The Duke's Bride (27 page)

While Jane was slipping on her riding outfit, she had
the maid call for Agatha. She pushed back her tears. She did not have time to
feel sorry for herself. She had to be strong. She would do whatever she had to
do to keep her baby safe.

Agatha, clad in her dressing gown and robe, stood in
Jane’s bedchamber, her eyes wide with fright. “I should have known Lady Trayton
would do something like this. She always wanted Roderick. I suspect she went to
France just to find him.”

Jane’s head turned as she threw a pistol into her
reticule. “I had no idea the lady was in France.”

Agatha wrung her hands. “Well, I am going with you.”

“There is no time,” Jane said, gathering her cloak. “I
have to follow Roderick now.”

“You, young lady, may be a Duchess, but I will be at
your side while you search for your son.”

Jane paused. She regarded Agatha in a different light.
“Yes, now that I think about it. Perhaps your secretive work at Whitehall will
help us. Reconnaissance is important in these types of cases.”

Agatha gasped.

Jane buttoned her cloak. “I am not stupid. I know more
than you think about your past. Go now. Gather whomever you can and meet me in
the stables. Perhaps the captain will join us.”

Agatha’s eyes widened. “But…but I never told you a
thing. Oh, I thought you believed me some glorified secretary, knowing more
than I should. And I did travel to Whitehall. But goodness, it’s obvious you
know the depth of my work.”

Jane gave a half smile and hugged the older lady. “Oh,
I do love you so. But we have no time to talk. Hurry. We must leave. It’s my
baby. He’s my life. I would die for him.”

“Give me ten minutes. I shall round up more men.”

Jane frowned. “But Roderick already took most of Vexfield’s
people.”

Agatha scoffed. “If you know who I am, young lady,
then you know I shall gather the king’s guards to travel with us.”

Jane’s jaw dropped. “The king’s guards?”

“Yes, indeed. The king’s guards. Now, you will see
what your Aunt Agatha can do.”

“Oh, Agatha,” Jane said, her voice tight with grief.
“He is so young. So very young. I think I shall die if anything happens to
him...”

A
half hour later, Jane found herself in the
king’s coach, traveling with six of his footmen, six of his guards, and Captain
Argyle, who was riding alongside them on a dappled gray.

“I think if I had ridden a horse too, I would have
made better time,” she said nervously to Agatha.

Agatha tapped her parasol against the carriage floor.
“Faster, yes. But you are not in the best physical shape. If we find…I mean,
when we find your son, you will need to be strong.”

Jane bit her lips to halt the moan of distress
mounting in her throat. She stared blankly out the window where the sun began
to peek over the horizon. The chill of the morning air made her shiver, and she
pulled her cloak tighter about her shoulders. She tried not to think the worst,
but panic still played havoc with her heart.

Worried, she turned to Agatha. “What if he’s not
there?”

The older lady’s voice hardened. “Do not even think
about it. We will find the baby. Besides, the king insists on being the
godfather, how could we disappoint him?”

Jane let out a light laugh as tears slipped over her bottom
lashes. “Oh, Agatha. Roderick will have a fit when I tell him that.”

Agatha smiled. “That’s my girl. A little laugh is good
for the soul.”

The thunder of horses’ hooves sounded inside the
carriage. Jane frowned. It was a keen reminder she was not in this alone. “Agatha,
do you think the captain could go on ahead? He could gather information and
report back to us.”

The older lady shook her head. “Absolutely not. The
man will guard you with his life if anything goes wrong. One never knows with
someone like Lady Trayton. I imagine she has a handful of men working for her
too. That’s the only way she could leave and—” The lady’s voice cracked.
“Well, it was my fault if it was anyone’s.”

Jane clasped the lady’s trembling hand. “Why you would
say such a thing?”

“I should never have started this farce with your
marriage license. I made the king go along with it, you know.”

Jane nodded, watching the fields of wheat glow under
the morning sun. “I knew you had something over the man. But it matters not.
Nothing matters except my baby.”

“It does matter,” Agatha said with a sadness Jane had
never heard before. “If anything happens, I think I will die of a broken
heart.”

Jane turned and hugged her aunt. “Sometimes we do
things that hurt other people, thinking we are doing it for their own good. I
suppose that’s what parents do too. They make decisions to help their children.
And you are like a mother to me. I shan’t fault you for loving me and wanting
the best for me. But if you dare try anything like that again, I shall have to—”

Agatha looked up with fear in her eyes.

Jane straightened. Her gaze became hard. “I hate to
say it, Agatha. But I shall have to take away every parasol you have.”

Agatha burst into tears. “Oh, Jane. I do not deserve
you.”

Roderick pulled his horse to a stop at the quaint
cottage on the edge of town. So, this was the Baskers’ residence. The sun sat low
on the horizon with ribbons of red and orange flowing over the fields.

This was where his youngest brother had wooed Elizabeth
when Stephen thought all had been lost. Roderick’s heart pinched at the
possibility of losing his own wife. Well, confound it, he would have to address
that at a different time.

His son had to be here. He had ridden his horse at a
ridiculous pace, but if it meant the life of his child, he didn’t care.

Hope sprung in his chest when his keen gaze skimmed
the premises. The thatched roof. The red door. The gray shed. The small garden.
The freshly painted white fence. The scent of fresh baked bread. Someone was
home.

Yet the place seemed rather quiet. Perhaps, Lady Trayton
had never made it to the Baskers’ home and had headed to London to make her
escape. Perhaps Mrs. Baskers had cooked the bread and gone back to bed. Perhaps
one of the maids Jane had hired was baking. He had no idea, but he did know a baby
could keep a person up all night.

Roderick slid off his horse and raised his hand to the
men dismounting behind him. “Be careful. Take a look around. I will go in.
Remember, there is a baby involved. No shooting.”

 The men moved about the grounds of small cottage
while Roderick started for the door. He froze when he noticed movement near the
window.

“Ho there,” he announced. “This is the Duke of
Elbourne speaking…”

Before he could go any further, the cottage door flew
open and a tall, older woman bolted toward him. “Your Grace! They’ve taken him!
They beat my husband and took the babe! There was nothing I could do. The maid
was off for the night! We could not fight them!” She clung to Roderick’s coat
and sobbed. “Mr. Baskers is inside, bleeding. I don’t know if he will live. Oh,
please, help him. Please.”

For a second, Roderick felt his world tilt. Lady Trayton
had his son!

He patted the lady’s back, but his heart felt as if it
had been split in two. He instructed a few of his men to enter the cottage. “Do
what you can for the man.”

He handed Mrs. Baskers a handkerchief. She blew her
nose loudly and nodded her head. “Thank you, Your Grace.”

He put a gentle hand to her cheek and frowned at the
bruise he saw.

“They hit you?” he asked, anger growing in his belly.

She sniffed. “I tried to hide with the baby. But they
found me. I heard them beating Mr. Baskers, but I dared not show myself.” She
sobbed, looking back at the cottage. “Do you think they can help him? He’s all I
have in the world.” She let out a heart-wrenching sob. “Married thirty years
this coming November.”

“William,” Roderick called to one of his men. “Fetch
the doctor.” He turned to the lady and helped her back inside the cottage.
“Now, madam, I wish you to tell me everything you know.”

Mrs. Baskers straightened and boldly met his gaze. “I
scratched the lady’s face, I did. She wasn’t too fond of me anyway. Wish I
could have struck her again, but that’s when they hit me.”

It took everything for Roderick to stay calm. If they
hit a woman, what would they do to a baby? “Was my son alive when they left?”

Mrs. Baskers stared at the cradle near the wall. “The
lady didn’t seem as if she was going to harm the child. She was quite careful
with him. Put him in that little basket I have.” She shifted a watery gaze back
to Roderick. “Oh, my. Do you think she might hurt him? Who would hurt an
innocent baby?”

Roderick’s stomach knotted. Evil people would indeed
hurt an innocent child. But he did not have the heart to tell Mrs. Baskers the
truth. The poor lady had suffered enough.

He had no idea what Lady Trayton had planned. But if
his suspicions about the woman were correct, and she had killed Garette, and also
had a hand in her husband’s demise, there was no telling what she would do.
Roderick knew his son’s life was in the balance - his son whom he had never
seen.

He clenched his jaw as a stabbing pain gripped his chest.

If he did not find the child soon, there was no
telling what might happen.

But he would find him! He would not feel sorry for
himself. He would find his babe or die trying.

Jane’s eyes widened in fear when the carriage came to
a halt. Shouts rang in her ears. The horses whinnied in protest. She peered out
the window where a handful of robins took to the sky. To her left, the door suddenly
opened and Captain Argyle stepped inside. His breath swirled in front of her. Unease
filled her as she watched him pull the door closed and take a seat across from her.

“Forgive me, ladies, but I need to speak with you.”

Agatha growled, tapping her parasol on the floor. “You
scared us half to death. Keep this carriage moving. We do not have a minute to
waste!”

The captain leaned forward and clasped his hands together.
“I am thinking we are too late.”

“Too late?” Jane gasped in horror. “We cannot be too
late!”

Agatha whacked the man in the shins. “You, sir, may
depart the premises and get this carriage rolling. Now!”

The captain’s lips thinned in annoyance as he eyed the
parasol. “I am afraid I cannot do that. No, I am afraid, I will not do that,
Miss Appleby. Not until I speak to you and the duchess.”

Heartbroken, Jane tightened her hands on her cloak.
Why
was the captain doing this? They were not too late!

“I think you have said enough,” Jane said, fighting
back tears. “I want this carriage to move on to its destination. I am not going
back to Lord Vexfield’s. And if you dare think about turning back!” She pulled
out her pistol. “I shall shoot you.”

The captain put his hands in the air and grinned. “A,
a mother protecting her cub would do anything. I think you have just proven
that fact.”

Jane scowled. “I think you underestimate me, Captain. I
would not like to shoot you. But you are not going to block my plans. Do I make
myself perfectly clear?”

The captain dropped his hands to his knees. His green
eyes gave off a dangerous glint. “And I want you to listen to what I have to
say. Give me two minutes.”

 “Jane,” Agatha replied with a frown. “Put the
pistol away. I believe the captain believes your son may be somewhere else. Is
that not so, James?”

The captain sighed. “Indeed, dear woman. It may be a
long shot, but I believe there is the possibility Lady Trayton has taken
another route. At present, we are at the fork in the road.”

“And where would the woman be going if not to the
Baskers?” Jane asked, sick with worry. “Are you saying she already has my son?”

“If you would let me finish,” the captain said,
exasperated. “We might be able to find your baby.”

Jane pressed her lips together, hating every minute
that was lost. “Go on.”

“If Lady Trayton already has your son,” he said,
putting up his hand when Jane opened her mouth to protest. “And that is only an
if, mind you. Nevertheless, if she does have him, the lady most likely came
down this road and turned here.” He pointed out the window. “Her late husband, Lord
Trayton owned a hunting lodge not far from where we are now. Heard at White’s a
few years ago that Lord Trayton was having financial difficulties. He invested
in the building, setting the lodge up as an inn.”

Jane bit her lip hard, making it bleed. “Then you
believe she is taking refuge there? With my son?”

The captain nodded. “It is possible. She has to hide
somewhere. I know Roderick is already covering the Baskers’ cottage. And if your
baby is there or anywhere near there, he will find him.”

“I want my son,” Jane said with a halting sob. Pain clenched
her chest.

“I know,” he said, patting her knee. “But look at it
this way, if there is a chance the lady doubled back, we probably would have
seen her. She may not have your son at all. But we must face the facts. If she has
kidnapped the child, I believe she would have headed this way. Not only that, she
believes she has a good start on us because her note was to be delivered to you
later this morning. We can catch her by surprise. But you have to be willing to
take that chance and turn down this road. What do you say?”

“What is the name of this illustrious inn,” Agatha put
in.

“The Red Fox and King,” he offered.

Agatha scowled. “I have heard of it.”

Jane watched the two exchange a knowing look. “What
kind of inn is this place?” she asked, her fear mounting.

“I am not going to sugar coat it,” the captain said. “It
is a house of ill repute.”

Jane clenched her hands. “An inn indeed. I am surprise
you know about this place, Captain.”

He flushed. “Are we going to turn down the road I
suggest, or should we continue on to the Baskers’ cottage? It is your call.”

Agatha stared at Jane. “He’s right. It’s up to you, my
dear.”

Jane clutched her reticule, her heart racing. She
peered back at Agatha. “What do you think I should do?”

“I cannot make that choice,” the older lady said. “He
is your child.”

Jane grimaced. “We go to the Red Fox and King Inn.”

The captain smiled. “Good girl. Hang on. I am going to
push the group at a hasty pace. It may be quite bumpy.”

“I don’t care about it being bumpy,” Jane snapped,
trying to hold herself together. “Just get me there.”

The captain nodded and departed, closing the door
behind him. The carriage started clipping along, the jangle of harnesses
ringing in Jane’s ears.

Frowning, Jane turned to Agatha. “Why would the lady
take my child? I don’t understand a mother, of all people, doing such a thing.
She must have wanted me to suffer. That is the only reason I can see why she
even sent me that note. She could have taken my son without anyone the wiser.
At least for a little while.”

Agatha let out a shaky breath. “I believe she is not
all there. Her son died about six months ago. I understand she lost her mind
for a few days. I am thinking she never recovered.”