“The Bible had four,” Liam reminded him. “Croydon has six. The Pale, The Blue, The Red, The Dark, The Kissing—”
“The Kissing Horseman?” Michael repeated, not sure if he wanted to laugh or think about how he would knock out all of the Kissing Horsemen’s teeth if he kissed Charlotte.
“And The Gray.”
“Hmm, okay. What else?”
“At first, whatever they robbed went toward helping widows and orphans. The poor,” Liam told him. He had no idea that his words had made Michael’s stomach feel like it caved in. Charlotte said she robbed to give to the poor. Did she know these men?
“But the robberies are becoming more frequent,” said William, “and the needy are not getting the help.”
She had to be involved with these men somehow. Did he just let her go run and warn them? No. Why would she when he was bringing her to Sutton tomorrow? Should he go back on his word? He never had before. “It’s greed, William,” he told the young man. He said as little as he could. He felt sick. He knew she was a thief, but if she was involved with the Horsemen…or if she knew them…everything would change.
He fought the urge to push aside every chair, the table itself, out of his way and go find her. But he controlled his desire and harnessed his urge and waited.
“Do we know who any of them are?”
The men shook their heads. “No one knows, and if they do, they are not going to tell you, Sir.” Again, William did the talking. “No one will talk about them.”
Michael settled his gaze on Gerald across the table. “Fear?”
“Mostly,” William agreed.
“What else?”
Liam laughed and leaned back in his chair. “What else is that they are working for the Horsemen.”
Michael raised his eyebrows on Gerald. Finally, the young man laughed. “I’m not involved with the Horsemen. I just do not know anything. That does not make me a criminal, does it?”
“No,” Michael told him, “it does not.” He went to Gerald and patted him on the back. Keep your enemies closer. Right?
What was Charlotte?
And speaking of Charlotte, what was it about her friend, the Baron of Surrey, that Michael was curious about? Everyone else might be afraid to discuss the Horsemen, but Sebastian Alexander wasn’t. That had been because he wasn’t going to tell Michael anything. He’d been fishing.
Talking about them sure scared the hell out of Charlotte, though, before a word about them escaped his lips.
Sometimes, he wished he didn’t have to think out and dissect every lead. And…Charlotte wasn’t under suspicion of doing anything more heinous than robbing jewelry from the rich. She wasn’t a lead.
And yet, something told him she was his biggest lead.
What if she hadn’t wanted the baron to spill any beans about say, maybe, her precious Preston?
“Should Lady Charlotte be taking this long?” he asked.
“Colin is with her,” Liam pointed out. “He is the best fighter in town. Do not fear.”
Liam was assuming Charlotte was the one needing help. How safe was Colin with Charlotte’s friends?
“So, no guesses on who runs the Horsemen?” Michael put to them then waited for any answer. None came.
“There’s a code, Sir,” William told him.
“Oh?” Michael asked him. “What is it?”
“You do not talk.”
The others agreed. Even Gerald spoke up. “That is why the prisoner from last night was set loose. Everyone knows if they talk…to you or any lawman, they will disappear. Or it might be a loved one who goes missing.”
