Adrian flexed his fingers, then bent to check Newton’s pulse.It still beat where his neck met his jaw, thank God.
Shifting into a crouch, Adrian hauled Newton’s body up over his shoulder and stood.It was a good ten-minute walk from here to his house, longer when he had to carry what felt like eleven stone.
He shifted the weight and kept an eye out for a hackney.None appeared until he turned onto Bulstrode Street, the horses’ hot breaths misting in the cool air as they approached.Adrian raised his hand to signal the driver, and the carriage drew to a halt, wheels grating against the axels.
“What’s with him?”asked the driver, a hunched over man with heavy jowls and thick bushy brows dipping low over shadowy eyes.He gripped the reins and jutted his chin toward Newton.
“Too much drink led to a brawl.I’m trying to get him home so he doesn’t wake up in a gutter.”
“Right then.Whereto?”
“Number 5 Portman Square.”Adrian pulled the door open and shoved Newton’s body inside, leaving him on the floor of the cabin while he himself took a seat on the bench.He yanked the door shut and knocked on the roof.The vehicle lurched into motion, rocking Newton’s head from side to side as they travelled west.
Adrian glared at the limp body.Never before had he hated someone as much as he hated this man.He’d taken Adrian’s sister from him and forced him to further darken his soul with the punishment he would now have to enact.
There was no choice but to harden himself against the inevitable.If he was to satisfy his need for vengeance, he’d have to embrace the demons he’d hoped to banish.Forgiveness wasn’t an option.
It didn’t take long before the carriage arrived at its destination.Five minutes at most.Adrian alit, told the driver to wait, then yanked Newton out of the cabin and left him on the pavement while he went to fetch Murry.
“Get him inside and dismiss the servants for the night,” he told his valet.“I don’t want any of them involved in what happens next.”
“Of course.”Murry accompanied Adrian to Newton’s body.
“There’s something I’ve got to do before dealing with him,” Adrian added.“Shouldn’t take more than an hour.”
“I’ll see to our guest in the meantime,” Murry promised, already squatting to pick Newton up.
“One other thing.”Adrian stared at Newton’s limp face.“See if there’s a file on Clive Newton.If not, find the one on Viscount Stanton.I’d like to review it when I return.”
“Of course.”
Satisfied with his valet’s assurance, Adrian instructed the driver to take him to The Toothless Cat.It was imperative he check on Samantha before anything else.He needed to make sure she was all right and that she got the care she required.
41
Nearly an hour passed between Adrian’s departure from The Toothless Cat and his return.Panic reached beneath his sternum when he found Samantha gone from the room where he’d left her.The floor, he noted, was swept, not a shard of glass remaining, the curtains billowing in the breeze wafting in through the broken window.
Turning his back on the scene, he raced back downstairs.
“Miss Carmichael,” Adrian snapped, his hand grabbing a maid’s wrist and halting her progress.It was the same one who’d shown him upstairs earlier.When she shook her head with incomprehension he said, “The woman who was shot.Where is she?”
“The innkeeper put her in one of the supper rooms over there.The one farthest to the right.A physician’s attending her.”
Adrian muttered a quick, “Thank you,” and strode toward the spot she’d pointed toward.Without pausing to knock, he opened the door he believed was correct and froze when he spotted Samantha.
She was alive, yes, but lying on a table, her face turned away from the door.An elderly man of slim build, his thinning grey hair neatly combed to one side, bowed over her.The needle he wielded pierced Samantha’s skin and slipped through, catching the opposite edge of raw flesh and pulling it neatly shut.
Adrian drew a ragged breath and shifted his gaze.He spotted Lawrence, his overall appearance that of a man who’d been trampled by a runaway carriage.Slouched in a chair in the corner, he pressed a slab of meat to his puffy eye.
“How is she?”Adrian asked, of no one in particular.
The physician glanced up, peering over a pair of spectacles.“She’ll be fine.We’re almost done.”
Relief flooded Adrian’s body, washing away much of his apprehension, though it didn’t quite slow his pulse.It would likely keep racing until she’d fully recovered.
“I thought it best to get help,” Lawrence said, his voice hoarse.
Adrian nodded.“You did well.Thank you.And um…I hope you can forgive my attack.It shouldn’t have happened.”
