Lady Charlotte and the Lending Library (The Rogue’s Alliance #1)

Chapter Twenty-One

C harlotte assumed Lord Ashford would not be attending the duke’s ball. Nonetheless, she was disappointed to not spy his handsome face among the couples dancing in the ballroom. She had no shortage of dance partners that evening, perhaps because of the gossip surrounding herself and Lord Ashford. She’d danced a set with William before Lord Meers approached her, refreshments in hand.

“You look like you could do with some refreshment,” he said, passing her a glass of ratafia.

“Thank you,” she said with a grateful smile. “It is rather stuffy in here.”

William nodded to the viscount. “Excuse me. I see a friend I must speak with.”

Charlotte doubted her brother had seen a friend across the ballroom. He merely wanted to leave her alone with a possible suitor.

After a few sips of his drink, Lord Meers asked her to dance, placing their glasses on a nearby table. Charlotte took his extended arm, and he escorted her to the dance floor.

“You seem distracted this evening,” she said to her partner as they turned together in a country dance. Louisa had told her about the viscount’s recently deceased father and the man’s penchant for gambling. It was rumored the new viscount was nearly destitute.

“Lady Charlotte, you are the most intuitive of young women.” Lord Meers released a long sigh. “Yes, my troubles are many. I shall not bore you with my tale of woe.”

“If I can help by listening, I am happy to do so.” Perhaps hearing about Lord Meers’ difficulties would distract her from her own.

They were now dancing ever closer to an open pair of French doors. The viscount slowed their dancing to a halt and released her. He rubbed his temples with one gloved hand and frowned. “I think I should like some fresh air. Do excuse me. I will be but a moment.”

The viscount slipped out of the open doors. She looked about, seeing no other dancers nearby. Charlotte would wait a few minutes for Lord Meers to return before seeking out Edith and Louisa. She heard a shout from outside, followed by a yelp of pain. The noises sounded as if they were made by the viscount. Unsure of what to do, she stood listening, now only hearing silence beyond the French doors.

Charlotte took a few steps outside into the near darkness. While the front of the house was ablaze with several lanterns, there were only a few placed about the gardens behind the duke’s townhouse.

“Lord Meers, are you here? Are you all right?”

She was now standing at the edge of the terrace, squinting into the darkness for any sign of the gentleman. There was a rustling in the shrubbery to her right at the bottom of the set of steps that led to the garden. She walked toward the bushes and whispered, “Are you there, Lord Meers?”

There were soft footsteps behind her. As Charlotte turned, a cloth was put over her mouth. She struggled to be free, catching a glimpse of a tall, hooded figure.

“Hold still now, or I’ll snap your neck.” The man had one hand over her mouth, the other like a vise across her chest, holding her tightly against him.

The low, raspy voice sent a chill down her spine. She suddenly felt sleepy. To her mortification, she felt herself go limp. Charlotte labored to keep her eyes open, but she drifted away into unconsciousness.

* * * * *

“I can’t remember a season where you attended so many entertainments,” Nathaniel said dryly from his place standing beside Ashford at the Duke of Norfolk’s ball. “Could it be you’re looking for a particular lady this evening?”

“The duke is my godfather,” he replied with a shrug. “My mother asked me to put in an appearance this evening.”

“You aren’t as immune to Lady Charlotte’s charms as you would lead me to believe.” Nathaniel paused. “The lady may have made a few mistakes, Ashford. Haven’t we all? Don’t let your pride get in the way of your happiness.”

Nathaniel was right. He was smitten with the lady.

“I expected you to be more upset by the gossip linking yourself and Lady Charlotte,” the baron said, a question in his voice.

“Perhaps there is some truth to the rumors,” he replied lightly. He’d begun to think more about his future since meeting Lady Charlotte. Despite his initial misgivings about the lady, there was a connection between them he wanted to explore.

It had been some time since Ashford visited the duke’s large townhouse at 31 St. James’s Square. The ballroom was a crush. If Lady Charlotte was at the ball, he would need some luck in locating her. Ashford scanned the ballroom for the lady while Nathaniel kept an eye on his sister and her current dance partner.

“Lord Ashford,” a soft voice whispered urgently from behind him, “we need your help.”

He turned to see Lady Edith wringing her hands and looking pale as Lady Louisa stood nearby, frowning.

“What is the matter, Lady Edith?” he asked the young woman.

The girl bit her lip. “It’s Charlotte. She was here at the ball one moment, and now she is gone.”

“Lady Charlotte is gone?” He felt his mouth go dry.

“She was dancing with someone...” Edith looked to Louisa. “I think it was Lord Meers.”

Louisa nodded. “After the set was over, Charlotte and Lord Meers were nowhere to be seen.”

Time slowed down. Ashford looked about the crowded ballroom searching for two faces. He saw neither Charlotte nor Lord Meers.

“Have you checked the retiring rooms?” he asked calmly.

Louisa replied shortly, “Of course we have. I also spoke with my driver. He didn’t see Charlotte leave by carriage.”

He had another thought. “Did her brother accompany her to the ball?”

“Oh yes! He did.” Edith paused, frowning. “I haven’t seen him for some time as well.”

“I did see William near the French doors to the gardens,” Louisa said thoughtfully. “He looked to be watching something, or someone, outside.”

Ashford returned his attention to Edith and Louisa. “Who is your chaperone this evening?”

“One of my brothers,” Louisa replied. “Why?”

“I need him to look after Miss Tilford while Baron Harbury and I search for Charlotte and her brother. Stay calm and try not to worry.” He felt silly telling the women not to worry as he was doing the same thing himself.

Edith gave him a weak smile. “I knew we could count on you to help us, Lord Ashford.”

He bowed to the ladies and strode to the French doors at one side of the large ballroom, Nathaniel beside him.

When they were several feet away from Charlotte’s friends, Nathaniel said softly, “Lady Edith may merely be prone to hysterics.”

From his time spent with Charlotte and her friends, the one thing he did know was that none of the ladies were predisposed to hysteria. Despite his resolve to remain calm, he couldn’t shake off a sense of foreboding.

Ashford and Nathaniel exited the townhouse by the French doors. There were only a few lanterns spread throughout the grounds, lending a soft glow but little illumination to the area. He guessed the garden was the size of a quarter acre. There were two gravel paths before him. The ground sloped up at the back of the walled property, allowing Ashford and Nathaniel to see a large structure ahead of them. It looked like a stable.

“The mews,” he said aloud to Nathaniel. He told himself there was no proof that Lady Charlotte had been spirited away from Norfolk House.

“Lead the way.” Nathaniel followed Ashford down the path to the left.

He walked slowly, listening for sounds other than the crunch of his and Nathaniel’s dancing slippers on the gravel. Music from the house floated on the breeze, the sound receding as he walked away from the house. The air was cool, the scent of several varieties of flowers competing for dominance.

He was nearly to the stables when he stumbled on something in the middle of the path.

A young man was lying on the ground, his face white in the near darkness. Ashford leaned over the boy, shaking him awake. “William!”

William sat up slowly, groggily putting a hand to the side of his head. “Charlotte is gone! Lord Meers took her!”

His worst fear had been realized. “Are you injured?” he asked roughly.

“A man in a hooded cloak struck me with a club, and I went down.” William removed his hand from the side of his head. There was a dark patch on his palm, possibly blood.

Ashford nodded to Nathaniel. Both men reached down and hauled William up under his arms.

“Are you sure Lord Meers took Charlotte? Did he have others with him?”

William nodded and then winced at the movement. “The viscount and another man were carrying her. Lord Meers must have drugged her as she wasn’t struggling.”

Ashford dearly hoped Charlotte was only drugged. And not worse.

“Can you stand?” he asked William.

“I think so,” the man replied shakily.

Ashford released William, and Nathaniel did the same. The young man stood still for a moment. “I’m fine now.”

“What did you see, William?” He tamped down his fear. “Where did they go? Did Lord Meers have a coach waiting?”

“I just happened to pass the open French doors and caught a glimpse of two men carrying something off the terrace. A woman in a dress.” William passed a hand over his eyes. “I heard a voice, and I knew it was Lord Meers. The man with Meers said they would take her to the lake where their boss would be waiting. When her body was found the authorities would assume she was merely another suicide. I followed the two men as silently as I could, but evidently I wasn’t quiet enough.”

The boy paused and shuddered. “The man with Meers released the feet of the woman, turned, and pounced on me. As we struggled, I got a better glimpse of the lady Lord Meers was carrying. It was Charlotte.”

“The lake?” Nathaniel asked with a whistle. “That could be any lake.”

In times of great danger, Ashford had always been able to think clearly. He must do so now for Charlotte’s sake. “I don’t think so. It is well known that the poor too often commit suicide in the Serpentine. I think they took her to Hyde Park.”

“I didn’t hear anything else,” William replied. “After the man hit me with the club, everything went black.”

“We must get to the park.” Ashford turned to hurry back in the direction of the townhouse.

He heard William reply from behind him, “I’m going with you!”

“Go through the mews, William,” he answered. “Meet us in the front courtyard. You have blood on your face and hand. It would not do for you to walk through the duke’s ballroom in such a state.”

William didn’t respond as he strode away. Ashford didn’t care whether anyone went with him or not. All he knew was that he had to get to Charlotte.