Page 9 of Stolen By the Heartless Duke
“Good.”
The servant hurried away. Jane returned her attention to her mother. Lady Wynten looked exhausted, terrified, years older.
“What are we going to do?” she whispered.
Jane wished that she knew. Instead she squeezed her mother’s hand.
“We wait for the authorities,” Jane said.
“And then?”
Jane wanted to say that then they would find Colin, and everything would be okay. She couldn’t promise her mother that, though, so she kept quiet as she weighed her options for what to say.
Her mother suddenly frowned. “Where is Lord Maltby?” she asked.
Jane froze. For a moment she considered telling the truth. Then she looked at her mother’s trembling hands, her tear-stained face, her eyes full of fear, and decided that tonight was not the right time. Her mother could only survive one disaster at a time.
“He… left with the other guests,” Jane said, which wasn’t precisely a lie.
Lady Wynten looked disappointed. “Oh.”
Jane quickly changed the subject. “Try to rest.”
Her mother nodded weakly. Jane patted her hand and turned toward the window. She could not see out into the darkness, but it didn’t matter.
Her mind kept returning to Colin. The masked men had known exactly who they wanted. They had ignored everyone else. It had been planned. But by whom?
A terrible certainty settled over Jane. Whoever had taken Colin had not done so for money. There would be no ransom demand.
If they wanted something else, then her brother was already in far more danger than any of them could imagine.
Chapter Two
“We will begin making inquiries immediately, Lady Wynten,” he said. “Road checkpoints have already been alerted.”
The last of the authorities finally departed a little after midnight. Jane stood in the entrance hall with her mother beside her as the senior investigator gathered his hat and gloves.
Jane folded her arms tightly across her chest. “And if someone saw where they took him?”
“We shall find them.”
It was not an answer. She could tell from his expression that he knew it as well. The man offered a stiff bow.
“If we learn anything, you will be informed at once,” he said. Then he and his companions left.
The front door closed behind them with a heavy thud. Silence descended over Wynten House again.
Jane stared at the closed door.
“They’re not going to find him quickly, are they?” Her mother sounded small and frail.
Jane looked over at her mother. Lady Wynten had dark circles beneath her eyes, and she had not stopped trembling.
“We don’t know that,” Jane said.
Her mother attempted a smile. “Oh, Jane.” The tears returned instantly. “What if he’s frightened?”
The question struck directly at Jane’s own fears.
