side.

“Jane!” he shouted desperately. “Asher!”

“Here! We are here!”

Alexander’s heart skipped a beat. It was faint, but he was sure he’d heard a voice.

“Jane!”

“The gully. I’m in the gully.”

Dropping to his knees, he crawled to the edge of the drop-off. Heaven help them. She was at least fifteen feet below him. It would be virtually impossible to lift her out unaided.

“There are men in the woods,” he called. “I will be back with help as fast as I can.”

“No!” He heard the terror in her voice. “Please, Alexander. I have Asher. Take him with you now and send someone back for me afterward.”

She’d found Asher. Gratitude weakened his limbs. “Can he follow my voice and crawl toward me?”

“No.” The word sounded more like a sob. “I found him unconscious, and he has not awoken since then.”

Instantly, his sense of relief evaporated. He had no way of knowing how far into the woods the other men were. It would take time to locate them and put together an organized rescue attempt. Alexander tried to visualize the gully as he’d last seen it in daylight. Surely it tapered in depth and width at the far end of the field. With no rope and no extra hands, that might be his only way to bring Jane and Asher out.

“I’m going to ride along the gully to find a way to bring my horse down to you,” he called.

“Hurry, Alexander!”

He heard the break in her voice and was back in his saddle in seconds.

He followed the edge of the gully, alternately praying that he could get to Jane and Asher quickly and cursing himself for not having fenced off the hazardous landmark years ago. The land sloped slightly downhill, and the dark shadow that marked the gully lightened in color as it widened and became shallower. The old streambed curved sharply to the right, and the steep sides moderated, reflecting the additional erosion.

Making the most of the intermittent moonlight, Alexander guided his horse down the rocky slope. This portion of the gully was not more than eight feet deep, and at its base, the old streambed was littered with scrub bushes and long weeds. Hoping that there was nothing any more treacherous to his horse than some exposed roots, Alexander urged him back along the gully toward Jane.

His horse snorted nervously, the sound echoing off the rocky walls. It was almost impossible to gauge how far he’d come; not much more than ten minutes could have passed since he’d spoken to Jane, and yet, it felt like an eternity.

“Jane!” he called.

“Over here!”

Up ahead, he saw the faint light of the lantern glowing from the field above. Sliding out of his saddle, he dropped to his feet. Moisture from the bushes clung to his legs as he scrambled over the uneven ground to reach the huddled form not more than twenty feet away.

“Jane,” he gasped, crouching down beside her. He tore off his glove and slipped his hand over her cheek, feeling the tears there. “Oh, my sweet Jane.”

“I prayed you would come,” she said. “I did not know if you were back from London or if you would—”

His kiss silenced her. All the heartbreak and longing of the last few days merged with his anxiety of the last few hours. He needed her more than he’d ever needed anyone before. And as her initial shock melted into reciprocation, the joy of having found her overwhelmed him.

He pulled away slightly, touching his forehead to hers. “Promise me that the next time you mount a horse, I am with you.”