The Devil's Necklace (23 page)

“Help us search, Mrs. Larsen. Help us find my little boy.”

The men were sent to comb the area outside while the women split into groups that searched each floor of the house head to foot, but there was no sign of Andrew. Dear God, she wished Ethan were here. But Ethan cared nothing for the baby. He couldn’t love the child of a traitor. He might even be glad little Andrew was gone.

Sick with fear, she instructed one of the footmen to go in search of a watchman. As she stood in the entry, trying to think what else she might do, servants swarmed around her, continuing to search each nook and cranny, while the male staff searched the area outside the house. She wanted to go with them, to comb the streets herself, but she was afraid to leave for fear someone might return with news of the babe.

She was shaking all over, pacing and fighting to hold back tears. It took a moment to register the sound of footfalls coming from the back of the house. Whirling toward the sound, she saw that Ethan had returned and Grace raced toward him down the hall.

“Ethan!”

He surveyed the commotion in the house, the frantic bustle of servants. The men who had been searching outside returned, their faces filled with regret.

“What the bloody hell is going on?”

Grace looked up at him and simply burst into tears. “Oh, God, Ethan.”

He caught her shoulders. “What is it, Grace? Tell me what has happened.”

“It’s Andrew. Someone took…someone took my baby.” She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Someone stole my little boy.”

She wasn’t sure how it happened, but suddenly she was wrapped in his arms and he was holding her fiercely against him. She could feel his strength like a wall wrapping around her and burrowed closer, trying to absorb some of that strength for herself.

“It’s all right,” Ethan said. “We’ll find him. We won’t stop until we do.”

Grace stared into his face. “I know how angry you were when you left. I know you hate me for helping my father. You wouldn’t…you wouldn’t take him just to punish me?”

He looked stricken. His hand trembled as it came up to her cheek. “I didn’t take him, love. I would never do any thing like that to you no matter how angry I was.”

Her throat constricted.

“Are you sure he isn’t here somewhere with one of the servants?”

She shook her head. “We’ve looked everywhere.”

“I need to know how it happened.”

She held on to her control long enough to tell him how she had gone upstairs just after he left and how Mrs. Swann had only gone out of the room for a very few minutes. When she finished, tears welled again.

“Please, Ethan. I know how you feel about the baby. I know you didn’t really want him in the first place. I know if I hadn’t got pregnant you never would have wed me. But Andrew is my child and he means everything to me. I’ll do anything—anything—if only you’ll help me find him.” She blinked back a fresh flood of tears, her heart squeezing so hard she could barely breathe. “I’ll take him and return to the country. You can have your life back
the way it was before you met me. You can divorce me, marry some one else. Someone more gentle-natured.” She blinked and the wetness rolled down her cheeks. “I’ll do anything…if only you’ll help me find my son.”

The cords in Ethan’s throat moved up and down and a sheen of moisture appeared in his pale blue eyes. “Ah, God, Gracie.” He hauled her against him and wrapped her up in his arms. It felt so good to be there. She loved him so much. She didn’t want to lose him, but finding her baby was worth any cost.

For an instant, Ethan just held her. Then he eased a little away and looked down into her face. “Andrew is my son, too. He’s
our
son, Grace. I’ll find him for you, I swear it.”

He bent his head and very softly kissed her. “I love you, Grace. I should have told you before, but I was worried about what might lie ahead. I love you and Andrew both. I’ll find our son for you. I’ll find our little boy.”

A last soft kiss, and Ethan reluctantly let Grace go. She meant everything to him. Everything. And when he thought of his child, when he thought that his tiny infant son might die, he realized he meant what he had said. He loved the baby just as he loved Grace. He would do whatever it took to bring his son home.

The footman returned just then with a watchman in tow and briefly, Ethan explained the situation. A few minutes later, he left the house, followed by the watchman, two footmen, both coachmen and a pair of grooms. The men immediately fanned out through the neighborhood as they had done before. Some of them began knocking at neighbors’ doors, hoping someone might have seen something that would help.

It would be dark within the hour. They needed to find
whoever had taken the child before the thief could disappear under cover of darkness. Freddie stayed at the house with Grace, though it was clear he didn’t want to.

“She’s frightened, Freddie,” Ethan had told him. “She needs someone to take care of her until I get back. I trust you to do that for me, lad.”

“Aye, Capt’n. I’ll take care o’ her.”

They searched throughout the evening and well into the night, but saw no sign of anything out of the ordinary.

Or any sign of the babe.

By the time Ethan returned, he was exhausted. Grace met him at the door, looking frail and shaken as he had never seen her.

“You didn’t…you didn’t find him?”

He only shook his head. Reaching out, he gently caught her shoulders. “Listen to me, Grace. Whoever did this is probably after money. They’ll send a ransom note. We’ll pay whatever they ask and Andrew will be returned.”

She looked up at him with eyes full of hope. It made his chest ache. “Do you really think so?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Who will feed him? Who will take care of him until we get him back?”

His stomach knotted. It was the question he had asked himself a hundred times. “Whoever took him probably planned for that. We have to believe that, Grace. We have to be strong for Andrew.”

Her spine slowly straightened and the strength he had seen on the ship began to appear in her face. “You’re right. I should have thought of that. They probably have a woman to feed and take care of him. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” He eased her into
his arms. “You’re Andrew’s mother. Of course you are worried about him.”

“We’re going to get him back,” she said, her voice a little stronger.

“Yes, we are. I’ve sent a note to Jonas McPhee. He’ll be here any minute. He knows his way around the underworld. Perhaps he can discover where Andrew has been taken.”

Grace nodded. “He’s a very good investigator.”

Ethan knew she was thinking of the discovery McPhee had made that she was the person responsible for helping her father escape from prison.

“He’s very good at his job and he’s going to help us find Andy.”

He gathered her closer against him. “That’s right. Tomorrow we’ll have our son back home.”

Grace pressed her face into his shoulder and hung on to him. Ethan heard her softly muted sobs and knew she wasn’t completely convinced.

Unfortunately, neither was he.

I
t was two o’clock in the morning when Jonas McPhee arrived. Grace sat on the sofa while Ethan paced the floor. Though he did his best not to show it, Grace thought he looked every bit as worried as she.

She didn’t miss his relief as the butler showed McPhee into the study. Though the hour was late, half the staff was still awake, concerned about the missing baby boy.

“I’m sorry to disturb you in the middle of the night,” Ethan said to the Bow Street runner.

“Your child is missing. I am glad you sent for me. Tell me what has transpired so far, down to the smallest detail.”

Ethan and Grace both filled him in, replaying the events of the evening, starting with Mrs. Swann’s frantic arrival in the hallway and little Andrew’s mysterious disappearance.

McPhee shoved his spectacles up on his nose. “I’ll need to see the nursery.”

“Of course.” Ethan led him upstairs and Grace went with the two men. McPhee examined the room, looking for any possible clues as to who might have abducted
the babe and where he might have been taken. He spoke to Mrs. Swann, who slept there in the nursery each night. She was still awake but couldn’t contribute much information.

“I hate to mention this,” Ethan said to McPhee once the woman was gone. “Is there any chance Mrs. Swann was somehow involved?”

McPhee scratched his balding head. “I don’t think so. She seemed sincerely distraught. But I think someone else on your staff must have given the intruder information. Probably for a price.” He walked over to the window. “Look at this. It’s been pried open from outside. That tree is close enough the man could have used it to reach the second story.”

“You mean he took my baby out the window?” Grace said, a slightly hysterical note in her voice.

“That is the way it appears, my lady.”

“And someone would have had to tell him which room was the nursery,” Ethan put in.

“Exactly so,” said McPhee.

Grace wrung her hands, unable to imagine anyone in the household would do something so heinous. “I can’t believe it was one of our people. Most of the staff has been here for years.”

Ethan’s head came up. “All but the footman we recently hired.” Turning, he started for the stairs. She could hear his boots thumping on the carpet runner, then the sound of his return a few minutes later. “Jackson is gone. He went out to help us search for the child, but according to Baines he never came back.”

“At least we know there are at least two of them. I’ll need whatever information you might have on the footman as well as a description.”

“I’ll get it together for you.”

“I have a few more questions. Perhaps Lady Sharpe would be more comfortable back downstairs in the study.”

Grace was thankful for the man’s thoughtfulness. Ethan took her arm and escorted her down to the study, then settled her on the brown leather sofa.

“We are presuming the infant was stolen for ransom,” McPhee said, once the door was closed. “Is there anyone else who might want to harm you by taking your child?”

Grace started shaking her head. “Not that I can think of.”

“What about your father?” Ethan said gently. “Andrew is his grandson. Is there a chance—”

“No! I don’t believe my father would ever do something like this.”

“Not even to bargain for his life? Perhaps he needs a means of escaping the city. Or maybe he—”

“My father wouldn’t take Andrew! Not for any reason.”

But Grace could see he wasn’t completely convinced.

She kept her chin high. “Perhaps the man my father believes is the traitor took the baby.”

Ethan’s eyes locked with hers. “What are you talking about?”

“My father believes the cleaning boy in his office was working for someone who paid him to collect the information.”

“What is this supposed man’s name?” Ethan asked darkly.

“The earl of Collingwood.”

Behind his spectacles, McPhee’s hazel eyes widened. “Collingwood?”

Ethan frowned. “That’s insane. Why would Collingwood betray his country?”

“For the same reason you believe my father would.
Money.
My father says if you investigate Lord Collingwood’s finances, you will discover how badly he was in need of funds at that time—and that he is no longer in that position.”

Ethan shifted in his chair, obviously uncomfortable with the notion. “I never liked the man but that doesn’t mean I believe he is a traitor.”

“Whatever the case,” McPhee said, rising from his chair, “we’ll need to look into every avenue. I’ll keep Collingwood’s name in mind. In the meanwhile, it is time I started my search. The moment I uncover anything solid, I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you,” Grace said, coming to her feet. She trusted Jonas McPhee, perhaps because he had discovered her part in her father’s escape and except for reporting the fact to his employer, kept his silence. Whatever the reason, she felt a sense of hope she hadn’t had before.

She looked at her husband and inside her chest her heart squeezed. He had said that he loved her. They were words she had ached to hear. But did he truly mean them? Perhaps he was simply trying to reassure her. She wished she knew for sure.

She thought of the vow he had made to see their son returned safely home and her heart squeezed. Whatever he felt for her, Ethan wasn’t a man who broke his word.

Ethan walked Jonas McPhee to the door. “I’ve a couple of friends who might be able to help in our search. As soon as it’s light, I’ll send word of what’s happened to the earl of Brant and the duke of Sheffield.”

“Good idea,” Jonas said.

“And I intend to keep looking myself. Stay in touch. Grace needs to know we’re doing everything we can.”

He nodded. “Waiting is hell. I’ll send word as often as I’m able.”

“Thank you.”

McPhee slipped off into the night and Ethan returned to the house. At dawn, he and Grace were still awake, still sitting in the study. As he had planned, he sent word to his friends and within the hour, the house was buzzing again with activity.

Both Cord and Victoria arrived, Victoria immediately going in to comfort Grace. “I know how you must feel. I know how frightened I would be if someone abducted my baby. The men will find him. I know they will. They’ll bring Andrew home to you.”

Grace just nodded and clung to Victoria’s hand.

As soon as Rafe arrived, Ethan led the men into another of the drawing rooms. “I appreciate your help.”

“You would do the same for us,” Cord said.

Ethan nodded. For the second time in his life, he felt helpless. The first time had been when he had been imprisoned. Now he was helpless in finding his lost son.

For the next half hour, the three of them went over any possible motives: revenge, profit, even insanity. Though ransom seemed most likely, every possibility needed to be discussed.

“Grace has been in contact with her father,” he told them. “She met him at the Rose Tavern yesterday. I knew she was up to something. I followed her, but I got there too late. She doesn’t think her father could in any way be involved in Andy’s disappearance, but the viscount is a desperate man. He could be captured any moment. Perhaps he was looking for some sort of bargaining chip.”

“Bloody hell,” Cord said. “That’s all Grace needs—to have the kidnapper turn out to be her father.”

“There’s one last thing. According to Grace, Forsythe swears he is innocent of any wrongdoing in the matter of his conviction. According to him, he has discovered information that the earl of Collingwood is the man who sold out to the French.”

Both men’s eyes widened.

Rafe started to frown. “The earl was sniffing after Grace. As I recall, while you were at sea, he stopped several times by the house.” He looked over at Ethan. “You’re scowling. Grace didn’t tell you, I take it. She didn’t encourage him, if that is what you are thinking, and as soon as her body began to change, he never came back again.”

“If he is the traitor,” Cord put in, “that might explain his interest in Grace.”

“Perhaps he thought she might be contacted by her father,” Rafe said. “If he actually is the guilty party, he might be worried that Forsythe is on his trail.”

Ethan had thought of that, though he very much didn’t want to. “What motive would he have for taking the baby?”

Rafe paced over to the window of the drawing room. A big, bushy-tailed squirrel ran up the tree next to the house. “Hard to say. Ransom still seems the most likely.”

“I agree,” Cord said.

“So do I.” Worried about the baby’s health in such uncertain circumstances, Ethan prayed if it was money the kidnappers wanted, they wouldn’t wait too long to ask for it.

It was less than an hour later that the ransom note arrived.

The five of them—Ethan, Grace, Victoria, Cord and
Rafe—were all huddled together in the study, Grace standing next to Ethan as he read the message aloud.

“‘We have your son. In exchange, we want fifty thousand pounds. Another note will arrive at five o’clock this afternoon with instructions where to bring the money.’”

Beside him, Grace trembled and Ethan urged her down in a nearby chair.

“Bloody hell,” Cord said.

“At least we know that ransom is the motive,” Rafe said.

“We’ve got…got to raise the money.” Grace’s voice sounded shaky. “Can we…can we get that much?” She looked up at Ethan and the fear in her eyes made his heart lurch.

“We’ll get it, love,” he said softly.

Cord spoke to Victoria. “Why don’t you have Baines bring tea for the two of you into the drawing room?”

Victoria flicked him a glance, understanding the men didn’t want to upset Grace any further yet they needed to formulate some sort of plan. Paying the ransom couldn’t guarantee the child would be safely returned. No one said the baby might no longer be alive, though each of them knew there was a chance. Tending a hungry, fussy six-week-old baby might simply be too much trouble.

Victoria led Grace away and numbly she left the study. Ethan had never seen her this way, never seen her so pale and shaken. She had always been so strong. But she was a mother now and she had lost her child. He vowed he would see that child returned.

“All right, let’s get down to business.” Rafe’s words pulled Ethan from his thoughts. “Ethan will have to arrange for the money. Cord and I will start digging for information, see what we can turn up. We’ll meet back
here at five o’clock tonight. That gives us some time before the second note arrives.”

Ethan nodded. He was used to giving orders but his family was in danger, his thoughts jumbled, and he was glad for Rafe’s solid strength.

Cord and Rafe left the house, off on their separate tasks, and Ethan went in to reassure Grace.

Sitting there with Victoria, she looked a little better, some of her strength returning, her determination. He strode toward her, knelt and took her hand.

“We’ll find him, Grace. I want you to concentrate on that and only that. Right now, I’m going to speak to my banker. Once the kidnappers have the money, they have no reason to keep little Andrew.”

Her hand trembled. “What if he cries? Men don’t like crying babies. They might…might…”

“Hush. Andrew’s a very good baby. He hardly cries at all.”

“How do you know that?”

He gave her an embarrassed smile. “I sit with him in the nursery sometimes. He always smiles when I walk in. He’s a very good little boy.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Ethan…”

“We’ll find him, love. We’ll have him home by tonight.”

Grace just nodded. She wiped the tears from her eyes with a shaky hand and Ethan prayed he was telling her the truth.

The note arrived exactly at five o’clock, delivered by a ragamuffin lad Cord dragged into the foyer and the men grilled for information.

“Who sent you?” Ethan asked, holding the lad by the collar of his tattered shirt at the back of the neck.

“Some bloke give me a schilling to bring the message so I did. I didn’t do nothin’ wrong.”

“What did the man look like?” Cord asked.

“He were skinny and ugly, not very tall. Said if I didn’t bring the note like I said, ’e’d find me and cut out me tongue.”

They let the boy go and he scrambled out the door. The group, including the women, went into the study to read the message. Though Ethan had been able to arrange for the necessary funds, the day had been disappointing. Neither Rafe nor Cord had turned up a clue as to where the kidnappers had taken the baby. Jonas McPhee had sent word he had yet to discover anything useful. He had volunteered to come with them tonight, but Ethan had declined the offer, believing the three of them could handle the situation. He preferred McPhee use his investigative talents where they might do more good.

Ethan unfolded the note and began to read the words aloud. “‘Come to Freeborn Court, near Gray’s Inn Lane. Leave the money at the mouth of the alley next to Mose’s gin shop at midnight. In return, you will receive a message telling you where you can find the babe. Come alone.’”

“Why aren’t they going to make the exchange in the alley?” Rafe asked, voicing all of their thoughts.

“Christ.” Ethan raked a hand through his hair. “We can’t just give them the money…not without getting Andrew in return.”

“What else can we do?” Grace asked, her voice little more than a whisper.

Ethan’s jaw hardened. “We’ll stake out the alley, follow whoever picks up the money. With three of us, we ought to be able to keep from losing him.”

“Odds are,” Cord said, “he’ll take the money back to
divide among his cohorts and that is where we’ll find the child.”

Ethan silently prayed Cord was right.

Time seemed interminable. Grace alternately paced the floor then sat staring out the window seeing nothing.

“It’s nearly ten o’clock,” Ethan finally said. “We need to get there early, check out the area, find places to hide where we can watch without being seen.”

Grace came up off the sofa and walked to where Ethan stood. “I want to go with you.”

Ethan gently caught her shoulders and slowly shook his head. “You can’t possibly do that, love. You would only be one more person for us to worry about.”