Chapter 26
Harriet awoke, her head throbbing. She winced at the dryness of her mouth. Blinking, she slowly opened her eyes then immediately closed them as pain stabbed her head.
The sound of rain falling upon glass drew her attention and she spotted a large window across the dingy, small room. She was on the floor.
Her fingers scraped against rough floor boards. A rat skittered across her feet and she let out a stifled scream.
“Don’t like the company, Duchess?”
She yanked herself up into a sitting position despite the pain. She almost swooned as her head swam but she willed herself upright, seeking the source of the voice.
The man sat on a stool, his dark boots stained with mud. Black stubble darkened his hard face. He peered at her with intelligent, yellow eyes.
He rested his forearm on his thigh, cool, calm, intense. “Your man made a mistake.”
As she gazed at the striking man who had abducted her, she tried to understand, “I beg your pardon?”
“Mocking me.”
Slowly, as she looked him up and down, taking in his dark leather breeches and the cut of him, she understood. When he said her man, he did not refer to a servant, but her husband. A chill shimmied through her. “In the park? That was you, was it not?”
He gave her a small, arrogant bow. “You haven’t forgotten then.”
She smoothed her hands over her skirts. “One doesn’t forget such a thing, does one?”
He stared at her, assessing. There was no mania to him, no barbary. Only sheer calculation. “The lady sounds most calm considering her circumstances.”
She studied him in turn. He wasn’t a bludgeon of a man. Quite the contrary. He seemed educated as well. “This lady doesn’t suffer hysterics.”
“Good.” He smiled. “I won’t have to gag you.”
She swallowed, the very idea harrowing. “No. No, you won’t.”
“Glad to hear it, Your Grace.” He drawled the title of deference as if it were an insult.
“I take it you don’t plan to kill me?” she asked, trying not to shake. He seemed to admire her spirit. She had a terrible feeling he’d feed off weakness.
He leaned back, completely at ease, as if he contemplated murder every day. “Not yet.”
She cleared her throat, allowing the threat to sink in, allowing his comfortability with it to take root. “I see.”
He gave her a slow, cold smile. “I’m glad. Now, give us your hands, darling.”
She inched backwards. “Why?”
“I must make arrangements and I’m going to tie you up so you can’t cause trouble.”
Her throat tightened at the very idea. “It is unnecessary, I assure you.”
“Do not take me for a fool,” he said quietly.
“I don’t,” she replied honestly.
“Good. Then we understand each other. Now, I must begin to make my actions take effect where most wanted.”
The highwayman stood then and crossed the room, slipping a rope from his pocket. He slipped the rough hemp about her wrists and wound it tight. Studying her, he frowned. At long last, he reached down, grabbed the hem of her gown and yanked.
She shuddered as he tore a piece of fabric free then lifted it towards her face.
“You said you weren’t going to gag me.”
“I find needs must since I’m going out. I can’t have you screaming the moment I leave, now can I?” Without further ado, he wound it about her mouth and head. She did not resist. She was no fool herself. There was no way she could overpower or resist him. Her best chance was to be left alone. If she could just be alone, then she could think.
He nodded. “Right then. I’ll be back soon. There’s no one here, mind you. The building is abandoned. So, don’t think you can raise help.”
Wide eyed, she nodded.
As soon as he’d slipped into the hall, she heard a lock turn. His footsteps thundered down the steps. A door creaked open and shut below.
She scrambled to her feet and raced to the window. She caught sight of him striding down the narrow alley, below the small roof beneath her window.
Turning about the small room, she looked for anything which might help her escape. Anything at all.
She pattered to the door and, with her bound hands, attempted to turn the latch but it would not budge. She grimaced at the pain lacerating her wrists. He’d tied them quite tight.
Fighting back tears, she turned from the door. This was most distressing. What the devil was she going to do?
Await rescue? She couldn’t do that. How would Rob know where she was? But nor could she wait for the man’s return. God knew what he planned to do. If he wished to torment Rob, he wouldn’t simply ask for money. Oh no, there wouldn’t be much pleasure in that.
Her eyes caught sight of the stool and she stilled, then glanced to the window.
Before she could let herself think twice, she dashed to it. Picking up the three-legged stool, she charged the window and swung. The frame and glass broke with a clatter. Her heart thundered, fearful that there was, indeed, someone who might hear her and stop her escape despite the fact he’d claimed she was alone.
She did not wait to find out but, rather, raked her ties against a shard of glass. Crying out as she gashed her own skin, her wrists flew apart. As soon as they were free, she tore the gag from her mouth and dropped it to the floor.
Panting, she bent and swept up her skirts. Carefully, she used the fabric, covering her hand, to clear the glass on the lower sill and then she looked downward.
It would be some doing, descending, but what choice did she have?
Drawing in her breath, she climbed up and swung over the sill, then let her toes reach for the roof below.
The little canopy swayed the moment she rested her feet upon it and before she could even truly stand, she felt it sway. Instinctively, she jumped away as it collapsed. Rolling, her body hit the muddy earth with a hard thud and the air rushed out of her lungs.
As she lay in the rain for a moment, she wondered what the devil to do next. She was free. But she had no real idea where she was and she knew she was anything but safe.
Rob stormed into Richard Heath’s club with only one thought. He had to find his wife. The place was wild with drink and cards. Games of chance were played at every table and the rooms were full of laughter and shrieks of excitement.
In that moment, he hated them all. Hated them all for their frivolity when he was in such a state of terror.
Richard Heath spotted him and it took only one look for the former thief to realize that this was no ordinary visit.
Heath came across the room quickly. “Come with me.”
Robert nodded, silent, containing his energy for what lay ahead. He wasn’t about to go off half-cocked, not when he knew that such a lack of steadiness could result in the worst for them all.
Heath opened the door to his inner sanctum. The moment they were alone, Rob said, “I need to know who it was. The highwayman I angered.”
Heath stilled. “Why?”
Rob could hardly form the words but then he said, “He’s taken my wife.”
Heath, for the first time Rob could ever recall, paled. “Sodding hell.”
“Who is he?” Rob demanded.
Heath drew in a sharp breath, planting his hands on his desk.
“I know you know his name,” Rob said tightly. “You have to know where he is or where he’d keep her.”
Heath did not look away, but the darkness in his eyes was so deep it turned them night black. “I know the answer to all those questions. . .”
Rob waited a moment then growled, “You cannot protect him.”
“Don’t tell me what I can or can’t do.”
Rob slipped the dagger from his coat and before Heath could move, he had the tip planted against his former mentor’s throat. “I hoped you would simply tell me.”
“Given the power I have,” Heath said calmly looking into Rob’s eyes, “with the information I have, that is not the wisest decision.”
Rob did not care if there was truth in those words. He would not play about with Harriet’s life. “He has my wife and you are prevaricating.”
Heath’s mouth pressed into a line but then he hissed, “He’s my brother.”
Rob stilled and lowered the blade.
“You know I could have killed you still,” Heath said, his voice a rumble.
“You could have tried,” Rob said with utter sincerity. “Without her, I have nothing and nothing to lose.”
“You love her then?”
Rob said nothing.
“Right then.” Heath grabbed his long coat from behind his desk. “We’re heading to a part of London you’ve never been.”
Feeling the first ray of hope he’d felt all night, Rob nodded. “Lead on.”
They strode quickly down a sprawling set of stairs and stopped before a gold-embossed panel. Heath pressed a gilded circle in the wall and it swung open, exposing a small, dark hall.
To his shock, a man stood in the corridor. He stopped abruptly at the sight of him.
It took a moment for Robert’s eyes to adjust but then he felt rage pump through him. Without a word, he raced into the corridor, grabbed the man by his shoulders and slammed him into the brick wall.
The highwayman growled as his head cracked against the hard surface.
“What have you done with her?” Rob demanded.
“I-I don’t know,” the highwayman bit out.
“What do you mean, Jamie?” Richard Heath demanded as if seeing his brother attacked was as normal as asking for a glass of claret.
Jamie Heath blinked and didn’t resist. “She’s gone,” he replied with a shocking degree of calmness.
Rob’s heart nearly stopped. “Gone?”
“The filly bolted,” Jamie replied coolly, though anger flowed through his entire body. “I went out, didn’t I, just for a few minutes. I came back and she’d smashed my bloody window and jumped. You wouldn’t believe the state of it.”
“You won’t believe the state of your face if we don’t find her,” Rob growled, wishing he could beat the man to a pulp. He wouldn’t. Not now. It would serve nothing.
“Look, I took her to scare the hell out of you,” Jamie Heath stated. “I didn’t hurt her. I wasn’t going to. I’ve no desire to go down for murder.”
“And she’s out on the streets?” Richard Heath demanded, his voice hard.
Jamie nodded.
Rob relaxed his grip, the world swimming. They filed out of the tight hall and headed back towards the front of the stairs. She was out on the London streets. Alone.
At that moment, a series of voices infiltrated the opulent space and four dukes charged in.
Rob gaped at his friends. “What are you doing here?”
Harley eyed him up and down. “The proper question is what the hell are you doing here without us?”
He shook his head. He’d not wanted them involved with Heath. “How—”
“Mary came to me,” Harley rushed, his voice deep and pained. “And she said she knew where you went. To whom, that is. To the only man who could help you.”
“Which is utter tosh,” Drake drawled.
“How can you help me?” Rob demanded. “How can you know anything about this part of town?”
“Oh, not me, old boy,” Drake replied. “Not me.”
And then Royland stepped out of the shadows. “A woman, of your wife’s description, was spotted by the river. If we’re lucky, one of my little mice has stopped her and led her to safety.”
Rob shook his head, stunned by Royland’s sudden demeanor. Royland, who was passionate, and playful, and always dramatic. “You’re. . .”
Heath narrowed his eyes on Royland. “You’re him.”
“Him who?” drawled Royland.
Heath’s lip curled. “The Hawk.”
Royland lifted his dark brows. “I’ve no idea what that is, aside from a bird of prey. But we don’t need to linger here.”
“I’m going after her,” Rob bit out, not interested in the current exchange, even as it occurred to him that Royland might still be involved in the undercurrents of political intrigue that had swayed his life during the Reign of Terror.
Royland whipped towards him, his beautiful face suddenly sharp and dangerous. “Where? Will you wander the winding back streets and get yourself gutted?”
“I’m not staying here,” Rob said, leveling his friend with a hard stare. “I can’t just wait—”
“Sometimes,” Heath cut in, “waiting is the hardest thing to do.”
Rob looked around at the veritable crowd of his friends that had formed. He took one look at Harley whose face was a mask of horror. He thought of their childhood, running through the fields, riding horses bareback. Had it come to this? Waiting? Waiting in a club to find out what had happened to the little girl who had followed them tirelessly and faithfully?
“She deserved more than me sitting and waiting,” he said at last and turned to head out into the night.
Harley fell into step behind him, then Drake, then Royland, and Raventon.
The five friends who had sworn to always be true to each other headed out into the dark night, knowing that their entire future hinged on finding one young woman in the vast metropolis of London.