Page 23 of Never Doubt I Love (Calloway #3)

When Alexander first saw Olivia approaching the stables in trousers and a cap to hide her hair, he nearly forced her back to the house and carried on without her. It was bad enough that he was allowing her to come with him, but if anyone discovered her dressed as a boy, her life could be ruined. But then she smiled at him, and his argument stuck in his throat, and he simply kept his silence as she helped him grow comfortable enough with Calloway’s horse, Hermes, to mount the animal and begin their trek to the little village where his mother had last been living.

They rode in silence, with Alex and Olivia in the lead and Wilson trailing behind. Though Alexander had promised the footman that he would speak to Calloway on his behalf and ensure he received no punishment for joining them, Wilson had yet to stop squirming in discomfort. Alexander was grateful to him, just as he was grateful to Olivia for keeping a clear enough head to bring Wilson along. Alexander would have fallen into a panic and never made it past the walls of London without someone to go with him.

They stopped only a couple of times to water the horses and stretch their limbs, and Alexander was so distracted by thoughts of what could go wrong that he nearly forgot how much he hated riding. Or perhaps he was distracted by Olivia, who remained confident and optimistic. Her determination was inspiring, and the way she commanded their little group up until they reached the village at dusk reminded him why he had fallen so completely for her.

Olivia Calloway had never been afraid to be herself. Never feared to pursue what she wanted. And yet, somehow, she was always thinking about the people around her rather than herself. When she saw someone in need, she did something about it. She was the sort of person who could change the world if she set her mind to it.

If the day’s events had taught Alexander anything, it was that he could not sit by and expect anything to get better on its own. If he was dissatisfied by his circumstances, he needed to change them himself, just as Olivia would do.

That was easier said than done. As they slowly entered the village on their tired horses, Alexander could only imagine the worst, with no way to fix it. Who knew how long it had truly been since Hugh had sold the property? Mother was too proud to have asked for help, and Alexander could only guess how she had felt when her eldest son had abandoned her. He imagined her heartbroken, poor, and helpless, forced to take to the streets and beg for food until she withered away.

A sob tore from his chest when he caught sight of the house that had once been her home. What if he was too late?

“Alex.” Olivia slid from her saddle and hurried over to him. For someone who spent most of her life riding sidesaddle, she had proven just as skilled a rider sitting astride as she was otherwise, and she did not seem to have any of the aches and pains Alexander felt after such a long ride. She hurried to his side and reached up, taking his hand.

Alexander dismounted with far more difficulty than Olivia had, though that wasn’t entirely because of his sore muscles. The house was dark and looked far too empty. If they couldn’t find someone to tell them where to go next, how would they ever find his mother?

“Everything will be well,” Olivia said, clasping his hand between both of hers.

The only reason Alexander could breathe right now was because he matched his breaths to Olivia’s, as if she might be able to breathe for both of them. “You cannot know that.”

“Perhaps not,” she agreed, “but I can hope. And I will not give up until we find her.”

Alexander knew she wouldn’t, and it was taking everything he had not to wrap her up in his arms and hold on tight. He did not deserve her and all she had given him. And when she pressed her palm to his cheek again, he nearly fell apart.

“Have faith, Alexander,” she whispered. “Let us see if anyone is home.” Keeping her hand firmly locked around his, Olivia headed straight for the dark and quiet house, as if knocking on a stranger’s door just before nightfall was a perfectly normal thing for a baron’s daughter to do. Did she truly fear nothing?

She rapped her knuckles on the door and released Alexander’s hand, which was a wise choice on her part, considering she looked the part of a young man.

The house remained dark and silent, and Alexander’s pounding heart beat more weakly.

Olivia knocked again.

“No one will answer,” Alexander said, the words thick and heavy. “We are too late.”

“It is hardly seven o’clock,” Olivia argued.

That was not what he’d meant, but he saw little point in arguing when night was falling fast. It had taken longer to arrive than Olivia had guessed, which meant he needed to find a place for her to sleep for the night. He could content himself with a spot in the stables to keep watch over the horses with Wilson, but Olivia needed a proper bed. There must be an inn somewhere, and this village was too small and too far off the main roads to be popular for travelers. There would likely be an available room, though he hadn’t thought to bring any money with him.

He had not brought anything with him. He had gone up to his room only long enough to grab a waistcoat and jacket, and then he was in the stables begging Wilson not to tell anyone where they were going.

Alexander ran a hand through his hair and turned to take hold of Hermes’s reins so he could find an inn before it got too dark.

A soft light flickered to life behind him. He spun around as a graying man opened the door, a candle in hand.

“Yes?” he grunted, squinting at Olivia. “What do you want?”

“Beggin’ your pardon, sir,” Olivia said, her voice lower than usual and her accent mirroring Wilson’s. “I know it’s nearly nightfall, but my master’s come on urgent business.”

Master? What was she playing at?

“What kind of business?” the man asked, shifting his gaze to Alexander. “Who are you?”

Alexander cleared his throat, hurrying back to stand beside Olivia. “I am truly sorry for interrupting your evening. What Oliv... er here meant to say was that I am hoping you might know what happened to the woman who lived in this house some months ago.”

The man at the door narrowed his eyes. “Why would you need to know something like that?”

His gruff manner, rather than filling Alexander with dread, actually gave him some hope. If this man thought he needed to protect his mother’s whereabouts, then surely he knew them in the first place.

“Please,” Alexander said as gently as he could. “My name is Alexander Bailey. Lenora Bailey is my mother, and I am desperate to know how she fares.”

Grunting, the man studied Alexander’s face, as if trying to find a resemblance. Then he quirked up one side of his mouth, not quite a smile but not a frown either. “She always hoped one of her boys would come find her.”

Alexander nearly collapsed with relief until he considered the man’s words, and then his blood ran cold. Hoped? As in the past?

“Please, sir,” Olivia said. She seemed to know that Alexander was frozen with fear. “Where might we find her?”

If he said the church graveyard, Alexander wasn’t certain he would be able to breathe again.

But the man pointed deeper into the village and said, “She’s in the little house at the end of the street, with the red door, though you’re likely to wait a bit. She usually takes her time returning with the laundry these days.”

Alexander didn’t even care that most of that response made little sense. She was alive. Alive and well enough to be out and about. For now, that was enough to keep him from panicking.

“Thank you kindly, sir,” Olivia said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin. It seemed she had had the foresight to bring money.

The man refused, waving her away. He threw one more glance at Alexander, likely wondering whether he had made a mistake in telling them anything, and then he closed his door and returned them to the growing darkness.

“Well!” Olivia clapped her hands, making Alexander jump, and then she held out the coin to Wilson. “Wilson, I see stables just up ahead. Take this to pay for a place to keep the horses for the night. If they do not have a warm spot for you to sleep tonight, come to the house with the red door. If we are not there, we will be at the inn, assuming there is one in this town. Do you need anything?”

Wilson shook his head, but Olivia was already handing him another coin.

“There will be some place to find a hot meal, I am sure of it,” she told him. “You must be famished.”

The footman didn’t argue, pocketing both coins and nudging the horses forward.

Alexander grabbed Olivia’s hand as soon as they were alone. “You must be hungry as well.”

She began walking, tugging him along. “That can wait. We should find this house before it is too dark to see it.”

A strange thought ran through Alexander’s head just then, something Hugh had said about Olivia weeks ago. He had commented on her strong-willed nature and how she would make an excellent duchess. Strange, for a woman such as her to wish for anything but a title and its influence. Had Hugh been a different man, she could have changed so many lives by becoming his wife.

Hugh. Alexander shuddered, suddenly feeling the sting of the wound on his arm. He had all but forgotten about it and the duel that had caused it, but now that he had reason to believe Mother was safe—the rest of the day was returning to his recollection in vivid detail. And Olivia...

She had gone to visit Harris, a man who clearly loved her. Had anything happened, or had it been a friendly call like any other?

Alexander’s stomach twisted, and he held more tightly to Olivia’s hand.

“Well,” she said, unaware of his distress as she came to a halt outside another dark house. “This is as red a door as I have seen.” Though she knocked, she seemed to know no one was home because she sat on the step and pulled Alexander down with him. “What do you suppose he meant, speaking of laundry?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea.” And now that he was sitting, Alexander realized just how exhausted he was. He hadn’t eaten anything all day, and after his duel with Hugh and such a long and arduous ride, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep going.

“Are you going to tell me how you were injured?” Olivia asked. She ran her fingers down his arm, stopping just below his elbow, before she touched the place he had been caught by Hugh’s blade.

Alexander took a slow breath, focusing on the feel of her warm hands. “Are you going to tell me why you pretended to be my servant?” It was a pitiful deflection, but he had no desire to inform her of the day’s events. Not yet, anyway.

She snickered and surprised him by dropping her head onto his shoulder. His heart throbbed, treasuring her nearness. “I was already dressed the part. And I knew he would sooner trust a lord than a strange boy who cannot manage to grow a beard.”

“I think I prefer you without a beard.”

That got her to laugh. “You think , do you?”

All things considered, Alexander was feeling bold, and he tilted his head until his cheek rested against her cap. “I know . You are far too beautiful to justify hiding anything behind a few whiskers.”

“Do you really think I am beautiful?”

“Alexander?” A soft voice spoke from a few feet away, pulling Alexander’s attention up.

There stood his mother, dressed in sturdy and plain clothes and wearing an expression of disbelief. Alexander leaped to his feet, almost too afraid to get closer for fear that her worn and wrinkled face was merely his imagination.

“Mother?” he whispered.

Tears pooled in her eyes, and she dropped the large sack she had been carrying to hold out her arms. “Oh, Alexander, my darling boy.”

As he slid into her embrace and broke into sobs of relief, he felt as if he could finally relax for the first time in years.