Chapter 12
Can you leave the past behind?
“Come in,” King said, not looking up from the letter he was writing. If all went as planned, he hoped to return to Little Valentine the next morning, and he could not wait.
Impatience gnawed at his bones, his need to return to Anne something that both terrified and delighted him by turns.
He’d experienced desire before, passion too, for he was a healthy man with the kind of appetites one would expect, but the restlessness that plagued him now was a different beast, and one that threatened to devour him.
So, he had filled every moment since they had returned to town. From meetings with architects and builders, to putting into action the plans he had so meticulously set up over the past months and years, every second of his time had been occupied.
“Sir? Mr King, sir?”
King set down his pen and looked up, smiling at Tommy.
He stood straight, and extremely proud of the new dark blue livery with brass buttons that King had supplied for him.
The lad had taken to life at King’s Lodge like a duck to water and Mrs Keller had fussed over him and fed him up so much the results were already showing.
He was a cheerful soul and so delighted to be fed and warm and treated with kindness that he repaid them with diligent attention to the lessons Mr Repton gave him and worked with as much enthusiasm as any employer could hope for.
“What is it, Tommy?”
“A letter, sir, delivered by hand. It weren’t there a half hour ago, for I would have seen it when I went upstairs, but I just saw it on coming back down again.”
King reached out a hand and took it, glancing at the untidy scrawl and the paper, which was poor quality and grubby besides. Breaking the seal, he unfolded it and read.
“Sir?” Tommy said.
King glanced up, realising that the satisfied smile on his face was not a pleasant one and the lad was rightly alarmed by it.
“Fetch Mr Repton to me, would you, Tommy? And then carry on with what you were about.”
“Yes, sir.” Tommy sent him one last doubtful glance before hurrying out.
King surged to his feet, pacing the room until Repton appeared and closed the door behind him.
“Lawson,” King said, hearing the triumph in his own voice.
“He did it?” Repton said, looking appalled, but King only grinned at him.
“Don’t look so dismayed, Repton. This is freedom. This is our new life handed to us on a plate and a severing of old ties.”
“But the audacity of that blackguard,” Repton said, shaking his head. “The disloyalty and—”
“To the devil with him,” King said, grasping Repton’s shoulders.
“Do you think I care? Harold Lawson is a thorough going devil, the nearest thing to evil I’ve stood close to, and I’ve only kept him beside me all these years hoping to keep control over him.
I’ve done what I can to rein in his violence, but anyone who follows a design of that man’s making deserves all that is coming to him.
The men who remain loyal to me, who wish for better…
well, better they shall have, and so I swear it! ” he exclaimed.
“But, sir, I do not understand,” Repton said in growing agitation. “If Lawson has usurped your position, taken control of the warehouses and the gambling dens, how does this serve you? How does this set you free?”
King only laughed, hurrying to the door and snatching it open. “Do you want to know, Repton? For I’ll admit I’m eager to see the outcome of all this letter promises.” He waved it as he hurried to the front door and took up his coat, shrugging it on.
“Who is it from?” Repton asked, hurrying forward to help King with his coat and hand him his gloves and hat.
“It’s from Jimmy, and I’ll reward that lad handsomely for spying in the camp for me, for though Lawson thinks him a simpleton, it was still a risk he took.
He tells me Harold Lawson is crowing like the cock of the walk, saying as how the gambling dens, the warehouses, all the stock and all the men, are his, that they’ve always been his, that all the plans were his, the smuggling and the deals, all his idea, his cleverness, and that I only stole the credit it for it. ”
“The devil,” Repton exclaimed, horrified as deeply as King was elated.
“Aye, devil he is, for he tells the world I was only a poor dupe, set up to take the fall if the law came sniffing about, but devil the law will see him to be and punish him for it, for the docks are crawling with constables, Repton, and it seems they’ve just made their move.
They’ve been there some months now, waiting and watching for their chance to bring down the man who rules the rookeries and has done for so many years.
I knew my time was growing short, but not the where or the when, but I knew it more precisely because Alfred Marwick did a job for me and found the papers I needed laying open upon a desk in a rich man’s study, and because we made sure Lawson saw us exchange harsh words, so he thought he could recruit Marwick in his scheme to overthrow me, and handed over some interesting details. ”
Repton gazed at him, open-mouthed. “Good heavens! Well, I never did. I… I cannot believe it.”
“Believe it. Alfred Marwick is a loyal fellow, and a good one. Brave, too. Damn, but I reckon I still owe the lad for this, for it would never have come off without him.”
“It would seem as if you do,” Repton replied, still looking stunned by this sudden turn in their circumstances. “So, the meetings with architects, the building projects—?”
“All legal and above board, as are all the enterprises I have kept secret from Lawson. I’m a respectable businessman, Repton,” King replied, his mouth quirking in a wry smile.
“And anyone who says otherwise may be sued for slander. Now, if you’d like to see Lawson get his comeuppance, we had best make haste.
I need to make sure Jimmy and the men who remained loyal to me are kept out of any trouble. ”
Impatient as he was, King hailed a hackney carriage, and he and Repton took off towards the dock as fast as the sluggish London traffic would allow. All the while King fidgeted and cursed, determined to be there to see the downfall of a man whom he considered a blight upon everyone around him.
Perhaps it had been underhanded of him, setting Lawson up to take the fall, but it was no more than Lawson had planned for him.
King, though, was far cleverer and had always thought of the months and years ahead, not just of the moment at hand, something Lawson could not comprehend.
He was mean and vicious and, if given the chance, would rule through terror alone, something to which King had never needed to resort.
“Damn it,” King muttered as they stepped down from the carriage, for the docks were thronged with constables hauling their prisoners away and throwing them into open wagons with their arms and legs bound.
It seemed as if the excitement was over, but just at that moment, Lawson appeared, escorted by two burly runners, who had to work hard to keep him moving, for he thrashed and struggled all the while.
King leaned back against the wall of a warehouse, folding his arms and smiling grimly. Lawson went wild upon seeing him.
“There he is! There’s the bastard! That’s Jasper King! He’s the one you want… it was him, it was all him.”
“Aye, and my great aunt Fanny was in it, an’ all,” replied one of them with a snort of derision.
He had come over upon hearing Lawson’s claims and was looking between Lawson and King with amusement lurking in his eyes.
“We all heard who was in charge and who the great man was, for you’ve been running your mouth for all to hear, but we’ll look into Mr King’s affairs too, don’t you fret. ”
“Ha!” Lawson said triumphantly. “Ha! King of the Rookeries, you’ll be dancing with Jack Ketch beside me, you see if you don’t.”
King remained placid, waiting and looking as if he had not a care in the world, for he knew how the conversation would go.
“Morning, Jack,” King said, grinning at the fellow who strode towards him.
For some time, he’d been cultivating a relationship with Jack Grantham and several of his colleagues.
He’d made a point of getting friendly with them and involving them in his new legitimate business, by asking their opinion upon any permits he needed, and being extremely polite when he thanked them for their advice.
He suspected they knew full well who he really was, but so long as his business was above board and he kept out of their way, they had their arrest, and they did not much care.
“King,” Jack Grantham replied with a nod. “I hope you’ll keep clear like we agreed. My superior wants a result here, coming down hard on crime is good for his reputation. But if you’re thinking of moving back in, I’ll come after you like I did with Lawson.”
King shook his head. “You’ve seen my papers, Jack. My warehouse pays its taxes, all nice and tidy. I’m a good boy now.”
Jack let out a crack of laughter and slapped King’s shoulder.
“Aye. Just make certain it stays that way, or I’ll make you regret it.
By the by, seeing as I’m in such a good mood, I’ll tell you I saw Silas Mourney hanging about here earlier.
He disappeared once we moved in, but word is he was looking for you. ”
King frowned, nodding at this unwelcome information. “Thanks, Jack. I appreciate it.”
Jack nodded and King looked past him as the man walked away, seeing Lawson being hauled into the cart with some of his confederates.
When Lawson noticed Jack had left King alone, free to leave when he wished, his face contorted into one of undisguised loathing and fury.
King returned a thin smile and raised his hand in an ironic farewell before turning his back and walking away.
Repton hurried beside him. “Where are the rest of the men?” he asked anxiously.