Shattered Dreams (23 page)

“
Have they left town on a post chaise?”

Marcus
shook his head. “Joseph has already been to ask the ticket master.
No trace there either. Joshua is still on watch in case they try to
buy a ticket.”

“
They have a contact in town,” Barnaby growled in
disgust

Harry
and Barnaby looked at each other. “Bolsworthy.”

“
Do we have a description of her?” Marcus asked as he looked
from one to the other.

Harry
frowned and gave his colleague the description Tilly had given him
on the afternoon they had first met.

“
If they have gone to ground, we need to be careful that they
don’t creep back here,” Barnaby whispered, and threw a furtive look
at the door.

“
They have gone to ground at Bolsworthy’s house. I doubt
that’s her real name, but I am positive that she is in town
somewhere,” Harry growled.

“
We need some more detail about this Bolsworthy woman, Harry,”
Marcus growled. “See if you can get Tilly to remember if the woman
had any distinguishing features; or whether there was anything
about her that was different in any way. The sooner we know who we
are looking for, the quicker we can hopefully find her, and the
Dandridges’.”

Harry
nodded, and went to find Tilly.

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

He found
her and Zack remaking the beds with the freshly washed
sheets.

“
Nearly done,” Tilly announced. The smile she gave him made
his heart lurch crazily in his chest.

“
Take your time,” Harry suggested with a smile, and sat
casually in the chair beside the fire to wait.

Once
they had finished, Harry nodded to the seat opposite
him.

“
Shall I go and fetch the rest of the washing in?” Zack asked
as he hurried to the door.

“
I don’t think you will reach the line, but ask Suzanna to
help you,” Tilly said as she took the seat Harry had waved to. Her
stomach fluttered nervously at the seriousness on his face, and she
wondered if she was going to like what he had to say.

“
I need a description of the woman, Mrs Bolsworthy, who
recommended the position here. I know you have given it to me
before, but I would like you to do it again, if you would? What did
she look like, Tilly? This time though, I need you to think about
whether she had any distinguishing features, or a regional dialect,
or anything that might help the men find her in town.”

“
Do you think she might be here, in Tooting Mallow?” Tilly
asked in horror.

Harry
nodded, and looked a little apologetic. “I am afraid so darling,
but don’t worry. She isn’t a threat to you while you are here. We
just need to find her and ask her a few questions; that’s
all.”

This was
the last thing Tilly wanted to discuss, but there was something
about the rather intent way Harry stared at her that warned her
that any details she could give were of considerable
importance.

She gave
him as much information as possible, and recounted all of her
conversations with the older woman. Her frown grew deeper as she
scoured her memory for any word, any hint of something that might
prove useful but, apart from the somewhat basic facts, couldn’t
really come up with anything else of any use.

“
I am sorry, I know it isn’t much,” Tilly sighed. “Now that I
come to look back on it, I realise now just how naive I was to
believe the woman. She was a total stranger. I was a fool to
believe that she could be trusted.”

“
Don’t judge yourself too harshly, Tilly. After all, she was a
friend of a lady of high esteem, not someone you had just met in a
tavern. From the sound of it, there was no earthly reason why you
should question her integrity.”

He
didn’t add that it had most probably been panic at the thought of
being homeless that had stopped her from thinking logically. A deep
sigh escaped him when her smile dimmed, and was replaced with acute
sadness. He hated to see the sudden change in her, and leaned
forward to brace his elbows on his knees so he could get closer to
her without making her feel threatened.

“
Don’t go over the past too much, Tilly,” he urged her
quietly. “What is done, is done. You cannot go back and change it
now, no matter how much you might want to. You need to focus on the
future, and decide what you want to do with the rest of your
life.”

“
I need to find a job,” she replied simply.

The
contrast in their situations had never been starker than it was at
that moment. He was secure in his work for the government, his
life, and was surrounded by like-minded friends who were all as
strong and capable as he was. In contrast, she was really
struggling to find direction in life. She only had Zack and Suzanna
as close acquaintances now, and nobody to support her. All she
wanted was an opportunity to find somewhere to stay so she could
feed herself and keep a roof over head.

Although
she wanted a housekeeper’s job somewhere, she knew now that because
of her age, the possibility of her getting such a position was
looking less and less likely. As a result; she would have to focus
her attention on trying to find a job that was considerably lower
ranked. However, with very little in the way of references, she
knew she was going to be lucky to find a job washing pots at the
local tavern.

“
Look, I know that you need to sort yourself out with
somewhere to stay when this is all over but, there really is no
rush. I have been working with the Star Elite for several years now
and know, for a fact, that investigations like these can sometimes
take months.” His eyes met and held hers. “Even if a job becomes
available, I cannot allow you to go for any interviews. Not with
this woman on the loose. Heaven knows where she is, and what she
had planned for you.”

He read
the doubt on her face and knew that if he wanted her co-operation,
he had to take her into his confidence.

“
We think that the Dandridges’ were responsible for using my
seal so this Bolsworthy woman could send you that convincing
letter.”

He
looked up when she gasped loudly. She stared at him with wide,
horror-filled eyes.

“
Why? I don’t know the Dandridges’?”

“
I know, sweetheart,” Harry sighed. “We think they, the
Dandridges’, are connected in some way to the Bolsworthy woman. We
just don’t know how yet, or what they had planned for you once they
got you here. Now that we have heard Suzanna’s story, we know now
that your letter wasn’t just some misunderstanding. It was a
deliberate attempt to get you here where you would be vulnerable
because you have no family, would have very little in the way of
funds, and have nowhere to go.”

Tilly
felt a little sick. “Did they want me in the poor house?” The very
thought made her skin crawl, and she frowned as she tried to
believe it, and couldn’t.

“
I don’t know.” Harry sighed and gave her a frank look. “At
the moment, we have more questions than answers, and it is going to
take us some time to figure it all out. Just be patient for me;
that’s all I ask. Let us deal with the investigation. I need my
colleagues to work on trying to find the Bolsworthy woman, and
watch what the Dandridges’ are up to. If you did get an interview
for a job anywhere, I wouldn’t want you to go to it alone, but I
cannot spare the men to go with you. We are trying to establish how
many other people, just like you and Suzanna, are still stuck in
that poor house and are not in the register. There may be some who
are already on their way here still; we just don’t know about them
yet. It would help us considerably if you just set aside all
thought of finding a job right now, and concentrate instead on
keeping yourself safe. Once the investigation is over, the Star
Elite won’t just abandon you to destitution. I will help you, and
Zack, and Suzanna. I promise.”

Tilly
swallowed. Her mind whirled, but latched on to one phrase he had
just said, and refused to let go. “The Star Elite?”

Harry
nodded thoughtfully. “We are a government organisation that was
initially set up with a handful of soldiers who were fighting in
the war. We were tasked with protecting England’s borders from
smugglers and the like. However, as time has progressed and, now
that the war is over, we have expanded our work into other avenues;
like the Dandridges’, gangs of pickpockets, that kind of
thing.”

“
Good Lord,” Tilly whispered.

She
wanted to stand up and cheer for England, and especially the Star
Elite, and suddenly felt so very proud of the man seated opposite
that she wanted to hug him.

“
I came here to gather evidence on the Dandridges’ thieving.
They used to work for my boss’ now deceased aunt. He became aware
of discrepancies in the accounts books and noted that several items
were missing from the house. The only people who worked there at
the time were the Dandridges’.”

“
So you were sent after them to capture them.”

It
wasn’t a question but he nodded anyway.

“
My colleagues traced them here. My boss, Sir Hugo, purchased
this house, and put me into position to gather enough evidence so
they could be arrested before they could move on to their next
unsuspecting victim.” He looked ruefully at her. “Then, one day, a
beautiful young woman turned up on my doorstep, turned my life
upside down, and opened up a whole new world of mystery that I
needed to investigate.”

Tilly
felt a blush stain her cheeks but she remained quiet because she
was spell-bound by his words.

He thinks I am beautiful
, she mused
to herself.

“
Unfortunately, at the time that you turned up, I was in the
process of trying to lure Charles Dandridge to steal something out
of my safe. The last thing I wanted was to have you under my roof
and in the middle of my investigation, so I had to let you go.
However, once you had gone, I realised I had made one huge mistake.
By the time I came after you, you had already gone.” His voice
trailed off, and a dark frown settled over his brow.

“
You came after me?” Her voice shook with emotion as she tried
to blank out all thoughts of that terrible day, but couldn’t. She
had meant to ask him how he knew she had been in the poor house –
now she knew. He had come after her.

Her heart swelled with an emotion she quickly pushed aside
for the time being. She would take a closer look at the wild thrill
of wonder that swept through her later, when she had time to
herself. Right now, her attention remained firmly locked on the man
seated opposite, who had turned
her
world inside out too.

He
nodded. “I couldn’t find you at first. When I did, you were just
going into the poor house.” He shook his head in disgust. “I tried
to get you back out there and then, but they denied all knowledge
of you being there.”

“
That’s what I don’t understand,” Tilly sighed. “I know the
food in there isn’t much, but why keep someone there, against their
will, when they have to pay for their food?”

Harry
looked at her and shrugged.

“
Do you think someone inside is connected to all of
this?”

“
I don’t know, sweetheart,” Harry replied honestly. “I wish I
did. For now, all we can do for now is carry on as usual. Keep an
eye on Zack, if he goes outside. Don’t venture out anywhere by
yourself.”

Tilly
nodded. A companionable silence settled over them for several
minutes but was interrupted by a quiet knock on the door. Before
either of them could speak, Zack poked his head into the
room.

“
Suzanna says; can you give her a hand folding up the sheets
please?”

Tilly
nodded and looked askance at Harry. “I will go and make up the rest
of the rooms now, unless there is anything else?”

Harry
shook his head. It wasn’t lost on him that he could have spent the
rest of the day talking to her about this, but was conscious of the
fact that his colleagues were waiting for him
downstairs.

“
Tilly,” he said quietly when they were at the
door.

Her eyes
widened when she turned to look up at him and found him directly
behind her. She had to tip her head right back to look up at him,
and could feel the warmth of his breath brush gently across her
cheek, but didn’t move away.

Familiar
warmth stole through her. The memory of their kisses last night
kept her still, and she waited to hear what he had to
say.

“
I don’t want you to feel that you are under house arrest or
anything. However, the Dandridges’ have vanished. I don’t think it
is a wise idea for you to go anywhere right now, not even to town
for a broadsheet that you don’t need.”

Tilly
gasped and stared at him. “Have they left town, do you
think?”

“
We don’t know,” Harry warned. “Keep an eye out for him,
Dandridge, when you are outside and, for now, please keep the doors
locked.”

Tilly
nodded. “I won’t go anywhere, I promise. Unfortunately, Zack likes
to be outside,” she smiled ruefully. “Now that he has had a taste
of freedom, he wants to enjoy it as much as possible. I will have a
word with him not to venture beyond the garden, but can’t make any
promises.”