The Maiden At Midnight (26 page)

‘Gallows Jack is a
pet
name?’

Isabella sighed. ‘Well, perhaps not. He is a
moneylender that Joss is in debt to. Not that he is marrying you
for that reason, Alora. God knows, I have never seen a creature
more caught up in the throws of love than you fiancé. But he does
need money. He intends to go to his trustees and ask that they
settle with this man. Something that stings, no doubt.’

Alora’s face softened. ‘What a fool he is.
But seriously, Isabella. I do not like the sound of this. What if
this creature has my Joss?’

It seemed far more likely
that Joss was currently ensuring that he was
not
in the hands of Gallows Jack but
Isabella could understand her friend’s concerned and cursed her all
too ready tongue yet again. Not for the world would she have
unsettled her. ‘Let’s go,’ she said firmly, ‘and tomorrow we will
discover what is to do. But I am sure he is all right. Joss may be
vague on some counts be he can be astonishingly canny on
others.’

‘We shall go, yes,’ Alora agreed and
suddenly she was a great deal more focused, ‘and we shall call
around at his house. Just to ensure that all is well.’

‘Call around at his lordship’s house?’
Isabella was startled. Surely, even for a lady that was engaged,
paying a call at this hour wasn’t at all the thing. ‘But… I am sure
he is staying with Mr. Carstairs.’

Alora frowned at that. ‘Do you know his
address?’

‘I believe he has rooms in St James’s
Place.’ She had not actually be told this by Mr. Carstairs but
Isabella’s ridiculous habit of sharpening her ears whenever the
name Carstairs was mentioned had gleaned all manner of information
she had not actively sought.

‘Do you know where?’

‘How should I know that?’

‘I merely wondered. Never mind. We shall
manage.’

Isabella looked at Alora, thoroughly
alarmed. ‘What do you mean, we shall manage? We cannot go knocking
at doors at this time of night! Or at any time, for that matter.
How would it look?’

‘Oh, what does it matter how it looks? Joss
may be in trouble.’ Alora was marching towards the cloakroom and
Isabella’s heart sank at the determined look on her face. Clearly,
Miss Piedmont held strong feelings about protecting her own.
Isabella was pulled behind her like, a small boat bobbing in the
wake of a much larger craft. Alora ordered their carriage be
brought around forthwith and they collected their cloaks, slipping
into them and, for such was Alora’s impatience, waiting on the
steps for it to appear.

‘St James’s Square,’ she told her coachman
firmly and they were off.

Isabella sat quietly, wondering what she
could say that would deflect the situation. She could not imagine
what they would do when they reached their destination. Stand in
the park and cry out Stornley’s name until the Watch came? She cast
a sidelong glance at her friend’s face and was not comforted by the
set look that she found there. This night was proving to be far
more interesting than she had anticipated.

St James’s Square was a popular place for
young gentlemen to maintain rooms. The houses fronted onto a small
green park, which, at this time of night, appeared to be
unnervingly shadowy, while the square itself was quite deserted.
The carriage slowed to a walking pace as it entered the circuit,
the driver waiting for further instructions.

‘Well?’ Isabella murmured, ‘what do we do
now?’

In answer, Alora pulled down the window to
speak to her servant. ‘Go around the square slowly, if you please.
Continue until I tell you otherwise.’ She left the window down.

‘Alora,’ Isabella tried not to sound
exasperated. ‘What are we doing?’

‘Circling the square.’

Isabella stopped herself from asking why.
She knew perfectly well why they were circling the square. She just
thought it was pointless. Instead, she made herself settle back on
the seat again.

As it happened, as they
were circling the square, they did see something that made both
girls share an anxious look. A large fellow dressed in a shabby
greatcoat was letting himself through the front door of what was
clearly a gentleman’s establishment. What was odd about this was he
was clearly
not
a
gentleman. In the brief moment that the light from the hallway
within illuminated his face, both girls glimpsed an unprepossessing
countenance that must surely have belonged to a boxer for no face
should have looked so battered without good reason. He paused for a
moment, at the sound of the carriage’s wheels below, before
shutting the door decisively.

Alora looked at Isabella again, who shook
her head. ‘We do not know that they are in there.’ But she was no
longer convinced that this was a wild goose chase.

‘I think we do.’ Alora leaned out of the
window once again. ‘Pull over, if you please.’

This time, Isabella did not object for she
was now equally concerned. The sight of that bruiser going into
what she was now convinced was Harry Carstairs house made her feel
quite ill with concern, not only for Joss but for Harry himself.
What was going on in there? She did not know how moneylenders
extracted their pound of flesh but her imagination supplied all
manner of details and she could recall the bruises on both his
lordship and Mr. Carstairs faces all too easily.

If Gallows Jack had decided to send his
people to pay a call, then bruises might very well be the least of
it.

The brougham was pulled to the curb and came
to a stop. Without waiting for the footman on the back to get down
and perform his duties, Alora had the door open and was stepping
briskly towards her objective, Isabella tumbling out after her. ‘Go
and find a member of the Watch,’ she told the startled footman,
‘and don’t be all night about it!’ And she hurried after Alora,
wondering what on earth they would find inside.

Harry knew perfectly well they were in a bit
of a jam. He knew it because his hands were tied and he had the
equivalent of a human mountain looming over him.

His midnight visitor from several nights ago
had returned and this time, he had brought the boss along.

Gallows Jack was not what Harry had been
expecting. While clearly a product of the lower classes, his
clothing was of the finest quality while he affected the look of a
gentleman. He had a slight build and an intelligent face and was
sipping Harry’s claret with an expression of critical distain.
Which, Harry reflected wearily, was merely adding insult to injury,
as that was a particularly good bottle of claret. Considering that
Jack had brought along three fellows who all more or less resembled
tree trunks, his size hardly mattered. Clearly Gallows Jack had put
together his business with his brain, not his fists.

Which had to make him all the more
dangerous.

Joss was seated across from Harry and looked
disheveled. Gallows Jack had arrived at around nine when they were
just leaving for their evening engagement, muscling into the house
with singular intent. They had landed Wattage a facer and had stuck
him in a closet and then, Jack had embarked on a curious – and
oddly subtle – game of cat and mouse, which, as far as Harry was
concerned, had become tedious several hours ago. Happily he had yet
to resort to out and out thuggery and Joss had merely been mussed
up a little but Harry did not like the way things were heading.
Gallows Jack wanted his money and he was prepared to go to some
lengths to obtain it. Violence may very well lie just around the
corner.

Typically, Joss was more concerned that he
had not put in an appearance at the Martingale dance and that Alora
would believe he had abandoned her. Harry could not help but admire
him, even while he found the earl exasperating. He truly seemed to
have no sense of self-preservation.

‘The thing is,’ Jack drawled, setting the
glass down on the table, ‘you say that you’ll be coming into some
funds in the near future but why should I believe you? You have
been dodging me for weeks, my lord and that is not reassuring.’

‘I’ve been busy,’ Joss sighed. ‘I am to be
married.’

Gallows Jack hoisted an eyebrow. ‘My
felicitations. Is she rich?’

‘It does not matter what she is worth,’ his
lordship shot back, ‘she is above money.’

‘Must be a good woman, then,’ Jack sneered.
‘Trust me g’vner, no female is above money.’

‘His lordship is marrying an heiress,’ Harry
interposed hastily, before Joss got into an argument about Alora
Piedmont’s finer qualities. They could be here all night. ‘And as
they intend to be married with all speed, you will not have to wait
long at all for your money.’

‘An heiress hey?’ Gallows Jack tilted his
head, looking rather like an inquisitive bird with his thin, rather
beaky face and small dark eyes. ‘Now that’s handy.’

‘I am not touching Alora’s money!’

‘Oh, I think you are sunshine. I got a
business to run and you’re interfering with my cash flow. You think
you’re the only fool who needs the dosh to cover his troubles? I
got me fair share of lords and ladies knocking on my door, looking
for some help. Which,’ he added with a smirk, ‘I’m more than happy
to provide. Under certain conditions, one of which is that I get
paid what I’m owed. I reckon your heiress might like to cough up
the ready, rather than have her beloved suffer a nasty accident,
hey?’

‘I am not asking her for money,’ Joss
repeated stubbornly, ‘I love her. Her money does not matter a jot
to me.’

‘Course it does. Word is, you ain’t worth a
farthing for a year after you tied the knot and if you think I’m
waiting a year, you’re sadly mistaken.’

‘His fiancée will certainly provide the
money, if she knows the circumstances,’ Harry snapped, once again
trying to get in before Joss earned himself a broken nose. One
could only take so many liberties with moneylenders and Gallows
Jack was clearly not the most reasonable of men.

‘I’m not asking Alora for money,’ Joss
glared at Jack, ‘I will obtain it from my trustees instead.’

‘Is that right? Well if you
could
obtain it from your
trustees
,’ he mimicked the last five words,
face twisting unpleasantly, ‘then why the hell haven’t you already
done so, ya great pillock? I been waiting for neigh on two months
and I ain’t a patient man.’

‘No, we’ve noticed that.’ Harry murmured.
Jack looked at him for a long moment, then gave a slight nod to the
man standing behind Harry’s chair. A large hand came down, swatting
him over the ear so that his head jolted forwards. Pain stabbed
through his ear and his eyes watered unpleasantly.

‘How bout you learn to speak when you’re
spoken to,’ Gallows Jack suggested coldly.

‘How about
you
do not attack a
helpless man!’ A voice – entirely unexpected – spoke furiously from
somewhere close by.
A dearly familiar
voice.
Harry blinked rapidly, trying to
clear his vision and, sure enough, his eyes alighted on Isabella
standing in the doorway, hands on hips and looking every inch the
avenging goddess. He didn’t know if he should be surprised by the
sight of Alora at her shoulder, her expression as militant as
Isabella’s but at this stage, it hardly seemed to
matter.

This was a disaster.

‘What the devil are you doing here?’ he
burst out, appalled.

Isabella’s eyes narrowed. ‘We came to see if
Joss was all right.’

‘Yes, but… here? Really Isabella!’

Gallows Jack obviously wondered about their
presence as well for he had risen to his feet at the sight of the
two golden haired intruders, his expression one of almost comical
surprise. If he hadn’t been in the presence of what was undoubtedly
a lot of very bad men, Harry would have been amused by the
spectacle. As it was, a ripple of fear twisted in his gut. Isabella
couldn’t keep her pretty little nose out of anything, damn it! The
girl had absolutely no sense of propriety.

‘Who the devil are you?’ Jack repeated
Harry’s question, voice strangled.

‘I would thank you
not
to use that language
in front of a lady,’ Alora returned frostily.

‘Ladies don’t push their way into a coves
quarters in the middle of the night,’ Gallows Jack retorted, ‘which
makes me think you two ain’t no ladies.’

Quite remarkably, this comment seemed to
make both girls swell with the very physical onset of indignation.
Alora Piedmont pushed past Isabella and stood quivering with rage.
‘I am this mans fiancée!’ She pointed a quivering finger a Joss who
smiled up at her adoringly.

‘Hullo sweetheart!’

‘Have they hurt you?’ Immediately, Alora was
on her knees, taking Joss’s face between her hands and examining
him anxiously. ‘I knew that something was wrong when you did not
come to the dance.’

‘I didn’t want to worry you. Got tied up
with something else.’ Incredibly, he did not mean this as a joke,
despite the fact that his hands were tied to the chair.

Gallows Jack, Harry noted, watched this
interchange with no little incredulity. ‘Hang on!’ he snapped. ‘Are
you saying you’re the heiress?’

‘Miss Alora Piedmont,’ she informed him over
her shoulder, eyes still fixed on her beloved earl. ‘A name I do
not give you leave to use as I do not associate with ruffians.’

‘Is that right? We excuse me, your
mightiness, but you’re associating with one now.’

‘Under the circumstances, I have little
choice.’

Mentally, Harry shook his head. Truly, Joss
and Alora were entirely suited to each other. ‘Why don’t you let
the ladies leave, Jack? They clearly have no call to be here.’

‘I think I can decided when I am ready to
leave, thank you,’ Isabella informed him coolly. ‘I am not going
anywhere while these gentleman remain here.’