A Notorious Love

by Sabrina Jeffries

  A heavy silence weighted the musty air of the cavern, smothering him. Daniel wondered if he’d ever be able to breathe again. His hand dropped away from Jolly Roger’s neck, and he stumbled back a pace. The past was choking him, welling up from wherever he’d banished it, and the pain was so intense he was drowning in it, trying to claw his way back into the light and the air.

  All this because of his bastard of a father. He’d never hated Wild Danny Brennan as much as he did now.

  The other men seemed unsure what to do. With bewilderment and betrayal etched in his aging features, Jack stared accusingly at Crouch.

  But Crouch didn’t notice, for he’d already faced Daniel. Tears glinted in his eyes—an old man’s tears, filled with regret. Daniel had never seen the man come close to crying. Never.

  “Don’t it mean nothing to you that I came after you?” Crouch whispered. “That I took you out of the workhouse?”

  “Yes,” Helena put in stoutly, “you hurried right back for him, didn’t you? You left him in that workhouse for three years! He was only a boy!”

  Helena’s fierce protests on his behalf soothed some of the ache in Daniel’s heart.

  But they made Crouch blanch. “When I left Essex, I thought my family would look after him.” He cast Daniel an imploring glance. “Believe me, Danny, I was in no condition to take a boy with me. It was only later that I heard roundabout how they’d abandoned you to the workhouse. Bloody arses.” He sucked in a tortured breath. “But I’m sorry I didn’t come for you sooner. I thought you were being taken care of, or I would’ve never left Molly’s boy to…” He trailed off, unable to go on.

  “When you finally did get around to coming for me, why the devil didn’t you tell me I was your nephew, you bloody sot?” Daniel choked out, years of suppressed hurt and anger oozing to the surface. “All those years, pretending, lying to me—”

  “You would’ve hated me, and you know it. You were always yearning so for your parents. I was sure you’d go prying one day into what happened, and when you found out you’d never forgive me. I couldn’t tell you, Danny Boy. And to speak true, although I was angry when you first chose Knighton over me, I didn’t do naught about it because I knew he’d give you a future, make something of you. You deserved a better life than what I could offer.”

  Daniel stiffened. “Oh? Then why did you come back and try to ruin it, using me to pry money out of him? Why kidnap an innocent girl?”

  A peevish look crossed his face. “I never claimed to be no saint.” Resentment flared in his eyes. “Besides, it made me angry that you never returned. Ten years, and you forgot all about us. I thought it was time I reminded you—and him—that I was the one who had you first, who gave you a chance long before he came along.” He hunched one shoulder. “Then he treated me no better than a villain and had me tossed into the street.”

  “That’s what happens when you act like a villain,” Daniel retorted, fists clenching.

  “All the same, it wouldn’t have hurt that arse to give me a bit of blunt, to throw me a bone now and then. He has all the money he needs and then some, made for him by you and your clever mind.”

  There was a wealth of bitterness in his tone, and Daniel suddenly realized why. Crouch envied Griff for more than his money; he envied him for garnering Daniel’s loyalty and respect. No doubt it had frustrated Crouch not to be able to admit his blood ties to Daniel. Not to mention that he’d lost the benefit of having Daniel’s “clever mind” at his disposal, which must have grated on him.

  “Trust me,” Daniel responded, “I may have done my part for Griff, but he earned every penny of his money.” And my respect and loyalty, something you never sought until you lost it. “He had a right to do what he wished with his fortune. What’s more, he didn’t earn it by kidnapping young women or attempting blackmail. He did it by hard work, by facing up to his responsibilities.”

  Daniel’s implication was lost on Crouch, unfortunately. The old man scowled at him. “I only wanted enough money to go away, that’s all. Jack can tell you that.”

  “Yes, he already did.” Daniel glanced at Helena, whose lovely features were marked with worry, for her sister, for him. “But you involved innocent people in it, Uncle, and that’s crossing the line.”

  Crouch stiffened, his face as implacable as Daniel remembered from his boyhood. “So you’re passing judgment on me, are you, boy? Your own flesh and blood, who done his best to see that you had a good life? You think to hand me over to the excisemen and watch me hang?”

  “No.” Daniel took a shuddering breath. “Unlike you, I have some respect for blood ties. But that doesn’t mean I’ll let you go on wreaking havoc in my life. You’ve had a good run of it, Uncle. Now accept that it’s all come to an end. Time for you to retire to France as you planned. As long as you stay there, you can end your days in peace.”

  “Danny, if you won’t let me have the ransom and you won’t let me free trade—” Crouch began.

  “Knowing you, there’s a nest egg somewhere you can use to set yourself up. It’s probably not as plump as you’d like, but it’ll have to do. And I’m damned well not going to have you staying in England, plotting new ways to bedevil me and mine.”

  “My boys won’t let you do this to me,” Crouch grumbled.

  Daniel glanced up to see Crouch’s men standing hesitant, some of them clearly still shocked by the revelations of Crouch’s betrayal of Daniel’s parents. “Oh, I think they’ll do whatever I say. Especially when they hear that a package is on its way to London with sketches of Jack’s house, Jack’s face, the faces of some of your men, a few little tidbits about your free-trading operation, and a full account of the kidnapping and who was responsible for it. Griff should be receiving it about now.”

  The men started grumbling.

  “You’re bluffing,” Crouch spat.

  “Not at all. Jack, do you remember the sketch of Pryce you found in my coat pocket when you took me?” Daniel called over to him.

  “Yes, Danny,” Jack said in a curiously muted voice.

  “My wife drew that. She’s quite talented. She drew the other sketches, too, and I assure you they’re good enough likenesses to send all of you to Newgate. That maid from the Stag Inn was obliging enough to agree to carry them to London for a price.”

  Jack’s sigh made it clear that he remembered only too well all the ruckus they’d made over “her,” and had figured out why.

  “Griff’s instructions are to use that information however he can if Juliet and Helena and I don’t return within the week.” Daniel let his gaze play over the men. “But as long as all of you leave me and mine alone, I swear I’ll never let him use it. You can go on free trading until you rot.” He lowered his voice to a threatening growl. “But if you ever again perpetrate any scheme like this against me and my family, or Griff and his family, you can be sure I’ll have you all turned over to the excisemen in a heartbeat. And I’ve got plenty of evidence to do it, believe me.”

  “It’s all right, m’boy, you’ve convinced us,” Jack put in. “The rest of them had naught to do with the planning anyway. And none of us is gonna stop you.”

  Daniel took a pistol from Helena. “As for you, Uncle, I’m personally putting you on a packet boat to France. And if I ever see you in England again or hear that you’ve returned, it’ll be your neck, do you understand?”

  Crouch turned and shot his men a look of mute appeal, but they were no fools. Grumbling about “Crouch and his mad schemes,” they wandered back to their tasks. Even Big Antony lumbered off to join them.

  “All right, Danny,” Crouch complained, “looks like you’ve won. I hope you’re pleased with yourself.”

  “That isn’t exactly how I’d term it,” Daniel muttered as he took Crouch’s arm and led him back toward the tunnel to the house.

  As they passed Jack, the older man stepped up to Daniel. “P’raps you’d come visit once in a while, Danny? Just for old time’s sake.”

  Daniel smiled sadly at
Jack. “P’raps.”

  Jack jerked his thumb toward Crouch. “Don’t be too hard on him, m’boy. He was only trying to look out for his kin.”

  Daniel glanced at Helena, who had endured insults, threats, kidnapping, and bullying to save her kin.

  “That might be true. But some people risk their lives and future to do it. They accept their mistakes and don’t try to avoid the consequences of their cowardice.”

  Jack could make no answer to that, because there was none.

  And as Daniel ushered Helena and Crouch up out of the caverns toward the light and air, he realized that having a murky past wasn’t what shackled a man. It was how the man chose to deal with it. As long as Daniel didn’t choose Crouch’s way of dealing with it, he ought to remain free of shackles for the rest of his life.

  Chapter 21

  Tumultuous tides his pulses roll,

  A faltering, ardent kiss he stole…

  “On a Bank of Flowers,”

  ballad by Robert Burns

  Juliet and Morgan stood hidden in an alley where they could watch Jack Seward’s house without being seen. Juliet trained her gaze anxiously on the door, and if Morgan hadn’t prevented it, she would have rushed over and inside, down to the tunnel he said was in the basement.

  “Oh, Morgan, they’re taking too long. Are you sure it will be all right? I would never have let you drag me out of there if I’d thought—”

  “Don’t worry, your friend Brennan seemed an enterprising sort. He was well on his way to extricating himself from the situation. We’ll give them a bit more time, and if they don’t come out, I’ll go in after them. One thing I’m fairly certain of—Crouch won’t hurt them.”

  He sounded as worried as she, which surprised her. But then, everything he’d done had surprised her.

  She gazed up at him, lower lip trembling. “If Crouch hadn’t given you what you wanted, would you have…I mean, you said you’d try to get a ransom from Griff—”

  “Haven’t you ever heard of bluffing, my dear?” Morgan’s gaze snapped to hers. “I had to threaten to take away something he really wanted—the ransom—to get what I wanted.”

  “And if he hadn’t fallen for it?” she whispered.

  He smiled down at her. “I’d be mad as hell. But we’d still be standing here, waiting for your friends.”

  Despite everything, his words made her heart leap. Oh, how could she be so foolish? “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why did you kidnap me, then refuse to give me over to them?”

  “Crouch has had his mind set on kidnapping you for weeks. I thought that if I were the one to do it, I could—” He broke off, a cynical smile touching his lips. “And it did seem the perfect way to make Crouch tell me what I’d been trying to get out of him.”

  “Yes, but what did it mean, all that about July seventeenth and the ship?”

  His expression grew shuttered as he swung his gaze back to the door. “Nothing that concerns you.”

  “I have a right to know!” she protested. “You…you enticed me away from my family, you kidnapped me for some secret purpose, and now you won’t even tell me what it is? I could be ruined forever. Everyone in London might know of my elopement, and when I come back unmarried…” She swallowed. “The least you can do is tell me why.”

  A muscle jumped in his taut cheek, but he merely said, “By thunder, Brennan, what’s taking you so long? You had two Manton flintlocks and a knife at your disposal—you should have been out by now.”

  He was evading her questions as he always did, the wretch.

  “Morgan—” she began.

  “Look!” he interrupted, gesturing to the house.

  She turned to see the door to Jack’s house open and Helena limp out, blinking in the bright sun. Daniel quickly followed, shoving Crouch out ahead of him.

  Relief brightened Morgan’s features. “I told you he’d manage it.” He gazed down at Juliet. “I told you.”

  “Yes, you did,” she said quietly, wondering what would happen to Morgan now. Not that she wanted any more to do with him after what he’d done. And yet…

  “It’s time for you to go, sweeting.” For a moment, his gaze trailed almost greedily over her face, as if he were trying to fix it in his mind.

  “I suppose I ought to thank you,” she whispered.

  “For what?”

  “For keeping your promise. You said you’d protect me, and you did.”

  His eyes darkened. “You once asked me to kiss you. Since this is good-bye…”

  Without warning, he clasped her close and kissed her hard, as no man ever had, as if he wanted to make sure she never forgot it. There was no likelihood of that. His kiss scrambled all her insides, confusing her feelings toward him even more.

  When he drew back, raw hunger flickered in his gaze. “Have a good life, Lady Juliet.”

  She stared at him, not sure what to say, how to react.

  Then Helena’s voice penetrated her haze. “Juliet! Where are you? Juliet!”

  “Go on,” Morgan said, almost harshly, giving her a little push. “They’re waiting.”

  That was all it took. Juliet whirled and ran from the alley toward her sister. “Helena!” she cried. “I’m here, I’m here!”

  The two of them met in a fierce hug, crying and laughing like little girls. As Daniel stood beaming at them, Helena clasped her so close that Juliet could hardly breathe.

  “I’m all right,” Juliet whispered. “Truly I am.”

  Helena held her at arm’s length. “He didn’t hurt you?”

  “No, not a bit.” He’d bruised her pride perhaps, but that was all. “Morgan watched out for me the whole time. I’m fine, I swear it!”

  “And he didn’t…you aren’t…”

  It took a second to figure out what Helena was trying to discover. “No! No, nothing like that! He didn’t even kiss—” She broke off. “That is, he treated me with all respect, almost as if I were his sister.” Almost. That final, searing kiss still lingered on her lips.

  Helena scanned the road behind her. “Where is the villain, anyway?”

  Juliet turned. “He was right—” A keen disappointment settled in her chest to find the alley empty. “Right there. But he’s gone now.”

  A short time later, Helena sat with Juliet in a private room at the Hastings Arms, waiting while Daniel made travel arrangements downstairs. To her surprise, Mr. Seward had followed them outside the cavern to give them the belongings he’d confiscated at their capture, including Daniel’s purse, still intact. He’d also offered Daniel the use of his horses for the return to London. Daniel had declined, but she could tell he’d been warmed by the offer.

  For herself, she suspected that Crouch’s revelations had badly shaken Mr. Seward. They’d certainly shaken her. Although Crouch’s tale had gained him a tiny bit of her sympathy, it hadn’t negated his abominable actions in ordering the kidnapping of her sister.

  She searched Juliet’s features, but could see nothing to indicate that Mr. Pryce had harmed her. That didn’t mean, however, that he hadn’t, and the thought made her heart twist in her chest.

  “Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked for what she knew was the tenth time at least.

  “I’m quite well. I promise.” Juliet patted her hand.

  “I only wish that scoundrel hadn’t run off,” Helena grumbled. “I could happily wring his neck for what he did to you.”

  When Juliet remained silent, Helena frowned. The girl had been adamant that no one was to pursue Mr. Pryce. She’d insisted that his behavior at the end redeemed his other actions.

  In Helena’s mind, it didn’t in the least. But that would be a matter for discussion with Griff. Right now, the most important thing was getting home safely.

  Juliet shifted in her chair and eyed Helena curiously. “By the way, what was all that nonsense in the cavern about you being Daniel’s wife?”

  Lord, she’d forgotten about that. “Daniel…er…that is…he t
old people we were married while we were on the road. He did it to protect my reputation.”

  “That was very clever of him.”

  “Yes, very,” she said wryly. She hesitated to reveal that she might actually become Mrs. Brennan. First she wanted to be sure that Daniel still meant to marry her. Despite their lovemaking last night, he hadn’t exactly renewed his proposal.

  The parlor door opened just then, sparing her any more of Juliet’s embarrassing questions. Daniel entered with Crouch in tow. “The mail coach to London comes through in a few minutes, and I’ve booked passage for the two of you.”

  “Aren’t we going to Dover with you?” Helena said apprehensively.

  Daniel laid his hand on her shoulder. “I don’t think that’s wise. If Griff has reached London, he and Rosalind will be frantic, and I’d feel safer with you both there anyway. You can be at Knighton House by this evening on the mail coach.”

  “So quickly?” Helena said.

  He smiled wryly. “You’d be surprised how quickly you can travel when you’re not tracking leads and having gigs collapse under you and hiding from treacherous free traders.”

  And getting drunk in taverns and making love in barns, she thought, her cheeks warming. “How long will you be gone?”

  “No more than a couple of days, I hope. I may have to help him tie up some loose ends, if only to get him out of here for good.”

  There was a noise in the hall, a porter calling the arrival of the mail coach. “Go on now,” Daniel urged. “I won’t feel easy until you’re bound for London.”

  He hurried them out, and as he handed Helena into the crowded coach, she turned to stare anxiously into his face. “You will come back to me, Danny, won’t you?”

  “Yes, love.” He brushed a kiss across her hand. “I promise.”

  Nonetheless, she fretted all the way to London. Since she and Juliet could not talk freely in front of the other passengers, all she could do was think and worry. Last night with Daniel had been the most incredible, earth-shattering night of her life, but they had not spoken of marriage again. And today Daniel had heard more wretched things about his family. She would just die if he reacted as he had yesterday, pushing her away again.