no idea where he had gone or where the carriage was taking me, but when the driver told me we were bound for Liverpool, I began to grow suspicious. Then when I arrived and met Edward, it became apparent what he had done—that he had taken Lucy. We were arguing about it, and that is what you saw on the street.”
Amelia struggled to separate her emotions from the story. “You had naught to do with the kidnapping?”
“No. Nothing. Upon my honor. How could I have known what he had planned? He never trusted me.”
Amelia fell back against the seat, trying to absorb all she had heard. “Edward is a snake, a scoundrel.”
Helena’s face crumpled, as if torn between the desire to defend Edward and acknowledging her mistakes. Tears once again began to flow. “My life is ruined, Amelia. What have I left? If Captain Sterling does not deliver the money, Edward is going to take us to the West Indies, and heaven knows what he will do with us there. Father and Mother will never know what happened to us and—”
“Are you sure, Helena?” Amelia interrupted, unable to prevent the sharp edge in her voice. “Are you sure that your father knows nothing of this? He would have as much to gain and—”
“No! I am certain Father knew nothing. Edward even told me as much.” Helena sniffed. “Poor Father. And Mother will be heartbroken. It will be as if we simply vanished.”
“Well, that will not happen.” Amelia forced as much confidence into her whisper as she could muster. “Captain Sterling has the money. He will not leave us. Mark my words.”
“And if he does recover us, how can I ever show my face in society again? I am such a fool!”
“What’s done is done.” Though compassion for her cousin’s situation pricked her, she fought a rebuke. Helena was entrenched in her own pain. Did she not see the more immediate threat, not only to herself but to Amelia, Lucy, Mrs. Dunne, and Graham? But Helena’s actions were consistent with her nature. “Come now. We must stay strong. Tears will not help us one bit.”
Helena gave another big sniff. “But what are we going to do?”
Unable to hug her cousin due to the rope around her wrists, Amelia leaned her head on Helena’s shoulder. For once, the path she needed to take was unwaveringly clear.
“Pray, Helena. We will pray.”
Despite the cold air, Graham felt a trickle of perspiration run down his neck. The purple shadows of dusk blanketed the streets, and yellow candlelight spilled from dirty windows onto the cobblestones below.
Graham squinted in the fading light to see across the marketplace. On the other side of the square, Sulter leaned against the warehouse wall, smoking a pipe. He tipped his hat in Graham’s direction. The signal. His plan was working. He was one step closer to bringing Lucy, Amelia, and Mrs. Dunne to safety.
Graham nudged his brother’s arm. “Let’s go.” Sure-footed and determined, he crossed the street, keeping his hat pulled low.
William struggled to keep up. “What will we do when we get there?”
“Just keep your eyes open and wait for my lead.”
Sulter withdrew to the alley, as planned, and Graham and William followed him.
Sulter waited until both brothers were in the alley’s safe shadows. “I took a turn around the building and spied in a few windows. Didn’t see Miss Barrett but heard a woman’s voice awhile back and a baby cry some time past. Whatever we do, we best be quick about it. A carriage pulled in the alley as I came round.”
Graham narrowed his eyes. He surveyed the dilapidated building, noting the broken window and crumbling façade. Every instinct within him screamed that Lucy, Amelia, and Mrs. Dunne were within this building. He wanted to rip it down stone by stone to get to them. But he had to be smart. He flexed his scarred hand. He knew better than to be impatient. The price of failure was far too steep.
Graham returned his attention to Sulter. “What are we dealing with?”
Sulter drew another puff from his pipe and looked down the dark alley. “Three doors into the place. One locked; it appears to be a cellar. The other is the main entrance where Littleton went in. There’s a third door behind the building, off another alley. If we go in, that door’s the one we should use.”
Graham flipped his collar up around his chin. He knew the answer to his question before he asked it. But stubborn hope