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unpaid taxes. The reason André is holding up coaches is because he is looking for the solicitor, who allegedly set up the whole transaction.”

Annemarie backed into a nearby chair, a frown on her lovely face. “I am not completely surprised. I thought I recognized something in André the day he walked into the parlor at Emerald Hills in time for tea. There was something familiar in the timbre of his voice and for a split second something flickered in his eyes, when his gaze lit on you.”

“Mama.” Stormy had not called her mother that name since she was a child and it alarmed Annemarie anew. “Mama, what are we going to do? Do you think there could be a smidgen of reality to my dream?”

Annemarie figured that Stormy had dreamt about André, because she had genuine feelings for him, though she would deny them until something monumental happened. But then she recalled several odd episodes that happened back home. She reclined against the cushion of the chair, her hands gripping the arms, while she gave Stormy’s confession more thought.

“I recall that you had some similar incidents back at Dreamscape. One time you ran from the house to the pond, because you thought you saw one of the slave children drown. The little boy would have died, if you hadn’t gotten there on time. And then there was the time, when you insisted something was wrong with the carriage. Remember the wheel would have come off, if your father hadn’t thoroughly checked them upon your insistence.

“Of course, you only had a few of these feelings or whatever we should call them, and they were years apart. Still ….”

She abruptly rose from her chair, kissed Stormy’s forehead and made to leave the room.

“Leave it to me to convince your father that we need to get back to Emerald Hill. I also need to find a way to break the news of our sudden departure to your grandparents?”

Stormy’s face brightened with a conspiratorial grin. “I overheard grandmamma say that they were going to leave for London right after our visit. I wonder if they would have left already, if we hadn’t visited them. I am sure they would be delighted, if we promised to meet them there. You and father want me to experience the theater and balls there, so why not sooner rather than later?”

Annemarie smiled back. “You are a daughter after my own heart. We’ll broach the subject at breakfast. Tell the maid to get your things packed, so we can leave just as soon as the meal is over. And leave grandmamma to me.”

Annemarie had a private heart-to-heart with Marry right after breakfast.

“I thought I detected a spark between those young people. And let’s face it, André is nobility. It would be a nice match, if something comes of it. If nothing else, I am looking forward to seeing you in London.”

“So what was the confounded hurry this morning?” Trevor could hardly keep the grumble from his voice. He knew when one had been put over on him. He just didn’t know what it had been, and that rankled.

Annemarie and Stormy had decided that Trevor needed to be in on the dream, but only up to a certain point.

Threading her hand through the crook of his arm, Annemarie rested her head on her husband’s broad shoulder. “You remember when Stormy was born? You thought she was fey?

And I told you not to repeat it, lest someone thought we believed in black magic?”

“What are you getting at?”

“Stormy had a bad dream about André. She saw him imprisoned in a dark cell and threatened with death.”

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Snorting his displeasure, Trevor disengaged himself from Annemarie’s hand. “That is preposterous. You mean that is the reason why we left Bellingshire earlier than planned? For heaven’s sake, the guy is a fop. I don’t trust him, and I refuse to have any more to do with him than it is necessary to be civil. I know he is a good friend to my brother, but that doesn’t mean I am ever going to be friends with him.”

Annemarie rolled her eyes behind his back to take the sting from his words, but Stormy was not taken in by her antics. She felt the need to come to his defense.

Lifting her chin, she quietly said, “You are wrong, Papa. André is a gentleman, and he

… never mind. I am not at liberty to tell you.”

Trevor quirked a dark brow at his daughter. “So now we have secrets from each other and over a stranger yet?” He shook a finger at her. “If that cad ever lays a hand on you or makes any inappropriate remarks, I’ll skewer him like a lamb chop.”

Stormy cast him a look of utter frustration, and then looked out the window to hide her unease.

Little was said during the rest of the ride. They arrived in time for the noon meal, amazed that Thomas and the boys were not anywhere to be seen. Emmaline met them at the door.

“Oh, I thought Thomas and the boys had returned. The boys found a horse yesterday. It wore nothing but a bridle and it was not one from around here. They’ve been taking it around to ask, but so far no one seems to be missing a mount. I’m sure they’ll be back at any moment.

None of them would want to miss the noon meal.”

Stormy could not hold back any longer. She had to know. “Did Monsieur Despard go along, too?”

Emmaline frowned. “Where did you get that notion? We haven’t seen André since he was kind enough to take you to Bellingshire.”

Seeing her daughter pale visibly, Annemarie stepped in. “Monsieur Despard left Bellingshire yesterday, citing urgent business. I would have thought he’d stop by here first, unless he keeps his mount stabled elsewhere.”

Before Emmaline could answer Thomas strode into the foyer, his face set. He stripped his riding gloves off and slapped them to the small credenza next to the silver salver for calling cards. “No one seems to know the horse, and we took the hounds to backtrack the gelding’s path. What we found is very disturbing.

“Whoever rode the horse had been waylaid and there is no sign of the rider. The ground in the copse was churned up by several sets of hoof imprints. We counted four pairs, but the way the ground is torn up, there could have been more. Bloody hell, it seems we have more highwaymen than just the one that recently cropped up.”

Trevor allowed Thomas to finish his rant. “You said no one recognized the mount? Can you describe him to me?”

Thomas stared at his brother as if he had lost his mind. “I could, though if no one around here recognizes the horse, how on earth are you going to identify him? But I’ll do you one better. I have the horse stabled, so you can take a look at him”

Trevor cast a quick look at Stormy’s pale face. “I believe the horse belongs to the Cormac stable in Bellingshire. They loaned a mount to Despard yesterday. André claimed urgent business and wanted to be off immediately.”

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Thomas looked aghast. “I am not privy to André’s personal business, but I wouldn’t be surprised if something had come up. He’s been trying to prove sole ownership of his estate Greenbriar. The property is a scant hour’s ride from here.”

Trevor pursed his mouth in disdain. “How can you lose ownership over your estates? Of course, what do you expect from a fop like Despard?”

Thomas drew himself to his full height and looked down his nose with unmistakable contempt. “I am sorry that you got that impression about him, little brother. But André is a fine, upstanding gentleman. He is trying very hard to find out what exactly happened. He is a serious scholar and his servants love him, because he is scrupulously fair in all his dealings. Sometimes I think he makes sport of people like you. He knows he is often considered to be a fop, because he can’t quite shake his accent, especially in situations of stress.”

Trevor had the grace to look chastised. “Maybe I judged too quickly. You are quite right that his accent might have something to do with my opinion of him.”

“Now that you said he borrowed a mount from Bellingshire, we need to make sure it is that same mount. His own horse is still here.”

As the men strolled toward the stables, Trevor could not help but ask, who would be able to wrest a man’s property from him.

“We have a crooked sheriff in these parts. There is no direct evidence that would unseat him from his post, but trust me I am not the only one who would like to see him gone. He lives at Greenbriar as if it were his God given right. It is quite possible that André is the only obstacle in his way.”

“Do you think he might have waylaid André?”

“That idea is not without merit. André often takes the shortcut through that copse. As I said, there is a patch of ground that looks as if it had been churned up by hooves in a violent struggle. Knowing André, he would have fought tooth and nail. He is an excellent fencer and quite handy with a pistol. But one shot against several assailants hardly gives you much of an advantage.”

“Why don’t we pay the sheriff a neighborly visit? Ask him, if he knows anything about this stray mount. And since you have been feeding it, would it be all right to keep him? It could hardly be misconstrued as anything more than an innocent inquiry.”

Thomas nodded. “Maybe you have something there. Let’s try that tack after the noon meal, since Emmaline does not like to be kept waiting. Maybe we catch him off guard and he lets something drop.”

Trevor chuckled. “It reminds me of our boyhood, when we would sneak around the neighbor’s house and tried to ferret out secrets.” He rubbed his hands in anticipation.

They’d reached the stables and Thomas led the way. “Here he is. Nice looking mount.

But all he wore was his bridle.”

Trevor stepped closer and squinted at the silver joints of the bit. “Look, Thomas, here is the proof that he is a Bellingshire mount. There is the Bellingshire shield, an inverted pentagon with a small bell in the middle.”

“By damn, you are right. More reason than ever to pay the sheriff a visit.”

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Thomas knocked boldly on the massive double doors of Greenbriar. Cecil, the long time butler opened the door, his eyes shifting suspiciously from him to Trevor and back.

“May I be of service, gentlemen?”

Thomas inclined his head in a haughty manner. If the butler acted unfriendly, then so could he. “Is Sheriff Snowden at home? I need to ask him a couple of questions.”

“I will see if the master is in.” He left them standing outside and closed the door.

“Well, that bloody bastard sure has become high-handed these days. Did you hear how he called Snowden the master? And how dare he keep us waiting like a couple of lackeys?”

The door opened abruptly, but instead of inviting them in, Sheriff Snowden leaned a shoulder against the jam to effectively block the entrance. His lips stretched into a smile that never reached his close-set eyes. “You asked to see me, gentlemen? I was just on my way out.”

Thomas returned his greeting with a frosty good day, though he had not been given the same courtesy. Slouching to show his disregard for the man, he launched right into his quest.

“We have come to inquire, if you know of anyone, who might have lost a horse? We found the stray without any markings, and seeing that you are the sheriff, we thought you might know. If not, I intend to keep the nag. He’s actually not worth the oats he’ll be fed.”

Something flickered in the sheriff’s eyes. “A horse you say? I haven’t heard of anyone losing a horse. And there were no markings? No brands, no saddle?”

“Nothing.”

“Well then, I guess the horse is yours by rights. I wish you a good day.” With that he slammed the door in their faces.

“Methinks the man is hiding something. Did you notice the flicker in his eyes, when I first asked about the horse? And did you get the feeling that he relaxed the moment I told him that the horse showed no markings, no saddle ….?”

“You are as devious as ever, Thomas. I am proud to be your brother. But what do we do now?”

“Let’s get out of here, before we’ll talk.”

They mounted their horses and rode through the neatly trimmed rows of box hedges toward the road. “I am sure the sheriff has something to hide, but is that something André? And why would he waylay him? He already appropriated everything André owns in this county.”

Thomas was so engrossed with his musings that he was almost unseated, when a young kitchen maid stepped into his path. She curtsied. Clearly nervous, she cast furtive looks past the two men then spoke quickly, her words tumbling over each other in her rush.

“I know who you are Lord Mowbray. Please hear me out. Master Despard is in terrible trouble. Sheriff keeps him shackled in the cellars beneath Greenbriar. I heard him tell that he’ll see Master Despard hung.

“I don’t know anymore. I have to hurry back, before I am missed.” She gathered her skirts and plunged into the brush, keeping low so as not to be seen from the manor.

Thomas and Trevor exchanged glances and rode on as if nothing had happened. Once they reached the open fields, they looked at each other. They slowed their mounts as they STORMY HEIDE KATROS

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discussed plans on how to free André. There was no discussion whether it was prudent. They both knew that he needed help. After a thoughtful pause, Trevor said quietly, “I think I will owe Despard an apology, when we find him.”

Thomas snorted. “Make that if we find him. And in that case he will owe you his life.”

“When do you think we can make our move? I don’t know the terrain, so you will have to come up with a feasible plan. Can you enlist more men?”

Thomas shook his head. “The less people know about our endeavor, the better. The not so honorable Sheriff Timothy Snowden has a long-armed reach. I have no idea who is indebted to him, but he was elected by such a wide margin that it came to mind that the votes had been rigged.”

“So, what can we do?”

Thomas quirked a brow at his brother. “You and I have never backed off when the going got rough. We’ll go after him tonight. The sooner, the better, if André is kept shackled. Most cellars around here pretty much follow the same plan. The trick is to find the right room. The maid only confirmed that he was being held, but she had no time to elaborate. It all depends on our luck.”