Woods was leaving to inform the Countess when Colin’s carriage pulled up before the orphanage. He asked the man to deliver a message to Morray and have the Earl meet him in the East End, at the lodging Whitton had described. He was sure Morray would understand the location. He planned to search there, first.
Nora Mason’s ability to manage the intricacies of running the orphanage astonished him. He felt sudden shame for having belittled her on the occasion of his first visit and made a mental note to make up for that somehow. The parlor reminded him of her—and of how he had diminished her with his bumptious offer. Shefford reminded himself that it was her grandmama who had convinced him to make that offer. He owed her a debt of gratitude. First, though, he needed to find his betrothed.
Loneliness crashed in on him. He missed her. It felt like more. Did he love her? He had never loved a woman before. Even having his best friends with him did nothing to ease the emptiness. He had never felt this way about a woman.
Benjamin appeared in his night-robe, holding onto Mary’s hand. “My lord, I tried to get him to sleep. He insists he knows where Miss Nora was taken.”
“I should like to speak with him. I will make sure he goes back to bed,” Colin promised, crouching down so he could be eye level with the boy.
“M’lord, I know where he took her. He brings the women to the Table.”
“The Table?” Colin had never heard of it. Was it another hell?
“A bunch of men pay money. I heard him discuss it once with his man, Hyde, while I was in a chimney.”
“Where is this Table?”
“He called it the Tunnel. Said the drunk toffs practically never see their pockets cleaned.
At that moment, the door to the parlor opened, and the Countess sailed in, followed by Bergen.
“Where is my granddaughter?” she demanded.
“Benjamin thinks she is in a place called the Tunnel,” Colin said. “Bergen and I are on our way.”
“What is the Tunnel?” the Countess insisted, closing her eyes and biting her lower lip.
Colin recognized the same look of fretfulness that he had seen on Nora.
“Take me with you, m’lord.” Benjamin’s small voice pierced the silence. “I know where the Tunnel is. I want to help find Miss Nora. She saved me life.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out her pink shoe. “This fell from the window when he took her.”
Colin looked at the slipper. It was delicate and pretty, just like the woman who had worn it. “May I?”
Benjamin nodded and handed the shoe to him.
“Nora will be angry, yet I am fairly sure this orphanage has no way to contain him unless we lock him up. Take good care of him,” the Countess interjected, sniffling. “Bring my granddaughter home… please.”
Less than an hour later, Colin’s carriage drew up in front of the same hell where he had been not more than a sennight ago, except this time he and Bergen had a young boy of eight with them. Colin gave a silent prayer that the boy knew where Sneed had Nora.
“Wait here, m’lords. I must jaw with my friend, Danny.” Before they could say anything, Benjamin shot off towards the back of the stable.
“Imagine what it took to bring us back here,” reflected Bergen. “When all this is over, I would like Lizzie to meet Nora. I think they could become friends.”
“I would like that too,” Colin said absently, fingering Nora’s shoe in his pocket. He wondered how long it would be before Morray arrived.
Benjamin returned to the coach with Danny close behind. The two men recognized him immediately. “Danny and I learned pick-pocketing together,” he said stoically. “But that was afore Danny found a place ’ere. I also ’elped out here, afore Tom Sneed bought me from the owner of the hell.
“Excuse me? You were owned?” The truth suddenly dawned on Colin. No wonder Sneed wanted him back. Benjamin was one of his cutpurses. And knowing this child, he was good at whatever he tried to do. The man considered Benjamin his property—it was a common enough occurrence—and he was losing profits with Benjamin’s disappearance. Colin also recalled the story about little Amy and wondered if Sneed was likewise an opportunist, trying to steal the little girl by posing as her father.
“Yes, m’lord. Me own parents sold me.” His voice cracked as he related his sad past.
“We will discuss this later, Benjamin. First, we need to find Miss Mason. Danny, have you seen Sneed?” The thought of these boys being sold distressed Colin, although he would have to consider what he could do about it later.
“’E went in the main ’ouse earlier,” Danny offered.
“The Tunnel sits a floor beneath it, m’lord,” added Benjamin.
“I think we should start where he lives. Benjamin, where does Sneed live?” inquired Bergen.
“Follow me. I know a way to get in with no one seeing you,” the small boy told them.
“Danny, I have a friend who should arrive here shortly. His name is Lord Morray. Will you send him to where we are going?”
“Yes, m’lord. I will bring him to ye,” the boy agreed.
The three of them crossed a narrow, cobbled street behind the stable, keeping to the darker side of the structure and avoiding light. Benjamin led them, stopping at the edge and signaling they wait. He approached the building and tapped on a red, paneled door. After a minute, when no one answered, he signaled for them to follow. They went through the door, climbing dark dusty steps which were lit only by a single wall sconce in the corner of the first-floor landing.
“This is how they bring people into the building for the Table,” the boy explained.
A knot formed in Colin’s throat as he imagined Nora being carried through this filthy passage. He dearly hoped they would find her here and
