The Duke and the Dressmaker (The St. James Series) (24 page)

Chapter Thirty-Three

Philip was about to climb into the carriage when he saw Ardleigh and Graham headed toward him. He strode over to the phaeton to hear the bad news. They were alone; clearly they had not had any better luck than he had.

“Any luck, gentlemen?” he
kept his voice low so as not to alert anyone within listening range.

“No, sorry,
” Graham said. “We searched many a room and talked to patrons. We even bribed a couple of footpads in the street. No one has seen anything. She has simply disappeared.”

“You haven’t had any luck either?”
Ardleigh asked.

“Nothing.
I can’t believe it. There is no sign of her or Stinky anywhere.” He dug his boot into the dirt in the ground. What else could they do?

“What’s next,
Brentwood? Any suggestions?” Ardleigh’s voice had lost its motivation.

“We’ll reconvene at my house and see what else we can do.
Perhaps Ben and Ridley have found something.” Philip turned on his heel and headed back to his carriage. He opened the door and climbed in.

He found himself staring at Adam and the petite blonde.

“Bloody hell, Adam! Can’t you keep it in your pants at all?”

Adam’s face broke into a huge grin. “Tell him, Kitty.”

The petite blonde looked up at Philip and said, “I know where your lady is, Your Grace.”

***

Sara’s head banged against the inside of the trunk she was in. Every inch of her body would be bruised if she ever escaped her plight. Stinky had helped her to stand with the promise of allowing her to relieve herself. Her bladder had been ready to burst after all the bouncing in the carriage. He had taken her behind one of the buildings and she squatted while he held her, thank goodness for pantalets. She had decided to be agreeable. It was better than lying in her own urine.

When she
had stood up, he stuffed her into a trunk. She was on the move again and in an extremely painful position.

***

“Well, you see, whenever Stubby kidnaps somebody they don’t like or she is too much trouble, they send Stubby down to the docks with ‘em. I guess there are some men that pay lots of coin for a sweet-faced girl. Stubby deals with somebody who hooks him up with men that are looking for girls to sell in places like Turkey and India. There’s one sea captain that will even take the girls himself to sell.” Alyssa’s curls bounced as they rode toward the docks. “They always threaten to take us there if we are bad.” Her gaze dropped to the floor.

“How did you get her name?” Philip asked. He
needed to know if he could trust her.

“She told me.
I found her in a room tied to a bedpost. Stinky and Candie had just left. Sara, Lady Downey. She said she could send me to a duke and an earl, and they would pay me good money to help her, but I didn’t want my legs broken. But you came in the door, and Adam said he would help me work somewhere else. I don’t like it there. I hate it. Sara said she would hire me to sew for her. I would be happy to work for a lady like her. I’ve only been there a short time. Ever since my father sold me ‘cause he lost on the horses. And he won’t take me back. I seen it in his eyes; he won’t even look at me now. He’s ashamed of me.” Tears filled the girl’s eyes as she talked. She brushed them away forcefully.

Philip
could not believe his ears. He let her babble on because he couldn’t speak. Such heartless cruelty. He was sick to his stomach at the prospect of getting to the wharf too late or not being able to find Sara in time. With all the ships docked, how could he possible tell which ship she was on? The gravity of Sara’s situation settled hard in his gut.

“Don’t worry, Miss
Alyssa, we’ll help you find another job. What can you do?” Adam rubbed her arms to comfort her.

“Adam!”
he barked.

“What? Perhaps she can bake or sew or clean. I
’m sure our mother could find a place for you. She is always looking for good servants.”

“I used to bake a lot of pies and pastries for my church. The Reverend, he loved my apple pies and strawberry tarts.”

“There you go, Philip. She can bake. We will bring you to see my mother right after we find Lady Downey.” Adam gave his brother a sheepish grin.

“Do you think she will like me?”
Alyssa’s wide eyes stared up at Adam.

“Surely she will.”
Adam tightened his grip around her shoulder.

“
Alyssa, I am sure our mother will take care of you. We need you to help us now, though. Can you think of anything more about which ship or which carriage Stubby is driving?” Philip forced her to focus. He had to get to Sara in time.

Alyssa
stared at the roof for a second, “I have seen it, but I can’t remember…”

“Well, think! We need to know now!”
he ordered.

Alyssa
jumped in her seat and clung to Adam. Adam glared at his brother. “I don’t think you are helping, Philip.”

“Forgive me,
Alyssa, I am distraught. Please try to think.”

“Yes, Your Grace, I am trying my best.” She fingered her skirt as she
spoke, her eyes darting from Adam to Philip.

Fortunately,
Ardleigh and Graham had followed them in their change of course. When they arrived with the others, they split up into pairs to attempt to ferret out any information from any locals. After fifteen minutes, they regrouped.

“Nobody is saying anything,
Brentwood. They are all tight-lipped. Doesn’t matter how much money I show. The area is too large. There are so many ships docked. We need a better plan.” The Earl of Ardleigh’s exasperation was clear to everyone.

“I will not give up.
Ridley, you and Ben hit a couple of the local taverns and see what you can find out. Graham, find the shipping office and see which ones are leaving in the next twenty-four hours and for what country. Take Ardleigh with you. Adam and I are headed toward the end. We haven’t been there yet. Meet back here in thirty minutes.”

The three of them climbed back into the carriage and headed down to the end of the wharf.
He couldn’t believe the cacophony of voices, peddlers, shipmen. It would be so easy to get lost in this crowd. After disembarking, they headed toward the last dock. There were two ships loading. The larger one at the end appeared to be a freighter.

“Wait, please, stop for a moment
!” Alyssa had her face toward the sky and slowly turned in a circle.

Philip’s impatience got the best of him. “What? What is it,
Alyssa?”

“Something, I don’t know for sure
.” Her gaze roamed the area as she spoke.

“There!”
Her hand pointed to a carriage. “Right there, that’s it. That’s Stubby’s carriage!” Alyssa pointed to an old carriage hidden over by two buildings.

Philip took off toward the carriage. He flung the door open and quickly lumbered two steps back, covering his nose. “Bloody hell, that man
rots!” He forced himself to search inside, but found nothing.

“That’s how I knew he was nearby. I caught his smell in the wind.”
Alyssa nodded her head proudly.

“Well done,
Alyssa, but there’s no one inside.” Philip turned and searched the docks for anyone resembling Stinky or Sara. “But they can’t be far.”

Graham came yelling down the street. “Philip, the only two ships leaving”
—he stopped to catch his breath—“are those two.”

Ardleigh
caught up with them, Ridley and Ben not far behind.

Graham pointed
. “Those are the only two leaving tonight.”

“Great
.” Philip smiled. “Then we only have two ships to search. Adam, take Alyssa back to our carriage. I don’t want Stinky to see her. Graham, you and Ben stay here with Ardleigh, keep your eye on everything and everyone coming and going from those two ships. Ridley, you come with me.”

Philip headed down to the end of the dock. The freighter was much larger than the other ship. The second one looked more like a
privately owned pleasure vessel. He decided it was probably for a wealthy individual and so there wouldn’t be many places to hide. They headed for the freighter. There had to be many places to stow away on a freighter.

When they reached the end of the dock, he shouted to the captain of the ship to allow them aboard.

He was waved on, and with his hands fisted at his sides, Philip climbed to the gangway to board the ship. He would find her. He had to.

He loved Sara, he needed her, and his life
would be nothing without her.

***

Sara was locked inside a large trunk rolling on some kind of cart. She had a small source of light through two small holes, but she couldn’t see or hear anything. This was it. Once she was put on the boat, she probably would have no way out. She was going to another country with another cruel man and who knew if she would ever be free.

This was her last chance. No matter how much pain it would cause, she tried her best to bounce in the trunk. If she could just rock it enough
for someone to see it, maybe she stood a chance.

All her weight shifted as if
going up a steep incline, probably to the boat. Her chances were over. If she got on the boat, there would be no way out.

***

Philip shook hands with the captain of the ship and introduced himself. “I am looking for a beautiful young woman that has been kidnapped and brought to the docks to be sold. Have you seen anyone brought on board against their will?”

“Your Grace, I see your plight and your urgency
, but we would never allow anyone to bring aboard someone that was kidnapped and not here willingly.” The man tugged on the collar around his neck. Sweat broke out on his brow.

“How many passengers do you have?”
Philip asked.

“Less than ten and our accommodations are not comfortable. We deal mostly in trade.”

“And do you trade humans, Captain?” His jaw came up a notch as he stared at the captain.

“No, sir, we don’t. This is a legal operation. We follow all regulations. There is no young girl on this ship, I guarantee you.”

“Do you mind if we search your cabins, Captain?”

“Yes, I do. You will only slow
us down. We have to get moving. You have taken enough of my time already. Please remove yourselves from my ship.” As he spoke, two burly men came up behind him.

Philip glanced at R
idley and turned to leave. He headed down the plank in time to see a man pushing a cart with a large trunk on it toward the smaller ship.

***

In the confines of the small box, Sara willed her body to calm.
Slow deep breaths
.
Replace your restlessness with serenity and you will endure
.
Slow, slower, slower
, her mind chanted. In order to survive this imprisonment, she needed to be calm, to be in control. Her tongue touched the fabric stuck in her mouth and she choked.
Ignore the grime and grit of the sour tasting gag.
You are strong, you have value, you can do this
. The smell of dead fish assaulted the fine hairs in her nostrils. Rough movements jarred her senses again as her new prison bounced over what sounded like old rickety boards. How long could she endure having her limbs twisted unnaturally as they were inside this stifling box?

She thought of all that had transpired since she had met the Duke of Brentwood, of how peaceful her life had been prior to the day Philip St. James had marched into her life. No, not marched, but emblazoned his essence into her core.

Yet, in a matter of hours, she had found herself tortured by Stinky, mauled by a dandy, drugged by a courtesan. Her last whereabouts had been a whorehouse, her last friend, a whore.

Fight?
For what? She had been sold as if she were a piece of raw meat, and now was about to sail across the ocean. Who would miss her? Let go.

Let go
.

Nothing matters anymore.
She had no reason to live
.
Her breathing became irregular, something was wrong. She could no longer hang on. Her eyes closed as she fought for a very shallow breath.

No reason to live
, she chanted.

No reason to live
….

No reason…

…

…

Philip! I love you. Save me! Don’t give up on me. Please find me.

Her eyes flew open. She kicked her legs as hard as she could. How she wished she could shout,
could get this awful tasting gag out of her mouth. Twisting and throwing her shoulders inside the small compartment, she rocked and rocked and rocked…

She rocked as hard as she could until the entire trunk swayed under her weight.

Philip!

***