Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Aislynn thought it was best not to tell Cordell that the performance that evening had been canceled because of the abrupt unrest swirling about London’s theatre crowd.
There were several performers who were conspicuously absent.
While Cordell would learn about the details soon enough, she didn’t intend on wasting that much precious time.
She needed to get to Spades before he could stop her from speaking to Mary in private.
She would never be able to rest easy in Cordell’s presence unless she was assured that he wasn’t a suspect in the recent murders.
The Wolf’s cautionary words that morning had been pressing on her so heavily that she was finding it difficult to breathe at times.
At least, that was part of it. She could not believe that she could still find Cordell attractive when there were too many doubts and wild speculations running around her head.
It was time to settle things once and for all.
Before anyone else got hurt.
First, she had to get rid of her shadow.
No doubt John would refuse to escort her anywhere but back to Cordell’s residence.
If not, he would surely tell his employer where they had gone and she did not want him to know what her plans were.
No doubt Mary would eventually tell him.
Rather than trying to evade John, she walked up to the man set to protect her and said sweetly, “Do you mind being a dear and help me reach something on the top shelf of my closet in my dressing room?”
He looked at her skeptically but moved forward regardless of any hesitations he might be harboring.
As she started to lead the way into her dressing room, Aislynn acted as though she had stubbed her toe against the door frame.
“Ow!” She made a dramatic show of soothing the wounded appendage and would have likely gotten much praise for her performance if she had been on the stage.
As it was, she waved John inside and said, “I will join you in a moment.”
The instant he was clear of the door and his head turned long enough for her to act, she slammed the door shut and shoved the key into the lock, turning it and securing him inside before he had time to pound one angry fist on the wood.
He shouted several obscenities from the other side and Aislynn sighed heavily.
She would have to tell Mary to hire another man for her establishment, because this one was too easily duped.
“I do apologize, John, but I have somewhere to be and I cannot have you forbidding my actions. If I return in enough time, I promise I will come back and release you.”
Hardly, Aislynn added to herself. If he couldn’t figure out how to escape then he deserved to be trapped in there for the rest of the night. By the time he was freed in the morning, perhaps he might learn to not be so gullible in the future.
As Aislynn rushed out of the theatre, she had her purse tucked securely in the pocket of her serviceable gown and as she quickly hailed down a hackney, she handed the driver the requested payment with the instructions to take her to Spades.
She sat inside the interior of the carriage, nervous as she waited to be deposited at the infamous brothel.
She never thought she would be willing to visit a house of ill repute, but this was the second time in short succession that she would pass through those doors.
Thankfully, not to work. However, the reason for her visit was equally unpleasant.
She did not want to think of Cordell in a bad light, and after what he’d confided to her, she certainly understood his hesitations a bit more.
But what else would Mary tell her about Cordell that The Wolf believed she knew?
By the time she reached the establishment, Aislynn stepped down from the hackney with trepidation skipping over her skin. What if Mary wasn’t in residence? She had never considered that possibility before but now she was inundated with various scenarios that did not bode well for her.
Glancing around her, Aislynn quickly knocked on the door. It was soon opened by a stern looking man. He didn’t say a word, just stared at Aislynn on the front step. She gathered her courage and announced evenly, “I am here to speak with Mary. I am a friend of Cordell Steele.”
She thought he might invite her to wait in the foyer, but instead, he slammed the door in her face, leaving her standing in the middle of the street. Aislynn raised the hood of her cloak and prayed for patience as she waited to see if she would be received.
When the door soon opened once more and the man widened it for her entrance, she took that as a good sign. “Parlor,” was all he said before he walked away.
Aislynn decided that he wasn’t much for conversation, but at least she had been admitted and Mary was willing to see her on this unexpected call.
As Aislynn walked into the front parlor, the part of the interior that had been filled with revelry before, she held back a shudder as she spied her quarry.
Mary was reclining on a settee with a paper in her left hand, her other arm hanging uselessly to her side as she sat casually with her trouser clad legs spread apart.
She must have stared at the useless appendage for too long, as Mary spoke up suddenly. “It is an old injury. Worthless to me but still attached.”
Aislynn felt a stab of guilt. “I apologize. I meant no offense.”
“It is not as though I do not receive the same curious stares whenever I leave my establishment and mingle with the rest of society,” she said with a one-sided shrug.
She set aside the paper but retained her casual pose.
“But I doubt ye came here to discuss my ills. I find I am curious why ye evaded Cordell’s protection and found yerself back at my doorstep. ”
Aislynn didn’t wait for an invitation as she walked over and sat down across from the woman. “Might I speak plainly?”
She waved a hand.
“I am here because I learned some particularly distressing information about Cordell, and I was hoping you might shed some light on his character.”
The lady’s dark brow lifted. “And ye think I am the one who keeps all his secrets?”
“Yes, I do. It was evident the last time I was here that you two were close.”
“And ye want to know if we are lovers.” She snorted.
“No, actually,” Aislynn countered, and the lady seemed surprised by her frank response. “Cordell told me that he chooses to abstain from certain… intimacies because he does not wish to find himself in a delicate situation.”
“He told you that?”
“Indeed. He also said that his mother’s violent death caused his uncle to set up a private asylum at his estate for a time.”
Mary surprised her by laughing. “Miss Sims, if ye believe that I have anything else to add to Cord’s list o’ attributes, I am afraid ye are sadly mistaken.”
“Am I?” Aislynn had been thinking about what The Wolf had insinuated and since the lady’s limp arm had been on her mind all day, now she dared to ask the question that was uppermost in her mind. “Forgive my intrusion, but can you tell me how you came by your injury?”
For the first time since Aislynn’s arrival, some of Mary’s uncertainties became visible. “I was attacked.”
“Did you know your attacker?”
Mary’s face darkened. “If ye are trying to insinuate Cord is responsible—”
“I do not need to,” Aislynn returned softly. “I can see the truth on your face.” She closed her eyes to regain the equilibrium that was shockingly disturbed. “He deserves to know the truth. He said there was a period of time that he cannot remember—”
“What purpose would it serve but to upset him and possibly finish what his father started? Perhaps for good this time?” Mary snapped. She got up and paced toward the mantle. “It is best if he believes he saved me.”
“I do not think so. He is the sort of man who would not appreciate the lies.”
“Ye know nothing!” Mary spat in agitation.
She cradled her arm against her as if she could use it as a shield to ward off Aislynn’s verbal attack.
“Ye would not ask me to tell him what occurred if ye had witnessed the blank stare in his dark eyes. It broke my heart to see him suffering like that. I did not understand the cause, but I did not want to add to his misery.”
Aislynn got to her feet as well, finding it easier to face off with Mary when they were on even ground.
“You are making a mistake. If you care about Cordell, you will tell him what happened so that he can understand the missing pieces of his memory and deal with the consequences. Having those open holes will not allow him to heal.”
With a mutinous lift of her chin, Mary’s eyes flashed. “I will not. And ye will keep yer silence too if ye know what is good for ye.”
“Or what?” Aislynn was convinced she had the puzzle figured out. “You will silence me like you did all those other women who dared to stand in the way of your love for him?”
Mary jerked as if she’d been struck. And then she burst into laughter. It was not the reaction Aislynn had been expecting. “Ye have quite the imagination, Miss Sims. It is no wonder Cord is so infatuated with ye. I feel ye are the closest he’s ever come to breaking that ridiculous vow of celibacy.”
Aislynn’s cheeks immediately became hot.
“Come on. I could use a drink and ye look as though ye could too.” She threw her good arm around Aislynn’s shoulders and steered her toward another room in the brothel.
“Ye’re right in that I love Cord but as one might champion a brother or good friend.
I have no romantic designs on him because he is not really my preference.
” As her gaze traveled up and down Aislynn’s form, it finally became clear to her that she had made a terrible error in judgement.
“Oh. I see.”