Lucas was about to answer his question when Taylor walked into the room.
She wanted to discuss their sleeping arrangements. Lucas straightened up. Her remark gained his full attention.
She thought it would be a fine idea for her to sleep with the twins in the large bed next to David Daniel.
He had to put his foot down. She was sleeping with him, and that was that.
"We'll leave the door between the rooms open."
"What if one wakes up crying?" she asked.
"I'll hear them," Lucas promised.
Hunter grinned. "I'll probably hear them, too," he jested. "They're little, Taylor, but they both have a mighty roar. Didn't you hear them when they were in the tub? They were making enough noise to reach the lobby."
Taylor didn't look convinced. Hunter gave up. He turned to his friend and reminded him of their errand. Lucas assured him he hadn't forgotten. He stood up, handed one of the babies to Taylor, then leaned down and kissed her good-bye.
"Where are you going? It's after ten," she told him.
He didn't answer her. Hunter drew her attention then by giving her the second twin. He tweaked the baby's nose, winked at the other one, and then followed Lucas to the door.
"Mr. Ross, tell me where you're going?" she demanded.
"Lock the door, Taylor. Don't let anyone in."
She couldn't go after him to stop him and demand an explanation. She had her hands full of squirming babies.
She put them to bed, covered them up, then tiptoed out of the room. When she reached the alcove of her own bedroom, she turned around and found them right behind her.
It took her three tries before she finally got them to stay in their own bed. Allie fell asleep first, but Georgie quickly followed.
Victoria came down to her room a few minutes later. She took over the duty of watching the children while Taylor took her bath.
Once she was dressed in her nightgown and robe, she sat down in one of the chairs adjacent to the divan and brushed her hair while she and Victoria caught up on everything that had happened. Taylor didn't leave any of the details out. She lingered over her description of the foul woman named Shirleen and the disgusting man lounging on the divan while David Daniel had been locked in the closet. Victoria was properly outraged.
"Why didn't you alert the authorities?" her friend asked.
"My first concern was to get the children away from there," Taylor explained. "I'm not about to give up David Daniel," she added. "But since I'm not his mother according to the law, I was worried he might be taken away from me. I couldn't risk it."
"Those vile people should be punished for their sins," Victoria said. "And what about these brothers? Will they go right on their merry way?"
Taylor shook her head. "If I have them arrested, there will be a trial. In America, everyone is considered innocent until proven guilty. There would probably be articles written in the papers. The twins would be mentioned, of course, and my name would appear."
"Malcolm," Victoria whispered. "You're concerned about your uncle, aren't you?"
She nodded.
"Cincinnati is quite a distance away from London, Taylor."
"Yes, of course it is. Victoria, what would you do?"
Her friend didn't have a ready answer. "What does Lucas suggest?"
"I haven't told him about Malcolm."
"I realize that," she countered. "But what about the Borders? Doesn't he think they should be punished?"
Taylor straightened in her chair and dropped her brush into her lap. "Lucas and Hunter went back to the tenement," she whispered.
"Why?"
"To wait for the Border brothers," Taylor said. "Dear God, there's bound to be trouble."
"Lucas can take care of himself. And so can Hunter. It's out of your hands now. Those two will surely drag the brothers off to the authorities."
Taylor wasn't so certain either her husband or his friend would involve the police. They might want to deal with the brothers themselves. She had seen the looks on their faces.
"There's always a chance the brothers won't go home tonight," Victoria remarked. "You could be worrying for no purpose."
"We should leave Cincinnati the day after tomorrow. We'll only allow one day to purchase the things we'll need."
The switch in topics took Victoria by surprise. "Yes," she agreed after a moment's pause. "I purchased all the items you'd written down."
"The children need shoes."
"We'll get them tomorrow. Taylor, what in heaven's name are you going to tell Lucas?"
"His duty is done," she replied. "He'll probably leave tomorrow. I shall suggest that very thing."
Victoria rolled her eyes heavenward. "Do you honestly believe he would leave you with three children stranded in this city? I think not. You're fooling yourself if you believe that nonsense."
Taylor's shoulders slumped. "Poor Mr. Ross," she whispered. "He didn't ask for any of this. He doesn't even want to be married."
"He may not like being married, but he's certainly beginning to like you. Don't look so surprised, Taylor. Haven't you noticed the way he stares at you?"
"Do you mean the if-it-wasn't-against-the-law-I'd-throttle-you look he gives me all the time?"
Victoria smiled. "I must admit I have seen that look several times. What about hired help? You mentioned you wanted to employ a cook and a nanny and a maid. Is there time to interview?"
Taylor shook her head. "I would have to run an advertisement first. No, there isn't time. I'm afraid we'll be on our own for a time. Perhaps we'll find suitable help in Redemption."
It was a false hope. How many cooks could there be in a two-block town?
Victoria was thinking along the same lines. "I have taken the liberty of purchasing a book full of recipes," she told Taylor. "They don't look too difficult."
They continued to talk about the problems they might encounter and worked on their list of things to be purchased in Cincinnati. It was almost midnight when Victoria went back to her room. Her friend offered to help take the children to breakfast the following morning.
Taylor was too keyed up to sleep. Her mind kept turning back to the Border brothers. She wasn't the vengeful sort, but she felt it was her duty to see that their business was stopped. There would be other children at risk unless something was done.
She finally came up with what she believed was a suitable plan.
Lucas came back to their room a few minutes later. He spotted Taylor sitting at the desk, diligently writing something down on paper. She was so engrossed in what she was doing, she barely spared him a glance.
It was safe to stare at her because she wasn't paying him any attention, and Lucas did just that. She made him feel clean. The realization made him smile. He knew he wasn't being reasonable. He didn't care. He'd just come back from the filth in the city. Hell. The area he'd been in was surely what hell would be like. And looking at the Border brothers in their seedy quarters was very like staring at a couple of demons.
Now Lucas felt as though he'd made it all the way to heaven. Taylor. With her golden curls and wonderful blue eyes. God, he even liked her frowns.
He wanted her so much he was shaking with his need. He took a bath instead. When he returned to the main room, she was still laboring over her task.
And he still wanted her. He listed at least ten sound reasons why he should leave her alone tonight. The last was the least substantial. It was after midnight. She was exhausted. She needed her sleep.
It didn't matter. By the time he'd crossed the room, he knew what was going to happen. Gaining his wife's cooperation was all that mattered to him now.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
She put her pen down and looked up at him. "I've just finished writing out an advertisement. I'm offering five thousand dollars for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Billy and Cyrus Border. Do you think I should offer more?"