Page 93

“The duke ain’t here, but I know a few blokes that will give you somethin’ the duke won’t give ya.” He grabbed her arm, and she screamed.

Yanking her arm out of his grasp, he then grabbed a handful of her skirt. She balled her fist, just like her brother had taught her, with her thumb in and over her fingers, and punched him in the face. He promptly let go, and now there was interest from the rest of the tavern. She turned and fled into the fog, thankful it would conceal her. She hid in another doorway, listening to the man shout and swear while the other men laughed. Soon the door slammed shut, and all was quiet again. She slid along the grimy wall until it ended and slipped around the corner.

*

Thomas did not know where to turn next; every road looked the same. And no one seemed to be about, most likely due to the fog. He thought about how scared she must be. He made a vow to love and protect her, and he was determined to find her and do just that.

A man stepped out of the fog, and Thomas pulled up his horse.

“Are you Captain Markham?”

“Who’s asking?”

“Me name’s Zachariah Merchant. I’m a Bow Street Runner. Lord Ashton turned up and asked for help. We’ve got men sweeping the area. If she’s anywhere near, we’ll find her.”

“Thank you, Mister Merchant. I was beginning to give up hope.”

“She’ll be closer than you think.”

Just then, there was a high-pitched whistle. “There now, you see, we’s got a clue already. Follow me, Captain.”

The man turned his horse in the direction of the whistle, and Thomas followed. He hoped that the man was right. They made their way slowly until Thomas saw a lantern.

“There,” he said. “Is that one of your men?”

“Could be, just keep quiet and let me do the talking.”

The Bow Street Runner stopped where the lantern was being held by a young man not more than fifteen or sixteen years old.

“What’s the news?”

“A woman assaulted a bullyboy at Badger’s Tavern. Gave him a right shiner too. Said she spoke fancy like but not English.”

“That would be her. She only knows French and Spanish.”

Zachariah turned to Thomas and put his finger to his lips to tell him to stay quiet. Thomas should have known better than to interrupt. He had to think like a spy, not a desperate husband. If she had punched the bullyboy—and he could just imagine her doing it too, then the search could narrow to that area. Hope flared in his belly.

“Anything else, lad?” the Bow Street Runner asked.

“Said she mentioned the Duke of Warrington.”

“The duke. Does she know him, Captain?”

“Well, no. She knows of him, but she has never actually met him.”

“She’s a clever one then. Going to a duke for help. Everyone knows where all the dukes live.”

It was smart, very smart. The thing was, how was she going to get there? She had no money and no idea, and in this fog, how would a hack even find the duke, let alone her find a hack?

“We should go back to the Badger and spread out from there,” Thomas said.

“I agree, but you’ll need to leave your horse here. I’ll give you a lantern and if you find her you whistle as loud as you can and we will come to you. We will do the same.”

Thomas nodded, and out of the fog came three more men. They all stayed close together until they managed to find Badger’s Tavern.

“Right, now lads, we will all take directions. Captain Markham will go south. I’ll go north, Billy will go east, and Charlie will go west. Young Will, I want you to stay at the tavern in case she goes in a circle and ends back there.” All the men nodded and so, slowly, they all followed each other back to the tavern.

They all took their directions and stepped away from each other, and so the search was on again. Thomas prayed they would find her quickly. Though if he did find her, she might give him a facer too. And he would deserve it. She was more important than a stupid French map. It was then that he realized that the map was not even his problem anymore. It was Ashton’s. Thomas was no longer working for the Ring, and he was simply helping Ashton with reading and organizing the files. Even Lucinda’s ring was not his problem anymore. Keeping Elena safe was, and he was failing.