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“No, I had never seen him before. He looked to be still a lad. When I accepted the letter, he ran off.”

“Thank you, Dorchester.”

“Very good, my lady. If I may be of any other assistance, please let me know. I shall be downstairs working on schedules for the staff. And I will alert Mrs. Gray,” he said, offering a small bow.

“That shall not be necessary, Dorchester. We will advise her,” Orris said, not desiring to alarm Mama.

“Very well, miss,” he agreed before returning to his post.

Once he was gone, Orris returned her attention to her siblings. “I think we should go find Abram. He may have seen his brother. I know he was looking for him,” Orris said. “I just need to go retrieve my reticule from my room.”

Without waiting for them, Orris ran to grab her reticule. When she returned, after securing her coat from Boris, only Myrtle was ready to leave.

“Gladys, are you staying here?” Orris asked.

Her cousin nodded. “I thought it would be a good idea. Your mother will be concerned when she comes down if all of us are gone. And if Violetta comes home, I would like to be here. Now, go on. I will tell Samuel where you have gone when he returns.”

Myrtle patted Gladys’s hands. “You are very good, Cousin. Once we find out anything, we will return. Say a prayer.”

“I shall. Now go. There is not a second to waste,” Gladys said.

Orris and Myrtle had the footman collect a carriage for them. Orris could ride faster than Myrtle, and it was best that they remained together. For the first time, Orris sensed the danger in the situation for her and her sisters—Violetta to the largest degree.

As she climbed into the carriage, she said her own prayer for Violetta’s safe return.

All she could do was pray for the best possible outcome: bringing her sister home in one piece.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Abram arrived no less than an hour after receiving the summons. He’d had the forethought to leave word with Barrett for Samuel in the event they got Orris out before he met up with them.

The only puzzling thing was how Dahl had known about their relationship. They had been discreet and had never had the opportunity to even promenade together. Abram made a promise to himself that they would do all those things. He would even take her out for ice cream the moment he got her to safety. Perhaps when he’d encountered Orris at the dress shop?

He did not have the key any longer, so when he reached the door of his old apartment, he had to knock.

No one answered. He rapped against the door once more, but there was still no answer.

Thinking he had perhaps gotten the instructions wrong, he walked across the hallway and knocked at Rowan’s room. The action brought back old memories. If only he had put the pieces together sooner, perhaps he would have been able to save him. He should have listened when he had tried to tell him something had been happening back at home. Instead, he had been too indulgent in his own desires. Too selfish. He realized there was a lot of his brother’s behavior embedded in his personality as well. He would change that, provided he was given the chance.

“Dahl, are you in there?” he called out.

“Get in here,” the masculine voice replied, altogether sinister.

It had been over a year since he’d heard the menacing voice. The sound of a dark soul he’d thought he’d once known.

Abram opened the door and stepped inside. Behind him, the door snicked into the jamb, the lock clicking into place. The bed was stripped down to the feather mattress and there were no personal belongings, but the room was nearly just as they had left it. Except now, Orris was tied by the hands facing the wall. A strip of fabric was tied around the back of her head, likely to serve as a gag. Her body shook from what he presumed was crying.

“Let her go. I’m here now,” Abram said.

“Oh, my young brother. Always the sensitive spirit. You know I cannot do that,” he said.

Dahl looked older. Meaner than ever. He’d let his hair grow. The thick coils were clasped at his nape. Nothing else about him had changed. Other than his eyes. They were empty and dark. It was as if heaven had taken back any grace he had ever been granted.

“You can. No one knows you are here. With Rowan gone, there is not a soul who can accuse you of any wrongdoing. Whatever it is, we can work it out.”

Dahl let a harsh laugh escape. When he was done, his pressed thin lips curved into a snarl. “You know that’s not true. There are the letters, the last of which telling Da where you were, whom you’d been keeping time with. Almost as if he were proud of you… You’ve always been aloof, but Rowan seemed to see you differently. Like a son, if you could believe it. Lock the door. We should not want to be disturbed.”

Abram was confused and did not bother to conceal it from his expression. He shook his head while doing as he was told. Every part of him rallied against his complicity, but he could not risk the only woman he had ever loved. “What business is that of yours?” he asked.