Chapter Twenty-Nine
Toby had reluctantly dropped Liberty at the front door of her family’s home yesterday and left. He’d fought the need to take her to Hawthorne with him, but not yet. That day would come soon.
After the brief journey to Hawthorne where he’d pointed out scenery to Florence, they’d arrived.
Wide-eyed, she’d taken in the grandeur, even commenting on it being far bigger than the London house.
Toby had shown Florence and Miss Haigh to the nursery, and the child’s smile had been Toby’s reward when she entered.
His staff had done an amazing job of readying it for her, and she loved the large rocking horse they’d dragged out of the attic.
He’d spent a few hours with his friends before retiring for the night.
They’d pressed him about his carriage ride with Liberty, and all he’d offered was that they’d reached an understanding.
Later, lying in his large bed, Toby thought of her—the woman he loved and would marry.
For the first time in years, he fell asleep completely content.
The morning had not changed his mood, and after a ride around the estate, and a large lunch, Toby, Anthony, and Jamie had ridden into Bidham.
The fair was tomorrow, but they’d wanted to look around and see if they could get someone to talk to them about the threat hanging over the village. He was determined in this. If they were to help, they needed to know what they were dealing with.
“Florence is changing,” Jamie said as they walked down the cobbled street into the village.
“Yes, she’s happier,” Toby said.
“That little chuckle melts your heart,” Anthony added. “My wife informed me she wants a child just like your ward, Toby.”
“Well then, you better get busy.”
“I better had.”
A letter had arrived this morning from Mr. Scully, the private investigator. He’d visited the now empty warehouse where Toby had been assaulted, and while there, he’d come upon a man lurking around the rear of the building.
The man had said he’d come looking for more work, but the place was now empty, and he didn’t know where they’d gone. He’d been willing to talk for money, and it had been the first piece of information they’d been able to get from someone involved in the smuggling.
When pressed, he said someone brought the barrels of alcohol to London from somewhere on the coast. He didn’t know where.
“It will not be easy to get them to talk, Toby. They won’t trust you yet after what they see is your desertion of them,” Anthony said.
“I know that, thank you.”
“I am just saying, have some patience, my friend.”
“The man Mr. Scully questioned could also be lying, Toby,” Jamie said. “He could have been there simply to give that information to anyone asking about the smuggling operation.”
“Agreed, and that’s why we need to get someone in this village to talk to us,” Toby said, looking around him for Liberty even though he knew it was unlikely she’d be there.
How was she today, after they’d made love? Was she happy like him?
She’d forgiven him, and told Toby he wasn’t broken, and today he didn’t feel it. Today he felt lighter inside, even as worry for Bidham gnawed at him. He felt hope for a future he’d not once believed he deserved.
“That smile is blinding; put it away at once,” Jamie said walking beside him into the village. “The gravity of this situation should not inspire a smile like that.”
Flags fluttered in the late afternoon sun at the village’s entrance, put there in preparation for tomorrow’s fair.
Trestles were also being set up, which would hold food and things for sale.
He’d loved this day as a child, and spent hours here, usually going home with a sore stomach from eating too much.
“It is not blinding, and I can hardly enter the village scowling now, can I? Besides, women have told me for years my smile is my best feature,” Toby said, looking from left to right.
He’d not returned Liberty’s declaration of love yesterday, but he would soon. That she loved him, even after everything Toby had done to her, was humbling. Of course he’d known she had to care deeply. Liberty would never have given herself to him if she didn’t.
“Ah, but that smile is different,” Jamie said. “It’s an Anthony smile.”
“Is it?” Anthony, who walked beside him, said. “The smile of a man in love, do you mean?”
“That will do,” Toby said.
“First Florence is changing you, and now Liberty. You made my life hell tormenting me when I fell in love with Evie, therefore we must now do the same to you,” Anthony said, looking smug.
“I have not said I’m in—”
“I saw your face when you stepped down from that carriage, Toby. Something happened between you and your childhood friend on that journey. It was there for everyone to see on both your faces,” Jamie said.
He exhaled. “I would rather have this conversation with her than both of you.”
“Ah, so there is a conversation to have?” Jamie asked.
Toby ignored them and nodded to Mr. Bridget, who was placing a sign on his fence.
“About time you came back again!” he shouted when he saw Toby.
Toby walked to where the man stood glaring at him. He then held out his hand. It took a few minutes, but the older man shook it.
“You’ll forgive me, Mr. Bridget. It was wrong of me to abandon Bidham, but if you’ll have me, I’m back now and going nowhere.”
The man harrumphed, then nodded. “Very well, you can stay,” he said, as if he owned the village. “And it’s my hope you’ll see your way clear to changing the bad.”
Toby leaned in closer. “I’m going to make sure of it, and I’m sorry things have not been easy for the residents. Will you tell me what has been happening?”
Mr. Bridget had always been the man in town who talked the loudest and had the most to say. An unofficial mayor, he was usually the spokesperson, if one were needed. As a child, Toby had been terrified of him.
The older man shook his head. “There are eyes everywhere.” He then walked away.
“Come, we need to put an end to this, and to do that, we must know who we are dealing with,” Toby said. “I’m not leaving here unless we get someone to talk to us.”
He walked, he talked, and no one would speak to him. Toby tried everything, and when that didn’t work, Jamie or Anthony stepped in. No one would spill any information, and all appeared terrified when he’d pressed them.
“The threat must be severe indeed to silence an entire town,” Anthony said.
It was at the bottom of the village that he saw the man standing beside the bakery. Tom Ackers, Sally’s father. His eyes connected with Toby’s and then he disappeared.
“I am going to speak to someone.”
“Who?” Anthony looked around him.
“There is no time to explain. We must do this fast before anyone is alerted. Enter the bakery and stay there while I go out the rear door. Then we will leave together when I return. Purchase gingerbread.”
“Be careful,” Jamie said.
“So this is the place where the legendary gingerbread is made?” Anthony said loudly.
“Indeed, it is. Come along and I will purchase you some,” Toby added.
They entered, and Toby looked at the man behind the counter. He turned and walked away. Toby followed. They entered the kitchens, and it was there he found a rear door. Tom Ackers stood just inside it with Izack Potter, the bakery’s owner.
“My condolences for your loss,” Toby said before the man spoke.
“My Sally was murdered, and it was a message for our silence.”
Deep grooves of sorrow marked the man’s face, and dark smudges framed his sad eyes. Toby could feel his distress.
“But there are those among us that can no longer stay silent,” Izack said. “After Sally was found, we received this note.”
Toby took the paper handed to him and read the words.
You were told that if you didn’t do as I say, there would be trouble for you all. The girl’s death was that warning. Heed or more will follow.
“We will ensure that doesn’t happen,” Toby said pocketing the note. “Now tell me everything I need to know fast, and why the smuggling started?”
A thought had been niggling at him. How could whoever was behind this make an entire village silent?
Tom looked down at his hands. “We were greedy, and I lost my girl because of it.”
“A man approached us and said he wanted to bring in barrels of alcohol.” Izack continued the story. “The townsfolk had no problem with making a few extra coins, but soon we realized it was more than just alcohol coming in.”
“What else was in those barrels?”
“Opium,” Izack said. “A barrel fell off a cart one day and rolled down the street. It broke open, and it was old Mrs. Luther that saw the powder. She knew what it was. We confronted them, and it was then the threats started. Sally was found dead not long after.”
Toby knew how destructive opium could be. He’d seen the results on some of society’s members.
“We’re talking to you because no one else can help us, and we’re desperate. The hold they have over us will last forever if we don’t stop it,” Izack said.
“If we go to the authorities, we will be charged,” Tom added. “It’s my hope that now you’re back in Bidham, that you are a better man than you were, like your father, and will help us, Lord Corbyn.”
Toby nodded, knowing he deserved the insult. “I have already started investigations and have found the location in London where the barrels were being delivered.”
That surprised them. They then told him everything they knew. Both talked at Toby for the next five minutes.
“And now you need to go as they’re watching, my lord, and have eyes everywhere,” Tom said. “It’s our belief that whoever is behind this is one of you.”
“A nobleman?” Toby asked.
“Yes.”
“If you hear anything more, find a way to get the information to me,” Toby said, walking away. “But trust that I will see this through to its end.”
“We want to,” Izack Potter said, and Toby could not fault the words, as he’d given them no reason to trust him.
“Do you know when the next shipment is to arrive?” Toby asked.
“It comes every three weeks. They’re supplying many around the country now,” Izack said.
“They’re ruthless, with a huge gang of men, and they’re mean and loyal to whoever is behind it,” Tom added.
Toby nodded, then went back into the bakery where his friends were talking loudly about how good the gingerbread was. They then all walked out of there eating. It tasted like straw in his mouth.
He wanted whoever was behind this caught, and he would see that done. Only then could he look to a future with Liberty and Florence.