Swallowing, she reached desperately for the doorknob, but paused at the sound of a carriage approaching. Her hired hack was returning, she thought hopefully. Or perhaps it was the runner returning home and that was why he wasn’t answering. She risked a glance over her shoulder.

While they weren’t on top of her, the three approaching men were much closer now and two other of the small groups of men were now moving in her direction as well. She felt like a small defenseless hare with a pack of wolves circling, and then her gaze slid to the carriage coming to a halt on the road.

Lisa recognized the crest on it just as the door opened and Lord Findlay stepped down. Spotting her, he paused abruptly, one hand still on the open door and his eyebrows flying up. “Lisa?”

With the first group of men perhaps six feet away now, Lisa gave up on the runner’s door and rushed to Charles.

“Lisa, what ever are you doing here?” he asked, catching her arms and frowning as he peered past her to the men around them.

“I was going to hire a runner, but he’s not in,” she mumbled, her gaze slipping past him to his carriage, and then over her shoulder to see that the men had stopped and were now waiting and watching. Turning back to Charles, she asked, “Do you think you could take me home, my lord? My hack left without me and I—”

“Of course.” Stepping aside, he helped her in, then moved to speak to his driver before climbing in to join her.

The carriage set off at once then, and they peered out the window at the men they were leaving behind. Each and every one of them was staring after the carriage with narrowed eyes and hungry looks and she suspected Charles had just saved her from a most unpleasant experience. Sitting back in her seat, she smiled at him with gratitude. “I am very glad you arrived when you did, I was growing a bit nervous.”

“A bit?” he asked dryly. “Lisa, those men would have . . .” He paused and shook his head. “It is fortunate I happened to choose today to try to see Tibald’s runner.”

“You were there to see him as well?” she asked with surprise, and then wondered why she even asked. What else would he have been there for?

“Yes, I’ve had a little problem with theft myself recently. A new maid, I suspect, and since Tibald spoke so highly of this fellow I thought I’d see what he could do for me.” He peered at her curiously. “What were you hiring him for?”

“Oh. Well, I just . . . something similar,” she finished vaguely, not wishing to open that kettle of fish at the moment.

“Hmm.” Charles eyed her solemnly and then said, “I cannot believe that Radnor allowed you to come down here by yourself.”