A head appeared out the window.
“Jimmy!” Monty called. “Stop this hackney!” he roared at the driver.
When the hackney had stopped, the door flew open, and his man appeared in the doorway.
“What are you about, Monty?” Gabe demanded.
“That’s the man I had watching Iris.”
Jimmy jumped down and behind him was Norman, Iris’s butler.
“Norman, what is going on?” Monty demanded. “Why are you both here? Where are Iris and Henry?”
“Who the hell is Norman?” Nathan demanded.
“Lady Challoner was kidnapped from her bed, my lord,” Jimmy said. “I brought the butler and the young Lord Challoner with me in the hackney to reach you. The lad was insistent we come to you immediately.”
The fear that gripped him almost bent Monty double.
“Breathe easy, friend. We will get her back,” Forrest said, gripping his shoulder.
“The boy saw it all, my lord,” Norman said. He was dressed with his nightshirt tucked into trousers and a jacket buttoned up over the top. “He woke up the staff, and by the time we had roused, Jimmy was inside.”
Monty stepped into the hackney and saw the boy huddled into the corner with his arms around Oscar.
“Come, Henry. You know me. We are friends, so there is no need to be afraid.” Monty held out his hand to the boy. He needed to find her, Iris, but to do that, he had to know who had taken her and where to. Henry could hold the key to that. He was crying; the lamplight showed him his damp cheeks. “Let me help you, Henry. That is what friends do. Take my hand and know I will find your mother and keep you safe.”Always,he vowed silently.
The boy got off the seat and took his hand. His fingers were so small, Monty thought, closing his around them. He was trembling.
Norman was standing just outside the door when they stepped out, and all the Devilles had dismounted and were gathered a few feet away.
“Hello, Oscar,” Gabe said as the dog came to greet him.
“Tell them what you told me, my lord,” Jimmy urged the boy. “I will then explain what I saw.”
Henry looked around the Devilles and back to him. Monty saw the fear.
“Hello, Henry, I am Ella’s father. You remember me, don’t you?” Forrest said. “I’m sorry you are going through this, but know that we”—he waved a hand to his cousins and Mary—“will do what is needed to return your mother to you.”
“They are good people, Henry. Talk freely,” Monty said as he battled down the fear clawing at his throat.
Where was Iris?
Henry stepped closer to Monty, still clutching his hand.
“You said that if ever I needed you, I could go to the address on the card,” Henry said.
“I did.”
“I saw them, two men. They came into the house and took my mother.”
“Did you recognize the men, Henry?” Monty asked.
“One was my uncle,” the boy whispered.
“Mr. Renton, Henry?” The boy nodded to Monty.
“I had only just arrived to take over from Jack when I saw Lady Challoner being carried out of the house over the shoulder of a man,” Jimmy said. “Before I could get close, a carriage had pulled up, and she was put inside. I tried to climb on the back, but it took off so fast I couldn’t catch it.”
