“Damn the money. I want her,” he muttered.
Crossing to his desk, Harry took out a piece of paper and sat to pen his short reply.
I need to see you.
Harry
“If you are going to walk out of my life, I have to hear it from your own lips.”
He folded the note and wrote Alice’s name and address on the front. If she and Patience were out this evening, then it would have to wait until morning.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
“What the devil?”
Someone was downstairs knocking loudly and insistently on the front door. Harry bolted from his chair and made for the stairs.
“I’m coming—just hold on!” he cried.
The banging continued on unabated as he crossed the tiled foyer and skidded to a halt at the front door.
“Alright, alright. Could you at least save the hinges?” he said, pulling the door open.
With hand raised ready to pound the timbers once more stood Alice. She was soaking wet, her clothes in a terrible state. Her long dark hair was plastered to her head.
“Oh, thank god you are home!” She pushed her way inside and slammed the door behind her. For a moment, she stood dripping water on the floor while she caught her breath. “Patience is gone,” she whispered.
“What?”
“Cuthbert came back for her. They are going to elope.”
Oh, bollocks. “But I saw him get on board the coach last night. How the hell did this happen?” he replied.
And you called off the watch dogs, so no one was following Patience. You dolt!
Alice threw up her hands. “Patience went for a walk this morning, and of course I didn’t think anything of it. From what I can gather, Cuthbert must have tracked her down at that time, and convinced her to go to the party we were at tonight. She disappeared some thirty minutes ago, and then a footman eventually came and handed me her note.”
Think. Think. What is to be done? Where could they be?
Harry clenched his fists, angry with himself for having underestimated Cuthbert. “I know this is a stupid question, but would you have any idea as to where they were headed? The problem being that there are dozens of coaching companies in London; it would be nigh on impossible to catch them if we don’t know their destination,” he replied.
Alice sighed. “You said that Cuthbert was on the run from Scotland. Which means they might not head north. If they don’t, they will need a marriage license in England. If they want to get an ordinary license, they are going to have to hide out somewhere until they can find a minister. So, no, I have absolutely no idea where they could be headed.”
The desperation in her voice was heartbreaking.
Harry took a step back and sought to clear his mind. There was a piece of the puzzle missing. “The Grand Hotel. That is our best chance,” he said.
“Why?”
“When Stephen took Cuthbert last night, they went directly to the coaching company. I can only hope that our friend has gone back to the hotel to retrieve his things. If not, we may have a real problem on our hands.”
He was grasping at straws, but it was the only thing that made sense in the moment. And it was all he had. “Wait here; I’ll get my pistol. This blackguard clearly only understands violence.”
“What about your other friends, could they assist?” she replied.
Harry was already halfway up the stairs. There wasn’t time to send word to the other members of the RR Coaching Company. If they didn’t intercept Cuthbert and Patience at the Grand Hotel, they would never be able to stop them fleeing London.
“Too late!” he cried.
He was back in under a minute, more than a little grateful that Stephen had had the good sense to always have a cleaned and loaded pistol on the top of the dresser in his room.
“Tell me you made the carriage wait for you when you got here?” he said.
“Yes, of course.”
Grosvenor Street to Covent Gardens was a journey of little over a mile, but every minute Harry and Alice spent in the carriage was time when he worried that they may arrive at the Grand Hotel just a minute too late.
As the hack slowed and turned into the rear mews, Harry flung the door open and jumped out. The momentum set him at a run from the time he hit the ground.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a footman carrying a bag down the stairs, heading for a nearby carriage. He didn’t have time to consider whether it was Cuthbert’s bag or not.
“Stop!” he bellowed.
The footman reared back in surprise at the sight of Harry running full pelt at him while brandishing a pistol.
The footman dropped the bag. “Please. Please don’t shoot me. I only work here.”
The carriage door opened, and Cuthbert Saint stepped out.
“I think I am the man you are looking for, Lord Steele,” he said.
He turned and helped Patience North down from the carriage. At the same time, Alice appeared at Harry’s side.
“Oh, thank God we found you. I would never have forgiven myself if we didn’t,” she said.
The expression on Patience’s face was less favorable. She glared at her sister. “I knew you were behind all this; you couldn’t let me be happy. Are you so jealous that you would keep me from my true love?”
Harry shot a look in the direction of the hotel footman; his eyes were wide with interest. He couldn’t blame the man. It wasn’t every day that a domestic drama was played out in the rear mews of a posh London hotel.
“Do you think we could have a few minutes privacy somewhere inside?” asked Harry.
Cuthbert frowned, but to Harry’s relief, Patience finally lived up to her name. “Alright. Let’s go and talk. If anything, it will give me the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to my sister.”
The four of them followed the footman back inside and were shown into a downstairs sitting room. There was a twin pair of soft, leather couches, but no one took a seat.
Harry closed and locked the door before leaning back on it. No one would be leaving the room without his say so. The pistol remained pointed at Cuthbert.
He was about to say something when Alice suddenly rounded on her sister and let fly. “Are you out of your mind, Patience? That man is nothing more than a cold, heartless blackguard who only wants to wed you for money. I was trying to protect you from making a momentous mistake. Instead of attacking me, you should be saying thank you.”
Patience came and stood by Cuthbert’s side, slipping her hand into his arm.
Shit. This is not good. He has her on his side.
The fact that they were in a hotel meant the chances of Harry being able to shoot Cuthbert and get away with it were nil. And without the assistance of his fellow rogues, he wouldn’t even be able to stage a decent kidnapping. Damn.
Time to see who will blink first.
He took a chance and cocked the pistol, aiming it at Cuthbert’s heart.
“Cuthbert Saint, or should I say Cuthbert Leigh, it is time you told Miss Patience North the truth. I want to hear your full confession here and now or I shall pull the trigger.”
Patience nodded at Cuthbert. “Go on. Tell them everything.”
The look which passed between the couple tore the last vestiges of hope from Harry. They were in love, and unless he was prepared to commit murder, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to keep them apart.