“Well, I don’t want him,” Mary stated firmly. “The other girls can help themselves. Will Lawson isn’t the man for me.”
* * *
Will hesitated rejoining the girls as he overheard their discussion of his relationship with Mary. He shouldn’t be surprised, except that as Mary hotly denied anything between them, the back of his neck burned in a most painfully peculiar way.
He was not going to get attached to Miss Mary Stone. It should have been a relief to know that she had no attachment for him. Besides, he had bigger problems. His hunt for Jasper had turned up neither Jasper nor Emma Jane.
“Will!” Polly greeted him with an overeager smile. Given the bit of conversation he’d just overheard, he could only imagine what Polly thought of him. Something he should correct with the girls, but how could he let them know the truth of his visit to The Pink Petticoat without telling the whole story? For now, it was best to let them think what they wanted to think. After all, it wasn’t as though he cared what Mary thought of him.
He gave Polly a slight nod and turned to Mary. “Not only is Emma Jane missing, but I can’t find Jasper.”
Mary’s brow crinkled, but before she could answer, one of the girls who’d been hovering gasped. “That horrid little tart!”
Mary turned toward the girl. “You don’t even know what happened to Emma Jane. She could be out there injured, or worse, and you’re afraid that she’s gone and stolen Jasper out from under you.”
“He doesn’t even like her,” another girl chimed. “He told me that he thought I was the fairest flower of them all.” She preened slightly. “I can’t help but be named Flora, you know.”
The first girl gasped. “That’s what he told me! You obviously were spying on us when he stole a kiss earlier tonight.”
“I always knew you were loose, Sarah Crowley.” Flora gave a final humph and stomped off, a couple girls trailing after her.
Sarah started to say something, but Mary finally spoke. “Enough. We don’t know that Emma Jane and Jasper are together. Last I saw Emma Jane, she was going to use the necessary, and that’s been quite some time ago.”
She looked toward Will. “When did you last see Jasper?”
“Near suppertime, I think.” Will tried to think if he’d seen Jasper since, but he’d been too focused on Mary to even think about his friend. Besides, Jasper needed time alone. And with all the kisses it seemed his friend had managed to steal, he’d probably needed plenty of room.
What was Jasper thinking? He hadn’t been so thoughtless in regard to a woman’s reputation in the past. As far as the accusation that he was off with Emma Jane, Will didn’t believe it for a moment. Not only was he clearly not interested, but Jasper wasn’t so mule-headed as to steal away with a woman so blatantly desirous of trapping him into marriage. Jasper was smarter than that.
The weight of Mary’s eyes on Will made him realize that he, too, had made a number of mistakes he was too smart to make. Like being so focused on Mary that he’d not paid attention to his friend or the fact that one of the women had gone missing.
“Did you look outside?” Mary’s voice sounded strained.
“Yes. I searched around as far as I could, and I called both of their names.”
“I wonder if Emma Jane was simply too embarrassed to answer, if she’s in distress of a personal nature. I should go check.”
The firm set to Mary’s jaw told him that it would do no good to argue, even though he’d found the outhouse empty. Plus, such a thing wasn’t mentionable in the presence of so many ladies.
“I’ll walk outside with you.”
“I think it’s best if I go alone. Her pride...” Mary didn’t need to finish her sentence.
“I’ll leave room for you to have some privacy. Besides, I still need to find Jasper.”
They walked out the door, and Will did his best to ignore the giggles of Polly and Mary’s other friend. Such silly girls. He’d had no time for pursuing ladies in the past because he couldn’t get past their giggles and the fact that they all seemed to be more vapid than he had patience for.
And then he’d met Daisy, and for a brief moment, he’d thought that things could be different. But he was wrong. Just because she wasn’t as vapid as the rest of the girls didn’t make her any better. In fact, it made her capable of a heinous crime.
So where did that leave Mary?
He watched as she strode earnestly to the empty outhouse. She made great show of walking around it, calling Emma Jane’s name.
All for nothing, of course.
The furrow in her brow had deepened as she returned to his side. “I can’t imagine where she might have gotten. Perhaps we should put together a search party.”
Will lifted his lantern. “Not only do we not have enough for all of us, but I don’t want to needlessly put anyone else in danger. With the rain, the paths are slippery, the land unstable. It’s best to wait until morning.”
“We can’t leave Emma Jane out here alone all night.”
“She’ll be fine.” Words meant to convince Mary, but even Will knew they probably weren’t true. The woman had gone into hysterics at getting wet. Mary was strong enough to tolerate being out alone all night, but she also wouldn’t have been so foolish as to get lost in the first place.
Who was he kidding? If it were Mary out there, he’d go after her.
Mary wasn’t supposed to be special.
“Go inside with the others. I’ll see if I can get Josiah Haggerty or his sons to help me look.”
“I’m not going to abandon her.”
“You’re not abandoning her. I’m going in your place.”
“But Emma Jane doesn’t trust you. Plus, her reputation will be ruined if she is alone with you.”
He raised a brow.
