Drake shoved a hand through his hair and set to work on running the razor over his stubbled chin. He glanced at the letter Julianna had left and grinned to himself. I love you. Christ, he had no idea what he had done to deserve such a woman, but he was mighty glad she felt the same.

He peered into the mirror and eyed his clean jaw. He doubted cleaning himself up a little would make any kind of impression on Knight—the chances were the man would want to fight him—but he had to at least try to look respectable.

After dressing, he donned a cravat and shoved his feet into boots. He ran his fingers through damp hair once more and drew in a breath.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” he asked his reflection.

Knight could kill him. He could say no. Either of those outcomes were certainly not what he hoped for. He had to try, though. He’d never wanted anything more than he wanted Julianna’s hand in marriage. He just had to hope Knight did not say no and Julianna said yes.

He marched his way through the village toward the inn. At this time of the day, Knight would be there for the morning meal. Maybe if the beast had eaten, he would feel less like smashing Drake’s face in. One could hope anyway.

Pushing open the door to the inn, he scanned the room for a sign of Julianna or Knight. He knew which one he’d prefer to see but he’d have to face Knight sooner or later. He might not be the most gentlemanly of men, but he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to do this properly.

Louisa caught sight of him, dropped her tray onto a table and hastened over. “Did you see Knight?”

Drake grimaced. “He knows? Does he want to kill me?”

Louisa blinked. “Knows?” She shook her head. “Julianna...did you see her this morning?”

“Well...”

“Drake, stop grinning like a fool. This is serious. Julianna is missing. Have you had something to do with it?”

“Missing?” His mouth dried. “What do you mean?”

Louisa grabbed his arm and tugged him aside, away from the tables. “She arrived early for work then vanished while I was cleaning. I assumed she had been with you from the smile on her face.”

Drake liked the idea that she was wearing a smile, but it hardly warmed him inside, not when she was missing. Cold dread curdled in his stomach.

“I should never have let her out of my sight.” He cursed under his breath. “Where’s Knight now?”

“Probably searching in the village. And looking for you. I’m surprised you did not see him.”

“I must have just missed him.” He drew in a breath, his heart pounding uncomfortably. If he’d not been so consumed in his need for Julianna, he’d have paid better attention to keeping her safe. “Have you seen Red or Nate this morning?”

Louisa nodded. “They’re scouring the village too. Nate muttered something about assuming she was with you.”

Drake rubbed a hand across his face. “She was. She had been. Damn it.”

She put a hand to his arm. “Julianna is a strong woman. She will not let herself be forced into anything she does not wish to do.”

He shook his head. “She’s strong, yes, but you should have seen how much this man scared her. He’s a beast, Louisa, and would not think twice about harming her should she not do his bidding.”

“Perhaps she decided to go for a walk or something.”

“And abandon her chores?”

Louisa’s expression turned grim. “You’re right. What can I do?”

“Ready some horses? Does Red have his here?”

“Yes, and you can take Angel. She’s out back. I’ll make sure they are ready, should you need to ride out.”

“Thank you. I must find the others, so we can concoct a search plan.”

Drake marched out of the inn. Slade had to have her and clearly that was what Knight had concluded. Why else would she have vanished? He curled a fist at his side. “I’m coming for you, Princess,” he muttered to himself. He’d be damned if he was going to lose her now.

He paused halfway down the hill toward the village when he spotted three figures approach. Their grim expressions offered no comfort, but a sense of relief washed over him. There were four of them and only one of Slade along with his man and maybe a driver or two. They had tackled many sticky situations together—surely between them they could hunt down Julianna?

“Any news?” he asked, keeping pace with the three men.

Red nodded. “Some. Looks like she was taken by carriage. Someone saw a carriage head out to the east early this morning. There were tracks too at the inn, but we could not be sure Slade had left.”

“So we mount up and search,” Drake concluded.

“Indeed.”

“We’ll need weapons. If he’s desperate enough to snatch her like that, we do not know what else he might do,” cautioned Nate.

Drake clenched his jaw. He better not have harmed her or he was going to have to kill Slade. He nodded stiffly.

“I have weapons at the house,” Red said. “Some of the horses will likely be saddled for exercise too. If we make haste, we’ll be able to outpace them on my fastest mounts.”

Little conversation flowed between them as they marched their way through the village. Villagers crowded the streets, forcing them to dart between the houses to make better time. Drake’s leg pulled occasionally—an unwelcome reminder of his injury—but he refused to let it slow him. He’d pay for it tomorrow, no doubt, but a day of bed rest and pain was an easy price to pay for getting Julianna back safely.

Tucked on a large plot of land a little way up the estuary, Whitechapel Hall stood alone, surrounded by flat land that had once been part of the river. The building and land had been in Red’s family for generations and would be worth more than Drake could ever amass.

They made their way up the long road toward the front of the building. Red pushed open the heavy front door and the rest of them followed him in.

“Weapons are down in the stores.” Red motioned downstairs and paused when his wife Hannah started to descend the long, elegant staircase. With black hair and big eyes, she always struck Drake as wholly innocent-looking and far too pleasant to be married to a man like Red—but they worked well together somehow.

“Oh, what is everyone doing here?” She smiled, clearly unaware of anything that had happened. She had a little dust in her hair and ink on her fingers. Red had met her when helping her move an artifact from Cornwall to London and her love for the ancient had not dwindled since their marriage. No doubt she had been studying something old and dusty before they arrived.

“If you had told me we were having company, I would have cleaned—” Her words trailed off when she noticed Red’s harried expression. “What’s happened?”

“Knight’s sister has been taken,” Red explained.

Hannah pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh no. That man took her?”

Red nodded. “We’re going to search for her now.”

“Well, I should come and help.” She moved to follow them but Red put a hand to her arm.

Red shook his head. “It could be dangerous. I will not have you putting yourself in harm’s way.”

She scowled. “Nonsense. You will need every eye you can get.”

“Yes,” Red said tightly, “but we cannot have you on a horse in your...condition.”

Her cheeks blanched slightly, and she nodded tightly. “Oh, yes, of course. Well, be safe please. I need you back in one piece.”

Red gave his wife a quick kiss. “I will not let anything happen to me, I promise.”

“Good.” She looked to Knight. “I hope you find her quickly.”

“Thank you, my lady.” Knight gave a quick nod of his head.

They made their way to the stores, following Red down a spiral staircase and along an ill-lit corridor, into a room full of brassware and oil lamps.

“Say, is Hannah ill?” Nate asked while Red pulled open a locked cupboard that housed a collection of pistols and hunting rifles. “She looks in perfect health.”

“She is quite well.” Red handed out the pistols and shot. “Let’s mount up. We do not have any more time to wait.”

“It’s a good job you persuaded Hannah not to come,” Nate commented. “If Patience found out she was missing out on an adventure, there would be hell to pay.”

Drake gave a dry chuckle but could not be as amused as he might usually be. No doubt Patience would still be annoyed she’d missed out on helping—and Drake might even appreciate the assistance of Nate’s wife, who was a better rider and shot than any of them—but there was no time to be gathering up any other people. Every moment they wasted getting organized was another minute of Julianna in Slade’s clutches.

Several of the horses were already out being exercised by the time they made their way to the stables. Thankfully two were saddled and had not gone out yet.

“We cannot wait any longer,” Knight said, frustrated. “We need to leave now.”

“Yes,” Red agreed. “Why don’t you and Drake mount up and start searching? As soon as the other horses are returned, Nate and I will catch up with you.”

Drake glanced at Knight. “It’s not ideal. We’ll likely be outnumbered if John has his man and a driver or servants with him.”

Knight grunted. “I don’t care if he has an army with him.”

“Agreed.” All that mattered was they got to Julianna—quickly. Hopefully Red and Nate wouldn’t be far behind. Drake shoved his pistol into his waistband. “Let’s get moving.”