Page 47 of Indecently Daring

“His mother sold him to that devil and now he’s been hauled off to London, and there’s damn all I can do about it!” Harry exploded, wondering if he could beg a horse from Lady St Clair. She would surely help, but by the time he got back to Holbrook….

Kilbane tsked. “Oh, for the love of God. Take the bloody horse. I suspect the big brute is a sweep and this charming creature has sold him as a climbing boy. If you don’t catch him before they get to town, you’ll never find him again. Go on,” he added, making a shooing motion towards Harry.

“Thank you,” he said fervently as he ran to Pirate, tightening the girth and mounting him easily.

Kilbane glowered and tossed a purse at him. Harry caught it in one hand, the weight of it suggesting a goodly amount of coin was inside.

“You’ll need this. I suspect you’ll have to buy the child back.”

“God bless you,” Harry said, not about to argue with the man.

Kilbane returned a look of complete outrage. “Go to the devil,” he said in disgust, and stalked back into the pub.

Alana watched Harry ride off, her heart still hammering. She had never loathed the constraints of dozens of petticoats and the blasted corset she was laced into more than now. Her head was spinning as she fought for breath, and she could do nothing but watch as Harry rode off to save poor Jeb. Furious with herself, her ridiculous outfit and, more than anything with Jeb’s mother, she turned on Mrs Maby.

“How could you? How could you do such a vile, wicked thing?”

Mrs Maby folded her arms, a mutinous expression on her face. She looked Alana up and down with contempt. “Oh, it’s all right for you, Miss La–di-Da. You ain’t got a bleedin’ clue what my life is like.”

“No,” Alana admitted readily. “I don’t. I’m exceedingly fortunate and I know it. I cannot imagine how hard your life has been, but I still find it impossible to believe that you, his mother, had so little feeling for your own flesh and blood that you would sell him! He’s a person, Mrs Maby, he has feelings too. Imagine how afraid he is now. Did you even stop to consider what his life would be? Do you know how many little boys die in those chimneys?”

Something resembling guilt flickered in the woman’s eyes for a moment, but it was swiftly replaced by another expression, this one glittering and hard. “That’s life, ain’t it, duck? My pa didn’t care much who he sold me to, charming bloke he was, and I had to look out for meself. Jeb’s a big boy now. He’ll figure it out.”

Mrs Maby walked off without a backwards glance, leaving Alana seething and impotent to do anything at all.

“Lana?”

Alana turned to see Cat hurrying towards her.

“Oh, Cat, that dreadful woman!” she exclaimed.

Cat ran to her, holding out her hands. “What is it? What’s happened? Why is Harry riding Pirate?”

“She sold him!”

“Pirate?” Cat asked in confusion.

“No! Mrs Maby sold Jeb to a chimney sweep. He’s on his way to London as we speak,” she said, her voice quavering.

“Oh, love!” Cat exclaimed, her beautiful face twisted with utter horror. “What can we do?”

“Harry’s gone after them,” Alana said, her heart easing somewhat as she said the words.

Harry would make it right. He’d not stop until he had Jeb safe. Yet he was only one man and that fellow had been huge and rough looking. Her heart recommenced its agitated rhythm.

“He took Pirate?” Cat asked.

“Kilbane told him to and gave him coin to buy the horrid man off,” Alana said, gnawing at her lip. “I think we ought to go too, Cat. What if the brute is violent? Harry’s a vicar, a man of God. He won’t know how to fight. What if he needs help?”

“Certainly, we ought to go too,” Cat said stoutly. “Where is Lord Kilbane?”

“Inside.” Alana gestured to the pub.

“Come along, then,” Cat said, marching towards the front door.

“Cat! We can’t go in there,” Alana said, her eyes wide.

Cat put up her chin. “Do you want to help Harry or not?”