Free The Rejected Suitor by Teresa McCarthy

perhaps
even trapped by some ferocious animal." Agatha paused, her face stiffening
with dread. "Good heavens, you don't suppose she ventured into that
wretched maze?"
    Jared's
mind jerked at the thought of Emily ensnared in the tangled vines and he felt a
sinking dread. "The very devil, Agatha. That stupid maze should have been
done with long ago."
    Watery
eyes stared back at him in horror. "What if that wolf..." Agatha's
words drifted into nothingness as she blinked again, putting a hand to her
ample breasts.
    "There
is no wolf," he repeated, even though Devereaux and Fennington instantly
came to mind.
    "Do
you really think so? Emily has always adored her walks about Hemmingly."
    Jared
lifted his aunt's trembling hand and kissed it. "I will find her, never
fear." He brought Agatha a glass of brandy and told her to drink it.
"But you must promise me, you won't worry. Trust me on this. You of all
people know who I am."
    She gave
him a reluctant smile. "I know I'm acting like a wretched old ninny,
worrying about her." She tried to laugh. "Of course, there is always
Gretna Green. She does have a large dowry, you know."
    Jared
hid his grimace as thunder clapped overhead. He brushed his knuckles against
his aunt's cool cheek.
    "I'm
certain Lady Emily has taken shelter somewhere. She is not an idiot."
    And for
her sake, she best not have run off with that Fennington fellow, because if she
dared to do so under Jared's protection, it would be more than Roderick's wrath
she would be facing, it would be his, and the lady would not be able to sit for
a week.  Zeus!  Not that he would ever strike a lady!
    Shaking
his head at the turbulent emotions swirling in his brain, Jared strode toward
the hallway, his Hessian boots brushing briskly against the rug. He flattened
his lips, sounding a shrill whistle for Nigel.
    The dog
immediately appeared beside him.
    He shot
a quick glance toward his aunt falling back against the sofa cushions. A tight
knot twisted in his gut. Perhaps something had happened to Emily. Perhaps she
had fled because of him. He had been the cause of her pain once before. He
would never forgive himself if he were the cause of her pain again.
     
    Emily
was most truly and decidedly lost. Her slippers crunched against the muddy
pathway as the boom of thunder rumbled in her ears. The eerie whistle of the
wind and the spattering of rain were ceaseless.
    How long
had she been in this absurd maze? Two hours? Three? She had lost all track of
time since she had heard Nigel's whimpers. Yet the dog was nowhere to be found.
She imagined the worst, thinking Nigel hurt and bleeding, gasping for his last
breath, all because she had forced him into the maze.
    She
shivered, crossing her arms over her chest and sought temporary shelter under a
nest of gnarled evergreens. A sliver of sunlight peeked through the slits of
the vine-covered roof above her. A mouse scurried across her feet, and she
closed her eyes, allowing a shaky, but half-amused breath. She fought to hold
herself upright, but her knees began to wobble.
    She
wondered if anyone knew she had left the house.
    For once
she could almost agree with her brothers, she needed a protector. Her
impulsiveness always seemed to earn her more trouble than she bargained for.
Was not the scar on her back evidence enough?
    However,
secretly working for Whitehall was something she never regretted. As Silver
Fox, when she had gained access to a confidential missive from a double agent
giving away the location of Black Wolf, she had realized how important her
position in the agency had been.
    Though
she had escaped that night with the missive hidden in her cloak, she would
never be able to forget the ball burning into her flesh. The old wound was a
ghastly reminder of how close she had come to death that day, and she was
determined that a tiresome maze was not going to best her either.
    She
began to feel her feet going numb and wiggled her toes. She should have worn
her boots, but she had no idea