Nessa (Derelicts and Debutantes Book 1)

by Sara Jolene

  Nessa switched seats so her back was against Henry’s, but with the carriage between them. “Can we walk for a while?” she asked softly, knowing that he’d hear her.

  She felt as if she could feel his smile. Her chest got warm, and her lips started to turn up of their own will. “As you wish, madam.”

  The park was dark and full of the sounds of small critters settling in for the night. Squirrels scuttling from tree to tree and crickets seemingly providing the music to go with the light show the fireflies were putting on. Nessa was entranced and felt completely separate from the City, transported some place magical as Henry took her hand and they started down the path. Neither spoke. Nessa just wanted to enjoy being able to be with him. She’d missed those brief moments the entire time she’d been away. She’d thought of them often.

  They walked slowly but still ended up in the center of the park far sooner than she’d expected. There was a circle there where all the paths came together. Huge boulders marked each path that lead to a different part of the City. Nessa knew each path well. She and Kara or she and Genevieve would often come to the park during the day and walk the paths while they talked about everything. Thinking of Kara, she mentally noted that she needed to write her sister. She hadn’t sent anything since she’d arrived. They stopped right in the center of the circle, at the heart of the park, the heart of the City.

  Henry pulled her around to face him. There was very little to make it easier to see, only the light of the moon and the distant glow of parts of the City. There was something small and hard in his hand as he looked at her. Nessa couldn’t help but smile, every part of her relaxed when she was trapped in his eyes. There was no safer or happier place on earth. “I know it isn’t much but…” Henry looked down at their hands. He’d pulled one of his away and was holding it palm out. There was a small gold ring in the center of it.

  Nessa felt tears start to form. She inhaled and held it.

  “I didn’t have much time, but I wanted you to know how much I love you and that I can’t wait to marry you. Will you wear this ring?”

  Nessa let out the breath she was holding as she nodded furiously while biting her lip to hold back the tears. Henry slid the simple gold ring onto her finger. It was cold but instantly warmed as he covered her hand with his and leaned forward. Suddenly Henry’s mouth was on hers. She pulled him closer, letting go of his hands and wrapping her arms around his neck. His lips were soft, and his body was warm. The cool fall night air licked at her cheeks, stinging them, but she couldn’t be bothered with it. She was gone. With just those few words and a small circle of metal, Henry had made her entire night, her entire future shift.

  If he cared enough to do something so romantic, so out of the norm, something so far from what she’d ever expected, she knew that they needed to be together. It wasn’t about the ring itself, it was about the trial. It was about him showing her how much he wanted to be with her. She understood it all in that moment. None of it mattered to him and it shouldn’t to her. They each would be who the other needed in the moment they needed them. If Henry needed to help her with her business, then he would. If he needed her to learn to cook, then she would. Thoughts assaulted her mind as his kiss persuaded her body. She wanted to marry. Soon.

  Gasping with her chest heaving, Nessa pulled away. “Can we marry tomorrow?”

  Henry laughed. “I would love nothing more.” He paused.

  “But?”

  He laughed again. “You know me well. I’d almost forgotten how nice that is.” He kissed her once more, softly and swiftly, but her body still reacted, her blood heating up again and her breath leaving with the warmth of his lips. “But I think we should wait until you’ve finalized all you need to with the estate. That way everything that should be in your name will be in your name. I’m not marrying you because I want something, love.”

  The logic of his statement could not be denied, but the other implications. “But I know that, and I don’t’ care about any of that. I just want to be your wife.”

  Henry kissed her again, distracting her from her irritation. “I know, my love, but the rest of the world doesn’t. How about we get married this weekend? Sunday to be exact. You can take care of your business with Mr. Straus, and then we’ll still have two days to plan. I’m sure you and Genevieve can pull something together in that time.”

  Nessa laughed. Genevieve could pull off much more in less time. She nodded. “Sunday. I can’t wait.”

  Henry slowly let his arms fall and took her hands. He turned them so they were facing the path they’d walked down. He let go of one hand and started to lift the other to set it in the crook of his arm. Nessa felt hands around her waist. She opened her mouth to scream, but a cloth was shoved in it. She tried to spit it out as she wiggled and fought. She could still feel Henry’s hand in her own. She squeezed it tighter and kicked as her legs were lifted off the ground. There was a bitter taste in her mouth. She tried again to spit the cloth out as the hands around her waist got tighter, stealing her breath and crushing her ribs. They pulled on her harder, and as she fully realized what was happening, her arm pulled hard, yanking her shoulder from its socket and her hand from Henry’s. Cold washed over her hand as pain shot through her arm. It only lasted a second, though, because the darkness took her.

  Chapter Ten

  It was dark. Her arm hurt, and her tongue was numb. She tried to move. Everything ached. She was still in her fancy dress from her dinner at the Strauses’, but she was in a small room. There were no windows and the floor was dirt, or at least covered in a thick layer of dirt. All she could smell was whatever the taste was on her tongue. She needed water. She tried to sit up. She fell back to the ground. Her arm wouldn’t, or couldn’t, support her weight. It punished her with searing pain as she lay there panting. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly.

  The last thing she remembered was being in the park with Henry. He’d given her a ring. She felt around her fingers and was happy to find that it was still there. She hadn’t dreamed it. They’d been starting back down the path when she’d been pulled from him. She’d been kidnapped. She let out the breath she was holding. The pain in her arm eased if she kept it very still.

  She heard shuffling. There seemed to be a door. She scooted as close to it as her body would allow. She could hear muffled voices. “Should have… told you… not to hurt. Apes!”

  She couldn’t hear it all, but whoever was speaking was angry, and it seemed her pain was the cause. She tried to think about why this could have happened. Why someone that would kidnap her would be upset that she’d been hurt, but her mind was still fuzzy. The harder she tried to think through everything, the stronger the taste in her mouth got. They must have given her something to make her sleep. Her eyes started to close. She fought it but lost. She slipped back into the darkness and silence.

  Henry woke up with a uniformed man shaking him. “You can’t just sleep here, boy.”

  Henry shook his head, trying to clear it. The sun was bright but low in the sky. He was cold and damp. His head hurt. He reached for the spot that was throbbing, causing the officer to pulse in and out of his vision. He touched it and it stung painfully. He pulled his hand away. It was covered in sticky red. He shook his head as it all started to come back to him. They’d taken Nessa. He’d fought, and they’d hit him on the head. He didn’t remember anything after that. He tried to stand, panicked.

  “It’s alright, boy. Just give yourself a moment to wake up, then you can be on your way.”

  “No! Please. I can’t. You don’t understand. I’m not sleeping.” He showed the man his hand. “I’ve been attacked.”

  The officer looked at Henry’s hand and then his head.

  “I was here with someone else last night. Some goons came out of the night and took her. Please. I have to find her.”

  The officer helped Henry to sit up. He blew on a whistle really hard. It made the throbbing in Henry’s head sharp and even more painful. He tried to cover his ears.
“Straus.”

  “What was that, son?”

  “Straus. Nathan Straus. I need to get to him.”

  Another officer came running. He knelt on the ground beside Henry.

  “He’s asking for Mr. Straus.”

  The new officer looked at Henry. “Whatchu want wit him, boy?”

  “The woman I was with…” Thinking of Nessa made his stomach fall. He felt like retching. What kind of man was he? What kind of husband could he be? He couldn’t keep her safe. She’d been taken while he was still holding her hand. He started to spiral but stopped himself. He could do this later. He had to find her first. “She’s his ward.”

  “Are ya telln’ us that a ward of the Mr. Straus was taken?”

  Henry nodded but stopped quickly because it made the throbbing start to pound in his head.

  The officers nodded at each other. One took off running, and the other helped Henry to his feet. “We’ll git ‘im here, boy. Come with me.”

  Nessa’s arm was starting to throb. She breathed through the worst of it, but she’d taken to kicking the door and calling for help. She knew she needed to see a doctor; her arm was hanging, almost as if it wasn’t connected to her body anymore. She lay on the floor and stomped on the door. “Help. Please, someone help.” A few times she’d heard muffled voices in the hall, but no one ever opened the door. She drifted in and out of sleep.

  Henry sat on a bench next to the McCarthys’ carriage, the first officer sitting beside him. He’d found him a clean rag and wet it so that Henry could clean the wound on his head. It didn’t take long for Nathan to arrive. He went straight to Henry.

  His face was deep red and getting redder. “What. Happened?!”

  “We came to the park last night to walk. Someone must have followed us. They hit me over the head.” He removed the cloth and showed Nathan the blood. “And took Nessa.” Henry hung his head in shame.

  “Did they say anything? Can you remember anything at all?”

  Henry looked back up at the man and shook his head. “No.” He locked eyes with him. Henry may not have remembered much and the men may not have said anything, but he’d been mulling everything since he’d been lifted off the ground. There was no doubt in his mind who’d taken her. “But…sir…”

  Nathan silenced him with a look and focused his attention on the officers that were so close, Henry could feel their breath on his face.

  “Thank you, gentlemen. You’ve been very helpful. Please, if you find anyone in or around the park today that may have seen anything, please send for me.”

  The officers both nodded. “What ‘bout ‘im?”

  Nathan looked back to Henry. He nodded. “They attacked him. He’s already told you there were three of them, and they came at them from behind and in the dark. I’ll take him with me. We’ll start looking on our own after his head has been looked after.”

  Nathan’s words were a balm to Henry’s hurt ego. He’d failed Nessa. He’d not been able to protect her. He wasn’t sure how he could have done anything differently though, other than not stopping. He should have taken her home.

  He ran that scenario through his mind. If he’d taken her home, then no one would know she was missing. There’d be no one looking for her. He hated himself for not being able to defend her but knew that all he could do now was help to find her. He stood and took the cloth off his head as he walked beside Mr. Straus. “Sir, it had to be…”

  Nathan silenced him with another look. “Yes. I’m sure it was. But our officer friends don’t need to know that. We don’t know who they’re working for.”

  And that one comment exposed Henry to a world he never thought possible and solidified his place in it. “They could be…”

  “Yes, boy. Now keep that rag on and keep acting as if your head hurts until we’re traveling. We’ll talk in the carriage.”

  Nessa woke as the door creaked open for what she thought was the first time. A sliver of light showed her that she was in some sort of closet. There was nothing in it at all other than her. Her dress was filthy, and her arm was getting more painful. A small female peered inside. “Shhhhh. If you talk, they’ll send me away. I’ve brought you a drink.”

  Nessa watched the girl carefully but didn’t move or speak. The girl was young, couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven. She had freckles across her nose and her hair in long braids. Her dress was covered in tiny flowers of all colors. She stepped slowly over to where Nessa had propped herself against a wall. The girl did indeed have a mug of something. She held it in front of Nessa’s nose.

  Nessa pursed her lips and shook her head in refusal.

  “It’s only Meade. Now that you’re here, they won’t make you sick again.”

  Nessa felt her eyes widen. So they had given her something. That was the burn she’d felt on her tongue and what had made her black out in the park. She sniffed the mug. There was no trace of the substance that had made her tongue numb and her throat burn. She opened her lips. The girl tipped the mug, and Nessa drank. She tried to go slowly, knowing that it would sting and burn landing in her empty pit of a stomach and cause it to churn, but once the cool liquid hit her desecrated mouth, she couldn’t stop. Not until she started to cough and choke. The girl pulled it away.

  “Just go slow. I won’t leave until you’ve drunken it all.”

  Nessa opened her mouth to thank her, or to ask her where she was or who had brought her there, but the girl shook her head and put a finger up to her lips. “If you talk, I’ll have to go away. They’ll hear.”

  Henry sat across from Nathan at his office downtown. He had been surprised when they’d headed toward Whyos territory rather than going further uptown. Mr. Straus didn’t seem to be a five points man anymore than Nessa seemed to belong there, yet there they were. “I have a friend of a friend that’s on the inside. I’m sure they have her. We just need to know what they want.”

  Henry nodded but shortly. There was a doctor fussing around the top of his head. He’d put a needle and thread to his skin and started to sew it together. Each movement of the needle burned and sent pain down his neck. “Do we know why they killed Mr. Dobbs? Maybe that could give us some insight.”

  Nathan shook his head. “Not for sure. My thought is that someone found out he was making moves to leave the organization. They don’t take kindly to folks deserting them.”

  Henry thought about it while the doctor finished stitching his wound closed. He thanked the doctor and stood as soon as he left. He really needed to get back to the McCarthys’ and let them know where he was. He also needed a change of clothes. He was still in his fancy suit from the night before. But now it was stained with blood. He hoped all of it was his.

  Thinking about Nessa caused anger to rise in his chest. They had drugged her. He knew it. He could feel her squeezing his hand and kicking before she suddenly seemed to go limp. He wanted so much for her to be found and in one piece. The anger welled within him, boiling, flashing unpleasant images in his mind. The more he saw her hurt and in pain, the more toward murderous his rage became.

  Henry wasn’t a violent man, but something had switched within him. He suddenly understood the power and need that came with anger. There was this nagging at the back of his head that was screaming for revenge. It made sense that other men would or could be ruled by such a voice.

  “You need to reign it in, son. Going gangster isn’t going to help anything. She needs us to be smart. Level-headed.”

  Henry turned toward Nathan as he spoke. It was almost as if the man could read his mind. He was saying exactly what he’d been thinking. “How…?”

  Nathan smiled a tilted smile. “My status doesn’t always protect me, boy. I’ve been where you are. Every man gets there at some point in his life. It’s what you do with the rage that truly defines you.” Nathan walked around his desk and sat on the front edge. “Nessa needs us to think. These goons use muscle; their bosses are the only ones with brains. My guess is that they’re holding her for some sort of ran
som.”

  “Why haven’t we heard yet?”

  “They probably weren’t aware of just how connected she was until last night. I’m assuming they’re revisiting their plan. The good news is that all of this should mean that Nessa is safe.” He lowered his head. “No, they wouldn’t hurt her until they got what they wanted.”

  Henry wasn’t sure if Nathan was talking to him or himself at that point. He walked himself through the entire evening again. From the moment they’d returned from shopping to the when the officer in the park had waked him. He went over it and over. The room had disappeared, and he was back there in the moment with Nessa as he slid that ring on her finger. He closed his eyes, trying to remember every detail. And then he remembered. He stood straight and fast like someone had propelled him from the chair. “I have an idea.”

  Nessa finished the drink the girl had offered her. She opened her mouth to speak, but the girl silenced her with a headshake. Nessa showed her she agreed by shaking her head as well, but she began mouthing words to her. At first she wasn’t sure if the girl understood or if she just wasn’t going to answer. Nessa asked her if the men that were there were the men that had taken her. The girl nodded. She asked if they were still in New York. The girl nodded and then she asked if they were in Five Points. The girl’s eyes got wide, and Nessa knew that they hadn’t expected her to know anything. The people that had taken her and were holding her thought her to be as naive as she’d always been. The girl nodded but only slightly.

  The door was still slightly ajar. Nessa could hear everything that was going on outside of the room. The men had returned. They were talking. There were three voices, two of which she didn’t recognize but one that she did. “Piker! Piker!” she called out.