“Help me, I beg of you!”
Two other members of the crew mustered behind the first mate’s back in a clear show of solidarity.
“This is a bloody farce,” said Will.
Hattie sensed the shift in the mood. Will had sworn in front of a young lady. Doubt of how much of a gentleman he was would now be in the minds of the crew. She sensed victory.
“Mr. Saunders may I suggest you and I retire to my cabin. The young lady can take refuge in your cabin until things have calmed down,” said the captain.
Hattie clung tightly to the first mate. Her look of fear, quickly replaced by hope at the captain’s words.
Will stared at Hattie for a good while. His jaw was set hard. Finally, he released his fingers from their tightly held fists and backed away.
“I can see that I won’t get a fair hearing out here on deck.”
Will followed the captain to his cabin. The first mate escorted Hattie back to her cabin.
“Will you be alright miss? he asked, opening the door.
She wiped at her face, brushing pretend tears away. She hoped he would not notice the mess that was the bedclothes, evidence of her and Will’s occupation that afternoon.
“I don’t know. There is still a full day before we dock in London. Who knows what lies he will tell the captain to get him on side. I fear what Mr. Saunders will do next.”
“Is there anything the boys and I could do to help you?”
Hattie thought for a moment. She had regularly made deals with the market traders at Covent Garden when trying to secure food scraps for the local parish church. She knew that people were more open to helping others if they could see that they were getting something in return. The tight- fisted traders were happy to hand over rotten vegetables if their names were read out in church every Sunday, their benevolence on display for all to see.
Apart from offering herself, which was not an option under any circumstance, Hattie considered what else she had that the crew could possibly want.
“Do you have a lady waiting for you in London?” she ventured.
She had a bag full of gowns and lady’s toiletries which Will had bought for her. While her gowns would not be fashionable enough for the ladies of the haute ton, they were still of excellent quality. Any sailor worth his salt would know he would be assured of an extra warm welcome home from his long sea voyage if he came bearing gifts.
“I have a lovely lass who will be waiting dockside for me,” he replied.
Hattie smiled.
“Then I think we could be of mutual assistance to one another.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Are you sure about this miss, your fiancé seems a decent enough man? He is always polite and friendly to the crew. Perhaps your fight this afternoon was just a little tiff. My missus and I have them all the time. We say things we don’t mean, but we still love each other,” the ship hand asked.
“Yes, I am sure. Being a gentleman in public is one of his more admirable traits, it is when he is alone with me that he is not kind. You heard him curse in front of me. I have never known those words to be spoken before I met Mr. Saunders. You finally got a glimpse of the heartless brute that he is, you can see why I must escape,” replied Hattie.
Hattie stood on the side of the ship, rope tied firmly around her waist. She was not taking any chances of falling into the water. She could not wait to be off the ship and home.
A swim in the warm waters of Gibraltar harbor was one thing, taking a chance on making it ashore in the busy shipping lanes of the chilly Thames was quite another. Adding to the danger was the fact it was the dead of night.
“Well yes, he did yell at you and he seemed mighty angry,” the man replied.
Will Saunders was a decent man. He had done everything he could to secure her safe passage back to England. He had not deserved the display of over dramatic tears and wailing she had put on in front of the crew earlier that day. He most certainly did not deserve to be abandoned by his lover in the middle of the night.
She had apologized to him in private, but Will rightly had refused to discuss the incident with her. When the cabin boy came later that evening bearing a bottle of wine as a peace offering Will had accepted the gift with a curt thank you.
The ship was moored a mile or so downstream of the docks. The docks were busy and piers were not always easily obtainable. The captain dropped the anchor a little after suppertime and announced they would have to wait for the morning tide before making it to a berth.
Hattie had used her time while Will was in the captain’s cabin to good use. Once the crew knew she was willing to sell them her lovely possessions at deeply discounted prices, they were clambering over one another to give her their hard- earned coins. Coins she desperately needed.
She handed over the hairbrush to the cabin boy as the ship entered the mouth of the Thames.
After several glasses of the laudanum laced wine, Will fell into a deep sleep. Hattie had then broken his trust one last time and taken his greatcoat.
It would take more than a hundred mentions of her name at church on Sunday to make up for all the lies she had told him.
The sailor in the boat fell silent, his mind clearly on the lovely dress he had purchased for a handful of coins. His lady love would be well inclined to thank him properly when he made it home the next day. As for him, the matters of rich gentlemen and their ladies were not his concern.
As the row boat drew away from the ship, Hattie pulled up the collar of Will's coat and hid her face. Anyone who happened to glance over the side of the Canis Major at this point, would only see three crewmen going ashore and likely think nothing of it.
She could make out the lights along the river and hear the rowdy singing in the seaside taverns. A smile crept to her lips as she heard the words of a bawdy tavern tune. They were singing in English.
Once ashore, the sailors gave her hurried instructions as to how she could find her way to the west end of London. She was about to walk up a nearby dark laneway when the sailors having had second thoughts about her safety, went out into the main street and hailed a passing hack.
“Not the safest part of London for a young lady, especially one wearing an expensive fine coat and with coins in her pocket,” they cautioned.
After thanking them for their kindness, she bade the two sailors farewell and gave the driver of the hack directions to her home.
Settling back against the soft leather of the seat she sighed. Hattie Wright was back in England.
She was home.
Chapter Seventeen
“What do you mean you cannot find her?” Will ground out.
He stood red faced, hands on his hips as he faced the ship's captain. It was taking every ounce of his self-restraint to keep his temper under control. The captain's visage in turn was a slightly whiter shade of pale grey. The young lady passenger had gone missing from the ship sometime during the night and the captain had no explanation.
“I sent the cabin boy to double check your cabin,” the captain replied.
“After I had already checked it twice. I can assure you that my fiancée is not hiding under the bed clothes,” replied Will.
It was a ludicrous statement, but in the cramped space of the cabin, it was the only place that Hattie could have been.
He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. Where was she?
Memories of the previous night crashed through his mind. He had foolishly accepted the bottle of wine, never once thinking that Hattie would seek to drug him to sleep. The morning had brought with it the bitter aftertaste of laudanum in his mouth.
His anger at this point was not just directed at Hattie, but at himself. He had been well and truly played.
He had to give Hattie her dues. She had learned from their experience with the market crowd in Gibraltar. She knew the mind of the mob and had read the situation perfectly. The damsel in distress ruse had brought the crew very quickly on to her side.
And what
had he, great spy and undercover operative done? Reasoned with her, called on the crew for manly support, no he had gone and lost his temper. He had shown himself to be the rogue she had claimed.
While he slept, Hattie had found a way to escape from the ship. When he finally woke long after the ship had docked, he knew she was gone. But how?
Will turned on his heel and headed back to the cabin. The ship was being offloaded and his travel trunk needed to be closed and secured. He would send it on to his parent’s house while he remained at the dockside and tried to get to the bottom of Hattie’s disappearance.
Inside the travel trunk, he finally got his first clue. As he went to close the lid, he caught sight of a small piece of folded paper wedged in one of the interior pockets. He pulled it out and read the short message written upon it.
Will,
You and I live in different worlds. Please know that I never wanted to lie to you and I will be forever in your debt. I love you with all my heart, our time together has been a dream come true, but you must let me go.
I love you
Hattie
A wave of anguish washed over him, leaving him to founder on a bitter shore. His instincts had yet again failed him when it came to Hattie.
What was it with this girl? He could not read her. Sometime during the night, Hattie had escaped the ship.
Worry creased his brow. If she had attempted to swim ashore with her possessions it would be a miracle if she was still alive. There were so many ships and boats moving up and down the river at any one time, she could have easily been towed under one of them.
He had brought her all this way, only to lose her within sight of home.
“Oh Hattie,” he murmured.
The captain meanwhile made enquiries of the crew. The last person who had seen her was the cabin boy when he delivered the bottle of wine. No one else could shed light on what had become of her.
Will packed up the remainder of his things. As soon as he left the ship he would contact the Thames River police and ask them to search the waters.
If Hattie had come to grief while trying to escape the ship, he could only pray that her death had been swift.
As Will followed the crew carrying his luggage ashore he pondered what he was to do. They took his luggage to the nearby shipping office with instructions to send it on to his parent's house in Dover Street.
By rights he should have been accompanying his travel trunk, but he was in no mood for happy reunions.
Turning up the collar of his spare wool coat to keep out the early morning chill he headed down Pennington Street to the office of the Thames River Police.
The search took most of the day and it was late in the afternoon before Will finally gave up hope of finding a clue as to Hattie’s fate. Hour after hour he had sat in the bow of a small police boat his gaze fixed on the dark brown waters of the Thames.
As the afternoon light began to fade, the police called a halt to the search and headed back in to shore.
“Once the tide has come in and then out again, the chances of finding a body are very dim indeed sir,” said the accompanying constable.
It did not take the constable long to complete the regulation paperwork. A young woman had disappeared over the side of a ship while it was moored downstream in the river. The constable handed Will the report and Will wrote his name and parents' address at the bottom.
“If we find any pieces of her, we shall send word,” said the constable.
He took the paper and placed it on the top of a dusty pile of similar looking documents. Will thanked him for the police time and effort, but not for his lack of tact.
Stepping back out into the street he stopped and looked at the long line of ships berthed at the dock. Under one of them, Hattie had more than likely met her fate.
Anguish swirled in his mind. Had he driven a desperate young woman to her death?
Groups of sailors passed him by, all headed for a nearby tavern. He was in dire need of a stiff drink. He fell in behind the sailors and followed them into the tavern.
Smoke and the raucous laughter from the crowded tavern immediately assaulted his senses. The tavern was not that big an establishment but it was packed to the gunwales with sailors, all in varying states of intoxication.
He finally managed to work his way to the bar and bought a tankard of ale. Following occupational habit, he found a corner in which to sit and quietly sip his beer.
The tavern wenches who came to offer him their company were given a coin and told to go and find friends elsewhere. He was about to tell the fourth girl in a row that he was not interested in her services when he noticed her gown.
In Gibraltar he had found Hattie suitable clothing to replace the clothes she had left behind on board the Blade of Orion. One dress he had taken a fancy to was green with a white lace trim. The very same dress it would appear that the young lady of nocturnal entertainment was wearing.
He pressed his boots hard into the wooden floor, working to bring his temper under control.
He pointed to the spot next to him and beckoned for her to sit down.
“That is a lovely dress young lady,” he said.
She chuckled and showed a set of dark brown, misshapen teeth.
“Ain't it? My fella gave it to me when he got home from sea this morning. I am the luckiest girl in all the London Docks,” she replied.
“That you are. May I ask which ship your chap sailed in on? I am a fancier of ships and would love to sail the oceans someday,” he replied.
The charm offensive worked and soon Will was listening to the tale of a poor lass whose fiancé was evil and had threatened to cut off all her hair as soon as they reached land.
“And he said he would never let her see her parents again. Wot sort of fella does that to the girl he is going to marry I ask you?”
The undisguised disgust on her face had the blood boiling in Will's veins. Hattie must have spun the crew a long and lurid tale while he was sitting cooling his heels in the captain’s cabin.
“And so, what happened to her?” Will asked, sliding another coin across the table.
The girl scooped it up and slipped it into her ample cleavage. Then raising her head, she met his gaze.
Will sensed she was wondering why a gentleman such as him would be interested in the story, let alone give an extra coin to hear more. Uneducated more than likely, but the eyes that studied him had the presence of intelligence.
“I happen to enjoy a good story, especially when it is told to me by such a pretty lass,” he replied.
He pushed his half-finished tankard of ale across the table toward her.
To his relief she picked it up and took an eye wateringly large gulp. She burped and sniggered before wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her new dress.
“Well then, she convinced some of the lads of the crew, my man included, to row her ashore before the ship docked here. She traded all the stuff her horrible fiancé had bought her. I think everyone in the crew ended up with something. Even Eddie the cabin boy got a nice new hairbrush for his ma. While her fiancé was asleep, the crew lowered her over the side and helped her to escape.”
Will took himself by surprise. His temper had returned to a near civilized state and remained there. A different set of emotions now rose to the surface and took hold. An odd mixture of relief and lust.
Lust for the chase.
Hattie had outwitted and outplayed him at every turn. Every time he thought he had gotten the measure of her, she had shown him a clean pair of heels.
She had made a fool of him. He was now hell bent on finding her. What he would do to her when he did eventually catch up with Hattie, he was not entirely certain. His body hardened, sure in the knowledge that it knew exactly what it wanted to do. Hattie was one drug he knew he would never be able to get fully out of his system.
The tavern wench sat staring at Will, a deep frown line on her brow.
“You're not going to hurt her, are you?” she asked.<
br />
Will had read at least one female right. The girl seated next to him had figured out his role in the story.
“No, I am not. I never did and never will. Believe me when I tell you every single one of us has been duped by a very clever liar.”
He rose from his seat. He had what he needed. To linger any longer invited trouble from any Canis Major crew members who may still be in the tavern.
“You do look lovely in that dress,” he said.
The girl downed the last of Will’s beer and got to her feet. She stood for a moment smoothing her skirts. The dress fitted her like it had been made by a dressmaker with exactly the girl's measurements in mind. She turned and began to walk away, then stopped and turned back to Will.
“I wouldn't come here again if I were you sir. I have a gift for remembering faces and my man will know you came here looking for her.”
Will nodded. He hoped his days of crawling through the underbelly of society were over.
Once outside the tavern he hailed a hack. As he climbed aboard, his parents address was almost upon his lips, but then he stopped.
How could he face his family and the expected joyful home coming? His mother would be full of questions regarding his recent travels on the continent. The tavern girl's revelations regarding the fate of Hattie had his mind in turmoil.
The reunion must wait. His parents and siblings deserved a cheerful and loquacious Will Saunders. His current mood was anything but. His emotions and instinct were locked in a battle for his attention.
There were a few things of which he was certain. One was that if Hattie had thought she had successfully slipped through his fingers she was sadly mistaken.
He also knew he needed a plan; and a good plan demanded an ally.
The path to finding Hattie and unlocking her secrets would begin at the home of the two people who understood the life of a spy as well as he did. The Earl and Countess of Shale.
“Duke Street,” he instructed the driver.
My Gentleman Spy (The Duke of Strathmore Book 5) Page 11
