Chapter 5 #2
“But I don’t see,” Kildare said. “Who was that man, and why does he have your sister and brother? That is the case, yes? I did not misunderstand?”
“No, you didn’t misunderstand. And you are very kind to take an interest, but it’s really not a very remarkable story.
You’re a good man, Mr. Kildare. I know you won’t report me to the magistrate, and for that I owe you my gratitude.
Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go up to my room and get a few hours’ sleep.
” She rose, careful not to topple the crates, and removed the greatcoat.
She was instantly cold again and knew she’d be colder still in her small bed alone.
What she wouldn’t give to have Garret Kildare in bed with her for just one night.
But she was a fool to think he would ever be hers, even for a few hours.
But Kildare didn’t take the greatcoat, and he made no move to take his leave. “As much as I hate to keep you from your bed, Miss Archer, I’m afraid I’m invested in your story now—unremarkable as it may be.”
Tamsin hated the way her heart skipped at his words. She hated how much she craved just a few more moments with him. But he couldn’t help her. Ten quid was an enormous sum, and even a generous man like Kildare wouldn’t just give away that much blunt. “You are a kind man, but—”
“That’s the second time you’ve called me kind,” he interrupted. “Why do you assume I’m so kind?”
“Because this isn’t the first time we’ve met,” she said before thinking better of it.
“You think it kind that I believed your lie at the ball and let you go?”
“No, I thought it kind that you bought my half-dead violets for a shilling.”
His brow wrinkled. “Your violets? What are you talking about?”
He didn’t remember. Of course he didn’t remember. The moment had meant everything to her, but he’d probably never given her a second thought. Disappointment slammed into her, making her stumble back.
Instantly, he was beside her. He caught her about the waist, steadying her. A moment later, his coat was out of her hands and back around her shoulders. “Bloody hell,” he swore. “I should have brought something for you to eat.”
“I’m fine,” she said, but he was still holding her, and her head was swimming at his closeness.
“No wonder you’re not making sense. Come with me. We’ll find a pub—”
“No.” She pushed out of his arms, the action so against her every impulse that she could hardly force her hands to obey. He was a gentleman, though, and released her instantly. “Mr. Kildare, I really must go back to my room. If I’m caught—”
“I understand, but I’m not letting you go until you tell me who Snoozer is and why he has your siblings. If you’re pressed for time, then you should speak quickly.” He leaned closer to her and murmured, “There is a limit to my kindness.”
Tamsin resisted the urge to grasp his face and kiss him.
She would have returned to her perch on the crates, but she couldn’t tell this story sitting down.
She’d give him an abbreviated version of the tale and be done with it.
“Snoozer is a chimney sweep,” she said. “He bought my brother and sister as so-called apprentices without my mother’s consent.
That was six months ago. We’ve been trying to buy them back ever since. ”
Kildare didn’t speak for a long moment. “You need ten quid?”
Tamsin shook her head. This man was too good. “I can’t ask you for that. It’s a fortune.”
“I don’t have it to give,” he said. Even though she’d been prepared to refuse his money, a small part of her hoped she might be persuaded to take it. She hoped she might have finally found a way out of this nightmare. Now her shoulders slumped.
“Have you gone to a magistrate? Surely, it can’t be legal to take children away from their parents.”
“It happens all the time,” she said. “Did you think the children who clean your chimneys want to stuff their bodies into cramped, dirty spaces and breathe in soot and ash all day? No, I didn’t go to the magistrate. I don’t have money for bribes.”
Kildare blew out a breath. “Not every magistrate is crooked.”
“Then it’s Snoozer’s word against mine. I’m no one, and he’s a businessman.”
“I’ll stand up for you.”
Tamsin shook her head. “And then what do you think will happen? Even if the magistrate sees my side of things, who will make Snoozer comply? Do you think a magistrate has the time to go find two children in a city full of children and make certain they’re returned to their mother and sister?
Not to mention, when am I to find the time to go to the magistrate?
I work here”—she gestured to the building behind her—“from sunup to sundown. My mother and I will be thrown out on our ears if I disappear half a day to sit and wait for an audience with the magistrate.”
“Then we don’t go to the magistrate. We take matters into our own hands. I can help you find them—”
“And when am I to find time to search the whole of London for Snoozer’s hidey-hole?”
“Surely, Mr. Brown would give you a few days reprieve if he understood the situation.”
Tamsin laughed. She couldn’t help it. Kildare was so earnest but so very naive. “Who do you think sold Charlie and Joanna to Snoozer, Mr. Kildare?”
Kildare’s head snapped back. “You don’t mean to say—”
“Yes. Mr. Brown was the one who sold the children. His awful son George made up lies that they teased him and stole his toys, and Brown decided to get rid of them and make a profit in the process. One moment Charlie and Joanna were playing in our rooms and the next they were gone.” Her voice broke on the last words.
“Damn and blast,” she said, swiping at her eyes.
The tears threatened to spill, but she’d vowed not to cry over this anymore.
She’d already cried an ocean of tears, and it hadn’t changed anything.
“I’m sorry,” Kildare said, and his voice was soft and soothing. “Archer, I am so sorry.”
And then before she knew what happened, he’d pulled her into his arms and wrapped her in an embrace.
She went rigid from the shock of his actions, then he ran a hand up and down her back, and she closed her eyes and gave in to the comfort he offered.
He’d called her Archer, and somehow that seemed infinitely more intimate than Miss Archer.
Tentatively, she wrapped her own arms around his waist and leaned her cheek against his chest. She could hear his heart beating steadily, unlike hers, which thundered as though she’d just run all the way from the market.
A few tears escaped her tightly shut eyes, but in that moment, if he’d asked what she’d been crying about, she couldn’t have said.
Her mind had gone completely blank except for the thought that she would do anything to stay in his arms like this.
She had never wanted any man like she wanted this one.
“Dry your tears now.”
She felt him move and realized he was offering her his handkerchief. She stepped back and took it, wiping her nose with the fine linen. She offered it back, and he waved a hand. “You keep it.”
Normally, she would have been thrilled at the coin she could make selling it, but she knew she’d never sell this. She’d do something stupid like put it under her pillow and hold it every night. Sometimes even she wanted to gag at how lovesick she could be over this man.
“At the risk of upsetting you again, I want to ask another question.”
Tamsin straightened. “You won’t upset me. I never cry.” Not in front of others, at any rate. “I’m simply tired tonight.”
“Then I won’t keep you much longer. Snoozer is asking for ten pounds to release your brother and sister.”
“That’s his price, yes.”
“Then what was the money from the pawnshop for?”
“Food, room, board.”
“So this Snoozer makes your brother and sister work for him and charges you for the privilege?”
“More or less,” she said. “I don’t have to pay, but how could I live with myself if I didn’t? What if he didn’t feed them or made them sleep in the cold or…I know what you’re thinking.”
He put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not thinking anything.”
“You’re thinking that he might do all of that anyway. I have no way to know if he’s using the blunt for Charlie and Joanna or spending it on gin for himself.”
Kildare’s eyes cut away before meeting hers again. “In your place, if it was one of my brothers or my sister, I’d do exactly the same.”
She looked up at him, and in his eyes, she saw the truth of his words. She’d seen the love surrounding his family and knew he understood how she felt.
“Let me help you,” he whispered.
“You can’t.”
“Perhaps not, but I’d like to try.”
She shook her head. “I can’t risk you angering Snoozer or scaring him away. I might never see my brother and sister again.”
“I’ll be careful. Let me think about the best approach for a day or two. Then I’ll come back, and we’ll discuss.”
She looked away. She should tell him no. This was her problem, not his. He’d only complicate it. Not to mention, she’d already taken so much help from him. She couldn’t, in good conscience, accept more.
But she could feel the warmth of his hand on her shoulder.
She knew his brown eyes were perusing her face.
If she accepted his help, she’d see him again.
She’d do almost anything to see him again, to have him this close.
A breeze blew a strand of her hair across her face, and Kildare caught it and tucked it behind her ear.
Tamsin’s eyes met his, and Kildare swallowed.
Her gaze lowered to his mouth, and she heard him take in a breath, watched as he wet his lips with his tongue.
He slid the hand hovering at her ear back across her cheek, the supple leather luxurious against her skin.
He rested one finger under her chin, angling it up slightly.
Tamsin’s heart beat so loudly it sounded like a thunderstorm in her mind.
Kildare bent, his mouth coming closer as she tilted her own face up to his.
“Tamsin!”