by Merry Farmer
“I’m causing more trouble here than I am doing good,” Joe told him in a frustrated voice. “We have to focus on what is important first.”
“You are important,” Alistair insisted, resting a hand on the side of Joe’s face. His brother let out a disgusted hiss, but Alistair ignored it. “Nothing is more important to me than you.”
“I understand.” Joe rested his hand over Alistair’s for a moment before moving it away from his face. “And you are everything to me.” He darted a glance to the side. “But we’ve bungled this a bit.”
“To say the least,” Alistair agreed through clenched teeth.
“I’ll go to Wirth and Lionel, tell them what’s happened,” Joe said in a fast whisper. “They offered to find me a place to stay before, and I’m certain that offer still stands.”
“Let me know where it is as soon as you can,” Alistair said.
“You will do no such thing,” his brother roared. “The two of you will never see each other again. Alistair will marry Lady Matilda as planned and—”
“He will do no such thing,” Lady Matilda snapped, standing. “I couldn’t bear it. No decent woman could bear it.”
“Then he’ll marry someone else,” Alistair’s brother said. “And soon. Before rumors begin to circulate.”
Alistair let out a breath and rubbed a hand over his face. “If you’re going, you’d better go,” he told Joe. “Our only chance of helping those children is if one of us reaches them before it’s too late.”
Joe nodded, lowering his hand to squeeze Alistair’s arms. He leaned close to Alistair’s ear and said, “I’m leaving my things in your room so I have to come back for them.”
The barest hint of a smile touched Alistair’s lips before his expression turned grave again. “Understood.”
Joe stepped away from him, glaring with undisguised venom at Alistair’s brother. It didn’t matter how high above him the man was, his actions that evening were unforgivable. “If you truly cared about your brother,” Joe said, “you’d understand when he’s found happiness, and you’d let him have that instead of forcing him to be miserable.” He took a few steps toward the doorway before turning back and adding, “You’re going to win everything in this situation anyhow. The least you could let Alistair have is me.”
He didn’t wait to see what Alistair’s brother’s reaction was. With his heart aching with frustration and uncertainty, Joe marched out of the room and away from the man he loved.
Chapter 18
Deep, roiling anger, like magma beneath the surface of a volcano, was not a feeling Alistair was accustomed to. But from the moment Darren had forced Joe out of his house, through an interminable night of waiting to hear if Joe had been able to contact David and Lionel to intercept whatever mission Burbage was on, and for the next few days when word came that nothing had been discovered or thwarted that night, all Alistair felt was anger.
“Why are you so sour when we’re at a children’s concert,” his sister, Beth, whispered to him as they mingled among the guests at Bardess Mansion.
Alistair sent Beth a wary look. She had returned from the country only that morning, which meant she’d missed the family melodrama that had unfolded the night Darren and Lady Matilda discovered him with Joe. “I’m not sour,” he lied.
Beth pursed her lips and hugged his arm as they strolled around the ballroom, which had been set up as a concert hall. Two separate choirs of barely-presentable children were clustered near a tiny stage at one end of the room. One choir was overseen by a group of nuns in threadbare habits. The other was being kept in order by an attractive young man with spectacles and, if Alistair wasn’t mistaken, Maxwell Hillsboro was hovering nearby as though eager to help. Alistair took a second look at the man with spectacles. Hillsboro had good taste.
“This is because Lady Matilda broke with you, isn’t it,” Beth whispered, leaning closer to Alistair with a sympathetic smile.
“Certainly not,” Alistair snapped, his mood sinking. “There was never an understanding between me and Lady Matilda.”
“I don’t believe that for a moment,” Beth said, nodding to an acquaintance as more people entered the room. “When last I heard, Mama was certain you’d be making an announcement any day now.” She paused, turning to face him fully with a frown, and said, “That’s the only reason I can think of that Mama would be so angry with you now. She was looking forward to a wedding.”
Alistair couldn’t think of an answer to Beth’s implied question. All he could do was arch one eyebrow. Darren had deemed the truth about Alistair’s affections too outrageous to tell their father, but that hadn’t stopped him from blurting the whole thing to their mother when she had come downstairs to ask what all the shouting was about and to tell them to stop so their father could sleep. The most awkward part of the whole, messy revelation was that their mother didn’t seem surprised at all to learn of Alistair’s true nature. That hadn’t stopped her from upbraiding him for failing to keep his personal business to himself and to do his duty to his family.
“You’re never going to be happy until you tell me why our family is suddenly at sixes and sevens,” Beth said as they continued on their stroll around the room. Many of the guests were already claiming seats, even though the benefit concert wasn’t due to begin for several more minutes. “You’ve never kept anything from me in the past.”
“Perhaps I should have,” Alistair sighed. “Or perhaps I never had any secrets worth keeping in the past.”
“So you are keeping a secret.” Beth’s eyes lit up and she grinned at him as though he were about to hand her a bag of sweets.
“I’m not telling you anything, Beth,” Alistair said. “How old are you again? Barely twenty?”
“Twenty is old enough to be let in on shocking family secrets,” Beth informed him in a whisper as she leaned closer.
The mischief in her eyes sent an itch down Alistair’s back. She knew. She had to. She wouldn’t be staring at him as though he’d stolen biscuits from the kitchen and she were about to tell Father on him if she didn’t.
“Isn’t that Lord Norton over there?” He nodded across the room to one of the ridiculous young men Beth always seemed to moon over at balls.
“You know that servants talk, don’t you, dear brother?” Beth said, ignoring his attempt at a diversion.
Alistair stopped near one of the ballroom’s French doors and hissed out a breath. He glanced around to make certain no one was near enough to overhear them, then faced her. “You obviously have something to say, so please say it.”
“I want to meet this valet of yours,” she said, eyes bright. “I wasn’t there either of the times Mama, Father, and Darren met him.”
“It’s out of the question,” Alistair hissed.
“So you intend to keep him locked away in some sort of den of love, do you?” Her mouth twitched into a saucy grin.
“Mind your tongue,” Alistair scolded her.
“Is he handsome?”
“It’s none of your concern.”
“I bet he’s handsome.”
“You shouldn’t even know about these things, let alone speak of them.”
“But I do.”
“How?” He narrowed his eyes, wondering if they’d kept a close enough watch on who Beth’s friends were.
Beth shrugged. “I’m a modern woman.” When Alistair stared disapprovingly at her, she went on with, “Don’t give me that look. You’re the one bedding another man.”
“I’m not—” Alistair started, but huffed out a breath. In fact, he was. “You shouldn’t know about these things,” he repeated.
“It’s too late for that,” she said, leaning closer to him, her eyes glittering with mirth. “I want to meet him.”
“No, you can’t.”
“I can and I will. Particularly if you intend to keep him.”
She had a point there. He couldn’t very well hide Joe from her if he expected to spend the rest of his life with him. “There are other thin
gs going on at the moment that require my and Joe’s attention.”
“His name is Joe? How sweet,” Beth said, the light of romance in her eyes.
“Why are you not condemning me like Darren has?” Alistair asked, surprising himself with the question.
Beth shrugged again. “Darren is a stick in the mud traditionalist. I told you, I’m a modern woman.”
Alistair shook his head.
“And Rebecca’s brother is a homosexual as well,” she went on in the quietest of whispers, referring to her closest friend. Her smile brightened. “I feel as though I have joined some sort of prized, secret organization now.”
Alistair rolled his eyes. “I’m glad my peculiarities have enhanced your social life.”
Beth had the nerve to laugh. “I love you, Alistair. You’re my brother. I will always love you, no matter what Darren says or how old-fashioned Mama is.”
Her outpouring of support touched Alistair so deeply and so suddenly that he was in real danger of showing too much emotion in public. He covered the potential embarrassment by clearing his throat and squaring his shoulders, then offering Beth his arm to continue escorting her around the room. “I love you too, Beth. And it means the world to me to hear you say you won’t abandon me.”
“Never,” she said. “No matter what Father and Mama or Darren say.”
Alistair’s throat squeezed with sentiment. If Joe’s little sister was half as spectacular as Beth was, it was no wonder the man was willing to turn over every stone in Christendom to find her.
His burst of warm emotion was quelled all too suddenly as he spotted Lady Matilda marching toward him from the ballroom’s entrance. Alistair stopped, his stomach tying in knots.
“Should I prepare for battle?” Beth asked, leaning closer to him.
“I don’t know,” Alistair answered truthfully.
Lady Matilda’s expression was a mask of determination as she ignored everyone who tried to speak to her as she approached Alistair. Alistair could practically see the whispers of curiosity turning into gossip as more people glanced over to see what would happen.
“I need to speak with you,” Lady Matilda said, marching right past Alistair and Beth and gesturing for them to follow.
Alistair exchanged a look with Beth before following. Lady Matilda charged on to one of the French doors, unlocking it and stepping out into a cold, dormant garden. One of the footmen attending the ballroom hurried after them, pausing in the doorway as though he didn’t know whether to tell them off for going somewhere out of bounds or to guard against anyone else joining them. Blessedly, he appeared to choose the latter.
“I still think you’re an abomination,” Lady Matilda began, whipping to face him when the three of them were alone.
“I beg your pardon.” Beth defended him, looking like a wildcat about to attack.
Alistair rested a hand on her arm to still her. “I’m sorry if I have hurt or disappointed you in any way, Lady Matilda,” Alistair said.
“I have half a mind to spread word of what you are to everyone I know,” Lady Matilda went on, tilting her chin up and staring down her nose at Alistair.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Beth hissed. “If you do, I’ll tell everyone you’re nothing but a fortune-hunting—”
“Beth, hush,” Alistair stopped her. He saw more than simple disgust in Lady Matilda’s face. She was anxious, upset about something other than his habits. His gut told him she’d taken him aside for more than just a dressing down. “If there is anything I can do to make this situation less painful for you, my lady, I will.”
Lady Matilda’s expression tightened, but more with regret than fury. “It would be easier if you weren’t such a gentleman,” she said, so quietly Alistair almost didn’t hear. “The others are always so—” She paused. “But you have always been—” Again, she stopped, shaking her head and letting her shoulders drop. “It seems unfair somehow.”
“Good men are out there. Men who will appreciate you for all that you are,” Alistair said, praying it was the right thing.
Lady Matilda nodded once, lifted her head to meet his eyes, and swallowed. “Burbage is a monster,” she rushed on. “My sister has told me things.” She turned suddenly to the side, pressing her gloved fingers to her mouth and looking as though she might burst into tears.
A moment later, she recovered, took a breath, and went on. “There is a property on Batcliff Cross Docks.”
Every nerve in Alistair’s body jolted to life as she spoke.
“I don’t know what happens there, only that Burbage is involved,” Lady Matilda went on. “Katherine, my sister, has heard him and his father speak of it frequently. She’s seen things she’s had to pretend she didn’t see. When you mentioned the children—” Her face crumpled into grief and pain. She clapped a hand to her mouth, unable to go on.
“Understood,” Alistair said in the gentlest voice he could muster, stepping forward and resting a hand on Lady Matilda’s arm. “I’ll leave at once to tell the men working on this case where to look. In the meantime, Beth will see to you.”
“I will?” Beth asked uncertainly.
Alistair sent her the most serious look the two of them had ever exchanged. “You will,” he said.
Beth nodded, clearly confused, and slipped to Lady Matilda’s side.
“I’ll send word if anything happens,” Alistair said, turning and marching toward the door to the ballroom.
The footman opened it for him with a puzzled look, but Alistair didn’t have time to explain. “See to Lady Matilda,” he said before hurrying on.
“There has to be something more we can do,” Joe grumbled as he paced through the heart of David and Lionel’s office. “Something better than sitting here.”
“If criminals were transparent and easy to catch, there wouldn’t be any,” Lionel told him from his seat behind the desk. He shot Joe an impatient look as he worked, as if Joe were in danger of wearing a hole in his carefully-selected carpet.
“We’re doing everything we can,” David assured him, entering the room from his office and depositing a file on Lionel’s desk. “Patrick has an entire taskforce within the Metropolitan Police helping him with this investigation. He has the ear of Assistant Commissioner Jack Craig, Lord Clerkenwell.”
“If anyone can get anything done in the Met Police, it’s Clerkenwell,” Lionel said, reaching for the folder.
Joe knew they were right, but he hated every moment that he sat idle all the same. Nothing seemed to be going right. He hadn’t seen Alistair for days. He’d managed to send one note, informing Alistair that Lionel had found a temporary flat for him in Earl’s Court, but the second note he’d sent was returned. Alistair’s brother had to have something to do with that. The man was an annoyance more than anything else, but at the moment, Joe didn’t need any more annoyances.
“Has anyone been able to uncover anything about Adler?” he asked, pacing his way back to Lionel’s desk.
“No,” Lionel answered, looking as though his luminous blue eyes might actually shoot daggers at Joe if he didn’t stop his incessant questioning.
“No,” David repeated, much more patient. “We really are doing everything we can.”
They were, but it wasn’t enough. Toby and Emma were out there somewhere. Lily was out there somewhere. He believed that with all his heart. They needed him. They needed action, not endless waiting.
He was on the verge of trying Lionel’s patience and risking his wrath with more questions when the office door banged open and Alistair flew in. The sudden burst of joy at the sight of him made Joe dizzy.
“Thank God,” he said, charging across the room to greet him.
Alistair opened his arms for a brief embrace, but was too tense for more. “Batcliff Cross Docks,” he said, as breathless as if he’d ran the whole way there. Which he might have, given the state he was in.
“What?” David asked, rushing to join them in the center of the room.
Lionel left his desk work
to meet them as well. “It’s a smaller dock. Not a lot of important trade.”
“Lady Matilda tells me her sister, Burbage’s wife, has heard the location discussed before,” Alistair went on.
Joe’s pulse pounded. He had to fight the urge to run there immediately. “We need to go at once.”
“I’ll inform Wrexham,” Lionel said, striding to the coat stand near the door and throwing on a fine, wool overcoat. He was out the door before Joe could think to go with him.
“We should all go,” Joe said. “Time is of the essence.”
“We don’t know what we’ll find there,” David cautioned him. “Even if it’s not one of the larger dockyards, Batcliff Cross is more than one building. And we can’t be sure we’ll find anything. It’s not Thursday yet on the one hand, and even if it was, we don’t know whether Burbage was able to complete his business the other night or not.”
“It’s the best lead we’ve had in the case so far,” Alistair argued.
“He’s right,” Joe agreed. “We’re bound to find something if we search hard enough.”
“It’s better than standing around doing nothing,” Alistair finished his thought.
Joe glanced to him, glowing with happiness just to be standing next to Alistair again, no matter how dire the circumstances. Together, they might actually be able to thwart whatever Burbage was up to.
“I’ll get my coat,” David said before disappearing into his office.
Joe turned to Alistair, grateful for a few seconds alone with him. “I’ve missed you,” he said, surging into Alistair for a quick kiss.
Alistair kissed him in return, gripping Joe’s arms as he did. There wasn’t time for a more serious kiss, but the heartfelt buss was enough. “I feel like victory is within our reach,” he said. “We’ll find those children, find your sister, bring Burbage and his father to justice, and then we’ll figure out how to build a life together.”
“Every bit of that sounds amazing,” Joe said, then stole another kiss. “And I’m not going to stop until we’ve ticked everything off that list.”