Two men at my left were holding Weatherly. Blood glistened on his chin, his mouth cut. I met his eyes: no longer calm and shrewd but wide with fury and fight. Did it work? He gave a slight nod. The dagger had been delivered.

Well, that was something. Not much considering the current circumstances, but something.

“No one else around?” Mulholland demanded, glancing around his crew.

One of the men, clearly second-in-command, shook his head. “Only these two.”

Mulholland crouched in front of me, a knife in his hand. I stared at the ruby cabochon set into the silver mount and the elegantly engraved EB. Evan’s dagger.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” Mulholland drawled. “Just the thing a grand lady might give her lover.”

Nothing got past him. I glared up at him.

“Seems you both care a great deal. Very sweet.” He shifted his hand upon the dagger into a more businesslike grip.

“Where are your brother and sister, Lady Augusta?”

“They would not come,” I said.

“Can I believe you?”

What would he have me say? No? I stared at him, trying to ignore the pain that dug through my head and the blade so close to my face.

He reached across and grabbed the back of my hair. One brutal wrench and my head was craned back, my scalp a handful of agony. He laid the flat of the blade on my cheek, point aimed at my eye.

“Where are your brother and sister?”

“They would not come,” I repeated, my breath locking into my throat upon the words. All I could see was the point of the dagger.

He released me, my head jolting forward with the force. The blade was gone, but the relief was short-lived. He grabbed my jaw and dug his thumb into the damage already inflicted. For a second, white starbursts of pain blinded me. I gasped and grabbed his wrist, trying to wrest away the excruciation, but his grip was locked upon me and he dug his thumb in deeper.

“One more time, where are your brother and sister?”

“They would not come,” I screamed through the vise of his hand.

He released me, the sudden absence of pain swaying me upon my hands and knees. Dear God, were Julia and Morland close? I tried to focus past the circle of leering men to the tree line. Did I see movement by the oak log? Was it two men struggling? I could not make it out clearly. I looked back to the ground, in case my focus drew attention.

“Your brother and sister are far more prudent than you, Lady Augusta,” Mulholland said. He was back on his feet. “You are a fool for coming here. I told you what would happen.” He looked around at his men. “I’ve always wanted to know if a lady’s quim is any different from a whore’s. Shall we see?”