by Anne Gracie
Jim shook his head, his face scrunched with distress. “I dunno, sir.”
“Tibby checked the boys around eleven,” Ethan said. “So, sometime in the last three hours.”
“I took the dog downstairs to do his business afterward,” Tibby confessed, almost in tears. “And then Ethan came looking for me, and I left the dog shut out in the garden. If I’d only—”
“Never mind,” Gabe interrupted her. “The count, Nash, where was he staying?”
“Not sure. With the Esterhazys, I think.”
“Right, we’ll start there. Ethan, get the horses saddled. Harry, lend me a pair of riding boots.” The others hurried off to obey his orders. Gabe followed, then halted when he saw her; Callie stood huddled against the wall, frozen-looking and tragic.
Gabe couldn’t bear it. She’d married him for one reason only: because he’d sworn to protect her child. He’d failed her.
Gabe seized her hands. “I’m sorry,” he said urgently, “but I will find him, I promise you.”
She gave him a frozen look.
“I promise you,” Gabe said, and with a last desperate gesture he kissed her hard on the mouth and went into Harry’s room, stripping off his evening trousers and coat almost before he was in the door.
She followed. “What are you doing?”
“Changing into my riding buckskins—or rather, Harry’s. Can’t ride in evening clothes—no flexibility—and mine would take too long to fetch.” Harry handed him a pair of riding boots and he pulled them on. “Good thing we’re the same size.”
He raced down the stairs, shouting at Sprotton. “Are the horses here yet, dammit?”
“Any moment, sir.” Sprotton snapped his fingers and a footman ran out into the street to look.
Ethan, Rafe, Nash, Luke, and Harry were all in riding clothes, she saw. “What are you all doing?”
“Going after them, of course.”
“I’m coming, too,” Callie said.
“You can’t,” Gabe said brusquely. “You’ll slow us down.”
She stared at him, agonized, knowing he was right. But how could she bear to wait, helpless, not knowing?
“I’ll take her,” Harry said to Gabe. “We’ll follow in the curricle.”
Callie flung him a grateful look and looked at Gabriel. “Please. I will go mad, otherwise.”
He sighed. “All right. Sprotton, tell the stables we need the curricle and the grays, at once.” He snapped his fingers and a footman went running.
“It’ll be cold in the curricle. You must take my cloak,” Lady Gosforth said. “Sprotton, fetch my fur cloak.”
“Immediately, my lady,” said Sprotton, and a maid went running off to fetch it.
Gabe turned to Harry and said in a low, urgent voice. “Look after her for me, brother. She is my life!”
Harry nodded. “I know.”
Callie blinked. Had he said “wife,” or “life”? But he was gone, Ethan, Rafe, Luke, and Nash with him, galloping down the street.
Shaken, she managed to gather her thoughts together. She drew Lady Gosforth aside. “Do you have a pistol I could borrow? I’m going to kill that man.”
“Who, my nephew?” Lady Gosforth exclaimed, shocked.
“No, of course not! I love your nephew. It’s Count Anton I’m going to kill.”
Lady Gosforth’s face cleared. “Well, in that case, by Jove, I do. Sprotton, fetch me my pistol. And make sure it’s loaded.”
“At once, my lady,” Sprotton said, and a footman went running.
The footman and two maids arrived at the same time, the footman with a case containing a tiny muff pistol, one maid carrying an enormous sable cloak and the other carrying a small bag. “Just a change of clothes and a few other necessities,” the girl told Callie, passing it to a footman to put in the curricle.
“Good thinking, that gel,” declared Lady Gosforth approvingly.
The curricle and grays arrived at the front door. Callie kissed Lady Gosforth and said, “Take care of Tibby and Jim for me. And thank you for everything.” Harry helped her up and in moments they were off, following Gabe to the Esterhazy residence.
Gabe spurred his horse along the road, followed by Rafe, Luke, Nash, and Ethan. His face was grim. He was furious with himself. He should have taken more care, should have thought that kidnappers might come across the roof in the night. He’d been so busy trying to seduce the mother, he’d forgotten that his marriage was all about the child.
She’d asked just one thing of him: protect her boy.
He’d failed her. He’d failed Nicky. And he’d failed himself.
There was no chance she would ever love him now. Her couldn’t blame her.
He thought of Nicky, in the hands of that smiling devil. He was gripped with cold rage, at himself, as well as Count Anton. Nicky was such a gallant little boy, so bright and full of pluck, it made Gabe sick to think of him in the hands of the count.
Where was that devil taking him? And for what purpose?
He could think of at least one reason why Nicky had been taken alive; if there was no body, you could not prove murder.
On the other hand without a body, the count could not inherit for at least seven years. Gabe kept telling himself that.
Arriving at the Austrian ambassador’s, they pounded on the door until someone came to open it. Gabe pushed his way inside. “Where is Count Anton?” he demanded.
Servants came running to eject them, but confronted with five tall, angry gentleman men they hesitated.
“Count Anton—where is he?” Gabe growled.
“What is the meaning of this intrusion?” The ambassador, Prince Esterhazy himself, came down the stairs, dressed in a gorgeously embroidered dressing robe. He was accompanied by a number of guards. Recognizing Gabe, he frowned and waved the guards back.
“By what right do you come shouting and brawling into my house, Renfrew?” His cold glance took in the others. When he saw Nash his brows rose even higher.
“A matter of the utmost urgency. Where is Count Anton?” Gabe demanded.
The ambassador glared at Gabe. “If it’s any business of yours, he left. He was called away suddenly. But—”
“Called away? Where to?”
“Zindaria. But—”
“To his yacht?” asked Nash. He turned to Gabe. “We’ve been having it watched. It was moored at Dover two days ago.” He turned back to the ambassador. “So was he going to his yacht in Dover?”
“I expect so,” the ambassador said impatiently. “I shall complain to your government about this invasion—”
“Do that,” said Gabe as he left. “And then explain why your houseguest kidnapped a seven-year-old child—the crown prince of Zindaria—from his bed in the middle of the night!”
“What do you mean, kidnapped a child? He can’t possibly—” the ambassador began, but Gabe did not stay to listen. By the time the ambassador had finished his sentence Gabe was thundering down the road, riding as though the devil were after him.
But the devil was ahead. With a seven-year-old child in his power.
The curricle pulled up outside the Esterhazy residence. Harry jumped down, peered at some marks on the pavement under the gas lamp, then swung himself back up into the curricle and snapped the reins.
“Where are we going now?” Callie asked.
“Dover.”
“How do you know that’s where they’re going?”
He jerked his head at the pavement. “Rafe left a note in chalk. He always used to do that when we were in the army. Only time it fails is when it rains.” He gave her a quick grin. “Good thing the weather has cleared up, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “You think Nicky’s going to die, don’t you?”
“No!” He looked shocked. “What the hell are you thinking those kind of thoughts for? Stop it at once. Gabe will get him back.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“Yes,” he said simply. “Once Gabe sets his mind to something, there’
s no stopping him.”
Harry put his arm around her to steady her as they swung sharply around the corner. “It will be better if you hold onto my arm from now on,” he told her. “I’m going as fast as I can and if we hit a bump, you’ll go flying unless you’re anchored.”
She slipped an arm through his and hung on. His solid warmth was comforting.
“You meant it, didn’t you?” Harry asked after a time.
“Meant what?”
“What you said to Aunt Maude back there. That you love my brother.”
“Of course I meant it.”
“Even though he didn’t protect Nicky?”
She turned a shocked face toward him. “It wasn’t his fault. It was mine. I was the one who goaded Count Anton to—”
“Nonsense,” Harry cut her off bluntly. “That job took a lot of planning. He had his plan in place long before you said a word to him. It wasn’t you at all. But it was Gabe’s job to protect Nicky and he botched it. And yet you still say you love him?”
Callie was shocked by his simplistic view of things. “Is that what you think Gabriel expects? That if he fails, I would stop loving him?”
“Of course.”
“Well, I won’t. What sort of a love is it that treats everything as a test? If he—if he fails, I will need him more than—” her voice broke.
Harry covered her hand with his and patted her. “Don’t worry,” he said gruffly. “He’ll bring Nicky back to you.”
“Yes, yes, I know he will,” she said, trying to stay positive. She stared out into the black night and prayed for her son and the man she loved to be returned to her safe and sound.
She needed quite desperately to hold them in her arms and know they were safe. Both of them.
The lights of London were behind Gabe now. The notorious Black Heath lay a short distance ahead. Footpads, highwaymen, all kinds of criminals lurked on the wild heathland, picking off coaches and lone travelers.
Gabe was some miles ahead of the others, thanks to Trojan’s speed, stamina, and great heart. The others had been forced to make do with whatever horses were in Lady Gosforth’s stables.
But even Trojan was tiring. Gabe would have to get a fresh horse soon, perhaps at Rochester, on the other side of the heath. There was a livery stable there, he recalled.
He pressed on. He had to catch up with them before the count reached the yacht. Once the yacht cast off, it was anyone’s guess where he’d take Nicky. He couldn’t believe the count had gone to all this trouble to return Nicky to Zindaria. All kinds of possibilities chased through Gabe’s mind. The boy could be sold into slavery, put on the galleys, tossed overboard…
But the count would need a body before he could inherit the throne. Whatever he planned, it had to look natural. Was that his plan, return Nicky to Zindaria, let a few people see him, and then…another dose of poisoned milk? Dreadful as it seemed, the thought was almost reassuring. It would give Gabe more time to reach them.
He reached Black Heath but didn’t slacken his pace. It was a fine, bright night and the road ahead was clear. The areas with scrubby vegetation were the danger spots. His pistols were primed and ready. If there were footpads, he would be ready for them.
Trojan was blowing hard, so Gabe slowed his pace to a fast trot. He glimpsed a movement up ahead. Gabe narrowed his eyes but the moon chose that moment to slip behind clouds. He pulled out a pistol and continued on his way, keeping a wary eye out.
He heard it before he saw it, one horse, coming fast, heading directly toward him. He pulled Trojan up to the side of the road, cocked his pistol, and waited.
The horse came closer and closer. Gabe frowned. He could hardly see the rider. He must be lying down along the horse’s neck. Tricky devils, highwaymen.
The horse was almost upon him. Gabe lifted his pistol just as the moon came out. The moonlight glinted on its barrel.
“Mr. Renfrew, don’t shoot!” a thin, high voice screamed. “It’s me, Nicky. I escaped!”
Eighteen
“Nicky! Thank God!” Gabe was so relieved he simply leaned over, lifted the boy out of the saddle, and wrapped him in a big hug. Nicky hugged him back.
“Are you all right?” Gabe demanded. “How did you get away? I can’t believe it!” He hugged the boy again. “Thank God.”
Nicky grinned up at him. “I escaped.”
“All by yourself?” He laughed and ruffled the boy’s hair. “How did you manage that? No, wait.” Gabe squinted into the darkness. “Is anyone following you?”
“Probably,” Nicky said. “It will depend on how long it takes Count Anton to discover which way I went.”
Gave laughed again at the frank triumph in the boy’s voice, and the relish with which he repeated the word “escaped.”
“Good lad! Come on then, let’s get back. Tell me on the way. The others are behind us.”
“Where’s Mama?”
“Following in the curricle with Harry.”
They turned and cantered back the way Gabe had just come. Trojan was tired, but gallant as ever.
When they met up with Rafe, Ethan, Luke, and Nash they all whooped with delight. They pelted Nicky with questions as they rode back to the inn, and Nicky happily answered them.
Gabe grinned, enjoying the boy’s triumph. The rock in his chest had eased considerably now that the boy was safe. He was just waiting for the moment when he could put Nicky back in his mother’s arms.
The way he felt, Count Anton could send an army after him. It would make no difference. Nicky was safe and they were going to keep him that way.
They found the inn and woke the landlord who, seeing the flash of gold coins, was only too happy to provide hospitality to a bunch of gentlemen. He chivvied his wife out of bed to see to the provision of food, rousted out a sleepy stable boy to care for the horses, and hurried back in to see to the drinks.
Luke and Ethan kept watch on the road outside.
“So, Nicky,” Gabe said when they were inside. “Tell me again from the beginning and leave no detail out.” There were aspects of the story that hadn’t made sense to him, but he’d only got it in snatches. “The men who took you from your room, did they carry you over the rooftops?”
“No, they tied me up like a sack of potatoes, and they lowered me down in the back alley with ropes. I could see, but because of the gag, I couldn’t yell out or anything.”
Gabe nodded. “You were very brave. What happened next?”
“There was a carriage waiting, and they put me in that. It was dirty and smelled of onions. Then we went somewhere and the count came and he, he—” The little boy’s lip trembled, but he mastered himself and went on. “He had a bottle of something nasty and he made me drink from it.”
Gabriel swore under his breath.
“I thought it was poison, like he used on my puppy,” Nicky continued. “And I fought, but there was nothing I could do. He forced it into my mouth, but I didn’t swallow it. And then he lifted me into the curricle so I let it dribble down my front. He never saw. But I must have swallowed some, because I don’t remember anything after that until I woke up and we were out in the country somewhere and my hands and feet weren’t tied anymore, but I was still wrapped in the quilt. I felt sleepy and a bit sick, so I just lay on the seat and didn’t move, not even when we stopped and the count checked me.”
“They stopped to change horses, and the count went inside, and that’s when I climbed out of the curricle. One of the soldiers saw me, but he only bowed and said how pleased he was I was free and coming home.”
“He what?”
Nicky shrugged. “He wanted me to go into the inn to eat something, but I told him I needed to make water first. Well, I did.”
“And he just let you go? By yourself?” Gabe exchanged glances with Nash and Rafe.
Nicky nodded. “Yes, and he went into the inn so I made water, and afterward I found the horses all saddled and waiting, so I untied them all. I kept one for me and set the others loose. I got on
mine—it was a bit difficult without you to boost me, sir, but I managed and I rode at the other horses so that they ran off, and then I rode away.”
Gabe frowned. “The soldier knew who you were?”
Nicky nodded. “Yes, he called me Prince Nikolai. But he didn’t see me stealing the horse. I think he would have stopped me then.”
Gabe was puzzled. The soldier ought have stopped Nicky as soon as he saw he was free. It didn’t make sense. To go to all that trouble to kidnap the boy and then just let him walk away. It was crazy!
Nicky grinned. “Nobody expected me to be able to ride. I heard the count yelling and swearing and screaming at everyone.”
Gabe laughed at Nicky’s expression. Far from being cowed by his adventure, he was positively crowing at his victory. And why not? He’d rescued himself in the best possible way.
But it was a very strange story. And Gabe was determined to get to the bottom of it.
The sound of horses outside drew his attention. He heard Rafe whistle and tensed, with a different sort of tension.
“Brace yourself, Nicky,” he said, “Your mother is here.” A moment later a small whirlwind in a large fur cloak flew in the door.
“Nicky, oh Nicky!” Callie exclaimed and hugged her son convulsively. She checked him all over. “Are you all right, my darling? They didn’t hurt you?”
“No, Mama. I am perfectly splendid!”
She paused. “Perfectly splendid?” She stared at him, then shook her head. She gave a shaky laugh, wiped a tear away, and repeated, “Perfectly splendid?” She laughed again and hugged him. “How can you be perfectly splendid?”
“I am, Mama. I foiled Count Anton all by myself!”
“You did? But I thought—” She threw a puzzled glance at Gabe then turned back to her son and hugged him again. She drew him to a settee, saying, “Tell me all about it.”
She’d turned away from him. Gabe had expected it, but it didn’t make it any easier. He watched the joyful reunion between mother and son. She was like a bear or a wolf in defense of her cub. She would have killed for him.
He’d promised to protect her child and he’d failed. So she turned her back on him. Perhaps, if he’d rescued the boy in some heroic fashion…but Nicky had done it all by himself.