“May I direct you to a table, Sir?”
Tristan focused on the slender woman who smiled at him. He recognized the assessing calculation in her blue eyes and played along. “Perhaps... unless you’d like to direct me somewhere more private?”
She gave a throaty laugh and tapped his wrist with her fan. “You mistake your location, sir. This is a gaming house only. For privacy you must try Kate’s next door.”
“My pardon,” he bowed slightly. “I did not mean to offend my hostess. Are you the proprietor as well?”
“Oh, no. That would be Mr. Newman.” She glanced in the direction of the now closed door then back at him. “So how may I direct you?”
A small commotion at the back of the room attracted their attention when Ned stormed back through the door and across to the woman beside Tristan. Her eyes widened when he demanded, “Have you seen my niece?”
“No, sir.”
He shot a glance around the room and at the patrons who had looked up when he spoke His brow lowered when he turned back to the wary man who’d followed him. His voice little more than a hiss, he said, “I told you she would try to run away. Find her and bring her back.”
He turned to Tristan, “My pardon for interrupting, sir.” The smile he offered was tight and his eyes glittered with fury. “Should you see a small blond girl wandering about I beg you would inform my staff. She is a willful child who has yet to accept she has been orphaned.” He inclined his head and excused himself before he gestured to a liveried waiter who followed as he left the building.
Tristan met the gaze of the woman beside him and murmured, “Mr. Newman, I presume?” Summerfield had indicated he allowed Ned freedom beyond his duties, but Tristan doubted the earl knew Ned owned a gaming house under an assumed name.
She smiled and nodded. “The poor child refuses to accept the truth and imagines that Mr. Newman is some great lord’s footman named Ned who abducted her from her family.” She shook her head. “I have worked for Mr. Newman for nearly three years, sir. His name is Edward, not Ned, and I assure you he is no more a kidnapping footman than you or I. He is a respectable businessman who runs an honest gaming establishment.” She gestured to the tables where the gaming had resumed. “I hope you are still of a mind to play?”
Alice was here—or had been. Tristan made himself smile and let her direct him to a table at the back of the room. Perhaps she is still here, but hiding. Though play had resumed and all looked normal, he caught sight of several men inspecting alcoves and slipping in and out various doorways.
He took his seat at the table then thanked her and added, “I hope Mr. Newman’s niece comes to no harm.”
After half an hour’s play Tristan rose from the table lighter in the pocket and convinced that Alice was no longer in the gaming house. Quiet as Ned’s staff had tried to be, it was clear they had thoroughly searched everywhere and not found her. He’d known she was a clever child, but he could not but wonder how she had escaped so completely. He stood and excused himself. She might be clever, but she was too young to be aware of the rougher streets of this port town and might well have leapt from the kettle into the fire.
As he surveyed the street, he noted the warren of alleys and shadowed recesses that formed a maze of possibilities for a child to hide. He’d shown Alice how to blend into shadows and told her of the tricks that had helped him evade angry shopkeepers when he was her age. She had listened with delight while Julia had frowned and protested against his revelations. But Alice’s disappearance was proof that Alice remembered and applied the lessons well.
CHAPTER 24
Julia stood at the window of her room and watched the busy streets for Tristan to return. Was Alice already at some brothel? Tristan was sure there would be some whispers that would give warning before the child was ruined, but could he be sure? What if, instead of selling her in Portsmouth where people might recognize Lord Goodwin’s child, Ned sent her to a foreign market? As brief as her time in London had been, Julia had heard of such things. Waiting passively while Tristan followed Ned made her impatient at being so useless.
The afternoon had nearly faded into dusk when a furtive movement on the far side of the street caught her notice. Sunlight highlighted a blond head before it slipped into the shadow beside a candle shop and her breath caught. Alice? Of course not. She’d observed many blond-haired people in the hours since Tristan had returned her to the inn.
She watched the shadow for several minutes, but saw no further movement and wondered if her imagination had played tricks on her. When whomever she’d seen did not return to the street, she decided there must be a narrow passage between the shops. Still, the movement had been secretive and unobtrusive. Had she not been looking at that spot at the time she would never have seen it. Certainly, no one on the street below had paid it any attention. Curiosity and frustration ate at her.
She knew better than to go into the streets without proper escort, particularly as evening neared, but that odd sense of something important weighed on her. Tristan had spoken of the street children who roved in and out of the alleyways in search of pockets to pick and food to pilfer. It must have been one of them. But something in the way the figure moved had struck her. What if— ? She scrutinized the shadow again. Gathering her courage, she donned her pelisse, hat, and gloves and went downstairs.
A narrow break did, indeed, exist between the chandler shop and the coffee house beside it. She peered down its length and saw a patch of light at the far end where another alley crossed at the back of the buildings. Whomever she had seen was gone. Calling herself foolish for imagining things that she only hoped to see, Julia turned back toward the inn and froze. Ned strode down the street, his every movement revealing anger. She ducked between the buildings and watched him enter and leave several shops as though looking for something... or someone?
Excitement mixed with alarm and her pulse leapt as she stepped further back into the narrow passage and out of sight. If Ned saw her he would know he’d been traced to Portsmouth and Alice would be in more immediate danger than she already was. Julia swallowed to ease her dry throat, then slipped away from the street to the patch of light at the far end of the passage.
The opening was barely wide enough for her to pass, and she tried not to think about whatever it was that slickened the cobbles under her half boots. When she reached the end, the late sunlight had faded and the passage ended into a shadow-darkened alley wide enough for supply wagons to make deliveries. Refuse lined the back walls of the buildings and several small creatures scurried away when she stepped into the open space. She wrinkled her nose when the rank odors of rot, mold, and human waste mingled with the scents of candle tallow and coffee.
She saw no one, but the movement she’d seen from her window had come from the right of her position, so she turned left. She had traveled halfway down the alley before the feeling that she was being watched made her stop and look over her shoulder. Nothing.
She passed another shop’s back door, then spied another narrow break in the wall leading further away from the main street. She peered around the corner before taking a chance and following her intuition. Halfway down that passage she turned into another until she was not sure where she was or if she could find her way back. Yet, the further away from the main street she went, the less chance she had of running into Ned... as did whomever she’d seen from the inn window.
The gloom made it difficult to see, and the twilight would soon turn to nightfall. It was foolish beyond measure for her to have allowed her imagination to lead her through the labyrinth of paths and alleyways. She should return to the inn.
Light flared up ahead when someone lit a candle and Julia’s heart jumped into her throat when the warm glow exposed a blond head that ducked down as soon as it was revealed.
“Alice?” Julia hurried forward.
The blond head reappeared and a disbelieving voice quavered, “Miss Dorsey?”
Alice leapt up and ran to throw her arms around
Julia’s waist. “Oh, I am so glad it is you! I thought you were that woman Ned said would take me away.”
They stood in the faint island of light clinging to each other, and trembling with relief. Julia held Alice tight and whispered. “I am so glad I found you.” After a moment, Julia loosened her hold and knelt to inspect Alice. “Are you alright? Did anyone hurt you?”
Alice shook her head, “No, but Ned made me drink something that made me sleepy. When I woke up I had an awful headache and was very thirsty. He told me he’d make me drink more of it if I didn’t do what he said.” She looked beyond Julia and asked, “Where is Mr. Sheffield?”
“He is looking for you, too.” Julia straightened and held out her hand. “We’ll go to the inn so you can tell us how you got away.”
Julia took Alice’s hand and they hurried back the way she’d come, weaving their way through the labyrinth of passageways in the increasing gloom. After several turns Julia stopped and looked around. Surely they should have reached the main street by now? So intent had she been in watching for Alice’s blond head, she’d lost count of the turns she’d made. Now nothing looked familiar. How could it when she’d not noted landmarks?
“Are we lost?” Alice asked.
“I am not sure,” Julia listened for the rattle of carriages and voices of people along the more heavily traveled street. There. She turned to her right. “I think we need to go this way.” She hurried forward again, anxious to reach the safety of the inn.
Beyond the next alley crossing, she glimpsed the narrow passage leading to High Street. She stepped toward it but collided with the man who turned the corner. A heavy hand clamped onto Julia’s arm to prevent her from falling, then tightened when she looked at the man who held it.
“Well what have we got here?”
Ned.
He grinned, then grabbed Alice with his other hand. “Two for the price of one?” He gripped Julia’s arm tighter when she tried to pull away. “Make that the price of two. Gent’s pay well for grown virgins, too.” He raised his voice to a shout. “Eh, Bill! Come give me a hand. I found her but she’s not alone!”
The man who answered Ned’s summons was lean, deeply weather-tanned and did not hesitate to follow Ned’s instructions to secure Julia’s arms behind her.
Alice tried to pull her hand from Ned’s grip, but he held on until the man called Bill had Julia. Then he yanked Alice up and pinned her arms at her sides so she could not fight him. “We’ll take them in the back way,” he directed as he strode in the opposite direction of the busy street beyond the narrow passage.
Two blocks later, they turned into another alley and Ned unlocked a door before hustling them up a narrow stairway and into a private office. The man called Bill pushed Julia into a chair, then took a guard stance blocking the door. Ned sat, still holding Alice with one arm while he opened a desk draw and pulled out a green bottle. “I told you not to try any tricks,” he told Alice. “You can sleep until Charlie’s woman comes for you.” He pulled the cork from the bottle with his teeth and pressed the bottle against Alice’s mouth. Alice tried to turn away, but he held her tight and tipped the bottle until she was forced to swallow. “That will keep you quiet,” he muttered when the cork was back in the bottle.
He turned his attention to Julia and frowned. “How did you know where to look for her? You aren’t smart enough to chase me down.” He swore and pinned her with a look. “It must have been that agent. Tom said he’d taken care of him, but I should have checked him myself.”
Julia stared at him, her mouth tight, and willed herself not to show fear. Alice’s eyes drooped and closed. How much had he given her?
Ned looked down at Alice, gave a grunt of satisfaction, and stood. “Here,” he held Alice toward Bill. “Take her back to the room and stay with her—in the room, not outside the door. If she wakes before time, give her another dose.”
He handed Bill the bottle and Alice, then turned back to Julia. “If you traced me back to Portsmouth you must have found Tom. The fool thinks I don’t know he followed me here after I opened this place. He has no conscience, but no brain, either.” He returned to his chair. “Now, the question is, how long will it be before the king’s man realizes I have both of you?”
TRISTAN DID A QUICK search of the area around the gaming house. No one had seen a blond child in the vicinity, but that didn’t mean she had not passed by. She was a clever child who had taken to his hiding games with rare talent. She would not giggle and give herself away now. As soon as he reassured Julia that Alice was out of immediate danger, he would do a more thorough search. He could only hope he found her before Ned.
He reached Julia’s room, knocked, then frowned when Julia did not answer. He raised his voice and used the code phrase again to let her know it was safe to open her door, but she still did not answer. Alarm flared, and he tested the knob. It gave easily. He eased it open and realized the room was empty. Nothing looked out of place... except for Julia. Where was she? He hadn’t seen her in the public rooms and she knew better than to leave the inn lest Ned see her and know his secret was out. So where was she?
He descended the stairs, to question the staff.
The serving girl thought she’d seen the lady leave the inn an hour or more earlier, but she had not left a message for him. Nor had she asked for directions to any shops.
He left the inn and strode up the street, looking for her. Devil blast and take it! Why would she—he stopped abruptly, then apologized to the couple who nearly bumped into him. Could she have seen Alice from her window? He did not doubt Julia would have gone after her if she had. But if that was the case, why hadn’t they returned to the inn?
Ned had gone searching, too. Had she seen him instead of Alice and followed him in hopes of finding her? She, too, had shown talent for remaining unseen, but that didn’t mean she had succeeded in following Ned undetected. He crossed the street. His best chance of finding either Alice, or Julia if she followed Ned, was to return to the gaming house. This time, however, he would enter from the back and explore the private areas behind the public rooms.
“SO YOU’VE FOUND A NEW protector,” Ned said with an assessing look. “You are cleverer than I thought.”
“I am not particularly clever,” Julia told him quietly. “I believed what my cousin told me. He had saved me, after all, and raised me. I thought him a good man.” Her heart grew heavy and she acknowledged the truth. “I was wrong.”
Ned smirked at that. “Depends on who’s side you’re on. His lordship has been extraordinarily good to me.” He waved his hand to indicate the comfortable room. “He gave me opportunity and didn’t interfere so long as I did his bidding.”
“Like selling girls and women into disrepute?”
Ned grinned. “Not until you and your sister arrived. When his lordship saw the profit to be made selling her maidenhead, he decided to assist other families fleeing France... or girls fleeing arranged marriages... any female silly enough to choose flight over fate. My share bought this.” He gestured to the room at large again. “I guess I owe your sister my thanks, too, since she started it all.”
Julia closed her eyes, unable to look at the man who saw her sister as nothing more than an object from which to make profit. “Cousin Renard told me she’d died. I’d like to know her true fate.”
He burst into laughter. “Are you still frettin’ about that whore? His lips twisted into a malicious grin. “She disappeared long ago. I never kept track of them once I’d been paid. The earl split the money with me, fair and square.”
“I think you do know.” Julia met his gaze with disgust. “You are too cunning not to have realized there was some reason Renard kept me but not Beatrice. I believe you followed his instructions to get rid of her, but as lacking in conscience as you have confessed yourself to be, you would also have made sure you knew where she was if the earl ever changed his mind... or if you ever needed insurance against being dismissed.”
“So what if I did... but only
for a while.” He glared at her. “After a couple of months I had enough insurance I didn’t need to keep track of her. She was just one of half a dozen females he’d sold off by then. A whore is a whore after all.”
Julia winced at his callus words. Beatrice had been a girl. Just a girl. Too young. Too vulnerable. The ember of anger that had burned since Renard had revealed the ugly truth kindled into flame. Ned knew. She was sure of it. “I believe you would try to keep track of her, anyway.” She bared her teeth in a grim imitation of his cocky assurance. “Insurance is insurance after all.”
Ned said nothing for a moment. Finally, he grunted and nodded his head. “No reason for you not to know. You’ll soon be away from England and in no position to point fingers for the law.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. “I took her to Aphrodite’s Academy. From what I heard later, dear little Trixie left the house about a year later under the protection of a ship’s captain from Poole. By then, his Lordship had explained as how he kept you because you looked like her mother and never mentioned the older girl again, so I didn’t bother finding out the captain’s name.”
“Her name was Beatrice, not Trixie” Julia challenged him. “You are lying.”
“Names get changed,” Ned told her with a shrug. “for any number of reasons. There was another girl there called Beatrice. Aphrodite changed your sister’s name.” He gave a huff of amusement. “Changed her own name, for that matter. She retired as Mrs. Arbuckle and lives in Portchester.”
Julia blinked and tried to swallow, but her throat had tightened with the realization that a name changed once could be changed again... and again. How could she trace the fate of someone whose name she did not even know? This Aphrodite, or Mrs. Arbuckle might recall something that could tell Julia more. But after so many years?
Chasing Scandal Page 18