Chapter 7
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Garret leaned against the wall of the coffee shop staring into the empty yard behind it.
A light rain fell, misting the air. He lowered his head to allow the rainwater to run off his hat and keep his face reasonably dry.
He’d been here for almost an hour, and there’d been no sign of Miss Archer.
He considered throwing a pebble at the window on the top floor.
He looked up, wondering if his aim was good enough to ping the glass.
“Kildare!” The sound was little more than a whisper, but he turned his head in the direction of the voice. He pushed off the wall and moved out of the yard, coming around the building to see a small figure standing on the corner. He couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across his face.
“Archer, I thought you weren’t coming.” He frowned. “Why are you out on the street so late?”
She put a finger to her lips and motioned for him to follow her. Once they were out of the shadows of the coffeehouse, she turned to him. The lane was too dark for him to see her eyes, but he knew they were large and blue. “I came from Big John’s.”
“The pawnbroker?”
“My mother and I are staying there now.”
“What about—”
She waved a hand. “We don’t work for Brown any longer. Big John gave us a place to sleep for a few nights.”
“Will you be able to find work that quickly?”
“I don’t know,” she said, glancing away from him. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
But he did worry. Suddenly, he was very worried. “Where will you go if he evicts you?”
“Under a bridge, most likely. Don’t act so shocked. I’ve slept under bridges before. You said you would think of a way to get Charlie and Joanna back.”
Garret’s mind was still stuck on the image of her sleeping under a bridge. Right now it was summer, but the nights were still chilly. He didn’t like to think of her shivering on the ground. “Let’s go somewhere and talk,” he said.
“Right here is fine. I don’t want to be gone too long, or my mother will wake and wonder where I am.”
“Come on. There’s a public house on the next street.”
Miss Archer sighed, looked pointedly at the pawnbroker’s shop, then nodded. “One hour. That’s it.”
“One hour,” he agreed, offering her his arm. She looked at it like he’d offered her a spider. Lifting her skirts, she started in the direction of the public house, walking just ahead of him. He caught up in two long strides. “If your mother asks where you were, just tell her you were with me.”
“That won’t reassure her,” Tamsin said. “She says the only reason a nob like you talks to a woman like me is to get under my skirts.” She looked over at him. “Is that what you’re trying to do?”
“No. I told you. I want to help get your sister and brother back.”
“Why? What’s it to you?”
That was a good question. Garret had been wondering the same thing off and on for the last couple of days, but he wasn’t about to divulge that to Tamsin Archer. “Why do I need a reason? I want to help. That’s why.”
She made a dubious noise and then stepped into the light spilling from the public house.
The establishment was only half-full at this hour, mostly men speaking in low voices while enjoying their beer.
Garret led her inside and chose a table near the hearth.
A few people glanced at him then Tamsin, but no one said anything.
Tamsin sat down, and in the light of the candle on the table, Garret fully took her in.
Her hair was down about her shoulders and wet with the rain.
She wore the same mud-brown dress he’d seen her in before, but she wasn’t wearing the apron this time.
“Are you cold?” he asked. “I’d give you my coat, but I’ve misplaced it.”
Her cheeks suddenly went very pink. Before he could ask what made her blush, a serving woman stopped at the table. She barely looked at him. “What would ye like?”
“Two pints of beer and two plates of supper.”
Tamsin started to object, but Garret grabbed her hand, silencing her.
The serving woman moved away, and he said, “If you’re not hungry, you don’t have to eat it.
” But she was hungry. He could see the hollowness in her cheeks.
She didn’t look as wan as she had the day she’d fainted, but she could have used a half dozen suppers.
He had dined at home with his family before going out, and he planned to make Tamsin eat his meal too. “What happened with Brown?”
She shook her head and pulled her hand back. “His wife accused me of stealing. When my mother and I argued, they dismissed us.”
Garret raised a brow. “Were you stealing?”
She could have easily taken offense, but she smiled.
“No. I only steal from the rich. Speaking of…” The color was back in her cheeks.
She looked so pretty when she blushed. He could imagine her with a few more pounds on her, healthy, her eyes animated and her cheeks pink.
Unfortunately, his next image of her was with her pink lips parted and wet as she—
Better to halt that thought now before he allowed it to go any further. He’d said he didn’t want anything from her, and that was true. He was attracted to her, but she didn’t owe him anything.
“You didn’t misplace your coat,” she said.
“What?” Garret asked.
“Your coat. You gave it to me the other night. I forgot to give it back.”
He thought back to their last encounter. She was right. He had given her the coat. “Where is it now?” he asked. “Pawned?”
She shook her head. “On the floor of the pawnshop. My mother is sleeping on it. I’ll get it back for you.”
Garret waved a hand. “It sounds like it’s being put to good use. Keep it until you have a real bed.”
The server returned with two mugs of beer and the plates of food. Garret took his mug and opened his mouth to ask Tamsin…something. He completely lost his train of thought. She was hunched over the plate of stew, her spoon shoveling it into her mouth as though she were ravenous.
She probably was ravenous.
She took a moment to dip her crust of bread into the meaty broth, took a bite, and spooned more of the stew into her mouth.
Garret had been to more dinner parties than he could count, and he’d sat beside dozens of women during dinner.
None had ever seemed to enjoy their food as much as Tamsin.
Of course, none of those women had been starving.
Having reached the bottom of her bowl, Tamsin used the last bit of bread to sop up the remainder of the stew and ate it.
Then she sat back and looked at him. Her expression changed from satisfied to shocked.
“Forgot I was here?”
“Did you say something?” she asked.
“No point. You were wholly engaged.” He pushed his bowl toward her. “Have mine too.”
He thought she might protest, or at least make a show of protesting, but she took the bowl and proceeded to start eating.
This time she ate slower. “You were saying you wanted to help me buy Joanna and Charlie back from Snoozer.” She lowered her voice on the name and looked at the men seated closest to her.
No one seemed to be paying her any attention, but Garret figured she was right to be careful.
She took a sip of her beer. “You have ten guineas?”
“No, and I didn’t say I want to help you buy their freedom.”
She ate another bite of stew, her eyes narrowed.
“I said I want to help you get them back. But we’ll steal them back. Hear me out,” he said, because she was already shaking her head. She shrugged and continued eating.
“I’ve been looking into the business of chimney sweeps.”
She gave him a skeptical look, one brow higher than the other.
“Apparently, the chimney sweeps in London have territories. The broomers—that’s the children—have to stay in their territory when they look for work. All we need to do is find Snoozer’s territory, keep watch until we see your brother and sister, then rescue them.”
She took another sip of beer. “Is that it?” she asked.
“Voilà.”
“I don’t know Italian—”
“It’s not—”
“—but I do know that plan won’t work.”
Garret crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Why not?”
“First of all, most broomers don’t go out alone.
They go in pairs. The climbing boy, or girl, goes up the chimney, scrapes away the soot and whatnot, while the other holds his bag at the fireplace and catches the dirt and grime.
The other reason they go in pairs is so that those with families don’t run away home.
The older broomer is told he’ll be beaten if the younger bolts.
Charlie and Joanna won’t be together, and they won’t be alone. ”
“Fine. I’ll have to wrest them away from a ten-year-old. I can do that.”
“And get him or her beaten? For what? Snoozer will just come find Charlie and Joanna and take them back if we haven’t paid for their freedom.”
“Then leave Town.”
“Leave London? Where are we supposed to go?”
“I don’t know.” He looked at the ceiling and grasped for a solution. “Ireland.”
“Ireland?”
“Yes.” Now that he’d suggested it, he liked the idea more and more. “My family’s estate is there, Castle Glenister. You could live there, work the land. I’d have to ask my father if—”
She sighed. “Stop. I don’t know anything about farming, and my mother only has one arm. Charlie and Joanna are six and eight. They won’t be able to work the land.” She pushed to her feet. “Thank you for the food. Good night.”
Garret realized she was leaving. By the time he paid for the meals, she was out the door. He practically ran after her. “Archer!” he said, grabbing her shoulder as she stepped into the street.
She looked up at him. In the spill of light from the public house, he saw her cheeks had some color now. A few more meals, and she would stop looking so hollow.
“I said thank you. But I suppose you want a kiss or something more for payment.”
Garret released her immediately. “No. Not at all. I just want to help your siblings and you.”
“And what do you want in return?” she demanded, hands on her hips.