Chapter Two
Two weeks later
L ondontown was summoning her, and Georgina definitely did not want to heed the notorious siren’s call. She had recently plotted out on paper the pattern of the iron scraps and stained sand from the barrow. The resulting image had taken on the form of a boat’s hull. She’d even consulted with a local fisherman. Not only had he agreed that her sketch appeared to be part of a vessel, but he’d identified the iron as rivets for a ship.
But unforeseen circumstances were disrupting Georgina’s efforts.
First, her brother and sister-in-law had suddenly and emphatically decided that Georgina must accompany them to London. She found their insistence exceedingly disconcerting. Anne had complained bitterly during Georgina’s entire debut Season—the only time Georgina had ever traveled to the capital with them. Her introduction to Society had been lackluster at best, deplorable at worst. She had not inspired one gentleman caller, let alone an offer of marriage. After the three of them had returned to Essex, none of them ever made mention of Georgina returning to the city… until now.
“What, precisely, has changed?” Georgina asked aloud, her voice disrupting the quiet of her bedroom.
Ruffian Caesar, a small mutt of indiscriminate terrier origins, raised his curly head from his sun spot on the floor, where he was chewing on a turnip. He looked quizzical, but then again, the little dog always did. His one ear stood straight up while the other one remained permanently flopped over, the pointy tip missing. When Ruffian Caesar had been living on the streets in the nearby village, a neighborhood pack had attacked him. Georgina had chased the bigger dogs away and brought the bloodied pup home, much to the chagrin of Anne.
“You’ve noticed the increase in visitors this past week, haven’t you, boy?” Georgina asked her faithful companion as she bent over to scratch his back, his wiry fur springy beneath her fingertips. “I know they’ve disturbed your sleep.”
Given the terrier’s small frame, he heaved out a surprisingly loud sigh, as if the influx of guests had personally affronted him. Georgina frowned. There’d been furtive knocks at the side door under her window during the nights. One dawn, a coach with an unfamiliar crest and covered in dust had arrived from the west, the direction of London. Another one with no markings had come from the northeast, its sleek black sides showing little dirt from travel. The family, however, had entertained no guests at supper. The visitors headed directly from the main entrance to Algernon’s office, where they stayed sequestered for hours before departing.
Yet the bigger, more concerning reason for heading to London was Percy.
Georgina was sore afraid that her feckless cousin had disappeared along with her helmet.
She had not heard from him since he had departed for London ten days prior. With their home relatively close to the city, the mail coach came regularly. There would be no reason for delivery delays.
Percy was known to disappear for weeks on end while frequenting gaming dens, boxing matches, horse races—any place where bets and liquor flowed freely. It had been one of the reasons his older brothers had pressured him to find a suitable calling.
“But Percy knows how important the helmet is! He can be thoughtless at times, Ruffian Caesar, but he isn’t heartless. Surely he would at least send me a note?” Georgina asked as she rose to her feet.
The dog grunted as he returned to chewing on his favorite treat aside from a meaty bone. He gave his buttocks a wiggle while he munched on the turnip.
“I wish I could be as lackadaisical about it as you are.” Georgina glanced at the pup. “You’d think Percy would have at least let me know how the presentation to the Antiquarians of England Society went. He was supposed to have given the talk four days ago. He better not have missed the lecture. Hopefully, he will visit me when I arrive in London and provide a full report then.”
Georgina paced around her traveling trunk, stuffed with more books than clothes. They were due to leave in two days, and Anne had already inquired five times if Georgina had packed. Georgina never attracted this much notice from her sister-in-law. Something was definitely amiss.
“Ouch!” Georgina cried as she whacked her leg against her writing table. Her half brother had not seen fit to provide her with spacious quarters. Between the bed, her desk, and the trunk, she had little space to walk in circles. Still, she needed the exercise.
Ruffian Caesar raised his head again and emitted a rumble of displeasure at her squawk of pain. Georgina glared at her dog as she rubbed her abused shin. “I am so sorry to have disrupted your chewing, your excellency.”
Just then the crunch of carriage wheels on the gravel outside Georgina’s window filled the room. The terrier sprang to his furry feet. In one bound, he leapt onto the bed. His stubby tail shot straight into the air as he tipped back his head to yap.
“Shhhh! Quiet!” Georgina cried, scooping him into her arms. “You know that Algernon and Anne don’t like when you bark. I barely convinced them to let me keep you. You must behave.”
Ruffian Caesar twisted his head to deliver his best doggy glare, but he did settle. Georgina carried him over to the window as she tried to get a view of the equipage before it turned the corner for the main entrance. It was the same gold and white coach that had come earlier in the week. Georgina frowned as she studied its markings. She’d never put an effort into learning recent family crests, and for the first time, she regretted her lack of social knowledge. Still, she tried to instill it into her memory. This time, she’d sketch what she could recall and then leaf through the heraldry book in her brother’s library.
As the carriage disappeared, Georgina pressed against the window as if somehow she would gain the ability to see around the side of the manor. It obviously did not work.
“I wish I could spy who the visitor is. Perhaps I should engage in some scouting. What do you think?” Georgina asked her furry companion. The dog sneezed and then stared longingly at a sun spot on the bed.
“I know. I know. I’d rather snuggle up and read Pliny the Younger. I’ve never been one for adventuring, but I’m afraid I don’t have a choice. Something is afoot, and I need to find out what.” Georgina bent and placed the terrier on the ground. He emitted a soft whine, but Georgina ignored his protest as she opened her door.
Looking both ways, she tiptoed into the hallway… and immediately stepped on a supremely squeaky section of the floor. Already tense, she jumped, which only triggered more horrendously loud screeches. Georgina looked around frantically, even though it was perfectly normal to exit her bedroom in the middle of the day. She saw no other human, but Ruffian Caesar’s little head poked out of the crack in the door. He cocked his head to the side, making his mismatched ears even more noticeable.
With a rather disdainful snort, the dog emerged. Trotting on one of the many lavish rugs Anne had purchased, he padded noiselessly down the hall. He paused at the end to look over his shoulder. She swore he had a decidedly cocky gleam in his round, dark-brown eyes.
“Well, it is easy for you. You only weigh a stone, maybe even less.”
Ruffian Caesar saucily wagged his tail and then scampered around the bend. Sighing, Georgina followed after her not-so-faithful hound.
“It is not my fault that I lack subterfuge,” Georgina complained under her breath. “I am a straightforward person.”
Her furry companion chose that very moment to snort again. Georgina glared at his sashaying behind. “I do believe you meant that on purpose.”
Just then, Georgina stepped on another creaky board, this one somehow even louder than the first. It echoed down the hallway, but thankfully no one came to investigate.
Leaving the family’s residential wing, Georgina entered the main section of the manor. She needed to literally and figuratively tread carefully now. Although she was allowed in this section of the house, her brother wouldn’t want her spying on his guests. Up ahead, she could see the door to Algernon’s office. It was closed, but if she placed her ear against it, maybe she could make out some words.
Once again checking to make sure no one was observing her, Georgina pressed against the panel. To her horror, it began to sway open. The smallest of yelps escaped her lips.
“What was that?” a cultured male voice asked.
“I am not sure,” Algernon answered, and Georgina heard the scrape of a chair against wooden floorboards. “I’ll go check.”
Georgina clasped her hand over her mouth as she frantically scanned the hallway for a hiding place. Next to the door there was a heavy antique side table filled with the Meissen porcelain figurines that Anne loved to collect. It didn’t offer much concealment, but it was better than nothing.
Georgina dove under it, whacking her leg in the exact same spot where she’d injured it earlier against her writing desk. Another high-pitched squeak emerged from her mouth. Ruffian Caesar, who still sat by the door to Algernon’s office, swiveled his head in her direction. Despite the heft of the furniture, Georgina had jarred it hard enough that she could hear the figurines clattering above her head.
Even Georgina had to admit that she made an absolute rubbish spy.
Algernon flung open his door, and Georgina put her hands over her head and squeezed her eyes shut. Immediately, she realized her foolishness. Her stance would only serve to make her look more ridiculous when her half brother discovered her.
“It’s you.” Algernon’s voice dripped with patent disdain.
Georgina opened one eye. Although Algernon had never been particularly fond of her, he generally didn’t treat her with such open hostility. To her relief, she found her half brother staring not at her but at the dog. The good, good, good boy was still plopped in front of Algernon’s office.
“Go! Shoo!” Algernon fluttered his fingers at Ruffian Caesar.
Ruffian Caesar just stared, happily panting. Algernon, who was not in possession of the calmest of temperaments, flushed a deep red. His regal, straight nose lifted in disgust.
“You have interrupted important business.” Algernon glared at the pup as he threateningly drew back his foot. “Begone or I’ll turn your hide into a rug.”
Ruffian Caesar merely stretched out his compact body and yawned. Then, with a toss of his head, he rose and sauntered down the hall in thankfully the opposite direction of where Georgina hid in plain sight.
Algernon grunted. Yanking on the door, he turned back into his office. As he retreated, Georgina caught a glimpse of a white-haired man sitting in a chair. She could not tell, though, if his hair had actually turned that color or if he’d powdered it. She saw enough of his frock coat to ascertain that it was made of expensive patterned silk.
The door swung further closed before she could observe more, but it didn’t shut completely. Although their voices remained muffled, she could hear snatches of conversation. She longed to move closer but now had no faith in her stealth.
“Veritable treasure…” It was her brother’s voice. Georgina stiffened. Did he know about her discovery of the helmet and the other grave goods? Surely Percy wouldn’t have told. Tom, Jack, and the other locals seemed loyal, and they knew the importance of secret-keeping. But they had families to support, and enough coin could knock their lips loose.
Georgina strained to hear more, but the discussion seemed to have shifted.
“… no need for…” the other man was saying. “… reputation is of the utmost…”
“Unbesmirched…” Algernon said. “Both her father and our mother’s lines… William the Conqueror…”
Our mother? Were… were they talking about her ? Georgina would have laid her hand over her heart if she wasn’t afraid of knocking against the table supports. What could be the reason for her half brother to discuss her lineage? Was Algernon once again trying to arrange her betrothal? She had thought he’d given up ages ago. At twenty-five, she was no longer considered a young miss. Could it be that he was referring to her as a veritable treasure? Georgina knew for certain that Algernon regarded her as an annoying burden, but he would, of course, extol her virtues if he was trying to make a match.
“… the Marquess of Heathford… shoots, races carriages despite… misfortunate… let us arrange for the two to meet in London…”
Georgina grimaced. So that’s why Algernon was so eager to bring her to the capital. She supposed she should be thankful that her brother was not again trying to tie her to an aging roué, but she would prefer a scholarly, older fellow. She did not want a man who still lived like a carefree child. She had enough of that while residing with her half sibling.
“… the terms?” Algernon asked. Although Georgina missed most of the sentence, she did not like his note of greed. A chill raced through her. The woman’s family paid the dowry. What benefit could Algernon gain in marrying her off?
“… will transfer ownership… you… none the wiser…” the other peer said.
Ownership of what? Something the speaker possessed? But why would this unseen noble pay for Georgina to wed his son? If the courtesy title was that of a marquess, then the gentleman must be high-ranking indeed. Why would he seek out a spinster? Was this son a truly diabolic profligate whom no other family would accept despite his lofty connections?
Georgina really should have paid more attention to Anne’s gossipmongering. Then she wouldn’t be so at a loss now.
“Good… with the terms of the trust left by my stepfather for my sister, it would be devilishly tricky otherwise…” Algernon’s voice simmered with barely suppressed anger.
Georgina jerked to attention and nearly cracked her head on the underside of the table. Perhaps she had been right in the very beginning when she thought that Algernon might be referring to the grave goods when he’d mentioned treasure. The goldwork alone would garner a hefty price. Although scholars would put no credence in it being Arthur’s, many of the collectors would believe the fantasy and happily part with a chunk of their wealth.
“No more of these.… unfortunate… violence traced… unacceptable.” The visitor’s words were even more garbled, but they caused an icy sensation to stalk through Georgina. What were the men discussing now? Had they switched the subject, or were the dire words about her?
Georgina rubbed her temples, her fingers moving at an almost frenetic pace. She was accustomed to drawing conclusions from disparate shards of information. But it was hard to piece together this conversation. What she did glean, though, sent horror cascading through her. Whatever plans that her half brother was forming, she seemed to be their linchpin.
Unease trickled down Georgina’s spine, followed by the sensation of being watched. Slowly, Georgina turned her head. Unblinking emerald-green eyes greeted her. Georgina started, but thankfully she neither squeaked nor hit the table. Sweetheart, Anne’s white cat, continued to regard Georgina with the curious aloofness that only felines could exude so flawlessly. Her gray-tipped tail twitched with deceptive laziness while she observed Georgina as she would a flea-bitten mouse.
The ominous sound of wood scraping against wood drifted from Algernon’s office. The men were rising to their feet!
“I need to return to London posthaste,” the visitor announced.
Georgina scrambled backward… and straight into the table support. Hot pain shot from her back through her body. She gave herself no time to absorb it as she continued her mad scuttle to freedom.
Porcelain clattered overhead. Something brightly colored caught the corner of her eye. Panicked, she turned to spy a harlequin figurine in mid-fall. Her gaze latched onto the exquisitely painted clown face with rosy cheeks and wide smile before the delicate bauble hit the floor. With the muffled thud, it landed beside Sweetheart on the rug. The cushioning of the carpet prevented the piece from shattering, but the delicate neck snapped. The grinning head bounced once, then twice, and then thrice, before it hit the wooden floor. Once on the smooth surface, it promptly rolled into a nearby drawing room.
Sweetheart mewled her displeasure at being nearly hit. Her green eyes glowed with accusation as she fixed them upon Georgina.
“What now!” Algernon’s irritated voice floated from his office.
Smothering a gasp, Georgina crawled frantically toward the decapitated harlequin. Scooping it into her hand, she lurched halfway to her feet and flung herself in the direction of the drawing room, still some distance away.
Ruffian Caesar dashed back into the hallway. He ran straight for Sweetheart, who leapt onto the antique table. Algernon burst from his office, his eyes on the dog and then the cat. Thankfully, he did not notice Georgina.
“You mangy mutt!” Algernon cried out. “If you’ve caused Sweetheart to break one of Anne’s figurines, you’re back on the streets. I never should have allowed my sister to keep you, demmed nuisance.”
Georgina half ran, half tumbled, and then dove into the parlor. Fortunately, Sweetheart’s plaintive meows seemed to cover the sound. When Georgina was finally hidden from sight, she slumped against the wall, her hand pressed against her chest.
Algernon had a terrible temper, but he’d never struck Georgina. Though it wasn’t just his wrath and spittle-laced lecture that Georgina wanted to avoid. She was deeply unsettled about the conversation she’d overheard. It wasn’t due to her potential nuptials—she’d always handily avoided those types of entanglements. But there had been something… sinister. The half-heard words at the end of the discussion, a darkness simmering in the men’s voices, a tension that had swirled from Algernon’s office.
Two sets of footsteps passed in the hall. Even as Georgina heard them turn the corner and then fade away entirely, she still did not move from her position. She was definitely, most assuredly, not meant for stealth.
A cold nose touched her hand, and Georgina glanced down to find two brown eyes staring up at her. Smiling at Ruffian Caesar, she patted his wiry-haired head, leaving the strands standing up at all angles.
“I’ve really mucked things up, haven’t I?” Georgina told him as she glanced down at the headless harlequin. “I best fix this before Algernon tells Anne about finding Sweetheart among her figurines. Algernon might not have noticed that this little fellow is missing, but Anne certainly will.”
Ruffian Caesar just tilted his head, his pointy ear even more at attention than usual. Georgina sighed and rose to her feet. “Now just where did that clown head roll off to?”
“Miss Harrington.”
At her softly spoken name, Georgina squealed and tossed up her hands. Even she had to admit that she sounded exactly like a pig stuck under a fence rail. Both figurine pieces flew into the air. In horror, Georgina watched as they started to crash back to the ground. She lurched forward and somehow managed to catch both the torso and the grinning head that she’d just retrieved from behind a settee.
Breathing heavily, she turned around to find Mary, one of the maids, staring open-mouthed. Mary quickly snapped her lips shut as she extended a letter in Georgina’s direction.
“I’m sorry to startle you, miss, but a letter addressed to Lord Percy Pendergrast arrived in today’s post. I know you were waiting for news, so I wanted to bring it to you straightaway.” Mary, who was Tom’s younger sister, knew all about Georgina’s clandestine work as an antiquarian and Percy’s role in the subterfuge.
“Thank you, Mary,” Georgina said, glad that her voice sounded normal and not as frenetic as her rapidly beating heart. Who was trying to communicate with Percy? Another client? Or did the missive have something to do with his silence? “You were very kind to bring it to me immediately.”
Mary beamed. “If you want, miss, I can fix the figurine and return it. I know exactly where Lady Craie likes them.”
Georgina hesitated, even though she just wanted to hand over the harlequin and grab the missive. “If she catches you, inform her that I broke it. I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
“She won’t notice me, miss,” Mary said with confident cheek, “but it’s kind of you to worry.”
“Still, promise that you won’t take the blame,” Georgina insisted.
“I’ll fess up to the truth,” Mary promised.
“All right, then,” Georgina said as she exchanged the broken figurine for the sealed letter.
As soon as Mary disappeared down the hall, Georgina tore through the wax seal and unfolded the note. When she scanned it, her heart clenched with brutal force. The Antiquarians of England Society was writing to Percy to ask why he had failed to attend their latest meeting, especially after he’d promised to bring a most marvelous find.
Georgina sank against the wall. Percy was truly missing. If she told his brothers, they would simply dismiss her worries and claim he was off carousing.
No one would look for him but Georgina. Though she was headed to London, she knew nothing of the city. She hadn’t traveled there for half a decade, and even then she’d only attended Society events suitable for young debutantes. She wouldn’t find Percy behind a potted fern in a ballroom. To search for him, she’d have to descend into a world she didn’t understand and most definitely didn’t have entrée to. How could she attend a horse race or a boxing match? She couldn’t even enter a coffeehouse… or could she?
The Black Sheep has opened a secret back room where women and men mingle… It is rumored that Lady Charlotte Lovett has taken part ownership and that she helped unmask Viscount Hawley as a murderous highwayman.
Percy’s words sprang into Georgina’s mind, bringing with them a jot of hope. The Black Sheep was one of her cousin’s favorite haunts. If the proprietresses and patrons didn’t know Percy’s location, perhaps they could tell her places to look.
Georgina straightened. When she went to London with Algernon and Anne, she wouldn’t fall in line with their plans to wed her to this Marquess of Heathford. She would do everything in her power to avoid him and instead spend her time in the city tracking down Percy. Her first stop would be the Black Sheep and its secret room.