His Jilted Bride (Historical Regency Romance) (23 page)

Elijah bit back a vile curse. “Who did
she tell?”

“
Edwina.”

Relief coursed through
him. “Edwina won't tell anyone. Lord knows enough gossip has flown
about her own husband that she's more likely to jump onto a bed of
rusty nails with her bare feet than gossip.” He crossed his arms
and lowered his lashes. Perhaps he should just tell her the truth.
All of it. She
was
owed it, after all. No. If he told her she might get herself
into danger. His heart constricted. He had to keep her from
knowing. But just until the men were apprehended, then he'd retire
and could tell her. But not until then.

“
Edwina might not tell, but it doesn't mean that she wants to
be burdened with such a large secret.”

Elijah loosened his cravat. “Don't
worry about that. I'll take care of it.”

“
Nonetheless, you'd do well to put Amelia's mind at ease
before she confides in someone else.”

Elijah's grasp on the
coded paper he held tightened. Dash it all if his brother wasn't
correct. If she'd told Edwina, she might not hesitate to confide in
someone else or ask questions about what to expect while she was
increasing. Panic mounted in his chest. He
had
to do something. Sadly there was
nothing to do. He'd made her a promise and though his breaking it
would be for her own good (and there was no need to lie to himself,
he'd enjoy making love to her), he just couldn't bring himself to
break his word to her.

“
Confound it all,” he muttered in frustration. Elijah extended
his foot and kicked his brother in the boots. “Don't you be
thinking of going to sleep over there. We still have this missive
to puzzle out together. I'm ready to catch these two and be done
with it.”

“
All right. Read it to me again.”

“
'
Where I be/ There I pray/ That He
be there/ Right beside/ Thy
maiden
fair
.'” Elijah dropped the slip of paper.
“It reads more like a warning than a clue.”

Henry opened one blue eye. “A
warning?”

“
Yes. I still don't understand all of it, but the author of
this note writes he with a capital H. It's been a while since Mr.
Fink first taught us about pronouns, but aren't they all supposed
to be lowercase?”

“
Except when referring to God.”

“
That's exactly what I was thinking. Also, he mentions praying
to Him,” he added beneath his breath. That should have been enough
to give it away the first time he read it.
Since when had he become as obtuse as Alex, missing
everything that's obvious?

“
Since you married Amelia and became frustrated that she
didn't fall right into your bed.”

Elijah grabbed the pillow from under
Henry's feet and threw it at his head. “That's enough. Now, let's
think about this some more.” He frowned. “All I have is that he's
praying that God will keep someone safe. But who?”

“
Doesn't it say
thy maiden
fair
in the last line?”

“
Yes, but I don't think that's meant literally—”

“
It also didn't occur to you until today that the H in he was
capitalized.”

Elijah crossed his arms. “Oh, and
you'd already solved that little mystery, had you?”

“
No. But I don't claim to be a mastermind, either.”

“
No. You prefer to let my brain do this type of work while
yours dreams about horseflesh.”

Henry sat up. “This isn't my fault,
Elijah.”

“
Isn't it? If I remember correctly, it was you who agreed to
take this mission. Mr. Robinson had told us we were finished and
all charges would be dropped after we helped end the illegal
whiskey coming to Exmouth from France. We could have been done with
all of this and living respectable lives, but you voluntarily took
on this task.”

Henry's face grew dark and shuttered.
“It was hard to say no, considering what we saw in
India.”

Snatches of memories of their time in
India flashed in Elijah's head. Young girls, some Indian, some from
England, France, Spain or anywhere else in western Europe, all far
too young to make decisions for themselves, had been forced into
the life of prostitution. Barely dressed and covered with rouge,
these young girls would walk the dirty streets, trying to find a
paying customer. “And that's why I didn't stop you,” Elijah said
hoarsely.

“
Stop blaming me for what happened with Amelia.”

“
Well, if you'd done your job, we wouldn't be in this
mess.”

Henry scoffed. “I'm not the one who
took her upstairs at Lord Nigel's house.”

Elijah's face warmed. “You're right,
you weren't. But neither were you there to help me apprehend both
men in Brighton.”

“
Because I didn't know they were going to be there, Elijah. I
went with you to Brighton to help you find Amelia. How was I to
know Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum were going to try to smuggle a
boat load of girls off from the docks in Brighton that night?”
Henry said defensively. He blew out a deep breath. “Has marriage
made your brain evaporate?”

“
This isn't about my marriage, Henry.”

“
Then what is it?”

“
It's about the fact that taking this assignment was your idea
and you never seem to be around when you're needed.”

The muscle in Henry's cheek ticked.
“That's not true.”

“
Yes, it is,” Elijah burst out. “You wanted to take on this
task and have left all the work to me.”

“
Oh, is that what you think I've done?” Henry demanded, his
blue eyes sparkling with fire. “How quick it is that you forget
about the information I've discovered regarding the escape and
murder or the fact that I was the one dropping hints and searching
for clues about the identity of the man who owns
Jezebel
while you were
carrying Amelia upstairs and seeing her to bed. I might prefer a
clear directive over puzzles, but that doesn't mean that I haven't
been present when needed, Elijah.”

“
Yes, well, I prefer clear directives, too. Unfortunately,
that is not what we got this time,” Elijah fired back.

“
A clear directive? Is that how you think of an agreement for
a free trip from Dublin to Lancashire aboard a steam packet at one
in the morning, when we could have just spent the money to stay
another night and come home on a passenger ship the next
day?”

Elijah tensed. “Why must you remind me
of that?”

“
Because you seem to enjoy reminding me that we wouldn't be in
this mess if it wasn't for my agreement to help capture the two
remaining men involved in the prostitution ring.”

“
Well, is it true?”

Henry ignored him. “Would we even be
having this conversation if not for what happened with
Amelia?”

No, they wouldn't. It might have been
due to Elijah's young and careless decision to board a steam packet
filled with one hundred barrels of whiskey heading for England's
shores that made them work for the Crown in the first place. When
the ship had been captured, the two brothers had almost gotten
away, stopped only by a burly man who'd seen two more men fall off
the side of the boat than bullets had been fired. Those two extra
men had been Elijah and Henry. They swam, staying under the water
as much as they could until they found a little cove about a mile
away. There, waiting for them was Mr. Robinson.

He'd offered them a choice: the gaol
for smuggling whiskey or work for the Crown for ten years. The
decision was easy: become a spy. Fortunately—or perhaps
unfortunately depending on which day you asked—the two had always
been assigned to the same mission due to their ability to
communicate with mere looks.

Elijah took a deep breath. “No, we
wouldn't be having this conversation if Amelia wasn't involved. But
you never had to come along. On the steam packet from Ireland I
mean.”

“
I know.” Henry's voice was softer than before. “But I did for
the same reason you agreed to help with this one.”

“
Help, not solve myself,” Elijah reminded him with a faint
smile. He drummed his fingers on his knees. “I'm assuming this has
to do with a church.”

“
What has to do with a church?”

Elijah gestured to the note on the
table in front of him. “The chap who wrote this mentions praying,
and by his other word choices, such as 'there', it makes me think
he's talking about going somewhere.”

“
And the most logical place to go and pray is a church,” Henry
finished for him. He grinned. “See, I'm helping.”

Elijah shook his head. Never mind that
not two seconds ago Elijah had been the one to mention the
church.

Henry leaned forward and put his
elbows on his knees. “Do you think he means the next exchange will
take place at a church?”

Elijah pursed his lips. “I suppose
it's possible, but that isn't very helpful.”

“
The location of where the exchange is to take place isn't
very helpful,” Henry said in a tone dripping with
sarcasm.

“
Not if you don't know the town, you coxcomb. There are dozens
of churches that line the coast. It could be any one of
them.”

Henry nodded slowly. “Perhaps since he
doesn't give us a new city, we could assume he's still speaking of
Dover?”

“
I don't think so. Surely they wouldn't plan another—” He
stopped abruptly. His last encounter with the men wasn't at the
party in Dover, but in Brighton. Only, they hadn't had any clue
leading them to Brighton. Elijah had just happened to overhear
someone talking about the
Jezebel
, and recognized that as the
name of the boat. “All right, say he's speaking of
Dover.”

“
He's speaking of Dover.”

Elijah shot him a pointed
look.

Henry threw his hands in the air.
“You're the one who said 'say he's speaking of Dover'. I was just
following your command. I wouldn't want you to think I'm not as
dedicated to solving this as you are.”

Instead of strangling the insolence
right out of Henry as he was tempted to do, he turned back to the
note. “It can't be Dover. There are at least two churches in a city
that large. Were there one that was widely known, his clue would
have been enough. But since there isn't one that is more well known
than the other, nor a clue where to find said church, then I don't
think he's speaking of Dover.”

“
What about a church around here? I'm sure there's a church in
Bath or even Dorset.”

“
I don't think so. We're not on the right side of the country.
All of the girls have been sent across the Channel to the continent
to be transported. It's the fastest way out of the country and to
the continent.”

“
But they have to gather the girls first,” Henry said simply.
“If they'd have relied on taking girls from only the coastal
villages, they'd have been caught before now.”

“
You have a point. This could be a gathering place, not
necessarily where they're loading them on the boat.” He frowned.
“But that could be anywhere. Just because he sent the missive to us
here, doesn't mean it's a church near here. He just knows we're
staying here.”

“
All right so what's the first church you think of when you
hear someone say they're going to church?”

“
St. Gregory's in London,” Elijah said automatically. “But
there's not a grasshopper's chance in Mr. Henry Hirsute's cage that
they'd be foolish enough to meet there.”

“
No, they wouldn't.”

Silence filled the room. Over the past
eight years, they'd help return stolen goods, shut down illegal
import and sale of whiskey, and even tracked down dangerous
criminals. At first, they did it to stay on this side of the Tower
of London. Then after a while, it became fun. There was a sense of
danger and intrigue. Then of course came the thrill of apprehending
the criminal. They'd been able to travel the world. Asia, Europe,
Africa, even the Americas hadn't been off limits for someone with
connections such as theirs. But after their last stint in France
which almost got Henry killed and shut down a major whiskey
smuggling operation, Mr. Robinson had said they'd served long
enough and were free to leave if they wished it. Oh, how Elijah
wished it. He'd always wanted to marry Amelia and each time his
directives took him back to England his first priority was to go
see her.

He'd had mixed feelings about her
still being unmarried. In a way, he was glad because it gave him
hope that one day she'd be his wife. At the same time, he wished
for her the happiness that being married would provide, but that he
couldn't offer her. He was under the direction of the Crown and
could be made to leave whenever they were ready to send him away or
for whatever mission they needed complete. He was theirs to command
about and having a wife who he couldn't be there to protect was
unthinkable.