“Maybe he suspects a trap?”
“No,” Sebastian said. “He is too arrogant for that. He thinks he has won. There is no reason for him not to turn up.”
The minutes dragged on. The tension rose. The undercover officers shifted nervously, and with mounting frustration and boredom. Ten minutes became fifteen, which soon became twenty.
Sebastian stared at the doorway as if he could will Mr. Ramsay to walk through it. Twenty minutes turned to twenty-five, and once they hit the thirty-minute mark, even Sebastian was forced to admit the truth.
For whatever reason, Mr. Ramsay had chosen not to come.
Was it merely a case of bad timing? Or did he suspect what Sebastian was up to? And if he did, what was a man like Mr. Ramsay likely to do?
“I will write to him at once,” Sebastian muttered as he and Giles exited the tavern. “Surely, there is a good reason.”
Sebastian needed to believe it. Hehadto believe it. For his sake, for Helena’s sake, and for the children’s sake. They were all relying on him, and he could not fail them. He had failed enough already.
CHAPTER 34
When Helena woke, it took her a moment to remember where she was. Her body was sore. Her face hurt from spending most of the night crying. And there was a tiny body wrapped around her that was warm and comforting.
She blinked herself awake, a smile curving her lips when she looked down to see Daniel sound asleep beside her. That was when she remembered what had happened and where she was.
Helena had not meant to ride to the orphanage last evening. In truth, she hadn’t meant to ride anywhere. But she had been so upset and heartbroken, unable to stand being anywhere near Sebastian, that she pushed her horse as hard as she could, riding it at full speed until she found herself on the outskirts of London.
It was almost subconscious, the way she led the horse to the one place where she knew she would feel safe. Perhaps her parents’ home would have been a better option, but she could not facehaving to explain to them why she left her husband and what happened between them. Lies on top of lies…
She was just so sick of it all.
So, she steered her horse through the streets of London and soon found herself outside the orphanage. It was late in the evening by then, so she slunk inside, crept to Daniel’s bed, whispered to him that she was there to check on him, and climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep.
The young boy still slept peacefully, a smile on his face, safe and protected in ways she could only dream of. She thought to wake him, but knew that was a bad idea. How could she explain what she was doing?
She did not even have an answer to that question.
The warehouse was still silent, most of the children fast asleep, and Helena came to a decision. She could not avoid her husband. She could not leave him either. Not yet, anyhow. All she could do was get through this marriage until he decided it was time for them to go their separate ways.
It would hurt to do. The next few weeks would be some of the worst of her life. But this wasn’t about her. It was about the children, and if her suffering resulted in each of them being saved, then that was a small price to pay.
So it was that she slipped out of the bed and slowly slunk across the warehouse toward the exit.
She was stiff and sore as she stepped outside. Hungry too. Her mind was foggy. And try as she might, she could not keep it from drifting back to the previous evening and the fight she had with Sebastian.
It is done, at least. No more wondering. No more questioning everything. He told me the truth of it, and now all there is to do is accept that truth and move on.
Move on to what?
If only she knew.
“Good morning, Your Grace!” a voice called to her.
Helena took a second to see who had spoken. Light shone in her eyes, her vision was blurred, and she looked around the empty street as if she imagined hearing her name spoken. But then she saw the carriage parked just down the road, and then she saw who stood beside it.
“You!” she gasped.
“Yes, me.” Mr. Ramsay wore a smile that spoke of extreme happiness, and his beady eyes sparkled in the morning sun. He waved as he walked toward her, a skip in his step and laughter in his voice. “I am sure this comes as quite a surprise.”
“What do you want?” Helena sneered.
“Just to talk.”
