Page 33 of A Scandalous Vow

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Eleven minutes and thirty-two seconds.Marc was a minute and thirty-two seconds off thanks to that damned Runner. Sometime before he died, he’d see that Blackaby paid for that. Of course, a minute and thirty-two seconds wasn’t the end of the world. He could have been much later, all things considered; but he had waited for this night for what felt like a lifetime. And he didn’t want to be even a second late, let alone a minute and thirty-two seconds. He paid the hack, and made a direct path for the mews and then back around to the servants’ entrance of StaveleyHouse.

As soon as Marc stepped over the threshold, he knew something was wrong. For one thing, the kitchen was fully lit, and for another, Caroline’s cook stood over the stove as though it was the middle of the day instead of the middle of thenight.

The woman looked at him as though he was a specter and then she let out an ear-piercing wail. Damn it all! The woman did have a set of lungs. And she could wake thebloodydead.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he said, trying to calm her over herscream.

And at that moment Simmons, blessed Simmons, rushed into the kitchens. He took one look at Marc and gestured toward the corridor behind him. “Mrs. Bradley,” the butler said in a calming voice. “Please do get ahold of yourself. Lord Haversham is here to help herladyship.”

Help? That wasn’t really the word Marc would use. Entertain her, perhaps. Seduce her, most definitely. Love her…well, he’d been doing that for years. But honestly any of those were more apt thanhelp, for God’ssakes.

“Oh!” The cook placed her hand over her heart as though to calm herself. “Frightened me almost todeath.”

And everyone else on Curzon Street, most likely. What an excitable servant. And why the devil was she even awake atthishour?

“Milord,” Simmons began, “Lady Staveley is in the white parlor. Do please hurry. She’s waitingforyou.”

Damn it all. Something was definitely wrong, then. Marc brushed past the excitable cook and toward his former butler. “What is it, Simmons?” he asked as he nearedtheman.

“It’s Miss Benton, sir. She seems to have gonemissing.”

“Missing?” Marc echoed, hoping he’d heard the servantincorrectly.

At Simmons’ nod, Marc bolted from the kitchens and navigated his way to Caroline’s parlor. The usually brave lady was shaking on her settee and looked more devastated than he’d everseenher.

“What happened?” hebreathedout.

Her gaze flashed up to his and then she started sobbing. “Rachel’sgone,Marc.”

He rushed to her side and took her hands in his. “Oh, my darling,” he soothed. “I’ll find her. Iswearit.”

She lifted her tear stained face up to his, and the sight nearly broke his heart. “I think someonetookher.”

That wouldn’t have been Marc’s first guess. Generally when a girl Rachel Benton’s agedisappeared, she left on her own accord. “Who wouldtakeher?”

She shrugged and her shoulders sagged forward. “Someone broke into the study some days ago and…they took David’s journal. And now I think they came back. And if Rachel stumbled upon whoeveritwas…”

He didn’t think it was exactly the best time to mention that he already knew about the break-in or the theft. “Why do you think theycameback?”

Caroline shrugged. “What else coulditbe?”

Well, Galloway wasn’t in the business of abducting sixteen-year-old girls, not generally. Marc supposed it wasn’t out of the question that the spymaster could be responsible, but had something like that transpired, Simmons would have taken care of the situation. Odds were, the girl wouldn’t have gone silently, had that been the case. No, Caroline’s thief theory didn’t hold much water. “You don’t think it’s more likely she’s run off to meet someyoungman?”

As though that thought hadn’t occurred to her at all, Caroline blinked up at him. “Oh, good heavens!Todayshe went to the museum with Lord Ambelcotte. She said it was to see his sisters, but what if she was lying tomeand…”

Marc shook his head again. “Not Ambelcotte. He was at Clayworth’s just now. Don’t you rememberseeinghim?”

“I don’t know what I remember.” She scrubbed a hand downherface.

Simmons cleared his throat from the threshold. “Nelly says Miss Benton’s nightrail was shoved under the counterpane, and a dark frock and cloak aremissing.”

So Rachel Benton left of her own accord. “Had someone come in, Caroline, they wouldn’t have made her change clothes, not without giving her time to alert Simmons or someone else to herplight.”

Caroline swallowed. “So she’s run off?” Her voice cracked as she said the words. “Oh my God. Whywouldshe…”

Marc took her hands in his and held them. He hated seeing her in so much pain. “Besides Ambelcotte, is there anyone else she’s mentioned? Even in passing?” Marc would turn Mayfair upside down and shake it until he found the girl, and once he had her in his grasp, she would never forget theexperience.

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