“That is true, even if I cannot completely agree with your assessment of Alex,” Hannah said, frowning slightly. “Well, we will just have to be more vigilant at parties and balls. Whoever this man is, he is already trying to figure out who Emily is, if his letters are to be believed. We just need to be on the lookout for a man on the, ah, lookout.”
“I guess that’s the best we can do for now,” Hope agreed.
“What is the best you can do?”
The ladies spun around to see that Lady Lancaster had returned.
Emily thought quickly before answering, “We decided it would be best to change into our disguises over at Hannah’s house. Her staff is the least likely to be curious about it.”
Emily looked at Hannah pleadingly. The last thing she wanted was Lady Lancaster knowing how silly she was being.
Hannah nodded imperceptibly.
“Yes, they are used to strange goings-on at our house,” she agreed.
A dubious look crossed the dowager’s face.
“Very well then. I returned to tell you that we must wrap up our meeting early. I have some inquiries to make regarding clock repair. I shall see you all next week.”
The girls exchanged amused looks but very wisely said nothing as they gathered their belongings and left.
Chapter Five
Few things are as unappreciated as a misguided sense of responsibility.
~The Duke of Lancaster
Two days later, Emily found herself once again walking with a friend to visit someone’s house. This time the friend was Rose and the house was Hannah’s, but Emily still had only one thing on her mind.
Her mystery man.
She and Rose talked ad nauseam about him and the letters, but they were still no closer to identifying the gentleman.
“Don’t you worry,” Rose said. “We will figure it out. Perhaps you should consider asking to meet with him?”
“Oh, I have been considering it,” Emily replied earnestly, “but then I reconsider, and consider, and reconsider again. John is a perfect man on paper, but what if he fails to live up to the idea I have created in my mind? I have enjoyed our correspondence, and I would hate to lose what we currently have. Reality never seems to live up to one’s imagination, don’t you think? So, do I risk losing a friend on the off chance of romance? I just don’t know. I need to decide quickly, though. I have not yet responded to the latest letter, and I fear he will think I have stopped writing to him altogether.”
Rose looked at Emily with sympathy. “You truly do like him, don’t you?”
“I do. For some reason, I really do. I cannot explain it.”
“There is no need for you to explain. Simon and I had a few unexplained feelings ourselves before we realized we were falling in love with each other. We had been betrothed since birth and yet never thought of ourselves as a love match. Love is a funny thing.”
Emily could not argue that. If this was the precursor to love, it would be the craziest love story she could possibly imagine.
“Just think of how you will enjoy telling this story to your children,” Rose said, uncannily mirroring Emily’s thoughts. “It will be a tale for the ages.”
They both sighed in unison and then giggled at their behavior.
“I’m so glad you agreed to come with me today, Rose. I just love you.”
“Well, that is one love that you know is returned, Emily dear.”
Smiling, Emily and Rose walked the remaining block in contented silence.
Emily couldn’t believe she had waited so long to include her friends in her little intrigue. Life was so much better with good friends by one’s side.
As the ladies approached the Pembroke house, they could see Hannah and her husband, William Bredon, the Earl of Pembroke, saying farewell to the local doctor.
Rose looked at Emily with concern, and they rushed to catch Hannah before she shut the door.
“Hannah,” Emily gushed upon reaching the front steps. “Was that the doctor we just saw?”
Hannah smiled and opened the door wider to let her friends into the large entryway.
“Why yes, it was.”
Emily and Rose nodded to William as they waited for the butler to take their pelisses and reticules.
“Is everyone well?” Rose asked with some anxiety.
Hannah glanced at William, and he grinned and nodded.
Laughing, Hannah grabbed Emily and Rose by the hand and began spinning them around.
“I’m with child,” she announced gaily.
“What!” Rose exclaimed.
“You are?” Emily asked, overlapping Rose.
“Yes, William and I are going to have a baby.”
Emily stopped the spinning so that she and Rose could hug Hannah properly. Then they hugged William. And then once more for good measure, they hugged them both again.
“We are so happy for you,” Emily said. “I guess Lady Lancaster was correct.”
“She usually is, but to what are you referring?”
Emily looked at Hannah. “About us all settling down and starting families. Remember, she said that was why she was thinking of recruiting more girls to the Society.”
“Oh, yes. She did say that after Sarah’s mission,” Hannah replied. “I guess I had forgotten.”
“It is sad to think our days in the Society might come to an end,” Rose lamented.
“Oh, tish tosh,” Emily admonished. “We will always be of use to Lady Lancaster. Children or not. Even she said so.”
“Emily is right,” Hannah said, linking her arms with both her friends. “We are not ready to be put out to pasture yet. In fact, you have a job to do today, do you not?”
“Er, that is my cue to leave,” William remarked. “I shall check on you in a bit, my sweet.”
Hannah raised her cheek for a kiss, and William quickly obliged her before heading off toward the back of the house.
Emily watched him leave and felt a small twinge of envy. How nice it must be to be settled, happy, and with child.
“Come girls. I have your disguises in the sitting room.”
Rose and Emily dutifully followed.
…
Alexander strolled into his brother’s house from the back servant’s door. This particular entrance took him directly in the path of the kitchen, where Hannah and William’s cook was generally fixing some meal or another. The cook at the Pembroke house was one of the most excellent chefs in Mayfair.
After stopping for a quick snack, Alex continued on to William’s study, where his brother could usually be found.
“Hello, brother,” he announced as he sauntered into the well-appointed room.
The manly space seemed made of polished wood and brass fittings. The large desk in the middle was dwarfed by the sheer number of bookshelves full of leather-bound tomes. William was nothing, if not well-read.
Something he and his lovely wife had in common.
William looked up with a pleased smile.
“Alex! To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”
A warmth filled Alexander’s chest at hearing the sincerity in William’s voice. Their relationship had come a long way, but Alex could still remember the days when he and the elder Bredon couldn’t even stand being in the same room.
He supposed he had Hannah and her friends to thank for giving him back his brother. His best friend, David Rochester, was instrumental as well. If the two of them hadn’t gotten themselves and their other friend Simon Trumbull into such hot water, Hannah and the Garden Society would have never gotten involved. Without Hannah looking after her brother, David, and William looking after him, surely Alex and David and Simon would all have been hung.
To be fair, though, if it hadn’t been for the ill-advised smuggling scheme, Hannah and William may never have met and fallen in love. Alex liked to think that made them square.
“No reason in particular,” Alexander replied, perching himself on the corner of the desk. He picked up a carved duck—mallard,
he thought—and began tossing it back and forth between his hands.
William reached up and caught the figurine in mid toss, then placed it back where Alex had found it.
“Well, as it happens, I am glad you are here.”
“Oh?” Alexander said, moving from the desk to the leather chair directly across from William.
“Yes. Hannah and I have just learned some wonderful news.”
“Do tell.”
William looked at him with a full-fledged grin, and Alex sat up a little straighter. This must be good news indeed.
“We are to have a baby.”
Alexander felt an overwhelming happiness for his brother and sister-in-law and could not help leaping to his feet and flying around the desk. He pulled his brother in for a hearty hug.
“That is fantastic news,” he exclaimed. “Does Mother know?”
William chuckled. “Yes, she and Hannah’s mother were the first to hear our suspicions. The doctor they brought over to confirm our hunch just left.”
Alexander looked around.
“Where are the lovely mothers? With Hannah?”
“No, no,” William said with amusement. “They left to begin shopping as soon as they heard the news. I doubt there will be any nursery items left in any shop in London by the time they have finished.”
Laughing, Alex had to agree. This would be the first grandchild for both ladies, and there was no doubt it would be spoiled rotten.
“Hannah, then? I must tell her congratulations.”
“Hannah is entertaining at the moment.”
“Ah, celebrating with her friends?” Alexander surmised. He thought he had felt a familiar crackling in the air when he came into the house. It was a feeling he specifically associated with Emily Moss. “Are they all here?”
“Not all,” William replied. “Just Emily and Rose. But they are here for Society business, not the baby. Although I am quite sure there will be many future gatherings regarding our upcoming blessing, to be sure.”
Alexander murmured something appropriate in response, but he was distracted by the business Emily and Rose may be getting up to.
“Do you think they need any help?”
“Who? Emily and Rose?” William asked.
Alexander nodded.
William shrugged. “I should think they would ask if they did. They have never been shy about involving us in their crazy schemes before.”
His brother made a good point, but Alex was bored. It had been longer than usual since he had received a letter from his graveyard friend, and his estate was running like clockwork. He supposed he could go to White’s gentleman’s club and have a drink or two, but he found the life of leisure less satisfying than it had been previously.
Alex knew he would receive no end of ribbing if he spoke that thought out loud to his brother. His previous career as a roguish wastrel was the source of great amusement to his family and even his friends, though David and Simon had once been rakes themselves.
“I think I will go find David and Simon and share this lovely news,” Alex said finally. And perhaps he would…eventually. “Is it all right if I tell them?”
“Yes, yes, of course,” William replied easily. “I plan to shout it from the rooftop later—or at the very least, put an announcement in the paper—so everyone is bound to find out soon enough.”
“Excellent. Then I’ll be off.”
Alexander shook his brother’s hand once more and then left the room. He did not, however, leave the house. He was going to find out more about what Rose and Emily were doing.
He crept through the halls of the great manse as quietly as he could, not wanting his brother to catch him still in the house. The ladies could be in any of the rooms, including Hannah’s own bedchamber, but he rather thought they would be in one of the sitting rooms.
He found the girls on his third attempt. He was about to announce his presence when he heard his name. He paused to listen.
“Do you think you should take one of the men along? I think I heard Alex rummaging around in the kitchens earlier,” Hannah was saying.
“No,” Emily replied, a hair too quickly for his taste. “I don’t think we will be in any real danger.”
“You are probably correct, but be on your guard nonetheless. It is a good plan, though. Lady Lancaster has outdone herself.”
“Yes. If we do everything just right, Mrs. Young herself won’t know what happened, and that horrid little rat of a landlord will be none the wiser.”
Alexander recognized the third speaker as Rose, but he couldn’t believe the timid girl was saying such things.
“All she will know is that she will no longer have to fear that puny scoundrel.”
Apparently Emily was not a fan of the landlord, either. Alex could not fathom what he was hearing. What were these ladies planning to do? It could be dangerous to confront a full-grown man, despite his size or stature.
Alex stood there debating whether he should intervene when suddenly he heard them coming his way. He dodged across the hall to hide behind a tall bushy plant that really needed some trimming. He knew from experience, the ladies did not take kindly to eavesdropping, even if it were unintentional.
As he watched the three girls walk toward the front entry, chattering away unsuspectingly, Alexander made up his mind. He would follow them and make sure they didn’t get into any trouble. If they didn’t, then they would never need to know about his accompanying them. If they did, he could jump in and play hero. He hoped saving them would be enough for them to forgive his impudence. It was probably a bad idea to follow them unannounced, but it seemed safer than trying to explain why he wanted to come along in the first place.
Yes, he wanted to make sure they would be all right, but mostly he just wanted to keep his mind off his letter-writing friend. But he could not tell Emily and Rose that. Emily especially would not let him live down what she was sure to consider foolishness. The truth was, the Society ladies had proven themselves more than capable in a pinch. They were probably right to think they could do this minor thing alone, but Alex had made up his mind. Consequences be damned.
He circled back the way he had come and out the back door. He made his way to the stables and mounted his horse. He was suddenly very glad he chose to ride over to his brother’s house instead of walking. Divines were on his side for once.
He nudged his horse slowly toward the main street, but stopped just shy of emerging from the carriage drive. He could see Rose and Emily, dressed as lowly housemaids, getting into a hired hack. Apparently, they were perpetrating this caper in full disguise.
“They must be heading to the city,” Alexander muttered. “Carry on then, ladies.”
And with that, Alexander committed himself to following that hack wherever it may lead.
Chapter Six
I firmly believe that those in the service of a great and good cause shall rarely fail.
~The Duke of Lancaster
Alex followed the hack all the way to the east end of London. To say it was seedy would have been too kind.
By the time the hack had come to a stop in front of a large tenement house, he was seriously rethinking his action. Neither Emily nor Rose would appreciate his being there. But he had come this far—might as well follow through with the folly. A small band of beggars waylaid his pursuit slightly. He paid them a tuppence apiece to watch his horse and then hurried toward the rundown habitation in pursuit of his charges.
He was overwhelmed by the stench and condition of the building where families were meant to live. The state of the place did nothing to change his mind about the wisdom of his plan. Alexander nearly turned around to leave right then and there; however, an internal voice told him to wait. Whether good or bad, my intuition is telling me that there is a reason I am here at this moment.
Alex’s inner voice didn’t speak up often, but when it did he knew better than to ignore it.
His mind made up, he once again found himself looking for a hiding
spot in a relatively bare hallway.
…
Emily and Rose were handling their deception quite well, in Emily’s opinion. The landlord wasn’t particularly happy about showing the two girls around, but the promise of three months’ rent up front was apparently more than he could resist.
It wasn’t long before he was leading them to the floor on which the Young family lived. Emily was anxious to complete their task and was beginning to get a little anxious. A few times now, she was sure she saw someone skulking behind them out of the corner of her eye, but when she looked fully there was no one there.
She couldn’t imagine why someone would be following them, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. It was almost identical to the feeling she would get when Alex was close, but that was ridiculous. What possible reason would Alexander have for being there?
She almost laughed at the thought.
“Mr. Jones,” Emily said instead, as they were approaching Mrs. Young’s rooms, “do you think it would be possible to meet one of your tenants?”
“Oh yes,” Rose chimed in, right on cue. “That would be lovely.”
“Meet one of my renters?” Jones said in his cockney accent, wringing his hands. “I, ah, don’t believe any of ’em to be ’ome.”
“Not home,” Emily repeated, leaning innocently toward a very particular door. “But I hear voices.”
“Voices, eh?” The landlord grunted. “Well, I s’pose it wouldn’t ’urt to knock.”
Emily plastered a grateful smile on her face, and Rose followed suit. They stood aside as the dirty, odoriferous man pounded on the flimsy door.
A second later it swung open, and Mrs. Young looked out at the trio fearfully. From behind her skirts peeked the tiny faces of a small girl and boy.
“I already told you, Mr. Jones, I don’t have your money yet—” Mrs. Young began. She broke off when she saw Emily. “Emily?”
A Rogue for Emily (Lady Lancaster Garden Society) Page 6
