Chapter Twenty-Five #2
Eliza shrugged. “I learned from my husband not to invest in one thing. The gin business made money, but what if something figuratively sank it like Algernon’s literal ship?
The Horse and Hen was already known for fights, and creating a place to gamble would earn me more funds.
When gentlemen wagered more than they could afford, I decided to demand something else of value from them: secrets.
When grain prices increased to the point that I would lose money on gin sales, I simply transitioned entirely over to gathering valuable information.
Some I found on my own through reading gossip rags and making deductions, and others I paid for.
I still had the boxing matches, and I opened the brothels where the workers would gather confidences too.
And yes, I didn’t stop with trifling scandals.
I know everything about this sodded country from the military to Parliament. ”
“And you tried to have me killed,” Eoin said flatly, “and Hannah too.”
Eliza shrugged nonchalantly. “I didn’t personally try to cause you injury.
I don’t soil my hands that way. But one cannot conduct businesses like mine without employing those who are comfortable with violence.
There have been occasions where I needed to permanently stop people who’d learned too much.
I am not so weak as to let my enemies live. ”
Eoin suppressed an urge to shiver at his aunt’s bloodless delivery. Did his coolness affect others in the same way?
Even though his aunt’s callousness chilled him, he could not help feeling a degree of respect. Yes, she had acted viciously without demonstrating any remorse. But she’d also created a business empire.
“What was Paul’s role?” Hannah asked.
Eliza made a dismissive sound. “Do you expect people to listen to a woman? I needed a man to be my public face. I knew Father had scores of by-blows, and it wasn’t difficult to find one desperate enough for coin to fill the role.
My only regret is that my useless brothers followed me one night and demanded that I pay them.
Luckily, the louts never understood the full extent of my fiefdom.
And toward the end, they’d begun to fear me. ”
Eoin was most definitely intimidated by his previously bothersome, silly aunt.
She’d certainly played her role perfectly.
She was evil and hard-hearted but still brilliant.
If Aunt Eliza had been given better opportunities to use her intelligence, Eoin wondered what she would have accomplished in the light.
“What shall you do with me?” Eliza asked defiantly.
“If you report me to the Crown, you may lose all favor. It would be dangerous having two traitors in the family, and the secrets that I’ve sold to the French have not been middling.
I don’t do things in half measures. Do you really believe Father would wish for you to further sully our family’s name by revealing what I’ve done? ”
Eoin glanced at Hannah and her papa. “I am not the one who was hunting you.”
As much as it hurt that Hannah had not trusted him with her family’s story, he understood her need for revenge.
Although Eliza had nothing to do with what had befallen Hannah’s father and uncle, she’d destroyed people’s lives just as readily.
She dealt in blood whether she committed the crimes directly or indirectly.
“Mr. Wick, as my grandfather was the ultimate judge in your case, you and the Misses Wick can decide my aunt’s fate.” There. He’d given Hannah what she’d set out to accomplish. Perhaps now they could begin anew without their families’ pasts hanging over their heads.
“Eoin, let’s talk in private.” Hannah glanced over at her cousin. “Sophia, could you restrain Lady Eliza?”
“Most definitely,” Sophia said.
Dread lined Eoin’s stomach as he started down the circular staircase with Hannah following him. He was only now starting to accept the revelations that she had shared yesterday. He did not know if he could handle more.
Hannah tapped his shoulder when they were halfway down. “We’ve gone far enough. I don’t think anyone will overhear.”
Eoin carefully pivoted in the tight space and found that his face was nearly level with Hannah’s. It would be so easy to kiss her here… physically at least.
“What is it that you wanted to say?” Was that his voice? He didn’t realize that he was capable of sounding so sharp and anxious.
Hannah gnawed her bottom lip, and Eoin instantly felt a stab of guilt. He hated seeing her without her confidence. But he was struggling so hard to regain his own.
“I—” Hannah swallowed audibly and then began anew.
“I wanted to tell you that I spoke with my parents and my cousin in the carriage ride here. We want you to decide how to handle this situation as long as you stop your aunt from causing further harm. We will not seek for her sins to be publicly aired.”
Eoin had girded himself for more disappointment. He hadn’t expected this. “But your family has sought justice for years. I’ve always understood that, Hannah.”
“The perpetuator is dead,” Hannah pointed out. “I should have recognized that long ago.”
“Your family suffered because your father and uncle were simply trying to survive. My grandfather insisted that they receive extreme punishment for poaching a few hares. In contrast, my aunt has confessed to killing people to obtain wealth and power.” Confusion doused Eoin.
“Why would you not demand that she receive the strongest sentence possible?”
“Eoin, do you know why my father never pursued the rumors about the Aucourtes?” Hannah asked.
Eoin paused, thinking about what Hannah had told him. “He didn’t want to jeopardize the Black Sheep, since it was still a relatively new establishment. I imagine your safety and your mother’s also played a role in his decision.”
Hannah nodded. “He cared more about the people in his life than he did about old wounds, even extremely painful ones.”
“But revealing my aunt’s perfidy will only ensure the Black Sheep and your safety,” Eoin pointed out, still immensely befuddled.
“But you, Eoin—you are one of those people who I care about. Quite ardently. I do not wish to harm you. I never did. My father, my mother, and Sophia, they all recognize your importance to me. We mutually agreed that you would decide the fate of the Purveyor if they turned out to be your family member. As I said, our only stipulation is that Eliza can no longer wreak harm. But you may keep her villainy quiet.”
He was important. To Hannah. Enough that she would entirely give up her pursuit of the Aucourtes simply to preserve his feelings.
Eoin felt shaky—as if a single touch would cause him to crumble. Such fragmentation would not be destructive but transformative. Did he have the bravery to emerge anew?
“You were not swayed by Aunt Eliza’s tale?” Eoin asked as he struggled to fully comprehend the fact that Hannah and her family would sacrifice so much just for him.
“I can understand, to an extent, the desperation that she experienced at the hands of her father and husband. I witnessed what my cousin Charlotte endured when she was almost forced to wed Hawley, but Charlotte never hurt others in her bid for freedom. I cannot condone the suffering that your aunt knowingly wrought. She deserves punishment, Eoin.” Hannah began to reach for him, but she snapped back her fingers before they could touch him.
She’d always been like that, offering him comfort even before he, himself, realized that he needed solace. No wonder he’d come to love her so readily. She was spirited yet immensely kind and compassionate—the perfect companion to his reserved and overly analytical nature.
“I agree that my aunt needs to face the consequences of her behavior.” For the moment, Eoin chose to focus on the external problem rather than the emotions bubbling inside him.
“I could send Aunt Eliza to one of my remote properties and hire guards to watch her,” Eoin said.
“But she is exceedingly clever, and I would not be surprised if she could revive her operations while under observation. And we are at war. If she has sold important information that would put our soldiers and sailors at risk, we must adequately warn the military. I see no choice.”
“Your aunt may very well be right. The king may not reward you for your honesty,” Hannah pointed out.
“Unlike my grandfather, I don’t view my reputation by how others perceive me,” Eoin said. “If I am to value myself, I must make choices that I think are right. I cannot in good conscious try to hide my aunt’s crimes when they can continue to injure people.”
To Eoin’s surprise, he noticed a sheen in Hannah’s eyes that didn’t come from her lantern’s glow. “That is why I could not help but fall in love with you. I could never abide peers, but you are a true noble, in the original sense of the word.”
“You… you fell in love with me?” Eoin’s heart swelled in his chest to the point that it almost physically hurt. He yearned to gather Hannah into his arms, but the curve of the stairs made that nigh impossible.
Hannah clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, I shouldn’t have burdened you with that.”
“It’s not a burden,” Eoin said quickly. He could manage to lean a few inches and kiss her. But an audience lurked upstairs, and his emotions were a frightful mess. “I… I… love you too.”
It was surprising how hard it was to say those words.
“Is that why you asked me to marry you?” Hannah asked. “Not because of my reputation?”
“I am not sure if I can properly separate the two,” Eoin admitted as his stomach simultaneously fluttered with joy and twisted into knots, leaving it a wretched mess.
“I know that I wished to keep you by my side regardless, but I also do not want to be the cause of your name being sullied. I would have eventually proposed marriage, but the gossip spurred me to act more quickly.”
“And here I am, rushing things again with my questions.” Hannah grinned, her smile not as bright as usual but still a true one.
“I must admit that I am a muddle right now,” Eoin confessed.
Hannah reached out, and this time did pat his arm. The simple gesture sent a rush of warm comfort rushing through him.
“You have endured more than your fair share of emotional revelations these past few days.” Hannah gave him an additional squeeze.
“We’ll have plenty of time to discuss our relationship when things are more settled.
I am impulsive, but I know you need time to employ your logic.
And I will always find the patience to wait for you, darling. ”
Darling?
Hannah’s fingers dropped away. “Now I’ve done it again, haven’t I? You can ignore the last word.”
“I liked it… my love,” Eoin told her as he clumsily tacked on the endearment. Acknowledging they were sweethearts, now that, he could handle. No matter what, they meant something to each other.
Hannah’s entire face shined with so much joy that Eoin almost did kiss her. But this still wasn’t the place, and she was right that he needed time to fully think through all that had happened.
“Five days,” he promised. “In five days, I shall come to the Black Sheep, and we can discuss everything. By then, I should have dealt with my aunt and will have had the opportunity to unravel my emotions.”
“Five days,” Hannah said, her green eyes shining as brightly as cut gems. “I’ll be waiting.”