The last shadow of the worry that had gripped him was eased by reminding himself of his own skills. His family and his colleagues in the government did not call him The Bloodhound as a jest. He could, and often did, find anyone with only the mere hint of a clue to lead him. No one who knew him would gamble with him or play chess or cards, even just for the sake of passing time. He could figure out a person’s next move, his entire strategy, with ease. He would find this woman and retrieve his son. Orion swore to himself that he would also find out just what game she was playing. If someone had discovered who he was, what he did for the government, and then discovered how closely Giles was connected to him, it was possible they would try to use the boy to get information. Giles’s connection to him had become a great deal more well-known than young Paul’s or Hector’s. Someone discovering it and using it against him was a distinct possibility. He hoped that was not it, for then it would mean he might have to get the blood of a woman on his hands.
The note to his hostess took only a moment to write. There was no need to concoct any elaborate excuses. He simply spoke of some undefined family emergency. Most of society knew that the Wherlockes and Vaughns were an extraordinarily close family. It was one of the many things that had them all marked as odd. There were those amongst the two families who had deserted their husbands, wives, and children; some people wondered if the rumors of a close family were actually true, but only a few remained doubtful for long. Nor did it take a determined person long to discover just why there were so many desertions. What he had always considered sad was the vast number of people who believed it was perfectly acceptable for those women, and a few men, to walk away from such a strange family even when that included abandoning their own children.
Orion shook his head free of such thoughts for they stirred too many unhappy memories, left the message on his desk for Cody to deliver, and walked outside. He was still caught in the shock of finding out he had another son. Paul had been less of a surprise, for he had been keeping the woman who had borne him. Hector had been the result of Orion’s first few years of breaking free of the bonds of family duty and living the life of a wealthy young man in the city. The surprise had come when he had found himself responsible for this boy in ways far beyond visiting him now and then and giving his mother money. He still thanked the Fates for Penelope, who had taken Paul and Hector into her care without hesitation.
Now there was Giles. Orion was becoming a family man and he did not think he was ready for such responsibility. He was still far too young for such a thing. He grunted in irritation as he stepped outside and tried not to curse when he saw a horse instead of his carriage.
“Did the woman give her name?” he asked as he handed Cody his saddle packs and the man secured them to the horse.
“Lady Catryn Gryffin de Warrenne,” Cody replied. “She told me to take that mare in payment—”
“That lame mare.”
Cody ignored the muttered interruption. “—but swore that she would return the carriage when she was done with it. Then said that if she could not, and more was due us, I was to go to her da, Lord Lewys Gryffin of Gryffin House, here in the city, and he would pay the rest.”
“I have never heard of the man.”
“Nor have I, but I could find out who he is if you wish it done. She told me he was the Baron of Gryffin Manor.”
“I do wish to know all you can find out about him, even though I mean to recover my carriage and my son very soon. I would also like to know all you can discover about the lady. What I do with Lady de Warrenne remains to be seen. Knowing more about her, her father, and her family could help me decide.”
“She was most polite.”
“You said she aimed a pistol at you.”
“Aye, she did that—”
“Politely.”
“—but she did not shoot me, did she. Said she had do this, that she had to chase down a man.”
“What man?” Orion hoped all this trouble had not been caused by some lover’s argument.
“She did not say. I just cannot believe she would be any danger to the boy. I am still near certain she did not know young Giles was inside.”
“I do not intend to go and shoot the woman,” Orion said as he mounted his horse. “I will leave the judging of her until I catch her.”
As he kicked the horse into a careful trot, Orion nearly grinned at the frown on Cody’s square face. If it had been a man attempting to steal the carriage, pistol or not, Cody would have fought like a tiger. It was why he had hired the fellow. With the sudden tendency of his kinsmen to steal his carriage, he had decided a strong guard was needed so that they at least had to endure a solid beating before they robbed him. Cody had the brawn to stop someone and the skill to do so without inflicting too much damage. He did not, after all, wish to maim or kill his thieving cousins.
But Cody had a weakness. It was women. He could be twisted around those soft little fingers far too easily. Orion was not hindered with such a weakness. If this woman was a threat to Giles, him, or anyone else in his family, he would make sure she never caused anyone any trouble again.
It did not take him long to find the woman’s trail. A small redheaded woman driving a carriage was a sight few missed. The fact that she was headed away from the city worried him. There were too many dark reasons to steal a boy and run with him. It was both sad and reassuring to know that Giles was aware of every one of them.
One man he spoke to talked of seeing a grinning face in the window of the carriage and Orion was relieved at the news that Giles was still unharmed. He did not bother to correct the man’s opinion that it was the face of a spirit, a grinning death’s-head. The man was certain that she was fleeing from that spirit; that was why the woman was behaving so scandalously as to drive a carriage herself and travel with no man attending her. Nor did he intend to warn the little redheaded thief, as the man had suggested, that the demon she fled was sitting in the carriage she drove. Aside from the fact that it was an idiotic idea, he knew Giles would enjoy hearing that far too much. When he caught the woman, Orion also intended to make certain that if the woman thought of demons, she thought of him.
A familiar voice hailed him when he reached the more open road outside the heart of the city. “Halloo, sir!”
Orion looked at the young man who moved up to ride beside him when he slowed the pace of his horse. Trenton Cotter was a new man in the group Orion worked with in the government, a group so intent on remaining secret that even Orion and his fellows were not completely certain what it was called. The younger man was eager, patriotic, and still very green. There was not yet any blood on Trenton’s hands. He rather hoped service to the Crown did not steal all of that away. It had certainly jaded Orion, but he had always told himself being jaded was far, far better than being dead.
“Where do you ride off to, sir? Anything I could help you with?”
It was tempting to ask Trenton to come along, but Orion resisted that lure. “’Tis but a personal matter. If you would be so kind, I would appreciate it if you would tell our captain that I may be unavailable for a while.”
“Will do. I was surprised to see you, but then it has been a day rife with strange sightings.”
“Has it now? What else have you seen?”
“A redheaded woman driving a carriage all by her dainty little self. It had a grinning boy peering out the window as it raced by me, and he looked a lot like that lad you just claimed as yours. I believe he may have recognized me because he waved merrily as they passed me by. Truth to tell, that carriage and the team looked a great deal like yours, as well.”
“That is strange.” Orion inwardly cursed his bad luck, for he had wanted to keep this matter a secret if only because it was embarrassing to have a woman steal his carriage from right in front of his home. “I would strongly suggest you do not mention this vision, for it is bound to cause you trouble. Why, sounds much akin to the tale told me in the city by a man who swears it was a demon with Death’s hea
d peering out of the carriage window.”
Trenton’s gray eyes gleamed with laughter and his mouth twitched as he fought to suppress it. “No talk of demons and death’s-heads shall pass my lips.”
“Thank you.”
“Nor of little redheaded ladies driving your carriage while your grinning child waved merrily at all the people they passed by.”
Orion stared up at the sky for a moment before narrowing his eyes and looking at Trenton again. “I have my pistol on me.”
“Good thing, too. I have heard that redheads can have quite the temper.”
“You are enjoying this far too much.”
“I fear I may be. It but begs to be thoroughly enjoyed. There was one other odd sight.”
“You appear to have had an interesting ride.”
“Very interesting. There was a carriage that rattled past me before I saw yours. It was a startling shade of blue with gold trim, pulled by four speckled gray mares. It, too, was going somewhat fast and it, too, had a face in the window. Another child, but this one was not smiling. Little lad with a head full of black curls, and he looked quite frightened. I almost turned about to follow them and see what was going on, but I need to get back to the city.”
“Could just be a child who does not like traveling.”
“It could be, but I thought I would make mention of it since you are headed in the same direction. If I am recalling it right, that garish carriage belongs to one Sir Morris de Warrenne, and I did not think he was wed or a father. He has been far too busy trying to gain guardianship of his brother’s child.”
“And how have you come to learn that? Is this de Warrenne someone the Crown is interested in?”
“No, but my brother is de Warrenne’s solicitor, and he came by my place to sup with me a few nights ago. Complained a lot about the man, for he just would not give up and made a lot of unnecessary work for my brother and the others in the firm.” He shrugged. “Just wondered if he had finally won his court case, or perhaps decided to go around the decisions of the court and take matters into his own hands.” He shrugged again. “I will look into it when I can. May not be my business, but I have a strong distaste for men who try and take an inheritance away from a child and that appears to be what this is about.”
“I believe I will do the same.” Orion wondered if the theft of his carriage had something to do with Sir Morris and that frightened boy Trenton had seen. He was not sure a custody battle was all that much better to deal with than a lovers’ quarrel, however. Either one could be messy and fraught with the sort of emotional morass he always did his best to avoid.
“Are you certain you do not need a hand?”
“With one small redheaded lady?” he drawled, and Trenton laughed briefly before giving Orion a darkly serious look.
“She should be no problem if she is on her own, but there is always the chance she is not acting alone. You have enemies, sir. It is not beyond possible that this is a trap.”
The younger man might not be as green as Orion had first thought. “I have considered that, but I have it on rather dependable authority that she does not realize there is a child in the carriage.”
“Ah, well, good luck then.” His pleasant voice suddenly grew hard and cold. “If by chance you discover otherwise, be assured of my assistance. The people who work for the Crown need to believe their families are safe and protected. If this matter grows more serious, I would ask you to call on your compatriots for help. Good hunting!” He turned his mount and rode back toward the city.
Definitely not so green after all, Orion thought as he urged his horse forward again. For just a moment he considered bringing the younger man back to ride with him but then dismissed the idea. He wanted to do his best to see this matter settled and put aside without too many people knowing about it. If nothing else, it would not do to have the world know all about Giles yet. Too many knew already. He also did not want his enemies to think that the boy could be easily grabbed and used as a weapon against his father. Orion never wanted to face the choice of his son or his country.
It might be time to end his service to the Crown, Orion thought. He had a third child now and could not keep three children hidden away forever. Nor was it good to continue to go away on assignment as he had been doing, leaving behind no information on how to reach him or even what name he might be using. His work forced him to keep too many secrets. It was satisfying to work for the Crown, even exciting at times, but it certainly was not convenient nor was it conducive to raising three sons.
Cursing softly, he turned his thoughts back to hunting down Giles and the little redheaded carriage thief. Now was not the time to make important decisions about his future. He would do that later. The fact that he was puzzling over such matters showed him that it would probably be wise to leave the service or at least curtail his missions. He now had a family to worry about, and to leave them behind, unprotected, could easily prove fatal.
Several times he paused to speak to people he encountered, but it was not until he stopped to greet a young farmer leading a calf down the road that Orion heard anything more than an acknowledgment of having seen the carriage. He had a very good idea of where the woman was going, but confirmation never hurt. When he asked about his carriage, the farmer eyed him with suspicion and idly scratched at the thin, ragged beard on his sharp chin. That display of mistrust told Orion that he had a chance of getting some useful information.
“Which carriage are ye asking about, milord?”
“Sir, not m’lord. Just sir. I ask about the one being driven by a small redheaded lady.”
“Why?”
“Because it happens to be my carriage the woman is driving. She took it without my permission.”
“That little woman stole a carriage from a man as big as you?” the famer asked, his skepticism clear to see.
“I am reluctant to use the word stole. It is a private matter. I just need to find her and my carriage. I am quite certain that she has no idea that my son was sitting within the carriage when she took it.”
“The lad looked to be having a fine time when I saw him. Smiling and waving at me as the carriage passed me by. Not like the wee lad in the carriage that passed by before yours.”
“A blue one with gold trim and four speckled grays pulling it?”
The farmer nodded. “Foolish to buy something so pretty, all blue and gold, only to drive it on roads like this one. It were not looking so fine when it went by me. Driver had to stop because old Jude was taking his sheep across the road. Man inside the carriage was hanging his head out the window and yelling at old Jude and them sheep as if that would be making them move faster.”
Orion smiled faintly when the young man laughed at the memory of the incident. “That must have been a fine sight.”
“Oh aye, it were that. But then I saw the boy. Little lad with a lot of black curly hair and big blue eyes. He was looking out the window at me and he was fair sad, he was. Poor wee fellow looked some scared, too. Odd and all, for I thought I saw some light behind him, but that must have been something else, for the fool shouting at Jude and his sheep would have been blocking the light from the other window. The boy looked to me like he was trying to get the door open and I do swear, I think he was saying help me. Thought to go a little closer, but then the fool yanked the lad away from the window and, from what I could see, slapped him fair hard.”
“So they moved on after that?”
“Moved along just as I was thinking I would still go talk to the lad and see what was wrong. ’Bout two hours later that lady came by driving your carriage and your boy did not look sad at all. Nay, he did not. Was grinning like a fool, he was. As I done said, having himself a fine time.”
“Yes, that would be just like Giles.”
“You thinking she stole the boy, too? Took your son?”
Orion hesitated only a moment before shaking his head. “No, I do not. As I said, she just did not know he was in there and he does not seem to be incli
ned to let her know.” Honesty weighted his words for he was beginning to think Cody had been right. “I begin to believe that she is chasing the man in the blue-and-gold carriage because he took her son.”
“A sad business.”
“It is that.”
“Well, you will be getting him back soon enough. The team pulling your carriage was looking weary, it was. She will have to be stopping soon.”
Now he had to worry about his team, Orion thought, and silently cursed before asking the man when he had seen the second carriage. He left the young farmer and traveled on after discovering that his carriage was not all that far ahead of him. The more information he gathered the more he began to think Lady de Warrenne was doing just what she told Cody she was doing. She was chasing down a man. Orion had the sinking feeling that the sad boy in the first carriage was her son. It was not a mess he wanted to be dragged into, but he had to get his son and his carriage back.
As he rode on he began to notice a difference in the trail he followed. The farmer had been right. His horses were tiring. The team was never intended to pull the carriage at a rapid pace for so long. He had intended to set an easy pace when taking Giles to Radmoor, and an easy pace back to the city after allowing the team a rest or perhaps even changing horses at Radmoor. Orion did not believe he could count on a woman to have the experience to judge when her team needed a rest, and the thought of how she could harm his team stirred his anger anew.
When he caught sight of his carriage pulled off to the side of the road, he feared that she may have irreparably damaged one of his horses, but then he saw his team. The horses were placidly grazing beneath a tree. His son and the little redheaded woman he had been chasing were seated on the ground enjoying the food he had had packed for him and Giles.
It was more than his barely leashed anger could tolerate. Orion reined in next to the carriage, dismounted, and marched toward the woman who had caused him so much trouble. The look of fear on her face as he approached her both satisfied and disturbed him. When she leapt to her feet and put herself between him and his son, he refused to allow admiration to dim his anger. He did not like frightening a woman, but she deserved it. Orion decided it might just teach her some much needed caution. He would make certain that next time she would think twice about what she took without permission.
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