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He shot down the whisky with a grimace.
“Donny, are you dizzy or having trouble with your vision?”
“Nae, my head’s just ringin’ like a bell. The bitch gave me a good whack, excusin’ the language.”
“I’ll be calling her worse before the night is out,” Samantha grimly replied. “Did Girvin say anything else before she hit you?”
“Nae. It all happened fast. Felicity had her back to us, so she wouldna have heard anything.” He swallowed hard. “That poor lass . . .”
Samantha pressed a hand to his shoulders. “We’ll get her back, I promise.”
“So, Girvin’s in on it. With that Haxton bastard.”
“And Arthur Baines, most likely.”
Donny stared at her, his mouth gaping. “What? He was the master’s good friend. He’s been workin’ on the foundation since the beginning.”
“Which made him perfectly placed to control everything.”
“Bloody hell,” Donny whispered. “Do ye think he killed the master, too?”
She’d been fighting that dreadful thought, but of course it could be true. “I intend to find out.”
When footsteps sounded in the hall, Samantha rushed to the doorway to see Braden and Logan’s man striding toward her. Braden put an arm around her waist and swept her into the room.
Then he went to examine Donny, who waved him off. “I’m fine, sir. What did yon fella see?”
Braden nodded to his companion. “Go ahead, Max.”
Max, a sturdy young man with blunt features and a sharp, intelligent gaze, doffed his cap. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Kendrick. I didn’t know it was yer sister who left with Mrs. Girvin.”
Even though the confirmation wasn’t a surprise, the room tilted on a sickening slant.
“Steady on, love,” Braden murmured, putting his arm around her shoulders.
She nodded. “I’m all right. Max, tell us everything.”
“The young miss and Donny, here, arrived by hackney coach.” Max glanced at Donny. “The coach didn’t leave, so I’m thinkin’ ye asked it to wait.”
Donny nodded. “We were pickin’ up Mrs. Kendrick to take her home.”
“Aye, well about ten minutes later, Mrs. Girvin came out with what I thought was one of the schoolgirls. She gave the driver a direction, and then she and the girl got in the carriage and it drove off.”
“My sister was dressed like a schoolgirl?” Samantha asked.
“The schoolgirls wear those gray cloaks and bonnets, and the young lass were wearing those. So I thought she was one of them. Seemed a bit odd that they were takin’ the coach, but because Mrs. Girvin goes in and out several times a day, I didn’t think anythin’ of it.”
Samantha rubbed her head. “She made Felicity change, so you wouldn’t recognize her.”
Max grimaced. “If I’d known, I would’ve stopped her.”
“Samantha, what’s going on here?” Braden asked. “Why the hell would Girvin kidnap Felicity?”
“It’s because of the note I sent you.”
He frowned. “What note?”
“You never got it because Girvin kept it.” She frowned. “But then why are you here?”
