To Con a Gentleman (Dalton Family 1)

Carver nodded and did not try to hide the affection he felt for Rose. “She told me everything. How long did it take you to find out that you sent her to the wrong earl’s house?”

“No more than a day. When the lass didn’t show up to our meeting place, I knew something went wrong. But I was already a day’s journey outside of London and then those tight lipped servants of yours wouldn’t tell me a blasted thing about where you’d gone. And by the time I finally discovered where you’d taken her, I learned something else as well.”

“And what’s that?”

“I’m assuming I can trust you since Rosie told you everything?”

“You can. And I…Well, the truth is, I love Rose very much.”

Felix eyed him thoughtfully for a moment before he looked around the room and said, “Then you should know she’s in danger here.”

Carver felt his body stiffen. “Why? What’s happened?” He felt a surge of protective energy shoot through his veins.

“I have reason to believe that a Bow Street runner left London yesterday with the purpose of coming to Dalton Park.”

“How do you know that?”

Felix rocked back and forth on his heels one time as if he were too proud of what he was going to say next to contain it. “This particular runner has been chasing her for years. Rosie doesn’t know it, but I’ve been having the man watched by a few of my own friends, keeping me apprised of his movements.”

“And you think he’s coming after Rose?”

“I know he is,” said Felix. “Someone must’ve grown suspicious of our girl and tipped him off.” The man’s gaze grew hard. “If he finds her, m’lord, there’s no doubt about it—she’ll be clapped up or hung. The girl’s got too good of a heart to be thrown away like that.”

Carver would never let that happen to her. Surely, even if the runner found her, there was something that could be done? Or, that his father could do.

Carver turned on his heels and headed for the door. “We need to find Rose.” Having this new information made him feel increasingly uneasy about the fact that he hadn’t seen Rose since their time in the hallway. He needed to find her immediately.

“Henley,” he said as soon as he stepped out into the corridor. “Have you seen, R—Daphney?”

The nervous look that Henley gave him only added to his unease. “Yes, my lord. Well…not personally, my lord—that is, Daniel, a footman came to me while you were in with Mr. Fenton and said that he saw Miss Bellows leave out of the servant’s entrance earlier wearing her cloak.” The butler’s lips pressed into a tight line before adding, “And…I believe she also had her valise on her person, my lord.”

“She must have seen the runner,” said Felix.

Carver’s stomach sunk to his feet. Did that mean she was gone? She had left without telling him? “How long ago did she leave, Henley?”

“About an hour ago, my lord.”

“An hour!” his hand scraped through his hair as he went over his options. “Henley, send for my horse to be saddled. If I go now, I can overtake her. She will not have gotten far by foot.”

“Do you not keep a stocked stable, my lord?” asked Felix. “If I know my Rosie she would never have left by foot if there was a prancer nearby she could take.” Blast. He was right.

Rose would have most definitely taken a horse. That was exactly what she had planned to do the night he had caught her in the stables. Dread settled in his stomach. What if…but before his mind had time to formulate any more thoughts, his legs were propelling him down the stairs, taking them two and three at a time. His boots thudded against the stone floor as he quickly moved through the servants hall. “Has anyone seen Miss Bellows since she left an hour ago?” he asked loudly to any servants who were nearby.

“No, my lord,” several replied.

Carver threw open the old wooden door of the servant’s entrance. The hinges screeched with protest. As if things could not get worse, outside he found rain and sleet coming down in heavy sheets. A tense breath fell out of his mouth and formed a cloud in front of his face. The temperatures were freezing. Surely Rose had not gone out there? Maybe if he went upstairs, he would find her safely tucked into her bed. But deep down he knew that if he looked in her room, all he would find was an empty bedchamber and the pain that he never seemed to escape.

Behind him he could hear Felix’s quick approaching footsteps. He, too, paused at the alarming sight beyond the door. “No one should be out in those temperatures,” said Felix, voicing Carver’s same thoughts. “I had a blasted time of it and it wasn’t even sleeting then.”

Henley came running down the stairs, out of breath, with Carver’s great coat and hat. “My lord! You’ll be needing these.”

Carver threw on his coat and hat and ran out into the freezing rain toward the stables. He pushed open the door and commanded that his horse be saddled, and quickly. Only a moment later a stable boy came running out of a stall. “Right away, m’lord!”

Carver paced back and forth, considering his options. Where would Rose go? The nearest inn was at least ten miles away. She could never have made it that far in an hour. And definitely not at night, in this weather. He chose to hope for the best. Rose was a smart woman. Most likely, she had stopped and taken shelter as soon as the weather had taken a turn.

“My lord!” The stable boy came running back. “Thunder’s not in his stall.”

Rose. No. She promised.