Chapter Thirty-Five
E dith couldn’t believe their ploy had worked. It had been almost too easy. Their party was shown to a large chamber in the ship’s bow that smelled of sweat and boiled cabbage despite the open windows. Edith shivered in the chilly room as she took a seat on a hardbacked chair, and Louisa did the same.
“You’re both doing splendidly,” Lord Harbury said from where he stood behind Edith’s chair.
“Despite being scared to death,” Louisa replied in a whisper.
Before anyone replied, the sentry was back with another guard, both men holding up a man between them.
“Thomas!” Louisa jumped up from her seat and rushed forward to the nearly unconscious man. She visibly studied his face before turning to Edith. “It’s him. It’s my brother!”
“No, miss. You can’t just be taking a prisoner.” The second man frowned. “How do we know he’s who you say he is.”
“He has the birthmark,” Edith replied imperiously. “My maid would not lie about this man being her brother. To question her integrity is to question mine.”
The man looked at a loss for words. “This is all very irregular.”
“You can take it up with Mr. Campbell. I am here at his pleasure. My father is a silent investor in his shipping company and would not like to hear that his daughter received shabby treatment while helping to set an honest man free.”
“There’s been mistakes before,” the first guard said with a shrug.
The other guard nodded. “He was going to be moved to the hospital ship anyway.”
Lord Harbury stepped forward. “I will escort Seaman Wilson to her ladyship’s carriage.”
She handed both guards a guinea. “Thank heavens, we found Thomas. His wife is due to give birth any day now.”
“I’ll help you get him outside,” the first guard said as his companion allowed the baron to take Seaman Wilson’s other arm.
When they exited the ship, it was to find the sun breaking through the clouds. Seaman Wilson had started mumbling, and his eyes blinked open several times.
“I’m going to drive away,” Lord Harbury said quietly after the sailor was deposited in the carriage, where he slumped onto the squabs across from herself and Louisa. “We will meet up with Cecil and Bones to determine how to get the other veterans off of that ship.”
The baron closed the door to the coach, and the carriage rolled away. Seaman Wilson called out in his stupor but did not stir. A few minutes later, the coach came to a halt.
“Hold! Hold, I say!”
The voice was unfamiliar. The carriage door was flung open by a large black-haired man. Edith could see Mr. Bones grab the man from behind, and the black-haired man attempting to shake off Mr. Bones.
“He’s a convict!” The large man yelled just before the two grappling men disappeared from her view.
Edith leaned forward to look out of the carriage.
“Black Jack, you know who that prisoner is! He’s one of the missing veterans!” She saw Lord Harbury fire a flintlock pistol into the air. He held its twin in his other hand. “Stand down, or the next ball will be in your chest.”
The man who the baron called Black Jack released Mr. Bones and stood, breathing heavily, surrounded by Mr. Bones, Lord Harbury, and Lord Wycliffe. Edith cautiously exited the coach.
“We’re not releasing Seaman Wilson to you,” Lord Wycliffe said coldly to Black Jack, “And you’re going to confirm that our other two veterans are on board the Ceres .”
“Why would I do that?” The large man asked with a twist of his lips.
Lord Harbury replied, “Because now that we know you’re a member of the RA, you’re of no use to them. The Chief Magistrate, Sir Conant, won’t keep you on the force after this.”
“You’re a dead man walking.” Lord Wycliffe shook his head. “You know that. Before you leave London to try and save yourself, do something good. Something right.”
“Nar then, how do you propose we get those men off the ship?” Black Jack looked around furtively as if already eager to leave Woolwich and the outer environs of London.
Lord Harbury lowered his flintlock. “I believe Seaman Wilson is drugged to keep him compliant. Whether the other veterans are drugged or not, tell the guards you’re taking them to the hospital hulk for treatment.”
“You came to Woolwich in a carriage.” Lord Wycliffe added grimly, “We will be obliged to seize it. You can find alternate transport away from Town.”
“I don’t have a choice, do I?” the runner asked with a grimace.
The viscount replied with a growl, “None at all.”
“Bones, stay here with the ladies.” Lord Harbury flashed her a reassuring smile. “We will return momentarily.”
Edith nodded and, ducking back into the carriage, resumed her seat next to Louisa.
She sighed deeply and said to her friend, “Now we wait.”
* * * * *
“J ust remember that although I’ve put away my pistols, they are readily available if you don’t do as you’re told,” Nathaniel said quietly to Black Jack as they approached the Ceres .
“I also have a firearm,” Cecil added.
Nathaniel drove Jack’s carriage back to the ship while Cecil and Black Jack rode inside. The runner had no problem convincing the guards the other two veterans should be transported to the hospital ship.
“They look as poorly as that other one,” a guard told them, scratching his head. “They’re groggy and ranting.”
When the veterans were stowed safely in Jack’s carriage, Nathaniel asked Jack, “Why?”
“Money, advancement.”
He shook his head. “You were a legend.”
“That legend was made by graft and bribery.” Black Jack laughed bitterly. “How else do you think a boy from the streets was able to rise so high?”
“I don’t believe that, Jack. With hard work and determination, other runners have climbed the ranks.”
“What do you know of hard work, my lord?” Jack shook his head. “Born to privilege, you were.”
At least part of his argument was correct; Nathaniel would argue no further.
“Who gave you your orders?” Cecil asked. “There’s no point in protecting them anymore.”
“You know how it works, Cecil. The less you know, the longer you live. My only contact with the RA was the Assistant Chief Magistrate.” He gave them a wide smile. “You better get to him quick. I imagine his life is in danger now.”
“Sir Conant’s assistant? I don’t believe it.” Cecil frowned.
Black Jack made a rude noise. “Sir Conant is too busy getting legislation passed for a proper London police force. He doesn’t see what’s going on under his nose.”
“Who killed the scullery maid?” Nathaniel watched his former friend closely.
“The footman found in the Thames.” Jack added, “I may have coerced him to do so, but he did the deed. And then he had to die. What’s another servant gone? You know the RA never leaves loose ends.”
The man’s heartlessness was sickening. “You’re just another loose end, Black Jack.”
“Are you going to turn me in?” the man asked blandly.
“So another runner can let you go?” Cecil shook his head. “You’re worse off free. The RA will hunt you down eventually.”
Nathaniel vaulted onto the box of the borrowed carriage as Cecil climbed inside. “Goodbye, Jack. I won’t wish you good luck; you don’t deserve it.”
It didn’t matter what Jack did now. Cecil was right: he was a dead man.
After they drove to the other coach, they decided to head for Greenwich Naval Hospital to get medical care for their veterans.
The journey took nearly an hour in heavy traffic, and when they arrived, Commander Phelps took charge of the care of the three veterans, with few questions asked.
“I’ll return tomorrow to check on them,” Nathaniel told the Commander as he took his leave.
Bones volunteered to drive Jack’s carriage to London proper and abandon it. Nathaniel was sure the man had plans to sell the coach or give it to someone, but he didn’t care what the man did with it.
Cecil drove his carriage back to Mayfair, Nathaniel beside him on the high seat. He wanted to speak with Lady Edith but wouldn’t make a declaration in front of Lady Louisa. There would be time for that later.
The drive of two hours gave him time to think about the future of the registry office. He and Ashford would have to cut ties with the establishment. Diana could still run the operation if she chose to.
Lady Edith and Lady Louisa would inform Wilson’s and Davidson’s wives that their husbands had been found and were safe. He would notify Ashford of the good news and his plan to cut ties with the registry office.
Black Jack and Mrs. Stafford were on their own. If he knew Cecil, his friend would soon pay a call on the Assistant Chief Magistrate.
* * * * *
E dith was relieved the baron and viscount were not seated inside the carriage. She felt elated at finding the veterans, unsure of the future of the registry office, and was still coming to terms with her feelings for the baron.
“We did it!” Louisa let out a long sigh. “I can’t believe we found our veterans.”
“What will happen to the registry office now?” she asked worriedly.
Louisa shrugged. “Diana will have to replace Mrs. Stafford.”
“True.” She shook her head. “I don’t see how the registry can reopen if Nathaniel and Ashford are still involved with the business.”
“Nathaniel?” Louisa raised a brow.
“After all we’ve been through together, it seems churlish not to use his Christian name.” She grinned. “At least between us two.”
Louisa replied, “Ashford and the baron will have to separate themselves from the registry. That is the only way the RA will leave the business alone.”
“I agree.”
While at the Naval Hospital in Greenwich, they’d decided to notify the wives of Henry Davidson and Thomas Wilson as soon as possible. It made for a long day, but giving good news to the women was well worth it.
When their coach halted at Mrs. Davidson’s home in Cheapside, Lord Harbury asked Edith to offer the woman his carriage in the morning to take her and Mrs. Wilson to Greenwich to see their husbands.
“Have you decided how you feel about Lord Harbury?” Louisa asked once they’d spoken to both spouses and were back in the carriage on the way to Hanover Square. “The way you look at him now. You care for him. It’s obvious.”
She nodded. “You’re right. I’m in love with him.”
“Love?” Louisa looked down at the hands in her lap. “What does it feel like? Is it different than what you felt for Lord Cecil?”
“Very different. The viscount is handsome and mysterious. I don’t really know him. Thank goodness I got the chance to know Lord Harbury better. He is kind and intelligent.” She sighed happily. “He enjoys talking with me and cares about what I care about.”
Louisa looked up then. “I’m happy for you, my friend. And when he asks you to marry him, will you say yes?”
“Are you so sure he will ask me?” She pulled at the earbob in her ear.
Louisa laughed. “As sure as I knew you were going to fiddle with your earring.”