Becca waited until they were out of earshot to ask, ‘What is Almack’s and why does Louisa need a voucher?’
‘The Almack’s Assembly Rooms is only the most exclusive club in London,’ Frederica said excitedly. ‘And only thecrème de la crèmeof society are allowed to attend.’
Helen beamed at her. ‘Seven lady patrons decide who is admitted, and they only give those people vouchers.’
Mantheria patted Louisa’s arm. ‘It is quite a compliment to you that Lady Jersey has singled you out. Usually one asks for a voucher. It is rarely offered without being requested.’
Louisa couldn’t help but puff her chest out a little bit. Her Aunt Rockingham had been entirely wrong. Louisa was not ill-favoured and floundering in society. She was being included by the highest sticklers.
Helen squealed. ‘You are going to be the toast of London society.’
Becca’s stomach grumbled. ‘Must you mention food? I am starving.’
Frederica poked her. ‘We have only just eaten breakfast.’
Louisa’s own stomach turned, but it had nothing to do with hunger. More with anticipation for her long wished-for London season.
Becca grabbed her sister’s finger and was twisting it when another carriage pulled up. The Stringham sisters released each other and smiled, as if they hadn’t been fighting moments before.
‘Viscount Duncannon... Viscountess Duncannon,’ Mantheria said with a deferential nod.
‘Lady Glastonbury—and your sisters,’ a vivacious lady said, looking at them all with great interest. ‘Your parents are still in Africa, I believe?’
‘Yes,’ Mantheria said. ‘Mama is hoping to find new plants for her perfumes.’
‘Next time you write to her, be sure to mention that I asked after her.’
‘I will.’
As they drove away, Frederica whispered. ‘Lady Duncannon is Lady Jersey’s sister. She is still angling for Mama to make her a scent of her very own.’
‘Mama only gives them to herparticularfriends,’ Becca explained with a sniff. ‘It’s quite a social coup to have a perfume made specifically for you.’
The wind picked up and Andrew’s little hat flew off his head. It tumbled along the grass towards the Serpentine. Instinctively, Louisa ran after the errant hat. She ducked down to grab it, but the wind took it away again. Holding on to her own bonnet, she chased Andrew’s to the rocky shore of the lake. She stepped on it with one foot, before reaching down to pick it up.
She waved the hat. ‘I’ve got it!’
Before she could walk back to Mantheria and the girls, a man wearing black rode his horse in front of her. With one strong hand he hauled her onto his lap. His arm was around her neck, making it hard to breathe.
She dropped Andrew’s hat as she tried to scream and kick to free herself. Faintly, she heard the shouts of the Stringham sisters, but the horse’s rider urged his steed forward, away from her friends. Twisting to see his face, she saw that it was masked. Whoever it was, he clearly meant her harm.
Using the last of her strength, she jabbed her elbow between the man’s legs. He gasped and released his hold on her. Louisa slid off the horse and hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of her body.
The masked man stopped his horse and turned the animal around, ready to come back for her. Louisa forced herself to her feet and began to run back towards her friends. The sound of the horse’s hooves caused her pulse to beat frantically.
She took two more steps before she felt a stunning blow to the back of her head—and then she knew no more.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Wick didn’t expect Mantheria’s house to be quiet when he arrived. That would be too much to hope for. But he certainly didn’t expect to enter a room where Andrew was sobbing and clutching his hat while Mantheria held him, hyperventilating. Frederica was stamping on the floor. Helen was sniffling, tears running freely down her cheeks as her fingers tapped the side of her chair. And Becca held a pencil and paper and was sketching as if her life depended on it. She was a good caricaturist—accurate and unflattering.
‘What in heaven’s name is the matter?’
Mantheria handed Andrew to his nurse and came towards Wick, taking his hands. ‘Louisa’s been abducted!’
He squeezed his eyelids shut, shaking his head. ‘That’s ridiculous. Such things only happen in trashy novels. There must be a logical reason for her disappearance. Perhaps she is visiting a friend.’
Frederica snorted. ‘A man dressed in black and on a horse grabbed her right in the middle of Hyde Park.’