She downed the drink and handed the glass back to Mrs. O’Leary who waited for it.
“Good night, dear,” she said.
Lizbeth wished her a good night in return and climbed into bed. She picked up the book she’d been reading earlier and yawned. By the time she’d read only about five pages, she grew so sleepy she had to put the book down. Whatever Mrs. O’Leary had given her was certainly working fast. She turned down the wick on the lamp next to her and snuggled under the warm blankets and dozed off to sleep.
Sometime later, Lizbeth slowly opened her eyes, which was quite a chore, since they felt so heavy. Something was dreadfully wrong. She shook her head trying to understand what was happening. It appeared to her sluggish mind that she was being removed from her bed by two men.
“Wh-what?” She tried to ask a question, but her mouth wouldn’t work. She dozed on and off but was aware that she was taken out of the house and placed into a carriage.
Sometime later a bump in the road caused her to jolt awake. “What are…” She attempted to sit up but was pushed back down on the seat. She tried her best to stay awake sensing she was in danger but drifted off to sleep. There was a question she needed to ask but couldn’t remember what it was. It was important, but she couldn’t recall.
The next thing she knew she was being removed from the carriage and carried up several steps. She grew dizzy when she tried to turn her head to see where she was.
“Put her in here.” A man’s voice she did not recognize floated over her, almost from a great distance.
She was placed into another soft, warm bed, and comfortable once again and happy to be out of the frightening dream, she rolled over to return to sleep.
Having settled all the business matters that needed his attention, Marcus had been about ready to leave for his visit with his sister Addie in Bath when he received a letter from a Mr. Nicholas Smith about the kidnapping of a female friend. The man had a strong suspicion the young lady in question had been taken for the purpose of being sold into prostitution. It seemed Mr. Smith had heard about Marcus’s work on the bill languishing in Parliament and asked if they could meet to consider the matter together.
Although Smith lived in Bath, he was planning on a trip to London where he felt they had a better chance of finding the unfortunate woman. Marcus had immediately put his trip on hold and returned a quick reply, feeling a stirring of interest at the request to meet and discuss the issue.
Due to the extensive research and interviews he’d done while working on the bill to curtail the problem of kidnapping of women and children, he was more than happy to put his hard-earned information and knowledge to good use. The idea raised his spirits as nothing had for months.
While he eagerly awaited the summons from Smith who sent word that he would be travelling to London shortly, and staying at his close friend, Lord Montrose’s house, he had spent time going over the pages of notes he’d gathered in the past few months.
Rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, he put the notes aside and made his way downstairs to have a word with his housekeeper. His butler, Grimsley, stopped him and held out a note. “Mr. Mallory, this just arrived for you.”
“Thank you.” Marcus took the note from Grimsley and read it as he walked down the corridor to the housekeeper’s office.
Mr. Mallory:
I received the note you left for me with the Montrose butler to alert you upon our arrival in London. We are here now and would love for you to join us for dinner tonight, if that is acceptable to you.
Mr. Nicholas Smith
A sense of excitement rolled over him. For the first time in months he had a purpose. And a noble purpose. Help a young woman escape the clutches of the worst of society.
He returned to the front door. “Send this note back to Mr. Smith at the Montrose House on Grosvenor Square.” Marcus scribbled an acceptance on the back of Smith’s note and handed it to Grimsley.
A week later, Marcus paced the soft carpet in the library as he awaited the arrival of Nick Smith. It had turned out the missing woman was a friend of Lady Pamela, a lovely lady who Marcus knew through his sister, Addie.
Lady Pamela had traveled to Lon
don with Smith because she’d begun to question her friend’s disappearance and soon found herself in danger and had sought Nick’s protection. Marcus smiled remembering how quickly Nick had made it clear at the dinner that Lady Pamela was off limits. Smith’s interest in her was quite apparent.
At the conclusion of their evening Marcus had requested a full description of Miss Davenport. Smith had sent not only a full description, but a sketch of the missing woman. Marcus had taken it to members of his clubs and Parliament that he knew patronized the types of brothels that catered to men who wanted clean women. Which, in most cases, meant young, virginal ones.
He had quickly narrowed it down to two brothels, but one of those seemed more likely than the other, so he and Nick were to visit the brothel that evening.
He blew out a breath of relief at the sound of the door knocker, saving his carpet from ruin. Before Grimsley could even step back to allow Smith in, Marcus was at the door, shrugging into his coat. “Did you bring a pistol?” He pulled on his gloves as they made their way down the steps to his carriage.
“I always carry one. As well as a dagger. Or two.” Nick climbed into the carriage. “I was raised on the streets, remember.”
At the prior meeting, Nick had shared his background with Marcus, a childhood spent on the streets of London and a rise to the owner of an exclusive gambling house in Bath through his own wiles and an uncanny memory for numbers. A remarkable story for certain because it was hard to discern the man’s background from his demeanor.
Marcus drew out a folded paper from his inside jacket pocket. “As I told you in my note, it’s quite certain that Miss Davenport is at this brothel. She apparently has only been there a couple of days, however. I’m not sure why the lapse of time from when she was taken.” He looked up at Nick. “I was also able to get a layout of the building with all the exits marked.”
Nick reached out and took the paper from Marcus’s hands. He leaned closer to the lantern hanging on the wall of the carriage to study the map. “This is quite helpful. How did you get it?”