I was tasked with two errands to be accomplished in just a hair less than two hours. It seemed a credible request, yet I was keenly aware that the slightest event unaccounted for would be enough to delay me past the nine forty-five deadline Colin had set for us to meet back at Buckingham. What concerned me, however, was that his timing determination hadn’t taken into account the human factor, the very thing we had the least control over.
As my cab slowed among the row of houses lining Regent’s Park, I leaned over and peered inside the small canvas bag nestled beside me. Lady Priscilla lay inside, curled up on a swirl of the pink blanket. The pug’s fatigue was evident in that she didn’t stir, her cream-colored chest rising and falling with the gentle rhythm of deep sleep. Lady Nesbitt-Normand would be ecstatic. Nevertheless, it was imperative for me to make a quick exit so I could get to Lancaster Gate as well. If the streets became impassable I would have little choice but to sprint or retreat into the Underground, two options wholly unappealing.
My furry companion and I were deposited outside the Nesbitt-Normand home and quickly made our way up the circular drive. It was evident my young charge knew precisely where she was, as she suddenly woke up and began jostling about inside the bag the closer we got to the door. By the time I stood on the portico, the bag cradled in both arms, the pup’s whimpering anticipation was incontestable. I couldn’t help but laugh as I grabbed the bronze knocker and slammed it firmly.
Mrs. Holloway opened the door so quickly that I wondered if she hadn’t been waiting right there. “Oh,” she said with curiosity, “it’s you, Mr. Pruitt.”
“It is.” I smiled. “Is Her Ladyship at home? I think she will be most pleased to receive me.”
Mrs. Holloway’s eyes dropped to the squirming bag in my arms and her breath caught. “Oh my,” she gasped. “Oh my!” I grinned as she ushered me to the study. “Don’t move,” she gushed. “I shall have Lady Nesbitt-Normand here before you can even sit down.” She ran from the study like a giggling schoolgirl, bounding up the stairs two at a time as though they were less than standard size.
I put the satchel containing Lady Priscilla onto the floor near the fireplace. The sides of the bag bulged and flattened randomly over the course of a minute and I knew the little pup was shuffling her blanket in anticipation of lying down again. She had no sooner settled when a blast of commotion drifted in from the foyer.
“Mrs. Holloway tells me you’ve brought some sort of parcel?!” Lady Nesbitt-Normand squealed as she burst into the study, Mrs. Holloway on her heels. “Tell me it’s what I think . . . ,” she begged, her face as full of hope as a youngster’s on Christmas morning.
“Mrs. Holloway has not steered you wrong.” I grinned, stepping back to reveal the little carrier now quite alive with motion and whining.
“Oh!” Lady Nesbitt-Normand nearly swooned at the sight, a hand racing up to her chest as though her heart were on the verge of seizing. “Oh my lord!” she gasped as she rocketed forward like a tidal wave. “My baby!” she cried, scooping the frenzied dog out of the bag and into her arms. “It’s a miracle. How did you find her? Where did you find her?”
“A dognapping ring,” I answered as Colin had instructed. “Very bad business, but I think you will find your little lady all the same for it.” It was as close to the truth as we could offer, given Colin’s deal with Edwina Easterbrooke. “Mr. Pendragon disbanded the entire operation. I believe you will find your dear girl much safer now.” And that, at least, was fully true.
“I am simply overcome!” Lady Nesbitt-Normand beamed as she pressed the little pup to her chest.
“There now,” Mrs. Holloway piped up. “The day has gotten better already.”
“It has . . . it has . . .” Lady Nesbitt-Normand agreed, plying Lady Priscilla with a bathing of kisses. “And to think how distraught I was just a short time ago.”
“Had you lost faith in Mr. Pendragon?” I chided.
“Heavens no!” she squealed as the little pug batted at her face with an errant paw. “Not at all, Mr. Pruitt. It’s Elsa. She left us during the night. Put some terrible note on her door and spirited away. Mrs. Holloway found it. What did it say?”
“That she felt responsible for Lady Priscilla’s disappearance and had no option but to resign.”
“Just dreadful,” Lady Nesbitt-Normand muttered, putting the dog on the couch as she settled in beside her. “I suppose it is the noble thing to do, but I hardly relish finding a new trainer.”
I shook my head with a smile even as I sidled toward the door. “Any trainer would be honored to work with such a beautiful ward. But you must excuse me, as I have business to attend to for Mr. Pendragon. May I give him your good wishes?”
“You may give him more than that!” Lady Nesbitt-Normand heaved herself off the couch and went round to a desk on the far side of the room. “I had a bank draft prepared for him. I knew he would succeed.” She tossed me a coquettish smile as she reached into one of the drawers and yanked out a check. “You shall give this to him with my deepest gratitude.”
I glanced down at the draft as she handed it over and saw a number many times larger than what we had agreed upon. “Oh, madam,” I almost choked, “you are too generous. We cannot possibly accept this amount for only three days’ work.”
“Fie.” She waved me off. “You can and you will. I’ll not hear another word about it. And you must give Mr. Pendragon one more thing.”
“Of course.” I nodded, now prepared to do whatever she asked. Even so, I was quite taken by surprise when she suddenly stepped forward and seized me in a great, plastering hug. The air heaved from my lungs as she squeezed me, and then just as abruptly she released me again and stepped back with a beatific smile.
“I am a fortunate woman,” she said, “but you and Mr. Pendragon have returned the one blessing that means more to me than anything else in this world. I could never thank you enough.”
The sincerity of her words struck me as much as the glistening tears that sprang to the corners of her eyes. “It has been our privilege,” I said, my own emotion catching in my throat. I looked at Mrs. Holloway and found her grinning happily and could not help the smile that spread across my face. As I let my eyes drift over her shoulder to a clock on the far wall, however, my pleasure came to an immediate end: eight thirty-five. My smile curdled as I realized I had just over an hour to get all the way to Lady Stuart’s and back to Buckingham, an assuredly impossible feat. I glanced back at the radiant face of Lady Nesbitt-Normand and in that instant was struck by the ideal solution.