For two hours they crawled down lanes and byways, stopping every now and then to peer over gates and hedges, circling the village twice before finally having to admit defeat. Hampered by the darkness, it was impossible to see farther than a few yards in the dense undergrowth that lined the fields and downs, and even Violet, who never gave up on anything, suggested they get some sleep and continue the search in the morning.
In a last desperate measure, Elizabeth pulled up on the coast road and cut the engine. “If we both yell together,” she told Violet, “Martin might hear us and call out. Our voices will carry from up here. If he’s in the woods, maybe the girls will hear him.”
“If they’re still out here,” Violet grumbled. “It’s got to be long after midnight.”
“It’s worth a try.” Elizabeth climbed off the saddle and went to the edge of the road. Facing the woods, she put both hands to her mouth. “On three,” she said. “Both together. One, two, three… Martin!”
Their combined voices echoed across the downs, then faded away. The only sound that answered them was a scuffling in the deep grass a few yards away, and the steady clip-clop of a horse’s hooves off in the distance.
“One more time,” Elizabeth said, cupping her mouth once more. “One, two, three… Martin!”
Violet’s voice cracked on the shout, and Elizabeth’s throat felt raw with the effort of shrieking her butler’s name. “All right,” she said wearily. “I suppose we shall have to just wait until daylight and look for him then.”
“Let’s just hope he has enough sense to find somewhere warm to sleep,” Violet muttered.
Elizabeth climbed back on the motorcycle, knowing full well that neither of them would sleep comfortably in their beds knowing Martin was out there somewhere in the cold, damp black of night, alone and more than likely feeling abandoned.
Sadie was already asleep in her room when they got back to the Manor House. Violet went to peek in Martin’s room just in case he’d returned, but she came back to the kitchen with a long face that dashed Elizabeth’s hopes.