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“If he is out there, then we should be too,” she insisted. She tapped on the roof of the carriage to get the driver to stop.
“Miss?” he asked, looking over the side of the carriage from the driver’s box.
“We want to get out to search on foot,” Edwina said breathlessly.
“It would be safer for you to remain in the carriage,” the driver said, but Edwina opened the door of the carriage and stepped out.
“I will walk beside the carriage, like this,” she said, coming under the carriage lantern. “Just follow along with me. Bertie – you on one side, me on the other with Lizbeth.”
“This is foolish,” Lizbeth hissed, whispering in fear of being heard. “It is as though you are asking to be harmed.”
“Let us be off again,” Edwina said, ignoring her maid. As she walked along the carriage, peering into the darkness, her hands trembled and gooseflesh rose on her arms. Even though the spring had been warm, the night air was still cool.
“Father!” Edwina cried out, hoping he would answer her if he heard her voice.
“Lord Haverton!” Bertie called out, his baritone seeming to reach further into the darkness. When they came to the other side of the park, Edwina’s feet ached, and she wrung her hands together fretfully.
“How far does he usually go?” Edwina asked Bertie, standing in the empty street. “Surely, not much further.”
“He has made mention of walking in the country on warm days. Your father is in great health, perhaps from all his walks,” Bertie explained. He pointed west. “We could keep on the road toward Bath or south, toward the country.”
Edwina turned quickly at the sound of soft voices on the street. A couple of maids approached them, baskets in their hands. In the east, above the buildings, a dim gray light warned that the sun was rising.
“We should go to the constable,” Edwina thought out loud, fretting. She looked at the two women approaching. “Have you seen an older man out walking?” They shook their heads quickly, avoiding eye contact as they passed the carriage.
“What if your father has come home since we’ve been out?” Lizbeth suggested. “We have been out for hours.”
“Fine,” she sighed. “Let us stop back by the house, but I feel like he is not there.”
They climbed back into the carriage and made the short drive back to their home in Mayfair. Bertie jumped out of the carriage alone to ask the butler if Edwina’s father had come home. Edwina felt her heart drop when she saw the butler shake his head. Bertie returned quickly to the carriage, opening his mouth to tell her what she already knew.
“Let us go to the constable,” Edwina suggested. Bertie climbed back in the carriage, and they quickly set off. They shortly arrived at the constable’s house near the gaol. Edwina felt nauseous, looking at the dark structure. Bertie stopped her as she headed for the door.
“Let me speak on your behalf, Miss,” he suggested. She nodded, afraid that she might be sick. The three of them walked up the steps, and Bertie knocked on the door. A man answered, peering at them skeptically. Edwina held back, swallowing hard.
“What can I do for ya?” he asked.
“A man is missing,” Bertie explained. “Lord Haverton, Baron of Haverton. We wanted help to find him.”
“Find him?” the man laughed. “I can help ya, for sure. He’s here.”
“He is here?” Edwina asked, startled. She rushed forward. “Is he all right? Does he need a doctor?”
“Oh, he’s fine,” the man said. “Fine as you can be in irons.”
“In irons?” Edwina cried.
“Are you hard of hearing, Miss?” the man laughed. “Aye, he’s been arrested.”
“Whatever for?” she continued, her voice high and tight. Bertie put a hand on her arm, trying to calm her. “I must see him, at once!”
“I do not recommend that,” the man said. “The gaol isn’t a place for a lady.”
“But it is for a Lord?” Edwina retorted. She set her mouth in a thin line. “I must see him at once!”
The man shrugged nonchalantly and opened the door further, allowing them to follow him into the building. Cold air wafted over them, and Edwina covered her nose from the smell. Lizbeth hooked her arm through Edwina’s for comfort.
“Right this way,” the man said. They followed the man down the stone hall, down a set of stairs, the air becoming colder and danker as they descended. Edwina shivered, wishing she had dressed more warmly. Shouting rose up to greet them, the voices crying out words that she could not repeat as a lady.
