The Gentleman's Quest by Deborah Simmons Read Free Book Online Page B

or drugged until no one was left except Sydony. Kit looked down at the mutton he had been eating and felt the sudden loss of his appetite.
    A sound from the doorway made him glance up warily, but it was only Jack, half-hidden in the shadows, an expression of urgency upon his face.
    “Excuse me,” Kit said, rising to his feet. He did not wait for Miss Ingram’s acknowledgment, but hurried to where the boy stood, drawing him farther into the other room for a whispered conference.
    “What is it? Has Hob returned?”
    His eyes wide, Jack shook his head. “No, sir, but when I was making the rounds, I saw a party coming toward Oakfield.”
    “A party?” Kit echoed. His normally inactive imagination conjured up his worst nightmare, a cloaked group of so-called Druids intent upon a virgin sacrifice. Only this time, Miss Ingram would take his sister’s place.
    “What kind of party?” he demanded.
    “It’s the parish constable and a couple of his cronies, sir, and they’re nearly here,” Jack said, obviously agitated.
    Kit felt some of the tension in his body ease. It was about time the local authorities, who had been noticeably absent before, stepped in to help. But something about the look on Jack’s face made him pause. “What’s wrong?”
    The boy’s eyes grew even bigger, if that was possible. “They’re claiming to have a warrant straight from the magistrate for your arrest—on charges of kidnapping a lady!”
    The idea was so outrageous, Kit might have laughed, but coming as it did upon the heels of their earlier peril, he was not amused. If he were taken away, Miss Ingram would have no protection at all as, one by one, those around her disappeared. Just like Sydony.
    After giving Jack some hurried instructions, Kit turned toward the open doorway and called softly to his guest, “Miss Ingram, I’m afraid there’s been a change of plans.”
    Although he had recently eyed her composure with dismay, now Kit was grateful for it. She evinced no alarm, but rose to her feet and moved toward him quickly, her golden brows lifted slightly in question.
    “I’ve been told that the authorities are approaching with the intent of arresting me on a charge of kidnapping, presumably you. Now, we can either try to sort it out with the locals, who view Oakfield and anyone who resides here as in league with the devil. Or we can depart before their arrival.”
    Miss Ingram took the news with her usual aplomb. “By all means, let us avoid any confrontations, especially since they might have been engineered todestroy our alliance,” she said. “Just let me get my things.”
    “You’ll find a pack to use in my sister’s room to the left at the top of the stairs, and feel free to take anything in there,” Kit called after her. His own bag remained with Bay, so he took a moment to alert Mrs Osgood to the situation.
    That stolid personage was more horrified than Miss Ingram, but agreed to tell any callers that no one had returned since setting out with the carriage earlier in the day. Exhorting the maid to clear all evidence of a meal from the dining hall, she went into the kitchen, returning to slip a package into Kit’s hand before aiding the flustered maid.
    Heading toward the stairs to hurry his guest, Kit had to look twice at the figure on the landing before realizing it was Miss Ingram. A vastly different Miss Ingram.
    Instead of her cloak, she wore a heavy greatcoat that was a fitting garment for traveling, but not often worn by women. And beneath the hem, Kit could see a pair of scuffed boots, not dainty slippers, while her lovely locks were pulled tight and tucked up under a boy’s cap that cast a shadow across her features. At first glance, she would seem a youth. Had she even dirtied her face?
    Acknowledging Kit with a nod, she moved down the steps toward him. “It will throw off any who search for a missing woman—or the man alleged to have kidnapped her,” she explained.
    Yet she didn’t meet his eye,