He ached to marry Berry.
However, he dared not propose to her before speaking to Lord Berwick. Was he mad to hope this man she loved and trusted like a father might approve?
Not that Gideon required it. But this wise old man who had almost died tonight while attempting to protect Berry was owed this measure of respect.
“Are you ever going to tell us what happened?” Bonham asked, reminding Gideon that he and Berry were not alone.
Under normal circumstances, all his friends would have disappeared and shut the door behind them. But there was nothing normal about this night, and everyone was eager to learn what had happened.
He eased away from Berry with the greatest reluctance, but first plumped her pillows to make certain she was comfortable.
She cast him an impatient smile. “I am achy but very happy. You needn’t fuss over me. Won’t you tell us how you saved Lord Berwick? And what did you do with Hawthorne?”
“Or to him,” Bonham added. “Is he still alive?”
Chapter Sixteen
The others nowgathered around Gideon and listened intently as he told them everything he and Homer Barrow had done. “I cannot take credit for this good outcome. It was Mr. Barrow’s deductive brilliance that won the day.”
Joss nodded. “Pudge, Henry, and I followed those fiends as far as we could. They had taken Lord Berwick’s carriage, tossed the poor driver off it, and then attempted to race off. The driver’s all right, but no thanks to those miserable curs. He assured us he would report the abduction to the magistrate.”
“He probably has done. Mr. Barrow sent one of his men to the magistrate’s bureau to find out whether anything out of the ordinary had been reported. He sent another to Lord Pullingham’s home because he and Hawthorne were partners in crime, so to speak.”
“We were on foot,” Joss continued, “and managed to keep them in sight for a while. But we lost them once the traffic thinned. Still, we kept up our search in the hope we might come upon them.”
“But we never spotted them again,” Pudge said, raking a hand through his hair. “We finally gave up and returned here. It did not occur to us to look in Southwark. We thought for certain he was hiding out somewhere along Curzon Street, since that is where many of the Upper Crust are known to keep their mistresses. Beggin’ your pardon, Lady Berry.”
“Quite all right, Mr. Pudge,” Berry replied. “I am aware of such discreet arrangements.”
Gideon smiled.
Mr. Pudge?
Pudge’s real name was Albert Smith, but no one ever called him that.
Gideon shared a grin with his friends, including Pudge, who all thought it quite a sweet mistake. None of them would ever correct Berry.
“But there wasn’t a trace of them on Curzon Street,” Henry said, continuing the story. “So we looked around Covent Garden and then Bloomsbury.”
“We did not know what we were doing,” Pudge admitted. “But we wanted to give it our best for the sake of Lady Berry.”
She smiled at all of them. “I am honored, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you did for me and Lord Berwick.”
Dr. Farthingale returned while they were still talking about this evening’s incident. Everyone turned to him in worried expectation, for the doctor was frowning.
“He is bruised, but nothing is broken.”
“Thank heaven,” Berry murmured.
“However, he also needs to be kept under close observation, because there might be internal bleeding that is not yet apparent. Those bounders kicked him viciously.”
Gideon reached over to take Berry’s hand, knowing this news would have her crying again. “Should he stay here for the next few days, too?”
The doctor nodded. “Yes, if you do not mind turning your club into a temporary infirmary. He has been jostled too much already, and I fear moving him again may set off that bleeding before his body has time to recover. Also, it will make it easier for me to check on both of my patients if they remain here.”
“Consider it done,” Gideon said, although he was worried that having both of them here would make it impossible to keep their presence a secret. The magistrate’s investigators were certain to come by the club to question the pair.
He exchanged a glance with Bonham, for they both knew having the authorities come around might hurt business. No patron wanted to find themselves face to face with a sharp-eyed constable.
