can help find your maid, do you?”
“Mr. Cartwright is sure to know where Lord Reade lives.”
“And supposing he tells us? Although he may not wish to. One doesn’t hand out addresses willy-nilly. The baron may be busy or away from London. And perhaps he won’t care to find your maid.” He patted her cheek. “I’m not sure what has happened to your usually sound reasoning. But I shall indulge you. The worst that can happen to us is we won’t be permitted entry.”
In the hall, her father shrugged into his coat. “Just don’t get your hopes up, Jo.”
“We must find her, Papa. I am responsible. And there’s nothing else I can think to do.” Jo tied the strings of her bonnet. “Mr. Spears, should Sally return before us, please tell her to await me in my bedchamber,” she said to the butler.
“I shall instruct Mrs. Cross,” Spears said, looking affronted.
The door knocker banged, echoing around the hall. Startled, they gazed at each other and waited in breathless anticipation as the butler stalked over to open it.
Sally huddled on the porch hatless, her eyes enormous pools of dark distress. Her rumpled skirts and pelisse looked damp and badly soiled, and her hair escaped down her neck.
“Sally!” Jo leaped forward and dragged the girl inside.
Sally shuddered. “I’m sorry, Miss Jo. I should go to the servant’s entrance, but I’ve been so frightened.”
With a sob of relief, Jo threw her arms around her. She drew the distressed girl into the parlor.
Her father shut the parlor door on the butler and went to the sideboard, where he removed the stopper from the sherry decanter.
Sally sank down on the sofa and struggled to get the words out while Jo fired off questions, the maid struggled to answer.
Her father handed Sally a glass of sherry. She took a long sip and coughed.
Jo, losing patience, took hold of her arm, almost spilling the drink. “What happened to you, Sally? Tell us quickly! We’ve been so worried!”
Her shoulders shook. “They kidnapped me.” Tears tracked down her face.
“Kidnapped?” Reade had been right in warning her. Why hadn’t she listened to him? Jo rummaged in her reticule and pressed the handkerchief into Sally’s hand. “Did they hurt you? Who could have done such a dreadful thing?”
“They didn’t hurt me, but I’ve no idea who they were,” Sally wailed. “The strings on one parcel had come undone, and as I stooped down to retie it, a man grabbed me from behind. He put his hand over my mouth and bundled me into a carriage pulled up beside us. Before I could twist around to see who he was, he dragged a black hood over my head and shoved me to the floor. I tried to scream, but he poked me in the back and snarled at me. Told me to keep quiet, or he’d throttle me. I must have fainted because I remember very little of the journey or where we went.”
“But I was only a little way down the street, hailing the hackney,” Jo said. “Why did I not see?”
Sally took another sip of the drink and grimaced. “It happened so fast.”
As she struggled with feelings of guilt, Jo stared at her aghast. “How did you escape?”
“I didn’t.” Sally gazed at her owlishly. “They took me somewhere. A noisy place. There was loud laughter. They pushed me into a room with my hands tied. I heard the door shut. My legs gave way, and I fell onto a dusty carpet and huddled there for hours. I must have fallen asleep. When I woke, I was ever so stiff. My arms hurt something awful with my hands tied behind my back. It must have been morning, although no light came through the hood. And I was devilishly hungry.”
Sally drained the rest of the sherry and collapsed back against the sofa. “Then the door opened, and a woman came in. I smelled her strong lavender perfume. The woman must have stood looking at me for several minutes without speaking. I pleaded with her to let me go, but she went out and closed the door. I could hear them outside the room. She was arguing with the man. Fair yelling at him, she was. Ordered him to let me go straight away. He didn’t want to, and I was almost sick with fear that he might persuade her to let him keep me. But he finally agreed. I sagged with relief and could barely find my feet as he dragged me out