by Abigail Agar
Percy turned to find Frederick at the parlour door.
“I wasn’t sure it would happen, but we’ll see how she does.”
“Just getting her out is a miracle.”
Percy nodded then asked, “Any news?”
Frederick looked behind him to make sure the ladies weren’t coming down the stairs. “Hobart’s people are in place. Joey is in place. Now we have to let it play out.
“The transaction will be requested this week. We’ll be watching and listening.”
Frederick turned again. “Here are your beautiful young ladies. Percy, with these ladies on your arms, you will be the envy of every flower that you pass in Hyde Park.”
He laughed and turned to the ladies, “Shall we go?”
Louisa sat back in Percy’s carriage, closed her eyes, and breathed in the warm air. The slight breeze wafting through the open windows of the carriage gave her a hint of the flowers planted along the route to Hyde Park.
She opened her eyes. “Thank you, Percy. Being outdoors on such a beautiful day is refreshing.”
Percy grinned. “Louisa, we haven’t even arrived at the park. The best is yet to come.”
When they finally hit solid ground, both Louisa and Amelia grinned. It occurred to Percy that not only had Louisa been in the parlour for what seemed like weeks, but so had her mother.
Percy took a lady on each arm. “I have a surprise for you,” he said. He immediately wished he had phrased his declaration differently. Both ladies had tightened their grip on his arm as a response.
He went on as if he hadn’t noticed. “I carry within my waistcoat, a small pouch of birdseed. Maybe down the path further we’ll see a bench and help the birds to a meal?”
Their grips loosened. Percy let out a breath. He knew he needed to be careful of what he said and how he said it. Sometimes he forgot to weigh every word out of his mouth.
Amelia’s head swiveled. “Look at those flowers, Louisa. Come, let’s get a closer look.”
The ladies spent most of their stroll on the outer edges of the path bent down admiring the different species of flowers and plants. Percy stood back and watched them. They were delighting in such a small, natural thing. Louisa’s face had colour and a smile.
As they inched along, Percy kept an eye out for anyone familiar. He saw no one. The park wasn’t as crowded as he expected, so they seemed to have the run of the place.
Amelia looked up at Percy. She grinned. “Percy, come here and look at this beautiful ground cover.”
He walked over and remarked about its particular shade of blue. He stepped back, looked at the sky, and closed his eyes. He felt the sun on his face. It was a beautiful day in more ways than one.
They slowly turned a corner, and Percy spotted a row of benches. “Ladies, shall we sit for a moment and catch our breath?”
Amelia and Louisa looked at each other and laughed. Amelia said, “Percy, do you need to rest?”
“No, I just thought maybe you would want a chance to—”
“Never mind, Percy. We know what you meant. Let’s sit. And while we’re at it, let’s feed the birds.”
Percy sat on a bench connected to the bench Amelia and Louisa sat on. He pulled out his pouch and handed it over.
The ladies threw the birdseed and waited for the birds to join them.
Amelia said, “Percy, this park is a hidden gem. Are there more flowers around the bend?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “But we’ll find out.”
The birds had caught on to the food littering the ground and were clustered on the path in front of them.
They rose and walked further into the park, admiring more flowers before turning back. To walk down the path near the benches, they upset every feeding bird. Once they were past the birdseed, the birds quickly settled behind them and continued to eat.
In the carriage, the ladies took off their bonnets and leaned their heads against the back.
“That was lovely,” Amelia murmured.
No one spoke. It was a companionable silence.
The ladies handed their bonnets to Mendon and walked to the parlour. Percy was just about to take his leave when Frederick came in.
“I thought you ran away from home,” he said with a smile.
“Did you enjoy yourselves?”
Amelia grinned at her husband. “We had a wonderful time. In fact, the next beautiful day we have, I’m going to make Percy take us again.”
“And you Louisa?”
“It was more than I imagined. Who knew Hyde Park was so beautiful and well maintained. Percy brought birdseed. I think we fed every bird in London. They came in droves.”
Frederick turned to Percy. “Did my ladies behave themselves?”
“They did. So well in fact, they earned another trip to Hyde Park on a day of their choosing. But, for now, I must move on.”
Percy said his goodbyes to Amelia, Louisa, and Frederick with a bow then left.
Frederick turned back to the ladies.
“I’m thrilled you got out and enjoyed yourselves. And you will do it again. Maybe I’ll join you if I am able.”
Louisa jumped out of her seat and put her arms around Frederick. “Oh, I hope so. It’s so beautiful.”
“We’ll see. We’ll see.”
He put his chin on the top of her head and hugged her tight. She hadn’t looked this happy since Barton walked into his life.
*****
“It’s been too quiet,” Frederick said. “I expected to hear from Barton by now. He has his insurance settlement, but I don’t believe he has given up on Louisa. I don’t understand.”
“I do,” Hobart said, shaking his head. “He’s doing exactly what we’re doing. He’s working on getting something on you. Something so serious, you hand him Louisa.”
“Well, he won’t. He may have found by now that I’m a very boring person who has led a very boring life.”
Hobart laughed. “He could have saved himself a lot of time and energy. If he came to me, I would have told him how boring you really are.”
“If it helps save Louisa, I’ll take it.”
“Let’s wrap up this shipment, shall we? The whisky is crated, as are the fabric and lace. We’re done crating the grain yesterday. I think we could do well with that in America, but let’s finish up with this shipment to India first.”
“Hobart, what is America offering us? I won’t come back with an empty ship. Either they can fill a ship with valuable goods or not.”
Hobart blew out a breath. “How about we make a run and come back with a ship half full? I think, Frederick, we’ll make more profit with a full ship there and an empty ship back than we can making it to India and back with a full boat both ways.”
Frederick looked at Hobart. “And that’s another thing. The turnaround on a ship to
America is three times the turnaround to India. Is the profit that much better?”
“I’d have to look into that. It’ll take some time. If I could line up enough cotton, tobacco, and wine to fill a ship, would you consider it?”
“Wine? They make wine?”
Hobart laughed. “Way up north of New York City. I hear it’s pretty good, and their prices are good because they are trying to establish themselves.”
“I’ll think about it. We’ll talk later. Are many ships willing to go to America?”
“C’mon Frederick, you can find a ship to sail anywhere. Think about it; we’ll talk again.
Hobart wished he had more topics that diverted Frederick besides America. He didn’t want to worry Frederick, but he had a feeling he couldn’t shake. Frederick was right. It was too quiet.
Hobart didn’t like it at all. Before leaving the warehouse, he put two more men on overnight watch. Now that the crates were ready to go, all their money was sitting in those crates.
Hobart would have to ask Frederick if his insurance policies covered losses while the crates were being housed. That would be a great way for Barton to ruin both of them. Just set the
warehouse on fire. This had to stop. And soon.
When Frederick got to his townhouse, Mendon opened the door for him and informed him that he missed a caller.
“The Duke of Hamilton, Your Grace,” Mendon said.
“Did you inform him that he was not welcomed in my home?”
“I did. He asked me to tell you he was by and to expect a missive from him.”
Frederick pinched the bridge of his nose and mumbled something unintelligible, even to himself. He turned and went into his office and closed the door. After pouring three fingers of whisky, he sat in his comfortable upholstered chair near the fire. He stared at it. Something was about to happen. He knew it.
He had hoped their research on a horse-trading scheme at Tattersall’s was finished before they heard from Barton again. They wanted to be first.
The ship would leave with the tide tomorrow evening. They just needed to hang on that long. Then whatever Barton wanted to try on him, he’d take.
Why was it taking so long to get something on him? Did he shut down the horse-trading operation for now? Was he tipped off? Was there an informant in Hobart’s warehouse?
Frederick got up and strode to the bell pull. When Mendon came, Frederick instructed him to get the carriage. He was going to Hobart’s.
Frederick turned, took his best pistols off the wall, and tugged them into his pants. He strode past Mendon.
“I won’t be dining at home,” he said then took the stairs down to the pavement in twos and jumped into the carriage.
Hobart was at home doing the same thing Frederick had been doing at his townhouse. Sitting by the fire, whisky in hand. He looked up. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I can’t shake the feeling something’s coming. Barton came by the townhouse when I was at the warehouse. His message to Mendon was that he would send along a note. I’ve got a bad feeling.”
“Me too,” Hobart said. “When I left tonight, I put two more men on the overnight shift.”
“Let’s go. Get a gun.”
Chapter 10
The grates on the windows in the warehouse were small. Hobart learned that lesson after a six-year-old once climbed through his old bars and opened a door to a pack of thieves.
Now, the holes were too small for anything larger than a fist to go through. He didn’t need to worry about scrawny kids or torches getting in.
So, it was only the ‘barn door’ as Hobart called it and a regular size side door. He had a man on the outside of the locked and bolted side door and another man on the inside of the door. Four men were at the bolted barn door. Two outside and two inside.
Hobart and Frederick walked through the side door and looked around the warehouse. Hobart stopped, hands on his hips, looking for anything unusual. He gave an almost imperceptible shrug, took out his gun and started walking around.
He stopped in his tracks. In the dim light, Frederick almost walked into him. He called out to the three men guarding the doors. When they came, he whispered in their ears and pointed to aisles between the crates.
Frederick nodded. No one comes between Hobart and his warehouse. On his signal, the men walked slowly and quietly down the aisle they were assigned. At the end of each aisle was a space between the last crate and the wall.
Hobart turned the corner to the left as one of his men turned the corner to his right. They found six men, sitting down, guns on the floor next to them. They were waiting. Probably for the time others in their group would be positioned out the bard door.
Hobart and his man started collecting guns before the six even knew what was happening. He yelled for backup and was pleased to be surrounded by five men in a matter of seconds. Five against six. He liked those odds.
Once the men were tied up, Hobart tried to get them to tell him when the rendezvous would happen, but they stayed silent. He turned to Frederick, pointing his chin toward a wall ten feet away.
“You need to leave. If I’m going to get anything out of these thieves, I need to get my men to be more persuasive. I’m going to split them up and convince them it is in their best interest to talk.”
Frederick nodded. “Good plan.”
Hobart shook his head. “You can’t be any part of this. If something goes wrong, and Barton can pin anything from tonight on you, say goodbye to Louisa.”
Hobart put a hand on Frederick’s shoulder. “Go home, Frederick.”
Reluctantly, Frederick nodded. “Let me know as soon as you have anything.”
“I will. We could be here for a while. Hopefully, once we separate them, it won’t take long for the weakest link to snap. Go home, Frederick. I don’t want you anywhere near this.”
Frederick gave Hobart a small smile. “Be careful.”
Hobart grinned.
Frederick went to bed, but he didn’t sleep. He alternated between staring at the fabric bunched together at the top of the canopy, to checking the window for signs of dawn, to watching the fire die.
When dawn came to put him out of his misery, Frederick dressed, shaved, and went to break his fast. He called Mendon into the dining room.
“Send a footman to Hobart’s warehouse and have him find out if he is there. I will be heading there as soon as I have word.”
Mendon bowed, “Your Grace.”
Amelia came to join Frederick. She gathered a plate of food and sat next to him. “You look restless. Has something new happened?”
“No, not yet. But I don’t think it will be long.” He reached and put his hand on top of hers. “The waiting has us both on edge. I think we are doing everything possible. All day, every day I ask myself ‘what else can I do?’ and I have yet to come up with anything. Hobart has a sense of the street I don’t possess. He’s been wonderful.
“Amelia, we’re going to have to talk about what we want to tell her. Now that she went out again, she will continue to make progress. After some time, she may want to visit shops or go to a tea shop.
“She’ll hear the real reason Jack left.”
“Which real reason? That Jack has a bastard or that Barton threatened Jack to expose him if he didn’t leave?”
Frederick sighed. “Probably both.”
“Well, let’s see how she does. For now, the only one I’m worried about is Emma. I may need to ask her not to mention Jack in any way. If she knows about the child, maybe that will silence her.”
The footman came back to say Hobart was at the warehouse. Frederick called for his carriage and headed out. Hobart was in his office when Frederick got there, but the six intruders were nowhere to be found.
“Hey,” Frederick said.
“Hey,” Hobart answered. “Take a seat. Tea?” At Frederick’s nod, Hobart brought over a pot and poured for his brother.
“So, what did you find out?”
Hobart blew out and sat heavily in his chair. “They were hired to take out the guards and burn the place down. A man who never gave them his name hired them in a backroom of a pub. They didn’t care. They were to be paid well for their efforts.”
“Any way to get to the man in the pub?”
“I brought the six of them to an empty warehouse outside town. They were all separated and have been without food or rest since we found them. If they’ve left anything out, we should hear about it soon.”
“Do you think Barton could have hired someone to hire these six?”
“Most likely. But I’m not sure we’ll be able to track these six back to the man at the pub, and if so, track the man at the pub to Barton.”
Hobart continued, “Our best bet is still at Tattersall’s, but it seems suspicious to me that they haven’t done any of their side business in the past fortnight. Do you think there is someone watching us like we’re watching them?”
“What do you think we should do? It may be impossible to ferret out a snitch.”
“We give each person we work with a piece of information that is incorrect and exclusively theirs.
“When the information comes back to us,
we’ll know who can’t keep his mouth closed.”
*****
Hobart walked his warehouse every night before he closed up, and he kept six guards on overnight every night.
The man who hired the six thieves was never found. Hobart wasn’t surprised.
When Hobart cut the six thieves lose, he had them followed for a week. They did not lead him anywhere. He stopped the tail.