by Cheryl Holt
“Well... good.”
“I love Helen,” Tristan proudly announced.
“It’s about time you admitted it,” Michael said.
“It certainly is, so we’re not sailing to Scotland. Helen and Jane were traveling back to London, and they should be at the town house. Let’s go home and see if we can fix this mess.”
“Are you telling me I can wed Jane?”
“You can do whatever you want. I don’t care.”
Michael grinned at Jo. “I retract everything I just said about him.”
“You lucky dog.” Jo clapped her hands. “Marrying for love! How utterly brilliant.”
“Isn’t it, though?” Michael agreed. He grabbed Tristan by the arm and dragged him out before Tristan could change his mind.
“I didn’t steal that ring!” Jane fumed.
“A likely story,” Mr. Rafferty chided.
“And I didn’t steal that money,” Helen added.
“I’ve heard it all before, Miss Hamilton,” Mr. Rafferty replied. “Didn’t you know? Everyone in prison is innocent.”
“You’re making a huge mistake.”
“Notify the warden,” Mr. Rafferty retorted.
“When Captain Odell learns how you treated us, you’ll be so sorry.”
“Which Captain Odell would that be? Would it be the same captain who swore out an oath against you?”
“What?” Helen gasped.
“The complaint came from Odell, himself. I guess he’d been suspicious of you for some time, and in light of what I discovered in your luggage, his fears appear to have been well-founded.”
Could Odell have done this to her?
He’d wanted to protect Michael from scandal, but how far would he go to achieve his goal? With Helen and Jane locked away, there would be no chance of an unsuitable marriage or a bastard baby to drain the family coffers.
Was he capable of such duplicity?
If she’d been asked that question the previous week, she’d have bristled at the notion. But now?
Every single thing Helen believed about him had turned out to be a lie.
He seduced his servants. He kept mistresses. He had sired at least two illegitimate children—perhaps more.
Why should she be surprised by another betrayal?
“Don’t listen to him, Helen,” Jane seethed. “This is Seymour’s scheme and hers alone.”
“Listen or don’t,” Rafferty responded. “I have his affidavit right here.”
Rafferty waved a sheath of official-looking papers, but he didn’t offer to show them to Helen. What good would it have done anyway?
If the documents were forged, she couldn’t prove it.
“What will happen to us?” Jane inquired.
“You’ll be tried and convicted. Then you’ll either be hanged or transported to Australia.”
“Hanged!”
“It’s the usual sentence for desperate felons.”
“You could be wrong,” Jane insisted. “We could be proclaimed innocent—since we are innocent.”
“With me testifying against you?” Rafferty laughed and laughed. “In my entire life, I haven’t seen a thief judged not guilty. Is this your first offense?”
“Of course. Why would you even have to ask?”
“If it is, you’ll probably be transported, but if you have a habit of committing crimes, your days are numbered. Best make peace with your maker.”
Jane was on the verge of charging him, but with their hands still bound behind their backs, she could fall and be injured. Plus, Rafferty seemed the sort who might hit a woman. Helen stepped in between them.
“Why did you do this to us?” she queried.
“For money, Miss Hamilton. Why would you suppose?”
“Whatever Mrs. Seymour paid you, I’ll pay you more.”
“I’ve peeked in your purse. It’s empty.”
The prison gate opened, and at the sound, Helen shuddered.
Rafferty grabbed her and spun her, removing the ropes on her wrists, as his partner did the same to Jane. They were shoved inside, the heavy gate clanging shut.
He started to walk away, and on watching him go, Helen felt as if she’d lost her last friend. He was the only person who knew where they were. If he never told anyone, if he never came back, they could die in this foul place.
Where was Amelia? How would she get on by herself?
They’d been separated in the crowd, and Helen wanted to beg Rafferty to find her, but should she?
Was Amelia better off alone on the streets or incarcerated with Helen and Jane?
Jails were ripe with disease, with starvation and violence, but the streets would be even more dangerous.
“Rafferty!” she called.
“What?” He whipped around.
“If you cross paths with my sister Amelia, would you bring her here so I can keep her with me?”
“Absolutely. The little bugger should have been captured with you. She slipped away, but I’ll locate her.”
He strutted off again, and Helen panicked.
“Rafferty! We don’t have any money.”
“No, you don’t”
“How are we to eat? How are we to keep warm?”
“That, Miss Hamilton, is not my problem.”
He gave a jaunty salute, then sauntered away.
Helen and Jane stood, huddled together, peering after him till he disappeared.
“I can’t believe this,” Jane muttered. “I simply can’t. What are we to do? Are we to perish in here?”
Helen scoffed. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
“Where could Amelia have gone?”
“I’m hoping she’s with Clarinda.”
“I hope so, too.”
They dawdled, waiting, wondering what catastrophe would befall them next.
“I’m sorry,” Jane said, and she burst into tears.
“Why would you be sorry?”
“This is all my fault. If I hadn’t dallied with Lord Hastings—”
“This is not your fault. I blame the entire debacle on Captain Odell, and I will get even with him if it’s the last thing I do.”
A guard shuffled up. He was filthy and obese; his clothes reeked, his teeth were black stumps.
He carried a stick, and he brandished it at them.
“What are ya doing out here?” he snapped. “No prisoners allowed by the gate! You have to stay in the courtyard.”
They turned and proceeded down a dark hall, which she assumed led deeper into the facility.
Helen didn’t know much about penal routines except that you needed cash to survive. You had to buy your food, your blankets, your fire. If you were rich, you could purchase a private cell, could have food delivered and your servants attend you.
If you had nothing and no one, you slept on the ground. You starved. You grew ill and died.
She stumbled to a halt.
“Damn...” she mumbled, cursing for the first time ever.
“What is it?” Jane asked.
“I didn’t see Rafferty fill out any papers or sign a manifest with our names on it. Did you?”
“No, why?”
“If anyone ever came to check, there’d be no record of us arriving.”
“No. There’d be no record,” Jane gloomily concurred. “It doesn’t matter, though, does it?”
“Why wouldn’t it?”
“Who would ever search for us?”
“Who, indeed?”
Chapter 22
“CAPTAIN! Michael!” Maud forced a smile, tamping down her spurt of alarm. “What are you doing home? I thought you’d be halfway to Scotland by now.”
“We had a change of plans,” Tristan said.
“Is anything the matter? I trust there were no difficulties with the ship?”
“No. I need to take care of some unfinished business. Where is Miss Hamilton?”
“Miss ... Hamilton?”
“Yes.”
“She’s not her
e.”
Michael and Tristan froze.
“What do you mean?” Tristan asked.
“She stopped by with her sisters to retrieve their belongings, but they hired a hackney, loaded their trunks, and left.”
“Left!” Michael looked stricken. “Jane, too?”
“Yes, not that she is any of your concern.”
“I specifically ordered her to come here,” Tristan growled. “I told her to wait till my clerk rented her a house.”
“She claimed she didn’t want the house,” Maud lied.
“Do you know where they went? Did they provide a forwarding address?”
“No, and I didn’t inquire. Good riddance, I say.”
“But... but... I have to talk to her,” Tristan said. “She must have said something. What about her bedchamber? Perhaps she wrote me a note.”
“The entire suite has been cleaned from top to bottom. There was no note.”
She gestured to the front parlor, urging them in to where a toasty fire burned in the grate. “Now then, Miriam and I were about to sit down to a quiet supper. You’ll join us, of course, so you can tell us what’s happening. Captain, let’s get you a brandy while I instruct the staff to set two more plates.”
She spun away, but Michael and Tristan didn’t move.
“I’ll check their rooms,” Tristan advised Michael, and he dashed up the stairs.
Michael proceeded into the parlor to warm his hands by the fire, which gave Maud the opportunity to confer with Lydia, who was hovering down the hall.
Loudly enough for Michael to hear, Maud said, “Please notify Cook that Captain Odell and Michael have returned. We’ll dine in half an hour.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Lydia was craning her neck, watching Michael.
Maud leaned closer and whispered, “First, though, run up and unlock Lady Rose’s door. Don’t let anyone see you.”
Lydia nodded and scurried away, as Maud tarried with Michael, both of them waiting for Tristan.
Thank God she’d had the foresight to act swiftly with regard to the Hamiltons! What if she’d delayed? Tristan and Michael would have strolled in to find the women still squarely wedged in the center of their lives. Due to Maud’s shrewd planning, they’d vanished without a trace.
The only problematic detail was Rose and her temper. If Tristan had stayed away as he was supposed to, Maud would have had plenty of time to calm Rose, to convince her that Amelia hadn’t been much of a friend after all.
As it was, Rose’s pique was still fresh, so she’d be difficult, but Maud was adept at handling an unruly child.
The butler was lurking, and Maud had him pour her a sherry, which she was sipping as Tristan entered.
“Well... ?” Michael asked him.
“Completely empty. They didn’t leave so much as a lock of hair.”
“Damn,” Michael muttered, then he apologized. “Sorry, Maud.”
“Apology accepted, but Captain, what is going on? We agreed that Michael would travel to Scotland and remain there.”
Tristan ignored her and spoke to Michael. “Think back. Did she ever mention a relative? Maybe an acquaintance in the city?”
“No one that I remember, and there was just her mother’s family, but they wouldn’t assist Helen or Jane—no matter how desperate they were.”
“Bastards,” Tristan grumbled.
“Captain!” Maud scolded. “Honestly. What is it? You’re scaring me.”
“Did you give her any money when she left?” Tristan absurdly probed.
“Why would I have?” Maud scoffed. “If she needed cash, she should have saved the wages you paid her. You did pay her, I assume?”
“Yes, but not an amount sufficient to see her through this debacle.”
“So,” Michael mused, “they’re broke and on the streets again. I’m very worried.”
“So am I,” Tristan concurred. “Why would Helen go? Why would she place her sisters in jeopardy? I realize she was angry with me, but she wouldn’t have deliberately endangered Amelia. I offered her lodging and an allowance. Why choose the streets, instead?”
“I don’t understand it,” Michael said. “What should we do?”
“I won’t have you fretting over it now,” Maud interrupted, intent on dissuading any rash pursuit while the trail was hot. “You’ll wash up and eat, you’ll have a good night’s sleep, and your options will be clearer in the morning.”
“I want to take action,” Michael insisted. “I can’t dawdle, wondering if Jane is all right.”
Maud was incensed, and she stomped over to him.
“You are not to speak that girl’s name.”
“It’s not up to you,” he retorted.
“It certainly is. You’ve caused enough trouble. We contained the scandal at Hastings Manor, and I won’t have you stirring it up in the city. If you start chasing around after her, what will people say?
“And you!” she fumed at Tristan. “What were you thinking, bringing him here? We had it all arranged.”
“I decided that separation was pointless,” he maddeningly stated. “Michael is old enough to make his own mistakes. I’m not the man to baby-sit him.”
“You’re permitting him to ... to ... involve himself with her?”
“If that’s what he wishes.”
“Oh, for pity’s sake!”
Maud was so irate that little red circles formed at the corners of her vision, and she truly thought she was about to suffer an apoplexy.
There was a sofa behind her, and she sagged down onto it.
What a disaster!
For a moment, her alarm returned as it seemed everything was ruined, but then, she recollected how perfectly her scheme had been implemented.
Rafferty had already contacted her. The Hamilton sisters were the newest tenants in Newgate Prison, and when a woman went inside, she rarely came out again.
Maud’s panic was ridiculous. She’d never be found out, and she might have relaxed, but she’d forgotten about Rose.
Suddenly, a pair of determined footsteps pounded down the hall.
“Tristan! Tristan!” Rose called as she ran in.
When he saw her livid face, he frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Ask her what’s wrong,” Rose charged, advancing on Maud. “You evil, wicked witch!”
Rose lunged, as if she might attack, and Maud squealed with fright and jumped behind the sofa, using it as a barrier.
“Whoa!” Tristan said, and he grabbed Rose around the waist, holding her as she fought and kicked, trying to escape so she could assault Maud.
“Let me go! Let me go!”
“Rose!” Michael admonished. “What are you doing?”
“She locked me in my room!” Rose told him. “The whole time I’ve been home, I’ve been locked in.”
“What?” Michael glared at Maud.
“I couldn’t say good-bye to Amelia,” Rose whined.
“You saw Amelia?” Tristan inquired.
“Through the upstairs window. Maud wouldn’t let me come down.” Her struggles had ceased, and she grew limp in his arms, her burst of fury spent.
“But you talked to her?”
“Only for a second.”
“Was she with Helen and Jane?”
“Yes. Amelia was very distressed. Maud did something terrible to them. I just know it!”
Both men glowered at Maud, and she huffed, “Rose Seymour, your imagination is outrageous. How dare you level false allegations! You’re lucky I’m not the type to have you whipped for telling tales. And where are your manners? Your brothers have just arrived, yet you’re screeching like a banshee.”
“What did you do to them?” Rose yelled.
“Rose!” Maud snapped. “I won’t put up with such discourtesy!”
Rose couldn’t be allowed to hurl dangerous accusations. Maud approached her and eased her away from Tristan.
“Let’s get you up to your bedchamber,” Maud said. “You may come back down when you’re mo
re yourself.”
Rose wrestled away and gazed up at Tristan. “You never listen to me. You never help me when it’s important.”
“I just walked in the door, Rose. Give me a few minutes. Michael and I will sort it out.”
“Don’t bother,” Rose angrily fumed. “You never cared about Amelia. I am the one who loved her. I’ll find out what happened to her on my own. I don’t need you!”
She stormed out, and as her strides faded, there was an awkward silence.
“At her age,” Maud counseled, “a girl can be so volatile. Let me pour you that brandy.”
She gestured to the butler, as Tristan stared out in the hall, focused on the spot where Rose had vanished.
“Maybe I should go after her,” he murmured.
“Absolutely not!” Maud insisted. “You’d be encouraging her in her rude behavior. She’ll assume she can act that way and get away with it.”
“I hate to have her so upset.”
“For now, we’ll leave her be. After she’s calmed, she’ll apologize to us. Only then will we converse with her on any topic.”
He might have continued to vacillate, but she was saved by Miriam hurrying in.
“Michael, you’re home!” she said, beaming.
“Hello, Miriam.” His tone was cool and ominously polite.
“I thought you were off to Scotland.”
“No,” was all he said.
“Let’s go in to supper, shall we? I want to hear of your adventures so far.”
Without waiting for his reply, she deftly guided him to the dining room.
“You must be starving, too,” Maud remarked to Tristan, and she motioned after them, urging him to follow.
“I am hungry, now that you mention it.”
He went easily, any concern over Rose temporarily forgotten.
Disaster averted!
With Rose sent away in disgrace, Maud had the opportunity to convince him that the girl was completely mistaken about everything.
“We can discuss Rose after the meal,” she suggested. “We have to figure out what’s to be done with her.”
“She’s distraught because she’s missing Amelia, and I expect she will keep on missing her for quite some time.”
“Yes, she will, poor child, but she’ll get over it. We’ll see to it, hmm?”
Tristan held her chair, and she smiled.
