“Take the mask off, Cavendish. Now, or I’ll shoot you where you stand.”
He reluctantly did as Anthony asked, and he got a good look at the man who he was going to kill.
“No shooting, Anthony. We will make him suffer in other ways,” Toby said.
“I want him dead.”
“But you are better than he.”
“That nose looks sore,” Jamie said. Cavendish’s nose was swollen, and his eyes were black and bruised. “Miss Spencer did an excellent job.”
“Get on your knees,” Toby ordered.
“What’s the meaning of this, Hamilton? Can’t we walk about wearing masks in private?” Cavendish said, but Anthony saw the fear.
“Knees, now!” Toby said.
The men did as he asked.
“Hands on your head,” Jamie added.
They moved closer, checking the men for weapons.
“Explain yourself,” Cavendish said, still thinking he could talk his way out of this.
“You abducted three women, and then Miss Spencer from the Hampton house party, Cavendish. That’s what this is about,” Anthony said.
“What women?” he scoffed. “I see no women anywhere.”
“How about now?”
“Evie, go back,” Anthony growled. She, of course, ignored him and moved to stand at his side.
“Miss Spencer? What are you doing here?” Cavendish said.
Before he could stop her, she’d stepped closer to the man and punched him hard in the face yet again. Cavendish howled with pain and fell sideways clutching his already throbbing nose.
Unmasking the other men revealed themselves to be Calthorpe, Greville, and another.
“Well now, imagine our surprise at seeing all three of you low-life scum together again,” Toby said. “Considering what you were capable of at Blackwood Hall, my guess is that has merely increased.”
“Move back now, Evie,” Anthony said grabbing her around the waist. “Let us deal with them.”
“You’ll not stop us,” Greville hissed. “There will always be more.”
Pulling out his handkerchief, Jamie forced it into the man’s mouth. “Does anyone else have anything to say?” No one spoke again.
They used their cravats to bind the men’s hands and then pulled them back to their feet.
“Now walk.” He prodded Cavendish with his pistol.
*
The magistrate wassummoned when they were back in Brawley. Greville, Calthorpe, the other man, and Cavendish were taken away. Anthony and his friends were also assured the forestwould be searched to find the location where the women had been held.
Anthony had left Evie to clean and bind her cuts along with the women she’d saved at the Fox and Crown while he dealt with everything alongside Jamie and Toby.
After her initial pleasure at seeing him, she’d barely spoken a word to Anthony. He’d wrapped her in his coat and held her rigid body before him on his horse. He’d not tried to talk to her, as people surrounded them, but he would soon. The journey back to the Hampton house party was the perfect opportunity.
