“What?! How?” Octavia shouted.
Roswell turned back to face her, his jaw clenched. “I don’t know but I intend to find out.” He was surprised by how calm he sounded, considering his whole world had just been turned upside down. This had always been his greatest fear and it had finally happened.
Carson cleared his throat. “Would you care for me to bring the coach around, my lord?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Roswell replied. “It would be faster for me to go on my own.”
With a parting glance at his sister, Roswell departed from the dining room and headed towards the main door. He had just stepped onto the pavement when he found himself running towards Lord Oxley’s townhouse.
He was well aware that he was attracting attention as he passed by patrons on the pavement but he didn’t care. He refused to waste one moment when time was of the essence.
It wasn’t long before he arrived at Caleb’s townhouse and he didn’t bother to knock. He opened the door and stepped inside.
The butler met him in the entry hall and informed him, “Mr. Bolingbroke is in the drawing room, my lord.”
At least the butler had enough sense to leave him be. “Thank you,” Roswell said.
Once he stepped into the drawing room, he saw Caleb was sitting next to his mother and she had a handkerchief in her hand, swiping at the tears that were streaming down her face.
“Caleb, what do we know?” Roswell asked, not bothering to wait for any type of pleasantries. There wasn’t time for that now.
Lady Oxley looked up at him with red-lined eyes. “Anette has been abducted.”
“He knows, Mother. I sent word to him just a moment ago,” Caleb informed her. “Why don’t you go speak to Father in his study? I am sure he will need your support.”
She nodded absentmindedly. “You are right,” she said, rising. “I will go speak to him.”
Caleb rose from his seat and kissed her on the cheek. “It will be all right, Mother. I promise you that. We will find Anette and bring her home.”
Roswell smiled kindly at Lady Oxley as she brushed past him and departed from the room. The smile left his face as he turned back to face his friend. “What happened?”
“I was hoping you would know,” Caleb replied with a knowing look.
He was taken aback. “Pardon? Why would I know anything?”
Caleb’s tone grew accusatory. “You had arranged to meet with Anette in the gardens last night. You were the last person to see her.”
“I did no such thing,” Roswell declared. “Who told you that I arranged a meeting with Anette?”
Caleb reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. “This is the note that Anette’s lady’s maid gave me. She said that it was delivered to the servant’s door by a street urchin.”
Roswell accepted the paper and read it. “I did not write this.”
“Then who did?”
“I don’t know, but I would never have placed Anette in such a scandalous position,” Roswell said. “After I went home, I spoke with Kendrick and Mr. Barnard. I didn’t come back here. I wouldn’t have. Anette deserves much more than that.”
Caleb pressed his lips together before saying, “If you didn’t write this letter, then the person who did wanted Anette to think it came from you. That was the only way she would be lured outside at night.”
“Were there any signs of a struggle?” Roswell asked.
“None,” Caleb replied. “It was as if she had just vanished.”
“When did you discover that Anette was missing?”
Caleb dropped down onto the settee. “Anette’s lady’s maid informed me this morning when she went to dress her for the day and found that she hadn’t slept in her bed. She explained what happened and I have no reason to doubt her story.”
Roswell knew this was the time to be rational, but he found himself growing increasingly agitated. He hadn’t pursued Anette to keep her safe, but it had done no good. She was still in harm’s way, and it had nothing to do with him.
