The Rose of the World Read Online Free PDF

strange ways, gave a brief grin and nodded. Josse turned back to Meggie and waited.
    After some moments she said quietly, ‘Rosamund was here. I can feel something of her . . .’
    â€˜She was almost home, then!’ Josse exclaimed. ‘She—’
    Meggie put up her hand, and he stopped. She smiled at him. ‘Of course, you don’t know,’ she murmured. ‘I walked back with her,’ she went on. ‘When we reached the bend in the path back there –’ she pointed – ‘Rosamund spotted Ninian, and she ran on to catch up with him. I turned and headed back to the hut.’ She drew a shaky breath. ‘Only, it wasn’t Ninian. He was nowhere near the house at that time.’
    Josse was trying to make himself believe the unbelievable. ‘So someone was pretending to be Ninian with the purpose of abducting her,’ he said slowly. There was a gasp from Gus, quickly suppressed, but Meggie regarded him with solemn eyes and slowly nodded.
    â€˜Abducted. Yes,’ she said. ‘It is terrible, but I believe we will serve her better if we accept the fact and act accordingly.’
    â€˜We will return to the house,’ Josse began, hardly knowing what he was saying, ‘and—’
    Gus interrupted him. ‘May I say something?’ he asked apologetically.
    â€˜Of course!’ Josse said.
    Gus turned to Meggie. ‘You just said you could feel her here.’ He sounded embarrassed, as if this brush with Meggie’s mysterious powers was a little too close for comfort. ‘Can you – that is, does this place tell you anything else?’
    Meggie looked at him, her head on one side. ‘I was completing my examination when you rode up,’ she replied. ‘Rosamund came running up the path here –’ she pointed – ‘and someone heavier and with bigger feet was here –’ again, she indicated – ‘and he had been standing here for some time.’
    â€˜That must be the man she mistook for Ninian!’ Josse exclaimed. ‘You’re sure it was a man, Meggie?’
    She nodded. ‘Yes. I, too, saw him, although only fleetingly, and he was too tall and broad for a woman. Also—’ She broke off, frowning.
    â€˜Yes?’ Josse prompted.
    She met his eyes. ‘The imprint of this other person is quite different from Rosamund’s,’ she said shortly. ‘Don’t ask me to explain –’ Josse wouldn’t have dreamt of doing so – ‘you’ll just have to take my word for it.’
    â€˜Can you tell anything else about him?’ Gus asked nervously. ‘Was he – er, was he good?’ The light was still dim, but even so Josse could see the blush that stained the younger man’s face. ‘I mean—’
    â€˜It’s all right, Gus, I know what you mean,’ Meggie said gently. ‘You’re asking if I think this man’s going to harm her. My answer is that I don’t know.’ She paused. ‘I don’t feel an immediate threat from the place where he stood, that’s for sure, but if a stranger lies in wait and takes a girl away from her family, then that in itself is a threat.’
    She reasoned well, Josse thought, although how she knew the things she knew was quite unfathomable. The echoes of her words rang in his ears, and he shook his head to dispel them; standing there in awe at his daughter’s powers wasn’t going to help Rosamund.
    He took Alfred’s reins from Gus and, holding out his other hand to Meggie, set off up the track towards the house. Gus fell in behind. ‘We shall report to the others,’ Josse said firmly, ‘and see if they have any news. We shall eat and drink, and then I shall ride down to Tonbridge, find Dominic at Gervase’s house and tell both of them that Dominic’s child is missing.’
    Quite how he would find the words to do that, Josse did not