Reckless Rakes - Hayden Islington

by Bronwyn Scott

  Logan’s fist came down on the table. The decanter and stopper jumped. “So forgive me if I think I’m entitled to a little say in how you conduct yourself and with whom. Forgive me if I show concern over my friend who has thrown himself headlong into an investigation in the midst of the racing season without my permission. I have no desire to see you wed to a woman simply because you compromised her in a moment of weakness nor do I have any desire to see you betrayed again, hurt again. What do you know of her? What do you know of the whole situation?”

  Logan paused his tirade long enough to draw breath. “You are my friend, my best friend, and I almost lost you once. Don’t think I will allow you to try that out again.”

  That defused Hayden’s temper. He sat on the bed, head bent, hands dangling between his thighs. Logan was worried and that meant something. Logan’s instincts were as good as his own, even better in some cases as the situation with the baroness proved. The fight was over for now. They’d have this fight again sometime. Perhaps they’d be having it forever but it was over for tonight. He was starting to understand Logan’s anger wasn’t entirely about dallying with Jenna Priess. Logan was worried about the investigation. He wished there was more brandy in the decanter. “Logan, tell me what you know.”

  Logan dragged the heavy armchair towards him so they sat face to face. Loud voices would not be necessary. That put Hayden on alert. Who did Logan suspect would overhear them in the wee hours of the morning?

  “You met the foreman at the dance?” It was a rhetorical question. “Does he seem as distraught over the workers disappearances as Miss Priess?”

  “Not particularly. But it was hard to tell. He was drunk.” The man had seemed more upset over Jenna being there with another, truth be told. Davenport’s insults had been personal. Davenport was not an unattractive man. He had some position, some money. He was likely not used to rejection. Hayden made a mental note. He needed to know more about the foreman’s relationship to Jenna.

  “I think it’s interesting that Miss Priess did not turn to her foreman to assist her.” Logan went on with his train of thought regarding the missing workers. “He is close to the situation and a logical choice. What happens at the mill affects him as much as it affects her. Yet, she came looking for you.” Logan paused, letting the import of his deduction sink in. “She must be worried indeed to hire you now instead of waiting for spring to bring in someone from York. She could get a runner if she waited for the roads to clear. No intended slander of your abilities, but she could do better.”

  Hayden nodded. That thought had crossed his mind too. Only the insane or ice racers like himself, traveled in the winter. That was especially true the farther north one went and the farther one got from the main roads in the east. It was why the Kendal merchants had been willing to pay exorbitant sums for them to come and race — so few were willing to travel in the weather without good reason. The Kendal merchants had hoped the ice racing would keep the Lake District nobles in residence longer and encourage intrepid tourism. So far, it had worked. But while the weather was working for him, the weather was working against Jenna.

  “What do you think it means?” Hayden knew what he thought it meant but he wanted to hear Logan’s uninfluenced thoughts first.

  “I think it is likely something dangerous is afoot. This is not your usual employee attrition rate.”

  “Attrition wouldn’t make sense.” Hayden picked up the line of logic. “Especially if one buys the argument about difficulty of travel and general mobility. Why would workers leave in the dead of winter when the wages are slightly above the norm? Even if the foreman is prone to violence, the money is good.”

  Logan nodded thoughtfully. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  Hayden wasn’t ready to leap to conclusions. “Abduction maybe. Someone is stealing them.” He paused before he inserted his conclusion. “Which means there might be a human trafficking ring operating in the area. The propensity is certainly there.

  Logan let a slow breath. “All the missing employees were younger men and boys.”

  A male prostitution ring. All the signs were there.

  The thought made Hayden nauseous. He knew they existed. He’d even broken one or two minor rings in the slums of York. Logan made a grimace. “Why do you suppose her mill has been targeted? I haven’t heard of a similar problem at the other factories.”

  Hayden held Logan’s gaze with all seriousness. “She’s an easy target. Her father is ill, a woman is in charge. Whoever is doing it doesn’t view her as a threat.” Jenna was strong but she needed a champion in this. If he and Logan’s suppositions were correct, she could not handle this on her own. He hoped she would understand that.

  “The next question is who is masterminding it?” Logan put forward.

  Hayden thought of Davenport’s brutality, he thought of the man’s fine waistcoat, an expensive item to be sure. That answer seemed to be straight forward. “Perhaps this is where Davenport comes in. He handles the day to day operations. He knows the workers and their schedules.”

  Logan shook his head. “You’ll have to do better than that. That’s all assumption based on the wobbly premise that Miss Priess doesn’t like him. The leap is too large. What could he gain from so obviously working against himself? He can’t want the mill to close. He would lose his position.”

  “Money. Enough money makes his position irrelevant. He wouldn’t need it.” Hayden’s mind was starting to whirl. “Did you see those clothes he wore tonight? He can’t afford waistcoats like that on his salary, this would be a prime opportunity for a little extra cash.”

  Logan grimaced and shook his head. “It’s a big risk just for pocket cash. Do you think it’s only about the money or is there something more he’s playing for? What else would there be?”

  Money was always a powerful motive but Logan was right that the risk was quite large, too large for it to be about money alone. “For Jenna? For the mill?” Hayden posited, thinking about the foreman’s reaction to her that night.

  Logan spread his hands on his thighs. “We have come up with a good theory, Hayden. But we have no proof. Need I remind you, we are only here for the month and we have our own meetings to attend.” The words ‘you promised’ hovered between them. It was supposed to have been an easy promise to keep. But now there was this hidden hornets’ nest.

  Hayden sighed. He knew what Logan was implying. Laying these scenarios out for Jenna would satisfy his obligations to her. He hadn’t found the workers, but he’d found her some leads and she could keep her cash. He didn’t need to be paid. But what would she be able to do with this information without proof? He couldn’t leave it at that. “Someone somewhere knows something. We just have to find out whom.”

  Logan rose and stretched, diplomatically ignoring the comment. “I’m for bed, and Hayden? I’m sorry I said you didn’t think.”

  Hayden nodded in acceptance as Logan slipped out the door. It was as close as he and Logan could get to an apology. He understood what Logan’s words meant though and that was all that mattered. Love in general was hard. Perhaps real affection between two male friends was the hardest emotion of all to master. Society had done terrible things to the concept of it.

  Hayden lay back on the bed, hands tucked behind his head, staring at the ceiling. Logan had saved him from injury, even saved him from himself. Logan had given him his life back. He would never forget it. Not because Logan reminded him but because he simply would never dishonor his friend by forgetting. He truly believed what he’d told Jenna — maybe that was why it was easier to say things to a stranger. He and Logan would carry all their words, all their stories between them for the rest of their lives for better or worse. Sometimes, that was a difficult burden to bear. And sometimes it was a beautiful one, to think that there was someone out there who knew that much about you, the good and the bad.

  Strangers were safe, but strangers left one feeling lonely. Talking with them was like eating puff pastries with only air
inside them. The pastry was sweet but one was inevitably hungry again in a short time. Talking to a friend was like taking a bite out of a meat pasty, rich with flavor and filling.

  What did that make Jenna Priess? Would she be a fluffy puff pastry or something more? The safe route was to let her be the puff pastry. But that wasn’t her make-up. He would have to work hard to fit her into that mold. She was meat pasty through and through. That, among other things, made her dangerous. She was indeed a triple threat; a client, a beautiful woman, and a woman full of substance who wouldn’t settle for his usual fly by night antics. Of course, that just made the challenge of her all the greater.

  By Jove, he’d enjoyed that challenge tonight. She’d been so damned beautiful in that gown, so poised as they’d moved through the crowd making introductions, shaking hands. He knew it hadn’t been easy for her. When they’d taken to the dance floor, she’d come alive in his arms, her face lighting with pure joy as if dancing was the greatest luxury and as if dancing with him was a joy all its own. That singular thought had struck him hard and encouraged him to greater lengths. She hadn’t spent the dance looking around to see who was looking at her. Most of his partners did, as if he was something to show off. She had looked at him, only at him. He’d not wanted that to end. Perhaps it had been reckless to take her out to the lake.

  It had been worth it; worth it to hold her in his arms, to play with her hair and its plethora of pins, worth it to breathe flirtatious suggestions at her ear just to hear her respond, worth it to see her face look up into the night sky. Then the stories had come… beautiful, private stories she didn’t tell just anyone. But she’d told him. That had been enough — to stand under the stars, his arms wrapped about her, to waltz her on the ice, to drive her home, her hand resting in his like a good suitor. Like a good suitor, he hadn’t kissed her.

  Light began to seep into the room, slow and grey. Hayden laughed. He still couldn’t believe it. Yet, the evening had been enough, more than enough, without it. Did he want to kiss her? Hell yes. He’d like to do a lot more than kiss her. After tonight, the longing had transcended the base urge of lust. Bedding Jenna Priess would be significant. He wasn’t sure how, but it would mean something and that was a tantalizing mystery to fall asleep by.

  Thank goodness he was only here a short time. He suspected if he was here any longer, he might confuse it with falling in love. As it was, a handful of weeks wasn’t near enough time to fall. Everyone knew love at first sight was a myth for hopeless romantics. He was… safe. Puff pastries and all for better or worse.

  Chapter Ten

  The plan was starting to take a turn for the worse after months of unprecedented success. In the dim storage shed behind the Priess Bobbin Mill, Allerton Davenport faced the other two men present with a grim expression. “I told you we were getting greedy and moving too fast. Too many have gone missing. Now I have the owner’s daughter poking her nose in every day instead of coming down just once or twice a week for a scheduled appointment.” The last week had been one close call after another and his nerves were on edge with Jenna Priess and her workers’ rights agenda calling at all hours of the day.

  “That Paulie met the boss’s description perfectly. We got paid well for him, didn’t we?” Harris Trenton cajoled in rough terms. He was a big, florid man who saw pound signs not risks. Not surprising since he wasn’t the one taking the risks, just reaping the rewards from having set up the connection. Allerton shook his head. A man like Trenton who didn’t work in the mill would never understand the difference in numbers.

  Allerton tried anyway. “The Priess mill has lost fifteen percent of its work force in the last three months. Jenna Priess is suspicious of criminal intent even if she doesn’t know who is responsible. Plus, everyone notices; the other workers are getting spooked.” That scared him. He didn’t want a spooked mob of workers ambushing him. Paulie had been well liked. The boy’s disappearance had nearly pushed the workers to their limit. Only a show of sheer force on his part had subverted disaster.

  The third man, John Schuyler, jabbed a hand at Allerton’s coat. “Do you like your fancy duds? How about that waistcoat you wore to the assembly or the top hat you have on now? Your coat looks warm and comfortable. Expensive wool isn’t it, even in a textile town.”

  “I deserve it. I take plenty of risks!” Allerton took an involuntary step forward, so heated was his temper. Good lord, he was a former officer in the King’s army. He didn’t take crap from a rat like Schuyler who’d never led men in battle. “Who ferries the cargo across the ice? Who meets our connection? If anyone is to be caught red-handed in the act, it will be me, not either of you.” It was the trade-off they’d agreed upon when the suppliers had contacted them. “I’m thinking I deserve a larger cut if I am to keep siphoning off workers.”

  “We had a deal and now you are complaining about conditions you agreed upon.” Harris Trenton snarled.

  “That deal was when this was supposed to be an easy job.” Davenport answered tersely. The mill was supposed to have been an easy target; a sick owner and only a woman to oversee things. It was also supposed to have served his own agenda: bring Jenna Priess to her knees long enough to make her susceptible to a proposal from him.

  It hadn’t turned out that way. Jenna Priess was vigilant and her workers were a coddled bunch who were used to voicing their opinions. The combination was not conducive. In the beginning, he’d taken new workers who had not made an impression. He’d help spread the explanation that they had simply decided not to take the jobs. But those explanations were no longer plausible.

  “We need to hold out just a little longer. Our connection wants two more.” Trenton handed Allerton a worn, folded sheet of paper. “We’ve had a request for two more young boys, maybe fourteen or fifteen years old. I was thinking William and Thomas would be good choices. Apparently Paulie, the last one, was quite pleasing.”

  “No, I don’t see how I can manage it.” Allerton stalled. If workers went missing again so soon after the last, it would be chaos.

  Schuyler gave a harsh laugh, abusing his position as Trenton’s right hand man. “Just think about the money, Ally-boy. The procurer recognizes the risk and he’s willing to up his payment price upon delivery. You could buy a lot of fine waistcoats with that bonus or whatever you fancy.” He shot a look at Trenton. “How much do you think it will take to buy that mill out from under Miss Priess?”

  Allerton regretted bragging to them about his master plan. He meant to offer for the mill once Jenna Priess hit rock bottom. Aligning with these two scoundrels had seemed like a way to hasten that end along once her father had taken ill and make a little extra cash to boot.

  “Surely a woman with her looks isn’t interested in running a mill.” Harris Trenton lit a cigar and took a long puff. “Perhaps now is the time to strike while she’s distracted. I hear she’s infatuated with that ice racer squiring her around town. He escorted her to the assembly.

  That had not set well with him. She’d picked the ice racer over him. He’d been surprised to see her show up with Islington. Jenna Priess never went out. It was one of the reasons he hadn’t been too put out over her rejection of him. She simply wasn’t the courting sort. But then, to see her with another, now that was a slap in the face. It had set him to wondering where she’d been that day when he’d called on her at home and she’d returned with her cheeks full of color and what had put it there.

  Allerton Davenport gave a nod. He had to move fast thanks to Islington. He’d seen the two of them together looking cozy. Although he didn’t know what that crazy ice racer saw in her. Once a man got past those extraordinary looks, there was nothing but ice beneath. Maybe that was it. The man had a thing for ice. His only consolation was that Islington would be gone.

  Schuyler laughed. “Perhaps he’ll keep her distracted to the point where she won’t notice William and Thomas gone, she’ll be too busy concentrating on the man between her legs.” He winked at Trenton. “I wouldn’t mind being th
at man, would you? All ice has to thaw sometime.”

  Trenton and Schuyler could laugh all they wanted. They didn’t have to work with her. Davenport put on his hat, eager to be off before they could make concrete plans. He needed to buy some time. He wasn’t fast enough.

  “The next transport is in three days, Davenport. Have those boys ready and in the meanwhile you can start mentally spending your money.” Trenton clapped Allerton on the shoulder as he passed. “Don’t worry over the details. We’re not the only ones doing it, this happens all the time in other places. Our scheme is hardly original. We’re small time operators up here. You want to see some real trafficking, you’ve got to go to London. They’re snatching all sorts all the time.”

  “Small time or big, won’t matter to the courts.” Allerton reminded him, a hand going reflexively to the cravat around his neck. Was trafficking a hanging offense?

  Trenton only laughed. “The courts are a joke. They don’t have time for us. If we’re discovered, we offer the courts a cash incentive and they’ll be all too pleased to drop their suit.”

  “Not the Priesses.” Another good reason in hindsight why they should have left the bobbin mill alone. Jenna and her father were rabid fanatics of justice for the poor, justice for all and that would include him if he was caught.

  “How is the old man doing anyway? Still bedridden I take it?” Trenton feigned a sympathetic glance. “It might be best for us if he didn’t get back up. The daughter can’t possibly run the business on her own forever.” He gave Allerton another clap on the shoulder. “You’ve got a lot to think about. These are exciting times for you. Money to be made and opportunity to be had. Who knows where it might lead?”