My Fair Lily(76)

Callie must have sensed it as well, for she suddenly didn’t seem quite so certain of herself. “All right, I’ll tell you. It was over there, by the hedgerows.”

Ewan and George raced over to where she’d pointed, Archie close on their heels. “Och, Ewan. What’s that odd smell?”

Ewan picked up a damp handkerchief lying on the ground. It was a man’s handkerchief, plain, no initials or crest embroidered on it. He held it a good distance from his nose, yet still coughed and felt its foul, potent reach when his head began to lightly spin. “Lily’s been drugged.”

Callie, now beside them, cast him a malicious smile.

He was incredulous. “Damn it, you knew she was struggling. Didn’t you? Yet you left her to fend on her own. You knew she was in danger and did nothing to help her.”

“You can’t prove it. If asked, I’ll say I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.”

George let out a low growl. “There’s a special place in hell for people like you. That’s my niece in trouble. If anything happens to her—”

“You ought to have watched her more closely. She isn’t my problem.” She turned away from Lily’s uncle. “Come on, Archie. This party is a crushing bore. Take me home.”

“Not on your life, lass. We dinna leave here until ye’ve told them all you know. The girl’s life could be at stake. I’ll not have that on my conscience. Tell them everything you saw.”

But Callie was of little help. She refused to describe Lily’s assailant or tell them in which direction he was headed, claiming she was too overset to recall. Ewan knew she was lying, that her distress and tears were all a pretense. And he had once considered marrying this witch!

They were wasting precious time here. He cursed inwardly, blaming himself for Lily’s peril. Still, none of this made sense. If he had an enemy, why was his enemy so intent on harming Lily? No one knew how deeply he felt about her. Hell, he hadn’t realized it until tonight. The flurry of gossip several weeks ago about him and Lily being an “item” had quickly been dismissed once word got out that he’d only been protecting her from Jasper. While everyone believed Lily capable of attracting men, no one actually believed her capable of holding on to one for very long. She scared most men with her talk of fluxions and swamp baboons. “Get her out of my sight, Archie.”

He nodded. “I’ll let you know if she remembers anything. Sorry, Ewan. I’ll pray for the lass.”

As they left, Ewan turned to George. “After the incident at Tattersalls, I hired a Bow Street runner by the name of Homer Barrow to investigate on my behalf. I also had him put a man to watch over Lily. He must be around here someplace. Perhaps he’s following them.”

“Let’s hope so. These runners are clever. He might have left word with one of the coachmen. There are dozens of carriages lining the street. Let’s start asking questions. Even if they didn’t see the Bow Street runner, they might have seen something else helpful. The blackguard couldn’t have walked down the street carrying Lily in his arms without anyone noticing. Come to think of it, he must have had a carriage. It’s a small circle. These coachmen know each other, so even if the carriage had no markings, someone might have recognized the driver.”

But to Ewan’s frustration, none of them had seen or heard anything.

“There’s a mews behind Chipping Way,” George said. “That’s where he must have left his conveyance. One can slip unnoticed from the garden to the mews if one keeps to the shadows.”

“Lead the way.”

It took little time to reach the isolated structures that housed the horses, riding equipment, and carriages for the residents of Chipping Way. All was dark and silent. Since George was familiar with these structures, he lost no time in finding a lantern and lighting it. “Look, Ewan! Over there. What is it?”

There was a man sprawled unconscious on the hay-strewn floor. “Do you recognize him, George?”

“No, not one of our groomsmen. Perhaps one of the blackguard’s men.”

“Not likely. They wouldn’t have left one of their own behind to be questioned by the authorities. He could be the runner assigned to guard Lily. Damn. He’s out cold.” Ewan rose and quickly looked around for clues. Any clue. “Stay with him. Get as much information as you can from him when he rouses.”

George nodded. “Where are you going?”

“To talk to Charles and Harry.” Earlier, Lily had complained of him spying through their parlor window. He hadn’t been, but someone obviously had, and Lily and her young cousins had seen the man. He knew he was grasping at the thinnest ray of hope. If Lily hadn’t been able to make out the lurker’s face, the boys likely hadn’t either. Still, it was worth a try.