All That Glitters (21 page)

* * *

Francois turned around to face Gabe. “We have to put Cammie in the secret tunnel,” he told him. “Hurry! Her mother and father may be coming to get her.”

They sped toward the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor. They hurried to the bedroom and inserted the key in the lock.

Francois rushed over to the bed. “She’s asleep!” he told Gabe. “Cammie!” He spoke to her sharply. “Wake up!”

No answer.

“Cammie! What’s the matter with you? Wake up!”

He was losing his patience. He reached down to shake her. “Cammie! Get up! What’s the mat—” He pulled the bedclothes back and saw the pillows. “Quick!” he told Gabe. “Look in the bathroom! She’s got to be here somewhere!”

But Gabe had already looked and found no trace of her.

Francois ran over to the window. It was still locked. He spun around and glared at Gabe. “How the devil did she get out of here? Did you shut the door securely behind you when you picked up her tray?”

Gabe looked chagrined. “Oh, Sir!” he said. “My hands were full. Maybe the latch didn’t catch. I’m so sorry.”

Francois was livid with rage.

Gabe hesitated. “There’s something else, Sir,” he said timidly. “I found Jeremy Douglass here yesterday, snooping around.”

“You fool!” Francois yelled. “Why didn’t you tell me? How could you be so stupid?”

“I apologize, Sir. But how could Mademoiselle Stuart know the door was unlatched?”

“Well, she must have!” Francois snapped. “She’s gone!”

“I’ll do anything to make this up to you,” Gabe promised.

“You bet you will!” he yelled again. “You go and hunt for her! Now! She can’t have gone far. I’ll stay here in case her parents show up. You’d better find her and bring her back!”

“I’ll find her, Sir,” he told him.

Francois looked out the window thinking, maybe he could spot her somewhere on the grounds, but she was nowhere in sight. He turned to Gabe in disgust. “Bring her back and take her to the secret tunnel immediately! Tie her up and gag her so she can’t scream. And don’t let anyone see you!”

“Yes, Sir. Right away,” he said, and left.

CHAPTER XXX
 

It was almost dark as Zack sped over the country roads headed toward the town of Chaumont.

Jeremy was a big help, directing him to the proper turns in the roads. “When we get there,” he told them, “we’ll have to park the car down below and hike up the driveway about a quarter of a mile. We’d better park on the street so no one will suspect we’re there. The driveway is steep, Hildy. Maybe you should wait in the car.”

“Not on your life!” she declared. “It’s my daughter who’s being held prisoner in that Chateau! I’m going with you!”

“Better not argue with her,” Jay told him. “Once she makes up her mind, there’s no reasoning with her.”

Jeremy nodded. “I don’t blame you,” he told Hildy.

It seemed forever, but it was only half an hour later when Jeremy spotted the Chateau from across the River. They had just crossed the bridge, and parked on the street, when they saw Gabe come barreling down the long driveway in the truck. They ducked out of sight, but he was going so fast he didn’t seem aware of anyone.

“Where can he be going in such a hurry at this time of night?” Zack asked.

“I hope he’s not coming back soon,” Jeremy said. “We can’t let him see us.”

“Jeremy’s right,” Zack agreed. “We’d better hurry and get up to the Chateau before he returns.”

They jumped out of the limousine and sped up the long, steep driveway. Hildy, driven by her anxiety for Cammie, wasn’t even breathless when they reached the top. In the distance they could see Francois’ plane as they made their way down the long walk to the Chateau.

Rain looked imminent. It was dark, and the moon was hiding behind the clouds.

Good! thought Zack. We won’t be so easily spotted.

Jeremy led them to the side of the building, just under the window where he had seen Cammie. There was no light in the room.

He reached down to the ground and picked up a small pebble. “I’ll try and hit the window. Let’s hope only Cammie hears this. Be ready to hide in case someone comes looking,” he warned.

“I’ll signal her with my flashlight,” Zack said.

Jeremy took aim, and they heard the pebble hit the window. They waited.

No response.

“Maybe she’s asleep,” Hildy suggested. “Try again.”

Jeremy took careful aim and threw another one.

It hit the window.

Still no response.

Suddenly the front door of the Chateau opened.

“Quick! Follow me!” Jeremy ordered. He led them in the direction of the stables and headed toward the large tree with the hollowed out trunk.

When they reached the tree, Jeremy took a quick look back at the fifth floor window.

There was still no light in the room.

Suddenly there was a sound of footsteps approaching.

Without speaking, Jeremy turned and opened the small door that led to the inside of the tree trunk, motioning them to follow him.

One by one they entered the huge tree.

“It’s a good thing you knew this was here,” Zack whispered.

“What a great place to hide!”

“This is where I used to play when I was a boy,” Jeremy whispered back. “It came to me in a dream a couple of nights ago. I keep remembering new things, and I found this just before I saw Cammie yesterday. Come with me,” he said as he descended the steps.

When they reached the bottom, they spied the opening that led out of the tree and on toward the footbridge. As Jeremy stepped outside, he saw Francois returning to the Chateau. He turned to go back into the tree trunk, when Zack uttered a gasp of triumph.

“Hello!” he said. “What do we have here?” He held up the loose threads from Cammie’s sweater.

Jeremy examined the threads. “This came from Cammie’s sweater!” he exclaimed. “The one she held up to the window when she waved to me! You don’t suppose—”

“Cammie’s favorite sweater!” Hildy gasped. “Do you think she escaped?”

Zack looked grim. “If she did escape, where is she now?”

Jeremy turned to Zack. “Do you think there’s a car rental place open at this hour?”

“Why? Are you going to look for her?” Zack asked him.

“Yes,” he replied. “She can’t have gone very far. She proba-bly went over the footbridge and across the brook. The next thing she’d head for is the road. She could get lost around here, and it’s cold.”

“I have a hunch Gabe was on his way to look for her!” Zack surmised. “I’ll bet that’s why he was in such a hurry!”

“All the more reason I have to find her,” Jeremy told them.

Zack sprung into action. “We’d better get back to the limo,” he said. “Let’s hope you find her first, Jeremy,” he muttered. “If there’s a place open that will rent a car we’ll find it. The rest of us should return to Amboise. They’re expecting us.”

It didn’t take long to reach the center of town.

“Look!” cried Hildy. “There’s a
place that rents cars! And they’re open!”

Before Zack brought the limousine to a full stop, Jeremy jumped out. Zack and the others followed him. It took only five minutes to fill out the form and get the keys to the car.

“Jeremy, I’m going with you,” Hildy said.

Jay took hold of her arm. “Don’t you think Lilli will suspect something if Zack is the only one who returns to Amboise? I wouldn’t let you go without me.”

Zack took a firm hold of Hildy’s other arm, and he and Jay steered her toward the limousine. “Jay’s right,” Zack told her. “Jeremy knows these roads, and they won’t suspect anything if he doesn’t return with us. We’ll simply tell them we dropped him off at an inn.”

“But he left his other rented car at the Chateau in Amboise,” Hildy reminded them. “Won’t that look odd?”

“It might look a little strange,” Zack agreed.

“Just tell them I didn’t want to impose on them, and I’ll pick it up tomorrow,” Jeremy told them.

Hildy, Jay, and Zack headed back to Amboise in the limousine. Hildy peered anxiously out the back window, and watched as Jeremy disappeared into the night. “I hope you’re right about Cammie escaping. But what if she didn’t? She might still be at the Chateau. Maybe we should go back and check,” she pleaded. “We could demand that Francois show us that room where Jeremy saw her.”

Zack spoke to her gently. “The fact that we saw the threads from her sweater proves she escaped. The best thing we can do now is to return to Amboise and wait. We mustn’t complicate things by arousing their suspicions.”

As soon as they drove into the drive and under the archway, Peter and Jenny rushed out to meet them. “I told them you went for a ride,” Peter said, “but Lilli asked where Jeremy was. When Jenny told her he went with you, she left the library. I’ll bet she suspected you might be on your way over to the Chateau, and called Francois to warn him.”

“Is Cammie with Jeremy?” Jenny asked.

“Shh!” warned Jay. “It’s a long story. We’ll tell you later,” he said, as he spied Lilli coming out of the Chateau to greet them.

“Did you have a good ride?” she asked. She looked around. “Where is Jeremy?”

“We left him at an inn,” Jay told her. “He didn’t want to impose by staying here.”

“He left his car here,” she said in a suspicious tone. “Won’t he need it?”

“He said he’d pick it up tomorrow,” Zack was quick to reply. “I’ll drive over and bring him back here. The inn isn’t far.”

Fran had joined them just in time to hear the tail end of the conversation. “Jeremy is at an inn? I thought he would stay here. Such a nice young man!”

The look of disapproval on Lilli’s face was not lost on Zack. She seems ill at ease with Jeremy around, he pondered. Something about him makes her uncomfortable. A connection of some kind?

The mystery deepened.

“Let’s go inside,” Fran suggested. “It’s getting chilly out here.”

“Have you heard anything further from Andre?” Zack asked him.

“No, not a word,” Fran replied.

“Have you decided yet what you’re going to do?” Lilli asked Hildy.

Hildy made a desperate effort to hide the animosity that suddenly tried to take over. “No, not yet,” she answered.

“We have to speak with Cammie first,” Jay told Lilli. “We have to know she’s all right before we agree to anything. You must have heard me say this when Ga—Andre called.” Jay quickly corrected himself.

Lilli showed no sign that she noticed the near slip.

“Would you like some hot coffee?” Fran asked them. “You must be cold. It will take away some of the chill.”

“Yes, thank you. That would be nice,” Jay answered. “It is quite cold tonight, isn’t it?”

* * *

Hildy shivered. Just thinking of Cammie out in this chilly night air frightened her. Please, God, she prayed, help Jeremy find her and bring her back.

Fran is right, she thought fondly—Jeremy is a nice young man. If only Cammie had met him first, none of this would have happened. So what if he’s not a Count, and Cammie didn’t become a Countess? What difference would it make as long as she was safe and happy? Hildy barely slept that night. She tossed and turned until Jay took her in his arms.

* * *

Jay hadn’t slept either, worrying about Cammie, and how this whole thing was affecting Hildy. How could this have happened? he asked himself over and over again. Gregory Wilcox died years ago, yet here he is haunting us again. He thought about how Greg had deceived him years ago into believing that Hildy was the culprit—and how the only thing that made him realize the truth was when Greg kidnapped her and Roger, and left them to die in the cold, snowy Alps, just so they wouldn’t reveal the truth about him to anyone. How could I ever have trusted that bastard? Thank God I came to my senses and remembered the lodge where he took them! We’ve had many happy years together—and now this—Greg’s son kidnapping Cammie, just as Greg kidnapped Hildy, and demanding that Hildy admit to a lie, so Cammie can live. It can’t end this way—it just can’t!

Morning finally came. A roaring fire in the fireplace took away the chill that remained from the cold night. The temperature had dropped down into the thirties, and they wondered how Cammie had survived the cold. They could only hope that Jeremy had found her, and seen to it that she was safe and warm. They had hoped to hear from him before this, but they knew they must be discreet. All they could do now was wait and try to be patient.

CHAPTER XXXI
 

When Cammie woke up in the shack the next morning, at first she didn’t know where she was. There was only one blanket on the bed, and she was cold. Dinner last night was the last meal she had, and she was hungry.

She tried not to panic when the realization struck her that she had no money to buy food. She was grateful that she could speak fluent French, which would make it easy to communicate with anyone. But would they believe her when she told them who kidnapped her? Or would they be only too eager to collect the reward that Francois was offering?

No! I won’t let that happen!

She looked around the shack to see if perhaps someone had left some food. There was a storage shed out back. Maybe there’s some food there, she thought.

She peered out the window to see if anyone was around. When she saw no one, she sneaked out to the shed. To her relief she found a store of provisions which she figured would probably last a week if she was careful. She could only hope that no one would return to the shack and find her.

Her next move would be to try and find some way to contact her parents.

But I don’t know where they are. They’re not home. Did they return to the Chateau in Amboise? Should I try to contact them there? What if Lilli answers? She was sure Fran knew nothing about the kidnapping, but Lilli did. Francois told her so.

Who else can I contact? She
felt alone and desperate. You’ve got to remain calm, she
warned herself. You’ve come this far—don’t blow it now!

As soon as she finished eating, she sat down on the bed trying to figure out where she was. She had no idea how far she had walked last night.