London, December 28
Daffin glanced around. The salon in Grimaldi’s town house was filled with investigators and spies. In addition to himself, Nicole, and Grimaldi, and a few of the runners, there were Rafe and Cade Cavendish, and their wives Daphne and Danielle. There was also Delilah Montebank, Daphne Cavendish’s teenaged cousin, and, for reasons he didn’t bother to inquire about, a painfully verbose parrot.
Daffin had been filled with rage for two days now. It had been two days since he’d watched helplessly from the dirt while Regina had been snatched by that man and thrown into the coach. He’d been unable to stop them. Grimaldi had been unable to stop them. There had been something at play that day in the village. Not only was the culprit not alone, but he had known their plan. He’d been ready for them. Daffin’s blood boiled as he thought about it. He had a suspicion. Now that they were all gathered together, forming their plan to rescue Regina, he intended to let the others know.
“What do we know about this person?” Rafe began. The viscount’s eyes narrowed as he glanced around the room with the experienced gaze of a professional spy.
“People,” Daffin corrected. “We’re convinced it’s a group. The man who tripped me on the street was working with several other chaps, including the man who grabbed Regina.”
“But what aboutQ?” Cade asked. “Who do we think that is?”
Nicole sat on the settee, her features pinched and pale. “Believe me, I’ve scoured my memories. I cannot think of anyone whose name, first or last, begins withQ.At least no one who would want to harm Regina, whether an individual or a group.”
Danielle Cavendish paced the floor. “Why would Regina be a target? There are scores of rich debutantes in London. Why her?”
Daffin watched her for a moment before pinching the bridge of his nose and forcing his gaze away. Danielle reminded Daffin of Regina. They had the same coloring, dark hair and blue eyes. But Danielle Cavendish was shorter. She had been a French spy for many years before she turned to work with Grimaldi. She’d met her husband, Cade, while working on a case with Grim.
“Five thousand pounds is a lot of money,” Daffin replied, pacing in the opposite direction from Danielle. “I’m not certain how many families could pay it. She mentioned to me once that she was worth quite a purse. Others must have known.”
Daffin was on edge, beyond on edge. As soon as he found out who thisQwas, he would rip the bastard apart. If the monster had harmed one hair on Regina’s head, there wasnowhere the man could hide in this town, country, or world. Daffin would find him and make him pay.
“This is a nightmare.” Nicole gently rubbed her belly. “None of it makes any sense.”
“Makes any sense,” called Delilah’s parrot. The bird had a penchant for repeating whatever people said. It was getting on Daffin’s final nerve.
“What I want to know is how, whoever these people are, they know Regina’s every move,” Rafe said.
“Precisely,” Daffin interjected. “That’s what bothers me most, too.”
Rafe shifted from his position by the fireplace and rubbed a thoughtful hand along his jaw. “Whoever left that note in the stables got quite close without a trace. That is odd.”
“Without a trace,” called the parrot.
“The tracks that led away from the stables were definitely a man’s boots. There was only one set of them,” Daffin replied, “but I’m still convinced he’s not acting alone.”
“He was alone at that time, however.” Rafe shook his head. “No doubt he realized he’d be less conspicuous sneaking into the stables by himself.”
“Stables by himself,” the parrot called.
Danielle paused in her pacing and perched on the arm of the settee near Nicole. “Or the tracks were a ruse.”
“What?” Everyone’s head snapped to look at the half-French woman.
“What?” called the parrot in a similarly shocked tone.
Danielle continued, “I worked on a case once where the culprit was someone inside the house, but he’d actually taken the time to leave tracks leading away in the mud. Turns out he’d circled back across the grass after removing his boots. Quite clever, actually.”
Daffin scratched his chin and shot her a thoughtful look. “You may be on to something, Danielle. Grim and I have begun to suspect something similar.”
“But that would mean…” Daphne trailed off.
“That someone in the house is working with them,” Nicole finished, her face pale and drawn.
“Working with them,” the parrot screeched.
“Shh,” Delilah said to the parrot.
“Exactly,” Danielle said with a firm nod.
