Page 42 of Choosing Her Earl at Last
“Oh?” Colin asked, his brows raising in curious surprise. “How so?”
“My mother informed me that Emmeline had wed the Marquess of Worthington under duress. Her family was going through a difficult time and arranged the entire affair without her knowing.
By the time she knew what was happening, it was too late for her to do anything about it. Apparently, there were considerable financial matters at stake. I do not know all of the details, andat the time, I did not feel that it was enough of an explanation, but listening to the seamstress describe Martha’s circumstances gave me a different perspective on the choice that Emmeline made.”
Colin looked at Michael, impressed. “That is a significant change of thought.”
“It is.” Michael nodded in agreement. “I am beginning to see the courage and strength that such an action would have required.”
The two men turned down the street, heading toward the Green Dragon Tavern. The sound of footsteps echoing off the cobblestones behind them caused Michael to have an uneasy feeling in the base of his spine. Turning his head as if to say something to Colin, he used the corner of his eye to take a quick glance at who was there.
To his dismay, he found two very rough-looking men following behind them. Testing his theory that the men were there for them, Michael took a turn down another street, Colin following along with him by instinct. As Michael suspected, the men followed after them.
Michael spoke low so that the men behind them would not hear him. “My dear cousin, I do believe that we have drawn unwanted attention to ourselves.”
Colin gave him a short nod in understanding. “What do you want to do about it?”
“Perhaps we should delay our visit to the tavern. We would not want to be responsible for the ill-fated demise of anyone who helped us in our inquiries.”
Colin nodded in agreement. “Home or the club then?”
“Let us dine at the club. I do not wish to lead these men home if they do not already know where that is. We can discuss what to do from there.”
“Agreed. How long have they been following us?”
“I do not know, but we cannot risk leading them to anyone that we care about.” Michael would have rather turned around and confronted them, but that did not seem wise given where they were.
“We are supposed to meet with Emmeline to inform her of our findings,” Colin reminded him.
“I will send word that we have been delayed. It is better to have another sleepless night than it is to have her placed in danger.”
The thought of anything happening to Emmeline made Michael’s heart thunder in his chest with trepidation and rage. If anyone ever laid a hand on her, he would not be held responsible for his actions. “Perhaps we should remain at the club until morning. If they follow us there and remain, we can have the magistrate send his runners to follow them in turn.”
Colin grinned with mischief. “Now that is a good plan.”
Chapter 19
“The Earl of Ravenshollow and Mr. Colin Barrington to see you, my lady,” Mr. Hardy announced from the library doorway.
“Show them in, Mr. Hardy,” Emmeline instructed. She and Louisa exchanged a look before rising to meet their guests. Louisa had spent the night with Emmeline after she had received Michael’s message about being followed.
Moments later, Michael and Colin walked through the door, each looking tired, yet determined. “Ladies,” Michael greeted as he and Colin dropped into the chairs that Emmeline had gestured toward as they entered.
“Were you followed?” Emmeline asked as she came around to sit across from them, Louisa joining her on the settee.
Colin shook his head. “We took a long circuitous route to ensure that we were not.”
“I believe that the runners scared them away,” Michael admitted. “Apparently, the runners are not as stealthy as they believe themselves to be.”
Emmeline nodded in understanding. “While I would have preferred that they lead us to the dastardly fiends who have Rebecca, I am glad that neither of you was harmed.”
Michael nodded. “I, too, am disappointed that it did not lead to further clues; however, we have discovered something of interest.”
Emmeline’s brows rose in question. “What have you found?”
“We found a friend and business associate of Martha Gouldsmith, the laundress. She told us that Martha has also gone missing, just as the coachman had said. However, she did have more insight into her disappearance than the coachman did. Apparently, Martha also disappeared the night of the Vauxhall Garden concert.”
“Vauxhall?” Emmeline’s heart raced with a mix of trepidation and excitement.
