Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
W ell, here they were again.
Michael had never bared his soul to someone before.
Now that he had, it was enlightening.
If humbling.
He just wished he hadn’t done so minutes before the very woman he had given his heart to was pressed against him in the corner of a printer’s shop.
He wondered how uncomfortable Adelaide was having to remain in such proximity to him, although that shouldn’t be his immediate concern.
No, that would be the men walking around this shop and warehouse, one just in front of them, likely looking for the very plate he held in his hand.
Another pair of footsteps sounded beyond the desk where they were currently hidden, and Michael tightened his arm around Adelaide when she trembled ever so slightly.
“I told you that I didn’t need you to be involved in this,” came the third man’s voice, the one they had followed the other night. This must be Rawlins. “Your role is transport.”
“I had to see for myself how these notes were getting damaged. I’m not taking the blame anymore,” Jack said. “Perhaps this shop isn’t up to the task.”
“I own part of this shop,” Rawlins responded, his insult obvious. “Our standards are high.”
Jack snorted, obviously unconcerned with riling his partner.
“I will decide that for myself,” he said. “We are late with this order, and your man cannot even find the proper plates for your press.”
“We’re fine,” was the response. “It’s you here that’s the problem.”
“I am nothing, Rawlins,” Jack said. “Wait ‘til Lord Gregory decides to visit.”
“I have been thinking about that,” Rawlins said, lowering his voice. “Do you think we really need him?”
“Lord Gregory?” Jack said, his disbelief evident. “He was the one who started all of this.”
“True, but what does he do, hand out the money to the nobs? All we get in return is the fake stuff, and if we are caught, we’ll be hanged. We cut him out, and we keep it all. You can use the tavern, and I’ll find my own means. If we’re going to risk so much, it might as well be worth it.”
“Are you mad? The beauty of it is that he would never be suspected,” Jack said, his voice a loud whisper, even though they wouldn’t know there was anyone to hide from. “My tavern is always checked for counterfeit. We make sure it never crosses our paths for that very reason.”
“I’m sure you could make an excuse if you were ever caught.”
“No, you idiot. We are the kind of people who fall for this kind of thing.” There was a pause. “I might have to tell Lord Gregory about this.”
“You had better not.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Just making it in response. Think about what I am saying, and it will make sense,” Rawlins said. “To tell Lord Gregory would be folly.”
Adelaide shifted slightly in Michael’s lap, her bottom rubbing over him in the most pleasurably painful way he could imagine.
He loved having her close and wished they were not continually forced into these positions, for all it did was remind him that it would not happen in any other way.
“I’ll think about it,” Jack said. “But we don’t have time to wait for this one plate. We will have to make more of the other notes instead. Don’t make this mistake again.”
His footsteps were loud as he stormed out of the room, and Michael and Adelaide waited a minute before the second pair echoed after him, much less assured.
Michael had been sitting in the same position for too long to move without complaint, especially with Adelaide still on top of him. She pushed herself to her feet, reaching down to help him up. He wasn’t too proud to take her hand. Besides, he’d take any excuse to touch her.
He gestured toward the door, and they rushed out before they were found out again.
They looked both ways down the street, but finding no one about, they hurried on to find a hack once more. It wasn’t until they were within – on opposite seats this time, although Michael allowed their knees to brush together – that he pulled the plate out of his pocket and inspected it.
“It has the printer’s mark,” he said, showing it to her, their heads bent low over it together. “Which means we can tie the counterfeit to the printer.”
“But how do we tie the printer to the rest of them?” she asked. “With this, just the printer would go down, and he is likely the most innocent party out of this.”
“From the sounds of it, they will be turning on another very soon,” he said grimly. “We just need to prove that Rawlins is in partnership with Jack and Lord Gregory.”
“Or maybe he would turn on them,” she suggested. “He did not seem particularly pleased with either of them. If we can convince him that he doesn’t need them to continue the operation, that he could do it himself?—”
“Then perhaps he could provide us proof, yes,” Michael said.
The hack stopped in front of the shelter, and Adelaide paused at the door on her way out. Michael knew she felt a need to respond to his earlier declaration, but he didn’t want to hear empty words from her. However, that was the beauty of Adelaide. She would never say what she didn’t mean.
“Do you have some time?” she asked, and Michael managed a smile.
“All I have is time.”
Especially now that he had given up all of the vices that had previously kept him occupied.
“If I go to find Mabel, would you like to walk together?” she asked, somewhat hesitantly. “I like to get her some sun each day, and if you have nothing else to do?—”
“Absolutely,” he said, not hiding his enthusiasm. “I would love that.”
He was aware of how desperate he sounded, but what was more desperate than declaring his undying love to a woman who had rejected him time and again?
However, setting his pride aside was worth it when Adelaide emerged from the shelter with Mabel in her arms.
“May I see her?” he asked.
“Of course,” she said, turning so that he could smile down at the baby.
They started down the Bloomsbury street, this one lined with modest townhouses. As they moved to the next, the residences turned more elegant, their red-brick facades covered in climbing ivy and surrounded by tall, wrought-iron railings.
Michael glanced at Adelaide, whose face was dotted with the dappled shade of leafy plane trees. Her head was held high, her strength evident in the way she carried herself. While Michael missed her presence in his house, he was glad to see her true self had returned.
Well-dressed gentlemen strolled with purpose past them in their leisurely walk. As they neared the British Museum, scholars strode past, the occasional carriage clattering, wheels echoing against the clean-swept cobblestones.
Michael decided to simply enjoy this moment, not considering what had happened between them in the past or what was to come in the future. Adelaide was certainly more subdued than she had been when they first met, but he supposed she was no longer the same woman he had developed a relationship with. She was a mother, responsible for another human being, and intent on looking after this little one all by herself, no matter the help he offered her. His heart sank at the thought of life without the two of them, although he knew that Adelaide would always allow him to visit.
No matter the situation, he would be present in this child’s life. Of that, he was certain.
He would not be his father, any more than he knew Adelaide would never be a woman like his mother.
“What were your parents like?” he asked suddenly, and she looked at him in surprise before facing forward again, taking her time to put thought into her answer.
“I never knew my true father,” she said. “He… well, I know his identity but not anything about him, for he was never in my life. He used my mother, then discarded her as though she was nothing more than a plaything for him. My mother was everything to me. She worked hard, yes, but any free time she had was spent with me, making sure that I never wanted for anything, that I knew what it meant to be loved.”
She paused, swallowing, the next part of her story obviously difficult, but Michael didn’t stop her, selfishly needing to know everything about her. “She changed when she married Jack’s father. He tried to control her, to tell her when and where she could go. He broke her spirit, and I truly believe that was what eventually killed her. Not the sickness. That was the instrument, yes, but he was the reason.”
Michael instantly hated him for the hurt he had caused Adelaide, even if it was indirect.
“What happened to Jack’s father?”
“He died in a tavern brawl,” she said without any sympathy. “A pool cue found his eye and was pushed in too far. It was ghastly.”
“Were you there?” he asked in shock.
“I was,” she said grimly. “Not something I would want to see again, no matter how much I hated the man.” She paused. “When I gave you the note to send to Lord Gregory, it was because Jack threatened me with spreading the truth about my father.”
“Do you know who he is?” Michael asked with surprise.
“Yes,” she said, biting her lip. “Lord Montrose.”
“Lord Montrose?” Michael said, his eyes widening. “He was a friend of my father’s. Which should probably tell you what you need to know. Have you ever met him?”
“I have not, nor do I have any wish to,” she said. “My mother told him about me, and he did nothing to help her nor had any interest in me. I would prefer not to meet him nor hear him say anything about my mother.”
“I understand,” said Michael. “And your father makes no difference to me. Nor should it matter if Jack spreads the rumor.”
“I was worried about the harm it might bring to your family.”
“Trust me, Addi, we have caused enough of our own scandal.”
“I just don’t want to add to it. Besides, I have enough issues with Jack. I don’t need to add my father to it.”
“Jack does not seem too different from his father.”
“He’s not.”
“I wish you did not have to work for him for so long.”
“So do I,” she said with a sigh. “So do I.”
They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes, time which Michael spent pretending that this was his true life. That this was his family, enjoying a day out together. That nothing was keeping them apart or would threaten them, that Adelaide wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her.
Their relationship confused him. He might not be the best judge of character, but from what he could tell, Adelaide enjoyed his company now and felt more than friendship.
Yes, they had moments in the past where they had been at odds, when she had not been impressed with him, especially when he had been drinking, but they had come through that to the other side.
Was she too proud to accept what he offered her? Or did she truly harbor no further romantic feelings than what had brought them together in the first place?
He had resolved to see this through, for her to change her perspective of him. He supposed there was nothing more he could do but continue his plans.
He would go to Jack tonight, present him with the evidence they had gathered, and convince him to release Adelaide from this hold he had upon her. He knew Adelaide would want to know his plans, but Jack might allow his pride and emotion to overcome reason if she were present.
He would try to get this Rawlins involved if his plan didn’t work. He couldn’t see the man giving his partners to the authorities, for it would put him at too much risk, but maybe Michael could at least threaten them.
He was trying anything possible now.
For he had no choice. Not if he would save Adelaide – and himself, in the process.