Page 72 of Saved By the Belle

“Yes, miss, but the information I have is privileged.”

Her brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”

“It means he can’t share it with you,” Hew said. “Go back into the bed chamber and try to rest—”

“Bollocks to that!”

Will raised a brow, looking from Belle to Hew and back again.

“If this is about my father, I want to know.”

“I’ll tell you later,” Hew began.

“He can tell me now.” She pointed at Will.

Hew started to move toward her, thinking he might have to carry her from the room, but Will raised a hand. “Let her stay. I know that look. I’ve seen it on my wife’s face often enough. There’s no point arguing.” He looked about the chamber then strode to a chair near the hearth. “Might we at least sit?”

“Of course,” Hew said. “Would you care for tea?”

“This isn’t a garden party!” Belle erupted. “Where is my father?”

“I don’t know,” Will said again, glancing at Hew, who took Belle’s hand and pulled her down on a couch across from Will. He sat beside her, keeping his arm about her. Will finally sat in the chair opposite. “I wish I could tell you more, but I don’t have any specifics about your father. The courier arrived in the wee hours of the morning, and I immediately set out to find Arundel. I learned about Mr. Howard’s disappearance while searching for you.” He gestured to Hew.

“We were asking questions on Fenchurch Street as well,” Hew said. “You must have been right behind us.”

“So I gather. In any case, when I couldn’t find you at Lady Keating’s or at the tea shop, I decided to try Mivart’s. No one had seen you here in days, but I took a chance.”

“We just arrived a few hours ago,” Hew said. “I was deciphering Baron’s letters concerning the railroad accident in Carlisle.”

Will raised a brow, indicating he didn’t believe that was all Hew had been doing. “Baron has new information on Pennywhistle,” Will said. “After reading your reports, he sent Duncan Slorach to the area.”

“Really? His first official mission for the Saboteurs?”

“Information gathering, really. He’s still waiting for his official mission.”

“Perhaps Baron is waiting for a two-man mission so he might send Lucy as well.”

“Why would he do that?” Will asked.

Lucy was Galloway’s sister and another agent. Duncan Slorach had been half in love with her since setting eyes on her. He and Lucy had been competing against each other since their first days at the Farm, obviously trying to channel the sexual tension between them into useful pursuits. But Will, being Lucy’s brother, seemed completely oblivious to the pop and crackle between the two whenever they were in the same room. Hew was not about to enlighten Will now.

“No reason.”

“Spit it out,” Belle interrupted. “What about my father?”

Hew closed his hand around hers. “We’re coming to that. He’s already said he doesn’t know where he is or his condition. Our plan is unchanged.” Hew nodded to Will. “What did Duncan discover?”

“Turns out just a few days before Duncan arrived, there was another accident. No deaths but several injuries. It was in the papers.”

Hew shrugged. He hadn’t been in any condition to read papers for most of the last week.

“The railroad sent a man to look at the damage and assess the sorts of repairs needed. By all accounts, the man had finished his work and was about to write up his report, when he disappeared. No one has seen him since.”

“Curious.”

“Not really,” Belle said plainly. “Pennywhistle needs time to finish his excavation. By delaying the railroad’s man, he also delays the repairs.”

“I see you know something about the matter, Miss Howard,” Will said. “But there’s another possibility.”

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