Chapter Thirty
“What’s going on,Anthony? Your note just said,come to my house now, and as your wish is my command, I hurried here immediately, in the rain. In a hackney,” Lord Corbyn added what felt like hours—but was possibly only twenty minutes—later.
Alice watched Lord Corbyn move deeper into the room. His eyes found her and widened.
“My lady.” He bowed. “The mystery deepens.” He then searched, and she thought, looked for Jamie.
“Listen, and don’t speak,” Lord Hamilton said. “Jamie has been abducted, and we believe Jackson is involved. He had a fight last night when he went to find Lady Alice, who, as it turns out, was watching Jackson’s lodgings, because a boy told her that’s where he lived.”
Lord Corbyn’s expression hardened to a mask of anger, like his friend’s.
Alice felt guilt lance through her again.
“That bloody fool.” Lord Corbyn growled out the words. “He should have told us what he was about.”
“He is no fool,” Alice said, and then wished she hadn’t as they both stared at her. “H-he was coming to find me. To protect me. If anyone is a fool, ’tis I.”
“I believe I have already told you, Lady Alice, that my friend does nothing he has no wish to,” Anthony said.
“Exactly right. Now what is to be done?”
“The young boy, Bobby, who saw the entire incident, is outside with my driver,” Alice said. “Also, I believe J-Lord Stafford took a book from the Crimson Serpent. Was there anything in there?”
“No, just a few initials and names, which we have been attempting to track down with little luck. But Jackson’s name was in there,” Lord Corbyn said.
“Dibley!” Lord Hamilton roared. When the butler appeared, he said, “Go and ask the young boy somewhere outside my front door in the rain to come inside, please.”
“So we know it is likely Jackson is involved in the abduction,” Lord Corbyn said.
“Lord Stafford punched him several times, and as Jackson ran away, he vowed to end his life,” Alice said.
“I’ll just bet he did,” Lord Hamilton said, grim-faced.
“And we will be ensuring that does not happen,” Lord Corbyn added.
Bobby arrived then, hair flat to his head, her shawl around his neck and wearing the large jacket. She must see about getting him some new clothes. His face showed no emotion as Alice introduced him to the two lords. She urged him to bow.
“Bobby, can you tell us exactly what you saw last night?” Lord Tobias said.
“He was walking down the street, Lord Stafford was.” He shot a look at Alice, who nodded for him to continue. “Then two men came up behind him, and one put a cloth over his face,” Bobby continued in his gruff little voice. “His lordship fought hard, but they dragged him into a carriage when he went limp. I was too far away to help.”
He went limp. The words slammed into her hard.Dear God, please be alive, Jamie.
“I recognized one of them from when his lordship fought with them. The other I’d seen in the Black Dog.”
“You didn’t tell me that, Bobby.”
The boy looked at his toes. “Didn’t want you to go there, Lady Alice. It ain’t right for you to do so.”
Yet another male who thought they knew what was best for her, but Alice knew this was not the time to raise that matter. Now their only focus was Jamie.
“We have few leads, but two that we will start with. One, Jackson’s lodgings, and then the Black Dog,” Lord Corbyn said. “Get what you need, Anthony, and we’ll leave.”
“My carriage is outside,” Alice said. “Or are you wanting to ride your horses?”
“Your carriage will be quicker,” Lord Hamilton said. “Get inside now, and I will be there in a matter of minutes.”
Everyone seemed to move at once. Bobby ran, with Lord Corbyn on his heels, and Alice followed, while Lord Hamilton thundered up the stairs, his boots hitting each step with a loud thud.
