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The seed of her idea propagated and grew like a vine, unfurling in her mind with endless possibilities.

Providing the love and security she never experienced to two young people who had only known heartache and hardship would be a joy she could barely imagine.

Guiding Sarah through the gauntlet of high society.

Helping Edward mentor Henry and finding a vocation he would enjoy.

What richness the two children would bring into her life.

It was a shining dream, but was it one she could achieve?

It doesn’t have to hinge on Edward marrying me.

I can do this on my own if I must. Mayhap I won’t be able to adopt the children, but I can hire them to work in my household if that is the only option available.

If he rejects me, at least I know where I stand.

I shall ask him tonight. When we are back at the orphanage.

And I’m naked in his bed. Or he is naked in mine.

Some might think using her body as a tool to increase the odds of wooing him might be dishonourable, but she was going to use every weapon in her arsenal to fight for a future with Edward and the children.

The thought of him refusing her was painful enough to have Ivy catching her breath as they walked around the edges of the ballroom.

‘Are you well?’ He gripped her elbow, squeezing tight.

‘Quite. It’s just these stupid slippers.’

Millie had a cup of ratafia ready for Ivy when they arrived at the refreshment table. Killian sidled up to Edward and handed him a flask.

‘You’ll thank me later.’

Philippa joined them. Her sharp gaze landed on the flask. Faster than an adder’s strike, she snatched it from Edward, unscrewed the top and took a long swallow. ‘Not bad, Killian.’ Re-capping the decanter, she tucked it into her pocket.

‘Hey!’ Edward’s mock outrage was the perfect comedic relief.

‘I assume you will return that later?’ Killian asked.

Philippa raised a brow and smiled. ‘I’ve found assumptions to be rather dangerous things. Rarely do they come out the way we wish.’

Ivy cleared her throat. ‘Has anyone heard anything suspicious? Any whispers when I gave my speech?’

The group took turns recounting information they’d gleaned while dancing and mingling, but outside of a countess embarking on an affair with her footman, an earl marrying an American heiress with bad teeth and a large bank account, and a certain young debutante who might be in an interesting condition with a man lacking a title but flush with money from his work in shipping, there were no rumblings of the Devil’s Sons.

‘Well, we may not have flushed out our prey, but we’ve certainly done some wonderful work for the orphans.’ Ivy tried to put a favourable light on their efforts.

‘We aren’t done yet. Not by half. Focusing on orphanages is a great way to put pressure on the Devil’s Sons.’ Edward’s hand found its way back to Ivy’s waist. ‘Eventually, they’ll slip up. We need to increase our watch on the docks. If we can catch them moving the children?—’

‘But capturing the laymen won’t stop the leaders. We need to find the Wolf. I thought tonight would be the catalyst.’ Philippa thwacked her fan, then narrowed her gaze. ‘Your friend is coming to join us.’ She turned away as Olivia approached.

‘Lady Winterbourne, I never got the chance to thank you for hosting our ball. You’ve helped make this a wild success.’ Olivia’s smile looked strained, her eyes straying from Philippa to Ivy. Something was wrong. Ivy could see it in the fine lines bracketing Olivia’s lips.

‘I did it for Ivy. And the children, of course.’

‘Of course. Heaven knows you wouldn’t trouble yourself to help me. I would wager you wouldn’t deign to spill your wine on me if my dress were alight.’

‘I don’t drink wine.’ Philippa stretched her mouth. ‘And I certainly wouldn’t waste good whiskey as it would likely only intensify the conflagration.’

Olivia narrowed her eyes. ‘Indeed.’ She turned to Ivy. ‘May I speak with you privately? There’s a small issue.’

‘Can we assist?’ Millie’s voluptuous figure and wild red curls were set off in a gown the colour of burned caramel. Drake’s eyes kept wandering to her neckline every few moments, and Ivy was certain she’d heard him growl something indecent in Millie’s ear not moments before.

‘Thank you, but no. It’s just a small issue brought up by some ladies from the Committee.’ Olivia linked her arm through Ivy’s and tugged. ‘We shan’t be long.’

Ivy felt Edward’s fingers dragging across the silk of her dress as she walked away. She gave him what she hoped was a smouldering look. Based on the flush crawling from his neck to his cheeks, it worked.

Now, if only I could get him to growl naughty things in my ear.

She hid a secret smile as Olivia swept them out of the ballroom and down a corridor toward the library.

Instead of entering the large room replete with floor-to-ceiling shelves, a rolling staircase, and a collection of first-edition books many said rivalled that of the Queen herself, Olivia kept walking.

‘Where are we going? What is amiss, Olivia?’

Olivia paused. Tears shone in her green eyes. ‘Oh, Ivy, I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault.’

A thrill of alarm washed through her.

‘Tell me at once.’

‘It’s the children. They’ve gone missing.

I took them to the kitchen for a treat and told them I’d be back once I checked on the chest. I asked Percival to take it to the study to count out our donations.

I thought we could announce it at the end, a grand cap to our successful evening, but when I returned to collect the children from the kitchen, they were gone. Cook had no idea where they went.’

They were so upset about me leaving. Dear God. What if they ran away?

Visions of Henry running into street toughs or Sarah begging for scraps of food on a dirty street corner in Whitechapel filled Ivy with a familiar feeling.

Fear. But this was not the freezing, cover-your-head-and-hide-in-the-shadows kind of fear.

This had sharp edges and claws. This had teeth and strength and rage.

This was feral, a fierce, demanding action.

‘Where have you looked? We can start in the kitchen and search every room. I’ll get the others. We’ll split up and comb the gardens as well.’

Olivia shook her head. Looping a loose strand of hair around her finger, she coiled it and tugged. ‘I already checked the kitchen. Why don’t we try some of the closer rooms together? If we don’t find them, we’ll get help. This is the last thing we need the guests to discover.’

Because she had no time to argue, Ivy agreed.

They made quick work of the servants’ hall, pantry, and scullery.

‘They aren’t here.’ Panic was making Ivy ill. What if they weren’t on the property? What if they were walking the streets together in the dark? All alone.

‘What about the stables? When I left the kitchen, Cook was talking about some kittens that had just been born in the stables.’ Olivia looked a little wild-eyed.

Her pale skin was almost white. She fidgeted with a button on her gown until the thing popped off, but Olivia didn’t seem to notice. ‘I’m so sorry I let this happen.’

‘It isn’t your fault. If Sarah discovered there are kittens in the stables, I’ve no doubt that’s where we’ll find them.

’ Ivy infused more confidence into her voice than she actually felt.

After this, they would need to get the others.

Philippa’s house was far too palatial for two people to search every nook and cranny.

Even if the guests were disturbed, finding the children took precedence.

Rushing back through the kitchen, they took the back door to the mews.

Even across the cobblestone yard, Ivy could see lamplight flickering in the stables.

With so many guests arriving by carriage, it was no wonder the stable boys were up and about, helping direct the traffic, finding places for groomsmen to park their carriages while they waited for the ball to end.

Keeping Philippa’s horses calm amidst so much activity.

But when she followed the yellow light past several stalls, no rushing men were about.

The nicker of a horse and stomp of a hoof comforted Ivy.

Stepping into the centre of the stables, she saw two figures sitting together on the hay.

Rushing forward, Ivy almost reached them when she realised something was wrong.

They weren’t moving. Their hands and feet were tied together, and they’d both been gagged.

The distinctive sound of a gun being cocked stopped Ivy cold.

‘Lady Ivy Cavendale. Finally, I can remove the thorn you have become in my side.’ Lord Percival Smithwick stepped from the shadows of a stall near the children. His pistol was pointed directly at Sarah’s blonde head.

Olivia’s husband is the Wolf?

It made sense. He was at the Widow’s Ball when young Thurston was given his note.

He was aware of the happenings at the orphanage with his wife heading up the syndicate funding the venture.

He was the bloody brother-in-law to the Lord High Chancellor.

There was no telling what secrets he took back to the Devil’s Sons after sharing port and cigars with his wife’s brother.

With a few carefully crafted questions, he could easily be one step ahead of them.

Turning, she yelled a warning to Olivia. ‘Run! Get the others.’

But as her friend careened into the stable, she stumbled to a stop, staring at her husband.

Ivy moved in front of Olivia. Slipping a hand into her pocket, she palmed the pistol and held it behind her back.

She couldn’t draw on Smithwick. Not when he was so close to the children.

But if she could get the gun to Olivia, distract him, draw him closer to her, and get him to point his gun at Ivy, then Olivia could take the shot.

Even if she missed, the report of the gun would draw attention, and Ivy might be able to take advantage of Smithwick’s surprise.

‘What are you doing, Smithwick? Put the gun down.’ Backing up another step, she felt Olivia’s skirt tickling the back of her knuckles.

The slimy toad threw his head back and laughed a high-pitched, shrieking sort of sound. ‘No. I don’t think I will.’

Olivia’s warm hand covered hers. She took the gun from Ivy.

Huzzah! Now I just need to get him away from the children.

Putting her hands in front of her, she started moving slowly closer to Smithwick. ‘You don’t want to do this. Hurting these children helps no one.’

‘That’s where you’re wrong, you stupid little fool. We have orders to fill, and you have put a dent in our production. These two will go some way in helping to restore our good faith with some very wealthy customers.’

Oily sickness coated her stomach. What kind of monster described children as product?

Sarah started to sob, tears tracking down her face and getting caught on the rag tied around her mouth.

Ivy mustered a smile. ‘Don’t worry, darling. No one is going to hurt you. I’ll keep you safe. I promise.’

Olivia made a strangled sound behind her as Ivy took another step closer to Smithwick.

‘The promise of a woman.’ He laughed again. ‘About as useful as a bouquet of roses on the battlefield. Don’t you agree, Olivia?’

Ivy didn’t want him looking at Olivia. He might see the gun she was valiantly trying to hide in her skirts.

Ivy needed his attention firmly focused on her.

‘What do you hope to achieve tonight, Smithwick?’ If she could get between him and the children, protect them with the shield of her body, Olivia might be able to get off a shot before Smithwick could fire his own weapon.

‘Just one more step in our plan, Lady Cavendale. You see, we can’t have a certain commissioner poking his big nose into our business.

Certain members of the peerage, myself included, would have a bit of mud on our faces if that happened.

Imagine if the beau monde were to discover how many dirty little street rats disappear every day, all on order from the Devil’s Sons. ’

‘I rather think you’d have a noose around your neck.

’ Ivy sidestepped closer to Smithwick and the children, angling her body to keep him directly in her line of sight.

She had a dagger in her pocket and while she wasn’t as adept at throwing knives as Millie, she wasn’t half-bad.

If Olivia couldn’t shoot her husband – which was a deuced difficult thing for anyone to do, let alone an untrained woman like Olivia – then Ivy would use the dagger as plan B.

She doubted they would have time for any other plans.

‘Then you have no idea how many lords are on our payroll, Lady Cavendale. Trust me, no member of the Devil’s Sons will ever hang. A member of the peerage being trotted out of Newgate and executed in front of the rabble? Can you imagine?’

She was already doing so with Smithwick claiming centre stage in the scene she envisioned.

‘You will be held accountable for your crimes.’ She was close enough now. Picking up her skirts, she rushed forward. ‘ Now, Olivia! ’ Reaching the children, she wrapped her arms around both of them, covering them with her body, closing her eyes and waiting for the deafening report of her pistol.

Instead, Smithwick’s high-pitched laughter sent a thrill of alarm down her spine. Opening her eyes, she turned to Olivia.

Her friend held the pistol in a shaking hand, but it wasn’t pointed at Smithwick. It was pointed at Ivy.