“He did not deny he was here.” Gavin took another step away.
“Then what happened?”
“I had him removed from my house. My men took him back to the inn where he had been staying. When did you last see your niece?”
“Yesterday. I was at the theater very late last night. It was quiet there and I had some writing to do. As you see, my desk is useless here.” She nodded to the piece of furniture displaying the flowers that Gavin had been sending. “I know she and Lady Baldwin had returned before I arrived home. I could hear Lady Baldwin snoring. I thought Charlene was in bed. Her door was closed but I did not check. You do not know where your brother has gone?”
“No, but if he and Lady Charlene are at the wharves, then my men will see them. They are searching ships even as we speak.”
“Wait a moment,” Mrs.Pettijohn said. She ran back upstairs. After several minutes, she returned. “Char did not take anything with her. Her toiletries are right as they always are. The wardrobe was open but full of her clothing. Oh no, oh no, oh no.”
“What is it?”
“This is terrible,” she muttered to herself.
“Whatis terrible?” Gavin demanded.
Mrs.Pettijohn sank into a chair as if her legs could not support her. “Yesterday, Char told me she had been picking pockets and this gang called the Seven had threatened her. But then your brother talked to them and they were going to leave her alone. What if she isnotwith Lord Jack? She would have taken her personal items if she was going to run away. What if she has beenkidnapped?”
“Pickpocketing?” Gavin repeated. “Lady Charlene is a thief?”
She waved her hand as if his question was of no consequence. “It is a long story. However, she became involved with a criminal element.”
“Lady Charlene? The woman I have been escorting on my arm?” The young woman that was the very picture of propriety? That his aunt Imogen had approved?That everyone expected him to marry?“You allowed her to pick pockets?”
Mrs.Pettijohn looked up at him and frowned at the suggestion. “No, she completely deceived me. She told me the money was from Davies Blanchard, the current Lord Dearne. But yesterday morning she told me the truth. I’m sorry, Your Grace. I know this all sounds preposterous. It was not our intent to involve you in all of this.”
“No, your intent was to trap me in marriage to a woman who lies and participates in reckless, criminal behavior.”
Mrs.Pettijohn rose. “She is not a thief by nature.”
“It looks very much that way to me, Mrs.Pettijohn.”
“Charlene may have made some bad decisions but her heart was in the right place. We were just trying to survive.”
“And make a fool of me at the same time.”
“You were the man looking for a wife. You choose Charlene. Do you not remember?”
“I thought she was a proper young woman.”
“She is. In fact, she is more than just proper. She was trying to help me. She went about it the wrong way.”
“Then perhaps you are not the best chaperone for her.”
Fire shot from Mrs.Pettijohn’s green eyes. Gavin braced himself, ready for a fight. Right now he was angry at the whole world. He had done it again—fallen in love with the wrong woman.
A knock sounded on the still open door. “Your Grace?” Perkins said from the doorway.
“In here,” Gavin barked. “At last, someone sensible to talk to,” he muttered. As his man entered the house, Gavin said, “Have you ever heard of a gang of criminals called the Seven?”
“I have not, Your Grace. However, there are gangs all over London and every one of them has a name.”
“Mrs.Pettijohn fears that Lady Charlene may have been kidnapped by them.”
“Why, that is not good to hear,” Perkins answered. “Although I don’t believe they will hurt her. If anything, they might hold her for ransom.”
“I don’t have any money to pay a ransom,” Mrs.Pettijohn protested.
