Swinging around, she saw Daphne trying to burrow into Rafe’s arms, while screeching frantically.Had she been hurt?Shrieking wasn’t the behavior of a hurt child.Rafe sent Verity a look as frantic as the child’s screams.
Terrified, she scanned the crowded room for any perceived threat.
Lazy, easy-going Mr.Cooper was leading Daniel past the cakes, toward the front and the puppet table.Not alarming—until Daphne finally used her words and shouted, “Bad man!Bad man!”
And Cooper glanced up with a guilty expression.
Verity had survived some terrible ordeals, but she’d never experienced such terror as fear for a helpless child.
In her patched maid’s skirt, her frizzy hair escaping its pins, Verity was no prepossessing giantess, but she may as well have been as she impolitely carved a path past startled manor ladies and puzzled farmers, bearing down on Cooper with the momentum of a ship in full steam.
When Cooper saw her coming and scooped up Daniel, Verity shrieked at the top of her lungs like the worst fishwife.“Stop him!Stop him!Daniel, darken his daylights!Plant him a rammer!Scuttle his daylights!”She’d evidently spent too much of her idle youth teaching London’s street urchins.
The boy started swinging fists.Bless Daniel’s heart, he listened toherand not whatever promises Cooper made.Cooper!It was hard to believe the lazy gentleman might stir a muscle.
Carrying a sturdy eight-year-old was no mean feat.Carrying a struggling one required Cooper catching him in both arms before the boy wriggled loose.The villain raced for the exit, knocking over tables and shoppers in his rush.
Daniel continued to struggle and kick.
Finally understanding what was happening, ladies trapped between tables screamed for someone to stop him.Trapped in the back of the pub, Rafe roared in fury and frustration.He handed Daphne to a startled onlooker, then fought his way through narrow, crowded aisles.
Bewildered, the few male shoppers tried to grasp what needed to be done.None of them knew Daniel or Cooper.They saw only a small boy having a tantrum.They didn’t understand.
Verity finally fought free of the crowd and threw herself at Cooper’s back, grabbing his greatcoat capes and clinging helplessly.He tried to shrug her off as he shoved his way into the less busy lobby.
Fletch, carrying a heavy mail pouch in the front door, roared at the sight of Cooper carrying the struggling child and dragging Verity.Rafe’s silent, angry friend didn’t waste time with questions.Dropping the pouch, he crossed the room and swung a massive fist at the gentleman’s jaw—with the rage that he’d most likely kept pent up all week.
Cooper had been in Willa’s house...
The kidnapper staggered.Verity clung to his capes and tugged, keeping him unbalanced.Daniel kicked and wriggled.
And Parsons, Willa’s felonious brother, ran from behind the lobby counter to clout Cooper’s ear, shouting, “You!I knew it was you—” His shouts descended into epithets unfit for anyone’s ears.Convicts learned strong language.
Another powerful blow from Fletcher, and Cooper dropped Daniel.Crying in relief, Verity released Cooper’s capes and crouched to catch the boy.Fletch unthinkingly did the same, leaving Cooper to shove Parsons, who fell backward over Fletch and Daniel.
In the resulting melee, the villain ran for the door, Fletch and Parsons on his heels.
By this time, the lobby had filled with onlookers anticipating a fight.Men and women alike blocked all exits, surrounding the brawl as if the lobby were a boxing ring.
Verity hugged weeping Daniel as Fletch grabbed Cooper’s coat and flung him backward at Willa’s brother.
While fists flew, Kate finally fought her way through the crowd to Verity’s side.She held a terrified Daphne and kept a hand on Lynly’s shoulder.“Arthur and Mr.Birdwhistle took the boys into the kitchen,” she murmured, blocking Verity and Daniel from the fight.
If Kate had Daphne...Rafe wasn’t far behind.Verity glanced past her.
Head taller than most, Rafe stalked through the now-shouting mob without a word.Rather than wasting time on fisticuffs, he wrapped a massive arm around Cooper’s neck and jerked his chin up until the...bastard...fell limp.Thank all the heavens Rafe had stayed with the children when all the proper gentlemen had left for the manor to interrogate Elton.
Verity fell to her knees and hugged her poor, weeping babies.
“He’s the one what killed Rose!”Parsons shouted over the commotion.“It was him in her house that night!I coshed him so he couldn’t get away.”
Thirty-five
Rafe
Sittingin Captain Huntley’s small study—the old one, not the spacious new one—Rafe sprawled in one of the sagging leather wingbacks and rubbed his weary brow.All he wanted to do was go back to his family, see they were safe, hug and feed them...
But for everyone to be safe, he had to have the danger locked up, which meant convincing Hunt to do so.“Parsons swearsCooperkilled his sister, but he’s a felon and a coward and may have done it himself, for all we know, which is why he didn’t say anything earlier.Except—Elton and Gillespie both agree that the man we call Cooper also calls himself Turner and works for Lord Chatham’s solicitor.They’re sniveling mongrels, as far as I’m concerned, but that’s three people attesting against Cooper.Elton swears that Turner, as the solicitor’s representative, told him the children were bastards to be taken to an orphanage.He gave the nanny the opium candies to shut them up, so that’s two murders of which he stands accused, even if the nanny’s death might be ruled accidental.”
