Page 84 of Hunters and Hydrangeas

“You don’t know their names?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

“Why?”

Sophia laughs, sounding slightly hysterical.

“I see this is going well,” Noah whispers as he joins me.

“Have they arrested Alfred yet?”

“Harold said they were just arriving.” He shakes his head. “Not that arresting him will do any good. His dad will have him out in twenty-four hours.”

“Seriously. This head-of-house pardoning system is flawed.”

“It works better when there’s a duke to override it. It’s the Wild West right now.”

I nod toward Sophia. “Why won’t she talk?”

“A guess? Richard. Alfred still has him.”

“Oh no,” I murmur, realizing he’s right. Why didn’t we grab the butler and run when we had the chance?

“We’ll get him out of there,” Noah promises. “Even if we have to confiscate Alfred’s yacht until he hands him over.”

“Can you do that?”

A grim smile crosses Noah’s face as he pushes away from the wall. “It depends on if Jameson cooperates.”

He then walks toward the table, joining the poor men trying to get a statement out of Sophia. He says something to one of them, and the man gladly gives him his seat.

“Hello, Sophia,” Noah says once he’s settled. His tone is careful, like he’s trying not to spook her.

She sniffs. “Montgomery.”

“I thought you were going to call me Noah.”

She glances at Cassian, unsure. When he nods, she turns back to Noah and frowns. “If you’d like.”

“Would you prefer to talk about what happened with fewer people in the room?”

She glances around. “I don’t think it will make any difference.”

“Because youcan’ttalk?” Noah prods, but gently.

She draws her bottom lip between her teeth, thinking, and then she finally nods.

“How about this—I’ll share some things we know, and maybe that will make you comfortable enough to share some of what you know.”

She twists her handkerchief in her lap and finally says, “All right.”

“Alfred and Larissa were holding you against your will. You’re hesitant to name them because they’re your friends—orwereyour friends. However, they were not working alone. House Sorin was behind your abduction, and they were using you to extort Cassian so he would turn down the nomination he’s expected to receive.”

Sophia’s lips part with her surprise, and she suddenly looks like she wants to dart out of the room.

“This is what we need from you—who is House Sorin working for?”

“Alfred told you all that?” Sophia whispers, stunned.

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