Page 61 of His Sinful Touch

“I believe she was of the opinion that you might have overestimated your family’s ability to do whatever they chose and avoid the consequences.”

Alex ground his teeth in frustration. “Anything else?”

“She was... That ring weighed on her mind. She was afraid she might in fact be married to Peter, though I think she was making too much of a dream.”

“She dreamed she married him?”

“Not precisely. It sounded quite vague to me, but it clearly alarmed Sabrina. She wanted the matter settled—she wanted to know the truth.”

Alex nodded and started toward the door. Con reached out to stop him. “Wait. What are you doing? Do you know where she went?”

“No, but I have a pretty good idea. She talked earlier of going back to the place where she first boarded the train. I don’t think she’s trying to run from the Dearborns as much as she’s trying to find out what happened when all this began. I’m going after her.”

“But what about Mr. Dearborn?” the duchess pointed out. “He’s lurking in that carriage. He’ll see you leave and follow you. You would lead him straight to Sabrina.” She paused, then added, “You’d better put on a disguise. Take Con’s wretched suit.”

“Wait. I’ve a better idea.” Con’s eyes gleamed. “I’ll go out the front door pretending to be you. Miss Holcutt can go with me.”

“Me? Why?” Lilah goggled.

“You’ll pretend to be Miss Blair. You can wear a hat to hide your hair. Remember, they don’t know that you are here, so they’ll have no reason to think it’s you. If they see a woman with Alex, they’ll think it’s Sabrina. That way, we draw them away from the house and Alex is free to leave.”

“Or I could simply go over the back wall.” Alex hesitated, considering the idea. His first instinct was to rush off without waiting, but Con’s plan had merit. It would take more time than Alex liked, but it would be better to pack a few things to take, anyway. If he couldn’t catch up with Sabrina here in London, he wouldn’t be far behind her. If the Dearborns were following Con’s false trail, Alex could rest easier, knowing the Dearborns weren’t pursuing Sabrina.

“Where will you and Miss Holcutt go?” the duchess asked, and Con shrugged.

Unexpectedly it was Lilah who answered. “My house. It’s likely that they will come to call on me, because I witnessed the scene at the party, and I can stretch that out to delay them and give Sabrina and Alex a head start. In fact...” She grinned, her eyes suddenly dancing. “I could provide them information that will send them off on the wrong track. For instance, I could let it slip that she’s on her way to France, and they might take off for Southampton.”

“Bully for you, Miss Holcutt!” Con grinned. “I wouldn’t have thought you had it in you.” He glanced over at his brother.

Alex nodded. “Very well. That sounds excellent. But I don’t want to waste any time leaving, so I’ll go over the back wall as soon as I can. I don’t imagine the Dearborns have someone watching there.”

“What if they do?”

“I’ll take a peek first,” Alex promised. “In the meantime, you and Miss Holcutt can lead them on a wild-goose chase. But while it would be fun to send them haring off to Southampton, I don’t really want to set them searching for Sabrina anywhere. They might decide to try more than one place, particularly if they suspect Miss Holcutt isn’t necessarily on their side. I’d rather they believe Miss Blair is here, safe and sound, and all they have to do is be patient and eventually they can snatch her up.”

Con nodded. “We can just take a little stroll and come back home.” He frowned. “Though if they decide to accost us on our walk, they will discover she’s not Miss Blair.”

“Stay to well-populated streets,” Alex advised. “Hopefully they won’t attack you in front of a number of people.”

“I’ll go with you,” Emmeline announced. “I would think they’ll be reluctant to set upon a duchess. I’ll take my umbrella, of course, just in case they do.”

Con left to begin the drastic change in his appearance, and Lilah offered, “If Sabrina left anything of hers here, I could wear it.” Lilah entered into the planning, apparently having lost her astonishment over the Morelands’ peculiar ways. “Mr. Dearborn would probably recognize the style of it, if not the actual dress. His wife is fond of buying Sabrina the fussiest of clothes.” She opened the wardrobe closet. “Perfect.”

“Yes, that’s what Sabrina brought with her,” Alex said. “She hated it.”

“It’s no wonder,” the duchess commented. “Now...I’m sure I must have a hat that will hide much of your face. And a pair of flat shoes to make you shorter. Come along, dear, and let’s find one.” Emmeline linked her arm through Lilah’s and started toward the door.

“Miss Holcutt...” Alex said, and Lilah turned back to him questioningly. “I apologize for my rudeness earlier.”

Lilah smiled. “No need. Just bring Sabrina back.”

“I will.”

The two women started off down the hall, and his mother said, “Do you think a veil would be too suspicious?”

Alex shook his head and muttered, “And she wonders why Con loves disguises.”

He wasted no time; Miss Holcutt would be back soon. He wanted to see what he could learn in this room with his talent. He ran his hand along the dresser, then the table beside her bed, picked up a book lying beside the chair and held it for a moment. They all conveyed the sensation that said Sabrina to him, but beyond that he felt nothing. Finally, he wrapped his hand around the door handle; it would have been the last thing Sabrina touched, so he hoped for some residue there.