If he had told the truth to Anette about what he did, what he was capable of, she wouldn’t have been abducted. She would be in his arms… safe. That is all that he had ever wanted for her. She didn’t deserve what had happened to her. She did nothing wrong.
Now they had to sit back and wait for Lord Oxley’s contact to arrive. They had nothing else to go on. Had they botched this assignment? He was beginning to think they had. Caleb was too close to his father and that affected both of their judgments.
A knock at the main door echoed throughout the main hall.
It was only a moment later when Mr. Barnard stepped into the drawing room and his eyes darted around the room. “Is Lady Octavia with you?” he asked, his breathing labored.
Roswell jumped up from his seat. “No, why do you ask?”
“She is missing,” Mr. Barnard said, removing his top hat. “I went to take her on a carriage ride through Hyde Park and the servants couldn’t locate her. I had been hoping that you had escorted her here.”
Roswell felt his heart drop. By rushing to Anette’s townhouse upon hearing the news of her abduction, he had left his sister unprotected. What had he done? Had he been so preoccupied about Anette that he failed to see the threat on Octavia’s life?
“I know that face and it isn’t your fault,” Mr. Barnard said.
“Then whose fault is it?” Roswell demanded. He had failed his sister and Anette. “You should know that Miss Bolingbroke was abducted last night.”
Shock registered on Mr. Barnard’s face. “That does complicate things greatly,” he stated. “Do you have any leads?”
“None,” he admitted with a heavy heart.
Mr. Barnard placed his top hat onto the table and asked, “What are we to do, then? We can’t very well search all of London for them.”
“No, but we are waiting for Lord Oxley’s contact to arrive,” Roswell responded. “With any luck, he will know where they are.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Mr. Barnard asked.
Roswell winced. “He has to.”
Mr. Barnard looked beside himself and he said, “I promised your brother I would keep your sister safe and I failed. He would be so disappointed in me right now.”
“He would be disappointed in both of us.”
Caleb stepped into the room with a purposeful stride and announced, “A groom just informed me that he saw someone approaching the study window.”
“Let’s go,” Roswell said. With any luck, this man would provide them with some answers that they were in desperate need of.
Mr. Barnard cleared his throat. “If you want answers, you will need me.”
Caleb waved him forward. “Very well, I suppose we don’t have a lot of options right now,” he said.
They all made their way to the study door and withdrew their pistols. They kept their backs against the wall in the corridor until the man made himself known to Lord Oxley.
Lord Oxley’s voice broke through the silence. “You have arrived.”
A man with a French accent spoke up. “Do you have the book for me?”
“I don’t, but I have a different proposal for you,” Lord Oxley said. “You will tell me where my daughter is and I will let you live.”
Not bothering to wait a moment longer, Caleb hurried into the study and Roswell followed after him. They pointed their pistols at the tall, broad-shouldered man as he stood by the window.
The man’s eyes narrowed. “What is this?” he demanded. “Did you set me up?”
Lord Oxley nodded. “I did and now I want to know where my daughter is.”
“I am not allowed to tell you unless you give me that book,” the man said.
Mr. Barnard stepped closer to the man and pointed his pistol at the Frenchman’s right boot. “Tell me where Miss Bolingbroke and Lady Octavia are or else I will shoot you.”
