Page 60 of Rogue’s Holiday

“Pete, you sit up top with Duffy,” said the leader. “We’ll drop the two of you at the lodgings to take care of our remaining business. Augie and I will meet you in London at the tavern.”

London?She had no idea why these men had abducted her or why they were taking her to London. She would have asked if her mouth had not been gagged. Men didn’t abduct a young woman for a noble purpose. It could be a kidnapping for ransom. Her family would be desperate to recover her. But it could be worse; it could be rape. Quavering, she prayed Sir Robert lived and would come for her. But what if he were too late? What if he never found her? Dread settled into her chest along with a feeling of impending doom as she imagined the worst. Oh, God, help me.

Voices around Robbie roused him from the deep blackness. “Robbie! Robbie!” Jack’s voice. A slap on the cheek brought him awake.

He moaned as a terrible pounding in the back of his head grew worse. “What…what happened?” The grass beneath him was damp and had seeped into his clothing. “Why am I on the ground?”

“Here, let me help you sit,” said Jack.

Robbie rose to a sitting position. The world swam around him.

“Where is my great-niece, Sir Robert?” asked a concerned Lady Sanborn whose face suddenly appeared before him.

“Where is Chastity?” demanded an unusually fierce Miss Crockett.

Robbie tried to leap up only to fall back. Jack caught him and helped him to stand. Robbie pulled the wig from his head and ran his fingers through his hair, feeling the back of his aching head where a huge lump had formed. “What do you mean, ‘where is Chastity’? Isn’t she here?”

“No,” said Jack. “You were the last person to see her.”

“We were talking,” Robbie said, trying to remember. “We had a bit of a tiff and she ran off. I was just going after her when…oh, God. I was struck from behind.”

“Oh, no,” Lady Sanborn said on a gasp, covering her mouth. “Someone has taken my great-niece.”

“What time is it?” asked Robbie. “How long has she been missing?”

“It’s after midnight,” replied Jack.

“This is all my fault,” lamented Robbie. “I should have seen it coming. I should have known they would strike at her.”

“Explain yourself,” said Lady Sanborn.

“Let’s get him into the Pavilion,” said Jack. “He can explain there.

“No,” said Robbie, his mind clearing as guilt assailed him. “It lies to me to find Chastity. I will search.”

“You and Lady Sanborn wait for us in the Pavilion,” Jack said to Rose. “I will go with Robbie.”

They strode into the trees, looking for any clue. The darkness didn’t help them but Robbie caught the glitter of gold and reached down. “It’s her mask.”

“Over here!” shouted Jack.

Where the lawn met the Steyne, a slice of gold shimmered from the ground. “’Tis Chastity’s!” he exclaimed, picking up the slipper. “She was wearing these.”

“If they left from the Steyne,” said Jack, “they likely had a carriage. Come, let us return; the ladies will be anxious.”

Inside the Pavilion, Robbie subsided onto a sofa in the Music Room Gallery that, thankfully, was devoid of all but a few servants.

When Rose saw the slipper and the mask, she blurted, “Those are Chastity’s!” and took them from him.

The two women took a seat on either side of him, wringing their hands. Jack stood in front of him, a look of concern on his face.

Plagued by regret and his thoughts scattering to the wind, Robbie tried to determine his next step. The woman he would take as his wife, the woman he had—against all odds—come to love, had been abducted. He must get her back before any harm could come to her. He looked up at Jack. “It could be North Street. I have to try.”

“You are not making any sense, young man,” said Lady Sanborn in a tone that spoke of authority. “I would know what this is about and why someone would want to abduct Chastity.”

He turned to see the worried expression in her brown eyes. “I am, my lady, or have been, His Majesty’s spy. Because of my work ending the Cato Street conspiracy, men in sympathy with those hanged for the crime have been following me.”

Miss Crockett gasped.