Passion's Series

by Adair, Mary

  Dawn quietly climbed from her perch and darted across the street. The two were up to something. She had to get a closer look.

  A shrill whistle exploded in the still of the night and Dawn spun around to take a quick clip to her jaw. A sharp pain, an explosion of light, and then darkness.

  She came drowsily awake to feel a bag tossed roughly over her head and her arms painfully pulled behind her back and tied. She also heard a faint chiming sound and wondered briefly if she was in Lady Gaylord's garden before darkness once again claimed her.

  ***

  "What do you mean, you don't know where they took her?" Sara cried in near hysterics.

  Tom felt close to tears himself, as he fought to control his emotions. Sara squeezed her hands together as she pressed them to her chest, and he knew despair as he never had before.

  "Dawn insisted we stay back," Davie wailed. "From the rooftop we was on, we saw a big man step out from the shadows. We tried to warn 'er, sis. We did! Tom whistled loud, really loud. But when Dawn turned, the man struck her."

  Davie looked as horrified as his brother felt. "Oh sis, she went right down. A wagon pulled out of the alley. They put a sack over 'er head and tied 'er arms and tossed 'er into the wagon like she was just so much trash. We was both so scared we just froze. The wagon headed straight for the docks."

  "Oooh, my God! Do ye think they dumped her into the Thames?" Sara slipped into her street brogue as she wrapped her arms about her head and slowly sank to the floor with an anguished sob.

  Tom pulled her back to her feet and clung to her. "You can't crack like this, sis. You just can't. Davie and me, we tried to help 'er and we'll try again. We'll go to the docks and look for 'er, we will. We won't stop till we find out what happened."

  Tom wrapped an arm about them both. "It will all work out, sis." He kissed the top of her head and supported them both as they cried. He was only seventeen to Sara's twenty-one and David's twelve. He always tried to look out for her and Davie, even when they didn't know it. This time, he'd let them down. He hated himself for his failure and vowed it wouldn't happen again. Stepping back he pulled his brother and sister apart. Turning Sara to face him, he looked into her eye. "We will find Dawn, Sara. I promise ye this."

  "Oh no, Tom, you can't. Let me tell Mister Cloud everything. I don't want you and Davie to get hurt. You two are all I have in the world."

  "Me and Davie will be fine. Haven't I taken care of us just fine up ta now?" He blanched at Sara's hurt expression.

  She clutched the front of Tom's shirt. "We got to tell Mr. Cloud. She has got to be found! I will never forgive myself for what's happened to her."

  Tom shook his sister gently. "Listen to me, Sara! Do as I say. Everyone thinks she is a-bed, so they won't be missin' her. Don't say a thing today. We're goin' back to the docks to see what we can find out. Just give us a few hours. There is something very wrong here, and it may just be in this very household. If Dawn is still alive, we don't want to put her more at risk."

  Sara pulled back as she gasp in surprise. "What do you mean, Tom?"

  "That man who clipped Dawn on the jaw and sacked 'er up like so much dirty laundry was a gentleman, I'd bet me life on it. Now you just do as I say."

  He held his breathe until finally, Sara nodded in dumb silence.

  Chapter Twelve

  Dawn woke with a start as cold water crashed into her face like a thousand sharp needles. "Up with ya, laddie."

  With a moan that expressed her complete misery, she managed to roll weakly to her knees. Then, spitting and choking, she shook herself like a shaggy mutt.

  "Come on, come on." A nasty, nagging voice that sounded as if it echoed from a grave, continued to worm its way into her head.

  A large hand grabbed her firmly by the upper arm and hoisted her to her feet. Her head and jaw hurt...so did her belly. Suddenly, nausea swept over her. While she clung helplessly to her tormentor, her stomach emptied itself at his feet in great, wracking heaves.

  "Oh, my, laddie! Now look at what ya gone and done. You puked all over this nice clean deck. Mr. Brown is goin' ta have me skin and yours too."

  Dawn's head snapped up and she glared at Cookie.

  "Miz. Dawn? Tell me it ain't you! Please tell me it ain't you."

  At Cookie's anguished cry the entire ship's crew hurried in their direction. Dawn's knees suddenly buckled. Cookie caught her in his arms and slowly slid down to sit on the deck; Dawn cradled in his arms as if she were a baby, all the while wailing his misery.

  "Please, Cookie, stop that caterwauling! My head is killing me," Dawn begged as she held her head with both hands.

  "Let me pass!" Brown pushed his way through the crowd to stand before them. "Good God, it is you!" He crouched and put a finger under Dawn's chin to tilt her head back for a better look at her gray and grimy face.

  "I'd say yer time in England is up, missy."

  "Oh, no it's not!" Dawn pushed his hand away. "Who brought me here and dumped me on the deck of my own ship?"

  "Let's get you to yer cabin and cleaned up. Then we'll talk." Brown stood.

  Cookie pushed himself up from the deck, bringing Dawn clumsily up with him.

  "No, no, no!" Dawn insisted as she untangled herself from the frightened old ship hand. "I am not going anywhere until I find out what I want to know. Now, who brought me here?" She turned about getting her barring. "What is the Golden Lady doing here? You're supposed to be hiding off the Scottish coast."

  Brown scratched his gray head. "Raven's man found us. And it looks like it's a good thing he did. It's time I took you home."

  "No!"

  "Look here, Miss Dawn. I let you corner me into bringing ya to England without yer dad's being' the wiser. I'm in a whole heap a trouble and we both know it for that bit o' foolishness. But this is just too much. Look at ya'. Yer all dirty and bruised."

  The old captain shook his head in disbelief. "Ya promised me and yer ma you would stay out o' trouble. Just wanted a quick little visit with Raven, your heart would break if n ya couldn't see him, ya said. And yer poor mother." He threw his hands up. "Ha! Convinced her, ya did. Well, we will be a leavin' for Charles Town right now."

  Brown was working himself into a fine temper... pacing back and forth, waving his arms dramatically. The entire crew, including Cookie, moved back. Dawn stood her ground.

  "You can stop feeling sorry for yourself right now." Dawn stepped forward and pushed Brown with both hands. "This is my ship and I say what's what here."

  Brown, who had been like a second father to her, shook a finger in her face. "Now you listen to me, missy."

  The crew took another step back. They had never seen anyone speak to Miss Dawn in such a fashion—or to their captain.

  "Yer goin' down to yer cabin and get cleaned up, and I'm takin' the Golden Lady out o' port right this minute."

  Dawn put both fists on her hips and Brown visibly deflated. "You listen to me. I came all this way because I had a dream vision. My mother knows about it. She didn't try to stop me and you're not going to either. This thing is between Raven and myself."

  "But your father..." Brown whined in defeat.

  "My father will understand." With that remark, Dawn turned on her heel and marched down the gangway to the dock.

  Captain Brown motioned a crewmember forward. "Charlie, I want you to follow her and keep an eye on 'er." He pulled out a large bag of coins and tossed them to Charlie. "You'll need proper clothes so as ta not stand out where yer going, just be reasonable. You'll want ta blend in ta the surroundings."

  The captain wiped his hand across his face as if trying to remove the knowledge of the precarious situation in which he now found himself. "Keep back, don't let her see ya, and if anything else happens ta her like just did," he poked a finger at his nose, "you'll pay for it. Understand?"

  Charlie bobbed. "Yes, sir, Captain."

  "Well, be off with ya then!"

  "Yes, Captain." Charlie hurried from the Golden Lady and disappeared on the
crowded dock.

  Brown motioned a second man forward. "Becker, I want you to keep an eye on Charlie and Miss Dawn. I don't have any more coin on me, so you'll have ta come ta my cabin ta get some. I want you ta take Little Jack with ya as a runner. I want an update every day even if it's no more than ta say everything is fine. You understand?"

  "Yes, Captain." Becker grinned. "Sounds ta me like you just might be considerin' sending half the crew out to watch out after Miss Dawn."

  "I'll send the whole crew if I have to. I should never have left port with only Johnson to watch after her. Now come with me ta fetch your coin. Jack, where are ya boy?"

  A young boy, as tall as he was thin, pushed his way forward. Brown looked up into his sunburned face. "Did ya hear what I told Becker?"

  "Sure did, Captain, sir. I won't let you down, sir."

  "I'm sure you won't, lad."

  As the three headed off to Brown's office, Becker asked, "I understand. We're to keep out of Dawn's sight. Is that right, Captain?"

  Brown chuckled. "You're to try."

  The three returned to deck and Brown watched Becker and Jack walk down the gangway and disappear on the crowded dock. Once they were out of sight, he summoned his first mate, Jeremy Thorton.

  "What do you think happened ta Johnson?" the first mate asked.

  Brown looked at Thorton. His first mate was a man he could trust. He had thought the same of Johnson. Now he had his doubts. "I don't know, but I want you to find out. "

  "Understood, Captain."

  "If he's alive, don't kill him. I want that pleasure after I hear with my own ears why he allowed Miss Dawn to come to this latest disaster."

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lady Montgomery sighed with exasperation and turned to her grandson. "Put those noisy, annoying things away, Willie." The constant chiming from those dratted iron spheres had her ready to snatch them from his hands and give his ear a good boxing as well.

  "Gram, how many times must I tell you to call me William?" He dropped the balls into his pocket and poured himself a cup of tea. "They're called Baoding Balls. Raven imported them especially for me from the Orient. They calm my nerves."

  "They upset everyone else." She noticed Sarah slip into the room. "Sara, dear, Cook has just prepared a tray for Dawn. Would you take it up to her?"

  "Yes, milady." Sara took the tray and hurried away.

  "According to Raven, Dawn can be quite a handful," Lady Montgomery said. "So far, she hasn't posed a problem at all."

  "You mean aside from whatever she did at the ball, and then her bath in the pond yesterday morning, or proclaiming to Marguerite she was here on something called a blood cry? No, she's been no problem at all." A distracted frown appeared on his face, and he reached into his pocket and retrieved his musical toy, clinking the metal balls with renewed gusto.

  Lord, give me patience, thought Lady Montgomery. She let her eyelids flutter closed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please, Willie, put those things away before someone can't stand it another minute and hurts you."

  "You!"

  Lady Montgomery flinched. Everyone turned toward the source of the angry growl. Standing in the back doorway was a bruised and dirty creature.

  "Dawn? Oh my!" Lady Montgomery gasped unbelievingly. The ragged waif was Dawn, dressed in dirty rags with her beautiful hair dirty and in a tangled mess. Even worse, soot covered Dawn's lovely face and a frightening bruise decorated her swollen jaw.

  "Dawn, what has happened to you?" Lady Montgomery wailed and rushed forward. "Is that blood on your face?"

  She looked at her grandson, hoping for his aid. He stood, pale as a ghost, his eyes wide in horror. He took a step back, away from the table and the angry woman who moved toward him.

  "Dawn, I didn't know," his voice pleaded and he shook his head. "I give you my word I didn't know it was you."

  Lady Montgomery didn't understand why her grandson looked so guilty. What could he possibly have to do with Dawn's ragtag appearance?

  Dawn pointed an accusing finger at him. "What is that in your hand?" she demanded.

  He looked at his hand, then extended it to her to show her the metal spheres he held. The iron balls flew from his fingers when Dawn gave his hand a swift kick. He shrank away from her but she grabbed his wrist. She jerked him forward as she turned and rolled into him jabbing a well-aimed elbow in his stomach.

  Before Lady Montgomery could protest or ask questions, Dawn had William on the floor. She straddled him with the tip of a knife placed at his throat.

  When he entered the kitchen, Raven saw William on the floor. A grimy street urchin sat squarely on his chest with a knife at his throat. Nice to see William in trouble instead of Dawn for a change. Raven chuckled, deciding William must have been caught completely off guard to allow such a thing to happen. For the boy's sake, he should intervene. No hurry, of course. This situation promised to be amusing.

  The child's head raised and the blue eyes that haunted his every night glared at him from a soot-smudged face. Reality hit him like the kick of a mule and his gut clenched.

  "Great Spirit, Dawn, is that you? What the devil is going on here?"

  Lady Montgomery said, "Oh, it's those horrid chiming balls of Willie's. I had just told him they would get him in trouble. Victoria and I have told him time and again to stop playing with the infernal things. He refused to listen and see where it's landed him."

  Her confused rambling gave Raven a chance to compose himself, though the content of her jumbled speech distracted him. He walked slowly around the two on the floor and retrieved a mug from the cupboard.

  "I don't understand." He looked down at William. "Maybe you should explain."

  William looked up at him. "What Grams said is true. Dawn charged in here and kicked my Baoding Balls right out of my hand. I'm not sure how I got here. Um, you'll be glad to hear the Golden Lady is in port."

  "Tell the truth." Dawn pressed the blade against William's throat. "Your chiming balls just told on you."

  "What's all this talk about balls?" Lady Gaylord as she entered from the garden, her arms laden with freshly cut flowers. "Are we having another party?" She set her basket of blossoms on the table.

  Raven knew the exact second Lady Gaylord saw what Dawn was doing. She gasped, then visibly gathered her dignity about her. "Dawn, dear, you look a mess. Where on earth have you been?"

  Raven took a sip of his tea and raised his free hand to signal silence. "Enough, Dawn you look like a—"

  "Savage?" Dawn interrupted.

  "Actually, I intended to say wharf rat." Understanding slammed into his brain. His cup fell from his hand and shattered on the floor, spilling tea in its wake.

  Ever the perfect hostess, Lady Montgomery hurried over and mopped the front of his shirt. "Oh my. Don't worry about it at all. I'll wipe it right up."

  Raven ignored her as he fixed his glare on William. "Who told her about the fires?"

  "It wasn't either of us, Raven, truthfully," Lady Gaylord proclaimed. "Here, Wilhelmina, you missed a spot."

  "Um, excuse me," William whined. "Could I get up now?"

  "No!" Dawn and Raven growled in unison. Dawn pressed the blade tighter against William's throat.

  "Just asking," William said meekly. "I'll be still. Raven?"

  "Dawn you'd better start explaining. I'm losing my patience."

  "I guess we're done cleaning him up, Wilhelmina." Lady Gaylord whispered.

  Raven felt the towel placed in his hand and heard the two ladies scurry a safe distance from him, but he didn't look their way. His gaze fixed on the two people on the floor. He wanted details immediately.

  "He was at the warehouse last night. I know it was him because I heard the chime of his balls clicking."

  "And you think he's responsible for the fires?" Raven asked, incredulous she could suspect his best friend, the one person he trusted in this town. "You can't be serious."

  She shook her head of bedraggled curls. "No, of course not. I realize he
watched the trap on your behalf. What he did was this." She pointed to her swollen and bruised chin. "Then he bagged me up like a pheasant and carted me off to the hold of the Golden Lady."

  "I didn't know it was you, Dawn. I swear it." William swore. He placed a hand over her smaller one holding a knife to his throat.

  Dawn tilted her head in warning and William removed his hand.

  He tried again. "I gave my word I'd look out after Raven. You should have stayed in as you were told. Raven had heard about a new lad in the area. He wanted to get him safely out of the way. How were we to know the kid was really you?"

  Raven threw the towel aside with an angry toss. "Wait a minute. You told her you would look after me? You told her about the fires?"

  "No, I didn't. It wasn't necessary for me to tell her for her to know you were in danger. That's why she came here in the first place, remember?"

  Dawn rose slowly to her feet and faced him. "So, you're responsible for this," she said, pointing to her cheek.

  Raven stood relaxed. "Put the knife down, Dawn." The knife whizzed past his ear and sank into the cupboard behind him. He didn't flinch. "The table would have sufficed."

  Each of the ladies sank into a chair. He heard Lady Gaylord whisper, "She really is good with a knife."

  "Yes, she certainly is," Lady Montgomery said, nodding thoughtfully.

  William scooted away from Dawn and stood. "Come, Grams. I think Raven and Dawn need a moment alone."

  "Not on your life," huffed Lady Montgomery.

  "Be quiet, Willie," commanded Lady Gaylord, never taking her gaze from Raven and Dawn. "If you must do something, find those annoying balls and put them away."

  Raven allowed his gaze to caress Dawn's face and exhaled in resignation. This woman never ceased to confuse and amaze him. He never knew whether to scold her or kiss her. He knew which he preferred, but pushed the thought aside. "What am I going to do with you," he whispered.

  As he suspected, his anger fueled hers. His tenderness now felled her defenses. Warrior she might be, but at this minute she was a confused and troubled woman who ran crying into his arms. He held her to him, wishing he could keep her safe within his embrace forever. Knowing she could never be his saddened him. Over her head cradled against his chest, he watched the others in the room and carefully masked his pain.