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Between the panic and the race to the school, she could hardly catch her breath. “Mr. Thatcher, is Annalise still here at school?”
He frowned. “No. She left with the other children at the usual time.”
CHAPTER15
Natalie didn’t even bother returning to the infirmary, but secured a hackney and gave the driver Alex’s direction.
She tapped her foot and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself, but that only made her dizzy and she was afraid she’d pass out before she reached Alex’s house.
With no money on her, she told the driver to wait and hurried up the steps to Alex’s townhouse. Mitchell opened the door. “Mrs. Shaw, a pleasure to see you.” He stopped and looked closer. “Is something amiss?”
She fought the tears that threatened to reduce her to a quivering mess, when she had to be strong for her daughter. “Yes, Mitchell. There is a problem. Is his lordship at home?”
Lord, she hadn’t even considered the fact that he wouldn’t be here. Of course, she would then proceed to the Sterling townhouse, but she felt the need to have Alex hold her, tell her everything would be alright.
“Yes, Mrs. Shaw. I will tell him you have arrived.”
“Thank you.” He began to move forward and then she remembered. “Oh, please can you pay the hackney driver outside?”
“Natalie!” Alex came hurrying down the stairs, obviously having heard her voice. “What is wrong?”
“Annalise.” Just one word and her tears erupted.
Alex put his arms around her and headed to his library. She sobbed against his chest, then pulled away. She needed to be strong to find her daughter. She took the handkerchief he handed her and wiped her cheeks and nose.
Meanwhile Alex moved to the sideboard and poured a sherry for her and a brandy for him. He handed the glass to her, and she took a sip.
“Now tell me what is wrong with Annalise?”
She twisted the handkerchief in her hands and took a deep breath. “She’s missing.”
His face turned pale as snow. “Tell me what you know.”
Feeling a bit more in control of herself, she said, “She did not arrive at the infirmary at her usual time this afternoon. Sterling has his carriage drive her to school each morning and, when the driver picks her up in the afternoon, he brings her to the infirmary where she stays until I leave, and we return home together.”
He took her ice-cold hands in his. The warmth from his large hands over her small ones gave her a sense of security. “I walked to her school and didn’t see her along the way. When I arrived at the school, the Schoolmaster was there, and he said Annalise had left with the other children at the normal time.”
“Drink up your sherry,” he said. Then he took the glass from her hands, refilled it, and handed it back to her. Instead of sitting alongside her, he paced.
“There is a former Bow Street Runner I’ve used before who can help. I will send a note to him. In the meantime, I suggest we both go to Sterling’s house since there is the off chance that she went there instead of the infirmary.”
Natalie felt a sense of relief. “Yes, of course! I was so distraught I didn’t think about the fact that she decided to go straight home today.”
“Give me a minute to have Mitchell arrange to bring the carriage around.”
Her excitement waned as she thought about Annalise going home instead of the infirmary. It was unlikely Sterling’s driver Rory would allow a six-year-old to dictate where she wanted to be dropped off. The panic started up again.
“Come, sweetheart, the carriage is ready.” Alex walked into the room and pulled her into his arms. “We will find her, I promise.”
* * *
Alex hada bad feeling about this. He didn’t want to distress Natalie any further, but with a carriage picking the girl up and dropping her off at the infirmary every day, it was unlikely something untoward would happen to the girl. So, then, where was she?
They settled into the carriage for the drive to Sterling’s townhouse. Even though he had suggested to Natalie that the girl probably went there instead of the infirmary, he didn’t really believe that. He wanted to get Sterling involved so they could question his driver, and since two heads were better than one and Natalie was such a mess—and rightly so—she was unable to think clearly. Having her sister by her side would help a great deal.
It was a tense, very quiet ride. He shifted across the carriage to sit alongside Natalie. With no words to say that wouldn’t be platitudes, he merely put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his body. She laid her head on his shoulder and sniffed.
Once they arrived, he hopped out and helped Natalie step out. They made their way up the stone steps to the townhouse, and, before Natalie could reach for the door handle, Jasper opened it. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Shaw, my lord.”
