Likely Collingswood merely wanted to give her some inane piece of information he didn’t want the clerk overhearing. As faras Adele knew, Hugh was not close to this cousin. If Hugh were in real danger, how would Collingswood know about it? She figured she could listen to whatever he had to say so that he’d go away, then she’d get the cuff links and go home.
“I really must insist you come with me, Your Grace,” said Collingswood.
With a last long look at the clerk, Adele followed Collingswood outside.
*
Hugh was nearlydone. Contracts were signed, money had been exchanged, and for his trouble, Hugh now owned a patch of land adjacent to Swynford House that was as yet undeveloped and had previously belonged to a long-dead relative. Happy to have the ownership of said land finally decided, Hugh wanted to get out of London so he could start planning what to do with the land.
He was about to dismiss his secretary when he heard a commotion downstairs. He intended to ignore it for a moment, but curiosity got the better of him. “Let is investigate the noise, shall we?” he said to his secretary, Killingworth.
When he got to the foot of the stairs, he saw Lady Louisa in a great state of agitation. Hodges was trying to calm her, but she was frantic. “He took her! She’s gone!” she said when she spotted Hugh.
He knew instantly something terrible had happened to Adele. He ran to Louisa.
“What happened?” Hugh asked. “Where is Adele?”
Louisa’s face crumpled. Hugh’s heart began to pound.
“You’d better start at the beginning,” he said.
Louisa nodded and took a deep breath. “We were in Mr. Pembroke’s shop on Savile Road. I left her near the front of the shop so I could pick something up for my brother. I was gone not a few moments and Adele was right in my line of sight… until she wasn’t.” Louisa started to cry. “Oh, Your Grace, I am so sorry.”
“What happened?” Hugh’s fear was palpable. “Do you know where she went?”
“A man came and asked to speak with her outside. Before they left, she told the clerk to alert me if she did not come back. I think she knew this man was dangerous, and the clerk said he was being quite forceful. Once they were outside, the man ran off with her.”
“Who was the man?”
“The clerk overheard him tell Adele he was your cousin.”
“Collingswood,” Hugh said, and then something hit him quite suddenly.
Collingswood was broke. There had been trouble at his Jamaica plantation. He’d been part of the fight for the parcel of land Hugh now owned; it was Collingswood who had been instrumental in sending in his lawyers to quibble about some loophole in the law. Collingswood was in town, which was unusual, and he’d been sniffing around Hugh’s social circle. It was perhaps Collingswood, Hugh’s heir until he and Adele had a child, who had the most to lose from Hugh’s recent marriage.
He had a vision that struck him so hard he had to lean against the wall. As he walked home from the Rutherford ball, someone crept up behind him. He turned just in time to see in his peripheral vision that it was… it was Collingswood who had hit him over the head.
And now he had Adele.
Collingswood likely wanted to get Hugh’s attention. To get Hugh’s title.
That had been the intention, hadn’t it? Collingswood had hit Hugh over the head and left him for dead on a London sidewalk, likely imagining he’d fall victim to a robber or pickpocket or succumb to his injury or the elements, because he was too cowardly to do the deed himself. And now Adele was the only impediment between Collingswood and the Swynford dukedom, or that’s how Collingswood must see it. Which meant her life was in grave danger.
Hugh gasped.
He started to head for the door, but Hodges put a hand on his arm. “Before you go storming off into the London night, Your Grace, perhaps you should call for some help.”
Hugh saw the wisdom of that. He took a deep breath. Then he turned to Killingworth. “Go to Lord Waring,” said Hugh. “If he is not at his residence, he will be at the club.” Hugh thought about that for a moment, trying to think of every possibility. “Or he may be at the Marquess of Beresford’s house off Berkley Square. Do you think you can find him?”
“Yes, Your Grace. I shall see to it right away.”
No longer able to stand, Hugh sank onto the bottom step of the staircase. He looked up at Lady Louisa, who still looked distraught. She swallowed and said, “We will find her. We will get her back.”
“Yes. We will. We must.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lark was gratefulthat he and Anthony were at least mostly dressed when Hugh’s secretary came storming into his house.
