Mistletoe and Mayhem - Cheryl Bolen Page 0,118

louder.

It took two more knocks until finally the door opened. The man before him was large, larger than Timothy. His jacket looked like it had been pulled on with haste, as the buttons were done up wrong, and the leg of one trouser was rolled to the calf.

“I wish to speak with the owner of this establishment.”

“You’ll be lucky. No one in here rises till well after midday.” He then yawned loudly. “Come back later, sir, and the women will be ready for you to have some fun afore you leave London.”

“I have no wish to have fun, I wish to find my brother. He has not returned home. I believe he is inside your establishment.”

“Him and others. Come back later, and you can take him home.” The man gave him a sly grin, then slammed the door in his face before he could reply.

He knocked again, this time hammering a fist on the wood, but no one answered.

“That went well. I had hoped to gain entry the polite way. It seems that is not going to happen. Come, Timothy, we shall try the rear entrance.”

Leaving the building, he walked back out to the street. The carriage was parked a small distance away now.

“What is happening?” Ivy was leaning out the window.

“God’s blood, woman get back inside at once!”

“What are you doing?” she said, ignoring him.

“Attempting to enter from the rear. Now stop drawing attention!”

She withdrew with haste, and he saw the curtain close over the window.

“An extremely challenging woman, your employer, Timothy.”

“But the very best, sir.”

They walked down the side of the building and found an entrance at the rear.

“What is your plan, Mr. Haddon?”

“A very loose one, I fear, but I hope to gain entry and look around. Of course, that will not be easy, as most of the beds will be full. My hope is that some poorly paid staff member will be bribed into telling me where Mr. Redfern is.”

“A sound notion, and likely, as most staff are poorly paid.”

Of that he had no doubt. Most of the gentry he knew were terrible nip-farthings, however his sister-in-law had once been a servant, so the Haddons now all paid their staff well.

Testing the door, Rory found it too was locked. The wood was sturdy, and he doubted he could drop his shoulder into it without damaging it and alerting anyone inside that he was there.

“Excuse me, sir.”

Timothy was nudging him to one side. He watched the man produce something to put into the lock. He rattled it about a bit, there was a click, and it opened.

“You must be a handy man to have around.”

“I once earned my living as a criminal, sir. Miss Redfern helped me to change my ways.”

He was now even more curious about her.

“Now is not the time to hear that story, Timothy, but you’ll understand my curiosity and hope that one day you will share the details.”

Rory opened the door wider and slipped through. He found the kitchens empty and made his way along a hall, finding a set of stairs.

He motioned to Timothy that he was going up, and the footman nodded, following. There was no noise. No footsteps or voices raised, but he knew there were many inside the place. He just needed to find one of them. If Jackson Redfern was indeed in Le Plaisir as Ivy suspected, Rory knew something was keeping him here. The question was what?

A woman perhaps, some kind of coercion, or was he unwell? Or could it be they’d dosed him with something like Squire Paulson’s son, to keep him here while they emptied his family’s coffers.

“Are we to open every door?” Timothy whispered as they reached the second floor.

“It’s not my fondest wish, yet I believe it the only option open to us unless that staff member appears.”

The footman didn’t look happy, and Rory had to agree. He pulled out his pistol; behind him, Timothy did the same.

“I think we will start on the top floor.” To his mind, if you wanted to hide someone, you did it in the least accessible place.

It was dark, dank, and smelled of so many things it was hard to identify. Some he had no wish to, but the scent of alcohol was strong. They climbed slowly, stopping every time the floor creaked.

This floor had fewer doors. He tried the first. Inside were two women sleeping in a bed. He closed it behind him. The next held a naked couple. The man’s large white bottom was uncovered.

“Some