Mara: A Georgian Romance

by Barbara T. Cerny

  Jake looked at Mara. “You must decide which piece of jewelry we can sell now—the one hopefully no one will notice is missing. Earrings or a bracelet may be best. We will take the piece apart, selling the stones and gold separately.” He then looked at Pete. “We need to smelt the gold for sale.” He made a small circle with his finger and thumb. “You have something at the smithy for that?”

  Pete thought for a minute, a look of concentration on his face. “We have some molds for buttons. Would those work?”

  “Are they traceable back to you and Max? I mean…are they distinctive enough that someone would know they came from your smithy?”

  “Hmmm. Yeah. That’s no good then. I will come up with something though, dinna you worry ‘bout that.”

  “Okay. Tomorrow I will deliver to you the gold to smelt. Then you will need to exchange it for pounds. Hopefully, you won’t have to answer too many questions; just tell them someone paid for some work with the gold. They’ll believe you. Bartering is still legal tender these days.” Pete nodded.

  “Mara,” Jake continued, “I’ll come to you tomorrow by noon, so have the jewels separated and ready for me.”

  She gave a big sigh, but also nodded.

  They all looked at each other. Until now, most of their work had been preparation, packing up wedding gifts for Mara, or taking items from the attic which belonged to Mara or the family. Now they were moving to serious thievery. Their plans and actions were becoming very dangerous. After tomorrow, they would all be bona fide criminals.

  *****

  Mara looked through the jewelry the duke had given her. Each time he took her to an event, he gave her a new piece. That was fine with her. The more, the better! She had a red velvet case with five drawers in which she kept all the jewelry. She opened each drawer and considered the earrings and bracelets. Most of them were parts of matched sets, and it would not be wise to wear one without the other. She finally decided on some heavy gold earrings with emeralds, thinking they should sell for at least £100, if not more. She had no real idea what such items were worth. And she wasn’t willing to ask anyone, for fear their plans would be uncovered.

  Mara stuffed the earrings into her pocket, her heart pounding in her chest. This was more difficult than she had imagined. Talking about it and actually doing it were two entirely different things. She had just stolen expensive jewels from a duke! Once the earrings left her hands, they were gone forever. If she was caught, she would go to prison.

  She leaned against her bedroom door, trying to calm her breathing and her emotions. What in God’s name were they doing? Was it really possible they could succeed with this?

  Her courage waned quickly. She had to see Jake immediately and stop the madness. They couldn’t go through with it. She put her friends in grave danger, and she couldn’t allow that to happen.

  Bolstered by her decision, she left her room and walked to the stables to find Jake. He was cleaning out one of Python’s hooves. He looked around quickly to see if they were alone before putting out his hand for the jewelry.

  Mara shook her head, tears threatening to fall. Jake went over and held her close. “What’s the matter, sweetheart? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  She closed her eyes and concentrated on the feel of his arms around her, his warmth and strength seeping slowly into her. She realized if she stopped things now, she would be saying goodbye to Jake forever, as she would never convince the duke to allow Jake to work for them. If she stopped now, she would have to lie with the duke, feeling his arms around her instead of Jake’s, his kisses upon her lips instead of Jake’s… she shuddered inside, to her core.

  Strengthened by his arms around her and her love for him, Mara reached into her pocket and pulled out the earrings. “This is the point of no return, I hope you know. Once we do this, there is no going back.”

  “You want to stop it?”

  “I was scared when I first walked in here, but I’d rather hang from the gallows than spend the rest of my life without you.”

  “I love you,” he whispered. “We will be okay. I promise.”

  *****

  Jake walked briskly toward the smithy. The jewels in his pocket pressed into his skin. He understood Mara’s fear. This crime was much more serious than stealing fruit from the market, and would result in hanging if they were caught. That knowledge enveloped him in a kind of dread. He glanced at the people around him, fearful that they knew and were going to turn him in. He swallowed hard and drew in a sharp breath. He had to grab a hold of himself. No regrets, no regrets now. Steady, he thought. It will be okay.

  He kept up this talk in his head the entire ten blocks, and arrived at the smithy feeling a little better than when he had started.

  Pete waited. “I found a block with little round cutouts. I think it is used for decoration on armor and such. It will work.”

  “Good.” Jake pulled out the earrings, and struggled to remove the emeralds from the settings with shaky hands.

  “Give me that here, Jake. You are gonna drop them.”

  Jake happily turned over the booty to the smithy. Pete took one look at the settings and pulled a tool from the shelf. In no time, the six emeralds lay on the table, and the gold was in a small iron pot and pushed into the fire. Pete handed the emeralds back to Jake.

  “You is done here. Get before someone sees you. I have this end under control.”

  Jake tried to smile at Pete, but didn’t think his lips actually formed one. Pete looked at his friend, and put his hands on Jake’s shoulders. “We all feel the same way, mate. This ain’t easy for any of us.”

  Jake patted one of Pete’s hands. “Thanks, man. Thanks for everything.” Jake then gave Pete’s shoulder a friendly squeeze, and left him to complete his task.

  *****

  The next day, Jake rode Python into town, making excuses to Calvin about needing to purchase leather for a new set of reigns. He went straight to the jewel merchant, several blocks outside of their immediate neighborhood. He would sell three gems at the jewel merchant, and try selling the other three at the goldsmith’s.

  Jake’s stomach physically ached from the tension. He had barely slept the night before, images of prison and the gallows swimming in his head. His life as a vicar’s son came back to haunt him in a big way. Stealing food to survive was one thing; this was another entirely. But then an image of Mara marrying the duke flashed in his mind, and he resolutely pushed open the door to the merchant.

  The interior was quite nice, well lit, with a pleasant odor of flowers. The gentleman behind the counter was older and well dressed.

  “Come in, come in, young sir! What can I do for you?”

  “Uhm. I…I…”

  “Spit it out, young man! Time’s a wasting!” The merchant smiled broadly at Jake.

  “Our family had fallen on hard times and…” Jake paused, “…and we have to sell a few things.”

  The man looked sympathetic. “My son, I know it is difficult for you to come in here, being highly embarrassed by your current state of affairs. But, I am here to help, not criticize you. Let me see what you have.” He put a velvet cloth on the table.

  Jake reached into his pocket and pulled out three emeralds. The other three were in his other pocket.

  The merchant took an eyeglass from his breast pocket, picked up one gem, and moved over to the window where the light was better.

  “Ah. Mmmm. Oh. Yes,” the gentleman muttered to himself. He picked up the other two stones and examined them as well. He then took out a measuring device and measured all three, writing notes on a piece of paper. Lastly, he consulted a book.

  “These are fine stones, my lad. Flawless, premium cut, straight baguettes, four carats each. You took them out of something and sold the gold, yes?”

  Jake nodded. How did he know that? Jake wondered.

  “I could tell since there are minute scratches from the setting.”

  Oh. Minute scratches. Of course.

  “We sold th
e gold awhile back. Things are becoming worse now…” he allowed his voice to trail off. It wasn’t hard to do, as he felt every emotion of selling these gems fully and deeply.

  “Each stone is worth about £50. But as I must deal with a profit margin and will have them set for resale, I can only give you £115 pounds for the three of them.”

  The room began to swim in front of Jake. Oh, Mary, Mother of God! He put his head on the counter to keep himself from passing out. The proprietor was quite concerned.

  “Are you all right, my boy?”

  “I...you…I…Oh.” One hundred and fifteen pounds! For three of the emeralds alone! Jake was absolutely overwhelmed and fought to carry on the conversation. “You have just saved my family, dear sir. You have just saved my family.” Jake felt his stomach churn. He kept his head on the counter until the feelings passed.

  “Breathe deep, my boy! Breathe deep. I have had lots of people in your circumstances in my shop, but none have fainted dead away on me, and I don’t want you to be the first.”

  Jake laughed. It felt good to laugh. It felt normal. It helped bring him back from the brink.

  The man laughed with him.

  Jake’s head finally stopped swimming, and he was able to lift it from the counter. He smiled his cock-eyed grin at the merchant.

  “My kind sir. You don’t know how much this means to us. I will take your £115. You have a deal!”

  The man put the emeralds in his coat pocket, and disappeared behind the curtain in the back of the room. Jake stood in disbelief at what had just happened. All those Cleveland jewels must be worth a fortune! They’d be able to buy half of bloody America if they pulled off the heist! He felt much, much better.

  The jewel merchant returned with a wad of bills in his hands, and carefully counted out the money. Jake had never before seen notes in these denominations, and was awed at the money put into his hands.

  The two shook hands as Jake stuffed the money into his pants pockets. He then left the store, mounted Python, and returned home. Enough adventure for one day!

  *****

  Pete came into the stables well after dark and crept up to Jake’s room. Calvin snored loudly as usual, never moving a muscle as Pete tiptoed over to Jake’s bed. He put his hand over Jake’s mouth so he wouldn’t make a noise and possibly wake Calvin.

  “Mmmmm?”

  “Shhhhh. I have the money. Got £12 for the gold. It was twenty-four carrot, whatever that means. Here it is.” He pressed the money into Jake’s hand. “How’d you fare?”

  “Have enough now for the passage. We did well.”

  “Great! See you later.”

  “Bye.”

  They both looked at the snoring Calvin to make sure they hadn’t disturbed him. Pete snuck back out, and Jake went back to sleep after tucking the money under his pillow, the stress of the day wearing on him.

  Chapter 34

  Mara approached her parents with a third set of requests.

  “I would like two new wagons to be made, each for four horses. Here are the specifications. They must hold two crates apiece, in which will go all the wedding gifts plus my wardrobe and other things I will need to transport to my new husband’s house. Here are the specifications for the four crates.”

  She handed two pieces of paper to her father, who raised an eyebrow but took them graciously. His daughter’s oddness never ceased to amaze him. Beautiful as she had turned out to be, she was still peculiar.

  This wedding was turning out to be highly unusual.

  *****

  In March, Luke and Pete announced to their bosses, Max and Tilly, that they were going to America. They would sail on the Charleston the end of April. In reality, they were going into hiding, but everyone had to believe they were on a ship headed for America before the wedding date.

  *****

  The crates arrived in March, the wagons in April. They looked funny sitting next to the stables, taking up most of the drive around the building to the paddock. The crates and wagons were unique in their design; the staff thought they were brilliantly conceived. Instead of the four sides of the wagon being fixed, both the back and one side unlatched and swung down on hinges, a single post left in the back corner where the sides would reattach when back in position. The crates had hinged doors on the ends for easy access. The ends of the crates faced the side of the wagon that dropped down, allowing for easy loading and unloading of the crates. They could be locked for security. Each wagon held two crates, with enough space left for two trunks side by side in the back.

  Alvin designed the wagons and crates; everyone told him what a genius he was. He strutted around like a peacock in heat at their praise.

  The crates would be packed with the wedding gifts and everything else they wanted to take to America.

  Take they did. Mara and Cecilia had already been through the attic, and sorted and tagged anything that was useful or could be made useful. They tagged beds, cabinets, tables, and chairs. In the trunks, they removed everything they didn’t want, and packed them instead with lamps, bedding, pictures, bric-a-brac, and other treasures. The attic was full of many things that would prove useful to start a new life in America. And judging by the amount of dust covering everything, no one ever came up there, so no one would notice anything missing.

  Late at night, Alvin and Jake would go up to the attic and take one or two things and pack them in the crates. They didn’t want to raise the alarm so they took things little by little, over several weeks.

  *****

  To the relief of the staff, Jake seemed to partially come out of his depression and start taking care of himself again. He shaved, ate more, and combed his hair. He still moped around, but he wasn’t as depressing to be around anymore. Maybe he was overcoming his broken heart.

  When asked, Jake simply said he was resigned to his fate; the duke had won. But the truth was, he simply couldn’t stand his slovenly self anymore.

  *****

  On April 27th, Max hosted a big farewell party for Luke and Pete prior to their departure to America. He invited the entire staff of the Markham estate, as well as merchants from around the neighborhood. Mr. Fout, Gigi, and Jesse contributed a lot of good food for the event. The tavern owner next door supplied mead. It was a great party, with everyone dancing and drinking and eating. The evening ended with tearful goodbyes all around.

  The next day, Luke and Pete packed up their tools and clothing, and Calvin gave them a ride to the shipyards. The day after that, Jake picked them back up and took them to an inn where they would live for the next month, growing beards and doing their best to look slovenly and menacing. If they were to pass as kidnappers and highway robbers, they would need to look the part.

  Chapter 35

  A few weeks before the wedding, as her parents were preparing to enter the carriage to attend a small dinner party given by some old friends, Mara, riding Hebe astride, came rushing out of the stables at a full gallop, past her parents, laughing as she continued right out the gates and onto the streets of London.

  Jake, realizing the danger she could be in, let go of the carriage door and ran into the stables, throwing a bit on the first horse he came to. Jumping on Zeus bareback, he raced out of the stables, yelling, “I’m after her!” as he passed her parents.

  Markham angrily watched Abbot ride after his daughter on his horse. “Calvin! Saddle a horse for me, now!”

  Calvin ran into the stables and prepared the only mountable horse there, Lady Maureen’s gentle Peaches, named for its love of the fuzzy, soft fruit. Peaches balked at the heaviness of the master’s saddle, but Calvin had no choice as he readied the horse as quickly as possible.

  In no time at all, he had Peaches standing next to his master, who snorted at the sight. “Blimey! My dear,” he said to his wife, “go on to the party without me. I will join you later after I find my daughter and my horse!”

  With that, he raced out of the gate to follow Mara and Jake through the streets of London. He couldn’t let anyth
ing happen to his investment so close to the wedding. All he could see was his deal with the duke falling apart, and it would be the fault of that obstinate daughter of his.

  “What, pray tell, was that all about, Calvin?” asked Lady Maureen.

  “M’lady, don’t ask me to figure out the ways of a woman. There is no way I can tell you what is going on in that young girl’s head. I am sure Jake will find her lickety split and have her right back here.”

  She sighed. Soon headstrong Mara would be the duke’s problem, not hers. “Well, I guess I might as well go on to the party. Help me up, Calvin.”

  “Yes, m’lady, here you go.” With that, he put Lady Maureen in the carriage and drove slowly out the gate and to the dinner engagement.

  *****

  Mara had ridden to the walled cemetery of a church a few blocks from the house, a rarely used and well-hidden spot, arriving in a roundabout way, to shake any followers she might have. She and Jake had planned this rendezvous, and she thought it went rather well. A woman rushing off into danger, a man rushing off to find her—no one would be the wiser. She stood next to a stone bench in front of a statue of an angel, looking like an angel herself in her deep purple riding outfit.

  In less than five minutes, after having crossed a few unnecessary side streets himself, Jake was by her side, the horses tied to a nearby tree.