He wanted to see her work.
“When?”
“A half an hour ago? Maybe forty minutes?
“And?”
“Meg found the clothes in a heap on the path,” Jane said, indicating a woman nearby.
“When?” Nick stepped forward and spoke, unable to keep quiet, drawing the attention of the entire room. He might not be able to convince Isabel to trust him, but by God, he could help her find the girl.
Who had very likely been abducted because of him.
Damned if the woman called Meg didn’t look to Isabel for approval before answering his question. When Isabel nodded her agreement, Meg said, “Not twenty minutes ago, milord.”
“Where are the clothes now?” Nick asked.
Meg pointed to them in a heap on a stool nearby. “I hope I did right by bringing them in, Isabel.”
“You did very well, Meg.” Isabel moved to take them in her hands, checking each item quickly and carefully. She looked to Nick. “They’re barely wet.”
Admiration flared. She had understood the underlying direction of his questions. With the amount of rain that had fallen over the last two days, the fabric would have soaked water from the ground quickly. “She’s not far.”
Isabel turned back to the map, speaking quickly. “I would guess she’s been gone twenty-five minutes, thirty at most. They must have come on foot, or Kate would have seen the horses.” She looked to her stable master, who shook her head.
“They will not travel far with her by daylight,” Nick interjected. “Not if they do not want to be caught.”
Isabel looked up at him, considering his words. She nodded once. “Which means she’s likely hidden on the estate.”
Nick let out a slow breath. She was placing her trust in him.
A mistake.
He shoved the voice to the back of his mind as Isabel continued.
“Our knowledge of the Park puts us in a good position to find her. Kate, Meg, Regina, check the copse of trees in the east pasture. Jane, Caroline, Frannie, you take the west gate, through to the Marbury land … be certain to check the lean-tos where Marbury will have left his hay to dry.”
She assigned the rest of the women to groups efficiently, marking the areas they were to search on the map as she went. Nick watched as the cook opened a small cupboard and passed hunting horns to each of the groups. “Take the horns. If you see anything that looks strange, sound the alarm. Don’t do anything without the rest of us. I want you all back here right as rain. As ever, Gwen stays here. If you need anything, you tell her.”
When she finished explaining the plan to the rest of the women, she stood, and Nick marveled at the way the other residents of the house straightened in her presence, shoulders back and spines as straight as any soldier hoping to impress his commander. Nick understood immediately that, like an army, they would follow her orders without question.
And he found himself willing to do the same.
“Lara and I shall search the area between the house and the main road. Any questions? ”
He was not going to allow her to go searching for the girl without him. “Lady Isabel. I should like to see the place where Georgiana was taken.”
She shook her head. “We haven’t time.”
He knew the risk of questioning her in front of her girls; he also knew that he could speed their process. He would have to prove it to her, and open himself to questions in the process. It was not a question. “I’m trained as a tracker.”
From over her shoulder, he noticed Rock raise his brows in surprise. Nick ignored him. She met his eyes, and there was a long beat as she considered his words. She nodded once. “I shall take you there. Mr. Durukhan, would you be willing to partner with Lara to search the front grounds? ”
Rock dipped his head. “Of course.”
“Very well.” She turned to the rest of the room. “Be quick. Be safe. Be back before nightfall.”
Orders in hand, the women left the room like a well-trained battalion. Isabel gave last-minute orders to Gwen while Nick and Rock spoke quietly.
“There’s no way they’re headed for the road,” the Turk said, pulling a pistol from his waistband and handing it to Nick.
“No.”
Rock’s gaze darkened. “Will you tell her why we are here? ”
Nick shook his head, slipping the pistol inside his waistcoat. “Not if I can avoid it.”
Rock nodded once. “I shan’t be far behind.”
They shook hands, and Nick turned back to Isabel. “Let’s go then.”
She opened the door, and they left the house.
The spot where Georgiana was taken was mere steps from the house, marked by a dirty vest that Meg had left behind in her haste to sound the alarm. Nick crouched low there, taking in the footprints on the muddy path.
Isabel watched for a moment, then looked out over the land. “Do you see anything? ”
“Two men. It looks like she struggled.” He turned away and swore under his breath, then pointed south toward a faraway cluster of trees. “That way. Is there shelter there? ”
“There’s an abandoned woodcutter’s cottage. James likes to play there.”
“That’s where they will have headed. They will be waiting for cover of night to travel with an unwilling third.” He paused. “Is there any chance I could convince you to wait here with Gwen? ”
She was already walking, her long legs carrying her briskly across the land. “None whatsoever. How did you learn to track? ”
He allowed her to change the subject, training his eyes on the trees in the distance. “When I was on the Continent, there was a war on.”