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“Nondescript is what I would say,” Miss Davis added on. “The kind of man who blends in easily.”
“Collins.” While the description was not much, considering what he knew now, Rex felt it in his gut. Collins had his wife. Where?
“Hopefully, we will know soon,” Miss Davis said, surprising Rex. He was so overset, he had not realized he had spoken aloud. Every muscle of his body was tensed, ready for action, but he did not yet know which way to spring. “There were some children outside the shop. When we saw the gun, we went running out, but it was too late.”
“I told the children to follow the carriage, then come here to tell us where it went for half a crown each.” Miss Pennyworth said grimly. She and Miss Davis exchanged a look. “As long as it does not leave London…”
“For half a crown each, they might follow it beyond the city limits, but I hope it will not be necessary,” Miss Davis said, rubbing the sides of her head, her pinched expression filled with worry.
Frustrated, Rex paced the room while the others discussed what would happen once the street children arrived.Ifthey arrived. They should, as Miss Davis had said. Hell, Rex would give them a whole crown each if they led him to Mary, hale and hearty. Miss Pennyworth and Miss Davis wanted to accompany any rescue attempt, but the Captains thought they should remain here.
Rex did not particularly care what they did, as long as their presence did not further endanger Mary. What the devil had she been thinking? Yet, as if he could see her in his mind’s eye, he knew exactly what she had been thinking. She wanted to help Lucas because she knew Rex would want to help Lucas.
When he had her in his arms again, he would impress upon her that her own safety came before everything else.Thatwas what he wanted most in the world. He did not know what he wanted to do more—hug her tightly to him and never let go or blister her bottom for being so careless with her safety.
The bell to the front door rang out, causing an exodus. Rex had already sent Cormack to stand ready, and Mrs. Maple was down by the kitchen door in case the urchins went there instead. But to the front door, they had come, huddled together as if they could not quite believe their own temerity.
“Fourteen Jermyn Street,” the oldest looking of them was telling Cormack when Rex came rushing up, the others hurrying behind him. Slightly unnerved by the sight of an actual lord, the boy stepped back, closer to his companions.
“Lucas’ house,” Rex said, shocked. The devil? No matter. The why was not important—knowing where Mary had gone was. “Did you see a woman?”
“Nay, m’lord. Once it stopped, we came running here.”
Good enough, though Rex wished they were able to tell him if Mary was unharmed. Granted, that could have changed in the time it took to get them here. Thankfully, Lucas’ residence was not too far from his own.
“Thank you. Give them a pound each, split apart into small coins,” he instructed Cormack before turning away, aware of the children’s shock over their good fortune. Browne and Jones looked back at him grimly, and the two ladies stubbornly raised their chins. “I am leaving. Now. I do not care who comes and who does not, as long as Mary is safe at the end of this.”
Mary
“There.” Collins quickly finished tying Mary’s wrists behind the back of the chair he had tied her to. It had not taken him long—he was in a rush—but the ropes were far tighter than she would have liked.
The parlor he had shoved her into was sparsely furnished, the space clearly a bachelor’s with no sign of a woman’s touch. The chair she was tied to was utilitarian and dismayingly sturdy. Mary bit her lip as Collins stepped back, thankful to still be alive and worried he was going to shoot her now.
There were windows along one side of the room, but the curtains were drawn, so that was no help. Try as she might, Mary could not hear anyone moving about the house. Perhaps there were no servants, or they were all out of the house, or perhaps Collins had already done away with them. Mary fervently hoped for one of the first two options.
“Stay right where you are now,” Collins said as if it was a joke. The almost manic grin on his face made her shudder. The man was even a better actor than her. Mary had spent much of her life covering up her real self, but Collins was clearly a master. She would have never guessed such evil lay beneath his previously placid exterior. “I will return momentarily.”
Lucas. He was going to get Lucas. After that, Mary was sure her chances to escape would be finished, as would she and Lucas. The moment Collins left the room, Mary began struggling with the ropes. Despair rose, along with tears, blurring her vision when they held fast. Even though Collins had done the knots quickly, he was apparently proficient.
She jerked harder on the ropes, gasping with relief when she felt them give a little… but this was taking too long.
Movement startled her, someone hurrying into the room, moving far faster than Collins had. Mary jerked back against the chair, her head swinging up as she tried to focus through her tears.
“Evie!” If she had had any breath left in her lungs, she would have shouted her friend’s name. Dressed in servants’ garb, dirt smudging one of her cheeks, she had a large knife in one hand and a forbidding expression on her face. “What are you doing here?”
“Working,” Evie said, quickly moving behind Mary. “Pull your wrists apart to make the ropes taut. Hurry, I do not think we have much time.”
Mary strained her arms and felt the ropes shift as Evie began to cut them. Almost immediately, the hold on them loosened.
“Working? For your uncle or…”
Evie snorted.
“For Lucas. His manservant hired me to do some of the cleaning and things while he searches for his master. I figured the earl had to return here eventually, and none of the other households I was interested in were hiring, so it worked well enough.”
“Lucas is not the traitor,” Mary started to say as she got to her feet, rubbing her wrists. She turned to face her friend, who was frowning in consternation.
“No? Then he is not working with the man who dragged you in here?”
