Page 125 of A Dangerous Lord (Regency Spies & Secrets 3)

“She isn’t,” Corbyn asserted. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything ever happened to her!” He tossed his hands up in the air. “Is that what you want to hear?”

“It’s a start,” Madalene replied.

“I can promise you that Jane is safer being far away from me,” he insisted.

“I contend that is not true.”

Before he could reply, the dowager marchioness stormed into the room, a panicked look on her face. “Has anyone seen Jane?” she asked.

Madalene shook her head. “I haven’t seen her since I returned from the orphanage.”

The elder Lady Hawthorne turned frantic eyes towards Baldwin. “Have you seen her?”

“I haven’t,” Baldwin replied. “But we only returned from an errand a short time ago.”

“This is not good,” the dowager marchioness said as she started pacing the small study. “The servants have scoured Hawthorne House, but there is no sign of her.”

“Perhaps she went riding,” Madalene suggested.

“She wouldn’t dare,” Baldwin said. “I ordered her to remain in the townhouse unless I am escorting her.”

“But we both know that Jane doesn’t always follow orders,” Madalene pressed.

The dowager marchioness stopped pacing. “I already checked,” she said. “Jane hasn’t visited the stables all day, and her horse is still in the stall.”

“Then where could she be?” Madalene asked.

“The last two people to see her were Oliver and Emmeline this morning in the entry hall,” the dowager marchioness revealed.

“Do they know where she went after that?” Baldwin asked.

“No, they left her alone in the entry hall,” the dowager marchioness replied.

Baldwin turned his attention towards Madalene. “When you spoke to Jane this morning, did she give you any indication she planned to sneak out?”

“She didn’t,” Madalene responded.

Oliver ran into the study with a folded piece of paper in his hand, his breathing labored. “I was searching the gardens and found a letter addressed to Corbyn.”

Corbyn stepped forward and accepted the piece of paper.

If you want Jane back alive, meet me where this all started at dusk. Come alone or Jane will die.

“What does it say?” Baldwin asked.

Corbyn crumbled the paper in his hand. “He wants to meet with me alone at dusk where this all started,” he shared.

“Where is that?”

“I have a fairly good idea.”

A determined gleam came to Baldwin’s eyes. “We need to come up with a plan to ensure Jane returns home safely.”

“My sentiments exactly,” Corbyn replied.

Chapter Seventeen

Jane awoke toa splitting headache. She groaned as she brought her hand to her head and felt her matted hair. What had happened?

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