There had been plenty of pointless conversation and gossip, some awful singing, which usually didn’t bother him, but tonight had grated on his nerves. He wasn’t sure why he felt like he was on the precipice of something. He would fall or stand but something was about to change, and he didn’t know exactly what, but he could feel the tension inside him rising.
He’d been evasive with his friends earlier, and that wasn’t like him. But this wasn’t something he wanted them embroiled in. They had lives now, and people who would suffer deeply should any harm come to them.
Pushing his pistol into his pocket, he slipped a knife into his boot and made his way downstairs to the front door. Hishousehold was silent, his servants dismissed and likely now slumbering in their beds.
Opening the front door, Jamie slipped out, closing it softly behind him. He then made his way through the front gate and onto the street. The air was cold again this evening, slapping him in the face as he began to walk. He would find a hackney, as the walk was a long one, and while he didn’t mind that, he wanted this done with.
“Take another step and there’s going to be trouble.”
He yelped, the very unmanly sound coming from Jamie as the deep words reached him. Turning, he found Anthony and Toby. Both dressed as he was, in dark colors.
“What the hell are you two idiots doing outside my house at such an hour?” He resisted pressing a hand to his chest to ease the pounding.
“You’re up to something, Jamie, and we want to know what,” Toby said.
“You couldn’t have asked me tomorrow? Or perhaps earlier this evening a few hours ago at the Thornton musicale?” Jamie demanded. His friends now stood before him, arms folded, which usually meant trouble.
“You’ve been avoiding us,” Anthony said flatly. “We”—he jabbed a finger into his own chest, then at Toby—“suspected you were up to something. And were fairly certain it would happen tonight, given how on edge you were at the musicale.”
“Which, I might add, my ears have yet to recover from,” Toby said dryly. “But Anthony’s right. What are you about, Jamie?”
“Oh, for pity’s sake,” Jamie muttered. “You mean to tell me you were planning to stand out here all night just to see if I left the house? Would you have done the same tomorrow?”
Both men nodded.
“That’s what friends do,” Toby said with gravity. “Especially when the person they’re worried about refuses to tell them why they should be worried.”
“What’s going on?” Anthony said, his voice hard.
“Just so I’m clear on your intentions. You took your women home, then after presumably a few hours, where you what?”
“Drank brandy and ate food while our wives fell into bed exhausted due to their delicate conditions,” Anthony added.
“Now you’re here.” He looked around and saw a carriage parked along the street. “In Toby’s carriage.”
“Excellent deduction.”
“Ambushing me?” Jamie added. He had no reason to laugh, but it was there.
These two men knew him better than anyone, and cared what he did, or what happened to him. Sometimes he forgot that.
“Let’s get in the carriage, as presumably you are going somewhere you didn’t want us to know about,” Toby muttered. “Plus, I’m tired.”
“It’s only just after midnight,” Jamie said.
“I go to sleep earlier these days,” Toby said, heading back down the street to his carriage.
“You poor old men,” Jamie mocked, following with Anthony.
“Give my driver your address,” Toby ordered before climbing inside.
When Jamie had done as his friend asked, he joined them, taking the seat opposite, and not missing the fact his friends had chosen the same seat so they could glare at him.
“Now talk, Jamie,” Anthony snapped.
He sighed. “I’ve been hunting Jackson after word reached me that he’d been abusing children in a charity school.
“What?” Toby growled the word.
