A Certain Wolfish Charm(71)

Lily's forehead met with Simon's chin, and he reared backward.



"Ouch!" she said, clutching her head.



"What the devil?" Simon growled. He pulled back the shade and sucked in a breath. "Maberley Hall," he informed her with a frown.



Lily glanced out the window, looking at her home of the last six years. The light-stoned Tudor manor house towered above them, and Lily closed her eyes. Please, let Oliver be here! She didn't know where to begin if he wasn't.



Simon touched her cheek. "He'll be all right, love."



She blinked her eyes open. How did he know what she was thinking? Before she could ask, he opened the door of the carriage and stepped out into the morning light. Simon offered her his hand, and she allowed him to help her from the coach.



Together they walked from the drive up the stone steps to the grand, arched doorway. "Miss Rutledge!" the wide-eyed butler greeted her, as they stepped over the threshold. "We weren't expecting you."



"Findley," she replied. "Please tell me Maberley is here."



The butler shook his head as he shut the door. "Miss Rutledge, the Duke of Blackmoor sent a carriage for his lordship more than a week ago. Did he not arrive at Westfield Hall?"#p#分页标题#e#



***





Simon frowned at the elderly butler. Oliver was here somewhere; he could sense the pup. He could almost smell him. What was the man's game? "If you'd like to keep your post, you'll lead me to the whelp this instant."



"Simon!" Lily whispered at the same time the butler's eyes grew to the size of billiard balls.



"Sir?" the old man managed.



"Findley," Lily began, with just a hint of mortification in her voice, "this is His Grace of Blackmoor. Maberley did arrive at Westfield Hall, but he's vanished. We had hoped he'd returned here."



Findley turned his attention from Simon to Lily. "Miss—"



"Her Grace," Simon corrected.



For a moment, he thought the old man's eyes were about to pop out of his head. "H-her Grace?"



Lily nudged Simon in the ribs. "Simon, please." She refocused on the butler. "He's not returned then?"



The old man shook his head. Simon narrowed his eyes on the fellow. There wasn't a question in his mind that Oliver was here.



It had been years since he'd been to Maberley Hall, but he'd spent some time here as a lad. It shouldn't be too difficult to tear the place apart, find the pup's hiding place, and toss him back in the Blackmoor coach. Then he'd deal with the insolent butler. "Maberley!" he bellowed.



"Your Grace!" Findley cried. "I tell you the earl is not here. I would never keep him from Miss… er… your duchess."



"Simon, Findley is honorable. If Oliver was here, he would say so."



The old man vigorously nodded his head. "Of course, Your Grace."



Simon sniffed the air. He couldn't catch the boy's scent, not recent scent anyway. Still, he knew they were close. "Very well, Lily. You stay here and wait for him." He started back for the door.



"Wait!" she called after him. "Simon, where are you going?"



"I'll search along the lanes." With that, he strode out the front door.



The sky above looked ominous, reflecting Simon's darkening mood. He paid no heed to the gardeners who gaped at him as he made his way down the stone path that led to the Maberley stables. Simon cursed the rain, which made it nearly impossible to use his keen sense of smell.



He spotted a boy, younger than Oliver, with a bucket in hand, just about to enter the stables. "You!" he beckoned.



The stable boy turned around, dropping his bucket of oats. "Yessir?"



"I'm looking for Maberley."



The child stared blankly at him.



"The earl," Simon clarified. "Have you seen him?"

The boy shook his head. "Not for days, sir."

Erebus! Oliver would have to stable him. Simon stalked forward. "And what of horses? Have you any Anglo-Arabians here?"



Again the stable boy shook his head. "No, sir."



"Well, I'll just take a look." Simon brushed past the child into the stable, his nostrils flaring at the odors that assailed his senses. He wouldn't be able to catch Oliver's scent here, but if he could locate Erebus, it would be a good first step.



He walked the length of the stables, peering into every stall. Neither Oliver nor Erebus was there, which didn't make any sense at all. Simon would swear the boy was there. He couldn't see him and he couldn't smell him, but he could sense his angry presence.#p#分页标题#e#