Page 82 of Redemption

“She was what?” Percy said with as much patience as he could muster.

“She was in her petticoats.” Jamie whispered as embarrassed color filled his cheeks before horrified dismay crossed his face. “And there was blood everywhere. Miss Bennett fell to the floor…and… I think she might be dead, Uncle Percy.”

“Christ Jesus.” Percy sucked in a harsh breath as his gut twisted violently. In the foyer a familiar male voice penetrated the air. Percy looked over his nephew’s head to see Viscount Sherrington pushing his way past Madison at the front door to head in his direction.

“They’ve gone to confront that bastard,” Blake said in a low voice as he reached the door of the study.

“Ruckley,” Percy stated grimly.

“Yes. I never knew his name until tonight. Arianna would never tell me his name for fear I’d do something to the man. She was right to think that.” Blake’s features were stony with the same cold rage Percy was experiencing along with another even more powerful emotion. Dread.

“Yes, I know him.” Percy glanced at the small crowd of family members pouring into the foyer to see what was happening. Unwilling to elaborate any more than necessary, he looked back at his friend.

“How do you know they’ve gone to confront the man?” Percy asked as his body hardened with a growing disquiet.

“I arrived home later than usual this evening. Arianna wasn’t at home, and I was told she’d gone to her aunt’s. Normally I would not have thought twice about it, but when I learned she’d taken one of the footmen with her, I became worried.” A muscle in Blake’s cheek twitched. “When I reached Fremont Place, I learned Arianna and Rhea had already left to meet the bastard. Mrs. Fremont indicated this Ruckley had blackmailed Rhea. Something about a young girl being harmed unless Rhea…” Blake’s voice died off as his icy façade gave way to a dark rage, and Percy remembered Jamie’s description of Rhea in her petticoats.

“Sweet Jesus,” he rasped.

Ruckley intended to have his way with Rhea. Galvanized into action Percy turned back to Sebastian only to see his brother had left the study by the side door. Percy whirled back around and saw Sebastian emerge from the back hall.

“Percy, I’ve ordered the carriage to be made ready. Come with me,” his brother said with a deeply troubled look on his face. In the back of his mind, Percy said a prayer of gratitude for his brother’s ability to think strategically. Percy circled Jamie intent on following Sebastian, but the boy grabbed his arm and held him back.

“Will she be all right, Uncle Percy?” At the boy’s question, he placed his hands on Jamie’s shoulders.

“I’m going to do my best to see that she is, Jamie, my very best.” Percy patted the child’s shoulder and moved quickly to follow Sebastian into the library. As he entered the room, he saw his brother had thrown open the gun cabinet and had distributed weapons to Lucien, Julian, and Blake. A pistol in his hand, Sebastian finished loading it then handed it to Percy.

“I don’t think I need to say I understand what you’re both feeling right now,” Sebastian said quietly as he glanced at Sherrington and then back to Percy. “I’ve had Madison send for Scotland Yard. Did Mrs. Fremont say where your wife and Miss Bennett were going, Sherrington?”

“The Bull and Hare.”

“I know that pub,” Percy exclaimed with a grimace. “It’s near the Saint Katherine docks. It’s a viper’s nest of the worst rabble one might expect to find in the East End.”

“I’ve never been happy with all your nightly excursions into the East End,” Sebastian said with a shake of his head as he met Percy’s gaze. “But this is one instance when I can say I’m grateful for it. Julian, Lucien, and I will follow as soon as the inspector arrives.”

“Thank you,” Percy said quietly as he clutched his brother’s arm in gratitude and affection.

“Watch your back, little brother,” the Rockwood patriarch said in a gruff voice. “Come home to us safely, and bring your bride with you.”

Percy’s gut twisted at his brother’s words as he nodded then gestured to Blake to follow him. As he strode out into the foyer, the Rockwood women were gathered in a small circle. Their faces were strained with worry, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Patience hurrying toward him. Her hand clutched his arm tightly.

“You mustn’t forget Edgar. He’s just as dangerous to you as he is to Rhea.” At her words Percy squeezed his sister’s hand and kissed her forehead.

“I’ll remember.”

He pulled free of her grasp and hurried to the back of the house with Blake on his heels. When they reached the stable yard, they were forced to wait while the grooms finished hitching the horses. Impatient to be gone, Percy paced the stable yard until the coachman was in the driver seat. Percy gave directions to their destination then joined Blake in the carriage.

With a glance in his friend’s direction, he saw the fear beneath the viscount’s stony expression. It was pointless to offer his friend any reassurance when he was feeling the exact same way. Blake cleared his throat as he stared out the window.

“Arianna is carrying our child.” His friend’s announcement made Percy draw in a sharp breath as Blake turned his head toward him. “And God forgive me, I’d rather mourn our unborn child than lose my wife.”

The tortured note in his friend’s voice made Percy nod then look away. Silence fell between them and Percy closed his eyes as he remembered Rhea’s behavior earlier this evening. She’d known she wouldn’t be at Fremont Place when he called for her. She’d asked him to make love to her because she’d been saying goodbye. If a sledgehammer had hit his chest it couldn’t have hurt more. She was going to submit to Ruckley’s blackmail terms. She was sacrificing herself once more, and his gut knotted with raw fury at the idea of the man touching her. If the bastard laid one finger on her, he’d kill the man where he stood.