Love's Betrayals (The Extraordinary Life of Amy Winston Book 2)

by Liza O'Connor

  “If I am the only bid outstanding, do not bid against me. Any children I buy will be yours.” He then put distance between them so that the other bidders would not guess a connection.

  Antonio could not remember a worse three hours in his life. It was not possible for him to buy all the children. The price of some ran into outrageous bidding wars. But many of the children were too young, crippled, or ugly to be of much use. These Goodheart could pick up at very little cost, since in many cases, it would cost more to feed the child than what they would bring in money for many years to come.

  Most of the buyers were there for the children that were a useful age and were moderately attractive. This was the bidding fray that Antonio entered and when he did, Goodheart remained out. Frequently, Antonio prevailed, but on a few cases, where several bidders persisted, he had to drop out and let them have the child. It was not possible for him to buy them all, and with careful bidding he could save more children.

  There was one young girl that it broke his heart to give up, but the bidding had gone beyond his threshold, which he had reset three times before he realized that no matter how high he bid the other bidder would meet it. Reluctantly, he shook off the auctioneer. The winning bidder appeared to be the man Yardrow watched. That gave him some hope for the young girl. If Yardrow could reel in his fish soon enough, the girl might be saved.

  At the end of the auction, he owned fourteen children and owed the auctioneer enough money to have bought a house. He did not mind. Fourteen lives were surely worth more than a hundred homes.

  He gathered his frightened and battle worn property. They each had a leash about their neck. He wanted to remove it, but he was afraid that if he did, some of these fine men would snatch his new property as they moved through the crowd. Instead, he asked for an additional rope from the auctioneer and looped the rope through the handles of each leash. He ordered them into two rows of seven so that he held both ends of the rope that held all the leashes. Aware, someone still might cut a leash and steal one, he asked their names as he waited for the crowd to disperse.

  He noticed that Goodheart had removed the leashes of his children, but then they were far less valuable and thus less tempting to thieves. Goodheart also waited for the crowd to lessen.

  When Goodheart moved his children to the side door, Antonio did the same, thus both required transport at the same time. The auctioneer apologized to Goodheart but said the cart would have to go to Mr. Capella, since he was a better customer.

  That news caused a moment of shock and then resignation to fall upon Goodheart’s face. God, he looked so much like Amy that it disturbed Antonio greatly that the man thought Antonio a liar and procurer of child flesh.

  “Sir, your children are small enough. We can both use the cart,” Antonio suggested.

  After a moment of hesitation, Goodheart agreed and helped his children onto the cart, instructing them to move up front. He then explained it was better if the little ones were far from the edges, for they were weak and could easily fall off if near the edge. As Antonio assisted his children up, Goodheart suggested it would be easier for them without the leashes.

  “And easier for them to be stolen,” Antonio replied, ignoring his advice.

  It was a very tight squeeze and the only way they all climbed in was for the smaller children to sit upon the laps of the older ones. Finally, they were all on. Antonio and Goodheart took seats upon the driver’s board. Antonio drove the wagon to the front of the warehouse and retrieved his horse. He took special care with the knot he used tying his horse to the cart. A fine animal was in as much danger of disappearing as the children.

  As they headed back to Goodheart’s tenant building, the man ignored Antonio entirely as he spoke to the children. He promised life would be better now. He was very clear and precise as to the changes they could expect, and while it sounded like a rather dreary and hopeless life to Antonio, it probably was the best they realistically could expect without parents to love and care for them, and a hell of a lot better than they would have had without this rescue.

  Still it made him very grateful for his own childhood. He had parents who loved each other fiercely and him almost as much. His father was brave and honorable, and his mother adored him until the day she died from a camp fever. When his father died in battle, making him a war orphan, the colonel sent him to the Halloway’s until relatives could be located.

  He was sorry when his relatives claimed him. His aunt and uncle were poor and made it clear they could not afford another mouth to feed and he would have to pull his weight. With the skills he had learned in the army, he soon became the breadwinner of the family. He adapted to the street rules of London with surprising ease, since it was much like an ongoing war. There were his people whom he protected; the enemy, which he fought; and the innocent civilians. He had learned from the best how to defeat enemies while leaving the civilians unharmed.

  His consideration for innocents cost some people their lives for the mistaken assumption that his care for the innocents meant he was soft.

  “I have heard of you,” Goodheart finally said, evidently feeling the children were now prepared for their future. “You are said to be a man of your word.”

  “I am glad to hear it,” Antonio replied. “You come with a fine recommendation as well.”

  “If you truly intend to release those children in my custody, may I remove the leashes? It shames them to be treated like animals.”

  “I regret that, but if they are unleashed I can almost guarantee you that one or more will be stolen from the cart. For such a valuable cargo, we are precariously undermanned.”

  “That has never happened.”

  “Not with the cargo you purchased, but I can assure you there are several in my lot that are worth the risk.”

  “Please, I beg you; this is the start of their new life. Don’t let it begin in shame.”

  Antonio sighed. There was too much of Amy’s voice in her uncle for him to follow his own good sense and ignore the man. “You can drive a cart, can you not?”

  Goodheart assured him he could, so Antonio promptly gave him the reins. He then turned and faced the children. Slowly, he pulled the rope from the leash ends. “You can remove your leashes, but those of you on the back hold on tightly in case anyone tries to steal you away.”

  “There is no need to frighten them,” Goodheart scolded.

  “I’m not trying to frighten them; I’m trying to save their lives.”

  He pulled the gun from his holster and laid it on his lap.

  Terror appeared in some of their eyes.

  He held up the gun. “This is to protect you, not harm you. If any of you are snatched from this carriage it is very important that the rest of you hold tight to each other and duck your heads down. If you are the one who is taken, try and fall to the ground. It could save your life.”

  “Mr. Capella, please!” Goodheart exclaimed.

  “You didn’t sugar coat the reality of their lives, why should I sugar coat the danger they are in?”

  “I told you, no one has ever stolen a child from me. I have done this three times before.”

  “And I hope to hell you are right and that I owe you a grand apology when we arrive at the tenement.”

  As they slowly made their way through the streets, Antonio faced the children, but the moment he heard the commotion at his back and felt Goodheart pull the cart to a halt he knew they were in trouble.

  “What is it?” he asked, refusing to take his eyes off the children and the swarm clustering to see whatever was happening ahead.

  “Two men brawling,” Goodheart replied.

  “Goodheart, get this cart moving even if you have to run over people.” He stood up. “Children, hold tight and duck your heads.” He had spotted two men, one on each side. He was uncertain whether they wanted the children or his horse, but something on this wagon had their focus.

  The moment the man on his left pulled the knife from the sheath in his pants An
tonio shot him, causing a panic in the street with people running away as fast as they could.

  “Desiree!” one of the boys on the cart screamed, his hand stretching out towards the girl being pulled away, her screams lost in the general chaos of the street.

  “Drop to the ground, damn you,” he whispered as he aimed his gun, unable to shoot because she trailed behind the man.

  The boy leapt off the cart and a second later grabbed hold of her legs bringing her to the ground.

  Before the man could turn and retrieve his stolen cargo, Antonio had fired a bullet in his head. The boy helped the sobbing girl to her feet and back to the wagon. He pushed her up and joined her.

  Realizing they were far from out of danger, Antonio stood upon the cart and shot at the feet of the men fighting. “Get out of my way or die,” he ordered. “For those of you who do not recognize me in these fine clothes, I am Capella, and nobody steals from me and lives. Now clear this street or I will return tonight and torch every building in a five-block radius!”

  The street cleared instantly.

  “Drive, Goodheart,” Antonio ordered.

  When they arrived at the tenement, the children were terrified and sobbing. Goodheart quickly handed them off to women waiting to comfort them. Antonio made no attempt to sooth their fears; hell, he was the one who had terrified them.

  He untied his horse and mounted. “I will leave it to you to return the cart.” He rode away before Goodheart could respond.

  By the time he arrived at Ann’s, he was so tired and emotionally drained he could barely make it up the steps. Sam approached him and provided inconspicuous aid as he grabbed Antonio’s elbow.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked softly.

  “Just tired.”

  “We were just about to rally a search party to find you.”

  “A bit slow.”

  “Lil Bit was certain you had gone to find her uncle, so we held off until we were certain you would have returned if that was your only task. She’s pretty upset that she caused us to delay the search. Gunter is presently arguing with her why she cannot join us in finding you.”

  “How could she even argue that position?”

  “Ann’s taking her side in the matter. She’s our best tracker and thus Ann feels she should be included.”

  Antonio cursed beneath his breath.

  “She can find anything or anyone,” Sam admitted. “Better than a bloodhound. Assuming you made it to Nicolas’ and we could start there, she’d lead us right to you. Where were you by the way?”

  “Finding her uncle.”

  “And what’s he like?”

  “A man worthy of his name sake. But he thinks I’m the devil incarnate.” He entered the house and was set upon by everyone, demanding to know where he had been and if he was hurt.

  He was quickly led to the couch where Amy attended him despite his assurances he was unharmed. Sitting next to him, she ignored his protests and placed both her hands upon his chest. In an instant, his mood improved and soon after his fatigue disappeared as well. His irritation at Ann’s interrogation subsided and he took her verbal beating with equilibrium.

  “You are absolutely right, Ann. Having failed to think of it when Gunter and Brick were with me, I should have returned here, reported in, and acquired backup.”

  Ann frowned. “What happened for you to concede your ground so quickly?”

  He explained that he had learned that Tom Goodheart would be at the dock buying children. Domnika and Catherine gasped and moved to Amy for comfort.

  “Goodheart was there to buy their freedom and find them homes and families.” He looked at Amy. “Your uncle is a man of good deeds. Not very good at assessing the danger of situations, but a man you will be proud to know.”

  The happiness that radiated from Amy silenced Ann for a solid three minutes. But then her interrogation resumed, and Antonio told the situation that had unfolded.

  Catherine expressed pity for the children. Domnika said he should have shot the men fighting for they were doubtlessly involved. Ann remarked that had he brought proper backup none of this nonsense would have happened. Gunter said he’d like to meet the boy who had the guts to chase after the girl and tackle her. Everyone seemed to have a comment except Amy.

  Her only response was to place her head upon Antonio’s chest and inundate his body with warm comfort. His arm curled about her shoulder and gently removed her before that comfort aroused him. “I not only managed to terrify the street thugs, but Goodheart and the children. Poor things couldn’t wait to get far away from me. Goodheart acted as if I were Satan himself. I’m afraid I’ve not made a good first impression on your uncle, Amy.”

  “Then we must see that impression is corrected. In truth, I cannot fault you on a single action. Had you come home first and gathered Gunter and Sam you would not have arrived in time to go to the auction and save the children. Besides giving both my uncle and the children a good lesson in the dangers of the streets, you saved fourteen additional children and removed two evil men, so they no longer plague the world.”

  “And a young man was given the opportunity to prove his love for a young woman,” Gunter added.

  “Gunter! I would have never taken you for a romantic old fool,” Ann chided.

  “Every man longs to come to the rescue of the woman he loves,” Gunter assured her.

  The observation seemed to annoy Ann immensely. “Well, there are many women who do not require rescue.”

  “True enough, but we are determined to rescue and protect them just the same,” Gunter replied.

  “Utter nonsense! It is exactly this irrational thinking that prevented you from using your best skilled soldier today to find Antonio.”

  “I never denied she has the best tracking skills. But my job is to protect Lil Bit. If Antonio, who was raised on the streets, was in a situation so bad he couldn’t get out of it, then that is the last place I’d want Lil Bit riding into.”

  “I second that,” Antonio said.

  “Antonio,” Amy chided.

  “If I go missing, then chances are I’m dead, because I can get out of most any situation other than that. Leading the men and yourself into that same danger would be madness.”

  Ann scoffed. “Ladies go into the Bowry all the time doing charitable work. And I’ve never heard of one of them ever being abducted or killed. I would say that you men are at greater danger than us.”

  “Ladies go in large groups early in the morning when the worse of trouble is sleeping off their drink,” Antonio observed. “And they are always sent away by two in the afternoon. In addition, the areas they enter are the better areas where a community has formed that offers protection to those within it. Finally, in all my time on the streets, I never once saw a group of ladies that were not protected by at least two footmen carrying weapons.”

  “Well, if ladies have survived with such minimal protection, you cannot possibly object when four ladies go to meet Mr. Goodheart and these children that were rescued early tomorrow morning,” Ann declared.

  “Absolutely not,” Gunter growled.

  “Gunter, you are not in command of this battle. You may either join us as one of our protectors or…Actually, that is your only viable option, since Amy will naturally want to meet her uncle.”

  “He could come here,” Gunter countered.

  “Utter nonsense! The man has serious work to do. Is he to allow some poor child to die on the street because four ladies cannot get into a carriage and enter a relatively safe area during safe hours to meet and perhaps assist him in his endeavors? Truly Gunter, you cannot possibly imagine we require more protection than these other women.”

  “Actually, we will have far greater protection than two footmen,” Domnika observed.

  Gunter glared at Domnika in disappointment.

  “I’m sorry, Gunter. While I sided with you about the tracking, this time your logic is not sound. It is quite reasonable to protect Amy when the chance of harm is likely, but it
is another thing to try and prevent all possibility of harm. You have to choose your battles. You have poor field position to win this one,” Domnika explained.

  Ann smiled at Domnika. “I see you have been reading Hammon’s Strategies of War. How far have you gotten?”

  “I’m almost through,” Domnika assured her.

  “Excellent, we will discuss it on the carriage ride over. Shall we take the large carriage, or will you gentlemen be riding your horses?”

  “Horses,” Antonio replied. “And dress down,” he warned. He then looked at Amy. “I won’t be with you tomorrow.”

  “Why?” Amy asked. “You know the streets better than anyone.”

  “I think it would be better if your uncle does not know of your association with me,” he explained. “At least at first.”

  “This is ridiculous. You saved all those children and then saved the girl. He cannot be a very good man if he does not value your good deeds over a trifle fright you may have caused them.”

  Antonio started to answer and then became aware of his audience, and while most of them knew his back ground, the young ladies did not. Nor was he completely certain how Amy would react. He stood up and pulled her up as well. “We need to walk in Ann’s garden.”

  They walked the path three times before he finally spoke. “Amy, your uncle thinks he knows me by my reputation on the street. The saving of a few children isn’t going to alter his opinion. Once I had killed those men and threatened to torch every building in a five-block radius if they didn’t clear the street, he was terrified. Not of the threat, but of something much worse. Some people claim I am Satan incarnate. I expect your uncle is reading the parts of the bible concerning Satan tonight, wondering if he has somehow made a pact with the devil.”

  “You are not the devil,” she whispered and placed her head upon his chest as she wrapped her arms around him.

  “No, but it was a useful reputation, so I never discouraged it.

  “We are so much alike,” she declared. “I was branded witch and demon, and you were branded Satan himself.”

  He stroked her hair. “I don’t want to ruin your chance with your uncle. So enjoy your day with him. I think the two of you will get along very well. Although it would be ridiculous to make him your guardian, you’ve a hundred times his common sense on your worst day.