“On his wedding night?” Esme gasped. “I already ruined their wedding dayandwedding gathering!”
“You haven’t ruined a thing,” he promised. “Marianne and Sebastian know what you mean to me,—they’d do anything to help us secure a future.”
Her eyes fluttered shut. “Is there no one else, Your Grace?”
“It would be helpful to call on your friends,” Willowby said. “I know Ripley a little, from the few times I boxed at his club. He’s solid. I’d say the same about Ramsbury.”
“Don’t let him hear it,” Finn said with a weak chuckle. “Well, then I suppose we have friends to contact.”
“Diana and I will go to Chilton’s estate and try to determine the situation there, including where he might be holding your friend. And I’ll reach out to other contacts, get some more men on our side if we can find them.”
“Thank you,” Esme said.
“You two stay here,” Diana said as she caught one of Esme’s hands. “Take your time together, we’ll be back by nine-thirty to make final plans.”
They departed then and Finn put his arms around Esme. “Let’s write our requests and then come to my room,” he said. “My bed. Not because I want to make love to you, but because I want to just hold you and look at you for a little while before we do this.”
He held his breath. He feared this attempt by her cousin had solidified her idea that she was only a danger to him. That she would pull away, but instead she took his hand. “Yes,” she said softly.
In the midst of fear and pain, it was the most beautiful word he’d ever heard.
CHAPTER 26
Finn’s carriage pulled up in front of her father’s estate a few moments before ten. Esme let out a sigh as she looked up at the big, beautiful home. It looked the same, it looked so very different.
“I haven’t been here since the night I ran,” she whispered. “Not even to drive past. I was too afraid and it hurt too much.”
He lifted her hands to his chest. They were bound for the plan to follow, but loosely, with a knot she could easily slip. She felt the solid, comforting beat of his heart even through all the layers which separated them. “You aren’t alone. Just focus on the plan.”
She nodded as the door opened and a servant she didn’t recognize waited for her exit. She did so awkwardly and he glared at Finn as he followed her out.
“Chilton said you was to be alone,” the man grunted.
Finn straightened his shoulders and lifted her tied hands so the servant could see them. Suddenly Finn seemed bigger, the lines of him saying danger rather than propriety. “I have something Chilton wants. I’m going with her, so you might as well let me through.”
The servant rolled his eyes and waved them toward the stairs. The butler there wore her father’s livery, but again he wasn’t someone she recognized.
“Where is Swanson?” she asked as they reached the man.
“Long gone,” the new man answered, and gave Finn a similar glare to the one the footman had. “Wait here, I’ll tell him you’ve arrived…with a guest.”
“None of these are my father’s servants,” she said softly as soon as the man was out of earshot. “He replaced all of them, not just the ones Willowby spoke to.”
“Perhaps more of the old ones can be found,” Finn suggested. “They might know things. Assuming they’re well.”
“Oh, I hope they weren’t harmed,” Esme said, hating that fear multiplied in her. “They were always so kind.”
He placed a hand on the small of her back and it calmed her a fraction. A good thing because the butler returned and motioned them to follow. As they trailed through the halls, Esme allowed herself to look around. The house had been changed a great deal since she was last here.
“It’s garish,” she said with a shiver. “My father was so effortlessly stylish, he’s probably turning in his grave.”
“For a good many reasons,” Finn agreed.
They entered a parlor toward the back of the house and Esme breathed a sigh of relief. There were many windows in this room—it had been where she and her father always read together, letting the sunlight and the breeze stream through on fine days. She looked toward where his favorite chair had been as she entered and started. It was still there and Jane was bound to it, her mouth gagged and her eye blackened.
“Jane,” Esme burst out, and went to run to her. Finn grasped her shoulder harder to keep her at his side, both for the sake of the game they were trying to play and also because of what shehadn’t noticed right away. Her cousin was already in the room, leaning against the mantel. He had a gun trained on them.
“Did you forget how to read while you were out whoring on the street?” Francis said. “I said to come alone.”
