Chapter 1 #3
“I wish you well, my lord. Now, please leave my home.”
The dismissal was unmistakable. For a moment, he seemed uncertain. Then he bowed.
“Good evening, Lady Jane.”
Jane watched him disappear into the crowd. Oddly, she felt lighter. Not because the engagement had ended, but because she knew she had escaped something. A lifetime with a man who would abandon her whenever circumstances became inconvenient.
“Jane!”
She barely had time to turn before Lavinia wrapped her arms around her. Jane hugged her back automatically. The familiar warmth nearly unraveled her composure.
“Oh, thank heavens you’re unharmed.”
“So far.”
Lavinia pulled back immediately. “What happened? Has anyone found Lord Wynten?”
Jane shook her head. “No.”
Fear flashed across her friend’s face. “Oh, Jane.”
Jane swallowed. “Maltby just ended our engagement.”
Lavinia froze. “What?”
“He said he cannot be associated with this scandal.”
For one brief moment, Lavinia looked genuinely speechless. Then outrage flooded her face. “That absolute bastard.”
Despite everything, a startled laugh escaped Jane. “Lavinia!”
“I mean it.” Her friend planted her hands on her hips. “What sort of man abandons his fiancée immediately after her brother is kidnapped?” Lavinia said, “He wasn’t worth marrying anyway.”
Jane sighed. “That may be true.”
“It is true.” Lavinia squeezed her hands. “You deserve far better.”
“I need to see my mother,” Jane said resolutely.
“Of course.”
Jane hesitated. Then she squeezed Lavinia’s fingers.
Lavinia’s expression softened. “We’ll help however we can.”
Emotion tightened Jane’s throat unexpectedly. “Thank you.”
“Always.”
The certainty in her friend’s voice nearly made Jane cry. Instead, she hugged Lavinia one final time.
Then, she left the ballroom.
Servants moved quickly from room to room. Jane climbed the staircase two steps at a time. When she reached the blue drawing room, she pushed open the door.
Her mother was awake. The relief hit so suddenly that Jane nearly stumbled. Two footmen stood nearby waving a fan. The housekeeper hovered protectively at Lady Wynten’s side.
The moment her mother saw her, tears flooded her eyes.
“Jane!”
Jane hurried forward. Her mother grabbed both her hands. “Where is he?”
Jane felt her own eyes sting. “We don’t know yet.”
Lady Wynten began crying again. “Oh, God.”
Jane sat beside her. “We’ll find him.”
“What if they hurt him?”
Jane’s stomach twisted painfully because she had been trying not to think exactly that.
“We don’t know that they will,” Jane said, swallowing against the lump in her throat.
“They pointed guns at him.” Her mother’s voice rose as she verged on hysteria.
“I know.”
“What if he’s frightened?”
Jane closed her eyes briefly. She pictured her brother, but she couldn’t picture him scared. He would be brave, come what may.
“We’ll bring him home,” she said firmly.
Her mother clung to her hands. “What if they kill him?”
The room fell silent. Even the servants looked away. Jane refused to allow herself to imagine it.
“No.”
Her mother blinked. She looked as if someone had slapped her.
Jane forced herself to soften her voice. “We are not giving up on him.”
Lady Wynten nodded shakily. A footman shifted nearby. The movement caught Jane’s attention. A plan started to formulate in her brain.
“You,” she said.
The servant immediately straightened. “My lady?”
“Help Mrs. Watkins manage the departing guests,” Jane said. She wasn’t used to being in charge, but someone had to be.
“Yes, my lady.”
“And send for the authorities immediately.”
The footman nodded. “They’ve already been summoned.”
“Good.”
The servant hurried away. Jane returned her attention to her mother. Lady Wynten looked exhausted, terrified, years older.
“What are we going to do?” she whispered.
Jane wished that she knew. Instead she squeezed her mother’s hand.
“We wait for the authorities,” Jane said.
“And then?”
Jane wanted to say that then they would find Colin, and everything would be okay. She couldn’t promise her mother that, though, so she kept quiet as she weighed her options for what to say.
Her mother suddenly frowned. “Where is Lord Maltby?” she asked.
Jane froze. For a moment she considered telling the truth. Then she looked at her mother’s trembling hands, her tear-stained face, her eyes full of fear, and decided that tonight was not the right time. Her mother could only survive one disaster at a time.
“He… left with the other guests,” Jane said, which wasn’t precisely a lie.
Lady Wynten looked disappointed. “Oh.”
Jane quickly changed the subject. “Try to rest.”
Her mother nodded weakly. Jane patted her hand and turned toward the window. She could not see out into the darkness, but it didn’t matter.
Her mind kept returning to Colin. The masked men had known exactly who they wanted. They had ignored everyone else. It had been planned. But by whom?
A terrible certainty settled over Jane. Whoever had taken Colin had not done so for money. There would be no ransom demand.
If they wanted something else, then her brother was already in far more danger than any of them could imagine.