A Lady of High Regard

by Tracie Peterson

  “I’m holding him as collateral.”

  Mia shook her head. “He and his mother aren’t going to run away, if that’s what you’re worried about. I told you I’d bring the money, and I’m a woman of my word—in all things.” She narrowed her gaze, hoping to look as determined as she felt. “I want that boy brought here now so that he can remain safe. If he stays with you, he might well cause himself harm in trying to escape.”

  “Seems fair enough,” the officer said, nodding. “Why don’t you let the boy go home with his mother?”

  Barrill appeared to barely contain his rage. “Very well.” He left the room and returned about five minutes later with Davy Smith in hand. “As you can see, he is just as you saw him last.” He pushed the boy toward Mrs. Smith.

  Davy clung to his mother. “Mama! He tied me up and gagged my mouth. I heard you out here, but I couldn’t call to you.”

  “You gagged him?” Mia asked in disgust.

  Barrill shrugged. “I could hardly have him screaming the whole night. Now get out of here. I’ll see you tomorrow for my payment.”

  Outside, Mia was surprised when Mrs. Smith turned and hugged her close. “I don’t know what to say. I cannot hope to pay you back.”

  “Nor should you worry about it. My father can afford such a donation. If it keeps Mr. Barrill from troubling you, it will be well worth it.”

  “I’m afraid it’ll only put a stop to it until that awful man comes up with something else,” Mrs. Smith declared.

  “Now look, go home and lock your doors. Open them to no one. I will come tomorrow after church and bring my father. Perhaps I’ll bring another man I know as well. Together they will certainly see Mr. Barrill dealt a blow of justice.”

  “Thank you again. My Davy is all I have. He’s everything to me.” She hugged the boy close. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Mia turned to thank the police officer and found he’d already gone on his way. The dusky twilight skies seemed ominous, even threatening, as she began the walk back to Market Street. Shadows draped the alleyways and corners of every building, and the number of people wandering the streets had increased since her march to Barrill’s. The excitement of the cause had powered her forward when she’d first come to the docks, but now that energy was gone, and in its wake was the fearful reminder of Barrill’s angry face.

  She picked up her step and tried to put aside such thoughts. They would serve no good purpose. Losing her nerve now would not help anyone.

  She had nearly made it to Fifth Street when a carriage pulled up alongside her and came to an abrupt halt. Mia looked frantically in both directions as the door opened and a man came flying from the interior.

  Opening her mouth to scream, Mia barely registered that the man was Garrett Wilson before he took her arm and yanked her back toward the carriage.

  “Are you out of your mind? I thought surely you’d learned your lesson about risking your life. Get in the carriage!” He pushed her up unceremoniously.

  Mia fell against the leather seat and tried to right herself before Garrett plopped down in the seat beside her.

  “I can explain,” she started.

  “I don’t want to hear it. You’ll just fabricate some story about how you were the only one who could take care of the problem at hand.”

  “Well, I was. I received an urgent message. A woman’s child was in jeopardy.”

  “And you were going to single-handedly save the day. How exhausting it must be to be Mia Stanley—defender of the downtrodden.”

  “You have no right to take that tone with me, Garrett Wilson.

  I did a good thing. I saved a boy from being sent into indentured servitude. I don’t expect you to understand—especially not now.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he retorted.

  “You’ve changed.” She looked at him hard. “I used to think I knew you. I thought you cared about people. Now you’re just consumed with your own problems and thoughts.”

  “I’m concerned with keeping you alive, if that’s what you mean.”

  “You don’t care about me—you only want to control me. Now stop this carriage.”

  “No. I want you to sit there and be quiet. When I think of what might have happened today . . . Your poor mother and father would never have forgiven themselves for allowing you such liberty. Why they ever agreed to let you go back to Godey’s I’ll never know.”

  Mia gritted her teeth and clung to the carriage side as Garrett took the corner onto Walnut much too quickly. “They let me go back because they trust me to use good judgment—while you only trust me to make mistakes. Now stop this carriage.”

  “I said no. You need to learn to stop interfering. I’m going to see you safely home. Then I’m going to explain to your father what you’ve been up to tonight.”

  “I plan to tell him myself. I need his help.”

  “You should have thought of that sooner.”

  Mia’s anger took over. She was no longer capable of rational thought. “Garrett, you are . . . you are . . .” She let out a gasp of frustration. “I cannot believe that you could be so cruel. I cannot believe I’ve fallen in love with someone so heartless.”

  He pulled back on the reins so hard that Mia slammed back into her seat. Seeing her opportunity to escape, she pushed open the carriage door and jumped to the ground. “I don’t ever want to see you again!”

  CHAPTER 23

  Garrett sat in stunned silence for several minutes. He thought to run after Mia, but she quickly disappeared up the street and to the protective haven of her home.

  “I cannot believe I’ve fallen in love with someone so heartless.”

  The words kept ringing in his ears. “She loves me?” He spoke the words aloud, as if needing to hear them in order to believe them.

  The horse gave a whinny of impatience and pawed at the cobblestone. Garrett urged the horse back into motion at a very slow walk. As they passed the Stanleys’ house, Garrett couldn’t help but look at the closed front door. She’s in there. She’s in there ranting and raving and angry with me.

  He guided the horse to the carriage house and jumped down, barely giving the groomsman time to take the reins before dashing to the garden gate. He felt a sense of exhilaration as he took hold of the gate that separated his garden from hers.

  “She said she never wanted to see me again.” He looked at the house and shook his head. “She also said she’s in love with me.”

  The statement was hard to comprehend given the fight they’d just had. He’d been so angered to find her walking along the dock streets. It was a wonder she hadn’t been molested. Why couldn’t she understand how risky it was for her to do such silly things? Most women knew their place and stayed out of areas where they would be in danger, but not Mia. She was different. She was the kind of woman who threw caution to the wind where her own needs were concerned.

  He walked away from the gate, knowing it would be a mistake to pursue her just yet. Let her calm down and reason through the situation. She’ll come to see that I was just acting in her best interest. I can even apologize for losing my temper. Then I can ask her about her comment—or better yet, ask her to be my wife.

  “Father!” Mia raced up the stairs. “Father!”

  “Goodness, Mia. Whatever is wrong?” Her mother appeared in the hallway.

  “I must see Father. I have to talk to him about something. Have you seen him?”

  “He is in his sitting room,” her mother said and waved her arm in that direction.

  Just then Mia’s father appeared at the door of his study. “Mia?”

  “Father,” she gasped, rushing into his arms. “I need to talk to you. Something is horribly wrong.”

  “What is it?” her mother asked.

  Mia could easily see relating all of the awful details to her father, but not her mother. She forced herself to calm. “It’s something I’ve been working on with Mrs. Hale. I told Father about it earlier, and I just needed to talk to him about w
hat I learned.”

  Her mother seemed very concerned. “Perhaps I should hear it as well.”

  “No, my dear, it would best for now if you didn’t,” Mia’s father said, reaching out to his wife. “Why don’t you see if supper is almost ready? I can fill you in on all the details later tonight.”

  “Very well.”

  Mia’s father gave her a final pat on the arm before Mia’s mother left them. He turned to Mia. “Come tell me what’s wrong.”

  “When we came home from the wedding, I had a letter from a woman I know. Mrs. Elsie Smith. She’s a widow down at the docks. Her husband died at sea last winter and she has an eleven-year-old son, Davy.” She barely paused to draw breath as her father closed the door to afford them privacy.

  “He’s all she has left of her husband. The note told me that Jasper Barrill had taken her boy in lieu of money that he claimed her husband owed him.” Mia twisted her hands anxiously. “Father, I disobeyed you, and I do apologize. I went to Mrs. Smith. Her letter was so urgent and . . .” She paused and shook her head. “I am without excuse. I should have come to you first, but instead I went immediately to her.”

  “And what happened?” Her father’s expression was sober, but not angry.

  “She told me what had happened, and I insisted we go see Mr. Barrill.”

  “Mia, that was truly a dangerous thing to do.”

  “I know, but I figured to take a policeman with us, and I did. There happened to be an officer walking the street. I encouraged him to come with us. He acted as our protection and witness.”

  Her father seemed to relax a bit. “Well, at least that is good. So what did Barrill do or say?”

  “He had the boy and made no pretense that he didn’t. He said that Mrs. Smith’s husband owed him a debt of sixty dollars for over two years and that Mrs. Smith had not even tried to repay it in his passing. He gave her until five o’clock tomorrow to pay him back the money or he would sell the boy as an indentured servant.”

  “Did he have any proof of this debt?”

  Mia finally stopped pacing and took a seat. “He had a contract, but Mr. Smith could not read or write and supposedly had only made his mark. Mr. Barrill had witnesses sign it, but I do not believe it to be real. Mrs. Smith has no idea what her husband would have done that would have put him in debt to that amount. She believes Mr. Barrill has fabricated the entire matter. I do too.”

  Mia folded her hands and met her father’s gaze. “There’s something else. I spoke rather boldly, and I hope you will help me. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I told Mr. Barrill I would get him the sixty dollars.” She saw her father’s stunned expression. “I know it’s a huge amount of money, but I could not let that horrid man keep Davy Smith.

  I’m convinced he would have caused the boy harm, and perhaps the boy would have even risked his life trying to escape. I told him I would pay the debt, but that he had to release the boy that moment.”

  “And did Barill agree?”

  “He nearly refused my demand, but as I pointed out to him, Mrs. Smith has no money and nowhere to run. Finally he relented and brought the boy to his mother. Oh, Father, poor Davy was terrified. Please say that you’ll help us. I’ll pay you back with my money from Godey’s.”

  “I’m hardly interested in that, Mia. This is a serious matter, however. I cannot abide children being taken in lieu of payment for debts their parents have made. And in this case, perhaps have not made. What are the arrangements to be?”

  “We are to take the money to Mr. Barrill before five o’clock tomorrow.”

  Her father said nothing for several minutes, and for just a moment, Mia feared he might refuse her. Finally, he took the seat beside hers. “Mia, I will help, but I want you to stay out of it from here on. Do you understand?”

  “You sound like Garrett now. He grabbed me off the street as I walked home. He thinks he has a right to order me about and demanded I stop interfering. I cannot believe him so heartless and cruel. He cares nothing for anyone but himself.”

  “You have judged him falsely, daughter. Of this I know.”

  “But he’s perfectly content to ignore the situation.”

  “Hardly. Since he first learned of it, he’s been involved. I talked to him at length just this morning.”

  “What?” Mia could hardly believe her ears. Had Garrett truly been helping all along? “What are you saying?”

  “The Wilsons have been gravely concerned since you first mentioned the problem to Garrett. Before his father grew too ill, they even discussed the matter. Garrett has hired men to investigate, and he has personally been collecting condemning information on Barrill. Mia, the man is very dangerous. He’s believed to have killed and is even thought to have murdered his own mother.”

  Mia put her hand to her throat. She had seen the evil in Barrill’s eyes, but she never would have supposed him to be a murderer. Still, he was a rapist and a kidnapper—why not a killer as well? Then Mia thought of Garrett personally working to collect information on the man. She felt horrible for the way she’d treated him. Here he was just trying to help.

  “Mia, you must stay out of this. I will go to Garrett now and we’ll figure out how best to handle it. Most likely we will go tomorrow and confront Barrill. You must remain here and stay out of harm’s way.”

  “Will you go with the authorities?”

  “Yes. It’s a Sunday, but we will stress the urgency of the matter and get the help we need.”

  “Are you certain there is nothing more I can do to help?”

  His expression softened. “Child, you have done more than enough to help these people. You have risked your life—no one could ask for more. I fear that if you do not learn moderation and learn to temper your responses, however, that you’ll find yourself sorely misused—if not dead.”

  Her father got to his feet and pulled on his coat. “I must go discuss this with Garrett so that we can have our plans in place. Do I have your word that you’ll remain here?”

  Mia stood. “I promise, Father. I’m going to my room right now, and I will not leave it.” She went to him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for caring about these women. If you could have seen Davy and his mother when they were reunited, you would know how grateful they are to have our help.”

  “I have no doubt they are grateful, Mia. I cannot imagine anyone threatening my family in such a way. Rest assured, we will see the situation resolved.”

  Mia walked to her room feeling a mixture of guilt, relief, and embarrassment. Her memories of Garrett angrily hoisting her into the carriage and the things they’d said to each other was more than she wanted to remember.

  In the quiet of her room, Mia sank to the bed. She put her hands to her head and tried to remember exactly what she’d said.

  “I cannot believe I’ve fallen in love with someone so heartless. I don’t ever want to see you again.”

  “Oh, I wish I would have kept my mouth shut.” She moaned and fell back against her pillows.

  “I tell him that I’ve fallen in love with him and then declare I never want to see him again. What’s wrong with me? No doubt he never wants to see me again, and I shan’t have to worry about having to answer for falling in love with him.”

  She pulled her pillow close and cradled it to her face. She wanted to scream in frustration, but knew it would do little good.

  “Oh, God, I’ve really made a mess of things, haven’t I? I didn’t mean to. I really just wanted to do good things—to help those women. Now I’ve lost the only man I’ll ever love and put both him and my father in harm’s way. Help me, Lord. Please make this right, and please watch over them tomorrow.”

  “I thought I might be expected,” Lyman Stanley said when Garrett showed him into the library.

  “Indeed, I was trying to figure out how I might speak to you yet this evening without . . .” He let the words trail.

  “You were trying to figure out
how you could speak to me and avoid Mia’s wrath?”

  Garrett’s head snapped up. Lyman laughed knowingly. “I’ve never seen her quite so worked up. I’ve just come from explaining your involvement in all of this to Mia. I figured it was time she understood your part. She was convinced you had no feelings whatsoever for the welfare of mankind.” Stanley took a seat and smiled. “I believe she thinks otherwise now.”

  Falling into the nearest chair, Garrett shook his head. “I had hoped she’d just stay out of this and be safe. Did she tell you what she did tonight?”

  Lyman Stanley nodded. “I was grateful to know that you had been watching her.”

  “I couldn’t believe it when I saw her take off down the street. The way she was nearly running, I knew it had to be something with the dock women. By the time I had my carriage ready, she was long gone. I went to the church first, thinking she might have agreed to meet one of the women there, but when there was no sign of her, I knew she had most likely gone to the waterfront.”

  “Well, it’s behind us now. She sees the foolishness, and she knows you are not the beast she thought you to be.”

  “I never gave her any reason to believe me anything but. I know I sounded as heartless as she accused me of being, but I did it for her own good.”

  “I know. My daughter’s heart is bigger than her common sense. She has always needed a strong hand to guide her.”

  Garrett figured now was as good a time as any to vocalize his interest in Mia. After all, she’d clearly stated her heart, even if she hadn’t meant to.

  “I would like to suggest something for Mia’s future.”

  Stanley eyed her curiously. “You aren’t going to suggest I put her away, are you? Perhaps lock her in the attic?” He grinned. “I must say I have considered it, but she would only escape.”

  Garrett laughed. “I’m suggesting marriage.”

  “Well, of course I am hopeful that she’ll settle down. She told me just recently that she’s lost her heart to someone.”

  “It’s me.” Garrett’s matter-of-fact statement was followed by absolute silence.