Her comment took Jacko by surprise. “She’s married, is she not?”
“Not…. Nor likely to ever be.”
Delighted to discover his heart might not be so foolish after all, his fingers rapped on his knee. “And why is that?”
Vic snorted as a sly grin appeared. “She loves to test suitors by fire.”
“Test them how?”
The pup looked out the window and continued surveying the area. “My favorite was when Alice went rowing on the lake with Alton Dobbs.” Chuckling at the memory, Vic shared how Alice had tipped the boat then left him to fend for himself when he didn’t try to save her. “She failed to tell anyone he required rescue until two hours later, when during lunch, her mother asked her what she had done with Alton. After we finished our meal, we went down to the lake and found him clinging to the boat, bleating for help.”
Jacko snorted in contempt. “Good. A man who would save himself before a lady is no man. He deserved to drown.”
“Not likely. The lake was very shallow. Had he bothered to stand, he would have discovered the boat was in four feet of water.”
“I’m glad she did not marry this fool. Tell me more.” Jacko leaned back and smiled.
“In London, she purposely cut the leads needed to control her carriage horse so they would break with the first hard tug. Then she allowed Sawyer Higgenbottom to drive her through the park. A man playing an accordion spooked the mare and off it went. Naturally, Higgenbutt—that was my nickname for him—yanked the reins. When they snapped and he realized he’d lost control of the carriage, the coward leapt to the ground without a single thought to Alice.”
Jacko growled.
“He broke his arm in two places during the fall.”
“And what of the lady?”
“Oh, she had trained her horse to voice commands. She was never in danger. After calling it to slow, she commanded it home, leaving Higgenbutt to fend for himself.”
“Good for her!”
He noticed Vic was frowning at his approbation of the young woman, which either meant the pup had issues with Alice or him and oddly, he sensed for once, it wasn’t him. “So what is it that you don’t like about Miss Collins?”
“I should like her. We were the best of friends growing up. But when she turned fifteen, she got it into her head that she wanted to marry me. I tried to let her down gently, but evidently, she decided to ridicule what she couldn’t have. For the last four years, she has persisted in this extremely irritating habit of laughing at me.”
Jacko suspected the clever lady laughed for the same reason he did. “Have you ever asked her why?”
Vic scowled at him. “No. I just pretend I don’t care.”
“Maybe you should talk to her about it.”
“Why bother? I am certain I’ve told you that I don’t like you laughing at me, and you only laugh more!”
Jacko heard the resentment in the pup’s voice, and while he was not ready to tell Vic he knew her secret, he was willing to reveal the sentiment behind his laughter. “I am not laughing in contempt of you, Victor. I laugh at the wonder of you. I am filled with joy my friend has found such a perfect partner.”
She turned in shock. “Really?”
“Consider my laugh a compliment to your extraordinary uniqueness. I think you most grand.”
Vic smiled and refocused on the bleak garbage-filled and foul smelling street.
Once they finished their tour of the docks, with Jacko filling in detail about the various sections and which streets were particularly dangerous and which were only moderately so, they returned to the New Royal Exchange.
Jacko stopped the pup before she exited the carriage. “You might want to return your gun to your vest. If not, you’ll be arrested before you see much.”
“Yes, of course. Are you not coming in with me?”
“Not dressed like this. You should be safe enough inside since you are only planning a look about.” Jacko’s eyes drilled into Vic’s as he said this.
The pup nodded in agreement. “Then stay here and try to get a bit more sleep.”
Jacko leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Alice Collins was not married, which meant he was free to discover if her interest was real or just a reflection of his own very strong desires. He would send her a gift…something meaningful, but useful and see how she responded.
***
Alice made her weekly round to visit each tenant farmer. When she first began these visits, all the farmers thought them a waste of their time. However, now, they seemed to welcome her arrival. They showed her their accomplishments with pride, and let her know of problems.
She had not come to Litchfield as ignorant as they thought. She had always known her destiny, thus ensured her education focused on plants and animals. When she finally returned, she possessed more book knowledge on the subjects than most scholars.
The farmers soon learned to trust her identification and cures for crop damage. The animal doctor who came through every month consistently confirmed her diagnosis and treatment of the livestock. Thus, the farmers always brought concerns to her attention.
Farmer Hill led her to his potato field and pointed out one plant with small black lesions on a lower leaf.
“It might just be an insect.” He chewed the inside of his cheeks as he waited for her opinion.
Alice knelt down and pulled off the leaf to study it closer. “Any other plants with these?”
“Not that I’ve found.” His brow furrowed as he knelt down beside her. “You think it’s blight then?”
She nodded and folded the leaf in two, slipping it into her pocket. “I’ll take it home and verify it, but let’s be safe rather than sorry. Burn all the plants ten deep from this one. Use hot coals so the ground cooks as well.”
He sighed and ran his hands through his hair.
She gripped his broad, thick shoulder. “Better a hundred plants than a whole field.”
“But what if this is just the start?”
“It is the start, and we are putting an end to it right here. What happened in Ireland cannot happen at Litchfield. We grow our plants from healthy seed pieces, and rotate our fields so mold from the prior year cannot infect the next year’s crop. Our plants and soil are healthy.”
“’Cept for that leaf…”
“Mold managed to settle on one leaf. Now the mold may have sent spores into the soil and drifted to a neighboring plant. That’s why we burn the plants around it. But no mold has taken root on these other plants, because it is not easy to attack a healthy plant.” She stood up and shaded her eyes as she looked out across the field. “Have your younger boys walk through the field looking for yellow leaves with yellow, white or black spots, just to be sure. However, I believe your keen eye and diligence has saved your crop.”
Pushing himself up, he smiled for the first time since she arrived. He looked across the field of leafy green plants. “Never seen a better looking crop in all my years as a farmer.”
“That’s what comes from a great farmer using the best farming practices.”
He nodded.
Hill had been the loudest naysayer of the changes she made in farming procedures the spring of her arrival. He could not believe a young city chit was going to tell him how to do his job. Several times during the first spring planting, he threatened to leave. Fortunately, his wife forced him to comply with the changes whether he liked them or not. She loved living in Litchfield and she had no intention of moving away because of his stubborn bullheadedness.
Alice went directly home. She wouldn’t carry mold to the other farms. As she dismounted her horse, she sent the stable boy Joey out to ask each farmer growing potatoes to check their plants.
She went to the small laboratory in her basement which Claire had set up for her and studied the leaf under a microscope. Certain of her diagnosis, she burned the leaf in the coal burner that warmed the room and returned upstairs.
Only after a bath and change of clothes did she
continue her visits to the farms. She was pleased to discover neither of the other two fields of potatoes showed any sign of blight.
By the time she returned home, she was exhausted. She poured herself a shot of whiskey and sat down to open the mail. She noticed a package wrapped in brown paper and twine. It could not have come by post since it lacked an address written on the paper. She rang for Thomas.
Given his speed of arrival, he must have been lurking outside the door. His right eyebrow rose in disapproval upon sight of the whiskey.
She ignored him and lifted the package with no writing on it. “Where did this come from?”
“A boy delivered it on horseback. By the fellow’s horrendous accent, I believe he came from the London docks.”
“Did he say who it was from?”
“No. He just threw the package at me and rode off.”
Alice tried very hard not to laugh. She could see by Thomas’s rigid stance that he remained outraged at such bad manners. “Well, let’s see what the ill-bred fellow delivered.”
Thomas stepped forward, his brow furrowed in concern. “Perhaps I should open it.”
“Why?”
“In case it’s a snake again.”
Alice couldn’t help but laugh. Thomas was recalling the time when a young Victor tried to terrorize her stepfather, but unfortunately, missed his mark.
“Thomas. Victor would never send me a snake. Nor did he send you a snake. If you recall, the envelope was addressed to Mr. Carson.”
He rubbed his chin for a long moment. “I might forgive him if I truly believed he had thought Mr. Carson would open his mail.”
“He did think so, because I told him Mr. Carson did. If anyone is to blame for your fright, it was me.”
“No, the fault is mine. You were correct in thinking Mr. Carson liked to tend his mail.”
“Then how did you come to open the package?”
“To irritate the man. I took pleasure in doing small things against his wishes. I knew he would hate having the package opened, thus I did so. He also had a habit of gulping down his coffee. Thus, after a week of serving him a tepid brew, I would deliver scalding hot coffee that would blister the insides of his foul mouth.”
Alice stood up, walked to Thomas and kissed him on his cheek. “My knight in shining armor.”
“I did what I could,” he said with pride.
She returned to the package, cut the twine and unwrapped the paper. She lifted up a red silk scarf wrapped around something oblong and hard. As she unwrapped the scarf, she caught the musky scent that had haunted her senses in her sleep. Jacko.
“What is it?” Thomas asked.
Alice had become so enchanted with the scarf, she had failed to notice the item wrapped inside it. In her hand lay what looked to be an ivory handle. But to what?
She noticed a pearl inset on one side and pressed it. A lethal four-inch blade of silver jutted out.
“Dear Lord!” Thomas exclaimed. “Do you think Carson sent this as a threat?”
“No.” She smiled and stroked the handle. “I think Jacko sent it as a gift.”
“A gift? What type of man sends a knife to a lady?”
She pressed the scarf to her lips. “A very unique one. A man who admires a woman good with knives.”
Placing the scarf around her neck, she examined the slender blade. When she pushed the pearl inset again, the blade returned inside the handle.
“Now that is clever.” She showed Thomas how the knife could appear and disappear.
He scowled and stepped back. “Perhaps you should put the ‘gift’ in your safe.”
“First, I must show it to Mother.” She headed to the door.
“Your mother is far from recovered. She does not need to know ill-dressed gypsies are giving you knives!”
Alice stopped and turned to Thomas, angered by his words. “You will never refer to the man I intend to marry in such disrespectful terms again.”
“Marry? You cannot marry a gypsy.”
“This is not your say.”
Thomas refused to back down. “Your mother will not allow it!”
“It is not her say either. However, I believe once she knows Jacko better, she will welcome him into our home.”
“A gypsy?”
“A man who risked his life to save a woman he had never met.” She caressed the ivory handle of her hidden knife. “A man who wishes me to be strong and unafraid.” She then recalled them seated together at the kitchen table. “A man with warmth and laughter in his eyes.”
Thomas stepped to the door and jerked it open. “Go talk to your mother. I have work to do.”
Not appreciating his attitude, she lifted her chin and stormed from the room.
Upon entering the guest room, she discovered her mother still slept. She huffed with heavy disappointment and climbed upon the bed. Lying beside her mother, she stared at the ceiling and sighed again in frustration. She knew Thomas all too well. If he set his mind against Jacko, he would be a formidable opponent to her plans.
Her mother touched her face. “Problems?”
She rolled to her side. “Farmer Hill found blight on a potato plant.” She wasn’t ready to talk about what really bothered her. She feared Thomas might be right. Her mother was overly conscious of her social standing.
Having no interest in farming, Mrs. Carson focused in on the scarf around Alice’s neck. “I haven’t seen this before.”
Alice smiled. “It came by horseman, or I should say horse-scamp. The boy threw Thomas the package instead of dismounting the horse and properly delivering it.”
Mrs. Carson laughed softly. “I imagine Thomas is in a fit. So what did he do in turn to put you out of sorts?”
Alice breathed out her exasperation and caressed the scarf. “Jacko sent the package which included this scarf and…”
She held the ivory handle safely away from her mother and pressed the button. The silver blade thrust out with amazing force.
Her mother didn’t look particularly pleased. “What made him think you needed such a weapon?”
“I told him how I preferred to stay in the kitchen when I lived in London and mentioned May saying if ever a lady needed to know how to use a knife, it was me.”
“Alice…”
Tears formed in her eyes, which then caused resentment to burn in her stomach. “I’m tired of pretending a lie! I would never tell a gentleman of society the truth. He’d run away in shock and tell the whole world. But I have every right to tell Jacko. And I am certain he will keep my confidence.”
“I believe he will. A man such as he would think our problems minor.”
Alice turned the knife so the light reflected on its blade. “He does not see my problems as minor and this gift proves it.”
“You have a point there. No matter. I doubt any harm will come of this indiscretion of yours. Jacko knows no one to tell. But what possessed you to share secrets with a total stranger? If it had been anyone else, and word got out, you would be ruined.”
Alice closed the knife and rolled away from her mother. “I am already ruined. I’ve been ruined since I was fifteen. No gentleman will ever want me.”
She felt the bed shift. Her mother’s hand rested on her shoulder.
“What do you mean? What are you saying?”
The pain in her mother’s voice was all too clear. God, if only she could take back her confession.
Her mother yanked at her shoulder, forcing her to roll to her back, and face the situation.
“Did he… Did Mr. Carson…” Her mother could not continue her question. Yet, by the horror on her face, she already knew the answer.
Alice had no choice but to go through the door of shame she had opened. “It started after he realized I didn’t want to marry the toads he insisted I court. He said if I became pregnant, I would have no choice but to marry whatever gentleman he selected.”
Her mother leaned against the headboard. “Oh, dear God. Why didn’t you tell me? I would have s
topped him. I would have killed him if necessary.”
Alice pressed her face onto her mother’s lap. “Which is why I couldn’t tell you. I could not let you hang for murder.”
Both Alice and her mother cried away their anguish at a past they could not alter.
Once they calmed, her mother spoke. “Not all men insist their wives come to the bed a virgin.”
Alice pressed the scarf to her cheek and breathed in Jacko’s scent. “I hope you’re right.”
Her mother didn’t reply, but her hand continued to stroke Alice’s hair. If she had been dead set against a marriage with Jacko, she would say it. Silence was the best Alice could hope for at this early stage.
Chapter 7
Having received an interesting report that a one-eyed beggar might be in Dragon’s Cloud, Jacko headed straight to Scotland Yard. If the tip was true, Jacko would need serious help in retrieving his friend.
Fortunately, he was dressed in gentlemen’s clothes, so the officer at the front desk let him pass.
Jacko knocked on the glass panel in Stone’s office door. The inspector looked up from his reading. Upon recognizing Jacko, he rose and opened his door. “Trouble?” He stepped back and let him enter.
“No problems. I came to offer my assistance in finding Xavier.”
Stone gripped his forehead with his long tense fingers. “I told you we have more than sufficient men searching for him. I gave you one job. Just try to focus on it!” He opened his door. “Now please go and allow me to return to my work.”
Jacko burned with rage at the man’s arrogance, but he restrained his temper. Xavier’s life depended on them working together. He could not recover his friend without help. “Yes, I know you have men searching. They are making life at the docks very difficult. However, you have yet to find Xavier. Whereas, I may have located where a one-eyed beggar is being held. Unfortunately, I lack the manpower to retrieve him.”
Stone closed the door and pointed to a chair. “Sit down, please, and tell me what you’ve learned.”
Jacko sat and leaned forward. “I believe Xavier is being held in Dragon’s Cloud. Are you familiar with the place?”
Stone frowned and nodded. “Opium and prostitution den. Who told you he was there?”
A Right to Love: Romantic Spinoff From The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Book 2.5 Page 7
