The Faithful Siren

by Farmer, Merry

  Imogen would have nodded if she weren’t already too terrified to do anything but move. They reached the street just as a carriage charged toward them, but Thaddeus whisked her out of the way of the vehicle before it could do more than whip up a breeze to ruffle Imogen’s hair. The carriage slowed her father and Lord Cunningham down a bit. To Imogen’s surprise, the girl with the basket who had been loitering by the church rushed forward and began to beat Lord Cunningham with the basket.

  The girl was no match for Lord Cunningham, but she and the carriage worked to slow him and Imogen’s father down enough that Thaddeus and Imogen were able to put more distance between them. They turned a corner just as the two men started to catch up.

  “Keep running and turn left at the end,” Thaddeus hissed.

  Imogen did as she was told. They turned left down another, narrow alley just as her father and Lord Cunningham reached the first alley. But the tiny space Thaddeus had steered her into turned out to be a dead end.

  “No,” Imogen gasped, panic rising through her once again at the sight of tight, grey walls every which way she looked.

  “Down here,” Thaddeus whispered, dashing to what looked like a large crate.

  To Imogen’s surprise, the crate wasn’t a simple box at all. Thaddeus pulled open the top and helped Imogen inside. Instead of a plain, flat bottom, the crate concealed a narrow staircase. There wasn’t time for Imogen to be surprised, only for her to charge down the stairs. Thaddeus followed as fast as lightning, closing the crate behind him and flipping some sort of latch.

  Once the lid of the crate was closed, it was too dark for Imogen to see where she was. She reached the bottom of the stairs by feel alone, took a few steps back so Thaddeus could descend as well, then pressed her back to what felt like a cold, stone wall.

  “Where did they go?” she heard her father say above them. “I could have sworn they came this way.”

  “There are no windows for them to climb through,” Lord Cunningham added. “No doors.”

  “There must be another alley,” her father went on, his voice retreating. “We must have missed it.”

  Imogen’s heart pounded against her ribs as she stood as still as possible, listening with all she had to make certain her father and Lord Cunningham were gone. When absolute silence reigned for a full minute, Thaddeus moved, letting out a breath.

  “Come on,” he said, reaching for her hand in the thick darkness. She grasped it tight when his found hers. “We have to go on in the dark for a few more yards, but we’ll reach a door. Once we pass through that, we can light a lamp to take us the rest of the way along the passage.”

  “Where does the passage lead?” Imogen asked, staying as close to him as possible as they inched along the pitch-black corridor.

  She felt, rather than saw, him grin. “You’ll see.”

  Chapter 6

  Thaddeus kept a tight hold on Imogen’s hand as they wound their way through the initial passage. As soon as they passed through the door, he felt around for the lamp and matches that were always waiting there, and lit the lamp. Imogen drew in a breath at the sight of the plain, tight walls and grabbed his hand again.

  “Don’t worry,” he whispered, replacing the matches and continuing on, holding the lamp aloft. “I know where this passage leads.” He paused before glancing sideways at her and saying, “You look stunningly beautiful in that gown.”

  She let out a sudden, nervous laugh. “I am not certain now is the time for compliments, but thank you.” She glanced back the way they’d come.

  A smile split Thaddeus’s face, born of the confidence he felt, now that they were well on their way to safety. “Your father and Lord Cunningham are far behind us,” he said. “You’ve no need to worry about them anymore.”

  “Are you certain?” she asked, swaying closer to him as they turned a corner and continued on. The sound of conversation from a house they passed by must have frightened her, but the passage had no access to that house.

  “I thought you trusted me, love,” Thaddeus teased her.

  She let out a breath, letting her shoulders drop a bit. “I do. I truly do.”

  They continued on in silence. The passageway was extensive and used for a variety of purposes. It had several side paths and formed a vast network under Mayfair. Thaddeus was convinced it must have originally been built by smugglers or conspirators, considering which houses it connected, but he was grateful they’d built it.

  After about ten minutes of walking, they reached a doorway that stood open to a large, clean cellar. Imogen hesitated slightly as Thaddeus led her into the cellar, but the moment she spotted his sister-in-law, Lady Caro, she let out a surprised yelp and rushed to her.

  “Have you been helping us this whole time?” Imogen asked, throwing herself into Caro’s arms.

  “We’ve all been helping you.” Rufus stepped into the cellar from the hall with a smile. “And we’d like to continue to help you, if you’d care to come out of this dank cellar and up to where we have tea prepared.”

  Thaddeus crossed the cellar to shake his brother’s hand. “Thank you for everything,” he said, thumping his back.

  “You’re not completely out of the woods yet,” Rufus said as they headed through the downstairs hall and up to the ground floor of Caro’s school.

  Imogen glanced around with wide eyes, laughing as soon as she realized where they’d ended up. They were both mobbed by a dozen young ladies, the pupils of the school, all of whom seemed to be talking and asking questions at once as they escorted Imogen and Thaddeus into the large hall that served as a dining room and auditorium when needed.

  “Enough questions,” Caro told the young ladies, gesturing for them to return to their seats at the room’s two, long tables, where it appeared breakfast was in the process of being served. “Let Lady Imogen and Lord Thaddeus catch their breaths and decide what to do next.”

  “It’s so romantic,” one of the young ladies said.

  “It’s like some sort of fairy tale,” another agreed.

  Thaddeus exchanged a wry grin with his brother as they walked toward the head table at the far end of the room. “Too many of those fairy tales ended badly,” he said, still a bit on edge.

  “Which is why we need to get the two of you on to Gretna Green as quickly as possible,” Rufus agreed.

  “Yes, Gretna Green,” Imogen said, letting go of Caro and rushing to take Thaddeus’s hand. “The sooner we are married, the safer we will be.”

  “I agree,” Thaddeus said, his heart filling with pride at how brave she was.

  “It might not be as easy as you think,” Caro cautioned them as they reached the head table and sat.

  The new system Caro had put in place at her school required the students to take turns serving at table. Thaddeus had a feeling that the young ladies had fought each other for the pleasure that morning. At least half a dozen young women with bright, curious eyes and pink cheeks hovered around the table, pouring tea, serving egg tarts, and generally getting in each other’s way more than they helped each other.

  “Father and Lord Cunningham won’t let me go so easily,” Imogen agreed with Caro as she picked up her over-filled cup of tea and one of the three tarts the young ladies had plopped on her plate. “It will be a matter of pride to both of them.”

  “I won’t let them lay a hand on you,” Thaddeus said, then bit into a tart.

  “We shouldn’t delay, even for a moment,” Imogen went on. “They’re out there searching for us right now. The sooner we hire a carriage and are on our way north, the better.”

  “You’re right about that,” Rufus said, “but I have another idea.”

  “Another idea besides Gretna Green?” Thaddeus asked.

  “No, you still need to head north, but—”

  “They’re here!”

  The shout from the hallway echoed through the dining hall, sending everyone into chaos. The young ladies jumped up from their tables as though they were about to be called to war. Thad
deus nearly choked on the sip of tea he’d just taken. He launched to his feet, bringing Imogen with him.

  “They can’t have traced us here so quickly,” he said, stepping away from the bench and glancing around desperately.

  “I won’t go back with them,” Imogen said, both fear and ferocity in her expression. “I won’t leave you.” She clung to Thaddeus’s arm.

  “Ladies, please settle,” Caro called over the buzzing room. “This ruse depends entirely on your ability to act as though nothing is wrong.”

  A chorus of agreement and the scrape of benches against the floor as the ladies resumed their seats, their breakfasts, and their conversations followed. Rufus darted toward a sideboard against the back wall.

  “Help me move this,” he told Thaddeus, who leapt into action.

  The sideboard concealed a hidden door in the wall, which opened with a snap once the sideboard had been moved far enough forward. Thaddeus grabbed Imogen’s hand and yanked her into the dark passage, his heart pounding in his throat. Rufus shut the door behind him, the scrape of the sideboard being replaced followed, and less than a second later, Lord Marlowe’s voice boomed from the far end of the room, “Where are they?”

  Imogen let out an anxious squeal and pressed herself against Thaddeus in the dark passage.

  “We’re safe,” he insisted. “Rufus and Caro won’t betray us.”

  “I demand to know where my daughter is this instant,” Lord Marlowe continued to bellow.

  Two sets of heavy footfalls grew closer as Thaddeus assumed Lord Marlowe and Lord Cunningham marched into the room.

  “What the devil is the meaning of this interruption?” Rufus shouted. His voice was far enough away that Thaddeus guessed he—and likely Caro as well—had dashed away from the sideboard as fast as they could to avoid as much suspicion as possible.

  “This school is notorious,” Lord Cunningham shouted in return. “And the two of you are as bad as bad can be.”

  “I fail to see what that signifies,” Caro said. Her voice was now far enough from Thaddeus and Imogen’s hiding place that Thaddeus guessed the confrontation was happening in the middle of the dining hall.

  “You’re hiding them, aren’t you?” Lord Marlowe continued. “I swear by everything I hold dear, I will bring this wicked establishment down around your ears if you do not hand my daughter over this instant.”

  “She is my bride,” Lord Cunningham added. “I will not be jilted at the altar.”

  “Whether you are or are not,” Rufus said, “it is none of our concern. My wife runs this school as a home for young ladies who have been through distressing circumstances and wish to better themselves. Men like you are certainly not allowed here. I demand you leave at once.”

  “I am not leaving without my bride,” Lord Cunningham bellowed.

  “Then I shall be forced to remove you,” Rufus shouted, just as loud.

  “Search the place, if you’d like,” Caro said above both men. “You’ll see that your daughter is not here.”

  “Yes, we will search the place,” Lord Marlowe said, a note of triumph in his voice. “We’ll search it from top to bottom, and when we find my daughter and that bastard who absconded with her, we’ll call in the authorities.”

  “By all means. Call them in now, if you’d like.” Rufus’s voice retreated as he spoke.

  There was a pause, then the sound of benches being scraped back once more and a dozen young women bursting into murmurs and excitement.

  “What if they find the secret passages?” Imogen whispered, clinging more tightly to Thaddeus.

  “I doubt they will,” Thaddeus said. “They are a closely-guarded secret.”

  All the same, Thaddeus grasped Imogen’s hand and felt his way along the passage until they heard Lord Marlowe and Lord Cunningham’s voices again.

  “This is an outrage,” Lord Marlowe was shouting uselessly. “Aiding and abetting fugitives is a crime.”

  “I’ll sue if we find them,” Lord Cunningham growled.

  Thaddeus listened as furniture was overturned and thrown about. Rufus and Caro protested, but he could tell there was a theatrical note in their complaints. They knew full well that Lord Marlowe and Lord Cunningham would find nothing, no matter how destructive their search.

  It was a good half hour before the two horrible men barged their way through every room in the establishment. Thaddeus and Imogen followed their progress through the passageways as far as they could. The more frustrated the two men became, the more confident Thaddeus felt.

  “Face it, Marlowe,” Lord Cunningham said at last. “They’re not here. We’ve wasted time chasing them. They could be halfway to Gretna Green by now.”

  So the two pricks knew that he and Imogen would be heading to Gretna Green. Thaddeus frowned at the prospect as they made their way back down to the dining hall through the passageway. The roads would be searched. Every carriage on its way north as well. Perhaps he should have thought through his plan a little harder.

  He had made up his mind to impose on Caro’s hospitality a little longer and to keep Imogen hidden at the school by the time the sideboard in the dining hall scraped aside and Rufus opened the door to let them out.

  “They’re gone,” Rufus said, gesturing for them to step forward and resume their place at the table.

  “Will they come back?” Imogen asked, still frightened.

  “I doubt it,” Caro said, pouring Imogen a fresh cup of tea. “Before they left, they were listing all the places they believe the two of you would be hiding.”

  “I predict they will spend the rest of the day looking for you,” Rufus added. “But they won’t come back here.”

  “Good,” Thaddeus said. “I’ve been thinking that we should probably stay here for a while instead of heading straight up to Gretna Green.”

  “That’s a preposterous idea,” Rufus said, all business. Thaddeus opened his mouth to protest, but Rufus continued with, “But traveling by road is an equally preposterous idea.”

  “How else does one reach Scotland?” Imogen asked. “I know the roads are bad, but—”

  “By sea,” Thaddeus said as the truth hit him. He blinked, then turned to his brother. “You plan for us to sail up the coast to Scotland rather than going by land.”

  “It’s the best possible way,” Caro said as though she had known of the plan all along and agreed.

  “Your father and Lord Cunningham will not give up trying to catch you and bring you back until they have a solid reason to give up,” Rufus told Imogen.

  “Like proof of our marriage,” Thaddeus said.

  Imogen bit her lip, looking more distressed than ever. “I fear that even then they won’t give up. Not with their pride in ruins.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Thaddeus turned to Imogen, taking her hands. “We’ll escape. We’ll board the next ship heading anywhere but here. We can make a new life together, in America, in Australia, in China, for all I care. We’ll go as far away as possible so that they never find us.”

  Imogen smiled at him, her expression equal parts gratitude and fear. “I still believe they will chase us.”

  “Every man has his limits,” Rufus said. “I cannot believe that men like your father and Lord Cunningham will spend the rest of their lives in pursuit of you.”

  “They’ll move on to their next, horrid scheme,” Caro agreed.

  “But traveling to Scotland by ship will provide you with other advantages,” Rufus went on. “The captain I plan to introduce you to will be only too happy to take you wherever you want after your marriage. He’s a good man.”

  “And he’s ready to sail with the tide later today,” Caro said.

  “Today?” A surprising twist of alarm filled Imogen’s eyes.

  “This is perfect,” Thaddeus said, his relief a sharp contrast to her shock. “We can head down to the waterfront immediately and board the ship. I doubt your father and Lord Cunningham will think to look for us there.”

  “But—” Imogen s
tammered. She shook her head. “No, I cannot leave today, this instant.”

  “Why not?” Caro asked. “If it is clothing that concerns you, I’m certain my pupils will give you whatever you need.”

  Instant agreement from the dozen young ladies was followed by a scramble to leave the dining hall, probably in search of garments to gift to Imogen.

  “That isn’t it,” Imogen said, loud enough to stop a few of the young ladies in their tracks. She turned back to Thaddeus, Caro, and Rufus. “No, I cannot leave London without seeing Alice first. I must tell her what is going on. I have to explain it to her.”

  “I’m certain she would understand,” Rufus said.

  “No.” Caro rested a hand on his arm. “I’m afraid you do not understand the bonds of sisters, my dear. Especially since poor Lettuce was ripped apart from them so horribly.”

  “Yes, you’re right,” Imogen said, blinking away tears. “I must see Alice before I go. And I must retrieve my portion of The Secrets of Love.”

  “The secrets of what?” Rufus looked confused.

  A sly grin tugged at the corners of Caro’s mouth. “Never you mind, my darling,” she said, patting Rufus’s arm. “You must go to Alice.”

  Thaddeus saw that he wouldn’t be able to convince Imogen to follow any other course of action. He didn’t really want to convince her. He would do anything for her, even something this dangerous.

  “We should go at once,” he said with a nod. “While your father and Lord Cunningham are still out searching for you.” When Rufus frowned at him, Thaddeus went on with, “We are far more likely to be able to get in and out of Marlowe House without being seen, say goodbye to Alice, and collect whatever Imogen wants to take with her if we go while the search is still underway.”

  “But the servants,” Rufus began.

  “The servants have been helping us every step of the way,” Thaddeus said. “I believe they will continue to help.”

  “Then you are right,” Caro said. “You must go at once.” She stepped away from the table, gesturing for Thaddeus and Imogen to come with them.