“No.”
Ewan blinked slowly, his gaze boring into the earl. He was a little, little man. Ewan could have crushed him with no more effort than it took to crush a fly.
“I won’t have you abusing him.”
“I won’t abuse him unless he deserves it.”
The earl actually drew back slightly, seeming afraid of Ewan. Good. There were enough times Ewan had been afraid of his father. It was time the tables were turned. “What is this about, Ewan? Did you find de los Santos? Did he tell you something else about Francis?”
Ewan had forgotten all about the diamond mine swindle and for a moment he was thrown off guard. “What else would he have told me?” And then Ewan knew what his father suspected. No, what his father knew. Francis had been part of the swindle. He’d hoped to make millions but instead Francis, the swindler, had been swindled.
Ewan couldn’t stop his lip curling in disgust. “And that is the man you would rather have as a son? He has no honor, no scruples—”
“At least he’s not a complete idiot,” his father retorted.
“And who is the real idiot?” Ewan asked. “You are the one who has lost everything. And do you know that your idiot son has found the solution for you?” Ewan started around the desk, moving slowly but deliberately. The earl shrank back in his chair. “That’s right. I’m too stupid to read Latin or Greek, but I understood the mortgage documents. You mortgaged the house and the rents in Yorkshire, not the land. That I assume was a fortunate coincidence, because I doubt you ever read the surveyor’s reports. If you had, you might know that the land is full of iron and lead. I sent surveyors there myself a few days ago to be certain. You should have their findings in a sennight at most.”
The earl’s jaw dropped, and he was the image of complete astonishment. “But that’s it,” he muttered. “I never…there could be minerals…if we dig…” He looked up at Ewan. “How did you think of this?”
He hadn’t thought of it, Lorraine had, and now she was the one in danger. “I’ve helped you, now you help me. Tell me where Francis lives.”
The earl shook his head. “I know what this is about, and your cousin didn’t mean it.”
Ewan lowered his arms so his hands clenched the sides of the chair his father occupied. “Tell me or I will make you tell me.”
“It’s nothing. I’ve said too much.”
Ewan lowered his head until his face was an inch from his father’s. “Do you know what working for Draven taught me? How to make a man talk. I break a finger or a toe, your tongue still works. I break a hand, and you may cry, but you can still blubber.”
“You wouldn’t!” the earl hissed. “I’ll ring for the butler.”
Ewan blinked, bemused. “Is he stronger than he looks?”
“You wouldn’t!” the earl said, voice wobbling.
Ewan leaned close. “Think about all the times you used your fists on me, Father. Then tell me you don’t deserve a taste of what you gave me.”
The earl cringed back and his lip trembled.
Ewan leaned forward, and the earl began to talk.
*
Susan knocked on her husband’s bedchamber door before she even knew what she was about. This was no time to hold on to her pride, no time to wonder whether she could really trust him, really believe he loved her this time.
She needed him. Lorrie was his daughter too, and only he could understand how she felt right now. Only he could understand her pain, her fear. He knew the same pains, the same fears.
He opened the door himself, and though she had intended to say something, she fell into his arms, weeping. He caught her and pulled her close, his coat smelling of bergamot and tobacco, familiar and soothing scents to her.
“Shh,” he whispered, stroking her hair. “You don’t have to be strong in front of me.”
The words were what she’d needed. She’d been so strong all day, and now she felt all that resolve crumbling. “If anything has happened to her—”
“Mostyn will bring her back. He won’t allow anything to happen to her.”
Susan looked up at him. She wanted to believe him, needed to believe him. His green eyes met hers, filled with a calm strength that gave her strength. Her fingers closed on the lapels of his coat, holding on to him tightly.
“I’ll ring for tea and a cold compress,” he said.
She shook her head. “I don’t need tea.”
He placed a finger over her lips. “Let me take care of you, Susan.”
“Yes.” She wrapped her arms around him. “I don’t need anything but you.”
“I’m here.”
“Just hold me.”
He led her to the bed, gathered her in his arms, and held her.
Eighteen
She’d prayed the torture in the cart would end—the bouncing and rattling that left her battered and bruised. When it did end, she had regretted her prayer immediately.
“He’ll come for us, Welly,” Lorrie whispered, holding the puppy close. Welly had managed to fall asleep, despite the new surroundings and Lorrie’s palpable fear. The dog snoozed peacefully, while Lorrie stared into the gloom of the room. She’d decided it must have been the gardener’s work shed at a great house once upon a time. It smelled of dried herbs and peat, and underneath all that, the sweet scent of fruit or flowers. She’d had a glimpse of a long table and windows in the large room after her captors had pulled off her hood but before they could close and lock the door. The room she occupied was smaller, three paces by two paces. At one time it might have been used to store gardening implements. Now there was nothing inside but a muddy apron. Lorrie had put it on the floor and sat, pulling her knees close to her chest.
The tiny room boasted no windows, but the small building was old and in disrepair, and she could see sunlight through cracks in the wooden slats. Beyond the sunlight was green and more green. This might have been a gardener’s work building before, but now the area around it was overgrown.
They’d traveled through the night, but it was still morning, which meant they couldn’t have made it far outside London. Still, it was far enough. Lorrie didn’t see how anyone would ever find her here. The thought was enough to bring fresh tears to her eyes.
She swiped them away. She wouldn’t cry. It would only make her thirsty, and except for a small cup of stale water and one moment of privacy in a makeshift privy out back so she might relieve herself, her captors had given her nothing.