She was never going to see Sylvie or the Nightingales again. Never see Mungo or hear his deep voice barking orders in the household.
But the thought didn’t make her crumble. It ignited something.
She was not going out quietly. She was not going to be taken and discarded by these men. She had fought for everything she had, every inch of what she’d gained since leaving her uncle. Eliza would fight now too.These men would not claim the life of yet another Downing.
The cart lurched forward, wheels groaning, the sound echoing through the canvas-covered darkness. The smell of old wood and damp rope pressed in around her. The gag tasted of filth and despair.
But beneath the terror and the threat of the unknown, something hard and sharp formed inside her.
I will escape.I will survive.And I will make them regret the moment they touched me.
Even if it was the last thing she ever did.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Not Eliza, too, Mungo thought as the carriage lurched to a halt.
“Hold the horses here, Benjamin,” he ordered, already leaping down. Gray and Ellen were right behind him as they ran into 11 Crabbett Close.
“You check the kitchen, and we’ll take the parlor,” Gray said.
Mungo didn’t waste breath answering. He strode into the kitchen and found Theo with his mouth stuffed full of fruitcake.
“Where is Miss Downing?”
Theo mumbled something incomprehensible.
“Swallow,” Mungo barked.
The boy gulped, choked, coughed, and finally managed to say, “Afternoon off.”
Mungo was already moving. He sprinted from the kitchen and up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Reaching the hallway, he flung open doors as he went. When he reached Eliza’s room, he entered. Empty. But something made him step deeper inside.
The little space was neat, ordered. Her pairs of gloves were stacked precisely on the bedside table besideThe Holton Agency Manual. He opened the book and ran his eyes down the numbered entries.
Could this have something to do with the numbers in that book? He shoved the manual under his arm and ran back downstairs. He found Ivy in the music room, reading to Lottie and Olivia.
“What’s wrong?” Ivy rose with Olivia in her arms.
“Mama!” Olivia squealed, reaching as Ellen entered behind Mungo.
“Where is Miss Downing, Ivy?” Mungo forced calm into his voice.
“She’s gone to visit her friend, the seamstress.”
“Where, Aunt Ivy?” Ellen asked while Olivia rained kisses over her face.
“She works for the House of La Rue.”
“We think Eliza is in trouble,” Gray said, stepping in. “Where are Bram and Calder?”
“Here,” Bram said from the doorway. “Come downstairs and tell us everything.”
Calder arrived a heartbeat later. “What’s happened, brother?”
“We have to find Eliza. She’s in danger,” Mungo said.
“Fenella—”
