The Corinthians Series: Somebody To Love

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Disoriented, Raphael blinked his eyes a couple times. A series of sharp knocks on his door had awakened him. Judging by the soft glow pouring from the window, it was still relatively early. A dull throbbing was pulsating in the back of his head. Peering around the room warily, he spotted an empty bottle of whiskey from last night which served as a silent explanation for his headache. The knock on his door persisted, as loud as cannons to his sensitive ears. Swinging his legs to the side of his bed, Raphael got off the mattress and dragged his bedraggled self to the door. Opening the door, he came face to face with Felix, who was still dressed in his nightly attire.

"S'matter?" he asked and yawned.

"Its Callista: she is apparently missing from her bedchamber!" the older of the two replied, looking considerably distressed. Raphael's attention was effectively ensnared, his eyes widened.

"What?" he asked, incredulously.

"Callie is missing!" Felix repeated, wringing a triangular cap he often wore to bed.

Raphael strode back to his room for his dressing gown. "How?"

"Heavens knows!" Felix shouted, throwing his hands in the air. "Lady Lancaster reported that by the time she went up to her daughter's room, the door stood ajar and Callie was nowhere in sight."

For a moment a shrewd idea flitted past his mind: Callie must have run away. But he quickly waved the thought away. Callista Adalbert was not the kind to simply run away in the dead of the night. If he knew her at all, he was certain that she was not the impulsive sort. She might have been quite the impetuous, pig headed girl while growing up. In spite of this, Callista had outgrown those sort behavior years ago. If anything, level headedness and practicality was what that Callista could be counted on. 

Pulling back from his own thoughts, Raphael refocused his attention back to Felix. "What of Lady Lancaster?"

"Downstairs. She is quite distraught."

Distraught was not a good enough word to describe Lady Penelope as Raphael descended the stairs and spotted her sobbing into a handkerchief. She was still dressed in her dressing robe and her nightgown peeked from underneath clumsily tied knots. Her hair was partly hidden under a cap while fat chunks of it had managed to escape, dangling lifelessly around Lady Penelope's face. Once she was aware of his presence, Lady Penelope quickly shot onto her feet.

Bloodshot eyes greeted him, wet and red. Lady Penelope grabbed both his hands and beseeched him. "She's gone! Oh, what shall we do?"

"Do not worry my lady, we will find her." He tried to comfort the weeping woman and she began nodding feebly, dabbing her eyes. Raphael turned to Felix trailing behind him. Jones had also appeared by the door, standing in silence. "Has the entire house been searched?"

"Well... yes. We have looked in all of the rooms and the kitchen," Felix informed. "Should we launch a report? She could have ran away."

Lady Penelope added with a whisper. "She could have been kidnapped."

Raphael shoved the idea out of his mind. She could not have been plucked from her bed by some sort of criminal. The thought of it caused his gut to clench uncomfortably. "Jones, have you checked the windows and doors? Is there any sign of forced entry?"

"There haven't been any signs of such actions, my lord."

"Carriage or horses missing?" 

The butler shook his head. "No, my lord." 

"Go and look in the back garden once more, Jones," Raphael instructed. Then, his eyes swerved to Felix's. "Take Lady Lancaster to the dining, please. A cup of tea, or something stronger to calm her nerves."