Love Sneaked In (Montgomery Family Trilogy) (36 page)

Sitting on the bastard with his hands around the man’s neck, Matthew yelled, “If either one of these children are harmed in anyway, you’re a dead man! Now, where…is…my…wife?”

With each word he bellowed, he threw another punch until the man’s face was bleeding, and his eyes were swollen shut. Just as he got ready to hit him one more time, the bastard called out, “Th’ man what ‘ired us was takin’ ‘er t’ Lunnon t’ a brothel. I…I…don’t know th’ name o’ it or th’ name o’ th’ man what ‘ired us, but just know it’s in Lunnon! Please don’t ‘urt me no more.”

Matthew rolled the thug over, took a rope from Peter, and tied him up. Matthew threw the bastard over his horse, took his sons from Peter, cradled them in their slings, and mounted his horse. Peter took the reins of the horse carrying the thug and pulled it behind his. They stopped at the first coaching inn they came to, and Matthew paid for a room so he could clean his sons up.

When Matthew tried to remove their dirty linen, it stuck to them, so he had to wait for the water. It was obvious that they hadn’t been changed the entire time they’d been gone. When the tub of warm water arrived, Matthew began bathing them, but they remained asleep, which frightened Matthew since his sons should have responded when he put them in the bath. Their linen was stuck to their skin, and he had to soak it to get it off their bottoms and their little legs.

When Matthew saw the red welts all over their groin, buttocks, and thighs, he wanted to go downstairs and beat that thug into a blooding pulp again. Once he had them cleaned up, the innkeeper’s wife brought him some clean linen so he could use them as nappies. His sons finally began to whimper. Before long, they were crying loudly.

Matthew knew they were starving and sent Peter to find some milk. The innkeeper’s wife brought him some goat’s milk, and once his sons were fed, they fell back to sleep.

Thank God they were alive.

Now he had to get them home so he could go after Helen.

Who would do this horrible deed?

He wished that the thug had at least given him a name. Then he would have a clue as to who was behind the abduction.

The next day, Matthew and Peter arrived home with the children, and he turned his sons over to the wet nurse. Finally, he knew his sons were safe and would be cared for. Mildred crooned gently to his sons, then said, “Milord, I’ll put some salve on their little bottoms, and they’ll be right as rain in no time. I promise t’ take good care o’ both o’ th’ little tikes.” Once his sons were settled, Matthew sent a message to Sanderford, hoping he could get the search for Helen started.

Matthew turned the thug over to the magistrate, but before he did, he made the bastard describe the person who hired him. All the thug could really tell him was that the man was medium height and overweight, with light brown hair and brown eyes. There were no distinguishing marks on the man, but he did tell him that he spoke and dressed like a gentleman.

As much as Matthew wanted to leave immediately to go find Helen, he knew he had to get some sleep. Once he knew his sons would be fine, he went to bed and slept for about eight hours.

When he got up, Peter was already up and ready to leave. “You need to let me come with you. I promise I won’t slow you down. I’m excellent on horseback. Besides, you’re going to need help when you get to London. I can help you look for her.”

Matthew sighed. “Peter, I appreciate your help, and you’ve already proven to me that you can keep up, so I definitely want you to come with me. Make sure you send a note to Margaret letting her know what’s going on. I’m sure she must be worried.”

Before they left, Matthew ordered Wells to hire some guards and told him to make sure his sons were never left alone for any reason, not even for five minutes. Whoever was behind this could try to steal the twins again, and he wasn’t taking any chances. Matthew knew Helen must be out of her mind at the thought of what could be happening to her children.

They made it to London in two days because they only stopped to change horses and get a bite to eat. They went straight to Sanderford House and Melody greeted them. “Matthew, Henry’s already begun the search for Helen. I know you want to go find her, but you look exhausted, and if you get sick you won’t be able to search for her at all. Henry’s out there right now with Weston and Hayden. They’re combing all the brothels in town. He’ll find her. Let me show you to your rooms so you can get some rest. I promise I’ll wake you just as soon as Henry gets back.”

Matthew went upstairs to his room and climbed into the bed without even removing his clothes and fell into an exhausted sleep. Since he’d only slept for no more than twelve hours in the last week, he slept for ten hours straight. When he woke up, he ordered a bath and shaved. When he arrived downstairs, Melody told him that Henry was still out searching, but he’d sent word that he would be home soon. Matthew went into the breakfast room and filled a plate. He didn’t feel like eating, but he knew Melody was right—he needed to eat so he didn’t get sick. Peter was already in the breakfast room when he got there.

Peter took a sip of his coffee, and then set it down. “You look better. Were you able to sleep? I was so exhausted I slept like the dead.”

“Yes, and I feel ready to get out there and find my wife. I just wish Sanderford would get back so I can find out what he’s been doing.” Just as he was finishing his breakfast, Sanderford arrived. He looked like hell, and it was obvious he hadn’t slept for quite a while. After Sanderford entered the breakfast room, Matthew jumped up out of his seat, sending it crashing to the floor. “Sanderford, have you gotten any leads on where my wife is? Where have you been concentrating your search?”

Henry shook his head, and with a look of utter exhaustion on his face, he replied, “I’ve searched every brothel in London, and there’s no sign of her anywhere. I don’t know where else to look.”

“Oh God!!” Matthew exclaimed, “Where could she be?”

Wearily shaking his head, Henry asked, “This thug couldn’t give you a name or anything? I’ve had several of my friends out looking with me, but I’m at a loss on what direction we should take. So far, no one knows she’s missing except for Weston and Hayden. The scandal would be unbearable if word gets out about Helen being in a brothel. I feel we need to hire a Bow Street Runner. They’re trained to handle situations like this.”

“That’s an excellent idea! How do we go about getting one? Whatever it costs, I’ll pay. I have to get Helen back! The word is out back in Devonshire about Helen being abducted, but no one knows she’s been taken to a brothel. I’m not concerned about a scandal for me, but I know Helen would be devastated if she were no longer accepted by the ton.”

God, this was so frustrating.

They needed to find her now!

Henry rubbed the day’s growth of beard on his face, looking utterly exhausted. “Do you have any idea who could be behind this? Do you have any enemies that would want to get to you through Helen?”

Matthew began pacing the room. “I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out who could be behind this. From the description given to me by the thug who took my sons, he has brown hair and is portly, but no identifying features at all. He did say the man who hired them was probably a gentleman.”

“Well, I’ll send word around to Bow Street for the runner,” Henry explained. “We’ll tell him what you do know. Hopefully getting one of them on the case will help.”

The Bow Street Runner arrived, and Matthew told him everything he knew. Kathryn had a miniature she had painted of Helen last year, so they gave it to the runner. That way he would know what Helen looked like. He told them he would get right on it, assuring them that he would find her as soon as possible.

After two days of continuous searching, there was still no sign of Helen. She’d been missing for eight days now, and they didn’t have a clue where she could be. Obviously, she hadn’t been taken for ransom, since there had been no demands for money. Matthew couldn’t imagine who could be behind this.

Who would hate Helen this much?

Wait a minute!

Oh God…he had a sick feeling in his stomach.

There was someone who hated Helen vehemently…Cecilia. Surely, she couldn’t be involved in this. She would have to have had help. He’d better tell Sanderford about Cecilia and he was definitely not looking forward to
that
conversation.

Rushing into Henry’s study, Matthew took a deep breath, and then blurted out, “Sanderford…I need to talk to you about something. I’ve thought of someone who has a grudge against me. I can’t believe she would be involved, but she does feel she has a reason to hate Helen.” God, he didn’t want to tell Sanderford this, but he knew he had to, if there was a chance it could help find Helen. “I…I had a mistress when I first married Helen.”

Henry stood up so fast his chair fell over. “You what? You’re telling me you had a mistress when you married my sister? How could you do something like that?”

He knew Sanderford would react this way, and he didn’t blame him a bit. If it were his sister, he’d be angry too. “I know how stupid I was. I broke it off with her just as soon as I got back to Collingswood, but my mistress didn’t take it well at all. Afterward, Cecilia treated Helen badly every time we saw her socially. So, right before Christmas, Helen confronted me, and I told her the whole sordid story. I love my wife, and I’ve been paying for my stupidity ever since she found out about Cecilia. She’s the only one I can think of who could be behind this.”

Henry looked at Matthew. His blue eyes had turned to ice. “We need to tell the runner about this so he can investigate this possible lead. But I’m telling you right now Collingswood, if one hair on her head is hurt,
you
are a dead man.”

“Believe me,” Matthew replied, “if she’s been hurt in any way at all, I’ll give you the gun to shoot me with.”

Oh God, please let Helen be all right.

They sent a message to the runner, and he came over straightaway. Matthew had to tell the whole ignominious story all over again, and he could see the look of disdain in Sanderford’s eyes as he retold his story.

The Bow Street Runner stroked his chin. “This woman is probably behind this. There’s no fury like a woman scorned. She probably thinks that if your wife is out of the picture you’ll come back to her. I meant to ask you earlier, has anything else happened to your wife that’s suspicious?”

Oh God, he really didn’t want to tell this!

He knew how Sanderford was going to react.

“Helen fell off her horse last fall…the girth had been cut.” Matthew looked over at Henry and reminded him, “Remember, you came and even tried to help figure out what had happened?”

Henry shouted, “Are you telling me that the riding accident was an attempt on Helen’s life? Has anything else happened that we need to know about?”

Matthew hung his head as he answered, “Helen was in a carriage accident right before Christmas and the wheel came off. When we checked out the carriage…it looked as if the wheel had been tampered with.”

Sanderford grabbed him by the throat, threw him up against the wall, and pounded his fists into Matthew’s face. The Bow Street Runner tried to pull him off, but Henry was in such a rage that it was impossible. Matthew did nothing to defend himself, because he knew he deserved every punch that Sanderford threw. Melody came rushing into the room and saw Matthew and Henry fighting.

Running over to Henry, Melody shouted, “What is going on in here? Henry, stop this right now! Why are you hitting Matthew?”

Henry let go of Matthew, and he slid to the floor. Sanderford looked at Matthew with such venom that he knew he would hate him forever. “I’ll tell you why! This
bastard
is the reason Helen’s been taken. He had a mistress when he married Helen, and evidently the woman has decided that it’s Helen’s fault that this idiot didn’t marry her instead!”

Melody’s eyes filled with tears as she looked over at Matthew, shaking her head. “I knew they were having some problems, but Helen never gave me any details in her letters. All she said was that they were working them out. Oh Matthew, how could you do something like that? Helen didn’t deserve such shabby treatment. She’d already been hurt by someone else, and then to be hurt again by her husband.”

“I know, this is all my fault,” Matthew replied. “Oh God…I’ll die if anything has happened to her!”

With tears in her eyes, Melody said, “We’ve got to find her immediately. It’s only been three weeks since she had the twins. She could be dreadfully injured if she does end up in a brothel and is forced to have…have…” With an embarrassed expression on her face, she continued, “Uh…umm…relations with a man. Not to mention the emotional damage that itwould cause.”

Melody was right. And any harm that came to her would be his doing.

Oh, why did he have to be such an idiot!

He should have broken up with Cecilia before he ever went to London. That was one mistake that he’d have to live with for the rest of his life and if anything happened to Helen, he didn’t think he could go on. When he saw the look in Melody’s eyes, it almost brought him to his knees. Even if they did get Helen back, she would probably never want to see him again. Helen would certainly hate him for putting her through this hell.

Everyone turned their back on him. Matthew hung his head, and quietly left the room.

Chapter 23

April 1821

Helen woke up to find herself bound, gagged, and in a hovel. She didn’t have any idea where she was. She just knew they’d traveled for days. Louis had given her some food, but she couldn’t eat for worry over her children. All he would tell her was that they were safe, and that he wouldn’t hurt them as long as she cooperated.

Oh Lord, please keep my children safe, and help Matthew find me,
she prayed.

She wondered what Matthew was doing. She knew he must be frantic with all of them gone. He wouldn’t even know she’d been separated from their sons. She hoped he would find her soon, because she had a bad feeling about what Louis had planned for her.