Mysterious Seduction

XXXIX. The Hunt

It dawned on Byron one late afternoon when he was in one of the balls he was invited to for the season.

His eyes were on the dancers in the middle of the ballroom.

And the thought simply came to him.

He was looking for her not because he needed answers of why she saved him or of what she was planning.

He was looking for her because he needed her.

He was searching for her for he was afraid for her life.

'Where is she?' was a constant question. Now, it was simply, 'Ellie, please, where are you?'

-Above and Below

*****

Ralph strode inside the parlor with a large grin on his face. He looked at Emma sitting by the window, reading a book.

"Hello, dear sisters," he greeted, taking the settee beside Ysabella. Her sister had in her arms her sleeping two-year-old child. "What an amazing uneventful day, isn't it?" their brother added with a smug look on his face.

Emma glared at him over her book while Ysabella managed to kick Ralph with Gillian in her arms.

"What?" asked Ralph defensively. "It truly is an amazing uneventful day! Levi and Tori have long went home, taking my dear boisterous niece with them. Maggie and Cole and their army of fiends are in Devonshire with Benedict and Agatha. Max took his wife home just yesterday and Nicholas is off to continue his adventures with Sophie." When they thought he would not add more, he said, "And oh, Emma is still hunting for that bastard. With great failure—"

"You..." Ysabella said, kicking Ralph again, "beast!"

"Ow!" Ralph cried out, jumping from the settee. And then he stopped, looking down at the still sleeping Gillian. "Bloody hell, he truly did take after his father, ignorant to everything around him."

Ysabella jumped to her feet, Gillian and all, and Ralph rushed to the door laughing. "I just came by to tell you that Alex will be coming over for tea!"

Ysabella turned to Emma. "Do not mind him."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I am used to his remarks. You ought to have heard Nick before he left."

"Oh, they will get used to having Wynne around."

"If I do find him," Emma murmured.

"The last time, you almost did. You were simply late because Ralph took his time. Next time, you ought to ask William to accompany you."

Emma sighed. She closed her book and looked at Ysabella. "Mayhap I am not meant to find him after all, Ysa. His theatre pops up anywhere in random. They do not advertise through the Herald. And by the time we get word of their whereabouts, it is either too late or they are too far for me to reach on time."

"Worry not," Ysabella said with a confident smile. "Soon, he will start feel comfortable and too confident. He would start to think you have given up and take less precaution. By then, you have to be ready."

Emma shrugged. Her sister could be right.

"Have you read Samuel's latest article?" Ysabella asked. "It was quite refreshing, was it not?"

Emma nodded. "For once, he did not talk about the Trilbys."

"Do you think he is telling the truth?"