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“Who brought it?” Paxton asked.
“Someone. Didn’t see who. They gave a shout and were gone. I should have been waiting on the steps, not inside like a coward.”
“They might never have left the note if you were,” Jack said. “Good man. Stay, you will be of help.”
The beta blushed and looked far more natural now that he stood at the door like a soldier.
“Read it out loud,” Paxton instructed Jack who unfolded the cheap, stained paper on which it had been written.
My Lord Paxton,
By now you must realise that I have your omega… Though how much longer she will be yours is another matter. I’ve offers that will clear my debts, but if you are willing to pay the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds and clear what debts I have included. I will promise to return your mate to you alive. Have it tomorrow night, Vauxhall Gardens at midnight. I will find you.
Your humble servant,
Stimpson
Paxton and Jackwere unnaturally silent. I couldn’t find it in myself to tell them I had warned them. Not when I knew how much danger my sister was in.
“Get gone!” someone shouted recalling us to the hell we found ourselves in. A familiar, heavy tread on the stairs gave me less than a second’s warning before a bleeding Jude lurched into the drawing room, dragging a screaming urchin behind him.
I heard myself cry out and only my hold on the mantle kept me upright. Jude was alive and fury rolled off him. That alone told me he was not responsible for my sister’s disappearance. Jude, my Jude, wouldn’t dare show himself before me if he’d betrayed me. I’d claw his eyes out and eat his heart if he had.
“No thanks to the scamp, but I’m alive.” Jude growled in that nearly alpha way he had when his emotions ruled him. “They set upon us… I don’t know how they could have known unless…” He took a moment to collect himself. “Beatrice… as I am sure you know…” His head dropped, resignation in every line o fhis body. “I am sorry. Polly—”
I struggled to look at Jude for fear he might guess I doubted him even for a moment. Instead, I focused on the child Jude held. A belligerent scowl on his face that sparked a memory twenty years old. A pair of identical faces set in the same mulish expression when I’d told my youngest sisters they were never going to get solstice presents again.
“Begging your pardon but as I was the one who saved your life, a bit more, respect ain’t out of the question.” The child was underfed and dark haired with a grin that poked out now that he realised he wasn’t the centre of Jude’s anger. “Ain’t that right? A body—”
“Your name,” I barked, my eyes riveted on the finely boned features under the dirt. Omega, my instincts told me. The child would be an omega. But more than that. “Age.”
“Tod,” he smirked, proud of his name. Tod meant fox in scots and I wondered if he knew that. “Name’s Thadeus, but everyone calls me Tod. And I’m ten.”
Goddess, sweet goddess. She took with one hand and delivered with the other. On this night that my sister had been abducted, Tod had come into my life. I knew I smiled but could not tell the others why a lightness came over me. They would not understand who Tod was to me. Enough to say, the world at large believed him to be the son of Sophia Drexler, Oberon’s sister. But this was my nephew. The son Beatrice had given birth to ten years ago and been told had died.
“Prog!” I shouted.
“How may I be of service, majesty?” he asked. “Birds are quiet so far…”
“Never mind that.” With Tod’s appearance came the knowledge we’d have Beatrice back by the end of the night. Oberon would do everything in his power to save Beatrice if he believed his nephew in danger “Take this one to the house. He’s not to leave. Stick him in a bath. Feed him. Tell Sarah she’s to mind him until I return.”
“Sarah is gone,” Paxton reminded me. My centre shifted and the world slowed. Stopped really as I met his eyes and let him know for a moment the depth of my feelings. They didn’t know who Sarah was to me. Nearly as dear as Jude, she was a woman of beauty, ability, generosity, and so much more. Her disappearance cut near as deep as my sister’s.
“Take care of it, Prog,” I said hoarsely.
“Yes, Majesty.” He gave a little bow and reached for the imp who stared at my mirrored gold eyes.
The hand on his shoulder tightened and my eyes snapped to Jude’s. He tilted his head to the boy, reminding me that the child had seen the all. But beneath that nudge, emotions I had no time for shone back at me. A hurt I refused to acknowledge before all these people.
“Wait.” I raised a hand. “Keep the boy here a moment. He might have information. Speak.”
“Polly—” Jude took a step forward.
“I do not need to know my own name.” I snapped and gave the slightest shake of my head. He and I could talk later. “What happened?”
I watched as he regained control, reining in the growl he used like a crutch to assert himself when near alphas. “Everything was well. Then the carriage was set upon. I told her to stay put. Got out and was clubbed over the head the minute my feet hit the ground. Damned stupid of me, and I don’t need you to tell me. I hate myself enough. The imp woke me. According to him, he saw what happened.”
“Do you see them? How many?” Jack asked. “What happened next?”
