Simon nodded and held out a piece of paper he had clutched in his palm. “This is the address of his London townhouse. It is on the very edge of Mayfair.”
She plucked it from his grasp. “Thank you.”
“I believe he is in residence. Do you wish for me to accompany you?”
“No. Please guide your efforts elsewhere. It would be a waste of effort to direct our thoughts to the same avenue. Please…do all that you can. There is a possibility he was not taken by Lord James. Maybe…just maybe he is sleeping somewhere, and we will find him soon.”
Simon descended the last step, cupped her cheeks, and wiped at the tears she’d not realized were falling. “We’ll find him,” he promised gruffly.
“I know,” she whispered and pressed a quick kiss on his cheek before fleeing his embrace into the night and the waiting carriage. The note was given to the coachman, who’d equipped the carriage with four of their finest and fastest bays. Georgiana settled herself against the squabs, lacing her fingers together to still their trembling. Now that she was alone, it was easy for the sobs to tear from her throat. Was he hurt and afraid? He would be cold and hungry. Dear lord, please protect him and hold him safe in your arms.
It was a relief when the carriage slowed to a stop a few hours later. Escaping the confinement of the carriage that had hidden her fears and sobs, Georgiana allowed the footman to assist her from the carriage. The looming townhouse was dark, but she squared her shoulders and hurried up the cobbled steps. She grabbed the brass knocker and sounded it several times. A few beats later the door was pulled opened, a short, rotund gentleman peering down at her.
“The Duchess of Hardcastle to see Mr. Tremayne at once.”
The man’s scowl disappeared, and he snapped to attention. He moved back, and she rushed inside, a bit disconcerted at the darkness that greeted her. It seemed as if the household was abed.
“If Her Grace will wait in the parlor, I will get Mr. Tremayne right away.”
She was directed into a drawing room, where a fire burned low in the grate. The butler lit several candelabra before he scurried away. Georgiana paced the room, nervous energy coursing through her body. What if Rhys was unable to help her? What other options were there?
The door was pushed open, and she whirled around.
Dark eyes scanned her body. “What is wrong?”
She tried to speak, but her tongue would not loose. Panic rose and choked her until she could barely breathe. His gaze went flat and hard, and in a few strides, he was before her, standing impossibly close.
“Tell me,” he said softly, resting his hand against her shoulder.
She didn’t even think. Georgiana crumpled into the shelter of his arms, sick with relief that he was there. “My…s-son has been taken.” A shiver seized her, and she trembled violently. Desperate to chase away the fear, she breathed him in deep. “I need…I need your help, please.” A sob tore from her.
His arm slipped beneath her shoulders, and he murmured words that took precious seconds to penetrate her fear. “Whatever you need, I’ll provide.”
He spoke with such absolute assurance her shoulders relaxed. She felt warmth rush through her body. She gave another sob, pressing her face hard against his chest, reassured by the strength and power within him. It appalled her he was the one she was unravelling around, but Georgiana couldn’t control the pain and fear tearing though her heart. Strong arms lifted her, and she shivered uncontrollably as he carried her across the room and placed her on the sofa.
He bent low and lightly kissed her nose, her eyelids salty with tears, and her breath hitched at the intimate, soothing caress.
Whatever you need, I’ll provide.
Some of her tension drained away at that comforting assurance given so promptly, but not all of it. Dipping into her reticule, her trembling fingers held forth a miniature. “Here,” she said through lips that barely moved. “This is my son. He’s gone.”
“Gone?”
The rasping words tore from her throat, “No…he was taken. Kidnapped from Meadowbrook Park. He is all I have…he is my world. Please…”
“Tell me everything.”
As quickly as possible, she recounted all from the second she realized her son was missing. Rhys listened keenly, without interruption. He waited until she’d finished before he spoke. “Lord James, he’s the man your brother asked me for information on earlier? Nicolas’s uncle?”
“Yes. Simon…Simon believes the enormous debt would perhaps lead Lord James to act with greed and cruelty.” She wetted her dry lips. “But perhaps…perhaps he is not the one who took my Nicolas.” She despised the pleading note in her voice, but she couldn’t bear the idea of her son in the clutches of a man who intended to take his life. “Lord James’s estate is in Cornwall, and his townhouse is here, only a few minutes away. Should we visit him—”
“No.”
She stiffened, and he placed a finger under her chin and lifted.
“You came to me because you trusted that I could locate your son.”
“Yes.”
“If Lord James took him, he would not have done it himself. He would have hired those who are soulless to see the job done.”
A harsh whimper tore from her.
“Shh,” he soothed, pulling her even closer. “I’ll find him. I’ll leave no stone unturned.”
“And if you cannot?” she whispered, driving to the heart of her terror. “What if no one can?”
“There is no information brokered I cannot unearth. If Lord James paid criminals in the underworld, I’ll soon have all information surrounding any deals made. Their names, what they were paid, places and times. Please return to your home.”
“I’ll come with you, I cannot wait idly by for news. My Nicolas…” Her words broke as a surge of fear tore through her. Please God, I can’t lose him.
“No. Travel back to Meadowbrook Park. Rouse the household. Prepare his favorite dish, and have tea and biscuits ready. Be composed so that he will not be frightened.”
“I cannot take comfort in your words.”
He cupped her cheeks and tilted her face to his. “I don’t suffer from moral scruples, duchess. I will employ all necessary means to find your son…for you.”
His words implied that when he did, he would exact a promise from her. Georgiana’s throat went dry. “And what would you need in return?” For she was willing to bargain anything for the safe return of her boy to her arms.
“Nothing,” he said.
“You deflect,” she murmured, searching his face intently. “There is always a price, and I am willing to pay anything for my boy’s safe return to my arms.”
“Wipe the worry from your eyes, duchess. I’ll only ask for a simple acknowledgment of someone dear to me.”
His lips spoke words that filled her with relief, but his eyes lied. He would own her, and she feared it wasn’t a simple matter of an acknowledgment anymore. Instinctively, she knew he wanted her body and her soul if he could claim them. He was the devil. He waited, with seemly patience, but a dangerous predatory charge emanated from him, one that petrified and enticed in equal measure.
“Yes,” she said, understanding as a woman, she was acceding much more to this man.
His gaze remained inscrutable, but she could sense the savage satisfaction emanating from him.
“Tell me, please, where will you start? Where will you look that my brother and his connection and Bow Street would not have considered?”
“We have to go back to the beginning.”
“I already told you everything.”
“We must think about the first missing person on your estate. There is a connection,” he said, frowning, his gaze turning inward.
“What…” Knowledge clicked. “Nicolas’s first nursemaid,” she said hoarsely. “Jane Walker. You believe she has something to do with my son’s disappearance?”
A calculating glint lit his shrewd, dark eyes. “I don’t place much stock in coincidences. You sa
id when she left your estate, she left your son unattended and simply disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“That is not normal, duchess.” Intense intelligence and cunning burned in the depths of his eyes. “She could have been running from something in that very moment, or perhaps she would have taken him with her but was prevented.”
Georgiana pressed her fingers to her lips. “I cannot credit it. Jane had been with my son for years. She loved him…but she just left him alone on the lake.” Oh God. Georgiana had been so relieved to know Jane was safe that she hadn’t paused to recall the foreboding that had filled her and the wall of silence she had encountered.