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Chasing Scandal

Page 11

by Leslie V. Knowles


  Tom leaned in, forcing Julia deeper into the corner until she could hardly breathe, let alone fight him for her freedom. The more she struggled, the harder Tom pressed her into the wall. The sensation made her heartbeat race frantically, and she struggled against both Tom and panic.

  The memory of Beatrice’s voice crying out surfaced as it did in her nightmares but free of the fog of sleep. Then, too, someone had held her down so tightly she’d been unable to breathe. She realized Renard had been there, though she’d long buried that detail.

  Beatrice hadn’t simply disappeared. She had been taken kicking, and screaming warnings that had only confused five-year-old Julia. Those restricting arms had been clad in dark superfine wool and released whiffs of clove and citrus as they clamped against her. Renard’s favorite pomander. With that realization came the memory of Renard’s voice ordering Beatrice to be taken away, and she knew Ned hadn’t lied.

  Dear God in heaven—No! Trust, affection and gratitude shriveled into a cold ball of betrayal that threatened to choke her. I will not allow him to take Alice, too.

  She swung her head back hoping to catch Tom off guard, but he only grunted and leaned in even closer.

  Hot breath touched her ear. Tom whispered, “Don’t fight this, m’girl, you can’t win and you’ll only hurt y’self more.” He secured her wrists behind her. “That should keep ye.”

  “Why, Tom?” she asked him as he tightened the cording. Kicking him with trussed arms only meant she could not defend herself if he retaliated. “Why would you go along with this?"

  “His lordship saved me from the hangman before takin’ me on, and he pays me well.” Tom said. He gave a final tug on her bonds and spun her around to shove her onto the other chair. “That’ll hold ye.”

  Ned had secured Alice to the other chair with a rope around her middle, her hands tied in front but her feet anchored together against one of the chair legs. She sat with rigid posture, her eyes wide with apprehension.

  “Don’t worry, Miss Dorsey,” she told Julia. “Mr. Sheffield will come.” She shot an angry glance at Tom when he laughed.

  “Not likely with a broken head,” Tom said bluntly.

  Julia’s breath caught. “You killed him?”

  “Last time I saw him he wasn’t moving.”

  Alice slumped and fell silent.

  Julia wished she had kicked Tom when she had the chance.

  “Now,” Ned told her, “Tom will guard you while I report to his lordship.” He grinned. “Then we’ll see if he plans for you to join little Alice, here, in paying the price for failing to meet his expectations. You’re a bit longer in the tooth than your sister was, but a virgin’s still valuable merchandise.”

  Julia ceased breathing and her stomach lurched. Beatrice didn’t die? She hated the desperate note in her voice but she had to ask, “What did you do with her?”

  He laughed and exchanged grins with Tom. He brushed the back of one finger along her cheek, and she fought not to flinch. “I took her to Aphrodite’s Academy.” He dropped his hand back to his side and turned away. “As to where she is now—only the devil knows. She’s probably keepin’ him company. I just collected my money.”

  Nausea threatened and Julia closed her eyes, willing the sickness to abate. Beatrice. Oh, dear, Beatrice.

  Julia latched onto Ned’s dismissive words. If she didn’t die that night, she could still be alive. More questions whirled around her mind like the pools that sometimes formed in the oceans during storms. Had Beatrice escaped? Had she remained in the brothel? Despite the odds, had she survived? Fear and hope swirled madly, until she was left with just one cohesive thought. Could she find her?

  She opened her eyes when she heard Ned and Tom cross the room and pass through the door to the front room. Julia caught a glimpse of a threadbare settee before the door swung shut followed by the scrape of a key turning in the lock.

  Alice spoke, bringing her back to the present and their immediate problem.

  “D-did they kill Mr. Sheffield?” she whispered. “Will they kill us, too?”

  “I don’t know about Mr. Sheffield.” Dear Lord, she prayed not. He might drive her mad, but he deserved to live. She wanted him to live. “But I don’t think they mean to kill us.” Indeed, her cousin had other equally terrible plans for them. “We must try to escape, though. We shall not let villains such as these determine our fate.”

  Alice eyed Julia’s bonds and then her own, then asked. “How?”

  Julia tested the cords at her wrists, but the rope around her waist kept them pressed to the chair and the restraints did not give. “I’ll have to think about it a bit.”

  Alice gave her a small, tentative smile. “So will I.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Tristan had barely finished shaving when the brisk knock on his door warned him that Ravencliffe had received his missives. Maisie’s minions knocked with their knuckles, Ravencliffe used his walking stick. He quickly did up the last button on his waistcoat. Now the serious search for Alice and Julia could begin.

  His valet opened the door and Ravencliffe strode in without ceremony. Tristan wiped his face, then dismissed his man then took the seat opposite Ravencliffe beside the fireplace. “I’m glad you came quickly. We don’t have much time to save them.”

  “Tell me what you know,” Ravencliffe said tersely, “Leave nothing out.”

  At the end of Tristan’s recital, Ravencliffe shook his head in frustration. “So we still don’t know if it is Summerfield or someone who has access to his papers who is behind this. Nor are you able to absolve Miss Dorsey of complicity, to any reliable degree of certainty.”

  Tristan started to object, but Ravencliffe held his hand up to forestall him. “I know you think she has been misled and acted as unknowing accomplice, but you cannot say for sure.”

  “No,” Tristan admitted. “I cannot prove my belief. However, in the days in which they were in my custody I observed her closely and came to believe that she truly did not act with malice. As it is, she accused me of being a false friend of Goodwin’s when Alice recognized me.”

  Ravencliffe smiled at that. “Went for your pride, did she?” He waved his hand dismissively. “Not the first time a suspect tried to turn the tables during an investigation.”

  “No.” Tristan bit out. “What hurt my pride was letting my guard down. They should have been with me. I should never have allowed them to remain in the house alone.”

  “You had no reason to believe anyone knew where they were. As you surmised, someone must have intercepted the message. My inquiry about Miss Dorsey alerted someone who acted swiftly.”

  “Can you get someone into Summerfield’s house? We need proof if the crown has been duped for these many years by a traitorous Lord of the Realm or if someone has taken advantage of his illness.”

  “I have already done so. Summerfield’s physician suggested a nurse be hired for his daily care after his last visit. At my request, he suggested Jane Dawes for the position.”

  “Excellent.” Tristan knew and admired Mrs. Dawes. The daughter, then wife, of military men, she had followed the drum and learned nursing as a matter of practical course. The Foreign Office recruited her after she aided an ambushed agent, and nursed him back to health while hiding him from his attackers. Plain-faced, middle-aged and quietly efficient, she quickly became privy to untold secrets.

  “I called on a childhood friend last night, and she will contact me if she hears of special offerings at any of the brothels. In the meantime, I shall make the rounds of the rooms-to-let and taverns in the area tomorrow. Gossip may reveal someone seeing a woman and child of quality in the Dials recently.”

  “Will you contact Lucien now you are in the city?” Ravencliffe asked.

  “No. He knows I am on a mission.” A flicker of guilt rose. Lucien had wanted him around for their half-sister’s first Season. “Besides, my business will require visiting the more scandalous establishments of London, and you know how much he clings to respectabi
lity.” Tristan knew Lucien still disliked the gossip Tristan’s presence, or lack thereof, sometimes revived. “So long as I don’t call at Wolverton House he can ignore any gossip that might arise should someone notice me around town.”

  Ravencliffe rose and took up his walking stick. “Then I shall not mention our meeting unless there is anything you wish me to tell him. We both attend Lady Ridley’s garden party tomorrow.”

  “Only that I will see him when this mission is resolved.”

  JULIA AND ALICE SAT quietly for a while, but it was Alice who finally broke the silence. “Mr. Sheffield told me that people often underestimate the cleverness of little girls,” she mused. “He said if I was ever in a bad place and scared, I should concentrate on what I could do and not on what I couldn’t. For example, I can’t use my hands, but I can use my teeth.” She lifted her wrists to her mouth and began tugging on the knot that held the cords together. After a moment or two, she stopped and told Julia, “The knot is awfully tight, but I think I’ll be able to get it loose.”

  Julia saw the gleam of hope that lit Alice’s expression and had to admire her courage. Alice, too, had lost her family, had been taken from the people and places she loved, and was only a few years older than Julia had been when it happened to her, yet Alice had not turned coward. Watching the child tug at her binding while she, a grown woman, did nothing to free herself made her ashamed. And angry. And thoughtful. Courage flickered somewhere deep inside her. Tristan had told Alice that being underestimated was a tool she could use. He’d showed them several skills while playing games to keep Alice entertained.

  She realized, now, that Tristan’s lessons had been disguised precautions for this type of situation. Certainly he hadn’t expected Alice would need his tricks while he guarded her, but a man in his position knew dangers could arise at any time and any place.

  “Excellent, Alice. If my hands were not behind me, I would do the same thing.” Julia glanced at the locked door and added, “Loosen them so we can release them when the time is right, but do not let Tom or Ned see how loose they are.”

  How long would it take for Ned to reach Renard’s townhouse and return? What orders would Renard give him? Ned’s claims didn’t fit her view of Renard, but that flash of illusive memory of Renard’s harsh words before Beatrice disappeared from her life...How could she have forgotten that? Her skin prickled and she shivered to admit the unpalatable truth.

  They needed to escape quickly. She assessed the night sky through the high window. Soon the streets of this neighborhood would fill with the revelries of drunken men and loose women. Once away from this room, she and Alice must find shelter as soon as they distanced themselves from the building. She had no money and she knew no one to whom they could turn for aid.

  The scrape and click of the key turning in the lock gave them a moment’s warning and Alice quickly dropped her hands to her lap. Julia turned her head to see Tom enter the room, a lumpy handkerchief in one hand and a mug in the other.

  “Brought you a bit of supper,” he said. He set the cloth and mug on the table and untied the bundle to reveal chunks of bread and cheese. “I broke them up a bit since I’ll have to feed you. Ned warned me to keep you trussed up until he knows what to do with you.”

  “When will that be?”

  “Depends on how His Lordship feels today. If it’s a good day, Ned will see him tonight. If it has been a bad one, he’ll be abed and Ned’ll wait until morning. Bad as His Lordship’s been lately, could even be another day or two.”

  “If he is so ill, how could he be part of this?”

  “He weren’t always sick,” Tom said with a grunt. “And Ned takes care of everything nowadays.”

  Julia’s stomach lurched to think of the others Ned had taken care of. How many others besides Beatrice? How many before he brought them to her on their way to ruin? She still could not quite believe Renard was part of this. “Then how do you know it isn’t Ned and not Renard who is running things now?”

  “His Lordship’s no fool and neither is Ned. And it don’t matter to me who’s doin’ what, so long as I get my share of the profits” He shot her a smug look. “Besides it ain’t as though Ned and me ain’t seen what’s comin’ since His Lordship had to turn the supply chain over to Goodwin. Yer cousin ain’t got a lot of time left, and that’s a fact.”

  He picked up a piece of cheese and offered it to Alice. “Here yet go, girl, eat up.”

  They ate in turns, Tom holding the mug of water for them to share. When they were through, he turned toward the door.

  “Surely you don’t expect us to stay seated in these chairs all night.” Julia protested. “Can’t you allow us to rest on the pallet?”

  Tom glanced at the thin mattress and shrugged. “Ned didn’t say nothing about keepin’ you in the chairs. Don’t see as how the pallet will be much softer, but I suppose you could lay down after you eat if you’ve a mind to.”

  Before he knelt to untie Alice from the chair he told her, “If you try to run or cause a fuss, I’ll put you back on this chair, make no mistake.”

  Alice nodded in agreement, though she grinned at Julia when he turned his attention to the knots holding her feet to the chair. Julia shot her a warning look and the grin disappeared. He freed her from the chair, but left the bonds on her ankles before he lifted her up and settled her onto the mattress.

  He did the same for Julia, though his hands slid with more familiarity over her while he worked. “Too bad there’s such a premium on virgins,” he muttered. “Else I’d get a bit of relief before Ned comes back.”

  He deposited her on the mattress beside Alice and stood back with his fists on his hips. “Might as well get some rest.” A nasty grin widened his mouth. “I doubt you’ll get much once you’re sold.”

  He turned, exited the room with a brisk nod, then shut and locked the door.

  The instant the key turned, Alice began gnawing at the cords again. Julia found it ironic that the child, not the adult, would be the one to free them from their captivity. Eventually, the cords loosened enough for Alice to free herself. As soon as she did, Julia turned her back to her and held up her own wrists. “Quick, untie me.” After Alice’s reminder of Tristan’s lessons, Julia had realized that neither of the men who held them would expect them to know how to pick a lock with a hairpin.

  Several minutes later, Julia put her eye to the key hole, praying Tom had not left it in the door. She could push it out from her side, but the clatter of a key dropping onto the plain wood floor would not go unnoticed. She almost wept with relief when she was able to look through to the front room.

  Tom had draped himself over the settee and appeared to be taking his own advice to rest. If they dared wait until he was asleep they might be able to sneak out without taking that chance.

  A few minutes later Julia heard a faint snoring that made her glad she’d made herself wait to see what Tom did. She reached up and pulled a pin from her hair and fashioned it into the shape Tristan had taught her. Taking a calming breath, she slipped it into the key hole and carefully manipulated it. After several seconds, a distinct click told her she’d unlocked the door.

  She peered through the keyhole again to check that Tom had not stirred, then carefully opened the door. Raising her finger to her lips and then gesturing to their feet, Julia opened the door and they crept through and across the room. As soon as they reached the landing in the hall, she and Alice rushed down the stairs and into the foyer.

  Rather than using the front door, Julia turned Alice to the back of the building and out to the narrow alley behind it. Outside, in the chill darkness, they found rain shower lent cover to their progress at the same time as it hindered their ability to see more than a few feet ahead. The cobbled streets gleamed with slick moisture and they had to tread carefully.

  They reached the entrance to the alley and Julia peered into the street beyond. Only small patches of light penetrated the darkness in either direction, but there were more lamplights to the
left, which led to the street facing the rooms where they had been held. Fighting her instinct to seek out light, she led Alice to the right, heartbeat matching the rhythm of their hurried footsteps.

  CHAPTER 17

  The persistent mist made Julia and Alice shiver as they felt their way along the building, away from the alley. Julia listened for tracking footsteps as they searched for a safe place to hide. At each door, Julia tried the latches, hoping to find one unlocked, but after traveling two blocks, they found no refuge. No one had crossed their path thus far, but Julia knew that females unescorted after dark were assumed to be light skirts. They could not continue to hope for an unlocked door. At the latest door, to what looked like an abandoned warehouse, Julia halted and reached for another hairpin.

  The cold made her fingers clumsy. Determined to find shelter before Tom woke and discovered them gone, she worked the pin for several minutes before a faint click told her she had finally managed to unlock the door. Relieved and triumphant, she opened it and they slipped into the cavernous dark.

  Inside, the walls stank of fish, rotted wood, and mold. Julia cautioned Alice to remain still and silent for several seconds while she listened for any other occupants. Tristan had told them of how orphaned children often banded together at night for safety—often breaking into abandoned buildings like this. Julia detected no movement or breathing other than their own so she took a moment to lock the door behind her, and, taking Alice’s hand again, used the walls to feel her way further from the door.

  When they reached the interior corner of the wall they traced their way back until Julia’s foot encountered something solid. Tentatively, she took her hand from the wall to feel in front of her, trying to determine what blocked them. It took only a moment to realize it was a tightly bound bundle of hay. Of course, she thought, Hay helps to keep the fish fresh until sold to the fishmongers each morning.

  Julia carefully explored and discovered several bundles lying against the wall.

 

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