Page 77 of Tempting the Earl

“Good luck,” she whispered before lifting her chin to press a quick kiss to his lips.

The gesture was brief and impulsive, but he savored it all the same as he strode from the room. Within minutes of passing instructions to Shaw, a note was sent to Bentley and a horse had been brought around.

Fear and trepidation settled in his stomach like a lead ball, but he refused to accept he might lose Owen right when he’d finally found him.

Chapter Twenty-six

Nearly two hours later, as Colin returned home, his only desire was to find Ainsworth, toss her over his shoulder, and carry her back to his bedroom.

His heart ached. His head ached. And his body ached from the tension of the last hours.

At least he and Roderick had been successful in delaying the examination. The magistrate very strongly believed the boy to be guilty of killing a man during a robbery gone awry, but he agreed to postpone proceedings for another twenty-four hours on the impossible chance evidence could be scrounged up to prove Owen’s innocence. In the end, it was a promise of fiscal support to his office which had convinced the man to give even that small concession. Luckily, he hadn’t forced them to explain the reason for their interest in a violent criminal from St. Giles, though it was clear he was curious why a highly prestigious lord of the realm and the wealthy owner of a gentleman’s club would come pleading on behalf of a street lad.

Unfortunately, the magistrate hadn’t allowed them to speak with Owen despite every threat or incentive they tossed out to sway him. He’d staunchly claimed the boy was dangerous and had to be kept under strict guard at all times. No exceptions.

Anxious to return to his wife with an update, Roderick insisted Colin immediately send word once he heard from Nightshade. Colin agreed, seeing the same frustrated helplessness he was struggling to manage in his brother’s tense form.

There had to be more they could do.

What if Nightshade was unable to find any proof of the boy’s innocence? What if—and he hated to even consider it, but there was a definite possibility—Owen was guilty?

Could his privilege as a peer keep his brother from the gallows?

The questions weighed heavily on his mind as he stepped through his front door to see Ainsworth standing in the hall as though she’d been waiting for him. Relief and desire were triggered instantly at the sight of her, but both reactions lasted only a moment as he noticed the obvious distress on her face.

“What’s the matter?”

She began shaking her head before she could form the words. “Caillie’s gone.”

His heart dropped at the raw fear in her voice. “What do you mean?”

“I mean she’s gone. I can’t find her anywhere.”

Crossing the hall, he took her trembling hands firmly in his. “Tell me what you know,” he said in as even a tone as he could manage while his chest squeezed and his stomach twisted with limitless dread.

She took a deep breath. “After you left, I went to wait for her in the breakfast room. In my distraction, I didnae note how much time had passed until I happened to glance at the clock and realized she should’ve come down some time ago. When I went in search of her, I found her bedroom empty. As well as the schoolroom.” Her hands gripped his. “I’ve just finished searching the house and questioning everyone I encountered. A maid said she saw her come downstairs quite early this morning, possibly even before we met with Mr. Davies in the library. But no one’s seen her since.”

“That may not be true,” Shaw noted as he hastened toward them from the back hallway.

Ainsworth released his hands as she spun to face the butler. “Someone saw her?”

Shaw nodded. “I’ve just spoken with a peddler who plies his wares along our street. Although he didn’t see a young girl, he does claim to have witnessed a black and white dog getting into a hired hack nearly two hours ago.”

“Bramble,” Ainsworth breathed as she looked to Colin with wide eyes.

“I don’t know of any dogs that’d hail a cab on their own,” the butler observed.

“Where was the cab heading?” Colin asked.

The butler shook his head sadly. “The peddler couldn’t say.”

Ainsworth made a soft sound, drawing his attention. “If she was already downstairs when we met with Mr. Davies, she may have heard us in the library. It’s entirely possible she might’ve...” She paused, then muttered, “The girl has a terrible habit of eavesdropping, and if she did...” She met Colin’s questioning gaze with a light of possibility in her eyes. “I think I ken where she went.”

FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, they were in a carriage racing toward the White Crow Inn.

“Are you sure she’d just leave like that and take a hack across town on her own?” Colin asked, hopeful and fearful at the same time.

Ainsworth nodded, the gesture appearing confident in a stubborn I-have-to-believe-it-because-there’s-no-other-acceptable-option sort of way.

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