Sidney stepped out of his hut into the brisk morning air. The coolness relieved his tired body. It had been many years since he had done so much physical labor. Somehow, two of Mr. Lambe's sugar cane fields had caught fire while the wedding celebrations were carrying on. It had been a long battle to stop the fire from spreading to all the other fields and to eventually put it out. By the time it was finished, Sidney had been sooty and sweaty and bone-tired. He'd decided to use the couple of remaining hours of the night to head back to his place and clean up and take a short nap. It wouldn't do to needlessly wake Charlotte up when he would be seeing her at the break of dawn anyway.

His heart leaped at the thought. For the first time, in over a decade, he was carelessly and hopelessly in love. Today he wanted to tell her that. And hopefully, she felt the same way. He wanted to spend every day with her, wanted to bask in her smiles, and listen to her dreams. A relaxed grin graced his face as he made his way across the quiet beach, lit with the first rays of sunshine.

As he came closer to Charlotte's hut, a strange creaking sound met his ears. Instinctively he sped up his pace. He raced up the steps of the hut, coming to an abrupt halt at the sight of the front door, swaying listlessly in the morning breeze. Why had she left it open? He forced himself to take a breath. It didn't always have to be bad news. Maybe she had just wanted some fresh air as she got ready for their walk. He knocked cautiously on the swaying door.

"Charlotte? Everything okay?"

No reply. A second knock caused the door to swing open and revealed a messy entranceway, with knickknacks and chairs thrown about carelessly. Charlotte's shawl lay amidst the mess.

"Charlotte!" he hated the fear that cut through his deep voice. He raced through the hut, the emptiness confirming what he already knew deep down. She wasn't here. He pulled his shirt looser about his neck, the collar constricting in his panic. Where would she be? Why was there such a mess in the entranceway? Had she been taken against her will?

He raced back across the sand, banging on the doors of the Captain and Lady Denham. Neither of the sleepy two had any idea where Charlotte could be. Of course, they didn't. She was so stubborn, if she had somewhere to be or something she felt she had to do, she would have just done it. She was too independent for her own good.

Charlotte, please be careful! His thoughts cried out to her as he saddled a horse and raced back up through Mr. Lambe's charred fields and to the mansion at the top. It was still so early in the morning that he caused quite a raucous as he slammed through the front door and demanded to see Mr. Lambe. A servant hastily led him up the grand staircase to Mr. Lambe's bed chambers. Truth be told, Sidney knew the servant was probably scared silly of him, given how he'd stormed in and started bellowing. But right this instant, he couldn't find it in him to behave politely or rationally. He needed to find Charlotte.

He nodded curtly at the servant as they reached the door to Mr. Lambe's rooms and then pushed through.

"Charlotte's missing!"

The older gentleman was leisurely eating long slices of fruit, the perfect picture of tropical relaxation. He raised his eyebrows at the interruption.

"Did she go for a walk perhaps?"

"Come on man!" bellowed Sidney. "She's missing." He took a breath and tried again. "Please, I need your help. Who would have taken her?"

"Sit down, old friend." A trace of guilt flitted across Mr. Lambe's face. "I too have a confession."

Sidney impatiently pulled up a chair.

"You know the money you left with me when you returned to England?"

Sidney nodded. By the time his time in Antigua had come to an end, Sidney had been heavily regretting his involvement in slavery. He'd tried to make up for it by leaving a large sum of money with Mr. Lambe. He'd asked him to distribute it amongst the local families as an apology of sorts for exploiting their women.

"Well, I came into a bout of trouble with the plantation. I used the money to keep myself afloat and intended to pay it over to the families once I was in better financial waters again." He rubbed a hand over his bald head. "Only, I forgot."

Sidney exploded from the chair. "So you're telling me half of Antigua still holds a grudge against me? Anyone could have taken Charlotte as revenge. I have to go canvas the villages and ask questions." He turned to storm out of the room. As he was about to slam the door, Mr. Lambe spoke again.

"Sidney, I'm sorry, old friend. I'll rally some men to help you search." He grinned. "On the bright side, at least Charlotte has enough money to pay a ransom if that's what is needed."

Sidney froze with his hand on the door. "How does she have enough money?"

"Didn't Georgiana tell you? She's decided to give half her inheritance to Charlotte."