The Marquis and I (The Worthingtons #4)(4)

He transferred the ribbons to one hand, pulled out his pocket watch and flipped it open. Blast it all. It was almost four o’clock. That would teach him to laze about in the mornings.

Nevertheless, if the Fates were with him he’d be able to get the young lady back in good time to finish his business and attend the theater this evening.

An hour later, Con resigned himself to not only missing dinner but the theater as well. He had passed the southern outskirts of London into Surrey, heading toward the coast. That was not a good sign at all.





Chapter Two


Con drove into the yard of the Hare and Hound on the heels of the coach carrying Worthington’s sister. Jumping down from his phaeton, he strode to the back of the coach and grabbed the boy, Jemmy, before anyone else saw him.

“Hey!” The lad wiggled, trying to get away. “Whatcha doin’?”

The boy couldn’t be more than five or six. How in perdition had he been left unsupervised?

Before Jemmy could start yelling and draw unwanted attention to them, Con bent down and whispered into the boy’s ear, “Worthington’s butler sent me to help.”

“Yer here to help Lady Charlotte?” the boy asked.

Con inclined his head. “Yes, indeed. I am Lord Kenilworth, a friend of your master’s.”

Talk about an old soul in a young body. Con was sure he had not been eyed that suspiciously since he’d been caught stealing a whole pie from his mother’s cook and had lied about it.

Finally acceptance showed on Jemmy’s face and he nodded. “How’re we running this rig?”

Glancing up, Con saw the lady propelled into the inn by a big brute. “I want you to pretend you’re my groom. Do you understand?”

Jemmy’s sharp eyes narrowed. “How’s that going to get my lady out of here right and tight?”

He wasn’t at all stupid. Con’s first thoughts had been to see the child safe, but now he’d have to come up with a plan before he could see to Jemmy’s well-being. “You help the ostler with my horses. At the same time, get a good look at the man with black hair who went into the stables. He’s one of the rogues that abducted your lady. While you’re doing that, I’m going to make myself the most pompous lord you’ve ever seen. All you have to do is get friendly with the inn’s staff. Make up any story you want, but find out which room Lady Charlotte is in and whether or not she is alone.”

Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Jemmy began to smile and he looked like a young child again. “Then we rescue her?”

“Then you tell her I shall rescue her.” When the boy’s face fell, Con held up his hand to stop the coming argument. “I’m sending you back to Worthington House to inform the others of her ladyship’s whereabouts and that she will be safe. But first you must find her and tell her I’m here. I’ll use the name Lord Braxton.” That way if anyone came looking for Lady Charlotte, they’d be following the wrong man. It was a shame Con could not simply walk in and take her back, but the lady’s reputation was at stake, and he still had to contend with the blackguards who had kidnapped her.

The inn was in a village off the main toll roads, but not by much. All he could do was hope that neither Braxton himself nor anyone who knew him would make an appearance. Con glanced at the inn once more. It didn’t appear to be a place the ton would frequent, but one never knew.

Jemmy seemed to consider Con’s orders before agreeing. Perdition! Did any of Worthington’s servants behave as they should?

“I’ll do it.” He gave a sharp nod.

“Good.” Not that the lad had had a real choice in the matter. “I’ll hire a horse for you to ride back to London on.”

The boy’s brows lowered and he shook his head slowly back and forth. “Can’t do it.”

“What do you mean you cannot do it?” Raising a brow, Con gave the boy a look that struck fear in most who saw it. “Of course you can.”

“Can’t, not won’t. I don’t know how to ride yet.”

Hell and the devil. He dragged a hand down his face. “Find out if a stagecoach goes through here, or the mail.”

A grin appeared on Jemmy’s face. “I ain’t never been on a public coach before.”

“I hope you enjoy the treat.” And did not cause too many problems. “Hurry up. These horses must be rubbed down and settled. They can’t wait until the other coach’s horses are finished.” Con started to walk away, then turned. “You do know how to do that?”

“I’m really good at taking care of horses. The riding’s goin’ to take a bit.”

Why in God’s name Worthington had a groom who couldn’t ride was beyond Con. Then again, why a child was in the man’s employ didn’t make sense either. He felt like he’d been dropped into a madhouse.

He waited, perusing the outside of the building with his quizzing glass. The inn was at least two hundred years old. As with many of the older structures, the windows were not terribly large. A small person could climb out of them. But that was all one could do. No obliging trellis or ivy vines graced the outside walls of the inn.

One of the ostlers came out, and after having a word with Jemmy, took the horses into the stables. From the corner of his eye he saw Jemmy run around to the back of the building. It should not take him too long to discover where the lady was.