More Than a Lover (13 page)

‘If I sees him, I'll bring him,' he said sullenly.

‘There will be a reward for whoever finds him,' Caro said.

The lad visibly cheered. ‘How much?'

‘A pound,' Blade said.

‘We'll find him for you, mister, don't you worry.' The two boys shot off, planning how they would spend their money, no doubt.

With night getting closer, Blade felt his own sense of panic rise. Skepton wasn't a huge place, but it had its dark corners and unsavoury characters. Where to look next? As he stared around him, he had the feeling of something missing. Something that ought to be here, but was not.

Something or someone.

‘Where do you think we should look next?' Caro asked, her voice full of misery and fading hope. ‘Perhaps they got turned around and instead of going south, towards home, they went north.'

‘It is possible.'

He just wished he could think of what it was that was sitting at the edge of his vision and refusing to come into focus. ‘Who else was here the day we came together?'

She stared at him blankly, then frowned. ‘The boys playing cricket. An older couple out for a stroll. A nursemaid with a little girl.'

None of those were what he was seeking. He stared at Caro, trying to think. The tiny dried sprig pinned to her coat caught his gaze.

‘The flower girl,' they said in unison.

‘She is always here,' Caro said. ‘Every time we came, she was standing on that corner.'

‘Likely she leaves before it gets dark, but she might have seen them.'

‘Blast, those boys probably know where she lives, too.'

Blade pointed to the inn on the corner adjacent to where the flower girl sold her little posies. ‘Someone there will know.'

* * *

Caro didn't hesitate when they reached the door into the small inn beside the green. Blade did not know about her past, but she had spent more time inside similar taverns before she had been rescued by Merry than she cared to remember. He gave her an odd look as he held the door open for her to enter the taproom where a young man was polishing a pewter mug.

‘What can I do for you, sir?' the lad said in a broad Yorkshire accent. He glanced at Caro with a frown. ‘Miss,' he added.

‘We are looking for the flower girl who sells lavender on the other corner,' Blade said.

The lad's expression became less friendly. ‘What do you want with her?'

‘We need to talk to her,' Caro said. ‘Nothing else.'

‘What's she done?'

‘She has done nothing, as far as we know,' Blade answered. ‘But she might have seen something. We have lost a girl and a small boy, and we are hoping she might have seen which way they went.'

‘I don't suppose you saw them?' Caro asked, glancing at the small window facing the green. ‘She was wearing a blue cloak and he is about this high.' She gestured with her hand. ‘They would have been on the green at about three o'clock.'

The young man shook his head. ‘I was working out back then,' he said. ‘Sweeping the yard.'

‘But the flower girl might have seen them,' Caro said.

‘She might have.'

‘Do you know where we might find her?' Blade said, tossing a shilling in the air.

‘That I do, seeing as how she's my sister. You'll find her at home helping Ma get me da's tea ready for when he's finished at t'mill. I used to work there, too.' He held up a mangled hand. ‘Got me fingers caught, so now I do this.'

Blade pulled his wrist from his pocket and revealed a wicked-looking hook. ‘You have my sympathy, lad.'

The boy stared at the implement. ‘Stap me, it might almost be worth...' He glanced down at the twisted fingers clutching the rag.

‘It isn't,' Blade said. ‘Now tell us where we can find this sister of yours.'

Instead of giving them directions, the lad went in search of his employer and came back without his apron, saying he would take them to his dwelling. ‘It's a bit rough,' he explained. ‘They doesn't like strangers. They especially doesn't like soldiers.'

‘I am no longer a soldier,' Blade said stiffly, clearly not happy his calling had been instantly recognised.

‘Ah, but they wouldn't ask, like, would they?' The lad flashed a grin and led them out of the inn and into the part of town where Caro had found Linette the day before. Once again the panic in her chest, the tightness, the difficulty breathing. Would the girl have gone back to the abbess and taken Tommy with her if she was lost? Or was there some far more sinister reason she had taken Tommy? He must be terrified by now. He was a brave little man, but he would not understand what was happening. Would be asking for his mama. Wondering why she did not come to fetch him.

Guilt swamped her. If she had not let her wanton desires run rampant, this would never have happened. Heaven help her, if they found him she would never neglect her duty again. She promised.
Please.

They stopped at a small tenement near the edge of the town. ‘Wait here,' the tap boy, Bert, said. He went inside and they heard the clatter of his boots climbing the stairs.

Caro looked at Blade, who was looking very stern and very fierce. ‘Let me talk to the girl.' She didn't want her frightened into silence.

He nodded tersely. ‘Caro, I am sorry this happened.' He grimaced. ‘I feel as if this is my fault. I should have been on duty—'

‘I am equally to blame. I put her in charge of my son, when I knew nothing about her.'

They both subsided into silence. No doubt he had as many regrets as she did, and yet, no matter what happened, she would always treasure the memory of their time together. Wicked as it was, she knew she would. Because inside she really was the shameless hussy her father had named her.

Bert returned in a clatter of boots followed by the girl from whom they had bought lavender a few days before.

She looked worried and dipped a little curtsy. ‘Bert says you are wishin' to see me, ma'am...sir.'

‘You remember us?' Caro asked.

The smile the girl directed at Blade lit up her face and made her almost pretty despite her wind-chapped cheeks and a missing front tooth. ‘I do. Most generous the gentleman was.'

‘Do you recall the little boy with us?' Caro asked, forcing herself to speak calmly.

‘Oh, yes. Sweet little chap. Bert says you've lost him. He was at the green today.'

‘You saw him?' Caro's head spun. Blade caught her by the elbow, held her steady.

‘Oh, yes. Happy as anything he was, getting to drive such a grand carriage.' She looked at Blade. ‘Was it yours, sir?'

‘Drive a carriage?' Caro said, astonished. ‘Are you sure it was Tommy?'

‘Well, as to that, ma'am, I don't rightly know his name, but it was the lad who was with you when your man bought the lavender. Light hair. Blue eyes. Fair jumping up and down he was to get up on the box with the coachman.' She frowned. ‘I wondered at the girl letting him get up there, but she didn't seem to take no never mind about it, so—' She shrugged.

‘The girl with him,' Blade said quietly, clearly wanting to make sure he did not scare the young woman. ‘Did she go in the carriage also?'

‘Climbed right in, sir. A gentlemum opened t'door to her.'

‘Did you see the gentleman?'

‘No, sir. Just his arm when he opened the door.' She frowned. ‘He had on a black coat and yellow gloves.'

Just about every man in Yorkshire would fit that description.

Caro looked at Blade. ‘What do we do now?'

‘I don't suppose you recognised the carriage, did you?' Blade asked.

The girl gave him another winsome smile and Caro felt a squeezing pang behind her breastbone. Really? She was jealous? After her promise? She took a deep breath, quelling such a stupid sensation.

‘It looked like a hired carriage,' the girl said.

‘Did it? What makes you say that?'

‘Has a sign on it. Words.'

‘What did it say?' Caro asked.

‘I'm sorry, mum. I don't know. But it was green. The Green Man rents out a coach what's green.'

‘It do,' Bert said.

Blade looked thoughtful, then pulled out a shilling. ‘You've been very helpful, Miss...'

‘Daisy,' the girl said, shaking her head. ‘I don't want your money, sir. Not for helping a little lad find his way home.'

‘Then take it as an advanced payment for lavender sprigs. I'll have one every time I see you,' Blade said.

‘Go on with you, sir,' the girl said, refusing the coin. ‘You pays when you sees me.' The girl spun around and went back indoors.

‘Us Mullhollands are good people,' the boy said proudly. ‘Pleased to help, sir.'

‘Thank you,' Blade said with a bow.

The boy tipped his hat and ran off.

‘I suppose now we go to the Green Man,' Caro said.

‘We do,' Blade replied, his tone grim.

‘Who do you think was in that carriage?' Caro asked, racking her brains trying to understand what was going on.

‘A man by the name of Butterworth,' Blade said.

Caro's mouth dropped open in astonishment.

‘Come on,' Blade said. ‘I'll explain as we go. We need to hurry.'

Chapter Ten

B
lade was furious. At himself, but more importantly at the innkeeper, who had told him that Butterworth had left two days before, but had neglected to mention the hire of a carriage.

While he fervently wished Caro safe at the Haven, he didn't bother to suggest he take her home first. She wouldn't have listened. To tell himself the truth, in her position he would not have listened either. Who was this Butterworth character and why had he chosen to abduct Tommy? Did he plan to use the lad to bleed Tonbridge?

‘Do you think he's seeking a ransom?' Caro asked, so in tune with his own thoughts it struck him as eerie. And there was hope in her tone, which was strange to say the least.

‘If so, a note might have arrived after we left,' he said. ‘We'll have to go back and see, but I think we should at least find out what the innkeeper knows before we do.'

She nodded her agreement.

As they arrived at the Green Man,
Ned came running up. ‘He left town on the box of a carriage rented from here,' he gasped. ‘Tommy was trying to take a turn at the reins and nearly ran an old fellow down at the crossroads. Still blaspheming he was, when I found him sitting on his—' He turned bright red. ‘Sorry, Mrs Falkner.' He bent over, winded. ‘When I didn't find you back at the house, I thought to come here and see if the landlord knew where he was going.'

‘Good plan, Ned. Please remain here with Mrs Falkner while I see to matters inside.'

‘I'm coming with you,' she said.

‘It would be better—'

Her glare stopped him cold. ‘Very well, but please do not interfere. This time I am asking the questions.'

He marched in. As luck would have it, the landlord was coming down the stairs into the dark panelled entrance hall. ‘Mr Read,' the landlord said. While his lips smiled, his eyes darted about looking for escape.

Blade let him get two steps towards the kitchen, then trapped him against the wall. ‘Tell me again about how Butterworth left two days ago and never said where he was going.'

‘Mr Read, how dare you, sir?' the greasy fellow protested, his foul breath making Blade want to gag.

Blade lifted his left hand and placed the point of his hook very close to the landlord's eye. ‘I dare because I am stronger than you and better armed. Not to mention that Butterworth has abducted a child and when he is caught, and he will be, you will be an accessory.'

The man shrivelled like a punctured pig's bladder. He swallowed noisily. ‘He never said nothing about no abduction. Him nor his doxy.'

Blade's gut knotted. ‘His doxy?'

‘Well, she weren't his wife. Proper slut she was, pretending to be all innocent like. Proper took me in till my missus figured out her game.'

Blade swallowed a curse. The landlord was not the only one who had been gulled.

He released the man. ‘So they rented your carriage. Where were they going?'

‘York.'

Caro's face blanched. And yet for once she said nothing. She was simply staring, her expression one of pure terror.

‘You didn't object to him taking your carriage such a distance?' Blade asked.

‘The landlord at the Bull will send it back with his driver and a few bottles I ordered,' he said sullenly. ‘Do it all the time, I does.'

‘And where did they say they were going once they reached York?'

The man shrugged. ‘He paid me well enough not to ask questions.'

‘Ned,' Blade said.

‘On my way, sir.'

Ned would ask all the people who worked at the inn and anyone else who might possibly have information.

‘I must go to York,' Caro said, already making for the door. ‘I must catch up with them before they—' She stopped herself.

He caught her arm to slow her down. ‘First we return to the Haven.'

She nodded. ‘Of course. I need a conveyance. Merry's phaeton would be the fastest, but I have never driven such a vehicle. I will take the gig.'

His jaw dropped. ‘You don't think you are going alone.'

Her shoulders straightened. ‘This is none of your concern, Mr Read.'

Of course it wasn't. And naturally they were back to the formalities.

* * *

Her worst nightmare had happened. All because she had let down her guard. Let her desire for this man, her wantonness, scramble her wits.

She hurried along the street, Blade easily keeping pace with her, though thankfully not insisting she take his arm. The slightest kindness from him and she might burst into tears. She did not have time for tears. She must find Tommy. Get him back. It had been late in the afternoon when Tommy got into the carriage, so surely this Butterworth would be forced to stop somewhere on the road. But what would she do then? Most likely he'd want money. And heaven help her, what a fool she'd been, she'd used almost every penny she had to pay the madam at the brothel.

She broke into a run.

Blade grabbed her arm and swung her around. ‘Stop!' he said in a low harsh voice. ‘What the devil is going on here?'

She tugged at her arm, but he did not let her go. She glared at him. ‘You know perfectly well what is going on.' She turned her glare on a couple who had stopped to watch them. They hurried away. She lowered her voice. ‘Tommy has been abducted and I have to get him back.'

‘I know that,' he said bitterly. ‘Here I was worrying about radicals out to do Tonbridge harm and all the time this was about you and Tommy. You should have told me you were in trouble.'

‘I wasn't in trouble until you came along,' she muttered. ‘And what do you mean by
this
?'

He flinched, but didn't let her go. ‘I believe it was Butterworth you heard open the door to the carriage up on the moors.'

Her stomach fell away. ‘You think he caused the accident?' A shudder went through her. ‘He killed Mr Garge?'

‘I doubt if that was deliberate, but I think he intended to stop the carriage. Had you planned to take Tommy with you to York?'

It was beginning to come clear to her, too, now. ‘Yes. At the last moment, he had a touch of gripe and I decided to leave him behind with Beth.'

‘Somehow Butterworth learned he was to go with you. It must have come as a shock to discover you alone in the carriage. Why does he want the child? You are hardly a wealthy woman.'

He would despise her if he knew the truth. ‘I don't know.'

He cursed softly. ‘I'm not letting you take another step until you tell me what is going on.' He edged her against the wall of a building to allow other people to pass by them. He frowned at her. ‘Is your husband still alive? Have you run to keep Tommy from him?'

The disgust in his voice cut like a whip. The truth formed on her tongue. She couldn't tell him. She just couldn't. All these years she'd managed to keep the facade intact. If they reached Tommy in time there would be no need for him or anyone else to know. Tears welled up and almost choked her, but she had to tell him something. ‘Tommy's father is dead. I swear it. Now, can we please go after him?'

Relief showed on his face, but he shook his head. ‘Tell me, Caro. When you learned he had been abducted, you were not surprised. You were shocked. You were frightened. But not in the least surprised. Why?'

She sagged against the wall. The man was not going to let her go until she told him. ‘Tommy's father died before Tommy was born. I don't know for certain, but I am guessing Tommy's grandparents have employed Butterworth to take him from me.'

‘His grandparents?' To her relief, he tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow and started walking. ‘You can tell me the rest as we go.'

She quickened her pace to keep up with his long stride. ‘There is nothing else to tell. They want Tommy.'

‘Is it such a bad thing?'

‘They want him, but not me.'

‘I see.' His tone was as grim. ‘Who are they?'

If he hadn't figured it out, she saw no reason to tell him. ‘It doesn't matter. I will not see my son brought up without me. I cannot do it.'

‘I agree. All children need their mothers.'

She looked up at him, at the hard look on his face, and wanted to hug him for that small bit of comfort, but right then he looked far from huggable. He was glaring at the pavement.

‘Surely the settlements should have dealt with this issue,' he finally said. ‘Or your father can convince them it would be better for all if you stayed with Tommy...' His voice trailed off. ‘There is something you aren't telling me.'

Bile rose in her throat. ‘All that matters is that I find Tommy. Then we will move on. Find somewhere to live where they will not find us. I should never have stayed here this long.'

‘Who is Tommy's father?'

Dare she trust him? If he took sides with Carothers's parents, she would likely never see her son again.

‘If you don't tell me, I will find out. Butterworth will tell me.'

Since he would not allow her to search for Tommy by herself. What was it that she had thought about him? That he was the knight in shining armour she had dreamed of as a girl? And hadn't she once thought the same about Carothers? But Blade was different. Like a knight of old, he would not let a woman go on a quest alone. If at all.

‘Let him tell you, then.' Once she had Tommy back, she did not care what Butterworth said, because she'd run. Start again. The thought of it made her feel weak at the knees. Made the back of her nose burn with angry tears.

He let go a sigh. When he spoke again his voice was weary, pained. ‘Fine. Keep your secrets. It really is none of my business, but I will help you get Tommy back.'

She had hurt him. She hadn't wanted to, but she had. And that made something inside her ache. But her feelings did not matter. What mattered was her son. He would be wondering where she was. Why she had not come to fetch him. Why, oh, why had she ever let him out of her sight? She knew why and the knowledge was bitter.

At the Haven's front door he stopped her with a hand on her sleeve. ‘I promise you, we will find him.'

The determination in his eyes lifted her spirits. He was a man who would always do his best to keep his promises. She trusted him, when she trusted so very few people any more.

But she did not dare trust him with her heart.

‘Then we need to hurry,' she said briskly.

* * *

Heartsick for Caro and for her son, Blade watched her disappear through the front door. The woman was blaming herself for what had happened. Blaming herself for indulging in a few moments of stolen pleasure and leaving her son unguarded.

But usually a child did not need to be guarded, not an ordinary child of an ordinary woman. He wished she would trust him with her secrets. It might make the task of finding her son a great deal easier. Did Charlie know? Or Merry? There was no time to ask.

Tommy was alone with strangers and likely terrified. Blade could remember like yesterday the anguish of abandonment. The sheer terror of being alone with people he did not know.

Who were these grandparents who wanted the child? He believed her when she said it was not the father... Then whose parents? Her parents? The father's? And why did she not want to tell him? Well, there would be no hiding it once they caught up to the boy. Hopefully, they would be in time to stop Butterworth from handing the child over before some agreement was worked out.

Blade couldn't help feeling sympathy for the grandparents' predicament if Caro was refusing to grant them any access to their grandson. It wasn't right that the child should not know other members of his family, but it was the wrong way to solve the problem, as he knew only too well.

He entered the stables and found Ned readying Tonbridge's now-repaired carriage.

‘What did you learn from the stable lads at the Green Man?'

‘Not much. The carriage was hired to go to York. Butterworth rented it to visit friends on his way to York, where he planned to hire a post-chaise for London.'

And they were at least three hours ahead. ‘When you are done there, saddle Apollo for me, would you?' Mrs Falkner wouldn't want to be seen closed up in the carriage with a single gentleman. She guarded her reputation very carefully and rightly so. And he'd been a blackguard to take advantage of her loneliness. No doubt part of her reluctance to trust him.

Leaving Ned to finish up, he ran up to his room and packed a valise.

* * *

When he returned downstairs, the coach was already waiting in the courtyard with Ned on the box and Caro ensconced inside—alone. He frowned. That he had not expected. ‘Where is Beth?'

‘I cannot leave the Haven unattended,' she said calmly. ‘Our door is always open to women in need.' She took a deep breath. ‘And the fewer people who know about this the better.'

A woman had her pride, in other words. And he was not about to rob her of that.

‘Will you dither about all day or will you get in?' she said.

‘I'm riding.'

She looked surprised and relieved. He tried not to feel hurt. She was, after all, a lady and he was not really a gentleman. He never had been.

He got up on the box and had Ned help him on with his riding coat while he issued instructions. ‘My guess is he will drive through the night. He is supposed to go to the Bull, but I'm not banking on it. The man is as slippery as a bucket full of eels.'

This Butterworth chap had done this sort of thing before. He'd hidden his intentions well or Blade might have tumbled to what he was about more quickly. The man hadn't fitted any of Blade's theories about the radical element in Skepton because he wasn't part of it.

Blade should have realised that his interest was not Tonbridge, but Mrs Falkner. He only appeared when she was about. Not surprisingly, it had never occurred to him that such a respectable woman would have enemies.

Ned grinned at him. ‘Like old times, Captain. Glad of it, too. I was getting right bored.'