His Innocent Rose (Hinley Manor Book 1)

Chapter 61: Search and you shall find

"You must have a place in mind. At least one." He urged her as they kept riding downtown.

There was.

So she pointed to the last seamstress they went to. Dathan located it immediately and happened to come upon the seamstress' son sitting all by himself. The man was smoking outside the shop and was startled at their arrival. He threw away his tobacco and tried to run back inside.

"Wait!" Em called and jumped down from the horse. "I meant no harm. I only wish to speak with your mother."

The boy, no older than ten and five, turned to her with uneasy eyes. "Me mums asleep now miss. Best come back in the morning."

"This is urgent. Please." She grabbed his hands. "I only need a few minutes of her time."

The boy looked at her and then at Dathan. He did not recognize them but from how they looked , he wondered if they eloped.

"I may be able to wake her." He said. "But she'll be cranky 'bout it."

Dathan pulled a coin from his pocket and threw it at the boy. He caught it in one hand. When the boy opened his palm, he saw it was a gold coin. He flashed them a wide smile.

"This way."

Dathan tethered the horse and accompanied Em inside. The boy gave them a lamp and led them down their kitchen, which was on the back of the shop. He whispered to wait while he rouse his mother to which they both nodded.

Once his footsteps faded, Dathan turned to Em. "Why here?"

"This was the place where I was last at."

"Are you going to tell me what exactly this is about?"

"Soon. I have to be certain first."
***

"I do not recall seeing someone like that." The seamstress said after she was hauled from her deep slumber. Em hd just finished describing how Mrs. Garth looked like. "If you must know, there had been quite a few people on the shop today." She added and yawned.

Em's shoulders dropped. It would seem that no one noticed Mrs. Garth come in at all. The woman must have known another way in. How else would she have know where Em was? So she tried asking one last thing, "Do you know anyone of this name?"

The seamstress took the piece of paper and squinted at the writing. Her silence gave Em some hope that mayhap she knew something. But the seamstress shook her head.

"I am sorry. It does not sound familiar at all." She handed the paper back to her.

"I understand and I ought to apologize for barging in like this."

"'Tis no matter. Won't be my first time at all." The seamstress smiled at her. "I have been asked to dress an eloping bride so she and her groom could marry before the dawn breaks. It has happened so many times that I have gotten used to it now."

Em smiled awkwardly, "I believe that is not the matter here."

"Ah, yes. You already have a dress and a betrothed." Then she rose and asked to be excused. "Good night to you, miss."

Her son walked them out.
***

Back in the road, they slowly walked beside the horse. The moonlight faded behind some clouds. It would be dangerous to ride in the dark.

"Who was Mrs. Garth?" Dathan asked.

"She works for the Hanselworths."

"And the name on that paper?"

"No one knows." She handed it to him and waited if he could draw any conclusions.

"Barfield. Its a family name." He said. "We may have luck if we can check the registry."