Late For The Wedding

Twenty

Sweet Ned took a deep breath and sauntered toward the gates of the graveyard. He wanted to handle this business in a professional manner.

Business. He liked the sound of that. He’d taken a real commission from a real client. He was no longer an ordinary street lad who picked pockets and snatched the odd valuable. As of last night, he was a professional with his own business.

When he’d struck the bargain with the woman, it was as though a magic door had opened, allowing him a tantalizing vision of a new future. It was a truly dazzling scene in which he was the master of his own destiny, successful and prosperous. Respected.

There would be no more dealing with the damned receivers who never gave fair value for the goods he risked his neck to steal. No more skulking about in alleys waiting to rob drunken gentlemen when they stumbled out of the hells and brothels in the wee hours of the morning. No more dodging the Runners. From now on he would only accept commissions from clients who were willing to pay well to, have their dirty work done by an expert.

He’d have to consider how best to advertise his services, he thought as he strolled through the iron gates. Unfortunately, he could not put a notice in the papers. He would have to depend on word of mouth. But that should not be a problem after the news of how well he had carried out his first commission circulated. The woman would likely tell her friends and they would tell others, and in no time at all he would be swamped with commissions.

Too bad his pa had drunk himself to death before he’d had an opportunity to see his son move up in the world.

At the thought of his father lying dead in the stinking alley, a half-empty bottle of gin in one hand, the old rage came back, nearly blinding him. Memories of the beatings made him clench his hand around the handle of the knife. They had grown more frequent and more savage after his ma died. In the end he’d had no choice but to take to the streets.

There were times when the urge to hit someone or something nearly overpowered him. Sometimes he wanted to strike blow after blow until this rush of raw fury evaporated.

But he refused to give in to the fierce anger. He had vowed to himself a long time ago that he would not follow in his father’s drunken footsteps. After today everything would be different. After today word would go out that he was a reliable professional and he would be launched on his new career.

But first he had to fulfill this commission.

He stopped just inside the cemetery gates, trying to ignore the little finger of dread that touched him at the back of his neck. He did not like graveyards. One of his friends, who was doing very nicely for himself robbing graves and selling bodies to the medical schools, had tried to convince him to join his gang of Resurrection Men. He had made some excuse about having bigger plans, but the truth was, he knew he’d never be a success in that line of work. The thought of digging up graves and opening coffins filled him with horror.

He looked quickly around the graveyard, searching for his quarry.

Panic surged in his vitals when he realized that she was nowhere in sight.

Impossible. She had to be here somewhere. He knew this old boneyard. She could not have climbed the high stone walls, and the gates behind him were the only way out. The small church had been closed up for nearly a year, the door kept locked and barred.

The burial vaults, he thought. She must be hiding in one of them.

Yes, that was it. She had realized that he was a threat, and the poor little fool had sought refuge in one of the large crypts. As if he’d let her slip away so easily.

He studied the array of stone vaults sprinkled around the cemetery. Some of them were enormous, built to house several generations of a family’s dead. A small scrap of cloth fluttered on the ground in front of the door of a large crypt on his right.

It looked like a lady’s handkerchief.

She was no doubt shivering in terror inside that dark chamber, alone with all those walled-up skeletons, he thought. He felt a pang of sympathy. He wouldn’t want to be in her shoes. But if she was already trembling with fear, that would make his work all the easier.

At the door of the monument he stooped down to pick up the little bit of embroidered cloth. Just as he’d thought. A fine linen handkerchief. When this was finished he would give it to Jenny.

He opened the door of the crypt and peered into the gloom. A

shudder went through him. This would not have been his choice of a hiding place.

“You in there,” he called. “Come on out now. I’ve got a message for ye

His voice echoed on the stone walls, but nothing stirred inside the crypt. He wondered if she’d fainted dead away from fright.

“Bloody female. You had to go and make this difficult, didn’t you?”

There was no help for it; he’d have to go in and haul her out. He wished he had a candle or a lantern. It was as dark as the Pit in there.

Reluctantly, he moved into the burial vault. The passageway at the entrance opened onto a cramped chamber, lined floor to ceiling with stones engraved with the names of the dead. There was just enough light to make out the edges of two massive, heavily carved coffins in the center of the room. She was no doubt crouched down behind one of them.

He eased deeper into the chamber. Decades of dust stirred at his feet.

Dust.

Belatedly, he glanced down. There was enough light slanting through the open door to see that there were no footprints in the thick dust other than his own.

“Bloody hell.”

He whirled and raced back toward the door. He got there just in time to catch a glimpse of the woman’s green skirts flying out through the cemetery gates.

She’d tricked him. She had dropped her handkerchief in front of this monument and hidden behind one of the others.

He rushed toward the gates. He could outrun her, he promised himself, a sense of desperation pouring through him. He could outrun any fine lady.

He had to outrun her. His future depended on it.

Lavinia fled toward the entrance of the tiny lane, her skirts clutched in both hands. She could hear the man pounding across the graveyard. He would be through the gates in another few seconds.

He was young and strong and fast, and she knew that she could not outrun him for long. Her only hope was to reach the street first and pray that there would be other people around to aid her.

This was, she reflected, one of those times when it would have been extremely helpful to be dressed in trousers instead of a gown. If she escaped the man with the knife, she would definitely make an appointment with Madam Francesca to discuss the matter.

The thud of boots on stone drew closer. She sensed the man reaching for her. She did not dare look back. The place where the lane met the street was not far now.

Dear God, two more strides and she would be safe. Perhaps.

She burst out of the tiny mouth of the lane.

And stumbled straight into the arms of a solidly built man in a large, dark coat and a low-crowned hat. Her first thought was that the villain with the knife had a companion. A fresh wave of fear crashed through her.

She struggled to break free, opening her mouth to scream.

“Lavinia.” Tobias’s strong hands closed around her forearms like steel manacles. “Are you all right? Answer me, Lavinia. Are you hurt?”

“Tobias.” Relief left her limp and breathless. “Thank God. Yes, yes, I’m all right. But there’s a man. With a knife.”

She swung around and saw that her pursuer had stopped just inside the entrance to the lane. He stared at Tobias.

“There he is,” Lavinia said. “I think he followed me here. He waited for Aspasia to leave and then he came toward me with a knife and i…

“ Stay here.” He set her aside and started toward the young man with the blade.

She realized that he was going to try to capture her would-be assailant.

“Tobias, no. Wait. He’s got a knife.”

“He will not have it for long,” Tobias said very softly. He kept moving, swiftly narrowing the distance between himself and the man in the lane.

Lavinia saw panic cross the young man’s face. Whatever he saw in Tobias’s expression had struck terror in him. He was trapped and he knew it.

Alarm swept through her. Cornered creatures were exceedingly dangerous.

Tobias did not seem to notice the knife in the young man’s hand.

He closed in on him with the long, prowling stride of a wolf moving in for the kill.

The man lost his nerve. Blade extended as though it were a talisman that could ward off a demon, he broke into a mad run, slashing wildly at the air. It was clear that he intended to try to rush past Tobias to the freedom of the street.

Tobias sidestepped the knife and grabbed the arm that held it as the villain went flying past him. Using the man’s own momentum, he swung him in an arc that ended abruptly against the nearest stone wall.

The assailant squealed in fear and rage and pain. He crumpled to the pavement. The knife clattered on the stones.

Tobias scooped up the blade. “Sweet Ned, I presume.”

The young man shuddered as if he’d been struck.

Lavinia hurried toward the pair. “How do you come to know his name?”

“I’ll explain later.” Tobias kept his attention focused entirely on Sweet Ned. “Look at me, Ned. I want to see your face.”

Lavinia stiffened at the deadly edge on Tobias’s softly spoken order. Uncertain of his temper, she shot another quick, searching glance at him. Beneath the brim of his hat, his features were as hard and unyielding as the face of one of the stone angels in the graveyard.

Another tremor went through Sweet Ned, and Lavinia knew that he, too, had heard the promise of doom in Tobias’s voice. But as though, compelled by instructions received from a powerful mesmerist, he slowly rolled onto his back. He stared up at Tobias.

For the first time Lavinia got a close look at his face.

“He’s so young,” she whispered. “He’s not even as old as Anthony or Dominic. Seventeen or eighteen at most.”

“And given his choice of profession, he’ll likely hang before he’s another year older.” Tobias stood just out of Ned’s reach and watched his victim with no sign of sympathy. “What did you intend here today, Ned?”

Ned jerked a little at the question. It was as though he had received a shock from the words.

“I never meant to hurt the lady,” he gasped. “I swear it on my mother’s grave. I was only going to put a scare into her, that’s all.”

“What sort of scare?” Tobias asked, lowering his voice a bit more.

Ned was clearly terrified now. “I. I was to tell her to stop asking questions, that’s all.”

“Questions?” The information shook Lavinia. Until that moment she had assumed that Ned was no more than a common footpad who had singled her out as a woman alone and therefore an easy victim.

Tobias, however, did not appear surprised by the answer.

“What sort of questions was the lady not supposed to ask?” he said to Ned.

“I don’t know what sort. I took a commission, ye see. The lady paid me, half before, the rest to follow’

“Lady?” Lavinia moved a little closer.

“Describe this woman who hired you,” Tobias said evenly. “If you value your life, you will give me every single detail that you can recall.”

“I don’t. I don’t. I can’t think…” Ned’s features tightened in terror. He was clearly struggling hard to remember, but his fear of Tobias had tangled his tongue.

This approach would gain them nothing, Lavinia thought. She reached up and unclasped the silver medallion she wore around her throat.

“I suggest that you allow me to question him, sir,” she said quietly to Tobias.

Tobias glanced at the medallion, hesitated, and then gave a small shrug. “Very well. I want to know everything there is to know about the person who hired him to frighten you.”

“Sweet Ned, look at me,” she said gently.

But Ned appeared unable to drag his gaze away from Tobias. He was riveted by whatever it was he saw in the other man’s eyes.

“Look away from him, Tobias,” Lavinia said quietly. “He is trans fixed by you. You must release him before I can deal with him.”

“I’m watching him.” Tobias did not take his eyes off Ned. “I don’t want any surprises.”

“For heaven’s sake, you’ve got him in a sort of trance,” she muttered. You must break it. He can’t. Look away for a few seconds.

“I think that will do it.”

“What the devil are you talking about? He’s not in a trance. He’s terrified, that’s all.” Tobias smiled coldly at Ned. “And with very good reason.”

Ned did not move. He did not even blink. He lay there on the ground staring at Tobias.

“Tobias, please,” Lavinia said, a little desperate now.

“Very well.” Tobias took his attention off Ned and looked at her instead. “But if this does not work, I’ll take charge. Is that understood?”

She glanced quickly at him, saw what Ned must have seen, and stopped breathing. Tobias’s eyes were fathomless seas of a roiling silvery-gray mist. The world around her began to dissolve. She lost her balance and started to fall headfirst into a bottomless, dark whirlpool.

“Lavinia.” Tobias’s voice cracked like lightning. “What’s wrong?

“You look as if you’re going to faint.”

She snapped out of the trance and found her balance with an act of will. “Rubbish.” She drew a deep breath. “I’ll have you know I have never fainted in my entire life.”

Hastily, she turned back toward Ned, who was propped on his elbows, shaking his head as though trying to clear it. At least he was no longer helplessly transfixed by Tobias.

She summoned her wits and pulled herself together. “Ned. Look at my necklace.” She held the silver pendant so that it caught the sunlight. “See how it sparkles.”

Ned’s gaze snagged on the dangling medallion. She let it swing gently.

“Watch the pattern of the dancing light, Ned,” she said in the firm, compelling voice she employed to induce a mesmeric trance. “It will calm your mind and steady your nerves. Your fears will be soothed.

Concentrate on the dancing light. Feel the heaviness in your limbs.

“Listen to my voice. Listen only to my voice. Let everything else fade into the distance, where it cannot make you anxious.”

Ned’s expression relaxed. He no longer seemed aware of Tobias or his surroundings.

“Describe the woman who hired you to follow me today, Ned,” she said when she sensed that he was in a deep trance. “Picture her in your mind as though she were standing here in front of you. Is there enough light to see her clearly?”

“The moon is nearly full and she brought a lantern. I can tell that she is tall. Almost as tall as me.” The words were flat and completely lacking in emotion.

“What is she wearing?”

“She has a small hat with a veil. I can see her eyes glitter now and again, but that’s all.”

“What does her gown look like?”

The question seemed to perplex Ned. “It’s just an ordinary dress.

“Dark.”

Frustrated, she tried again. “Does it look like the sort of gown an elegant lady might wear? Is it made of fine cloth?”

“No.” He sounded very sure this time. “It’s plain. Brown or gray, I think. It looks like the gown my friend Jenny wears to work at the tavern.”

“Is she wearing any jewelry?”

“No.”

“What about her shoes? Can you see them?”

“Yes. She has set the lantern down at her feet. There is plenty of light near the ground, and she has her skirts hiked up a little to keep them out of the dirt. I can see her low kid boots.”

“Can you see the woman’s hair?”

“Some of it.”

“What color is her hair?”

“It looks very pale in the moonlight. Yellow or white, I think. I can’t tell which.”

“How does she wear it?”

Again, Ned seemed rather baffled. “She has pinned it in a knot at her neck.”

“What does the lady want you to do for her?”

“She wants me to go to Number Seven Claremont Lane and watch for the woman with the red hair who lives there. When she leaves her house I am to follow her until I can get her alone. I am to threaten her with the knife. I must tell her that if she does not stop asking questions I’ll come back and slit her throat from ear to ear.”

Tobias glided a step closer. Lavinia shook her head, silently warning him to remain quiet.

“Would you do that, Sweet Ned?” she asked gently. Would you try to cut the lady’s throat if she doesn’t stop asking her questions?”

“No.” In spite of the deep trance, Ned suddenly became extremely agitated. “I’m no murderer. But I can’t let the woman know that. She’s my first client and I don’t want to lose her. I tell her I’ll do the job if it comes down to it. She believes me. I can see that she does.”

“Calm yourself, Ned.” Lavinia spoke quickly. Watch the glittering light dance on the silver pendant and let yourself grow heavy.”

Ned relaxed visibly and fell back into the depths of the trance.

“How did the woman who gave you the commission find you?”

Lavinia asked.

“She said she’d asked around. Someone told her I was the man she wanted for the job.”

“If you had been successful today, how would you contact her to collect the rest of your pay?” Lavinia asked.

“She said she’d find me just like she did the first time.”

Lavinia glanced at Tobias. He shook his head once to tell her that he had no other questions for Ned.

“Bring him out of the trance,” he said.

She turned back to Ned. “You will wake up when I snap my fingers, but you will not remember this conversation.”

She snapped her fingers.

Ned blinked owlishly and came back to full awareness of his surroundings. The anxiety returned to his eyes. He promptly dismissed Lavinia and switched his attention back to Tobias.

“If ye let me go, sir,” he said very earnestly to Tobias, continuing a conversation he did not realize had been interrupted, I swear I won’t go anywhere near this lady again. On me honor as a professional.”

“A professional what?” Tobias asked mildly. “Professional intimidator of ladies?”

“I swear I won’t touch a hair on her head.”

“You’re right on that account,” Tobias agreed. “Turn over, Ned.”

Ned gave a violent start. “What are you going to do with me? I promise that if ye’ll let me go, I won’t take any more commissions for this sort of work ever again.”

Tobias took a long, narrow strip of leather out of one of the deep pockets of the old trousers he wore. “I said, turn over and put your hands behind your back.”

Ned looked as though he might cry. But he surrendered to the inevitable and reluctantly complied.

Tobias secured his wrists with a few deft twists. “On your feet.”

Ned struggled slowly upright, face twisted in despair. “Are ye going to hand me over to the Runners? Ye might as well stick a knife in me vitals now and be done with it. I’ll hang for sure.”

Tobias grasped his arm. “We’re not going to Bow Street.” He looked at Lavinia. “The three of us will walk to the corner. I’m going to put you in a hack and send you back to Claremont Lane. Wait for me there.”

She hesitated. “What about Ned?”

“Leave him to me.”

She did not like the sound of that any more than Ned did. Tobias’s mood was unreadable.

“He’s just a boy, Tobias,” she said quietly.

“He is no boy. He is a young man well on his way to becoming a hardened villain. The next time he agrees to accept a commission, he might decide that murder is not beyond the pale.”

“No, never,” Ned said quickly. “I’m no cutthroat. I’m a thief, but I’m not a murderer.”

“Tobias, I really don’t think he meant to do more than frighten me,” Lavinia said.

“I will deal with him.” Tobias hauled Ned toward the entrance to the lane. “Let us be off. I have several other matters to attend to this afternoon. I have no more time to waste.”

He would not do any great harm to young Ned, she assured herself. Tobias was in a dangerous mood but he was in full control, as always.

Sometimes one had to trust one’s partner.