Page 61 of With Good Grace
Jake shared a look with Parker. ‘Molly fooled us all,’ he said brusquely, frowning at the girl’s audacity. ‘She must have forced Olivia to leave the house, probably by the servants’ stairs. Mind you, if she claimed to know where Tom was, she would not have had to force her.’ Jake slapped his stick against his thigh. ‘The irresponsible little fool!’
‘She would have been told to take Lady Marchant’s letters,’ Parker remained Jake, ‘and she doesn’t have access to them.’
‘Begging your pardon, my lord,’ Reed said. ‘We found a drawer open in your desk. Not sure it it’s relevant.’
Jake strode in that direction and found an inconsequential file of correspondence with his steward missing.
‘She must have taken it in the hope of fooling Grantley into thinking they were Lady Marchant’s letters.’ Jake shook his head. Of all the bird-brained, reckless, irresponsible… Fear for her welfare paralysed his unusually incisive brain. If anything were to happen to her, his own life would be over. When he got his hands on her again, she would not be able to sit down for a week. He had repeatedly warned her and yet she’d blithely ignored that warning and run headfirst into he knew not what danger, probably without even pausing to think of the consequences. ‘Once she has Tom safe, there is no telling what retribution she might attempt to inflict upon his abductors; and if it ends badly, no one will believe in her innocence this time. There are still some who think she must have been involved in her husband’s death, accounting for her supposed notoriety.’ Jake ground his jaw, well aware how fiery Olivia’s temper could be with far less provocation. ‘How long ago was she missed, Reed?’
‘They can’t have been gone more than ten minutes, my lord.’
‘Well, that’s something. We stand a chance of catching up to her before matters get completely out of hand.’ Jake swirled on his heel. ‘Right, Parker, back to that warehouse. Reed, have the curricle brought round immediately.’
‘You think Norris will know Sir Hubert’s address and that he will tell us if he does?’ Parker asked as Jake climbed onto the box seat, took up the ribbons himself and set his horses off at a cracking pace.
‘Oh, he will tell us,’ Jake replied. ‘You say he is a man of honour who doesn’t care for Grantley. Once he is made aware that his employer is responsible for abducting a child, any man with an ounce of humanity would reveal whatever he knows.’
‘Let’s hope it’s worth knowing.’
The roads were, for once, relatively clear of obstructions and they reached the warehouse faster than even Jake considered possible. Parker jumped down from the curricle before Jake brought it fully to a halt. Jake took a quick glance around whilst Parker knocked, just to make sure that they had not blundered into a trap of some sort. There was an outside possibility that Molly had brought Olivia here, but the only abnormal behaviour was that of two stray dogs growling over the same bone.
Norris answered Parker’s knock remarkably quickly for a lame man.
‘You again,’ he said. ‘What is it that you really want?’
‘This is my master, Lord Torbay,’ Parker replied.
Norris sized Jake up, appeared to like what he saw and inclined his head. ‘How can I be of service to you, my lord?’ he asked politely.
‘Parker assures me that you are an honourable man,’ Jake said, getting straight to the point. ‘We believe—in fact we know—that Sir Hubert has abducted a child and is holding him somewhere in Whitechapel; somewhere close by. It is of the utmost importance that we find him before the child is harmed, or worse. You are our only hope.’
Norris was quiet for a moment or two, then appeared to reach a decision. ‘I came by here yesterday morning,’ he said. ‘I was not supposed to be here but I had left my drawing supplies. I’m something of an artist, you see, and I occupy my spare time that way. I went into the office and heard Sir Hubert talking to someone in the warehouse. I was curious because it was a woman and I couldn’t think what call she would have to be there. Anyway, I heard him call her Molly and she fitted the description you gave me earlier,’ he added, turning towards Parker. ‘That’s why I thought you were genuine, at first.’
‘Sorry about that,’ Parker said. ‘We were not sure if we could trust you.’
Jake wondered how Molly had come to be there yesterday, then recalled that she had asked to change her afternoon off, presumably so that she could meet with Sir Hubert and take her instructions.
‘Did you overhear anything that might help us?’ he asked.
‘I heard Sir Hubert give the girl an address and, as you say, it’s close by; just a few streets away. He made her commit it to memory and repeat it back to him several times.’
‘Can you recall what it was?’ Jake asked, praying that the man’s memory was sharp.
‘That I can, my lord.’
Jake slapped his shoulder once he had repeated it, then reached into his pocket to produce one of his cards. He handed it to Norris. ‘Call upon me at Grosvenor Square tomorrow,’ he said. ‘I reward loyalty and can find you employment more worthy of your talents.’ He offered Norris his hand to seal the bargain. Norris looked surprised to have an earl wishing to shake his hand, but took it in a firm grasp. ‘One more thing. Can you send a lad to the address on that card? Have him ask for Reed. Reed is to send three of my footmen to the address you just gave me and they are to bring a carriage. With great good fortune we will have prisoners to transport.’
‘Very well,’ Norris said calmly.
‘Good man. Come, Parker,’ Jake said. ‘There is not a moment to lose.’
?
Olivia walked into a tiny room overcrowded with four adults in occupation of it. It was in a state of advanced disrepair, mould growing on the walls, windows grimy and cracked; an empty fireplace, an unpleasant odour and an air of disuse. There was no sign of Tom but she had to believe he was in that hell-hole somewhere. Her gaze swivelled between Hubert and Lady Marchant, still astonished to discover that they were working together. But not as surprised by that revelation as Molly appeared to be.
‘Here, who’s this woman, my dear?’ she asked Hubert, placing a propriety hand on his sleeve as she wrinkled her brow in suspicion.
‘This is Lady Marchant, with whom we have an agreement,’ Hubert replied. ‘You have been a very clever girl and obtained her letters for her, I feel absolutely sure.’
