The Kidnapped Bride (Redcakes)

by Heather Hiestand

  He had a bad feeling that Lady Elizabeth Shield meant business when she’d taken the pistols. At least she hadn’t come looking to kill him.

  A few minutes later, he was back in the main hall, putting on his hat and topcoat.

  “I had a hamper loaded,” Cait assured him. “There’s medicine in there too, in case her ladyship is in bad shape when ye find her. Dinna be too hard on the lass. She might be half out of her mind wi’ fever.”

  The farther Beth walked from Alix Hall, the more foolish she felt. She had escaped the slavers with her life yet was returning to the place they had found her the first time. Why hadn’t she asked Dougal Alexander to send a letter to Mrs. Shaw? Or to see her himself, and bring the lady and Hester to his family home? He’d probably have helped her, thinking he could still get her on that train to see her family.

  What bargain had he made with Michael and Judah? Did he have to actually deliver her to London to get paid? That seemed excessive.

  She sat down on a large stone by the side of the road for a minute, and caressed the skin rapidly blistering under the cracked leather of her shoe. If she’d been smarter, she’d have used the Alexanders’ resources rather than stealing from them and running away. The fever must have made her a little mad.

  She felt her forehead. No heat. She’d just been plain stupid. Or simply inexperienced, as Freddie always claimed. The silly boy had turned to jewel thievery to protect a girl he’d claimed was too innocent and inexperienced to care for herself. But he’d gotten himself captured and left her anyway. Who had been the foolish one after all? Both of them. Freddie never should have taken responsibility for her if he hadn’t been willing to marry her. She wondered who it was that kept him so loyal. Surely he wasn’t saving himself for Lady Mews, who was twice his age.

  First, her mother had abandoned her, and now Freddie. She wondered how different her Season would have been if her mother had lived. Mother had been keeping lists of prospective husbands, complete with notes, for years. She had promised Beth to keep her away from the drunks and gamblers, insisting they needed to breed those characteristics out of the family. The late marquess, who’d died when Beth was fifteen, had been both. But when her mother died, those lists had disappeared.

  She knew her mother hadn’t been liked outside of a narrow circle, but that circle had included wealth and titles, so she’d assumed she’d find an acceptable husband. Michael just wanted her married. As long as they were genteel enough to be at the parties she’d been invited to, the man would be good enough for her brother.

  She’d even let her two suitors kiss her. Only once each, of course, out in the garden at parties, but neither of them had had any effect on her. Freddie had refused to take the kiss test. What was wrong with her, anyway? Because when Dougal Alexander had kissed her, her senses had all but exploded. All he had to do was grin at her in that self-satisfied way and her thighs seemed to turn to jelly.

  He held only a precarious position, probably had no funds of his own. His job involved guns and shooting people. He’d saved her life in a violent fashion. But he was beautiful. There was no getting around that. Maybe it was why she’d run, instead of asking him for help.

  She had been rash. On every level, she was as foolish as Freddie. All she could do now was take care of Hester as best she could and not get caught again. By anyone. She fingered the gun belt across her chest as she stood, hoping the weapons were enough to keep them both safe.

  Chapter 6

  The Alexander carriage pulled up in front of the berth where The Lady Shore had been anchored. Dougal jumped down, not surprised to see the ship was gone. No doubt the surviving slavers had gone aboard with their captives and set sail with alacrity, given that they didn’t know if the police would be arriving. For that matter, he didn’t know what had happened to the constables who had begun the search with him. Nothing useful, probably, because the ship would still be here if they’d arrested all the slavers. He’d have to find Tippett.

  His brother stepped out of the carriage, pulling his hat low on his forehead to direct the water off it. It had started to rain as soon as they reached Leith.

  “Now what?” he asked, patting his pocket. “I thought I was promised a fight.”

  “Let’s check the warehouse.” Dougal pointed the way and was soon in front of the locked front door.

  “Place looks deserted.”

  “Let’s go around back. The lock on the rear door was easy tae pick, if they haven’t remedied the matter.” He retraced his footsteps, mindful of how shopworn the place looked in daylight.

  No one stood in the wynd. Did the white slavers own all three of these warehouses? He could do a property search and turn the information over to Tippett, for whatever good it would do. He soon recognized the battered door of the warehouse where Lady Elizabeth had been held and made quick work of the old lock.

  When he entered, he saw why the place’s defenses hadn’t been upgraded. Even the grain sacks were gone.

  “Want me to fetch a lantern?” his brother asked.

  “No point. I know what was here well enough.” He pointed to a dark stain on the concrete. “Blood spill, probably from one of the head injuries.”

  His brother stepped away and walked the perimeter. “More stains here. I’m surprised there aren’t bodies.”

  “Head wounds bleed a great deal. But I suspect if they managed tae kill anyone, they would have dumped them in the firth.”

  John shook his head at another stain. “I don’t know if your lady could have made it here ahead of us. I expected to see her on the road somewhere, but she must have been given a ride.”

  “She’s not my lady, just a job,” Dougal said.

  John turned to Dougal curiously. “Why object to my wording? I meant nothing by it.”

  “Of course,” Dougal said brusquely, not sure why he’d been bothered.

  John circuited the room again. “What now? Do you want to wait here to see if she arrives?”

  Dougal stared out a dirt-streaked window. “No. When she sees the place deserted, she’ll go back tae her flat. Where else would she go? We’ll wait for her there.”

  John kicked an empty sack. “I thought the place had been torn up.”

  “I don’t think she has any friends, so how would she have any other place tae go with no funds? And she might not have believed me. The truth is, I’m the best friend she has right now. I’m willing to spend whatever it takes to get her safely back to her brothers.”

  “Because it’s their money.”

  Dougal shrugged. “Even if it wasn’t. Can ye imagine if this were our sister?”

  “We don’t have any sisters.”

  “No, but ye can imagine.” He pointed at John. “Going from a wealthy, pampered life tae working as a maid, then being kidnapped. Seeing guns and horror, and then becoming ill on top of it all, having nowhere to go but a filthy two-room flat and no money.”

  John canted his head to one side. “We’d better find her before she is lost to the streets. If she doesn’t have rent money, she’ll be tossed out.”

  “I don’t think I missed any hidey-holes in the flat. She has nothing. Let’s go.” He and John left the building cautiously, but the area was utterly deserted.

  Their carriage drew attention as it pulled up in front of the tenement where Lady Elizabeth had lived. He would have preferred to overtake her on the road. Not having any true certainty of her whereabouts was keeping him on edge, racing his pulse and dampening his brow. His last mistress had told him he had far too many forehead wrinkles for a man of only twenty-five, but he took his cases personally. Especially when they didn’t go well, like this one, and involved innocents, also like this one. But Lady Elizabeth was a true original, and he didn’t care to have her spirit dampened by further misadventure.

  By the time he’d opened the carriage door, four boys had gathered around. He tossed each one a small coin. “Watch it for me, eh?”

  The boys nodded as John stepped out, wrinkl
ing his nose. His older brother didn’t spend much time in the city and was used to the fresher air of his properties.

  “Let’s go in,” Dougal said.

  “As soon as possible.” John followed him up the steps into the deserted lobby. Someone had cleaned up the vegetable matter left behind, and the steps only held a day’s worth of mud. An old woman peered out of a door as they reached her landing. She clutched a small child tightly to her chest and, looking alarmed, slammed her door closed.

  “Friendly bunch,” John commented.

  “We don’t even look like white slavers.” Dougal lifted his eyebrows.

  John shook his head. “I can see the handle of one of your pistols, though.”

  Dougal looked down. “I take your point.”

  When they reached the door of the Cross flat, they found it closed. He knew the lock had been ruined, so it would be easy to get in. Should he have a pistol at the ready? No; he didn’t want to scare Lady Elizabeth, and she was likely to be the person inside, unless the landlord had already filled the vacancy.

  Quietly, he pushed the door open a couple of inches. “Lady Elizabeth? It’s Dougal Alexander.”

  He heard angry, rapid footsteps coming toward the door and he pushed it all the way open, not wanting to give her a chance to attempt to bar the door in some fashion. Stepping in, he met her glare. Relief washed over him at the sight of her road-weary face. But then he felt angry.

  “You little fool,” he exclaimed. “Have ye no awareness of the danger you face?”

  “I had to come back.” She rubbed at her right eye.

  Had he just seen a tear blossom? The girl looked exhausted, pale skin stretched tightly over cheekbones that flared on either side of her perfect nose. Even like this, though, she was a beauty.

  He took her arms and then, damning himself, pulled her against him. “Do not scare me like this again, my lady.”

  She tilted her face up to him. “I am my own person. I will do as I see fit.”

  He pressed her upper arms, wondering if she knew how kissable she looked in that pose. “Your brothers put your safety into my hands. I will not disappoint them.”

  She blinked hard. “So they are what matters, and their coin.”

  “No, ye matter, you hoyden. Strangely, you matter.” He bent his head, touched his lips to hers. But when his skin made contact, he felt how chapped and dry her lips were. She needed water and rest, not his kisses. He pulled away.

  Surprise widened her eyes. “Why, Mr. Alexander, are you courting me?”

  A chuckle behind them reminded Dougal that his brother was witnessing the bizarre scene. “Come, Lady Elizabeth, let us go back to the Hall. I promise you we won’t lock you in, but you need rest and care.”

  “I can’t go,” she said. “I don’t know how to do this alone, but I can’t go with you.”

  “Why not?”

  She bit her lip.

  His fingers shot out to touch her lower lip. “Don’t do that. You’ll break the skin. Come, we have a hamper in the carriage.”

  “I have a daughter,” she cried.

  His hand dropped. She did? Was it Cross’s? Had he lied at Newgate?

  She sniffed. “I took her in after her mother died. But she’s exactly the age you might expect if I’d run away to hide my shame.” She straightened her shoulders. “I did nothing wrong. You can ask Mrs. Shaw. She’ll tell you I never carried a child.”

  He regarded her closely. What a tale. She might well wish to hide from her brothers, much less their wives. “I never said ye did.”

  She sniffed. “But I love her. Her name is Hester and I’m responsible for her.”

  “Is Mrs. Shaw the old woman who glared at us when we came up?” John asked.

  “Possibly. I stopped in to tell her I was back, then I came up here to gather what I could.”

  “We thought you’d gone to the docks. What with the pistols ye stole,” Dougal said.

  Her back straightened. “You took the money Manfred had hidden, leaving me without resources. I took them in payment. And a volume of Keats.”

  “Interesting argument,” drawled John. “Given that the money was the profit of a jewel thief. But I appreciate the full accounting of your crimes.”

  “Ye weren’t aware of the hidden stash until I mentioned it,” Dougal added.

  “I’m still not sure your claims about Freddie aren’t a ploy,” she declared. “We did not live that well.”

  Dougal sighed. “It’s true, and when I take ye back to London, I can probably get you in to see him.”

  She shivered. “I’m not going anywhere near Newgate. Not after my own recent incarceration. Did you go to the docks?”

  “Yes. The ship was gone and the warehouse was empty. I’m afraid the other women are lost to us.”

  She swayed on her feet, and he used it as an excuse to touch her again. “That is terrible news.”

  She asked for more details, and Dougal told her what he knew, his arm around her waist, while John moved around the room. A couple of minutes later, he heard pounding. Lady Elizabeth frowned, and they walked together into the other room.

  “You put my bed back together,” she said, a smile widening her lips. Then she swayed again. Dougal lowered her to a chair that had the back partially broken off, though it was still functional as a stool. He wished he didn’t have to let go of her.

  “It was tongue and groove workmanship,” John said. “And the mattress was only ripped on one side.”

  “I should bring in the hamper,” Dougal said. “I don’t think Lady Elizabeth will make it down the stairs without nourishment.”

  “Can I speak to you in the other room?” John asked.

  Dougal checked Lady Elizabeth to make sure she was stable in the chair, then followed his brother out.

  “I think you should stay here with her,” John said.

  “Why?”

  “I can get the hamper for you. We have pillows and blankets too. I’ll cable the Marquess of Hatbrook and tell him to send a family representative.”

  “I was going tae deliver her myself.”

  “She doesn’t want to go, and she’s ill. You don’t want her getting sicker, especially on a train. It’s best to stay here and tough it out. Someone from her family should be here by tomorrow.”

  Dougal considered his brother’s words and decided they were wisdom. “I like the idea that this Mrs. Shaw would be on hand to explain the situation tae the marquess or Lord Judah. It will save Lady Elizabeth a lot of embarrassment.”

  “There’s that too. So, we’re agreed?”

  “Yes, bring in whatever we brought for her comfort and ours.”

  John nodded and stepped out. Dougal looked at the door. The lintel would have to be restored to make the lock work, but he could sleep across the doorway that night to keep them secure.

  He went back into the bedroom. Lady Elizabeth was standing unsteadily, holding the edge of the bed frame.

  “You need tae rest.”

  “I have to get food for Hester. Mrs. Shaw has been staying with her, and they have nothing to eat.”

  “My brother is bringing plenty of food, and blankets.”

  “You aren’t going to try to force me to leave just now?”

  He disliked the pale hue of her skin. “No. Ye aren’t well. I won’t fight you anymore. Just stay here and rest. After you’ve eaten, we’ll go downstairs tae collect your Hester.”

  “Where will she sleep? Her cradle is nothing but boards.” She gestured at a pile of kindling on the floor.

  “She can sleep on the bed with you.”

  “I’ve always been afraid I’d smother her.” She coughed.

  “I had a quick look at her. She’s old enough to fight back, I think.”

  She smiled. “Do you have experience with small children?”

  “I have an aunt with nine children. My parents only managed the two of us, I’m afraid, but we see a great deal of my aunt’s family. Her children range from age five tae eightee
n, so I’ve watched them grow up.”

  “I was rather isolated until recently. I don’t have much experience with little children.”

  “I’m sure ye are a natural. You have guarded your secret fiercely. A lot of our conflict now makes a great deal more sense.”

  She sighed wearily. “I wanted all the other women rescued, you know.”

  “I know; so did I.” He patted her arm. “I’m sorry the ship has left.”

  She sank onto the mattress. “Do you think the woman who died with us was better off?”

  “I think the woman who escaped with us was better off,” he replied. “But it is possible death is better than slavery.”

  She shivered. “I think I’ll just rest a little until your brother returns.” She lay back.

  He saw the pistols peeking out of the cloak. She looked sheepish when she caught him looking.

  “I was nervous.”

  “Understandable.” He helped her remove the gun belt and took it into the other room, to keep the weapons far from baby fingers. Then he broke off the jagged back of another chair and sat down in the front room to wait for his brother.

  An hour later, John returned and Dougal went into the bedroom to wake Lady Elizabeth.

  He said her name.

  “Beth,” she corrected him sleepily. “I’m not a lady anymore.”

  He shook her shoulder. “Beth.”

  “Freddie?” She sat up, knuckling her eyes, looking pink, adorable, and young, except for her haunted eyes. When she focused on him, she didn’t look disappointed.

  “Dougal,” he said, gratified. “If I’m tae call you Beth.”

  She yawned. “I was half-asleep, but yes, no need to stand on ceremony. I scarcely recognize my old title.”

  “My brother is back. I’m afraid we’ll have to take ye down to see Mrs. Shaw. If two strange men show up at her door, even bearing food and money, she’s probably not going tae speak to us.”

  “That’s fine. I feel much better.”