by Abigail Agar
Fredrick scoffed, “I thought you were more interested in evading the marriage altar.”
“You have been talking to our cousin, I see,” Gregory said with amusement, but he did not deny the charge.
There was a twinkle in Fred’s eyes that Gregory had not seen in some time. “Mother’s schemes can grow a bit tedious,” Fred said with joviality.
“Come with me into the city,” Gregory pleaded. “See how the world has changed in your absence.”
Fred shrugged off the idea. “I would rather keep some of my delusions in place for my own sanity, dear brother,” he said with a shake of his head.
Gregory could not really disagree with that. It was easier not to look too closely than to peer at all the cracks under their very feet. Still, Gregory sighed. “One day we might not have the luxury of looking away, but until that time, I humbly hope the curtain stays drawn tight for you.”
***
Jules walked briskly along Dauphin Street. There was a gathering of tradesmen and artisans, and she very much intended to be there. With no warning, she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her into a small alley between the buildings. “Get your hands off of me,” Jules growled as she lashed out at the person.
“Calm yourself,” Gregory said as he dodged the blow the young man lashed out with. A struggle ensued which caused Jules’ hat to get knocked off. As it fell to the ground, Gregory stared in shock at the young man whose hair fell around his face. “You’re a woman,” Gregory whispered in disbelief.
Jules shoved the man and pushed him away from her. “What are you doing?” Jules demanded the answer with all the bravado she had left. The man had guessed her gender, but she might still be able to play it off as simply feminine features. Lots of men had softer appearances.
Gregory stared at the young ma—woman. “I was just going to ask you if you had learned anything else about the fire.”
“What sort of game are you playing?” Jules had had enough of the nobleman playing rogue. “Is this what nobles do for sport when they can’t hunt down foxes?”
The dark-haired youth stared back at Gregory defiantly. There had been no denial. There was no protest. The confidence in her face was overwhelming, and if Gregory had not been certain of her gender, he might have wavered in his opinion of her being of the gentler sex. However, his finger had brushed against what felt like a binding, and it did not feel like the kind of binding to shrink one’s waist.
“Not all nobles are blind to the ills of our time,” Gregory said with a sigh as he let go of the youth and stepped back to look at the young woman. She was shorter than Gregory, much shorter. Her head only came to his chin. Yet, she did not give an inch in his presence.
Jules sneered at the noble. “Is that so? It would suit you more to be in the House of Lords pushing for the things needed to change them, would it not?”
“Truthfully, I can stand my peers little better than you can,” Gregory admitted. “Not everyone takes on their title willingly.”
Jules laughed. She could not help it. “You talk as if you know suffering or sacrifice. That’s a trite thing coming from one such as you. Whatever you are playing at, I have no time for it. I have a gathering to be attending.”
“If it is the one near the Easton Square, then I would delay,” Gregory advised. “I heard a rumour of a raid this eve.”
Jules’ face was livid. “I have to go.” She shoved past the infuriating nobleman. He was swiftly following her, his blond hair standing out too much with its cleanness. He struck too striking a figure. “Stop following me,” Jules growled at the man.
“Put your cap back on,” Gregory said as he caught up with the young woman. She snatched the cap from his hand and swiftly put her hair back under it with no inclination to thank Gregory for the reminder.
She really was quite fetching, Gregory admired. Her single-minded determination made her all the more interesting to him. He had never had a passion such as the one that seemed to be infused into the short female body of the artisan.
“What’s your name?” Gregory asked the question before he really thought about what he was asking.
The dark eyes of the artisan looked around at him for the briefest second. Gregory thought it likely that she would ignore his request, but she said, “Jules.”
“That’s an interesting name,” Gregory remarked. Their legs moved swiftly over the cobblestones of the street. Jules seemed very intent on reaching her fellow artisans to warn them of the raid.
Jules muttered, “My father gave me the name.”
“Is he the one who helped you assume this identity then?” Gregory thought about it and found it not such a far-fetched idea. He had heard of similar things taking place in all tiers of society.
Jules whirled around on him. “And if he was? What do you think we would have done when my father died? We have no male relatives to speak of. Do you think that strangers would have taken pity on us?”
Gregory shrugged as he too swung to a stop. “I would say that he was a wise and brave man then. He clearly had a lot of faith in you.”
Jules seemed to be hung up by Gregory’s words as she stared at him in disbelief. “That almost sounded like approval.”
“It is, in a way,” Gregory agreed. “If you think that I enjoy the idea of women taking on such responsibility, then you would be wrong. However, I have seen what workhouses can do to families, and I would not wish that on any person.”
The next moment, there were shouts from up ahead. “The boys,” Jules muttered and took off at a run. Gregory swiftly caught up with her. Jules felt herself being lifted and pulled back around the corner of a building as a wagon clacked by. “Let go of me,” Jules howled.
“Getting arrested will not benefit anyone,” Gregory said swiftly as he clamped his hand over her mouth. To his surprise, the young woman bit him. In shock, Gregory let her go. As Jules took off again, Gregory cursed his luck and ran after the young woman.
Jules ran out into the open, and a guardsman that Gregory recognized grabbed the young woman. Gregory sighed as a guard put his hand on his shoulder. The tradesmen who had not scattered quickly enough were being loaded into wagons.
“Duke St Claire,” the guardsman holding Jules said as he realized who his fellow guard was holding. “Let him go. He’s not with the tradesmen.”
The guard holding Gregory let him go and apologized profusely, which Gregory waved off dismissively. He caught the look that Jules gave him. He called out to the guardsman holding the disguised woman, “Just a moment. Edgar, was it?” When the guard nodded with a pleased smile that Gregory had remembered him, Gregory continued, “The young man is with me.”
Edgar released Jules who narrowed her eyes at Gregory. Gregory could see the protest forming in the young woman’s face, so he took her by the arm. “I trust that you will not speak of me being here?” Gregory asked Edgar.
The guardsman nodded eagerly. “I never saw you, My Lord.”
“Good man,” Gregory said with a nod of approval at the man. “It would not do for anyone to learn of what Lord Chapman and I are conspiring just yet.”
Edgar agreed with a salute, “Of course, My Lord.”
Gregory slapped the guard on the back and unceremoniously pulled Jules back around the corner of the building and away from the commotion of the square. Jules hissed at Gregory, “Let me go. I should be with my friends. What do you mean involving me in whatever it is you are doing?”
“What I am doing is keeping you out of jail. I think that the guards might be very interested to find a lovely young woman in their cells. Not to mention your so-called friends,” Gregory said as he held onto the young woman to keep her from rushing back to where she felt her obligation was. “You have more sense of duty than most men I know,” Gregory said with a shake of his head.
Jules snatched her arm out of Gregory’s grasp and snapped, “What do you think will happen to my reputation in the guild when it is discovered that some noble came to my rescue?”
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The idea had not occurred to Gregory until that moment. He straightened and sighed. “You can tell them that I tried to coerce you into talking if you wish.”
Jules frowned at the nobleman. “Why don’t you go get the guards to let the rest of the guild go?” She eyed him. “You don’t really want anyone to know you are here. That’s why you implied what you did to the guard. Who is Lord Chapman?”
“He is a judge that I have known since childhood. He is not nearly as open-minded as I am,” Gregory assured the young woman.
Jules shook her head at the blond-haired nobleman. “I have to go tell my mother that I am okay. She will get word of the raid soon enough and worry for me.”
Gregory made no effort to hold Jules as she walked away from the square and towards the backstreets. Instead, he followed her. “I can try to help get the guild members released. I know a barrister who likes standing up for the underdogs,” Gregory offered as he caught up with her quick pace.
“Why should you do that?” Jules’ voice held no small amount of contempt and irritation.
Gregory shrugged. “Despite what you might think of my fellows, not all of us are eager for the working classes to crumble. Some of us understand that if that happens, then we will fall too.”
Jules did not respond. She just trudged ahead until they reached a building that was little more than a slum as far as Gregory could see. There was what looked to be some kind of fabric draped over a broken window. “You live here?” Gregory asked the question with obvious disdain.
“No one is inviting you in, Your Lordship,” Jules reminded Gregory as she slipped through the wooden door.
Gregory stared at the door for a long moment and then sighed. He resigned himself to waiting outside.
***
Mrs Kelley rushed over to her daughter as soon as she saw her. “I just heard from Mrs Yates that there was a raid nearby,” her mother said frantically.
“It was the meeting that I was headed to. Luckily, I got away, but a lot of the others were not so lucky,” Jules said remorsefully. “I should be there with them.”
Mrs Kelley scolded, “And what would you do when they discovered your bit of exaggeration?” Jules’ mother waved her hand at her daughter’s body.
“I know,” Jules sighed. “I still feel like I should be with them.”
The frown on Mrs Kelley’s face said enough. The woman shook her head at her daughter. “It is too dangerous to carry on with this ruse any longer. I understand why you did, and it was a valiant try worthy of any knight-errant, but darling, we need to flee the city. Work is barely coming in, and with the guild dispersed, we might as well start looking for somewhere out in the countryside or a smaller town.”
“We can barely get work in the large towns,” Jules countered. “We are not going to get anywhere on foot.”
There was a knock at the door before Gregory poked his head through, “I might have a way to help if you will accept it that is.”
“Who is this man?” Mrs Kelley asked suspiciously at the intrusion.
Gregory stepped inside and shut the door. He bowed deeply to the lady of the house. “Forgive my abrupt appearance. I was told to wait outside,” Gregory said apologetically, “but I could hardly help overhearing your tale of woe. I do have somewhere you can go outside of the city.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Jules said scathingly. “He’s that nobleman who likes to play at being one of us commoners. You remember the one I told you about?”
Mrs Kelley eyed Gregory dubiously. “He doesn’t look like much of a nobleman,” she commented to her daughter.
Gregory shifted and eyed the two women without amusement. He folded his arms. To tell the truth, he had put himself out already, and he did not really need the added ridicule. “I can see the family resemblance,” Gregory remarked as he spun on his heel.
“Wait,” Jules said. “If you could get my mother and sisters somewhere to go, then I would be much in your debt.”
Gregory stopped. He turned his head to look at the young woman. “Where would the advantage be in that?” Gregory eyed the women before he shrugged. “But I really do not have anything planned other than a ball that I wish very much to get out of, so I will see what I can do. I trust that I will be able to find you here again when I return shortly?”
“Yes,” Jules said with no trace of humour. Gregory dipped his head which caused his long blond ponytail to slip over his shoulder. When the man was gone, Jules turned to her mother, “Don’t argue with me on this. You, Tally, and Georgie have to get out of London. If the guards come here to find me, then they could very well throw you all in with me.”
Mrs Kelley grabbed her daughter’s arm with both of her worn hands. She pleaded, “Please come with us, Jules. If this nobleman of yours can help us, then we could be safe, or at least safer.”
“He isn’t my nobleman, Mother, and you will be safe, I promise. I have to stay here, just for a bit. If his Lordship is right, then there is a barrister who could help the boys, and I have to try to help them.” Jules gave her mother a hug. “I’ll go round up my sisters. You just gather what you can.” Jules gave her mother a quick hug before she ducked out the door.
***
Jules raced along the street toward where her sisters were helping to sweep the streets of ash and debris from the fire. “Tally! Georgie!” she shouted to the girls as she spied them.
Tally raised her hand and waved while Georgie gave Jules a curious look. “Whatcha doing here?” Georgie asked in confusion.
“I have a bit of a surprise,” Jules said as she bent down next to the girls and put her hands on her knees. “You and Ma are you going on a trip to the countryside,” she added with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.
Tally whooped in joy, but Georgie crossed her arms and rubbed her nose with slender fingers as she asked, “What does that mean?”
“It means that Ma has gotten a new job, and you all will be leaving the city for some fresh air,” Jules said. “Now come along. Ma needs your help to get everything packed.”
Georgie did not look convinced, but she followed her sister anyway. Jules took Tally’s hand, and they walked back towards their home. Jules felt a hollowness sneak into her heart.
The building was where they had fled to when they had lost the house they had lived in before. They had fled to one of the buildings that Jules’ father had built because Jules’ had known that the building was empty.
When Jules led the two young girls up to the door of their building, she gave them an encouraging smile before she went in to help her mother. She had no idea when the nobleman might make a return appearance, and she wanted everything squared away. As much as she hated to trust the nobleman, there was something forthright about him that struck her as being different from his peers.
Inside, the two little girls ran up the stairs to the room they shared. Jules shook her head at the sudden enthusiasm the two had seemed to develop. Tally’s spirit must have won Georgette over because even the older girl seemed to be more optimistic about their impending move now. Jules listened to the pounding of their feet as they pushed and shoved along the way.
“Jules, could you help me get the bags from upstairs,” Mrs Kelley said from the stairwell, pulling Jules from her thoughts.
Jules nodded. “Of course.” She made her way up. Her mother’s room was the same one where Jules slept. The mattress that belonged to her grandmother was much too cumbersome to move.
An old suitcase, whose material was so worn and coarse that it felt more like threadbare carpet than the once fine piece of luggage that her grandmother had carried on trips abroad, sat next to the door. Jules pulled the heavy piece of luggage down the stairs carefully.