The Defiant Wife (The Three Mrs #2) - Jess Michaels Page 0,68

from around the back. Had a satchel she was closing up and she said good afternoon and talked for a moment. Said she had to get a few last things that her husband left behind. I wished her good luck and off she went, walking back through town.”

“Thank you,” Abigail croaked.

The woman nodded, though she gave them all a strange look, indeed, before she went back to her own stoop and to her sweeping. Abigail motioned to the carriage before she spoke to her driver a moment. Then they both clamored in, taking their seats.

“I asked Thomas to hold a moment while we decide our next move,” Abigail explained. “What do you make of it?”

Pippa shook her head. “She must have come back for something Erasmus hid here. Money or something else.”

“It could have been anything,” Abigail said with a frown. “Ill-gotten or properly so. But think of what she said. Back to the beginning.”

“Her father’s pub? The Stag and…” Pippa rocked her head back against the seat. “Oh, what was it called? Rhys said it a few times.”

“The Stag and Serpent,” Abigail finished with a purse of her lips. “In Cheapside.”

“Do we dare go there?” Pippa asked.

“I was under the impression from talking to Owen and Celeste about it after you and Rhys left for Bath that it wasn’t a terrible place,” Abigail offered. “We might stand out a bit as two ladies, but I doubt we’d be in very great danger as long as we stay together.”

“I say we try it.” Pippa sighed. “God’s teeth, this is like a never-ending nightmare.”

“And this is how we end it.” Abigail got out of the carriage and Pippa heard her say the pub name and the area of London.

They rolled out once she was settled back in place. It was nearly an hour’s journey thanks to the traffic back in the city proper. Normally Pippa would have talked to Abigail, but they were both silent, the tension mounting with every passing mile.

“Is this a good idea?” Pippa whispered at last as they turned down a long street, one that would take them to their destination.

Abigail let out her breath in a shaky puff. “Probably not. But we’re doing it for Kenley, aren’t we? So we must go on.”

Pippa reached out and caught Abigail’s hand. They had been more uncomfortable with each other for a few weeks. It had hurt Pippa when she found out Abigail had more knowledge about Erasmus’s bad deeds than she had once let on. But in that moment, all was forgiven.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” she said. “For being one of my truest friends. It means everything and I will never forget it.”

Abigail squeezed her fingers gently. “If we stand, we stand together. Always.”

And then the carriage stopped and the future had to be faced. For better or for worse, and Pippa was happier than ever that she didn’t do it alone.

Chapter 20

Rhys leaned his elbows on the bar top at the Stag and Serpent. It was only midday but the place was already busy with area men and women having their meal and a pint or two. He’d been here before, looking for the same woman they sought now. Only Owen had been there with him that time, and the reception they’d gotten was not friendly, to say the least.

But with the luncheon crowd buzzing, their threesome faded into the background much easier and no one seemed to care that they didn’t truly belong here.

One of the serving maids stepped up near them, and Rhys flashed his brightest smile, adjusted his accent slightly and said, “We’re looking for someone—do you think you could help?”

She edged a bit closer and let her gaze dance along all three of them. She smiled a bit flirtatiously. “Perhaps I could be convinced.”

“Rosie Stanton. I believe she’s the proprietor’s daughter.”

Her smile fell and turned to a glare. “I already told the women that I don’t know where Rosie is. And if you ask too many questions around here, you might not like how it goes. Leave her be, she’s been through enough.” She flounced away.

Rhys blinked and stared at Owen and Gilmore. “The women?” he repeated, his heart sinking.

He turned to scan the crowd, this time looking for a face far more familiar than Rosie Stanton’s. It was Owen who found them. He pointed across the tavern, his lips pursed. “There they are.”

Rhys followed the indication, and as the crowd parted slightly, he saw Phillipa and Abigail sitting