He was not even certain why he was looking for her.

Perhaps he needed answers.

Perhaps he merely wanted to know she was fine.

But she had disappeared.

Not even the people aboveground could lead Bryon to where she could be.

It was as though she had completely disappeared from the face of the earth—both below and aboveground.

*****

"Emma has not yet come down?" Lady Alice asked around the table two days later.

As she asked her question, they heard the grand doorway open from the hall and soon after, Wakefield barged into the dining room. "Is Ysabella here?" the man asked, his eyes hopeful as he scanned the room.

Nicholas stiffened as he turned to his wife, Sophia. "Ysabella was with you earlier, yes?"

Sophia nodded. "But I believe she left to find Alex and Emma. While everyone was having tea. But then, I am blind, so I cannot truly say I saw her walk to the tea room."

Margaret looked at their mother. "Was Alex not with you earlier, Mother?"

"My wife was in the playroom the entire time," Ralph said. "Was she not?"

"No, she was not," Victoria replied. "I was in the playroom most of the entire day."

"I cannot find Ysa," Wakefield announced what was already known to everyone.

Maxwell closed his eyes and sighed. His wife turned to him. "Did we not meet the three of them down the hall of the second landing?" He merely nodded.

"They did approach me," Cole said, clearing his throat. "Ysabella and Alex. I believe it was last night."

"Why?" Ralph asked.

"They asked about legal matters."

"What matters?"

"I cannot say. They presented themselves as my clients. I am obliged to keep their confidence."

"Bloody hell, Cole—" Ralph started, but Benedict cleared his throat and said in a very calm voice, "We might want to discuss the most important matter at the moment. Has anyone seen Ysabella, Emma and Alex during tea time?"

"I saw them in the garden, talking," said Agatha, Benedict's wife. "But I assumed they were merely gossiping."

"The three of them do not just gossip, darling," Benedict murmured under his breath.

"Bloody hell!" Ralph growled. "I will kill her! I swear to God, I will kill her!"

"Gentlemen," Lady Alice said, looking around the table. "Well, are you not going?"

"Bloody hell, Mother, we do not know where they are! We have to first know what their possible plans are and what they want to achieve. They approached Cole for God's sake, inquiring about legal matters! My bloody wife, inquiring about legal matters!" Ralph said. "Believe me, they are planning something drastic. We ought to know what. If Cole could tell us what—"

"Do not tell me you do not know what their goal is," Lady Alice sternly said. "Best you think while you gather your horses." When the brothers merely scowled, Lady Alice added, "This is your fault."

"What!" Levi, Nicholas and Ralph cried out in unison.

"Your sister told you the truth and what she wanted. You did not even consider thinking from her point-of-view. And now she has disappeared with Ysabella and Alex—and my grandchild!"

The brothers looked at Benedict. They were waiting for an order.

"Well, what are you all waiting for? Those three could very well be dead by now!" Lady Alice exclaimed, causing all five brothers to jump to their feet. "Go to Meriwether! I am almost certain they have found an ally in Gustav!"

*****

"Are ye sure 'bout this?" asked Alex who was sitting on a rock.

Emma looked at her sister-in-law. "I am, but I do hope you get back to Wickhurst before Ralph hunts us down and kill us all for taking his pregnant wife out of town."

"Oh, he'd kill us fer sure, aye," Alex said, "but he won't if we're with 'em." She motioned her head at her cousins, Ned and Barto. The two young men grinned at Emma and Ysabella.

"And you are certain she will pass this way?" asked Ysabella, doubt in her tone.

"'Cors!" Ned said. "If she received yer letter, she'll pass by," Ned said.

"Aye," Barto seconded. "And 'tis the safest place fer her not te suspect we're from Meriwether. We dinna want te cause Uncle Gustav trouble, d'we?"

Emma nodded as she looked about. They were in the middle of a lone road just outside of Willowfair, the town where Amelia Trilby called home. And it was the road Amelia would surely take if she would be traveling east. It was behind Blucksley, therefore away from Meriwether where she might encounter bandits. And it was a road that led to Thorne. But that was not where she would be headed today if she had indeed gotten the short note.

"Are ye sure she'd believe the note?" Alex asked. "We dinna have the Whiteford stamp."

Emma took a deep breath and sighed. "The mere mention of Whiteford would most definitely make her jump to her feet. From what I heard, the Trilby patriarch is the worst of them all, hence the most feared. She would come—if she got the note," she finished, giving Ned and Barto a glance.

"Oi, Em, we delivered it as ye said!" Ned proclaimed defensively.

"Shush!" Ysabella hissed as she scrambled back into the shadows. "I hear something."

Sure enough, the sound of an approaching carriage could be heard from the distance.

"Move back," said Alex, pulling Emma with her into the shadows. "Let Ned and Barto do their work."

Ysabella and Emma held their breath as Ned and Barto hid behind two large rocks, both on either side of the road.

"This will be our only chance, Alex," Emma whispered, "Do you believe your cousins can do it?"

"Aye," Alex said, nodding her head. "I'd join 'em if I'm not with babe, but yer brother will kill me again fer sure if I did."

Emma sighed as they waited, crossing her fingers as she did so.

Never had she thought she would ever find herself doing something stupid like this for a man.

Yet here she was.

Emma forced herself to stop thinking about Wynne for the mean time. Instead, she focused all her attention on Ned and Barto as the two prepared to jump. However they would do it, Emma had no idea. She mere heard stories from the two and Alex and perhaps a few tips and tricks here and there.

As the sound of the carriage drew nearer, Alex took a step further back behind the large rock, taking Emma and Ysabella with her.

Emma frowned when she saw Ned pull out a long wooden rod. "What are they—oh," she said, amazed at the ingenuity.

The two young bandits did not jump in front of the carriage. Ned shot the wooden rod through the two wheels of the carriage.

It did break as expected, but it did cause the carriage to jolt and the driver to slow down. Eventually, the carriage stopped and the driver jumped off his seat to check the wheels.

When he realized what must have happened by the presence of the broken rod, he immediately jumped in panic and ran back to the front of the carriage with every intention to escape, but it was too late. Ned and Barto were already behind him, grabbing him by his collar and covering his mouth.

Emma did not wait for Alex's response as she heard a woman's voice from inside the carriage, demanding what was happening. She walked out of their hiding place, leaving Alex and Ysabella behind.

And then she proceeded to the carriage, passing by Ned and Barto who were tying the driver by the side of the road.

Reaching for the handle, she pulled the carriage door open and swiftly climbed inside, sitting right across Amelia Trilby.

"Hello," she greeted, noting the woman's surprised and scandalized look. She looked around and sighed. "Good. You are alone. I was afraid you would bring tons of guards."

"Wha—what are you doing?" Amelia Trilby demanded in a high-pitched voice. The woman moved to pull the curtain and look out the window.

"Your driver is currently unavailable," Emma said with a smile on her face.

Amelia Trilby's jaw tightened as she composed herself. Suddenly, the panic in her face was gone. It was replaced by something else entirely. She looked at Emma with a condescending look in her eyes. Her shoulders squared, as though ready for battle. "What do you want?"

"I am assuming you already know who I am," Emma said, giving Amelia a mocking smile. "I am here to make demands and arrange an agreement."

Amelia Trilby's brow cocked high as she scoffed, as though she already knew what was coming.

Emma crossed her leg over the other and leaned back as though she was in the most comfortable carriage. "First, Wynne, your nephew, or Peter as you may call him, has been claimed."

Amelia chuckled in mock amusement, looking around the carriage except Emma's eyes.

"I figured you would not be as interested, of course," Emma said, "hence I would like to go on the details of why you ought not to intervene with whatever I do with your nephew." Emma leaned forward to catch Amelia's gaze. "I am quite persistent, you see. And because of that, I happen to find out a lot about your family."

Amelia stiffened but did not say anything.

"I can perfectly present the entire Trilby family tree in front of you, if you wish. Everyone in the Town would be surprised to know how many of their friends are actually Trilbys!"

Amelia frowned and scoffed. "Do you expect me to feel threatened by that knowledge of yours? Anyone can very well find out who the Trilbys are through the Town Registry. We do not hide anything."

Emma's brows arched. "Oh, truly?" She sighed and pretended to take interest in the interior of the carriage. When her eyes returned to Amelia's, she asked, "Then surely anyone can also find out the origins of Egerton and Wyndam?"

By the way Amelia's jaw tightened and the woman's hands balled into fists, Emma knew she was on the right direction.

"Were they not once one and the same, Amelia?"

The woman remained silent, dark eyes burning with dark fury.

"It was Mecklenberg before George Trilby, the Trilby patriarch and the Lord of Whiteford, divided it between his two sons, Robert and Francis. Noah Trilby, your brother, eventually inherited Egerton. Leopold Trilby now owns Wyndam when Francis passed."

"Everyone knows who own both estates," Amelia growled. "That is no secret."

"But not everyone knew or even wondered why Mecklenberg was divided," Emma countered. "No one truly wondered what happened to its previous masters." She smiled, tilting her head in a curious fashion as she stared at Amelia. "But you Trilbys know the answer to that." Emma let the silence linger for a while before she asked, "What happened to the Fredericks, Amelia?" Amelia's eyes started to shake. "Are you not going to Whiteford? I am sorry for that. We made you believe your grandfather sent you that note in haste. It talked about an important meeting regarding the Fredericks. And you immediately went in haste to meet him."

"I heed my grandfather's orders despite—"

"Now," Emma said, lifting her hand to stop Amelia, "let us go back to the Fredericks. I could not find any records of them in the Registry. It seems they have vanished. Perhaps I should talk to the people of Filkept? You turned the place into a village when you divided the land. Why, I wonder?" Amelia opened her mouth to speak, by Emma interjected by adding, "To be generous? Ah... I doubt it. To keep them satisfied so they do not talk?" Amelia's eyes rounded with rage. "Now, that is a fairly good question."

"You and your stupid theories can go to hell—"

"I can go on further with my research. I barely scratched the surface, really," Emma interjected once again. "I merely had a few days to spare for it. And honestly, I do not care about what I found. But I might change my mind if you make this very difficult." She straightened in her seat. "So why do we not reach a compromise? You did so with my brother and Maxine, yes?" When Amelia merely remained quiet, Emma continued, "If you ever threaten the Everards again, you will never get to your goals for I will expose the Trilbys. You, of course, cannot order for my death for my research is in the hands of a few trusted friends who would merely be happy to continue to dig further."

Amelia's jaw tightened. Emma waited in silence for the woman's next words. "What else do you want?"

Emma grinned. "Glad you asked, my lady." She sighed. "Give me Wynne and I will leave you be. I will no longer be curious about the Fredericks. Whatever you grandfather did cannot be blamed upon you, yes? But you all share the same name. Noah, most of all shall suffer the tremendous blow this scandal shall bring. One question about the Fredericks would spark a great controversy, may it be false or not. It is best you enjoy my silence." She shrugged, making her intentions simple. "Leave us be. Leave Wynne alone. Leave Fiona alone. And I promise a peaceful rest for your secrets."

"None of us is part of the League," Emma further added, "Anymore, that is. All gratitude to you and your family, of course." She let the words sink into Amelia. "We are willing to separate any horrible things Osegod did for it was all his doing, yes?"

Amelia replied in a shaky voice, "Of course."

"You claimed it was not you who caused Maxine's accident."

"I told Osegod it was a bad move. The bastard did not listen. We never condoned everything he did, my dear," Amelia said through gritted teeth.

"Then we are on the same page. You stay away from us—and by that I meant every bloody person we Everards associate with." When Amelia simply remained stiff, Emma taunted, "I cannot hear a reply, Amelia. Would you rather not reach Whiteford? I can think of many places where you will be celebrated in the best fashion. One of which is the village where your twin sister died."

Amelia's face paled and a shaky breath escaped her throat. "Of course," she snapped.

"Of course what, Amelia?"

"Of course, you can be assured the Trilbys would never harm the Everards."

"And everyone we associate with."

The veins in Amelia's throat engorged. "And everyone you associate with."

"As to Wynne, he has already stripped himself of his titles, I presume?" Amelia scoffed in response. "That also means he stripped himself of the Trilbys. Thus, he is nobody to you, yes?"

"Very much so."

Emma nodded. "Good then."

"Now go," Amelia ordered, voice shaking with contained anger.

"Ah, before that," Emma said, taking out a piece of paper from her coat. "Would you please sign this?"

Amelia glowered at the paper. "I would not—"

"Ah, then consider everything we agreed on null and void," Emma said, starting to roll the parchment with both hands.

Amelia grabbed it and Emma dutifully handed her a pen.

The woman's hands shook as she signed her name at the bottom of the parchment.

"We also took the honor of stealing your family seal," Emma said, handing the woman the Trilby seal.

Amelia glowered at her as she stamped on the parchment.

"Messy, but this shall do," Emma said, checking the parchment before rolling it again. She reached for Amelia and the woman immediately leaned away in response. "I will not hurt you," Emma promised with a sweet smile. She leaned forward and pulled the giant necklace from around Amelia's neck. The woman gasped in horror. Emma gave her a wink. "My bandit friends would demand a pay, I am afraid."

"Leave! Now!" Amelia shouted.

Emma chuckled and pushed the carriage door open. She paused before climbing down. Turning half her body around, she said, "You are not the only ones who have secrets, Amelia." She pointed her finger above and winked. She saw how Amelia's jaw tightened and she smiled in satisfaction. "Let us keep it that way, shall we?"

Amelia scoffed, saying, "You lot need not beg for dear Peter. He had made his case and is free of the Trilby name. He is no longer family."

Emma nodded. "Goodbye, dear Amelia. May your life be filled with happy tragedies."

As Emma walked past Ned and Barto, she threw them the necklace and whispered, "She has more."

Both bandits left the bound driver and walked up to Amelia's carriage.

"Oi, milady! Havin' a good night, eh? We need more payment fer yer driver!" Emma heard Ned greet as she walked away to meet Alex and Ysabella.

It was done.

*****

By morning, Emma, Ysabella and Alex were found by the men in the Everard manor having tea with Lady Alice.

And they were laughing.

"Where the bloody hell have you been!" Shouted both Ralph and Wakefield.

"I told you," Lady Alice said to Ysabella and Alex, "It was not a good idea to go home. I was right, yes?" She then turned to her stupefied sons and sons-in-law. "Take a seat, gentlemen. Would you like some tea?"

"This is not the time to take their actions lightly, Mother," Benedict said, looking sternly at the three woman. "You could have placed yourselves in great danger. What you did was irresponsible."

"I did not run away," said Emma. "And these two would not allow me to go on my little adventure alone. And we did take precautions."

"I stayed safe," Alex said. "I dinna even show m'self. I dinna even touch a bleedin' rope! 'Twas actually pretty borin', really."

"Yes," Ysabella calmly uttered, putting down her teacup. "Ned and Barto did all the work."

"Ned and Barto!" Wakefield, Levi, Nicholas and Ralph screamed in utter disbelief.

"Didn't 'Pa tell ye? Ye went te Meriwether, didn't ye?"

The men looked at each other. Maxwell sighed. "I told you we ought to have dropped by Meriwether."

"I did suggest they find you in Meriwether," Lady Alice said, shaking her head. "They never listen."

"Where did you attempt to find us then?" Emma asked with a frown.

None of the men spoke.

It was Maxwell who provided an answer. "Willowfair."

Emma scoffed. "You thought I was stupid enough to walk right into Amelia Trilby's home? Are you insane?"

"Wait. Are you saying Gustav knew and he allowed it?" Ralph demanded of his wife.

"'Cors!" Alex said.

Ralph scoffed in disbelief as he turned to look at Wakefield who groaned in frustration. "I'm not even surprised." He turned to his wife. "Would you please stand up, Ysa? I would like to go home now."

"Are you going to throttle me?"

Wakefield's jaw tightened. "I might, yes."

"Then I am staying. Mother has invited me to stay for dinner."

Nicholas rolled his eyes. "Everyone might have forgotten something." He turned to Emma. "You coming home safe does not discount the fact that you disobeyed us."

"As far as I am concerned, brother mine, I disobeyed no one." Emma said, "I did not run away. I returned home even if I could now freely go and search for Wynne myself."

"Freely search?" Benedict asked.

"Ah, your sister is a genius," Lady Alice said. "She took things by her hand in the smartest possible way." Their mother reached for the roll of parchment sitting on the table and handed it to Benedict. "Now, we simply need someone from the Courts to put a stamp on it."

The men were speechless as they crowded around the agreement.

Emma sighed and came to her feet. "I am rather tired. I wish this document shall be enough to at least make you reconsider your decision on the man I wish to spend the rest of my life with," she said to her brothers before leaving the room.

"I'm stayin' fer dinner as well," she heard Alex announce as she walked down the corridor. And before their voices disappeared, she also heard her mother shout, "Children! Good God!"

*****

Not many hours later, Emma's bedchamber door opened and Levi entered.

He quietly closed the door and stood against it for a while, arms crossed over his chest. His eyes studied Emma sitting in bed holding a book, Mrs. Beagle sleeping beside her.

"You are rather the best in manipulation," he said, breaking the silence.

She merely shrugged.

"Would you run away for good if we do not give you our blessing?"

Her shoulders dropped. "No."

His brows arched high. "Truly?"

She looked at him pointedly. "I know I will not be happy with him if I choose him over all of you."

Levi looked around the room and then back at her. "This room would never be the same without you in it reading your boring books."

"It was never the same ever since Ysabella married," she countered.

Her brother pushed away from the door. "They are not willing to give the man more than one chance, Emma. And before you jump with you, I am telling you that it is a final decision. If he ever does something in the future, something we do not like, he is gone."

Emma contained her happiness as she nodded.

"I am keeping good on my promise. Are you certain you are going to use it on this one? It cannot be returned if you fail."

"I do not want anything else."

Levi nodded. "Good. Then find the bloody bastard."

Emma grimaced. "I am afraid it might take a while to find him."

Levi scoffed. "Then I wish it will take forever."

"Bastard!" Emma said, throwing her book at him.

She missed by merely an inch for her brother was already on his way out the door.

Emma was grinning from ear to ear as she scooped the startled Mrs. Beagle in her arms. The cat cooed and Emma hugged it closer. "It is time we find him now, Mrs. Beagle."