A couple of young, scantily clad women were sitting on one, quietly chatting until they spotted James and Croft.Their eyes instantly sharpened with attention, their lips curving into smiles that mirrored the one James and Croft had received from their colleague outside.The women prepared to rise, but James gestured for them to stay where they were, choosing instead to approach an older woman who sat in a corner by herself.
Hetty, the bawd who ran the place on Taylor’s behalf.
Having set aside a ledger she’d been reviewing, she watched them with interest, her gaze assessing.“Mr.Murry.It’s been a while.Too long, if you want my honest opinion.”
“I’ve been otherwise occupied,” he said and gestured to Croft.“Mr.Croft and I are investigating the disappearance of a young woman.Dark brown hair, brown eyes, pink gown, and blue pelisse.”
Hetty angled her head, her gaze fixed on Croft.“Your reputation precedes you, sir.”
“Then you’ll know I appreciate cooperation,” Croft told her.
She produced a soft grunt and stood, slowly unfurling from her armchair like some sort of flower attempting to catch a few more rays of sunshine.“How may I be of assistance?”
“According to what we know,” Croft said, “the woman we’re seeking was lured into a carriage by a man who managed to gain her trust.That carriage was driven here, to the courtyard behind this building, to be precise.”
“What we wish to know is whether anyone saw her or the man she was with,” James said.“Considering the nature of this area, I suspect he took her to a nearby location, but going door to door will take time, so if there’s anything you can tell us, we’d appreciate it.”
“And in exchange?”Hetty asked.
James stared at her while heat rose to the base of his skull.“In exchange?”
A woman’s life was in peril and the bawd was trying to profit from it?He leaned forward, prepared to grab her by her throat.
“I’ll refrain from telling Taylor to rid himself of you,” Croft said.
Hetty smirked.“You don’t disappoint, do you?”
“What do you know?”Croft asked, his voice as dark as James’s anger.
“She was here.The woman you’re seeking.”
James wasn’t sure he understood her meaning correctly.“As in..?”
“Mr.Grover brought her in.Claimed she needed a place in which to recover from the shock she’d been through.Said she was attacked by some men he fought off.”
“Did the lady herself confirm this?”Croft asked.
Hetty frowned.“She was unconscious.Grover said she’s the Earl of Highborn’s daughter.Because of this, he thought it best to get her indoors as quickly as possible.He chose discretion in favor of risking a scandal, then contacted Highborn.The three of them left together.”
James stared at Hetty in utter astonishment and disbelief.There couldn’t be two abducted women of similar appearance, could there?It seemed implausible and yet… No.The story sounded ridiculous.The mere act of bringing an earl’s daughter to a brothel would have been cause enough for a scandal.No reasonable man would have thought to do so.It was—
“There is no Earl of Highborn,” Croft muttered.
James turned to him.“What?”
“It’s a made-up title.Doesn’t exist.”
“In other words,” James said, piecing together this news, “Lady Edwina’s abductor brought her here temporarily while waiting for his partner to join him.”
“Do you mean to tell me Grover lied to me?”Hetty asked, her voice filled with indignation.
“If that’s even his damned name,” James growled, before adding, “I want to see the room in which she stayed.Right now.”
Croft frowned but nodded his agreement while telling Hetty, “You’d better show us the way.”
“You’d also better hope you were ignorant of what occurred here,” James said.
“Indeed,” Croft concurred.“You’d not be the first bawd I sent off to Newgate.”
