Footsteps sounded in the tunnel, and Alexandra stirred where she had been dropped, her feet and wrists bound. The stone beneath her scratched against her skin and she winced, forgetting how rough it truly was.
There was a sound of rustling, and then the distinct sound of something being laid down on the ground. Not a great weight, but something.
“Two? When did we start doing two?” an unfamiliar male voice demanded.
“Mistress said it was special circumstance. Happened upon this one, and she said to, then sent out for another,” a rougher voice replied.
Alexandra closed her eyes against the dark fabric over her eyes. Not another victim, not during her plan. She couldn’t exactly predict how things would go, and if someone else was along, it would complicate things infinitely.
“When is the buyer coming?” the first voice asked, seeming to settle.
“I think she said three or so. Not sure he’ll want both, but we’ll let Mr. C decide the specifics.”
“If we’re doing double duty, we should get higher wages.”
“You want to tell the mistress that?”
“Tell the mistress what?” a cold female voice intoned, her voice magnified in the tunnel.
Alexandra shivered, the voice of Miss Gilbert not nearly so lifeless now as it had been every other time she had met her. This was the voice of a calculating, powerful woman, and without seeing the woman in question, the voice alone was intimidating.
“Nothing,” the men grunted together, shuffling. “You want us to carry them down?”
“Not yet.” Footsteps came towards Alexandra, pausing, and then the toe of a boot nudged at her stomach. “Take her blindfold off and sit her up.”
The men grabbed Alexandra’s arms and hefted her up, then one of them fumbled at the back of her head, the blindfold sliding off.
Alexandra waited a minute before opening her eyes, swallowing once. Then she did so, squinting in the strange light around them. A combination of torches and weak gas lighting lined the tunnels, outdated certainly, but likely easier for upkeep than modernizing. The walls were a muted gray, roughly hewn out of stone and covered with a layer of chalk-like dust. The floor bore detail streaks of footsteps, and darker streaks that had to come from boots or goods.
Or, perhaps, bodies.
A tapping sound brought her attention front and center to a pointed boot clicking against the ground. She followed it up to a slender body and angular face of Miss Gilbert staring down at her, arms folded and superior.
Alexandra smiled as though she were meeting someone in the parlor of her house in Savannah. “Why, Miss Gilbert, as I live and breathe. Fancy meetin’ you here in the middle of the night and in a tunnel beneath the city. Are you strugglin’ to sleep tonight and goin’ for a walk? Surely there are better ways of calmin’ a body down.”
The thin lips curved to one side, her eyes narrowing. “You keep up that superior air, Mrs. Carlton. You’re going to need it where you’re going. From the first moment I met you, I despised everything you stood for and represented. A higher class thinking they can rule and reign over the rest of us who have to work for our living, whereas you have never had to work for anything in your life. Look at you, beautiful and charming and fashionable, you likely had suitors crawling the walls.”
There was a lifetime of bitterness in her voice, and Alexandra shifted uneasily. She hadn’t counted on being so disliked simply for existing, not when she’d given such a concentrated effort to behaving as she had.
But if she could keep Miss Gilbert talking without irritating her unnecessarily, it would buy Tucker more time to find her.
“I didn’t mean to…” she tried weakly.
“Stop,” Miss Gilbert spat with a shake of her head. “Just stop. I can’t stand your accent and the spoiled airs in every word you speak. You don’t even live here, and you got invited to dine with the Teagues. It’s all in who you know, you said. Well, on that we can absolutely agree.” She took a step forward and crouched to Alexandra’s level. “I know people, too, Mrs. Carlton. I know people that would make your skin crawl. That’s the benefit of working with the police. You meet the most interesting people.”
Alexandra’s heart stopped in her chest for a moment, her mind turning blank. “I… I thought…”
Miss Gilbert sneered. “What? You thought I was just the boring secretary that couldn’t find anything better to do for her occupation? That I stayed there for my love of the esteemed sergeant?”
The lackeys nearby, huge beefy men with more articles of clothing than teeth, snickered and coughed at that.
“Oh, he’s an attractive man,” Miss Gilbert went on, “and his mind is surely first class. But my admiration for him and attentiveness to his needs makes me invaluable to him, and a trusted member of the force. And that gives me access and freedom.” She smiled, her tiny teeth forming neat rows between her lips. “The city is teeming with business at the docks, and there are people willing to pay.”
Alexandra could imagine there were, and one glance at the woman across the tunnel told her exactly who would be paying for such a woman. Or, rather, what trade would do so.
“Are you curious about your companion?” Miss Gilbert asked, reading her expression right. “Don’t be. She’s a whore already, but a young, healthy one. Those are always worth good money. I believe Peter drugged her at the bordello this evening before she could get on with what he was paying her for. Such a pity, I do hope he gets his money back.”
There was another dark chuckle from the men, and the look in their eyes told Alexandra they would not hesitate to treat her similarly if they were given the opportunity.
Another set of footsteps sounded from further down the tunnel, and Miss Gilbert rose, turning towards it and moving quickly away. Her lackeys followed, their voices low and indistinguishable amid the loud dripping sounds from the ceiling.
“Psst,” Alexandra hissed at the woman across from her. “Pssst! Are you awake?”
The woman turned her head towards Alexandra, and she was stunned to see that she was a girl of no more than fifteen staring back at her, eyes wide and terrified. She nodded slowly at Alexandra, then bit down on her trembling lips.
“Don’t worry,” Alexandra whispered with a smile. “We’ll get out of this. What’s your name?”
The girl wet her lips. “Clara, ma’am. And I’m not a… a…”
Alexandra shook her head. “That’s all right, dear. It doesn’t matter.”
A tear ran down Clara’s cheek. “I’m a maid there, ma’am. My aunt runs the place, and I have to work for her. But even that would be better than…”
“Of course,” Alexandra overrode. “Of course, it would be. You rest there, let them think you’re asleep. Leave this all to me, hmm?”
Clara nodded, trying for a smile, then turned her head back the way it had been, her eyes closing.
Alexandra leaned her head back against the wall, exhaling slowly.
Come on, Tucker…
The others came back near them, all eyes on Alexandra.
“Oh, is there an update?” she quipped almost cheerily. “I understand we are to undertake a voyage, and I do so long to be at sea. It’s a marvelous experience.”
“Shut up!” Miss Gilbert snapped, disgusted. “Do you ever stop talking?”
Alexandra shrugged a shoulder. “It’s a fault, I do admit. In fact…”
“Enough!” Miss Gilbert shrieked. “Enough. I’ve gained a fortune working in this trade, but I swear I would trade it all to silence you.”
Flattering thought, indeed.
Alexandra chose not to respond, keeping her eyes steady on her captor. She had no patience to play a damsel in distress, and no desire to show this woman any sign of fear.
Miss Gilbert crouched before her again and ran a finger along Alexandra’s cheek, the finger cold as ice. “I’ll get another fortune just for selling you, my dear. An absolute fortune, and it will have absolutely nothing to do with a ransom. And that
poor, deluded, fencepost of a husband you have, the one who trails after you like a puppy and follows you by the hem of your skirts, will never know what happened to you. Poor, poor, boring Agent Carlton. Whatever will he do?”
“Well, I imagine the poor man will save his wife, but that could just be my opinion,” drawled a well-known, well-beloved, and very much welcomed voice from the other direction of the tunnel.
Miss Gilbert sprang backwards, falling to the ground in her haste while her lackeys dropped their cigars, already backing down the other end.
Tucker appeared in the faint light, smiling grimly. “I’d bark, Miss Gilbert, but I’ve never been a very good puppy. Besides, I tend not to indulge criminals. You are under arrest.”
The lackeys bolted down the tunnel, and two men from behind Tucker sprang after them while another two secured Miss Gilbert before she could do more than crawl backwards. The sounds of a scuffle told them all that other officers had stopped the lackeys, if not whoever they had been speaking with.
Alexandra exhaled, the sound almost a sob, and she looked up at her husband, a smile surprisingly difficult to manage. “I don’t know, Mutt. I think you’re a rather good dog, personally.”
He flashed a brief grin, and then he was to her, untying her wrists and feet before gathering her into his arms, his hold nearly crushing. “Oh, Alex,” he murmured into her hair, stroking it over and over. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
She slid her arms up to his neck, holding him tightly. “I’m fine, Tucker. I promise, I’m fine.”
He kissed her hair, then her cheek and her brow, resting his lips there. “I need a moment. I need…” He shuddered, then bent his head and kissed her hard.
She returned the kiss, cradling his head in her hands, forcing the kiss to gentle. She touched her brow to hers, breaking the kiss. “It’s all right. Nothing happened.”
“But it could have,” Tucker whispered, his nose brushing hers. “So much could have. I knew you were a fighter, I knew you weren’t a damsel in distress, but…” He kissed her again, this time very grazing. “I could have lost you anyway.”
“I know,” she replied, stroking his cheek.
He pulled back and cupped her face with one hand. “Were you afraid, Alex?”
“Yes,” she said at once. “And no.”
His mouth curved. “Explain that, if you will.”
She returned his smile and laced her fingers behind his neck. “I knew you’d find me. I trusted you would.”
Tucker groaned and touched his brow to hers again, his lips almost at hers. “I’m so sorry, Alex. I’m so sorry about last night, and the days before…”
“I should have told you,” Alexandra interrupted, shaking her head against him. “I should have told you about Charlie and the telegram, I should have waited, and…”
“I trust you, Alex,” Tucker broke in, pulling back and giving her a steady look. “I trusted you even when I said I didn’t, and I’ll never accuse you of anything again.”
She raised a brow at him. “Never is a very long time.”
“I know.”
“Don’t make vows you won’t keep,” she scolded, scooting herself closer to him. “It reminds me of our wedding.”
Tucker smiled a little. “I’ve kept those. So have you.”
Her eyes widened and she sat back on her heels. “I suppose we have. What a pleasant thought.”
He laughed softly, his arms folding around her more, pulling her into him. “You’re shivering,” he pointed out.
“So are you,” she replied, brushing her nose against his.
“I’m still afraid,” he admitted with a nuzzle against her hair, his lips dusting across her skin.
Alexandra sighed and burrowed herself against the warmth of his chest. “So am I.”
The police station was bustling with activity when they arrived, officers running in and out, suspects being led into the jail and others taken into rooms for interviews. Apparently, after Tucker and Charlie had woken Dobson, he had immediately deployed the entirety of the police force as well as their potential recruits.
Charlie had led another team down to the docks to approach from the other side, and had taken several foremen as well as Mr. Creet himself into custody.
Tucker found he didn’t care about that as much as he did getting through the debriefing process with Alexandra and young Clara, then getting both to safety.
Particularly Alexandra, although he was adamant that Clara would not be returned to the poor life her aunt was giving her. No girl should be forced into working in such a place, especially not at such a young age. It was a miracle she had been spared being one of the so-called ladies at the bordello as yet, but one he was grateful for.
Dobson agreed wholeheartedly, and had been remarkably tender with Clara when they’d brought her in. Tucker wasn’t entirely sure what that was all about, but when Mrs. Dobson had entered a moment ago, he had a fairly decent idea.
Alexandra, however, was insisting that she needed to see Clara and make sure she was all right, and her constant chirping was driving him mad.
Making him grin without reserve, but driving him mad.
“Will somebody tell me something at any point in the near future?” Alexandra demanded, drumming her fingers on what had formerly been Miss Gilbert’s desk, her hair completely loose and wild. “I would think that I should have some say in the girl’s future, considering I was kidnapped with her.”
Tucker put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. “Easy, Chickadee. She’s not as brave as you, and not as strong. She needs some tender care.”
Alex looked up at him, her brows knitting. “And I cannot be tender with her?”
He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Not what I said.”
“You choose today to turn conversational, and this is what you say?” She scoffed loudly. “Figures.”
Tucker shook his head, biting the inside of his cheek. There really was nobody like his Chickadee.
A door nearby opened and Dobson came storming out, his mustache twitching. He saw Tucker and Alexandra, and changed directions for them.
“Where is Clara?” Alexandra demanded without fanfare.
“My office,” he responded without ruffling. “My wife is speaking with her, and I believe she will be coming home with us for a time. Can’t have her going back to an aunt who would force her into such conditions. We’ll see to all the details.”
Alexandra nodded primly and put a hand over Tucker’s on her shoulder. “That is very good of you, Sergeant. Thank you.”
Dobson looked at Alexandra directly, his mustache shifting to one side. Then it straightened and his brow furrowed. “ATKINS!” he bellowed. “Get Mrs. Carlton some tea, can’t you see she needs it?”
He turned and moved towards the back of the offices. “Brady! Find her a blasted coat, would you? I can see her shivering? Gains!”
A young man sprang into the room, spine stiff at attention. “Sir?”
Dobson pointed at Alexandra. “Whatever she tells you, write it down. Anything she wants, you get it. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” Gains said at once as the other young officers came in with a coat and some tea, bringing both to Alexandra.
“And Gains,” Dobson added, almost as an afterthought. “Ask her for qualities and skills for female associates. We’ll need women like her on our side.”
Tucker all out gaped at that; he couldn’t imagine what Alexandra’s expression was.
Dobson looked back at Alexandra, smiling in full. “If you wouldn’t mind indulging us, Mrs. Carlton.”
Now Tucker pulled out a chair and sat beside Alexandra, glancing at her. She stared right back at Dobson, giving him her sweet Southern smile. “Not at all, Sergeant Dobson. I’m quite charmed at the moment, and I’ll give you whatever you like.”
Dobson nodded, then disappeared into the other parts of the office to see to further details.
Young Gains moved to a nearby chair, sitting carefully and smi
ling at Alexandra. “Mrs. Carlton, whenever you’re ready, if you’d like to tell me what happened tonight.”
Tucker reached over to take her hand, and found her fingers intertwining with his at once.
Alexandra exhaled, her fingers brushing his in thought. “I was baking with our hostess, Mrs. Ames,” she began, before relating her entire thought process and her realizations.
Tucker listened with amazement as she related connecting the pieces of the case together, seeing where they should have suspected matters but hadn’t, and wishing he had caught the connections sooner. This all might have been avoided if he had simply communicated better with his partner, but there was no point in recriminations now.
An Agent for Alexandra Page 14
