Nicole Jordan Read Online Free PDF Page B

protection struck at the heart of their order. Their leader, Sir Gawain Olwen, considered their very honor to be at stake. There was no question they would mount a rescue if necessary. Caro had come directly to London to give Thorne his orders.
    He handed her a full wineglass, then settled himself on a sofa while she explained the facts they had pieced together after Isabella went missing—facts that suggested she’d been taken captive by Barbary corsairs.
    “We actually had little information to go on. When Isabella’s ship never arrived, we sent out inquiries. There had been no storms that week, or any other reason to suggest it might have sunk. And then we learned that a vessel flying an Algerian flag had been sighted in the packet’s wake.”
    “And there has been no word of Bella since? No demands for ransom?”
    “None. Sir Gawain sent two agents to Tripoli just in case our intelligence was mistaken, but the odds are greater that she was taken to Algiers.”
    “And Sir Gawain wants me to go directly to Algiers to search for her?”
    “Yes.”
    “Doubtless he understands the difficulty of locating her there.”
    Caro nodded. From what she’d heard, Algiers was a large, crowded city with dwellings crammed together like rabbit warrens. And the country itself—the Kingdom of Algiers—was a vast expanse of rugged mountain and hostile desert.
    Her sherry remaining untouched, Caro set her glass on the mantel to reach into her reticule. Drawing out a thin sheaf of folded papers, she handed them to Thorne.
    “All the particulars are here,” she said. “Everything we have planned thus far…each of our assignments, including yours.”
    Thorne perused the details quickly, not questioning why Caro had come personally to deliver his orders. The Guardians often communicated by mail dispatches and carrier pigeon, but this assignment was too important to risk being lost.
    Caro shuddered to think of what might have happened to her friend. It was hoped that Isabella’s dark beauty and elegant manners would have spared her the fate of many slaves—a terrible life of toil and beatings—and landed her instead in some wealthy lord’s harem. The Kingdom of Algiers was ruled by a Turkish dey, who governed from a massive castle. If Isabella was imprisoned there, breaking her out might be next to impossible.
    Yet first they had to find her. A half-dozen Guardians were in Barbary now, seeking information, while several others had been recalled to Cyrene in the event they had to mount a rescue.
    Thorne looked up from studying his orders. “Hawk is leading the search in Algiers,” he verified, “and I am to link up with him there.”
    “Exactly. And I don’t need to tell you how imperative it is that you proceed quickly.”
    He nodded. “I’ll leave tomorrow morning, as soon as I arrange a few details to put my current assignment on hold.”
    The light of anticipation in Thorne’s eyes greatly encouraged Caro. For the first time in weeks, she felt her taut nerves relax the slightest measure. She was infinitely glad to have Christopher Thorne on their side.
    She had known he would be eager to participate in the mission, since he loved the thrill of danger. A rebel at heart, Thorne was the hotheaded, reckless member of the group. And of all the Guardians besides Caro, he was closest to Isabella, so he understood perfectly her anxiety for her friend.
    Thorne rose from the sofa and crossed to her, taking her gloved hands in his larger, stronger ones. “We’ll find her, never doubt it.”
    Caro smiled faintly. She was far more troubled about this mission than any previous one, doubtless because she had such a high personal stake in the outcome. “It is just so frustrating to be this helpless. I cannot stop seeing Isabella at the mercy of some cruel master. She is all alone, Thorne—”
    “Have you considered another possibility? That Bella may look upon her captivity as an adventure rather than a tragedy?”
    He was