“Effington’s men couldn’t sneak up on a deaf granny,” Cam replied. “What are you doing here?”
“What’s Effington doing here?” Will asked as Effington continued to berate one of his minions. Will and Cam were thirty yards upwind of the stable, and Susannah was nowhere in sight. The alleys in this neighborhood were not peaceful, shady thoroughfares between one tidy stable and another; they were mean, crooked, narrow, and dirty.
And Susannah had braved all of this, for the sake of a few unfortunate dogs?
“Effington’s in a lather about something,” Cam said. “I saw Alexander about an hour ago and left him a wedge of ripe cheese near the mouth of the alley. Now I wish I hadn’t.”
Will was working on a blister on his right heel—riding boots were not intended to be worn hiking all over London. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and Georgette needed water, but what filled his mind was pride in Susannah’s courage—and worry.
A great deal of worry.
“We might be able to use your bait to our advantage,” Will said, swatting a fly away. “Have you seen Susannah?”
A scrap of purple fluttering in the breeze halfway down the alley suggested Susannah was nearby. Very nearby.
Cam offered him a glower worthy of Casriel when the housemaids were revolting. “You brought a lady into this situation? Your own lady? Willow, I raised you better than this. Effington is mean, stupid, and arrogant, and unless I mistake the situation, that stable is full of mean, smart, and determined dogs.”
“Susannah brought herself into this,” Will said, “despite claiming she doesn’t even like dogs. My lady and I will have a pointed discussion regarding her affinity for canines, assuming we survive this adventure. We’re here to rescue the dogs and put an end to Effington’s bad behavior, for if those are the kidnapped dogs, Effington’s hand in matters is undeniable.”
In the next instant, a large dog came trotting into the mouth of the alley, and only Will’s grip on Cam’s arm kept the younger Dorning from charging headlong down the alley.
“That is my dog, Willow,” Cam hissed. “That is my Alexander who has once again put himself in harm’s way, and those foul excuses—”
“It’s too late,” Will said, shoving Cam back into the shadows. “They’ve spotted him, and with Effington on hand, those men couldn’t ignore that dog if they wanted to.”
While Cam aired vocabulary that singed even Will’s ears, Effington’s second henchman, the one who’d taken the gelding into the stable, reemerged with a net draped over his shoulder.
“They’ll hurt him,” Cam said, shoving at Will. “Alexander won’t go without a fight, and they’ll take up where they left off, giving him more scars and injuries.”
Who was this passionate fellow, who’d spend days searching for one dog, squander coin he didn’t have, and risk his own neck to save the dog a beating?
“Sycamore, compose yourself,” Will said. “Three men with a net shouldn’t have to hurt the dog to subdue it. This is our chance to get to the others.”
Georgette whined softly, clearly feeling as frustrated as Cam, and Will had not a single piece of cheese to give her.
“Quiet, Georgette, please. All we need do is wait, and while Alexander provides the diversion, we’ll slip in and retrieve the dogs.”
Effington sent one minion around to the street, while the other slowly ambled down the alley, the net looped over his arm. His lordship remained closer to the stable, passing within three yards of where Cam and Will stood.
“Another moment,” Will whispered.
“We haven’t a single weapon,” Cam whispered back. “There are three of them and only two of us, and you tell me Lady Susannah is flitting about somewhere. How do we retrieve several large, unhappy dogs, Willow, without ending up caught in a net ourselves?”
“We have Georgette,” Will said, “and we have the element of—God save us.”
A flash of purple, a glimpse of pale blue skirts, and just like that, Susannah had stolen across the alley and into the stable.
From which, a furious barking immediately ensued.
*
For half the breadth of London, Susannah had argued with herself: she was a fool to pursue Effington on her own. He was ruthless, cunning, nasty, and angry. He enjoyed watching innocent creatures torment each other, and she was the last person to take on such a bully.
Even before her come-out, Susannah had learned to tread carefully, to keep to the sonnets and stage plays, to never give anybody another chance to turn her life into drama.
And yet, as she’d developed a stitch in her side, and torn one page after another from her keepsake volume of Shakespeare, another perspective had suggested itself.