Page 105 of Four Promises to Love

“To summon the magistrate. The sooner I go, the better. Those blackguards must be identified and brought to justice.”

She already knew who the brutes were: Carver’s men. He’d sent his thugs, no doubt, to deliver a warning. If Owen captured them, her identity and mission might be revealed.

I cannot allow that to happen.

“There is no need,” she blurted.

“No need?” He growled. “They were about to kidnap Tansy. That bastard had his hands around your throat.”

Seeing the tempest in his eyes, she knew there was no point arguing.

Instead, she chose the most expedient stratagem—and collapsed in a swoon.

Twenty-Nine

“You can let go of me,” Finn said.

“Not a chance.”

Owen kept her securely in his arms as he surveyed the wreckage of Pell House. Someone—the cutthroats, most likely—had ransacked the place. In the parlor, they’d slashed the sofa, exposing its guts. They’d broken chairs and mirrors, overturned tables. Perhaps most disturbingly, they’d mutilated Henry Pell’s stuffed animals and littered the house with the parts. Seeing the ravaged beasts scattered on the ground awakened the memories of battlefields.

Gut churning, Owen shut out the ghosts. His priority was to take care of Finn and her family.

Standing next to him, Keane said, “Sick bastards.”

“I wonder what they were after?”

This came from Duffield, who held Tansy’s hand. The girl had clung to him on the walk back to the house. Nell and Simon had returned as well, their faces pale and grim.

“Destruction,” Owen said flatly. “If their intent was burglary, then they would have taken things of value like that candelabra.”

Instead, they’d used its prongs to claw gouges into the wallpaper and left it mangled on the floor.

Duffield’s brow creased. “Do you think this was a random act?”

“I don’t know. Unless…”

Owen looked at Finn and felt a flicker of unease when she averted her gaze.

“Do you know these men?” he asked.

“I’ve never met them before tonight. Now put me down.”

She pushed at his shoulders with enough force to reassure him that she’d recovered fully from her swoon. He set her on her feet with care. When he tried to steady her, she swatted his hands away.

“I’m perfectly fine,” she said.

Owen didn’t think she was. He saw the lines bracketing her mouth and the worry darkening her eyes. She pulled her shoulders back as she surveyed the wreckage.

“Those ruffians probably drank too much and entertained themselves by creating havoc,” she said in a brittle voice. “Fairs can draw unsavory types. Now that they have gone, they are unlikely to return.”

“Even so, all of you will stay at Bottoms House tonight,” he said.

“There’s no need⁠—”

“Hell’s teeth, the house is a shambles.” Owen braced his hands on his hips. “Even if it were safe to stay here, the place will need to be cleaned from top to bottom. Which we are not doing at this time of night. Right now, what everyone needs is rest.”

He looked pointedly at Tansy, who’d drifted off in Duffield’s arms. Finn looked at the girl too, and he saw her flinch of guilt. He went over and spoke the words she needed to hear.