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“Excellent. Would you be so kind to deliver this basket to Lord Dracott? Tell him it is from Lady Worthington, and she sends her regards,” Gemma explained.
Maggie stepped forward and grabbed the basket. “Will do, my lady.”
Gemma pressed a small bag of coins into Maggie’s hand. “For my gratitude.” Then she whispered low enough for Maggie to hear, “Take a hackney home. Do not wander these streets alone.”
“Thank you, Lady Ralston,” Maggie grumbled.
Maggie rushed inside, relieved to have gotten this far. She hurried up the stairs and almost knocked on Crispin’s door but stopped when she heard arguing voices behind the panel.
She pressed herself around the corner and waited for the visitors to leave. As she waited, Maggie remembered the promise she had made to Charlie and Gemma to reassure them that she had arrived upstairs safely. She slid the basket against the wall and hurried to the window. She sent them a signal, and soon the carriage took off. Maggie barely made it back to her hiding spot when Crispin’s door opened. She stood in shock when Rogers and a young lad strolled out. They closed the door and continued their discussion in hushed whispers.
Maggie almost stepped forward to confront Rogers when the door opened again, and Ravencroft stalked outside. She gasped at the fury on his face and pressed herself against the wall. Their conversation drifted around the corner to her.
“What happened?” Ravencroft demanded.
Maggie chanced another peek around the corner.
“He passed out when I attacked him,” the lad mumbled.
“Attacked him? Are you a fool?” Ravencroft roared.
Rogers glanced around them, expecting the other tenants to open their doors. “Ren only meant to scare him,” Rogers tried to calm Ravencroft.
Ravencroft advanced on the lad, pulling him up by the scruff of his shirt. He dangled the boy in the air. “Why did you have to return? We helped you to escape. You were free.”
The lad spat in Ravencroft’s face. “Free. I will never be free. Plus, you only have your mother to blame for my return.”
Mother? Maggie thought Ravencroft’s mother had passed away years ago. She swore she had overheard him telling Noel the sad story of her demise. Maggie knew a scandal revolved around his mother, but she couldn’t recall the exact details of the lady’s fall from grace.
Ravencroft snarled. “So your loyalties lie with that bitch again. Was it your intent to kill him?”
Rogers pulled at Ravencroft’s arm to lower the boy. “Let us discuss this in a more private setting.” He nodded toward the closed door. “We all have the same intention toward him, and arguing over his welfare is not helping matters.”
Ravencroft dumped the lad on the floor. “Just explain how you attacked him.”
The lad pushed himself to his feet. “I swept his feet out from underneath him and pulled a knife to his throat. I did not know he still suffered from his terrors.”
Ravencroft growled, grabbing for the boy again. The boy sidestepped Ravencroft, but not before Ravencroft grabbed the lad’s hat. Only it was no lad. A luxurious mane of hair the color of a raven fell from atop her head and hung past her shoulders. Who was this creature? And how did she have intimate knowledge about Crispin? She obviously knew more about him than Maggie did.
Ravencroft sighed. “When Dracott becomes stressed, his terrors escalate out of his control.”
Rogers attempted to get them to leave again. “We need to leave. It is not safe for any of us to be seen together.”
“Fine. We shall finish this discussion in my carriage,” Ravencroft ordered.
He stalked away, and Rogers followed him, but the girl hesitated, placing her hand on the door. Her look held concern and something more Maggie didn’t want to understand.
“Ren!” Ravencroft hissed.
Rogers moved back and pulled the girl from the door. “He will be fine. I gave him a sedative to help him sleep.”
“Should someone not stay with him?” she insisted.
“No. We cannot risk it,” Rogers explained.
Rogers helped the girl along the hallway and down the stairs. However, she kept her gaze focused on the door until she moved out of sight. Who was she? More importantly, how were Ravencroft, Rogers, and the young girl connected to Crispin? Ravencroft acted protective of Crispin, which made no sense at all. She had told Crispin of her doubts about the earl, and Crispin had assured her he would look into Ravencroft. Was it a cover to hide their relationship?
The longer Maggie stood in the hallway, the more she risked getting caught. Once she realized they wouldn’t return, she rushed to the door and turned the knob. In Ravencroft’s haste to confront Rogers and the girl, he had neglected to lock Crispin’s door. While it benefited Maggie, she had to wonder if he had done so on purpose. And if so, why?
