Caroline hated to admit it, right here and now, she needed help. And he had offered. Was that not enough?
As foolish as it might be, was he not a man she was beginning to trust? At the very least, he was a man more dangerous than Mr. Wolsey.
Not hesitating a moment longer, Caroline spun around and grabbed Sarah’s hands. “Go and fetch Lord Markham. Tell him…tell him I need him. Go!”
“What?” Sarah’s eyes went wide. “Why would you—?”
“Simply go and do as I say. Now!”
With a frown on her face and a look in her eyes promising that the last word concerning this matter had not yet been spoken, Sarah hurried back out onto the street.
Caroline could only hope that Markham was home, that he was a man true to his word and that she could stall Mr. Wolsey until he arrived!
This needed to end today.
Once and for all.
Chapter Twenty-One
A Rather Unexpected Call for Aid
If looks could kill, Pierce would’ve been dead the moment Caroline’s lady’s maid had stepped across his threshold!
The young woman had been adamant in her insistence to see him and then relayed the message she’d been entrusted with with quick and efficient words, her bright green eyes glaring at him the whole time.
Pierce had immediately shot to his feet and called for his carriage. However, the young woman had pointed out that her hired hackney coach was still waiting by the curb. Congratulating her on her quickness of mind—to which she’d reacted as though he’d insulted her—they rushed outside and been on their way only moments later.
Now, they sat in silence as the coach sped along the streets toward their destination.
“You dislike me,” Pierce commented as she continued to glare at him.
Her shoulders went up and down. “You do not deserve her trust.”
Pierce scoffed. “I doubt I have it.” He leaned forward, his gaze settling on the woman on the other side of the coach. “She had no choice, did she?” His pulse sped up at the thought of Caroline alone with the man who’d stolen from the orphanage. Clearly, the man was lacking in morals of any kind, and Pierce feared that Caroline’s rather direct and unyielding manner might tempt him to behave in the worst way.
The young woman shook her head.
“Do you have a name?” Pierce asked, annoyed with the way she kept regarding him as though he were dirt under her boot.
Her brows rose, but she did not say a word.
Slumping back into his seat, Pierce drummed his fingers on his legs, nervously awaiting the end of their journey. When the orphanage finally came in sight, he all but jumped from the moving vehicle, not bothering to assist his companion as there were more pressing matters on his mind than placating Caroline’s maid.
Indeed, her mistrust and watchfulness proved her a valuable friend and the depth of her loyalty made her priceless. Caroline had indeed chosen well, and Pierce knew that the only way to gain the young woman’s approval was by proving himself as loyal and trustworthy as she was.
Focusing his thoughts, Pierce raced up the steps to the front door, then threw it open and proceeded down the corridor, his steps guided by the loud voices echoing toward him. With relief, he took note of Caroline’s strong reply to a downright insulting remark from a man he presumed to be Mr. Wolsey while Albert’s feeble attempts to appease them both were completely ignored.
“You have no right to send me away!” Mr. Wolsey snarled at Caroline as Pierce stepped across the threshold. While Albert all but sagged in relief at the sight of him, the other two had yet to take note of his appearance.
Caroline stood with her hands on her hips, eyes narrowed in anger as she glared at the man who’d taken Albert’s seat behind the large desk. His eyes looked unfocused and mildly bloodshot. His greying hair was unkempt and his attire disheveled. Even from across the room, Pierce could detect the faint scent of spirits that wafted into the air every time the man opened his mouth to hurl another insult.
“You’re a drunkard and a profligate,” Caroline growled as she stalked toward the desk, “and I will not have you near the children! Do you hear?”
In that moment, Caroline’s lady’s maid appeared beside Pierce, her breath coming fast and her eyes narrowing as she looked at him. “Will you not assist her?”
Pierce chuckled. “It does not seem as though the lady needs any assistance,” he told her before his