A piece of material flapping in the breeze near the wagon’s seat caught her attention. Allowing herself a few seconds to investigate, she lurched into motion and nearly squealed with delight when she saw the material was an old blanket. It was no bigger than a shawl, coarse, and grimy, but it meant warmth. She flung the material around her shoulders, thankful for the warmth, and ran again toward Jim. When she tired, fear for him drove her feet on even when exhaustion threatened to overtake her.
Pre-dawn glowed in the sky when she reached the edge of Bristol where the steam works lay. Fires burned in the yard and the dark shadows of men moved amongst them. She was near exhaustion and her feet were bloody and sore when she entered at the main gate. She expected someone to ask her to identify herself, but no one stood guard. Inside the works, she made for Jim’s office in the main building, but it was empty.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw The Iron Lady still rode peacefully in the water. Guards stood at the gangplank and gaslights burned on deck. But any second, everything could change. She descended the hill at a run, sliding to a stop in front of the first guard.
“There’s a bomb on board,” she said, gasping for air. “Let me on so I can search for it.”
“How’d you get in the works?” The sentry demanded, looking at her tattered blanket and messy hair. “Go on home with you.”
“Get Mr. Ferguson,” she switched tactics, realizing how she must appear. “I have to speak with him.”
“Mr. Ferguson’s busy. He doesn’t have time for the likes of you.”
“I need to speak with him,” she insisted, hoping he was nearby.
“What’s the problem?” A voice from the deck reached them.
“Mr. McGregor?” With relief, Ella recognized Jim’s foreman. “It’s Lady Ella. I must speak to Mr. Ferguson.”
Mr. McGregor stared at her open-mouthed, recognition registering on his face. He took a whistle from his pocket and blasted three long, shrill sounds. All other noise ceased on the boat and in the yard. Jim shot out of the crowd, taking the hill on a dead run.
“What is it?” He demanded, careening to a stop near Ella, but not recognizing her although she stood only a foot from him. The early sun showed the bristle on his face and shadows under his eyes. His collar was open, and his coat flapped around him. She hadn’t seen him since the night in her room and the strain had taken a toll on him.
“Look,” Mr. McGregor said, pointing at her.
His confused gaze swung in her direction. She tried to smile at him. A flicker of emotion crossed his face before his arms circled her, hauling her against him. He didn’t kiss her but held her tight with his head bent down to hers.
“I love you,” he whispered in her ear. “I promised myself I’d say that first when I found you.”
“I found you,” she corrected, almost laughing at the strangeness of their reunion, “but I love you too.” Tilting her head back, she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him until a volley of hoots went up from the gathered men.
Jim put a slight distance between them, keeping hold of her hand. “What happened? Are you hurt? We searched for you all night. Where are your clothes?” His expression grew stony with his questions. With the increasing light, his eyes took in the marks on her neck and cheek. Involuntarily, she laid a hand on the raw wounds at her throat. “Did Spencer have anything to do with your disappearance?” he growled, reaching to pull away her fingers. “I swear if he touched you….”
She locked gazes with him. “I’m fine. Just bruises,” she whispered, loving him more for his anger at Spencer. “I’ll tell you everything later, but we have to search the ship now. There’s a bomb on board. He plans for the ship to explode during the maiden voyage today.”
“No, we’ve controlled access…” He stopped when she shook her head. “You’re right. We’ll search, but I’m sending you to the cottage. You need to rest and—”
“I’m staying with you,” she countered, having gone through too much to not see this to the end.
“It’s not safe here.” His worry, though lessening, still showed on his face. “I’ll come to you. I promise.” He said the last softly, giving her the reassurance she no longer needed.
She laughed aloud this time. It came out hoarse after her long night, but it was still laughter. “I believe you, but I swam in freezing water and ran miles wearing this,” she fingered her blanket, “to warn you. I’m staying.”
Chapter Nineteen
Over the next few hours, Jim alerted Annabelle and Edmund of Ella’s safety, dispatched men to the boat where Ella had been held to apprehend her kidnappers, who turned out to be two of his recent hires, and searched The Iron Lady from stern to bow. They found two small devices cleverly placed in the engine room where an explosion would cause maximum damage. Through it all, Ella remained at his side. Beautiful, exhausted, but his.
Leaving his most trusted men to guard and ready the ship, he loaded Ella in a carriage for the short drive to the cottage. They’d return to the yard later in the afternoon for the launch and maiden voyage, but he wanted time with Ella. Time to explain about his past and try to make the future right.
Edmund and Annabelle were dealing with the admirals now, and he’d have to soon. But he wanted Ella to know the truth first. She could opt to support him or leave him to his fate. He’d understand if her decision was the latter choice, but he wasn’t keeping secrets from her.
He couldn’t bring himself to start the conversation in the carriage so he wrapped his arms around her and held her to him, wishing he could soften every bump for her. In broad daylight, her bruises were more apparent, spiking an almost irrational anger. Part of him wanted to hunt Spencer down, the miserable bastard, and give him ten bruises for each one of Ella’s. He tamped his vengeance down. Taking care of Ella and having an honest conversation with her were more important. Then, he’d see Spencer got everything he deserved.
At the cottage, Ella waved away her maid and let Jim support her as they climbed the stairs. He planned to let her rest from her ordeal before telling her that he wasn’t the man she thought he was. But when she turned into her room and left her door open in invitation, he decided not everything could be controlled or planned. He entered her room, closing the door behind him.
He’d given her his overcoat in place of her blanket at the works. Now she let the garment slip to the floor, revealing her ruined chemise. She smiled at him when she pulled the chemise over her head, revealing the long, slim lines of her body. Her ivory skin glowed in the morning sunshine that streamed through the windows.
“Bed?” She suggested with a glance over her shoulder as she slipped between the covers.
He couldn’t think of the past or the future as he joined her. All he wanted was to make love with her to satisfy them both. When she cried out his name with her release and whispered her love as exhaustion wrapped them both in sleep, nothing else mattered.
****
“Wake up,” she gently shook him from his slumber, afternoon light reaching through the windows. “It’s past one.” Despite her reminder, she gave no sign of leaving the bed as she snuggled closer to him. “I suppose we should dress and return to the works.”
“Not yet,” he said, coming fully awake now. “I need to tell you…I have to ask you.” He stopped, not sure where to start so he rolled to face her, finding her hand amongst the tangle of sheets and raising it to his lips.
“You have to ask me to marry you?” She teased him. “I can guarantee the answer so there’s no need to look so serious.”
“You haven’t heard what I have to say yet, and since our marriage is…unavoidable now, I want you to know everything about me.”
“I know everything I need to know.” She kissed him softly on the lips. Her rosy scent lingered on her skin despite the ordeal of the night.
“No, you don’t.” He wanted to find comfort in her words, but they weren’t true. “I’ve kept things hidden from you. Things that could destroy your o
pinion of me.”
“Things like your name is James Crandall?”
“You know? How?” He hadn’t expected the tremor that ran through him when she used his real name.
“It’s amazing what one can find out by putting questions to the right sources,” she said mysteriously.
“It’s James Ferguson Crandall.”
“Ah, I like it, but it doesn’t matter to me what your name is or why you changed it. I love you the same.” She stroked his cheeks, watching him closely. “But you have to tell me, don’t you?”
He nodded, prepared to share his story. “It started with a strike at a manufacturing business in London.”
“A business owned by Lord Spencer’s father?”
“Yes, how…?”
“Go on. I want the story from you. I’ve already heard two other versions.”
Confused by her statement, he began. “It was a miserable place to work. The conditions were terrible. We asked for an investigation by the fair labor board, then everything got worse. Longer hours, suspicious fires, suddenly faulty equipment, which caused accidents. The board’s investigation moved so slowly and every day brought more danger, so I convinced my fellow workers to strike.”
“Did it become violent?”
“Yes, but not from the workers,” he struggled to get the words out, still feeling guilty about what had happened. “A supposed labor support group joined us in a show of solidarity and that’s when it turned ugly. The Royal Guardsmen were called in to quell the strike, fighting broke out, resulting in injuries on both sides.”
“And you think yourself responsible for this?”
“I encouraged my fellow workers to strike. I never expected it to escalate to that point.” He waited for her to pass judgment on him.
“How does the fire at your family’s inn connect to the strike?”
Her question shocked him. “How do you know about that?”
“A very kind watchmaker filled me in on some details of your past. He said…” Her voice trembled, “he said you had to dig through the rubble to find your mother.”
Jim rolled onto his back and closed his eyes, the image of his mother’s charred body again in his mind. It took him a moment to realize Ella’s head rested on his chest and her arms stretched around him. How he deserved her he didn’t know, but he took what she generously offered.
“Lord Spencer claimed you’d set it,” she whispered, “but I knew you couldn’t have. Did he start the fire?”
“More likely his father hired it done, but I couldn’t prove it. So I did what I had to do to protect Belinda and myself. We lived under assumed names and moved away from London. Through your brother, we met Edmund who gave me a second chance as an engineer, but it might not matter now.”
“Why?” She tilted her head up, resting her chin on his chest.
“The Admiralty arrived yesterday with questions about my involvement in the strike.”
“But the ship’s built.”
“Only the prototype. I told Edmund to fire me if he needs to. I don’t want to see him lose the contract over me.”
“Edmund would never fire you,” she declared with absolute faith in what she said. “He wants you to be his partner. You practically are his partner.”
“He may not get a choice. If that’s the case, I have little to offer you. I’ve cost you your fortune and dowry, and I can’t even offer you my real name.” He thought telling her about his past would be the hardest part, but knowing he may have dragged her down stung more. “I’m sorry, Ella, truly sorry that I’ve made you a part of this mess. I wish I could do something to fix it.”
“You could propose,” she suggested.
“Now? Here?”
“Seems an appropriate time and place. Very appropriate.” Ella walked her fingers over the muscles of his chest.
She didn’t care, he realized, about any of it. Everything he imagined separated them, meant nothing to her. She was happy with his love. Now, he had only to ask and she would be his. “Lady Ella Harwich, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
“Yes,” she said, her body moving over his as she stretched to kiss him.
****
Ella took her time dressing for the maiden voyage after Jim left to meet with the Admiralty prior to the launch. His nervousness had little effect on her. She trusted Jim and trusted Admirals Lawson and Huntley to appreciate his merits regardless of what may have occurred in the past.
When she’d outfitted herself in a high-collared gown of blue wool, she descended to the drawing room to join Annabelle and make the trip to the works.
“Operation Ella appears to be a success,” the voice of her elder brother came from the room. Surprised at his presence and his reference to her name, she crept closer to the door to listen. “I had my doubts, but I commend you for your patience. When I got the letter from Jim, I appreciated your master plan.”
“All it took was time, proximity, and the right type of motivation,” Annabelle said, “although I wasn’t planning on the events of the past twenty-four hours. Kidnapping and bombs were not part of Operation Ella.”
“Explosions have always accompanied Ella and now she’s Jim Ferguson’s problem and I couldn’t be happier. To success.” The clink of teacups followed Richard’s words.
“Operation Ella?” Her elder siblings’ cups rattled to the table when she appeared in the doorway. “What is Operation Ella?” She kept her tone mockingly serious.
“Getting you married off to the only man likely to make you happy and gaining peace in my household,” Richard quipped, rising to come toward her and kiss her cheek. “You are happy, yes?”
“Yes, but…you planned….”
“Not planned,” Annabelle clarified, “we made opportunities possible for you and Jim.” Her suspicions at the house party months ago suddenly made sense. Jim’s invitation to that event and Richard’s permission allowing her to go to London and later Bath was all part of their master plan. Even her tenure in Jim’s cottage must have been done with her family’s approval.
“I thought you disliked Jim,” Ella accused Richard.
“Part of the plan. You’ve always done the opposite of what I preferred, so we took advantage of it.”
“But you threatened to…” She replayed the scene in her bedroom at Oakwood Manor. “It was just a test. I suspected that.”
“And you both passed. Jim has many fine qualities. He’s smart, hard-working, and willing to put up with you.”
“I…I.” Ella gave up trying to put her feelings into words. She flung her arms around her siblings, hauling them in for a hug.
“Mary sends her love,” Richard extracted himself, “and regrets that she couldn’t be here for the finale.”
“Mary! The baby! How are they?” Ella kissed her brother’s cheek in congratulations.
“They are well, but we will be late if we don’t start for the works now.” Richard resumed his formal manner. “I want to see the ship sail, give your future husband my blessing, and start home tonight. In the carriage, ladies.”
****
From the gangplank, Ella’s eyes found Jim on deck. He leaned against the rail, speaking with the younger of the admirals. The ship, polished and immaculate around him, and the smile on his face told her what she needed to know. All was well.
Waving to her when she caught his eye, he came to help her on board, her entrance on the ship so different from the frantic search for the bomb early this morning. Now, appropriately dressed and formally engaged to Jim, she was ready to enjoy The Iron Lady’s maiden voyage.
“I have news,” he said softly while taking her arm to stroll around the deck. “Spencer was apprehended when he tried to board a ship for France. He’s been turned over to the government and charged with treason, as have my two former employees who were your kidnappers.”
Deckhands prepared to cast off from the dock and the deck vibrated with the power of the engine beneath. Only one thing remained to be resolved.
“And your meeting with the admirals went well?”
“Yes, they’re pleased with the ship and, through the intercession of Edmund and the capture of Spencer, my reputation’s intact. I can offer at least that when I speak to your brother.” Jim nodded to Richard who was coming on board with Annabelle.
“Don’t worry about Richard,” she said, saving for later the nature of her family’s plot. “He’ll come around more quickly than you’d expect.”
“If you say so. I’ve also accepted Edmund’s offer of a partnership,” he added, just as the ship’s horn blasted.
“You did?” Not caring who saw them, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I’m so pleased for you,” she whispered against his lips.
“For us,” he corrected, as his hands slipped around her waist. “It does come with one complication. We plan to double the size of the steam works in the next year, so I’m going to be busier than ever.” His tone was apologetic, but happy.
“Will you need my assistance?”
“I’ll always need you.” He brushed his lips against her cheek as the ship moved away from the dock.
Epilogue
December 24, 1858
Christmas Eve and my wedding day. I haven’t seen Jim in nearly a week as he remained at Bristol, and I returned to my brother’s home in the country to plan the wedding. I heard him arrive late last night but won’t see him until we exchange our vows this morning. For once, I have the patience to wait.
Annabelle and Belinda will come help me dress soon, but I have a moment alone to think about my happiness and admire the beautiful gown Annabelle’s shop made for me. In this gorgeous creation of ivory satin, I’ll become Mrs. James Ferguson Crandall. Sigh… I deserve one last silly girl sigh. I worked hard to get Jim to the altar and I plan to enjoy every minute of today.
Unforgettable Heroes II Boxed Set Page 209
