A Night Like This (Smythe-Smith Quartet #2)(79)

“She yelled at him, and he yelled at her, and I didn’t understand most of what they were talking about, except that she was really, really angry with him for having me in the carriage.”
“She was trying to protect you,” Daniel said.
“I know,” Frances said softly. “But . . . I think . . . I think she might have been the one to cause his scar.” She looked over at her mother with a tortured expression. “I don’t think Miss Wynter would do something like that, but he kept talking about it, and he was so angry with her.”
“It was a long time ago,” Daniel said. “Miss Wynter was defending herself.”
“Why?” Frances whispered.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said firmly. “What matters is what happened today, and what we can do to save her. You have been very brave. How did you get away?”
“Miss Wynter pushed me from the carriage.”
“What?” Lady Pleinsworth shrieked, but Lady Winstead restrained her when she tried to rush forward.
“It wasn’t going very fast,” Frances said to her mother. “It only hurt a little when I hit the ground. Miss Wynter had whispered to me to curl up like a ball before I hit the ground.”
“Oh, dear God,” Lady Pleinsworth sobbed. “Oh, my baby.”
“I’m all right, Mama,” Frances said, and Daniel was amazed at her resilience. She had been kidnapped and then tossed from a carriage, and now she was comforting her mother. “I think Miss Wynter chose the spot she did because I wasn’t very far from home.”
“Where?” Daniel asked urgently. “Where were you, exactly?”
Frances blinked. “Park Crescent. The far end.”
Lady Pleinsworth gasped through her tears. “You came all that distance yourself?”
“It wasn’t that far, Mama.”
“But all the way through Marylebone!” Lady Pleinsworth turned to Lady Winstead. “She walked all the way through Marylebone on her own. She’s just a child!”
“Frances,” Daniel asked urgently. “I must ask you. Do you have any idea where Sir George might be taking Miss Wynter?”
Frances shook her head, and her lips quivered. “I wasn’t paying attention. I was so scared, and most of the time they were yelling at each other, and then he hit Miss Wynter—”
Daniel had to force himself to draw breath.
“—and then I was even more upset, but he did say—” Frances looked up sharply, her eyes wide with excitement. “I remember something. He mentioned the heath.”
“Hampstead,” Daniel said.
“Yes, I think so. He didn’t say that specifically, but we were heading in that direction, weren’t we?”
“If you were at Park Crescent, yes.”
“He also said something about having a room.”
“A room?” Daniel echoed.
Frances nodded vigorously.
Marcus, who had been silent throughout the questioning, cleared his throat. “He might be taking her to an inn.”
Daniel looked over at him, gave a nod, then turned back to his young cousin. “Frances, do you think you would recognize the carriage?”
“I do,” she said, her eyes wide. “I really do.”
“Oh, no!” Lady Pleinsworth thundered. “She is not going with you to search for a madman.”
“I have no other choice,” Daniel told her.
“Mama, I want to help,” Frances pleaded. “Please, I love Miss Wynter.”
“So do I,” Daniel said softly.
“I will go with you,” Marcus said, and Daniel shot him a look of deep gratitude.
“No!” Lady Pleinsworth protested. “This is madness. What do you think you’re going to do? Let her ride on your back as you go traipsing into some public house? I’m sorry, I cannot allow—”
“He can bring outriders,” Daniel’s mother interrupted.
Lady Pleinsworth turned to her in shock. “Virginia?”
“I am a mother, too,” Lady Winstead said. “And if anything happens to Miss Wynter . . .” Her voice fell to a whisper. “My son will be broken.”
“You would have me trade my child for yours?”
“No!” Lady Winstead took both of her sister-in-law’s hands fiercely in her own. “I would never. You know that, Charlotte. But if we do this properly, I don’t think Frances will be in any danger.”
“No,” Lady Pleinsworth said. “No, I cannot agree. I will not risk the life of my child—”
“She won’t leave the carriage,” Daniel said. “You can come, too.”
And then . . . he saw it on her face . . . She was beginning to relent.
He took her hand. “Please, Aunt Charlotte.”
She swallowed, her throat catching on a sob. And then, finally, she nodded.
Daniel nearly sagged with relief. He had not found Anne yet, but Frances was his only hope, and if his aunt had forbidden her to accompany him to Hampstead, all would have been lost.
“There is no time to lose,” Daniel said. He turned to his aunt. “There is room for four in my landau. How fast can you have a carriage readied to follow? We will need seats for five on the return.”
“No,” his aunt said. “We will take our coach. It can seat six, but more importantly, it will support outriders. I am not allowing you to take my daughter anywhere near that madman without armed guards on the carriage.”
“As you wish,” Daniel said. He could not argue. If he had a daughter, he would be just as fiercely protective.