Realm 02 - A Touch of Velvet (35 page)

“Is Papa fighting bad men for Cousin Velvet?” Her voice came out very small.

“Another man took your Cousin Velvet from Lord Averette’s home in Scotland. Your Papa left to help find her. I am certain you know that.”

She turned her face up to look at him. “I did not know why he left.”

It amazed Carter that this child spoke with such maturity; it made him want to protect her innocence a bit longer. “I imagine your Papa did not want you to worry.” He wiped away her tears with the butt of his hand. “Then I found out Talpur took you and hurt Mrs. Carruthers. So, I went after your papa. He was with Uncle James and your Aunt Ella.”

“Uncle James says he told Papa to go after Cousin Velvet because Papa is a good knight and can protect Velvet.” She seemed to have reasoned out why Bran was not there.

Carter chuckled with her references to knights; he knew Bran “hated” the way Velvet Aldridge idolized that way of life–the one found in storybooks. “Your Uncle James has a sister close by. Remember Lady Amsteadt. So it was easy for us to find assistance for your rescue.”

“Can we find Uncle James?” She scrambled off his lap–stood, taking his hand.

“Your Uncle James has some injuries,” Lowery told her as he rose to stand beside her. “He will require a physician and some rest, but he will be well; you are not to worry.” They started toward the house. “Would you mind if we take the long way back? I do not relish going through the tunnel again.” Carter assumed such a passage would only serve to frighten her again.

Sonali looked up at him. “I did not like the darkness even if Uncle James says I should not be afraid of it.”

“I agree. I never liked the dark either.” He squeezed her hand as they cut across the open field.

“Will we stay with Uncle James’s sister?”

“I imagine Lady Amsteadt will want to tend him herself. We should stay with her to ease her mind, do you not think? We will send word to your papa and to Lady Worthing and to Thorn Hall that you are safe.”

She now skipped beside him. Carter thought it odd how resilient children were, but how adults crumbled with adversity. He prayed that Sonali would have no nightmares from this incident.

“Do you think Lady Amsteadt will allow me to assist with Baby Eleanor? I am her older cousin.”

“I suspect she will find it difficult to resist your offer.”

Chapter 18

“I found them, Sir.” Lucifer Hill strolled into the private dining room where all the men sat waiting for his news. The Aldridge sisters had retired to freshen their clothing.

“Where?” Bran was on his feet and pulling another chair to the table. Lexford poured his man a drink.

“Right on the waterfront...a small warehouse...no guards, but locked up sound...windows even boarded up on the street level.” Lucifer took a long drink of ale and reached for the bread and butter that Wellston shoved his way.

Bran twisted a napkin in his hands. “How do we know it is Jamot?”

“Saw the man me self,” Hill spoke through a mouthful of bread. “Brought back some food he be buying at a nearby inn. I suspect it be for Miss Aldridge.”

Wellston sliced some more of the bread for Lucifer, adding some ham to the man’s plate. “Did you see the lady in question?”

Lucifer wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Nay, Sir...only saw that crazy Baloch.”

“Did you question the inn owner?” Bran sought all the facts.

“Aye, Sir, but Jamot he be very quiet...just said he waited for a ship at the week’s end...said nothing of the lady.”

“Is he alone?” Lexford questioned.

“Cannot say, Sir. As I said before, I saw only Jamot.”

Bran impulsive nature demanded that he do something. “We need inside the building...to discover whether Velvet is there.”

“That be hard, Your Grace. I checked all the doors me self. Jamot locked himself in. You would have to climb up and come in through the upper level.”

“Can I reach it from the building next door?” Bran formulated a plan. Wellston was a better climber, actually took care of such situations on their missions, but Bran needed to do this himself.

Baron Ashton joined the conversation. “I think this is where we can use the girls to create a diversion.”

“I am having second thoughts about involving the ladies,” Lexford said suddenly.

“They will be with us,” Ashton argued. “We do not want this Jamot character to actually see either Cashé or Satiné; we just want him to question whether he sees Velvet.”

Wellston clarified, “Is Miss Cashé certain that Miss Aldridge wore a light blue gown? I asked the lady when we were in Edinburgh, but in the chaos of my arrival and the household’s discovering the truth of Miss Aldridge’s disappearance, the girl could be mistaken.”

“She swears by it,” Ashton continued, “and both girls have a gown of a similar shade. I am certain another woman would recognize the differences, but we men are not as discerning as women when it comes to fashion.”

“If we can create even a momentary distraction, I can enter the building. Velvet must be there.” Bran paused, examining all the facts. “When do we act?”

“I doubt if Jamot goes out a’gin this evening. We can watch the place just in case, but I doubt it be making a difference. The Baloch be killing Miss Aldridge if we storm the building, Your Grace. I suspect he be the one who killed Sir Louis. The man will have no qualms in taking the lady’s life.” Lucifer’s voice held all their fears.

“I know you speak the truth, but I need to be doing something.” Bran tossed the napkin on the table and stormed away to the window.

Lexford smiled knowingly, “Then go with Lucifer to watch the place.”

“When do you suppose Jamot will leave the warehouse again?” Bran never turned to look at his friends; he stared into the nothingness of the inn’s courtyard.

“Probably not until he plans to break his fast,” Wellston observed.

After a long silence, Bran asked the question on his mind all day. “Do you suppose Velvet will be safe if we do not go in sooner?”

Lexford came to stand beside him, speaking only to Bran. “Jamot could have hurt her before now, but he chose not to do so. I believe, like you, that Miss Aldridge reminds the man of Ashmita. He will threaten to do her harm: the kind of harm the others did to your wife, but if you remember Jamot never touched Ashmita. As if it betrayed Ashmita’s memory, touching Miss Aldridge would haunt him. In this respect, the Baloch is an honorable man.”

“You know, it is terrible to say, but I have only thought of my daughter’s peril a few times today. Is it not awful that I can be such a poor father? If Kerrington fails, will others question why I did not go after Sonali myself? And will my child forgive me for sending Worthing in my place?”

Lexford weighed his answer carefully. “First, the Captain will not fail. We all feel a loyalty to the child and her dead mother. As far as your being a good father, you gave the girl your family name, Your Grace, and you have done everything you could to protect Sonali. Your abandonment of Miss Aldridge would not guarantee the child’s safety. In fact, in the rescue attempt, your daughter is more likely to listen to Worthing than you. She tends to wrap you around her little finger; you would take unnecessary risks, whereas, the Captain can keep a certain detachment, something needed in those situations. Finally, you want to save Miss Aldridge because she is your future–the mother of your children–your duchess. You can picture no one else in that role.”

Bran cursed under his breath. “If I manage to save Velvet, her uncle must settle in his mind that I will make her my wife, even if she and I must travel immediately to Gretna Green. I am not of the persuasion to do without her one extra day.”

“Then let us rescue the lady,” Lexford assured his friend.

*

Velvet curled up on the cot. She actually welcomed the room’s darkness. It gave her time to think about what her captor might do to her and how she might escape. The ropes. She might find a way to cut them. Maybe. But the chain was another problem. She had no way to smash the lock even if she could maneuver it away from the post. Feeling the frustration, Velvet rose to walk in circles around the center support. Earlier in the day, she had found by catching the trailing rope in her hand, she could go around the post without incident. So, even though she could barely make out the outline of the cot–the table–the post, she did not fear becoming entangled in her binding.

Surely, someone searches for me
.
But will he arrive in time?
Before her jailer killed her or worst, yet, before he had violated her? She would not allow the man to take her as he described. She would fight him. Would make him kill her rather than to live with such shame. At the moment, she wished she had known Bran as a woman knows a man. Regretted not allowing him more liberties. Such a memory could wipe away the ugliness of what her captor might do to her.

Then she thought of what the man said about Ashmita’s fate.
How could she tolerate such abuse?
Velvet had wondered at the strength of the woman Bran married–had understood why Bran had risked his life to save Ashmita. “Repeatedly illused by so many men,” Velvet mused aloud. “How could Bran stand to touch Ashmita after her violation, and how could Ashmita welcome any man into her body once she knew the evil, which lies in a man’s soul?”

She circled the post a second time. “Could Bran accept me in such an intimacy if I cannot stop what his enemy intends?”

However, as much as Velvet wanted to consider a future with Bran, she could not abandon the image of a faceless girl being violated, and then Bran lying with that same woman. Something did not make sense. Bran hated what his father did to maids and cottagers; he would feel sympathy for Ashmita, but she could not picture his choosing the girl for his wife, even out of sympathy. Ella had told her of Bran’s rescue of Daisy Hollander in Cornwall. The woman had suffered extreme degradation at a local baronet’s hands, and Bran had made no move to take the woman as his wife or even his mistress. When he had catered to Velvet, the marquis often spoke of Bran’s impulsive need to save fallen women. “But he never married any of them,” she reasoned aloud. “None, except Ashmita. But why her?”

Because she was with child!
The realization exploded in her head.
Have you ever noticed how the child possesses no Anglo features?
Her captor’s words rang clearly. Catching the pole with her free hand, Velvet steadied herself. “Bran would not allow Ashmita to deliver a bastard,” she whispered. “He would make that sacrifice.” The absolute truth shouted in her head. “Oh, my!”

*

He had watched the warehouse all night, but saw nothing unusual, not even a light flicking. The man Lucifer had hired to keep tabs on the place had sworn that Jamot never left the building during the time he had stood guard.

A carriage and horse’s tracks were evident behind the warehouse, which made sense. Jamot would not want anyone to see him unload Velvet. Lucifer’s contacts located a carriage and a driver at an inn on the town’s outskirts. He admitted to having driven a dark-skinned man from Edinburgh. Under
persuasive
questioning by Lexford, the driver had described how he had never seen his employer’s passenger–how the man had ordered him away from the coach when they had stopped–how the dark-skinned man had left whoever it was in the coach overnight while his employer had slept in a comfortable inn.

“Did you not consider checking to see who or what the man transported?” Lexford had demanded.

“The gentleman paid me a half year’s income for a fortnight’s work. What do I care if he transports his mistress or his misbehaving wife? I got me own family to worry on.”

“Does your employer travel alone? Does he have someone guarding what belongs to him?”

“I tell ye, Gov’ner, I saw no one but the man you described. Although I knew she was there, I never saw no lady. He gave very specific orders that way.”

Lexford turned the man over to the local magistrate. As an area nobleman, his word of complaint had served as reason enough to incarcerate the lackey. Bran did not take the news well. A mouthful of curses and self recriminations did little to lessen the grief he felt over the indignity Velvet had suffered.

*

During the night Bran scaled the adjoining building and found what he hoped was access to Jamot’s hide out. Now, they just needed to lure the man away from Velvet. Just long enough for Bran to rescue her.

They waited for Jamot to appear again on the street. Their plan had involved a bit of luck and a touch of “sleight of hand.” Finally, at mid morning, the building’s door opened, and Jamot appeared on the street. They could simply storm the place and take Velvet forcibly, but they did not know if Jamot had traveled alone, so they waited. What if someone else held her hostage? What if she was in another location, and they could not reach her in time? If they overpowered Jamot, could an unknown assailant kill her? There were too many unspecified variables to chance it.

Jamot rolled his head as if stretching his neck. Lexford watched from behind a wagon filled high with barrels. He knew Bran could not see Jamot so Lexford took out a small mirror to send up a signal. From where he waited on the roof, Bran watched for the flash of light before making his move. Lexford was to wait until Jamot headed toward the inn he had frequented the night before.

“Move everyone into place,” Lexford told Ashton and Wellston. “We only have a few minutes.”

Bran saw the signal and began his assault. During the night he had placed two long timbers across the space between the buildings. He would “walk the planks” to achieve the roof of Jamot’s hideout. Balancing precariously on the rails, he edged out onto the lumber. Bran estimated that if he could make it halfway without an incident, he could jump for safety if the wood gave way. Like a circus performer, with his arms out to his side, he sidestepped inch by inch toward where Velvet was likely held captive.

Finally, after several perilous moments, he achieved the adjoining rooftop. Working his way across the tarred shingles, he came to the building’s rear. The only window not boarded up lay on this side. It was not large, but he could fit through it. Taking the rope he brought with him, Bran tied off one end to a support post and wrapped the other around his waist.

With some urgency, he began to lower himself over the edge. Jamot would not be gone long, and Bran needed to find Velvet. Needed to hold her in his arms once more.

Reaching the window, he dangled from the rope, swinging slightly as he reached for a finger hold, something to keep him in place. Miraculously, he caught a loosened slate on the upper frame, enough to stay his swing. He brought his knee to the ledge to reach a better hold. Balancing dangerously on the frame’s bottom part, he cupped his face to block out the glare so he could see what the room held. Peering through the dust-covered glass, Bran could decipher a small bed and table and a center support post, but nothing else.

Then he saw her, and his heart exploded. Through the room’s open door, he could see Velvet suspended from the rafters. Her arms–stretched above her head clung to a rope, holding her weight from what awaited her. If Velvet’s hands slipped, she would hang herself because the rope’s other end looped around her neck.

*

Jamot had known that they watched him–had known that someone from the Realm slept on the roof next door. He had heard the man place some sort of “bridge” between the buildings. From a partially blocked upper window, he could see the man’s silhouette against the night sky as he labored to find a way into the warehouse. Jamot assumed the man was the Duke of Thornhill.

He had gone to the woman’s room, but it had frightened her, which he had intended but did not relish as much as he had thought. The lady crouched in the corner, clutching the thin blanket to her. Jamot did not enjoy the fear he observed in her eyes. “Do not worry yourself, my Dear. I simply came to empty the chamber pot.” The candle had reflected her anxiety. Jamot put it down and took the vessel away. Moments later, he returned with an empty pot. Setting it in the corner, he had glanced at her before taking the candle to leave. “Your duke knows you are here, Miss Aldridge. He stages a rescue, but he will not succeed. You will die if he tries anything.” Then he had left her to mull over what he had said.