by Abigail Agar
Boris frowned deeply and asked, “What is it? What is it that I was supposed to say? What vile venom came from my lips?”
“It was to the detriment of my bride, I fear,” Gregory said with another shake of his head. “It was so fiendish that I knew it was a lie as soon as I heard it. I tell you the man is a villain that spoke it to me.”
Boris was beside himself as he grabbed Gregory’s arms. “I beseech you to tell me what this scoundrel has heaped on my plate.”
Gregory said, “It was said that my wife was unfaithful. I know it to be false, good Boris, but I will admit that it ripped at my heart to hear it.”
“I swear to you that I said no such thing. You know as well as I do that I have barely been around the Duchess long enough to form a hearty opinion. What I have seen of her shows her to be a kind and generous young lady,” Boris said adamantly. “You trust me, do you not, Cousin?”
Gregory nodded slowly. “Of course, I do. We grew up together, you and me.” Gregory sighed. “I am glad that you were not the seat of such lies.”
Boris put his arm around Gregory’s shoulders merrily. “Fear not, for our relationship will weather all storms, Cousin. We need not doubt each other,” Boris said with a smile.
Gregory agreed, “Indeed.”
“Who was this foul beast that spoke so?” Boris asked as he let go of Gregory.
Gregory waved his hands. “I do not wish to cause strife. I just merely had to know if it was truly out of your mouth,” Gregory said beseechingly.
Boris insisted, “You must tell me who has besmirched my name, Cousin. You cannot let this knave run about the whole of London telling people that I said such things about my own family.”
“Then let me handle him,” Gregory said earnestly. “I will take it straight to him and hone him through his heart if he denies it.”
Boris chuckled. “I tell you, Gregory, your mother’s milk must have been made of pure fire. I will leave it to you then,” Boris said with a shake of his head. “Be safe, Cousin. People who will say such things will do much worse than spout a few ill words.”
Gregory clapped his cousin on the shoulder. “I will take your words with great care, good Boris,” Gregory said seriously. “May I ask a favour of you after offending you so?”
“Certainly, you may,” Boris said confidently.
Gregory nodded and asked, “My wife has been wrongly imprisoned. Not even charges filed against her. There are reports of her being in workhouses, but she has since disappeared. I would ask that you keep your ears and eyes open. I know that you are out in society more. Perhaps someone has heard something.”
“It breaks my heart to hear this,” Boris said fiercely. “I will do everything in my power to procure this information for you. This shall not stand.”
Gregory gave his cousin a smile and said, “Thank you, Boris. I know that with your help it is only a matter of time before she is back by my side.”
***
“He lied straight to your face?” Fredrick scowled. “I never did trust that loud-mouth braggart.”
Talbert and Olly came into the kitchen where the St Claire brothers currently sat. Talbert asked, “You called for us, Your Grace?”
“Yes,” Gregory said to the two men. “I want you to go and make nice with the boys from my cousin’s house. You know where they normally go to blow off steam. See if they can tell you anything that might be a bit odd. Feel free to trade gossip about Fredrick’s run-in with the highwaymen if you need be. You have first-hand knowledge of part of that night after all.”
Fredrick nodded his agreement. “You have my permission to do so,” he said with amusement. “Feel free to add in the part about me kicking that one in the knee, even if you were not technically present for it.”
Talbert chuckled. “Alright,” he said. “Come on, Olly, I bet Todd and the boys are down at the tavern.”
“Be careful,” Gregory said quietly to the two young men. “Whoever else is in this with my cousin means business. They would not hesitate to harm you if they did so to Fred or Jules.”
Olly nodded and promised, “We won’t take any chance, Your Grace.” The two men were swiftly out of the room.
After Olly and Talbert’s footsteps faded, Gregory said, “I feel awful asking those young men to do more.”
“I think they are happy to do it. Most everyone is fond of the Duchess,” Fredrick said to his brother. “I found very little today. I even doubled back to a couple of the workhouses. There is nothing to be found there. Perhaps with your jostling of Cousin Boris, the rats will start to flee the ship.”
***
The lady of the house was a quiet type. The woman’s name was Sarah, and she was as soft-spoken and meek as anyone that Jules had ever run across. Sarah was, however, rather good with a needle and thread. Watching the woman work made Jules miss her mother.
The woman’s tools made it possible for Jules to borrow some thread and a needle to hem up her unfortunate dress. At least it did not drag under her feet now even if it was still too big most everywhere else. The children were out almost all day, and Jules learned that they worked in a factory nearby.
The thought of the children in the factory made Jules shake her head, but she could not naysay Wyatt, the tall man, and Sarah. Some of the children were their own, but most were just lost souls that the couple had taken in. Most days, Sarah was home mending and sewing, while Wyatt went out into the city to work at a newspaper stand nearby.
Wyatt came in with a grin on his face as he called out Jules name that particular evening. Jules had been waiting for Wyatt to find her a job, and her heart practically beat out of her chest at the sound of excitement in the man’s voice.
Wyatt beamed when he saw Jules. “The Lord has answered your prayers,” Wyatt said joyfully. “There is a factory on the East side that needs seamstresses. I have seen that you know a thing or two about sewing, and since I know some of the men who run the factory, I managed to get your name to the right people. They want you to come by bright and early in the morning. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“It is,” Jules said without a trace of deception. She really was genuinely thrilled. It felt like it had been ages since she had been free to leave her confinement. The very thought of simply walking down the street unfettered was enough to make her feel like laughing.
Sarah smiled over at Wyatt. “What a good man you are, Wyatt,” she said proudly to her husband. “I know you shall do wonderful,” Sarah said encouragingly to Jules.
Jules nodded enthusiastically. “I will definitely try. I’m so excited that I doubt I will sleep at all. I better get straight up and say my prayers. Thank you, Wyatt,” Jules said before she rushed upstairs.
Sleep really was elusive. Jules sat there trying to formulate how long it would take her to get to the manor house. She did not know for sure where Wyatt and Sarah’s house was, but from what she had pieced together, it was at least across the city on the Western side of London.
However, if she had to go East, then that might put her close to her old stomping grounds. Jules fell asleep finally out of sheer exhaustion with a smile on her face.
***
The next morning, Jules’ eyes popped open, and she quickly started to grab for her things only to realize that she had no things. Jules laughed at herself then gave her reflection a quick glance. She looked passable but still not much better than a sick sow.
Downstairs, Jules did not even bother to eat. Wyatt had already left, leaving behind a note for her with instructions on how to get to her new job. Jules held the note up as she stepped out the door. The sweet rush of faintly cool air hit Jules, and she paused to just breathe in that first free breath of air.
She would follow the note, at least until she was near the job’s vicinity, so she would not arouse suspicion. The last thing she needed was to end up back at the workhouses or the jail. Jules walked along just enjoying the sounds of the city.
It had been so long since she had just taken in t
he sights and sounds of London. Growing up here she had taken the clamour of the city for granted, and she only noticed its absence in the country at Thornton Hall.
However, the noise of the city had been replaced by other noises such as chatty crickets that fought to be heard over the bullfrog serenade.
The yell of a newspaper boy brought Jules out of her stupor. She gave the little boy a smile, but she had no money to buy a paper with and did not hinder him. Jules checked the note and cut down the next street.
Slowly the streets became more familiar. By midday, she was on a street that she had at least set foot on before. She was so far from the manor house that she thought of just going to her new job to get the chance to sit for a moment. Jules pushed on and pocketed the note. She knew where she was going now.
The hours marched by as Jules wound her way through now familiar streets. She was still far away from the manor house, and the sun was starting to sink. Did Wyatt and Sarah know she was gone? Had the factory owners alerted them when she failed to show up?
Jules had spent the better part of the day darting between buildings or behind posts, always thinking that someone might have seen her.
As kind as Sarah and Wyatt were to her, Jules did not trust them. Someone had sent her there, and she had already learned that dressed as she was the word duchess on her lips was a surefire and certain trip to a ward where they chain people to beds. No. Jules would not go back.
Jules turned her feet towards the guildhall. It was close by, and there was sure to be help there, perhaps. Unless, of course, they too blamed her as David had. Jules swallowed down her fear.
All they could do was toss her out on the street. She was already on the street, and it would be no loss to be tossed back out again.
Still, the sight of the guildhall made her pause. She hesitated as she fought for courage. Her feet felt leaden as she struggled to lift them.
Perhaps it was not cowardice but simply the long walk, Jules told herself. Deep down she knew it was the coward in her. There was that old fear of not belonging, of being tossed aside.
She knocked on the door and braced herself. It took several long minutes before a boy answered. “Yes?” the boy asked warily.
Jules only vaguely recognized him, and she frowned. He was a newer apprentice. She winced thinking of apprentices. Jules bit back tears. She shook her head. “Never mind. Nothing,” Jules said hastily as she choked down the sob in her throat.
“Who is it, Tom?” came a familiar booming voice.
Jules fled down the steps. She could not bear to see the look on Master Foster’s face. If he looked at her with as much contempt as David had, then Jules thought she would surely die.
“Jules!” the man’s voice called out to her. “Come back!” There were feet following her.
Jules slowed and turned around as the tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry that I came back,” Jules sobbed.
Foster shook his head. “There is no need to apologize, and we have much to talk about,” the man said gently as he led her back toward the guildhall by her elbow. “Come in and rest. You are with family now.”
Chapter 13
Jules sat in one of the apprentice rooms at the Mason Hall. It was much as Jules remembered it from the time when she studied with Master Foster. She wore a pair of breeches and loose cotton shirt. For the first time in ages, she felt more herself.
The idea of returning to the manor house seemed fraught with peril to Jules. It was from that very world that she had been snatched, and she still had no idea why. There was a knock at the door. “Enter,” Jules said quietly from her perch in the wooden desk chair.
Master Foster poked his head through the door. “I’m glad to see you looking more like the Jules I recognize. You looked a poor sight at my doorstep,” he said kindly. The man’s cap just kept his fuzzy hair under control. He sat down heavily on the bed as it was the only other place to sit in the small rudimentary room. “Have you given any thought to sending word to His Grace about your well-being or whereabouts?”
“I’ve given it a lot of thought, more thoughts than I would believe I had in my head, but I still am chained up in doubt. I know you said that he came looking for me, but what if he only wants to find me so he can tie up loose ends?” Jules was riddled with doubts as she stared at her hands in her lap. “I still don’t know why I ended up in that place.”
Master Foster nodded. “I understand your doubts, but I can tell a man in love, child, and that man was desperate to find his wife, not a loose end,” Master Foster said softly. “Let me send one of the boys to him just so he knows you are safe.”
Jules pressed her lips together. She wanted to see Gregory, to know that he had not done this, but there was that fear again. Finally, she nodded hesitantly. “If he truly wants me, then he can come here, alone, and we can talk.”
“That sounds reasonable, but you must understand that there is something afoot, and he may not be able to accommodate you,” Master Foster said with a shrug of his shoulders. “We shall just have to wait and see, but I did promise that I would give him word if we saw you. It is my duty to fulfill my word.”
With a nod, Jules said, “I know, Charles.”
“I see you do remember my name after all,” he said with a grin. “Glad to see a bit of your fire back.”
***
“What do you think about our cousin?” Fredrick asked as he ate a bit of the food the cook had prepared that morning.
Gregory looked over at his mother who had a worried expression on her face before he replied, “I am not certain what to make of Cousin Boris, but I am also not ready to trust him blindly.”
“I do you wish you boys would be careful,” Lady St Claire said as she cupped her warm teacup in her hands.
Fredrick assured his mother, “We will endeavour to be so, Mother.”
“It is not as if we were the ones who set all this in motion. You act as if we have any choice but to respond,” Gregory said with slight irritation.
Lady St Claire sighed, “I miss Jules as well, Gregory, and I want there to be some justice for what has happened. I just want you boys not to take any unnecessary risks.”
“I have no intention of giving anyone an easy opportunity to get the better of us, but I fear there will have to be some risks involved,” Gregory said with a frown.
Footfalls heralded the arrival of Olly. “Your Grace, I was wondering if I could have a word,” Olly ventured. He stopped near the table with his hat in his hands and gave a bow of his head to Lady St Claire who eyed the young man curiously.
Gregory nodded and waved his hand towards the hallway. “I will meet you in the study,” he said. Olly ducked his head and quickly headed back out of the kitchen. Gregory smiled at his mother and Fredrick, “I better go see what he needs. Please, enjoy your breakfast.”
Lady St Claire gave her son a curious look but said nothing as Gregory exited the kitchen swiftly. When Gregory was gone, she looked over at Fred, “What is that all about?”
“I am quite sure that I do not know,” Fredrick said with a shake of his head.
Lady St Claire pressed her lips together and said, “So long as you keep your promise of being careful, then I shall stay out of the way.”
“We always intend on being careful, Mother,” Fredrick said before he dabbed his mouth with his napkin. “If you will excuse me, I think I would rather like a ride today. I shall go see about getting one of the horses ready.”
Lady St Claire watched her youngest son leave as well and sighed at the empty room wondering what the day would bring.
***
“So, what is it that you found out?” Gregory asked curiously as he rested back in his father’s leather desk chair.
Olly sighed and admitted, “Not much. Whatever else your cousin is, Your Grace, he runs a very tight household. The boys were antsy the minute we started talking to them. I imagine that means that their master told them not to associate with us for fear of them giving something away.
”
“Ah,” Gregory said in dissatisfaction. He had been expecting as much. Boris might seem like a lovable jester to the outside world, but Gregory had known the man his whole life and knew Boris to have a shrewd mind.
Olly smiled and said, “But one of the younger boys did let it slip that your uncle had been there just a day before.”
“That means my cousin lied about that, but I figured as much,” Gregory said thoughtfully. “As much as I want to focus on figuring out Boris’ angle and why he is involved in this at all, I cannot let myself get distracted from finding the Duchess.”
Olly agreed, “As it should be. I just wish we could have turned up something more for you, Your Grace.”