A Gentleman's Bargain

by Patricia Waddell

  Claire wished she had the courage to ask if the introduction had taken place the way she assumed. Was that the reason she'd found the Englishwoman huddled in the corner like a wounded animal? Had Chen Loo raped her? Or had she been forced to endure Christopher's attention after being told that she was to be herded onto a ship and sold into slavery.

  Claire closed her eyes and felt the weariness of the last few hours seep into her mind. Tension and a nauseating kind of despair filled her body until she felt tears welling up beneath her closed eyelids. She blinked them away. She couldn't let fear control her. It was what Christopher wanted. To make her feel helpless and intimidated. She'd sensed that when he'd told her about his plans for Garrett and her brother. Evelyn was partially right. Christopher was insane, insanely obsessed with himself.

  Claire tried to think of the present instead of the degrading future that Christopher had planned for her and Evelyn Holmes. The uncompromising strength of spirit that had always been a part of her was still there, temporarily buried under the fear. Claire fought to find it. She'd survived on her own for the last five years. She'd worked and worried and hoped for a new life and she wasn't going to give up that dream without a fight.

  There was to be a meeting at dawn. She'd be there, of course. Garrett would never relinquish the money until he was sure she was safe. That meant she could warn him.

  She looked at Evelyn. The young woman had a defeated glaze to her eyes, as if she'd already given up hope of being rescued. For a moment, Claire tried to dislike her. She'd been Garrett's mistress and then she'd gone to Christopher's bed. But seeing the young woman now, slumped in the corner with tears streaming down her face, Claire could only pity her.

  “You have to stop crying and help me,” Claire said as Evelyn dropped her forehead to her knees in a display of physical and mental exhaustion. “Christopher is going to kill Garrett and my brother. I'm going to need your help."

  “What can I do?” Evelyn asked, turning her head to look at Claire. “I'm locked in, just like you. Christopher told me we're going to be put on a freighter and taken to Shanghai.” She swallowed hard. “He said there was a man there who bought women."

  “I know,” Claire said. “But we aren't on the freighter, yet. We have to think of something. There's got to be a way out of here."

  “Where? How? Whenever the old woman brings my food, I can hear men outside the door. Christopher said they'd kill me if I tried to get away. I believe him."

  Claire had seen the guards, too. And she didn't have any idea how to get out of the room, but she wasn't going to give up and let Christopher and his half brother kill Garrett and Donald in cold blood. “I have no doubt that Chen Loo and his cutthroats are capable of murder,” Claire said. “I'd rather die than spend the rest of my life in a Chinese harem."

  Evelyn looked at the bed again. Claire's eyes followed and she saw the ropes for the first time. They were made of knotted silk. Hanging loosely now from the posters at the head of the bed, Claire knew they'd been used to bind Evelyn's hands so she couldn't fight whoever had raped her.

  “Help me get us out of this,” Claire said adamantly, forcing her eyes away from the bed. “Our only chance may be when they take us to the freighter. I have to know you won't be too frightened to help me if I think there's an opportunity. We'll only get one."

  “If we get that,” Evelyn said, sitting up straighter. “Okay, I'll help.” She looked at the barred windows. “What do you want me to do?"

  “I'm not sure. Yet,” Claire told her. “But I'll think of something."

  Evelyn nodded, then closed her eyes and rested her forehead on her knees once again.

  The only sound in the room was the unsteady breathing of the Englishwoman sitting on the floor beside her and her own frantic heartbeat as Claire tried to think of a future without Garrett.

  She'd only known the man for a few short months, but he'd taught her so much. About herself. About men. About passion and love and hopes and dreams. Claire knew that no matter what happened, she'd never be able to forget the night they'd shared together. Her body went warm with the memory, then cold as she thought about an auction block in China.

  She got to her feet. It was awkward, but she hobbled to the windows and wrapped her hands around the bars like a convict in a jail cell. The metal was cold. She reached through the bars and touched the glass that separated the bars from the wooden shutters outside. The glass was cool to the touch.

  It was mid-July. If it was daytime, the sun would have some effect on the glass and metal even if the shutters were closed. The coolness of the bars meant that the sun had been down for several hours. Christopher had told her the meeting was at dawn. But when was dawn? Two hours away? Four hours away?

  “He's jealous,” Evelyn said unexpectedly.

  “Christopher?” Claire turned away from the window. “But why? He and Garrett have been friends most of their lives. They're both wealthy and successful. They're partners. What has Christopher got to be jealous about?"

  “You."

  Claire shook her head. “You're much more beautiful than I am, Miss Holmes."

  “But I'm not a lady,” Evelyn confessed. “I like men too much, and money, and fancy clothes. My mother said it would be the ruin of me.” She wiped her tearstained face. “She was right."

  Claire wondered if this was the time to do a little confessing of her own. Should she tell Evelyn that she knew the young lady and Garrett were intimately acquainted?

  “It's more than jealousy,” Evelyn continued. “He said things..."

  “What kind of things?” Claire urged. She desperately needed to understand why things were happening, even if she couldn't do anything to stop them.

  Evelyn shifted uneasily, as if she'd started something she'd rather not finish. “Just things that made me think he was comparing himself to Garrett all the time. He always talked about having his own bank one day. He used Garrett as the yardstick for his own success. He bragged about having Belinda Belton at his beck and call, but underneath the boasting, I think he resisted playing second place to Garrett. I watched Christopher watching you that day in the restaurant. If he could have, I think he would have tried to seduce you away from Garrett. Did he try?"

  “No,” Claire told her. “I never gave him the opportunity."

  “That's because you're in love with Garrett."

  Claire didn't deny it.

  She tried not to think about anything for a moment, clearing her mind of the dreadful possibility that she might never see Garrett again, that she'd never be able to tell him how much she loved him. She took a broken breath and then another, letting the air out of her lungs slowly as she pushed the fears from her mind so she could think clearly.

  Garrett wasn't a fool. If he'd gotten a ransom request, then he was prepared to meet the men he thought responsible for her kidnapping. Hopefully, he'd be prepared for violence, as well. As for Donald, Claire had no way of knowing where her brother was or if he even knew she was missing, but from what Christopher had told her, she had to assume that Garrett had gone looking for her in Chinatown and encountered her brother. Were they together now, plotting a way to set her free? Or did Garrett still distrust her brother, thinking he was linked to the Chinaman?

  * * * *

  “Where the hell is Christopher?” Garrett shouted as Hiram Wilson and Donald joined him in the hotel office. “It's been over an hour since he left to meet with Chen Loo."

  Neither man replied because neither man had an answer. Claire's brother helped himself to some coffee while the investigator watched Garrett measure the room in long, impatient strides. Garrett had his anger under control, but the stress on his face showed how much that control was costing him. His jaw was tight and his eyes gleamed with a savage determination.

  “What's the plan?” Donald asked as he sat down on the corner of the desk.

  “We give Chen Loo the money. He gives us Claire,” Garrett answered.

  “Sounds simple enough,” Donald re
torted. “Trouble is, the Chinese aren't simple. The minute you think you know what they're going to do, they do something else."

  Garrett wasn't in the mood to discuss Chinese philosophy. “How many men do you think Chen Loo will have with him?"

  “At least six. Probably ten,” Claire's brother replied. “He'll expect you to be armed."

  “We will be,” Garrett assured him, then added, “Go downstairs and tell Andy I want the horses saddled and waiting."

  Donald nodded, put his cup on the table, and left the room.

  “I want twenty men following us,” Garrett said to Hiram after the door closed behind Claire's brother. “I want them armed and ready for trouble."

  “I anticipated your request,” Hiram replied. “Once we know the meeting place, I'll have two dozen men in place. Chen Loo won't get away this time."

  Garrett walked to the window. It was just after four in the morning. The city was quiet, the night broken only by the dull glow of gaslights on California Street and the occasional rumble of carriage wheels as some gentleman ventured home after a late evening of cards, followed by the pleasant company of his mistress.

  Garrett stared into the darkness, trying not to think of Claire, alone and frightened. It was impossible. The last twenty-four hours had been consumed by those very thoughts. And regrets. Why hadn't he told her that he loved her instead of using the threat of a possible pregnancy to bully her into marriage? His pride seemed unimportant now, as he fought against the blood-chilling fear that he'd never see her again.

  “What about the authorities?” Hiram asked, breaking into Garrett's private thoughts.

  “You can tell them anything you want once I've got Claire back,” Garrett said. “Until then, I don't want any clumsy constables getting in our way."

  Being in agreement, the investigator said nothing further about notifying the police.

  The door opened and Christopher came into the office. Claire's brother was right behind him, anxious to find out where the exchange was going to take place.

  “The meeting is set for dawn,” Christopher announced. “We're to meet Chen Loo near the docks."

  “Where?” Garrett asked.

  “At the end of Washington Street, near The Embarcadero."

  The boulevard curved around San Francisco Bay to the northeast perimeter of the city, skirting the edge of Chinatown. Hiram was right. The viper wasn't going to leave his nest. Garrett looked at the clock on the wall, then glanced out the window. “All he wants is the money, right?"

  “Fifty thousand dollars in exchange for Claire,” Christopher said, reaffirming the terms.

  “Did you see her?” Garrett asked anxiously.

  Christopher shook his head. “No. He assured me that she's okay."

  “Do you believe him?"

  “I have no reason to disbelieve him,” Christopher replied. “I made it perfectly clear that he has to show us Claire, unharmed and looking as beautiful as ever, before he gets one penny of the money."

  “Don't worry about Claire,” Donald said. “She's stronger than she looks. She's probably more worried about you than she is about herself.

  Garrett didn't comment. Yes, Claire was strong. It took a strong woman to bury her mother and go on with life, supporting herself, taking responsibility for herself. She was steadfast. Unwavering in what she wanted for others and for herself.

  Garrett realized it was that serene but constant willfulness of mind and purpose that made Claire such an enigma to him, at least, at first. He was used to women who wanted things; money, fancy clothes, social status. Claire had left everything he'd given her behind when she'd packed and left his Nob Hill home. Everything but the cameo he'd given her the day she'd agreed to pose as his fiancée.

  “Very well,” Garrett said, looking at the other men in the room. “Christopher and I will take Chen Loo his ransom."

  “Claire's my sister,” Donald said, making it clear that he wasn't going to be left behind.

  “The three of us should be enough,” Christopher said, preventing an argument. “Any more and Chen Loo is going to think you don't trust him to keep his word."

  I don't, Garrett said to himself. He gave Hiram a quick glance. The two men didn't have to exchange words to convey their thoughts. Chen Loo was going to get more than he'd bargained for.

  Garrett hadn't told anyone but the investigator of his plans to overpower Chen Loo and his men once Claire was safe. Initially his reasoning had been to keep Christopher from appearing overconfident when he met with the Chinaman. The reason served the same purpose now. Garrett didn't speak Chinese and he doubted that Chen Loo would speak English when they met, even if he could. Since Christopher was the appointed liaison, the less he knew about Garrett's plans the less he could tell Chen Loo by accidental word or expression. Garrett wanted to make sure that the Chinaman thought he was getting away with his scheme.

  Garrett's reason for leaving Donald out of his plan was clear enough.

  He didn't know the man well enough to trust him.

  Claire's brother seemed certain that the motive behind his sister's kidnapping was his own association with Chen Loo. The Chinaman, being naturally distrusting of outsiders, had had Donald's house watched and Claire followed. When she'd returned to Garrett's home on Nob Hill, he'd made the connection and thought to use it to his advantage. Garrett wasn't so sure. Since he'd learned that Chen Loo had Claire and the frantic search had all but ceased, he'd had time to think.

  Something didn't add up.

  He'd spent his life balancing ledgers and analyzing debits and credits. The equation wasn't as simple as Donald Aldrich thought. If Chen Loo wanted revenge for Donald's betrayal, then why wasn't he demanding Donald in exchange for Claire? By kidnapping Claire, Chen Loo had involved Garrett, and by involving Garrett he'd taken the risk of having the authorities waiting on the docks along with the ransom money.

  The more Garrett thought about it, the more he began to suspect that either Donald was still working for the Chinaman and using Claire to make his employer and himself fifty thousand dollars richer, or there was more to Chen Loo's motive than money and revenge.

  He'd have his answer soon enough.

  “Excuse me,” Hiram said. “I need to make sure the money is transferred to the saddlebags."

  Nothing was said for a long time after the investigator left the room. Donald helped himself to another cup of coffee while Christopher poured a drink and lit a cigar. Garrett returned to the window, his back to the room.

  A few miles away, Claire was staring at the iron bars of her prison. A hush had fallen over the small room and the two women sat side by side on the floor, saying nothing as the minutes ticked away until someone opened the door and either came into the room or pulled them out of it.

  The fear and anxiety that had assaulted Claire a short time before had turned into a dull dread of what would happen next. She knew she was fighting exhaustion. The same exhaustion that had Evelyn staring across the room, her eyes blank, her face an unreadable mask. The sound of voices brought Claire's senses to life. She came to her feet, ignoring the pain in her ankle. Evelyn tensed by her side.

  The door was unlocked, then pushed open, swinging back until it bumped against the wall. Chen Loo stepped inside.

  “Ladies,” he said, his English words a stark contrast to his appearance, “it's time to go."

  “Go where?” Claire asked defiantly.

  “Wherever I wish to take you,” their captor replied, reiterating his control over them.

  The man from the trolley came into the room. He stepped past Claire and reached for Evelyn, jerking the young woman to her feet. When she fought him, he slapped her across the face. “Shut up,” he said, although Evelyn hadn't said a word.

  Claire raised her hand to repay the cruelty, but Chen Loo caught her arm just above the wrist. “Violence brings violence,” he said. “The woman won't be harmed as long as she cooperates."

  “You mean as long as she surrenders,” Claire s
aid, gritting her teeth. The touch of Chen Loo's hand was revolting. She tried to jerk away, but his grip was too tight. She glared at him. “I wish I knew your language,” she told him. “Mine lacks the words to describe how loathsome I find you and your friends."

  “One of the things you must learn is respect,” Chen Loo retorted. He reached out with his free hand and traced Claire's mouth with the tip of a long fingernail.

  She pulled back, but not before she saw the hatred in the Chinaman's eyes. It burned there, deep and dark and deadly, like a smoldering volcano. Claire had never hated a man before, but she hated this man. He was unfeeling, like a wild animal who killed because killing was innate.

  She'd seen the same inhuman gleam in Christopher's eyes when he'd talked about murdering Garrett and her brother. The actions of the two brothers were incomprehensible. Their desires and obsessions were as foreign to Claire as the language they spoke.

  Chen Loo's grip lessened and Claire tried to disengage herself from his grasp. The moment she moved, his hand tightened around her wrist until she felt the pressure of his fingers digging into her skin. He was baiting her. Teasing her the way a cat teased a mouse.

  “The lessons can be as painful or as rewarding as you choose for them to be, Miss Aldrich” Chen Loo continued, his voice soft and lethal at the same time. “But they will be learned."

  Claire, caught in Chen Loo's grasp, was forced to watch as Evelyn was hauled from the room. She knew the Chinaman wanted her to fight him. The brutal gleam in his ebony eyes said he enjoyed her suffering. Knowing that she'd only satisfy him by struggling, Claire allowed herself to be led into the corridor.

  There were two carriages waiting outside. It was dark, the silent, lonely darkness that came in the deepest part of the night, just before the hint of dawn softened the sky. Claire looked up and down the alley. It was narrow, just wide enough to accommodate the carriages and the horses. She couldn't see anything else. The man from the trolley put Evelyn in the first carriage, then shut the door. One of Chen Loo's guards stepped forward and opened the door of the second carriage.