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Chapter One

“ C han eil toil ach toil an Tighearna.” There is no will but the Lord’s will.

“The returns will be substantial,” Richard Hardy, the Duke of Wilthorne, stated confidently to his longtime business partner, Lord Everett.

“A tenfold increase within the year. Of course, that’s only if we play our cards right, and we will .

To continue to be relevant, we must continue to expand,” he added.

With each deliberate step of his exquisite leather boots on the path, the Duke of Wilthorne exuded controlled confidence. He was an expert at sealing the deal, and more than that—he knew it.

“Tenfold?” Lord Everett laughed playfully as he considered the weight of Richard’s words. “That’s a bold claim, even for you… But I must admit, I am rather intrigued.”

Richard could see the abacus in his head moving the beads from one side to the other, projecting dividends and considering all the angles. Nothing got his blood moving more than the thrill of landing a contract.

As a businessman, Everett was clever, passionate, and ambitious. Yet, his fire for industry was tempered with caution, and this was one of many reasons Richard liked dealing with him so much. He knew it was much better to approach Everett than some swindler, like Henry or Sampson.

“It’s not a claim, it’s a careful calculation,” Richard assured him as they came to a stop.

He took his hands out of his pockets and held them out openly, as if to say there were no tricks up his sleeves.

“You know me better, Everett. I never bluff, at least when it comes to business. A card game of course is another matter,” he joked as Lord Everett nodded his head in agreement.

“I suppose not,” Everett replied as they began walking again. “Well, get on with it. I don’t have all day to stroll through Hyde Park, you know. Why don’t you start going over some more of these particulars?”

As he went on about the specifics of the plan, Richard’s eyes drifted from the sprawling greens of the park to the small figure a few yards ahead on the path.

Lydia, his young niece, was walking with her maid to take in some fresh air and enjoy the day’s sunshine. She snapped around quickly, waving her hands to him in the hope of catching his gaze. She looked at him expectantly, her sparkling cerulean eyes boring a hole into him.

They look just like John’s. Wasn’t it just yesterday those same eyes were looking at me… beckoning me to play the games younger brothers subject older brothers to?

As if the delicate creature could somehow hear his thoughts, Lydia rushed over to his side in a few short skips.

She grabbed his coat sleeve and tugged gently, looking up at him with a shy smile.

It was then that she pointed excitedly toward the nearby lake where some boys about her age were skipping stones.

They looked like they were having great fun without a care in the world.

“Well, I was wondering when you’d come over and say hello, my dear,” Everett said as he smiled at Lydia. “You must be the bright, young niece your uncle has told me about.”

Lydia offered him a wide smile, her face lighting up at the idea of Richard speaking about her to another person.

She took this as an invitation to tug again on his sleeve, with more force this time.

She pointed again in longing to the boys by the lake. Their sport had grown playfully competitive as they chucked the stones as far as they could. Their laughter was infectious as Lydia began to jump up and down.

That’s where you should be, Lydia. Playing with other children, untethered by grief, loss and everything that goes with it. Instead, you’re forced to be minded by maids, accompanying me on business dealings. We don’t have the luxury of levity in this family. Duty above all else. Right, father?

“Lydia, kindly go back to your maid,” he dismissed, his voice firm but not angry.

He could not let himself glance in her direction. He wouldn’t dare look at those eyes or gauge her reaction. The fear of destruction from the weight of his familial burdens outweighed his fear of a lost business deal… the only thing that could.

Business was Richard’s life.

Lydia’s face fell, her bright eyes dimming to a pale blue. She did not ask for much after all she had been through. For her to approach Richard in this way meant a lot. She turned away from him, her small shoulders drooping, and walked back to rejoin her maid.

Richard fixed his gaze back on the distant grass, not looking at Lydia or the boys playing by the lake. Business was what he was comfortable with, and that was what he was here to conduct today.

“My, she didn’t say a word,” Everett observed as they regained their pace. “Can the girl not speak?”

Richard shook his head. “She’s just a quiet soul,” he explained, desperately wanting to change the subject.

“Well, she seemed rather eager for your company,” Everett pressed, a hint of curiosity still lingering in his voice. “She appears to be a very sweet girl, if a little reserved.”

“She will learn not to be so dependent on others, it can only lead to ruin. As I was saying,” Richard continued, as his voice regained its sharp edge.

“The investment in the shipping lanes will provide us with a near-monopoly. We can control the prices and dictate the terms. Imagine the power we’ll wield with an operation like that, just as commerce is set to boom. ”

Invigorated by the prospect, he continued to outline his strategy, new details coming to him as he expanded on his ideas.

“We’ll corner the market, streamline the distribution, and watch the profits soar,” he promised as he neared the end, his voice filled with the confidence of a man accustomed to getting his way, and knowing just how to do it.

Then, Richard looked ahead up the path and saw the maid.

Her posture was rigid, her hands clenched at her sides in tight fists.

While her body remained in that spot, her eyes darted around frantically in search of something as she turned in a circle.

She looked like a trapped animal searching for an escape route.

Something was terribly wrong.

“Excuse me, Lord Everett,” he said politely. “I fear something must be wrong with our maid.”

He moved with quiet urgency away from Everett to meet her on the path, closing the distance between them in a few swift strides.

He saw the full extent of terror etched on her stone face and resolved himself not to panic. Her eyes held a look of fear, and it felt as if they were both frozen in time. He followed her gaze as she continued searching for something, scanning the grassy knolls ahead.

It was then he saw it. Or rather, he didn’t see it.

Lydia was gone.

“What happened here?” Richard asked, his voice low and urgent as not to cause alarm or make a scene.

He fixed his eyes squarely on the maid’s terrified face. He placed his hands on her arms, shaking her gently to break her out of her silence.

“Where is Lydia?”

The maid’s breath hitched, and she stammered to speak.

Her voice was barely a whisper, “I looked away for a moment, Your Grace! It was just to fix my boot, and when I came up, she was gone. The girl just disappeared!”

“How long ago?” Richard pressed sharply, his mind already piecing together the fragments of the puzzle.

Where is she?

“A few minutes at most, I thought she would come back from wherever she is,” the maid replied, her body trembling as she reached for her handkerchief.

She began to cry, loudly blowing her nose to speak again.

“But… but she always comes back. She must be around here somewhere. I am sure she just wandered off in search of some little bird. LYDIA!” She called, cupping her hands around her face. “Come here, sweetheart!”

A few minutes was an eternity in a place like this. Hyde Park, with all its beauty, was a place where secrets lurked in every shadow and danger behind every turn.

He scanned the area around her, checking for any disturbance.

“Did you see anyone near you while you were walking? Anyone at all?” Richard demanded, his eyes narrowing on hers.

He was beginning to fear the worst but put those thoughts out of his mind. He needed to focus.

The maid shook her head back at him silently.

“Is something the matter?” Everett asked tentatively as he shouldered up to Richard. “What can I do, man? Is it the girl?”

“I’ll handle this myself,” Richard barked.

The last thing he needed was help. He needed to find Lydia, and now, before something happened to her.

Richard slapped his hands together tightly in exasperation. He knew this was no mere disappearance. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt a cold dread settling in his stomach.

He had to find Lydia, and he had to do it quickly.

“Stay here,” he ordered them both. “Don’t move. And don’t speak to anyone.”

The unsettling feeling grew stronger, like the silence before a storm.

He had to find her before it was too late.