*In case you didn't notice this chapter is in a different POV from Rille.*
She was not the girl I was looking for. Her physical description matched. Brown hair and eyes weren't uncommon. Factor in age, skin color, height, weight, the disposition to be by herself, and the burn on her arm she was a prime candidate to be my missing grand-daughter. I'd followed her onto this boat not realizing the woman with her was her mother.
Even after I figured that out, I still wondered if perhaps she was paying the woman to be a stand-in. Unlikely, but entirely possible with Miss Janette Duphare a noble girl missing for sixteen months. Known for her gambling prowess, it was inconceivable that Miss Janette Duphare wasn't on this trip. I'd just made a calculated error and gotten on the incorrect boat.
Watching her eat the almond cookies was the biggest clue that she wasn't my target. Miss Janette Duphare had an allergy. I wasn't clear on how the allergy manifested, if she broke out in hives, had problems breathing, or just got some inconvenient swelling. The girl didn't show any signs of a reaction.
Not that I could go around and feed almonds to every brown-eyed brown-haired girl on this trip. It had been sixteen months. There was the possibility that she'd gained or lost weight, changed her hair or undergone some other minor cosmetic changes. The allergy, her height, eyes, and age were the only characteristics that would remain constant. That and her penchant for gambling. I was uncertain if the burn scar could be removed since I'd never actually seen the severity of it.
The girl's burn seemed fresh, not old. I'd missed that from a distance. She had it slathered in a thick layer of cream and gel it had been hard to discern the age of the scar.
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Miss Janette was born with a gold spoon. She inherited a vast fortune when her parents died in the fire that devastated half the capital three years back. She'd been burned on her arm, but lived. She'd been in the care of her maternal grandparents, but new money and a sense of independence drove her to gamble.
Gambling became a problem, or that was what I'd been told. A problem the grandparents had tried to fix by locking the girl up. She just ran away and continued to blow through her fortune. She was still running and her grandparents had commissioned a search. Technically, Miss Janette was of age and could do whatever her heart wished. However, Miss Janette was nobly born and there were expectations from society. The reality was that she couldn't continue her gambling life.
I was being paid handsomely to retrieve the wayward girl. I had to find her. I'd been hoping to get to her on the boat, cause a ruckus and get us kicked off the trip back to the mainland. Now my plan had changed. I had to continue to pretend to be the vapid tourist. I needed to blend in with the people.
When we finally landed the people I'd made connections with would provide cover for me while I continued my search. I would find Miss Janette. How I was to get us both off The Island was the problematic part. The Island security most likely wouldn't participate in a noble woman's kidnapping.
I'd probably have to wait, play the tourist for 3 weeks, and somehow engineer to be on the same boat back as Miss Janette. Once we returned to land I could capture her and take her home.
I had to find her first. That should have been the easy part. The girl with her similar features had thrown my plans into the Abyss. It wasn't her fault, but I couldn't help but feel a bit bitter towards her. I'd do my best to be logical about the matter and not let my frustration show.
After all, I had paid nearly 200 gold to get on this boat. It would be reimbursed if I managed to capture Miss Janette. If not I was out a fortune. I literally could not afford to fail. Borrowing that much money had hurt, but I'd be able to pay it back and I'd get double that in profit. I just had to play the part until I found her. The hard part would be the kidnapping after.