“I’d like to assist, if you’ll allow me,” he said. “I’ve already dispatched my groom to search the nearby woods. My footman is waiting at the inn with instructions to keep a watch over Leo in the event of his return.”

The news gladdened Natalie, allowing her to disregard his peremptory manner. She flashed him a grateful smile. “Thank you, sir. That is one concern off my mind at least.”

“I gather you think he might have come to explore the shops. But that doesn’t appear to be the case.”

The two of them glanced around the single street of the tiny village. The pitifully small number of establishments included a greengrocer, a cobbler, and a haberdashery, all of which were closed at this early hour. There was no sign of a naughty little boy with his nose pressed to a window.

“Might he have chased after a dog or a rabbit?” Mr. Clayton asked.

“Anything is possible.” Her steps slowed as she peered down a deserted alley. “Oh, there are a dozen places where he might have gone! Back home, he was acquainted with everyone and they would bring him back whenever he wandered away. But no one here knows him.”

“Never fear, he can’t have gone far. What was he doing when last you saw him?”

“Playing with his toy sailing ship.” Struck by an alarming thought, Natalie clapped her hand to her mouth. “I wonder…”

“Wonder what? Tell me.”

“I wonder if he might have set out for Southampton. Yesterday evening at bedtime he said that he didn’t wish to meet his grandfather today, and he begged me to take him back to the ship so that we could return to America.”

“America?”

Preoccupied with the memory of Leo, she merely gave Mr. Clayton a nod. It had been heart-wrenching to see Leo’s lower lip wobble, for he was normally a happy boy with a sunny disposition. She’d attributed his bout of melancholy to their being confined in a crowded coach for several days after having enjoyed long weeks of freedom aboard a ship. Then this morning he’d been unusually quiet, and she’d thought he only needed time to adjust to all the changes in his young life. Today, he would be thrust into yet another new situation when he’d scarcely recovered from the death of his parents the previous summer.

Certainty sank its talons into her. Yes, it was very plausible that he had decided to run away.

Mr. Clayton subjected her to a keen stare. “Southampton is more than a hundred miles away. He can’t possibly think to walk so far.”

“You don’t know Leo.” Shivering, she tightened her grip on the shawl. “He’s only six and likely acted on a whim.”

“Surely he wouldn’t even know in which direction to head.”

“Actually, there’s an excellent chance that he would. He happens to be quite observant about his surroundings.”

Fear squeezed her throat. Without thinking, she caught Mr. Clayton’s arm and felt the firmness of his muscles beneath her fingers. “Leo is too innocent and trusting to know about the evils in the world. What if someone were to abduct him?”