Free If He's Daring by Hannah Howell

chance the tie was there, lost in the midst of time and turmoil. It was very hard to vanquish all Wherlocke or Vaughn blood, however, which explained the occasional gift appearing in people who had never realized they were connected to his family.
    “Does all this help? I have the feeling that you now believe we have gone from just following the man to, perhaps, having to hunt him down.”
    Orion pushed his dish aside and refilled his tankard with the last of the wine. “I do. If not immediately, then very soon. He will learn that you are hard at his heels and that he should alter his route to throw you off. It is what I would do.”
    “Then this is going to take far longer than you may have planned for, and may be far more difficult than I had anticipated. It might be wiser if I went to the authorities or hired someone.”
    “No, best to keep this all as private as possible. If it is made too public, the man might consider it best to get rid of the evidence of his crime.” He nodded when she paled. “Keeping it private could be the best thing for the safety of your child.”
    “It is what I would prefer, but I also do not want to leave Alwyn in Morris’s hands for too long.”
    “The boy will be freed of the man soon. I am very good at this, Lady Catryn, and that is not an empty boast. Everyone has a particular skill. Mine is finding people and things. The only thing that does trouble me is your opinion that Morris is much akin to a spoiled child. That would mean he is bad at planning, perhaps erratic, but it should only slow me down a little. I will still find him. The thing you must think on now is just what you want done with Morris when we find him and get your son back.”
     
     
    Catryn was still trying to decide about that as she took her bath. Morris had to be stopped, but just how she could do that without actually having him jailed or transported, she did not know. Such a judgment could be made only in the courts, where this whole situation would quickly end up the subject of public gossip and speculation, and she did not wish that either. Nevertheless, the constant court cases, and now this kidnapping of her child, were troubles that could not be allowed to continue.
    “Maybe if he goes to a port, I will have a stroke of good fortune and he will fall into the water and drown,” she muttered and then felt guilty for wishing death on anyone, even someone like Morris.
    She did not need more guilt. She already felt more than enough for not telling Sir Orion the truth about Morris when he asked how the man acted toward her. Catryn simply could not say what she thought and suspected. It not only sounded vain but it was embarrassing. Morris had never actually pushed himself on her, but she had quickly become suspicious that some of his growing anger toward Henry had been because Morris coveted his brother’s wife. Shortly after Henry died, Morris had been a little less discreet in his interest, shallow though she had known it to be, but she had soundly rebuffed him and he had then turned to the courts.
    “Just thinking it sounds vain,” she said to herself and shook her head as she stood up and reached for a towel. “I should have told Sir Orion though, and let him decide.”
    Standing before the fire to stay warm as she rubbed her hair dry, she thought about Sir Orion. He was too handsome for any woman’s peace of mind, but there was strength within him, a steadiness she had only ever sensed in her father. Despite his privileged position, his good looks and health, she knew without asking that he had known harshness in his life. And despite the fact that he had an illegitimate son, she could not shake the feeling that he was not actually some rake who bounced from woman to woman without any pause. He would understand, when she told him about what she thought Morris felt for her, that she was not just stroking her own vanity.
    As she donned her night shift and crawled into bed, she tried to think of