“Run!” she yelled to Daniel, who had broken free. She hit the abductor repeatedly. The man, blood streaming down his head, grabbed her arm, and the rock fell. His hands came to her throat, but he let go abruptly when Daniel bit his thigh through cotton trousers.
The man grabbed Daniel by the hair, letting Mia escape his grasp, then stopped abruptly, eyes wide with fear. A great black horse sailed over the hedge with a figure of fury on its back, hit the ground at a gallop, and closed on them. The abductor turned to run, fell over Mia’s outstretched foot, and landed hard, while Daniel hid behind Mia’s skirts.
Gideon leaped off Hannibal, fell astride the man, and raised back his fist. He put it down. “It appears a woman has already beaten you,” he said, yanking down the scarf. One eye had swollen almost shut, and the gash on his brow bled profusely. He smelled of spirits—bottled courage.
Mia gasped, hugging Daniel close.
“Yer supposed to be a cripple,” the man whined. Gideon ignored him.
“Do you know him?” Gideon asked his wife.
She nodded. “It’s Sam Duger, the apothecary. This is hardly his usual thing.”
“I would hope not. Abducting a child may just get him transported if not hung.”
“No!” Duger shouted. “I—”
“You what?” Gideon growled.
“Carter said as how you deserved it, since you took his Lizzy,” Duger whined.
Gideon did hit him then, and Mia took bloodthirsty satisfaction.
Daniel threw himself at Gideon when he rose. “I fought him, Papa, like you taught me, even better than last time.”
“Last time?” Mia gasped in horror, remembering that Gideon’s maternal uncle had attempted to use Daniel as a pawn just a year before.
*
Deep in hissoul, Gideon cursed the power of the duchy and the envy, machinations, and evil it inevitably attracted, particularly the ones visited on children. It took him the better part of an hour to calm his children while Helen, Jessica, Daniel, Bert, and Mia all told their versions of what had happened. They had trussed Duger up with Gideon’s cravat and a ruffle torn from the bottom of Mia’s gown and handed him over to Marshall, who’d tossed him in a storage bin and locked it.
In the cacophony of stories, only a few things were clear. Duger was an incompetent amateur, not a professional kidnapper, and he had not acted alone. None of them had seen who made the commotion behind the other hedge to distract them, and none had any idea who’d shot one of the carriage horses.
Gideon was fairly certain the shot had come from the same side as the commotion no doubt designed to distract attention from the grab, but whether there were one, two, or even more involved, he couldn’t say. No one had come after the carriage or the girls. No one had come to Duger’s aid, either.
They wound down, exhausted at last. Helen wept. “He almost took our Daniel.” Gideon reached for her, but she threw herself at Mia. “You saved him. I was so frightened when you jumped down and ran after him, but you didn’t hesitate. I’m so sorry I’ve been mean to you. I—”
Mia wrapped her arms around Helen’s shoulders. “Hush now. Of course I was a shock to you, and of course that vile man frightened you. It’s over now. Let’s see if we can have tea sent up to the nursery.” She glanced plaintively at Gideon.
He kissed her cheek. “I’ll tell you everything I learn,” he whispered. He kissed his children, too, and urged them off.
Marshall had been hanging back, but he approached now.
“Well, Bert, what else do you know?” Marshall demanded.
“Nothing, I swear, but I think maybe you ought to ask Peter and Frank. They’ve been back at the Cockcrow lately,” Bert shrugged. “That Duger’s a regular there. So is Bill Carter.”
Marshall rounded up the two grooms, Frank from the hay he was baling and Peter hiding in a stall. It wasn’t clear if he was hiding from work or Gideon. Marshall shoved them both down on a bench. “Tell us what you know about this attempt on Mr. Kendrick’s son and don’t bother lying!”
“Hisson?” Peter gasped. He appeared genuinely shocked, but Gideon didn’t miss the emphasis on the wordson.
“I take it Daniel wasn’t the intended victim. Or perhaps the originally planned victim. What did they plan to do to me?” Gideon asked.
Peter studied his feet for a moment before glancing sideways at Frank.
“Frank?” Marshall growled.
“We don’t know much. Only gossip at the tavern,” Frank said.
