chamber and never look back. “Very well, Catherine. But we ride hard and we ride fast. With any luck, Cochran’s using a carriage, thinking he had hours before anyone would notice your daughter’s absence.”
“I’ll come with you,” Cora said.
“No,” Sebastian said. “Assist Mrs. Shaw with Bingham and have the others follow when they return.”
“But—”
“No buts.” Sebastian could see the toll this situation was taking on her. Cora hadn’t fully recovered from her near-death experience in a French dungeon. Being thrown in the midst of another lethal mission so soon after the last would not help with the healing process. “I can take care of Cochran and his fiendish assistant.”
He strode away before his agent could argue further, grasping Catherine’s hand on his way by.
Twenty-five
“Whoa!” the driver yelled.
Teddy had enough of a warning to brace himself before the front of the carriage bucked high into the air and came crashing back to the ground. Horses screamed, wood splintered, men cursed. Teddy rubbed his bruised bottom.
The carriage door flew open. “Driver, what the hell happened?”
“Pardon, Mr. Cochran,” the driver said. “A large branch in the road. With this godforsaken blackness, I didn’t see it in time.”
Teddy heard a loud click.
“Silas, take a look.”
“Yes, sir.”
Bracing his feet wide, Teddy levered himself up enough to peer through the small window at the back of the passenger compartment. Inside, he found the shadowy silhouette of Sophie sprawled on the far seat, still in her nightdress. She appeared unharmed, but tousled.
The carriage tilted to the side and then the door closed softly. Teddy ducked back down, holding on to Sophie’s wooden archer with all his might. A scuffling noise to his left made his ears perk up.
“Put your weapon down, Mr. Cochran,” a new voice said. “We have your man.”
The newcomer’s statement caused a moment of silence. Then Cochran demanded, “Who’s there? Show yourself.”
“Name’s Declan McCarthy. Now drop your pistol and stand clear of the carriage.”
Teddy’s eyes rounded. What was Meghan’s papa doing out here?
“McCarthy,” Cochran mused. “Little Meghan’s father, I presume?”
“That’s right, you bastard. You’ll pay for what you did to my wee Meghan.”
While McCarthy spoke, Teddy followed the path of the man’s voice, which seemed to be moving closer to Cochran’s side of the carriage. The carpenter wanted to kill the gentleman who’d kidnapped Sophie. Did he even know she was inside? If he shot Cochran, he might miss and hit Sophie. Teddy rubbed his aching chest.
Then the soft thud of hooves against hard-packed earth caught his attention. He shifted his gaze to the right and the painful beating of his heart stopped cold. At the side of the road, he spotted a phantom in a long black cape astride an even blacker horse. The rider edged closer, and Teddy pressed his back into the paneling, his eyes growing larger the closer the phantom came. The rider halted and lifted one gloved finger to his lips in an age-old signal for silence. At least, Teddy assumed it was the phantom’s mouth. The large cowl hid the rider’s face, revealing nothing but a dark, gaping maw.
“Come now, McCarthy,” Cochran said. “Don’t the Irish reproduce like vermin? Surely, you have another child to take the chit’s place.”
Teddy could hear more clicking of metal coming from the passenger compartment. The phantom’s presence kept him rooted in place.
“The only vermin here is you,” McCarthy roared. “Why did you have to kill her? You could have gone away and never returned.”
“And allow the baggage to snivel my name into Mrs. Ashcroft’s ears?” Cochran’s voice turned cold. “You should thank me; two less peasant mouths to feed.”
“Bastard,” McCarthy roared. “She wasn’t a peasant, she was my daughter!”
“McCarthy, no,” someone cautioned.
Teddy recognized the butcher’s voice.
“Yes, calm yourself,” Cochran said, unruffled.
“I won’t tell you again,” McCarthy said between harsh breaths. “Drop your weapon and step away from the carriage.”
“Tell me one thing first.”
Teddy swiveled around when he heard another noise, this time closer. Two men in ragged clothing were inching their way toward the carriage. With their dirty faces, they were near invisible. But Teddy saw them. One was serious and intent. The other flashed Teddy a white smile followed with a wink.
“What?” McCarthy demanded.
“A simple matter of clarification,” Cochran said. “How did you know I would be on this road at this time?”
“I received a note from someone named Specter. The message said my Meghan’s murderer would be fleeing back to London tonight. Seems my new friend was right.”