Page 90 of Embracing the Earl (The St. Clairs 3)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Luke arrived atEvie’s Bookstore and Tearoom an hour before its ten o’clock opening, knowing that was the time the employees reported. Jeremy and Evan insisted upon accompanying him. They’d agreed if they learned something from Stinch, they might have to break up in order to cover more ground.

He pounded on the locked door and, through the glass, saw a clerk scurry his way. Without opening the door, the man said, “We’re not open, sir.”

“Get Mr. Stinch,” Luke demanded, glaring at the clerk, who quickly retreated.

Less than a minute later, the manager arrived and opened the door. “Lord Mayfield. Lord Merrick. Your Grace. Please, come in.”

The three men entered and Stinch closed and relocked the door.

Before Luke could speak, the former butler said, “I don’t know where Lady Caroline is.”

“But she’s gone?” he asked.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Tell me everything,” he insisted.

Stinch glanced to the three clerks who seemed overly interested in the conversation. “Let’s go back to her office,” he suggested.

They went through the doors and as they arrived at Caroline’s office, Luke saw Walton at the desk.

He stopped. “What are you doing in there?”

Walton shot to his feet. “I’m the new bookkeeper, my lord,” he said nervously. “Lady Caroline offered me the job and use of this office.”

“When?”

“On Saturday.”

“Where did she go?”

Stinch answered. “We’re not sure, my lord. Lady Caroline told me she’d learned of her father’s murder. She hadn’t known the circumstances of his death. She felt it best for Evie’s if she stepped away from being seen here on a daily basis. She mentioned going to the country.”

Walton added, “I’m to send her monthly reports regarding both establishments. She said she would send a forwarding address soon.”

Despair filled Luke. Caroline had simply vanished—and he hadn’t a clue where to search for her.

“I believe you could contact Mr. Higgins,” Stinch said. “I saw him give her a key yesterday morning. He may have arranged for a place she could stay.” He looked to Walton. “Did you hear her say anything to the driver when you took her trunk out to the cab?”

“No, but as I left, something odd happened.”

“What?” Luke prompted, desperate for any helpful clue.

“I accompanied Lady Caroline to Leland Netherby’s bookstore before Evie’s opened. He invited her to come speak to him and was quite rude to her, insisting Evie’s would fail and that he’d rally his fellow booksellers to ensure it did.”

“What does that have to do with Lady Caroline’s departure?” Jeremy asked impatiently.

“As she left yesterday, a clerk from Netherby’s approached her. In fact, I saw him climb into the cab with her. I wondered if Netherby had a change of heart and wished to see her. It’s all I can think of.”

“And you don’t know where she was going after that?” Evan asked.

Both Stinch and Walton shook their heads.

“Let’s go to Netherby’s Bookshop first,” Luke said. “If we learn nothing there, we can visit Higgins and see what he can tell us. Thank you, gentlemen.”

“Wait,” Walton said. “Might I go with you? I could point out the clerk. He could possibly know where Lady Caroline went to after she left his employer’s bookstore.”

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