by Amelia Grey
He and Chelly began their journey.
Not fifteen minutes later, Chelly wished she'd taken one of the carriages she'd seen when they'd come ashore. Now she was beginning to think the money spent would have been well worth it. What on first glance appeared to be a very safe walk into an acceptable neighborhood had turned into a seedy part of the docks. The large two-and three-story buildings rose like dark, threatening clouds. Night seemed to be descending much faster than she thought it should.
Rough and surly-looking men stood on the corners, leering at them as they passed. This was not a position she wanted Bo to be in, even though she felt sure no one would bother a woman with a small child. Still, she tried to pick up her pace but Bo couldn't walk any faster.
"I'm tired," Bo complained as he pulled on Chelly's arm, wanting her to slow down or stop.
"I know, but we have to hurry. We don't want to be caught in the dark around here. You've got to be a young man about this and keep up with me. All right? Can you do that?"
She chanced a glance down at him. His head was bobbing up and down in agreement as his short legs worked to match her longer stride. Bo had to run to keep up with her, and the satchel she carried grew heavier each minute. Chelly would have felt better if Bo had been a little bigger, a little older, if the sun had been shining to make the day brighter. If only she'd taken a carriage, she told herself time and again. There was no way the three-year-old would be any help should they be accosted by hoodlums.
At one point, she wondered if she should stop and take the pistol out of her satchel, but how could she hold to it, the satchel, and Bo? No, it would probably be best for them to hurry along and find their way to the ticket office.
A stitch developed in her side; her toes felt numb from the cold, wet shoes she wore. About every fifteen or twenty paces she had to stop and change the heavy satchel from one hand to the other, then take Bo's again.
When they finally arrived at the area the man had pointed to, Chelly slowed her step and looked around. The streets were deserted. She was beginning to think the man had sent her in the wrong direction. They seemed to have turned away from the shipping area. She shivered and decided to take the first street to the left, hoping to find someone who could give them better directions.
Garbage and trash littered the sides of the dingy, aged buildings, giving off an offensive odor. A short distance down, Chelly realized she was in an alley, not a street. She stopped and looked down the long, narrow passageway, trying to see the end. It wasn't in sight. Maybe she'd turned too soon, she thought, or maybe the nicely dressed man hadn't known what he was talking about.
Chelly's hand tightened on Bo's when she heard footsteps behind her. Her stomach muscles knotted with fear and her throat grew tight. She wondered if she should look back or continue farther down into the labyrinth of semi-darkness. Would they fare better to try to run forward or to go back?
Suddenly a scruffy-looking young man ran past her and stopped in front of her. Two others ran up behind her. She swung around, looking from one to the other as she backed away from them all. Fear gripped her so strongly she held her breath.
"Hullo there, young lady. You and the little buggar out for a stroll, are you?"
"My you're a pretty one," another man said.
Her gaze darted from one man to the next. All three were poorly dressed and scruffy. One wore a straggly beard, but all had long, unkempt hair.
She turned to go back the way they had come, but the two young men closed the distance between them, blocking her way. Chelly squeezed Bo's hand tighter when she felt his other arm slip around her legs. She was furious with herself for getting them into this position. This was all her fault.
"Let us pass," she said on a breathy note, finding her voice and her courage. Bo was her responsibility. Her only thought was to take care of him.
"Listen to that, boys. She's American. Wonder what she's doing here?"
Chelly's gaze continued to dart from one to the other. Bo whimpered, but she didn't dare take her eyes off the young men.
"If you don't let us pass, I'll scream," she threatened.
All three men laughed, but one said, "I like to hear my women scream."
They laughed harder.
"Who do you think's going to hear you way down here? You're not in the heart of the city, love."
There was no talking her way out of this. She had to think of something fast if they were going to get away. She'd have no chance of getting the pistol out of her satchel.
Her fear was great and it was difficult to breathe. "I beg you, for the child's sake, let us pass. You're frightening him."
"Then let's move the little buggar out of the way. You're the one we want."
The man standing by himself reached for Bo, but she quickly snatched him behind her. Without hesitation, Chelly tightened her grip on Bo's hand as she brought the satchel around, swinging with all her might. The case whacked the man on the side of the head with a dull sound. He fell against the wall and then to the ground.
Chelly dropped the case and started to run, but one of the other men grabbed hold of her skirt and jerked her back. She stumbled. Bo was torn from her grasp. She heard him scream as she landed hard, her cheek scraping the rocky dirt.
"Bo!" she cried and quickly scrambled to regain her feet. "Run!"
She was grabbed from behind and slung around. She kicked and dug her fingernails into the arms that held her. An open palm slapped her across the face. Twinkles of lights and tiny stars swam before her eyes. She fought to stay conscious.
Through her blurred vision she saw a wide board crack against the head of one of the men. He crumpled to the ground. Robert yelled and charged wide-eyed toward the man holding her, the board raised to strike.
Seeing the danger, the man bolted away. But he wasn't quick enough to avoid impact. The board landed across his face, knocking him out cold.
Chelly jumped to her feet and grabbed Bo's trembling hand.
"Let's get out of here!" Robert yelled as he grabbed the satchel and Bo's other hand. With the small boy between them, they fled down the dark alley to the street.
Chapter 13
Austin's first step off the plank pulled a gut-wrenching cramp from him. He half-expected the Baltimore authorities to be waiting for him when he placed his first foot on land. After a quick look around the docks and seeing no unusual activity, he knew something was wrong. Could it be that Chelly had somehow managed to get Bo back to the Patterson house without being caught? That seemed impossible.
What then? Had he somehow managed to make it back to Baltimore before her? That appeared more likely. But there was still another explanation that he wouldn't allow himself to even think about right now. He'd just keep telling himself that Chelly and Bo were safe.
He was damned upset that he'd underestimated her. He'd never expected she'd try something so brave, yet so risky as to steal his ship. But he should have. All the signs had been there. He had been too caught up in his desire for her and had missed what she was planning.
He admired her for sticking to what she believed to be right. Just as he had to take Bo to France for Jerome, Chelly had to kidnap Bo from him and risk their lives.
A man carrying a small chest on his shoulder walked by.
"Excuse me," Austin said, stopping the stranger. "Can you tell me if the ship Aloof arrived?"
The bearded man squinted against the spring sunlight. "Aye, I've heard she's in," he said, then kept on walking.
Austin decided the best thing to do would be to go to Bradley's office. If Aloof had made it back, Bradley would know what had happened to Chelly and Bo. Besides, what else was a lawyer good for if not to give legal advice? He sure as hell was going to need it.
He and Jubal hailed a carriage and headed for Bradley's office. Austin noticed Jubal had been especially quiet since land had been sighted. Austin sensed a fear inside the large man.
"Everything's going to be all right, Jubal. You aren't in any trouble. J
ust me. Whether Chelly turned Bo in to the authorities or returned him to his mother, by now someone could have talked her into telling who took Bo to Europe."
"If she has told on you, you will go to jail."
"I know," he said without any real emotion. He really didn't think Chelly had told about his involvement.
"I go where you go. If you go to jail, I'm not letting you go alone."
"I'll need you to look after Mama. You're the only one I trust to take care of her. I'll make sure the authorities know you had nothing to do with this, and they won't bother you."
Jubal's dark eyes searched Austin's face. "What about Miss Worthington?"
Austin swallowed hard. An ache started in his chest whenever he thought about her, which was most of the time. He didn't care what she'd done. He longed to see her. On the tiresome voyage home, he'd realized why he felt differently about her than he had about any other woman. Now he knew why he couldn't get her off his mind or out of his thoughts.
He loved her.
He wasn't exactly sure how he knew this, because he'd never been in love before. He only knew that he'd wanted her the first night he saw her. She'd haunted his dreams, but she would never be his. Jerome Bonaparte had settled that. What he had tried to do for Napoleon's brother couldn't be undone. Chelly would never understand his reasons for doing his best to fulfill that fateful vow.
When they reached Bradley's office, Austin told Jubal to wait with the carriage while he spoke to Bradley alone. As he walked up to the door, Austin remembered the last time he'd approached Bradley's office. The sun had been shining on Bradley's nameplate that day, too. He paused longer than necessary, hating to go inside, fearing he might hear Chelly was in jail.
He would have liked to believe that Chelly had somehow managed to get Bo back to his mother and somehow escaped without anyone knowing about it. That was simply too unlikely.
Without further thought, he opened the door and stepped inside.
"My God!" Bradley rose from the chair. "You made it back." A big smile stretched across his freckly face. He moved from behind his desk and met Austin with outstretched hand. They shook hands and Bradley clapped Austin on the shoulder with the other. A wide pleasant smile lit his face. "Damnation, it's good to see you. I've worried about you day and night, wondering if those French bastards would let you leave or even if they'd let you live seeing how you lost possession of the treasure you carried to them."
Bradley knew how to make a man feel worse. "Chelly, where is she?"
"Oh, her." The smile faded quickly from his face. "I might have known she'd be your first concern. Not how are you, Bradley? Or how is Winifred, who, by the way, gave birth to my son while I was on that disastrous fool's errand. No, you don't even bother to ask about your dear mother, who has been worried sick about you. You have to ask about that little twit who almost got all of us killed trying to escape with the little boy you helped kidnap."
Austin grabbed Bradley by the lapels and jerked him up close to his nose. "Stop the prattling, Bradley. I've got eyes. I can see that you're doing fine, and I assume that if you are, then Winifred and Mama are doing all right, too, or you wouldn't be in your office greeting me with a smile. You'd be tending them or at least be worried. Now, tell me where are Chelly and Bo?"
Bradley turned his head away from Austin's glare in a show of how he felt about Austin's distasteful aggression. "I don't know where they are."
Austin's hand tightened on Bradley's coat. "You left France with her. You'd better come up with a better answer than that."
"As far as I know, she's in no danger. I'll tell you what little I know if you'll let go of me. You're wrinkling my coat."
Realizing his frustration had gotten the better of him, Austin let him go and stepped away, calming himself.
"I don't know where she is, and that's the truth."
"Bradley." His voice was low and meaningful. "I have no patience left."
"You don't know what that little hellion put us through, Austin. She held a gun on us, for God's sake."
"Hellfire, Bradley, just start at the beginning and tell me what happened."
"All right, but let me fix us a drink. You look like you could use one, too."
Bradley walked over to the sideboard and poured a small amount of brandy into two glasses. "It all happened about the time you reached shore. As you know, Hammersfield and I were on deck watching you. We turned around and she stood there with a pistol—your pistol, might I add—pointed directly at the captain's chest. Later we found out she had broken the lock on your desk and stolen the weapon and your money pouch. Real lady, that one." He handed Austin the drink.
"Cut the snide remarks and get on with what happened ." Austin took a generous swallow of the strong liquid, accepting its burning sensations.
"Well, you can imagine, can't you? I told Hammersfield she wouldn't shoot him, but he wouldn't chance rushing her. I think he really believed she'd pull the trigger. That weak-knee ninny of a captain did exactly as she asked and sailed away to England. Hammersfield can give you the details as to where. Once there, she departed with that little boy and the cabin boy—Robert. I've not heard word from them since. We resupplied the ship and set sail for Baltimore. The captain decided it would be better to sail back here rather than risk all our lives trying to get back to France. He knew you could handle yourself. I arrived home two weeks after my son, Bradley Austin Thornhill was born." He ended the sentence with a sniff.
Austin tensed. He made no comment about the arrival of his namesake but asked, "You left Chelly and Bo in England?"
"What else were we to do? She had the gun, so she did the talking. She insisted Robert be the only one to row her and Bo to shore. She said she didn't trust Hammersfield to take her back to Baltimore and she'd find her own passage back. Hammersfield took the cabin boy aside and told him to stay with her and keep us apprised of what ship she booked passage so we could tell you. We were there a week. The youngster never came back. The captain and some of the crew asked around the docks, but no one remembered seeing a young woman with a little boy."
"I don't believe this." Austin's anger grew. His hand tightened around the glass. "And you—you let Hammersfield leave without finding out what had happened to them?"
Bradley's face reddened. "No, we tried to find out. The captain and his men walked the docks for two days trying to learn something about her after—" He stopped short.
Austin knew immediately Bradley had just said more than he wanted to. "After what?"
"Nothing," he said quietly and went back to his chair and sat down.
Setting down the empty glass, Austin placed both hands on the desk and leaned toward his brother-in-law. "Tell me now."
"Well." A vein worked in Bradley's throat. His face flamed red. "There was a double murder down at the docks the afternoon Chelly arrived."
For a moment Austin thought he was going to be sick from fear. He felt the color drain from his face. "A woman?" he asked hoarsely.
"Oh, god no! Two young men. Both their heads were bashed in from a rock or board or something like that. Hammersfield didn't want to leave but finally decided she must have booked passage immediately. There was a ship that left only hours after she arrived, and the three of them could have gotten on it immediately. It set sail that very night, but it was going by away of some islands. Guadeloupe and Martinique, I think. In any case, if that's what happened to them, it would take them longer to get here than it did us, even with waiting the week. I can only assume that's what happened because she's not here."
Austin said a silent prayer that she was on that ship. "Didn't you wonder why Robert never came back?"
"Of course we did," Bradley defended. "The captain worried enough for all of us."
The brandy lay heavily on Austin's stomach. He straightened. "You should have never let her off the ship in England."
"Begging your pardon, Austin, but there was the little matter of her having the pistol. With Bo by her side, none of the
men would have chanced trying to get it away from her and possibly have him shot in the struggle."
"The gun in my desk wasn't loaded, and I doubt Chelly knew how to load it."
Bradley blanched white, causing his freckles to stand out. "She must have loaded it. I'm sure she said it was loaded. Hammersfield thought it was loaded, too."
Austin shook his head. What would he do if Chelly didn't arrive in Baltimore soon? He'd have to sail to England himself. "What's the scuttlebutt on Bo?"
"Oh, that's an interesting bit of news. My word, Austin, what were you thinking to get mixed up with Napoleon's brother?"
"Cut the lecture," Austin snapped, "and tell me the news."
"That's just it—there is none."
"What do you mean? How did you find out Bo was Jerome's son if not by news of the kidnapping?"
"Oh, that, well, she let it slip when she took over the ship. When we returned, the papers had no mention of a kidnapping. I made discreet inquiries about Bo and found that the word is out that the boy and his mother have an illness that's keeping them in bed most of the spring. The family is afraid it might be contagious, so they're not allowing visitors."
Something close to relief settled over Austin for a moment. At least Chelly wasn't in jail. "So they've decided to hide the kidnapping from the world until they see whether or not the child shows up in Jerome's custody." Austin ran both hands through his hair and sighed.
"Or until they receive a ransom note. Really, Austin, you outdid yourself this time. Kidnapping Betsy Patterson's son and taking him to France. My God—you are an American!"
"I'm also a man of my word. And, I've had enough lectures about it. I wish I knew for sure Chelly had made it onto that ship."
"I think it's safe to assume she made the ship that was on its way out of port."
Bradley sounded more confident than Austin felt.
"Well, that's enough about this for now. We'll talk more about it after dinner, after you've had time to digest what I've told you. A good meal will make you feel better, no doubt. That ship had the worst food I've ever tried to eat. Besides, your sister will be happy to see you. Say you'll stay for dinner."
