in it, and dragged me up here. I couldn't see his face. Like I said, he had it covered with a sack, and there weren't any lights. He smelled like horse manure." She stopped to pull Tyler's coat over her arms and around her torn bodice, then turned to look at the men waiting for the rest of the tale.
"He told me if I behaved, everything would be all right. I didn't recognize his voice. I'd say he was a head taller than me, maybe not much bigger than Tyler. He wore gloves and boots. When he got me up here, he had to set me down to get that rope." She nodded at the rope no one had noticed lying on the bed. "I knocked over the lantern, kicked the chair, took out the gag"—she nodded at the handkerchief on the floor—"and then you were pounding at the door. He ran for the window and was gone before I could stop him."
Evie reached for the door, then remembering the crowd behind it, turned back to the room. "Tyler?"
Tyler looked at the scrawny boy who was standing, still dazed, in the center of the room. "Go back to the office and write all that down. I'll come back and tell you more if she remembers it."
With that, he caught Evie's arm, gestured at Ben, and holding her protectively to the side nearest the wall, he eased her out the door while Ben pushed the sightseers out of the way.
Evie went without a word. Tyler in shirtsleeves and waistcoat was still an impressive sight to see. Only one person questioned his right to lead her away. Jonathan Hale stepped out of the crowd to confront them.
"Mrs. Peyton, I came running as soon as I heard the screams, but apparently your friend here was quicker." He sent Tyler a look of mixed irritation and suspicion before turning back to Evie. "Are you sure you're all right? I could arrange for your security. It is difficult to trust anyone in times like these. I hope you realize you can rely on me."
Evie looked down at the lawyer's hand grasping hers and wondered what in heaven's name he was talking about.
Tyler disengaged her hand and half carried her past the irate lawyer without a word.
Gratefully, Evie followed Tyler down the back stairs that she had just been dragged up, not protesting his strong arm at her back. She could hear Ben clattering behind them, but her thoughts drifted to the children and Daniel.
She tried not to think of the man holding her. As they popped through the back door into the alley, she asked the question uppermost in her mind. "Do you think he was one of the thieves who escaped?"
It was the same thought Tyler had been chasing around in his head. She wasn't going to like his conclusion. "Maybe we better get back to the house before we talk."
Evie accepted that. She was suddenly very tired. Her arm ached where it had been yanked behind her. Since she had left St. Louis, she had been subjected to more overt hostility than she had ever suffered in her life. If this was what real life was like, she wanted her Nanny back. She would take her adventures from between the covers of a book from now on.
Before they reached the house, Tyler was nearly carrying her. Ben grabbed the door to let them in. Evie looked up to see Daniel and Carmen safe and waiting with terrified expressions, and she started for the bedroom to check on Maria.
Tyler caught Evie's arm, removed his coat from her shoulders, swung her into his arms, and carried her into the bedroom. Maria was already sound asleep in the big bed. Tyler laid Evie beside her, brushing a kiss across her forehead.
"I'd take your clothes off, but I'd shock the children. Get some rest. I'll be right outside until morning, so you don't have to worry about a thing."
He was saying words Evie wanted to hear. She closed her eyes and nodded. Tyler would take care of everything. He would make certain Manuel and Jose were in their beds, keep away the goblins, and explain everything to Daniel. She could just lie here and pretend she was back home in St. Louis.
Except she wasn't in St. Louis. As she lay there, inert, Evie could hear the low rumble of Tyler's voice in the next room. She wanted that voice whispering in her ear again. She wanted his