“If I am?” she asked Blade.
He studied her for far longer than she would have preferred, until her ears went hot beneath the force of his scrutiny. At long last, he nodded, as if he had reached a decision of some sort. “Aye. You’ll do.”
She would do?
What did that mean?
Before she could ask either question, their carriage rocked to a halt. “We’ve arrived, my lady. Flip down your veil and do not stray from my side.”
She did as he directed. “Thank you for bringing me here, Blade. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your kindness.”
“I ain’t kind, Lady Evangeline,” her escort bit out. “But I love my brother and if you’re his woman, then you’re family to me.”
Her heart swelled at his words—and at the notion, utterly wondrous—of being Theo’s woman. But before she could respond, the door to the carriage opened abruptly. Dom Winter stood there with a troubled countenance, a young boy with an impossibly dirty face at his side.
“I need you, Blade,” he said curtly without acknowledging Evie’s presence.
She had shielded her face, it was true, but he knew Blade had been acting as her bodyguard in Theo’s stead. This was a side of her brother-in-law she had never seen, and it filled her with misgiving, tying her stomach in knots. Mr. Winter had always been gentlemanly and considerate in her presence, charming and sweet with Addy. A worried Dominic Winter could only be a harbinger of something bad.
Something—mayhap—that related to Theo.Dear God.
Blade exited the carriage, his entire bearing changing. An ominous intensity poured from him and if he had not just traveled with her from Mayfair, civilized and polite as can be—aside from his dagger and the blood, of course—she would have sworn him a different man altogether. The misgiving within her blossomed and grew, flooding her.
“What is it?” Blade bit out.
Evie clambered out of the carriage as well, desperate for answers.
Mr. Winter offered her an abbreviated bow. “My lady. Forgive me, but there is a matter of grave import my brother and I must attend. Davy will show you inside to a private salon where you can make yourself comfortable.”
“You need not go to trouble on my behalf,” she said, hoping to garner some answers. To find Theo. “I only wish to speak to Theo.”
Her brother-in-law’s brow furrowed. “Theo?”
“Devil, apparently,” Blade said, raising a sardonic brow.
Mr. Winter muttered an epithet. “God willing, he shall speak with you soon enough. However, for the moment, I must insist you go with Davy.”
Something was wrong, Evie knew it.
“I am not going anywhere until you tell me what is happening,” she countered. “If Theo is in danger—”
“He is,” her brother-in-law interrupted. “And that is why you must go with Davy. Blade and I will do everything we can to help him. But for now, what he needs more than anything is for you to remain safe.”
A gasp tore from her, fear clawing her from within. “What is happening? Where is he?”
“Go with Davy,” her brother-in-law told her, his tone sharp enough for her to know he, too, feared whatever situation Theo had found himself in. “Devil will wish to know you are unharmed. Blade and I will do everything we can to bring him back to you.”
She swallowed, looking to the lad with the soiled face. He grinned, offering her his arm. “This way, m’lady.”
She glanced back at Addy’s husband, whose expression was grave.
“Trust me, Lady Evie. He is our brother, and we will do everything we can to bring him back to you. But time is wasting, and we must go.”
Of course. The bond between all the Winter siblings was incredibly strong. She knew that from Addy. And she knew it from Theo himself. Whatever the situation in which Theo had suddenly found himself embroiled, she had to trust her brother-in-law.
“Go to him, then,” she managed, barely avoiding bursting into fearful tears. The tremor in her voice said enough.
She took the filthy urchin’s proffered arm and allowed herself to be led into The Devil’s Spawn.
