Page 67 of Lady Charlotte and the Lending Library
“I expected you to be more upset by the gossip linking yourself and Lady Charlotte,” the baron said, a question in his voice.
“Perhaps there is some truth to the rumors,” he replied lightly. He’d begun to think more about his future since meeting Lady Charlotte. Despite his initial misgivings about the lady, there was a connection between them he wanted to explore.
It had been some time since Ashford visited the duke’s large townhouse at 31 St. James’s Square. The ballroom was a crush. If Lady Charlotte was at the ball, he would need some luck in locating her. Ashford scanned the ballroom for the lady while Nathaniel kept an eye on his sister and her current dance partner.
“Lord Ashford,” a soft voice whispered urgently from behind him, “we need your help.”
He turned to see Lady Edith wringing her hands and looking pale as Lady Louisa stood nearby, frowning.
“What is the matter, Lady Edith?” he asked the young woman.
The girl bit her lip. “It’s Charlotte. She was here at the ball one moment, and now she is gone.”
“Lady Charlotte is gone?” He felt his mouth go dry.
“She was dancing with someone...” Edith looked to Louisa. “I think it was Lord Meers.”
Louisa nodded. “After the set was over, Charlotte and Lord Meers were nowhere to be seen.”
Time slowed down. Ashford looked about the crowded ballroom searching for two faces. He saw neither Charlotte nor Lord Meers.
“Have you checked the retiring rooms?” he asked calmly.
Louisa replied shortly, “Of course we have. I also spoke with my driver. He didn’t see Charlotte leave by carriage.”
He had another thought. “Did her brother accompany her to the ball?”
“Oh yes! He did.” Edith paused, frowning. “I haven’t seen him for some time as well.”
“I did see William near the French doors to the gardens,” Louisa said thoughtfully. “He looked to be watching something, or someone, outside.”
Ashford returned his attention to Edith and Louisa. “Who is your chaperone this evening?”
“One of my brothers,” Louisa replied. “Why?”
“I need him to look after Miss Tilford while Baron Harbury and I search for Charlotte and her brother. Stay calm and try not to worry.” He felt silly telling the women not to worry as he was doing the same thing himself.
Edith gave him a weak smile. “I knew we could count on you to help us, Lord Ashford.”
He bowed to the ladies and strode to the French doors at one side of the large ballroom, Nathaniel beside him.
When they were several feet away from Charlotte’s friends, Nathaniel said softly, “Lady Edith may merely be prone to hysterics.”
From his time spent with Charlotte and her friends, the one thing he did know was that none of the ladies were predisposed to hysteria. Despite his resolve to remain calm, he couldn’t shake off a sense of foreboding.
Ashford and Nathaniel exited the townhouse by the French doors. There were only a few lanterns spread throughout the grounds, lending a soft glow but little illumination to the area. He guessed the garden was the size of a quarter acre. There were two gravel paths before him. The ground sloped up at the back of the walled property, allowing Ashford and Nathaniel to see a large structure ahead of them. It looked like a stable.
“The mews,” he said aloud to Nathaniel. He told himself there was no proof that Lady Charlotte had been spirited away from Norfolk House.
“Lead the way.” Nathaniel followed Ashford down the path to the left.
He walked slowly, listening for sounds other than the crunch of his and Nathaniel’s dancing slippers on the gravel. Music from the house floated on the breeze, the sound receding as he walked away from the house. The air was cool, the scent of several varieties of flowers competing for dominance.
He was nearly to the stables when he stumbled on something in the middle of the path.
A young man was lying on the ground, his face white in the near darkness. Ashford leaned over the boy, shaking him awake. “William!”
William sat up slowly, groggily putting a hand to the side of his head. “Charlotte is gone! Lord Meers took her!”
