The Fearless Miss Dinah by Laura Rollins

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I have Lady Stanton.

You can have her back, but it’ll cost you £12,000.

Because I am a considerate man, I’ll give you four days to gather the money.

Because I am a smart man, I will send another message with the meeting time and place. Just be ready with it on the morning of the third day. Be prepared to travel.

And because I am the man you’ve been looking for, know this: if you don’t come alone or there is any move to apprehend me, Lady Stanton will die.

There was no signature, but the folded letter did include a lock of curling blonde hair. Henry would have known that lock anywhere. It was Dinah’s hair. He stared down at the letter placed on the low table between him, David, Uncle Jeffrey, and Mr. Wilson.

“When did it come?” David asked.

“Not a quarter of an hour ago,” Henry replied, but his voice sounded distant in his ear, as though it wasn’t actually him speaking but another man who simply acted and sounded like him. “Lady Blackmore’s carriage arrived with a driver, a footman, her abigail . . . and this letter.”

“He says,” Uncle Jeffrey said slowly, “that you’ve been looking for him?”

Henry shut his eyes, covering his face with both hands. There was no way to do this without admitting to what he’d been doing these past couple of years. It was time his family knew the whole of it. Holding others at arms’ length is what had gotten Dinah into this horrid situation to begin with. If he’d just opened up and explained his mission to these men before now—all of whom had proven their trustworthiness—then perhaps Dinah never would have been dragged into his life. Though he couldn’t find it in himself to be sorry they’d met and even married. Far from it, actually. He recognized that he couldn’t solve this problem, couldn’t save the woman he loved, without being a better man.

Pulling his hands down the full length of his face, he told his family of Steven’s demise. He even briefly told of Mrs. Jacobsen and their baby and of the day they had been buried next to their husband and father. He then admitted that the whole reason he’d removed the family to London was so that he might continue his hunt for his friend’s killer. He told of the many different missions he’d undertaken, the false identity he had assumed to get closer to the man he needed to find.

He even finally told them the truth behind his and Dinah’s first meeting.

It was a long story, and when he was finally done, the room was still for several minutes.

“Blast it all,” David choked out after a minute. “You mean to tell me you’ve been keeping all that hidden from us this whole time?”

Henry nodded once.

Mr. Wilson muttered something under his breath, and Uncle Jeffrey blew out a long breath and then stood.

“It certainly explains a lot,” his uncle said, moving to pour brandy for them all. “The real question now is what is to be done?”

“We get her back, of course,” Mr. Wilson said loudly. When every eye swung his direction, he simply shrugged. “Just because I don’t smile as often as the rest of you lot doesn’t mean I haven’t grown fond of her too.”

If anyone was to break through the old man’s grumpy exterior, why was Henry not surprised it had been Dinah? Uncle Jeffrey carried over the silver tray topped with the filled glasses, and Henry took one.

“I’ve already written to my man of business and am working to gather the money. It’ll be hard to have it all before the third morning but not impossible.”

David also accepted a glass of brandy. “Does it bother anyone else that this smuggler knows your name, your wife’s name, and where he could find you both?”

More than that, the man somehow knew that Dinah wasn’t here. He’d known how and when to get at her without Henry around. It was a terrifying thought. The warning Lewis had given him popped into his mind. He should have taken the threat more seriously. He’d mentioned it to Harding but had not followed up. But there was naught to be done about that now.

“That is why,” Henry said, leaning forward, “I propose that you, David, remove your family and Aunt Beatrice to one of the smaller holdings. Don’t go to Kingcup Estate; that’s where all this began. Take up residence at one of the other houses . . . only, don’t tell me which one.”

David slowly nodded, even as he appeared to be thinking things over. “Yes, yes. I think that is for the best.” He downed his cup in a single swallow and stood. “If you will excuse me, I think it’s probably best if I don’t know your plans either.”

Henry stood and embraced his brother. “Keep your family safe,” he said.

David hugged him back. “And you do the same.”

After David left the room, Henry sat back down and faced the other two men.

“Any thoughts?” he asked them.

Uncle Jeffrey scooted to the edge of his seat, resting an elbow against his knee. “As it turns out, I’ve had experience in this sort of thing, and I’ve got some ideas.”

* * *

Dinah tried to change positions, but there were only so many ways she could sit with her arms tied to a large wooden post behind her. Her shoulders ached, her seat ached, her legs ached. Honestly, she was running out of areas on her person that didn’t ache.

She pulled her feet to one side, her skirt sweeping bits of hay with the movement. This was the third barn in as many days she’d been confined in. The temperature had begun to drop, so evening was probably near. That meant, soon, the men would return and demand she get up and they begin traveling once more. Since they traveled only at night, she’d struggled to keep track of their direction. She had only been able to determine they were moving Southwest.

The barn door opened with a screech, and Blue-Eyes stepped inside. A couple of the other men traveling with them had called him Spade a few times, but hadn’t Henry said the man changed names as often as he changed shirts? Though, taking into account the dirt stains on his current shirt, it seemed he probably changed names more often.

He knelt down next to her and began undoing the knots about her wrists. “The Earl of Stanton should be on the road by now. That is, if he intends to pay for you after all.”

Dinah kept her gaze trained on a point on the distant wall and her mouth shut.

“Tell me, did you expect your husband to dish out a small fortune in exchange for you?”

Dinah remained silent.

With only a few knots left, he paused, rocking back on his heels. “Some men prefer women over money. Me, I prefer blunt I can hold in my hand. But your odious husband has made it impossible for me to stay in England. And I very well can’t set up a comfortable life for myself without some means.” He leaned in close, barely inches from her ear. “Then again, I almost hope he doesn’t show up. Then I can just take you with me.”

Dinah breathed in and out slowly; she would not rise to his insults and taunting. He wanted to see her grow angry again, and she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

With a chuckle, he returned to the knots. Pulling the rope away from her wrists, he then took hold of her elbow and dragged Dinah to her feet.

She struggled to stand without toppling into him. After not standing since before the sun had risen that morning, her feet and legs tingled painfully.

Blue-Eyes all but dragged her toward the barn door. “Time to saddle up for one last ride.”