"Where did she run off to??" Roland angrily yelled at the men that were lined up at the front of his home. He stopped his back and forth pace and casted them a death glare.
He had assigned these useless wrenches a simple task, and that was to restrict Madeline from leaving the house~ it was a very simple task and still they failed to get the job done.
"What are you doing standing here like the fools that you are, go! Search every corner of Carmarthen till you find her! She mustn't leave Carmarthen or else, all of you should be ready to face dire consequences for letting her leave in the first place. Get out of my sight!"
"Yes sir!" They said in unison, bowing their heads before taking their leave to go find her.
The housekeepers instantly hide themselves before Roland drags his acrimonious attention towards them. He was a different person once his temper was messed with, and the veins in his forehead were popping out.
"You never seem to learn Madeline," he spoke through gritted teeth, realizing he might have made a mistake by underestimating her actions. How could he forget the quiet ones were the most dangerous ones to deal with?? He mistook her quietness for weakness and looked where it landed him.
Apart from that, the news about his broken window dampened his mood, and the only thing capable of stopping him from strangling Madeline to death was by thinking about her inheritance.
"They better find her." He stepped into his house, shutting the door with a bang.
******
The upper west quarters of Carmarthen were meant for busy people, making them less different from those of the lower East quarters. Madeline could verify herself that she had somehow gained entrance to the lower East quarters without knowing how, and the place was bustling with market people who came to sell supplies.
Shops, bars, stalls were opened for customers to make their purchases. A sign was labeled at the corner of most shops, clarifying her assumptions that she was not in the upper west quarters, but in the lower East quarters.
Madeline wandered through the bustling street on her bare feet, surprised she found herself in the lower East quarters when the journey to both districts could cost three shillings on a carriage.
How long had she been running? Given that her knees were already at the point of giving up, it means she must have run meters to get here.
She was away from Roland's home now, and she doubts they'd come here looking for her as long as there are no spies following her trail. Roland was no ordinary man, just as he had men inside his home, he had them outside too, and she was fully aware of it, which is why she never follows the open street.
That must be the reason she entered the lower East quarters without knowing.
Getting mixed with the crowd, she tried to find her way through, and it was just her pure luck that she kept escaping being hit by carriages more than three times.
"Hey! Watch your step!" The Coachmen would yell.
On the sides of most shops, posters of people that were unfamiliar to her were pasted on the walls. Below the pictures were the word, "MISSING" written in block letters.
"Are all these_ people missing?" Moving closer to the wall, she ripped one of the posters off. It was a picture of a little girl, and she doesn't seem like someone from the upper west quarters, which means she must be from this side of Carmarthen.
She knew about the rumors of people missing, but has it gotten to the extent little children vanish as well??
"I wonder if anything is being done to handle the situation."
Staring intently at the poster reminded Madeline that she had to find shelter before midnight. If she keeps wandering around like a commoner here, she might be the next victim to be abducted by whoever these kidnappers were.
Raising her head and turning to her left, a little girl who looked to be ten years of age was standing before the same poster in another shop, holding it in her little grasp as she stared with visible sadness contorting her face, the only problem Madeline seemed to have with it was the girl standing there looked exactly like the little girl in the poster.
Huh????
She looked at the poster in her grasp, then at the girl. At the poster, then at the girl again. It couldn't be wrong, her eyes weren't capable of deceiving her more than twice, it was the same girl on the poster!!
But if she's standing right there, how can the townspeople declare her missing??
No one seemed to notice the little girl's presence, everyone just carried on with their daily basis, like she was invisible.
"Excuse me." Madeline tried to gain her attention. She waved a hand at the little girl, hoping to make her look in her direction and it worked, cause the little girl was staring right back at her.
"You're the_ no! Wait!"
The little girl took to her heels before Anna could complete what she wanted to say to her, running away at the fear of being recognized by a stranger.
"Wait! Come back!" Madeline found herself chasing after the little girl through the busy crowd. Why was she running away upon being called? And why isn't anybody noticing her???
"I promise I won't hurt you, just stop running!"
The little girl didn't stop, instead, she panicked even more when she saw the lady was still on her trail.
Madeline was confused, isn't she the missing girl? Shouldn't she be happy that she got recognized? Why is she running away?
"Wait please!" The little girl ran into a narrowed path between two buildings, and Madeline followed her in. It made no sense why the little girl was running away from her, but after following her into the alleyway, she couldn't see the girl anymore.
"Seriously?" She hissed, already panting from having to chase the girl all the way here. Her throat was dry and uncomfortable, she needed water, something to drink, but she had placed so much focus on escaping she forgot her savings at home.
"Where did she….where did she go?" After regaining herself a bit, she stood straight and continued to look for the girl.
Was she hiding?
"Hello." Her soft tone echoed in the alleyway, she was away from the bustling street, and this part she ended up in was uncomfortably quiet.
"I promise not to hurt you, I just_ Ahh!! What are you..!!. Let me go!"
Madeline panicked and screamed when someone used a sack to cover her face from behind. She struggled to free herself from the stranger's grip, but before she knew it, her vision had blacked out.