Ambrose turned to her. "Because I'm a River Policeman, sweetheart." And, damn, if he wasn't grateful for his extensive knowledge of water travel in this instance. "TheEndeavor,Courage,Indefatigable, andImplacableare all passenger barges. Coyner must have written this reminder when he researched his possible escape routes and then forgotten it in his haste."
"These ships, they dock at Dover?" Marianne said, sounding dazed.
Ambrose nodded. "Lady Harteford's hunch was right. Coyner is headed to France—the port at Calais, to be precise. We must stop him before he leaves our shores."
"We can take my carriage. From Johnno's information, Coyner is still at least two days' drive from Dover. If we leave straightaway, we'll get there before he does," Harteford said.
Ambrose looked to Marianne. "Can you be ready to leave in an hour?"
"Give me fifteen minutes," she said.
"We'll need to go home and arrange for the children—" Lady Harteford began, but her husband put his finger to her lips.
"'Tis too dangerous. Not to mention too strenuous for your condition," he said firmly.
The marchioness bit her lip. "But Primrose is my niece. And Marianne will need all the help she can get."
"Don't worry about that, Helena," Miss Percy chimed in. "Marianne will have plenty of assistance with Nick, Mr. Kent, and Mr. Hunt going along."
"I'mgoing?" Gavin Hunt raised his tawny brows.
"Of course you are. How else would you repay Marianne?"
"For what?" Hunt said.
His fiancée looked at him with guileless blue eyes. "If it weren't for her guidance, it might have taken me a great deal longer to realize that I'd fallen in love with you." She touched his jaw, smiling at him. "Then where would we be?"
Even fierce fellows had their weaknesses.
Hunt muttered, "I'll take my own carriage. Be faster that way."
Lady Harteford went over to Marianne and gave her a quick hug. Ambrose saw the latter cling to her friend for an instant, blond curls trembling against brown ones.
"You'll be careful, won't you, Marianne?" the marchioness said tearfully. "Know that you're not alone in this."
Marianne nodded. Her eyes met Ambrose's.
"I know I'm not alone any longer." Her gaze shifted to include her circle of friends, and she said in a tremulous voice, "With your help, I know we'll bring my daughter home."
41
With a gloved handshading her eyes, Marianne surveyed the bustling docks of Dover at dawn. The sounds of gulls and lapping waves filled the air. The silvery fog of the night before had lifted, revealing that the ghostly behemoths along the pier were in fact sturdy ships set to sail. Dazzling white chalk cliffs guarded the calm waters. Atop the precipices, military battlements stood at the ready to ward off hostile invasions.
Ironically, the present enemy was hidden within the harbor, and the task was to prevent his escape. Frustration knotted Marianne's stomach: there was no sign of Coyner or her daughter in the busy flow of people and baggage.
"Could we have missed them?" she said anxiously.
"They're here." Beside her, Ambrose was monitoring the situation, and she took a measure of comfort in knowing that nothing would escape his vigilant gaze. "The River Police are standing by the ships, with an eye on the manifests. And the Runners are guarding all roads out of Dover. Coyner can't escape—we'll find him and Primrose."
They'd arrived yesterday afternoon and contacted the captains of the four ships. Only theCourageandImplacablemade outbound voyages today, narrowing the field. They'd run over the passenger manifests of the two vessels; of course, no Gerald Coyner had been found. That would have been too easy, and Marianne expected nothing to be simple where the squirrely blackguard was concerned.
Reviewing the voyager lists of the two ships, she and Ambrose had identified the likely suspects. Amongst those were father-daughter pairs and—thanks to Johnno's information about the governess—trios that included a female companion as well. They'd given the names of those passengers to the policemen, who were supervising the boarding.
Harteford and Hunt strode toward them.
"Hunt and I checked with the businesses along the harbor and in town," the marquess said. "No one recalls seeing a little girl of Primrose's description."
"Knowing Coyner, he stayed away from public areas. He knows we're after him," Ambrose said grimly.
