She watched him walk toward theGodfrey.Her fingers clenched around the warm handle of the pistol that had been close to his body.
She watched the men turn to dark figures, then walk up the gangway, one behind the other. The Sinclair men had stepped in to help without hesitation. That humbled her, as they did not know much about her or Adam.
Like the Deville brothers, they cared little about his standing in life, only that he was in danger.
She watched the men disappear and then tried to inhale and exhale. Telling herself to stay calm. Telling herself that her brother who she loved and a man that she felt something for but as yet had no idea what, would soon return to her.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
Forrest followed Lord Sinclair and Nathan onto the deck of theGodfrey. Harry Sinclair raised his hand, and they halted. He then held up two fingers and pointed right. The Sinclairs all headed that way.
Nathan pointed forward, and they were soon moving.
He had no idea how the Sinclairs had seen and heard what they had, but he didn’t question it. He’d seen them do odd things before.
Would Ruby stay where he’d left her? Christ, he hoped so.
Nathan reached the door that would lead to the captain’s cabin and looked at him and Zach. They nodded, so he turned the handle and entered. Forrest gripped the knife he now held tight.
Zach moved to his right and Forrest to the left. He found a man seated behind the desk, feet resting on it. He was snoring. Adam was sitting on the bunk, hands and feet tied. Forrest pressed a finger to his lips; the boy nodded.
Moving closer, he used his knife to cut the binds, then lifted the boy to his feet and over his shoulder. Zach retrieved the walking sticks. Nathan was standing beside the desk, studying the contents littered over the surface. He took a red leather-bound book and several papers.
Forrest held his breath while the man’s snoring stopped briefly, but he soon fell back to sleep. Nathan pushed the things into the waistband of his breeches and then waved for them to leave the cabin. He had removed the key and locked the door from the outside.
They moved silently back across the deck to the gangway, and down it. At the bottom, Zach did a birdcall that was close to Ruby’s. They then made their way to where she was hidden.
Forrest lowered Adam to his feet, and Ruby grabbed him, pulling him tight into her arms. Seconds later, the Sinclairs appeared. Zach handed Adam his walking sticks, and they made their way from the docks.
Ruby and Adam were kept in the middle, surrounded on all sides by Sinclairs, Forrest, and his cousins. Only when they’d walked far enough for everyone to exhale did Lord Sinclair speak.
“Not a punch thrown or shot fired,” he said softly. “My wife will be pleased she has no need to tend to any of us tonight.”
“How are you, Mr. Knight?” Warwick Sinclair asked.
“Well. Thank you all for what you did this night.”
“Yes, we are so very grateful to all of you,” Ruby said, and she even managed a smile.
“It was our pleasure to assist you,” Harry Sinclair said. “Should you require it again, please send word. And now we must return home to find whatever mayhem has occurred since we left.”
“I will secure a hackney,” Zach said.
Minutes later, they climbed in one and were rolling away.
“Are you truly well, Adam?” Ruby asked her brother.
“I am, Ruby. It was of course scary, but they did not hurt me.”
“I’m so pleased to have you back, brother.”
Forrest traveled to the Deville townhouse with her pressed to his side. They were no longer holding hands, but they would again soon, because he’d realized tonight that he cared deeply for Ruby Knight, and his long-held belief that love and a second marriage were not for him was now being seriously challenged.
Tomorrow would be soon enough to discuss that with her. Tonight, both she and her brother were safe, and for now that was enough.
“Why are we stopping here?” Ruby was looking out the window at the Deville townhouse as the carriage pulled to a stop.
“You cannot go back to Nobby Lane, Ruby. Those men know you live there,” Forrest said. “Plus, you can identify them.”
