He spoke as if he were discussing returning home for a cup of tea, not Patience spending the night out here on the streets alone. Terror gripped her. She didn’t want to be alone all night. She wanted this boy to stay with her, which showed how upset she was, as she knew nothing of him, and he could easily hand her over to those men for more money.
“I will pay you as much as you want to get me home.” She needed to clarify that to him, in case he decided to turn against her.
“All right.” He rocked back on his heels. “I’ll come and get you in the morning.”
“I don’t want to stay here alone,” she whispered. “Please don’t leave me here.” Now she sounded pathetic. Her source of strength seemed to have been suddenly depleted.
His sigh reminded her of her Charlie. “Follow me.”
She did, scrambling out of her hiding space quickly in case he tried to leave without her.
“Stay close.”
Patience didn’t need any further coaxing. She started running once more, ignoring her aching muscles to keep up with him. He was quick and nimble, but she was determined not to lose him. Finally he stopped suddenly beside a building, and she watched as he moved a large piece of wood to one side before motioning her to go inside.
“You’ll be safe here till morning,” he said, noting her hesitation.
Patience did as he asked and seconds later found herself in a dark, dank and smelly room.
“You can stay in there. I’ll come back when I finish me work.”
Her eyes had adjusted enough to see a wooden pallet. Moving closer, she saw a nest of papers and a ragged blanket. “Is this were you live?”
He nodded beside her, his eyes blank as he watched her. “I gots to go now.”
“Wait.” Patience grabbed his arm. “Promise you’ll come back for me…please.”
“I told you I would.” He looked annoyed that she doubted him, so Patience let his arm go.
“All right, sorry,” she whispered.
He gave her another look that said he saw the panic that gripped her. “Just try and sleep.”
After those words he left the building, leaving her alone in the dark with her fears before she could ask him what work he could possibly do at night, out there alone.
She had always believed herself knowledgeable about the ways of things that happened around her. She had known there was poverty, that children were suffering, and had always given what and when she could, but being faced with the reality of that young boy living here, alone, made her realize how naïve she truly was.
She lived in comfort, always knowing there would be food on the table and a warm bed to sleep in, with a roof over her family’s head. But that wasn’t true here, not for this Charlie, whose life was so different from her brother’s.
Looking around when she heard a scurrying sound, Patience could see nothing inside the old, rundown building. Was it a rat? Shuddering, she stepped onto the pallet.
Should she try to run again, try to find her way home? What if she ran into those men, or others intent on harming her?
She was cold, tired and hungry, but for all that in good health. If she could wait until morning, then surely in the clear light of day she could get home. Charlie would help her, Patience thought. He wouldn’t have brought her here if he didn’t intend to do that.
She sat on the pallet, trying to ignore the fleas that she was sure were already making their way up her legs, closed her eyes and tried to rest. She would stay here for a while, just long enough to regain her strength and wait for Charlie. Ignoring the rumble in her stomach, she allowed thoughts of warm beds and her siblings come and go. Were they safe with Mathew? Thoughts of him made tears trickle down her cheeks.
Sliding sideways, she huddled on the papers and brought her knees up to her chest. She closed her eyes imagining Mathew holding her, and seconds later she fell asleep.
CHAPTER TEN
Mathew entered the large stone building behind the man they’d captured at the Allender town house. He was holding a pistol and had three of his men at his back.
Dark was closing in and he needed to find Patience now. She must be terrified, and he hoped whoever was holding her had kept her unharmed. If she was in any way hurt, someone was going to pay—not that someone wouldn’t pay anyway for this. Winston, Mathew thought silently. Winston would pay dearly for what he had done to his cousins, but Mathew’s first thought was for Patience. When she was safe in his arms, he would deal with her cousin.
“Up there.” The man motioned to the stairs.
“You first.” Mathew prodded him in the back. “James, you and Tim stay down here and keep watch in case anyone else arrives. Joe, you follow me.”
His heart thudded as they climbed and stopped at a door at the top. He watched as the man fumbled with the lock, then swung the door open.
“She’s gone!” The man ran to the window and looked out and Mathew followed, forcing him to one side so he could see below. The light was dim but he could still see the grey water.
“They must have come back for her and found her missing.”
“They?” Mathew questioned the man.
“The other men who were watching her, while we got the boy.”
Mathew studied the scene below and found a glimpse of white. His heart almost stopped as he leaned further out to get a better look, but the dwindling light was not good enough. “There’s something white down there,” he said as he pulled his head back inside. Had she been forced to jump? Dear God, she hated water, so surely not? Was that her down there? Was she still alive?
Mathew forced himself to look around the small room as he reined in his thoughts. She had to be alive. He could not believe anything else.
“She broke this chair.” Joe held a piece in his hands.
Mathew picked up the bloodstained boards at his feet. Patience had to have pried them from the windows. When he picked up her bloody gloves he knew that she’d escaped; he just prayed she’d survived the jump into the waters below. He quickly quashed that thought as he made for the door.
“Leave him in there and lock it, Joe.” The man who’d led them here could jump into the water too, for all Mathew cared.
He hurried outside and around to where he’d seen the patch of something white. Seconds later he had her chemise in his hands.
“Has she drowned, my lord?” Tim asked.
“No!” Mathew tried to calm himself. “This would be the last thing we would find it she drowned. My guess is she jumped in this, and then changed into her clothes.” Christ, he hoped he was right. The thought of anything happening to Patience was making him feel lightheaded. He couldn’t lose her now, after he’d only just found her.
“Start searching. She’s out there somewhere, trying to find her way home.”
They ran through the streets, searching everywhere, until Mathew came upon a tavern called the Speckled Hen.
“I am looking for a woman,” Mathew said after he’d stepped inside and the voices had quieted. “She is lost somewhere around here and is trying to find her way home. Has anyone seen her?”
“It’s a day for it, all right,” a voice said. “Never seen so many toffs in the place before. The bleedin’ king’ll wander in next.”
“She was abducted and is possibly injured,” Mathew said, ignoring the words. “I’ll pay for the information.”
“She was here, and asked if someone would lead her home, but before we could help, she’d run again, ’cause two men came in looking for her.”
The relief of knowing that Patience was alive was so strong Mathew had to brace a hand against the door. As long as those chasing her had not caught her, he had to believe she would stay alive and unharmed until he reached her.
“Which direction did she go?”
“Out back.” The barkeep entered the conversation. “She spoke with my Nelly.”
Nelly was washing dishes in a stylish bonnet when Mathew arrived in the kitchen seconds later.
“The wom
an who gave you that, where is she?” Mathew said, pointing to her head.
“She went out the back door, but I told them two men looking for her that she went up the stairs, and then when they came down I told them she’d gone back out the front door.”
Mathew flipped her a coin and headed out the door she indicated.
“Miss Allender is on foot somewhere out here, and as we all know this is no place for a lady such as she,” he told his men. “I want her found, and will pay whatever it takes. We will go in pairs, as I want no trouble for any of us. Tim, you come with me.”
Tim knew the area better than he, so Mathew let him take the lead. He left their horses in the hands of some boys with the promise that they would get more money if the horses were still there when they returned.
“Have you seen a lady come through here? She is avoiding some men, and is of noble birth.” Tim asked the question of anyone they encountered, and one woman answered, telling them Patience had come that way.
Darkness soon closed in, and with it came the cool, fog laden, evening air. Still they had not found her. Was she cold or injured? The tension inside Mathew twisted his gut as images of her hurt or in danger filled his head. She was strong and, he had no doubt, more resourceful and determined than most, but to survive out here…
“Where are you?” he asked aloud.
Looking around, he saw the buildings that housed many. Was she inside one of them? Had she found a sanctuary in this dark, dreary place? Mathew prayed she had, as he could not stomach any other thought.
His fear was that even now she was in danger. Had someone grabbed her, someone other than the men chasing her? Was she struggling for release, screaming in—no. He shut the thought away. He could not help her if he allowed his fear to consume him.
They knocked on doors, and were met with blank faces. Mathew felt his desperation grow. They passed groups of men returning late from work or play. Not even the meanest amongst them challenged him, as most took one look at his face and left him and Tim alone.
“It’s like she’s vanished.” Tim gave voice to Mathew’s thoughts.
“She can’t have.” Mathew ran a hand through his hair. We have to find her.” Feeling helpless and sick to the souls of his feet, he threw back his head. “Patience!” He roared her name as loud as he could.
“That way!” Tim started running along the street. “I heard something, my lord.”
Mathew followed him, drawing alongside seconds later. The street curved right, then straightened.
“I’m right sorry, my lord. I thought I heard someone calling, but it’s only a boy.”
Mathew watched the lad walk toward them. He seemed too small to be alone on these streets with night settling around them.
“Are you looking for a lady?”
Dropping to his haunches, Mathew nodded. “I am. She’s alone out here somewhere, and I need to find her and get her home safe to her family.”
The boy’s eyes were solemn as they studied him. “Is her brother called Charlie, like me?”
“Yes.”
“I know where she is. Follow me.”
Mathew’s heart started thumping hard in his chest again as he followed the young boy. When they reached a particular building, he slipped through a hole, leaving Mathew and Tim to follow. It was dark, but the boy seemed to know where he was going.
“I brought her here to keep her safe until the sun came up, then I was going to lead her home,” Charlie said.
Mathew looked down at the sleeping form, then dropped to his knees beside her. “Patience.” He whispered her name as relief poured through him. She lay curled on her side, asleep in a nest of filthy papers. She’d pushed a dirty blanket aside rather than use it. He brushed a tangled lock of dark hair from her cheek. “Patience.”
She woke suddenly and shot upright.
“It’s all right, sweetheart. It’s me, Mathew.” He reached for her, as she did him. As he crushed her to him, hers arms went around his shoulder, and her head pressed into his neck.
“Mathew,” she whispered, burrowing into him. “You found me.”
“Thank God.” Mathew held her close. “Tell me you are unhurt.”
“Charlie is in danger.” Her breath brushed his skin.
“Both he and Lucy are safe at my house, sweetheart, I promise.” The shudder that ran through her told him she had carried that worry for too long. “We need to get back to the horses now, Patience. Can you walk?” Mathew rose, taking her with him.
“Yes, I think so.”
She released him, and Mathew ran his eyes over her, starting with her pale face. When he touched a lock of her dark hair, he found it still damp.
“You jumped from that window, didn’t you?”
“You went to the building?”
“Yes, and saw the boards you’d pulled away from the window.” Lifting her hands, he studied the torn nails and grazed and bleeding skin. Even in the darkness he could see the effects of the day she had just suffered through. “Such a brave girl.” He managed a smile as slowly the cold, hard knot in his chest started to thaw, then stripped off his jacket and wrapped it around her.
“Fleas,” she tried to push it off. “I-I must be covered in them.”
“I care nothing about a few fleas, Patience, you, however, I care a great deal about.” Mathew helped her arms into the sleeves.
“I-I was terrified.”
“We can talk of this later. For now, you need to get warm and away from this part of London.”
“Charlie?”
“I have told you he is safe, Patience. Trust me.”
She shook her head. “Not that Charlie. The other one.”
“I’m here.” The boy appeared before them, his face solemn, eyes watching their every move.
“Do you have family, Charlie?” Patience bent at the waist to look him in the eye.
“Why?”
Mathew was sure he knew where this was going, but he could not fault her. The boy had obviously saved her, and tugged at her heartstrings. Looking around, Mathew could see why. This was not a fit home for a child, or anyone else.
“Would you like to come home with us and work for me?”
He didn’t look elated at the prospect, but there was curiosity in his eyes just the same. Mathew guessed the boy had not had many opportunities to trust in his lifetime, and he wasn’t about to start now, not without good reason.
“I might.”
“You have my word that you will be safe, and there will be a dry, warm bed for you, and plenty of food.”
She was exhausted, hungry and cold, and he had no idea of the injuries she’d suffered, yet she was still thinking of the boy before herself. Patience Allender had been a sweet, generous child, and it seemed she was an even better adult.
“All right,” the boy said reluctantly.
“Do you wish to bring anything with you, Charlie, or tell anyone you are leaving?” Patience straightened, and Mathew steadied her as she swayed by stepping behind her and bracing her against his chest.
“No.”
How sad that a boy of his age had no possessions or people he treasured.
“Tim, you take the boy, and follow Miss Allender and me.”
“I could find nothing to tell me if I was going in the right or wrong direction,” Patience said, and Mathew had to lower his head to hear her. “I was hopelessly lost, and for the first time in my life I was unsure if I would ever make it home.”
“It matters not. All that matters is that you are safe now.”
“It mattered to me, because I have never felt so helpless before.” She looked around as they moved out of the building. “I had always believed that my wits alone would keep me safe, but here they counted for nothing.”
“This part of London is a world that is very different from ours, Patience.”
She looked up at him. “Yet you would have found your way out of it.”
“Why do you say that?” He wrapped an arm around her waist, pullin
g her close.
“You found me.”
She sounded defeated, and Mathew realized that today had made her feel vulnerable. She had been head of her family for years, had protected and provided for her siblings, and had never doubted her ability to do just that, but being lost and helpless out here had scared her.
“I had help and money to find you. You stayed safe by using your wits, Patience. You jumped from a building, something that not many would have even contemplated, and found the boy to hide you until I could reach you.” Mathew brushed a kiss against her head. “You might have been scared, but you were never helpless, sweetheart.”
She sniffed but said nothing further. With her pressed to his side, they silently made their way back through the streets and lanes to where their horses were waiting. At the Speckled Hen, they stopped briefly to pay the boys who had been looking after the horses more coins. A few of the tavern’s patrons were on the street, watching with enormous curiosity.
“Those people in there were not very helpful,” Patience said, throwing a dark glance at them after Mathew had lifted her onto his horse.
“But the proprietress looks very fetching in your bonnet,” he said, mounting behind her. Settling Patience over his thighs, he eased her back into the shelter of his body. The fact that she didn’t resist told him how tired she was.
“Did she?” Her yawn was wide enough to crack her jaw. She then looked around him to make sure Charlie was seated behind Tim.
“Relax, now. He is there,” Mathew said, nudging his horse in the sides.
She laid her cheek against his chest and sighed. “You are so warm, Mathew. For a while there I feared I would never achieve such a state again.”
He slipped his hand underneath her hair and rubbed her neck, needing to touch her skin, needing the comfort of knowing she was here with him. “Christ I was scared for you.” He said the words into her hair and allowed himself a brief moment to inhale her scent. “Even knowing how strong and resourceful you can be, I was still terrified at the thought of you out here alone.”
“I have known fear before, Mathew, but this…it was crippling. I found a small space in between two buildings when I could run no more, and curled into a ball there. I remember thinking that I had never felt so defenseless. I heard them, the men who were following me. They stood not far from where I was hiding.”
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