A scuff sounded behind them. She snapped her head around, but the dark hid everything. Hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and goose bumps chased down her arms and legs. Fergus didn’t stop walking. She strained to hear signs that someone was there as she crept along in his wake, but there was nothing more.
Trying to shake the uneasy sense they were being followed, she focused on the brothel. Please, let us find Lavinia tonight.
About a hundred yards from the establishment, Fergus stopped and deposited her in an arched doorway as deep as a wall niche. Her heart hammered as the uneasiness refused to go away.
“Remember what I taught you, lass. If anyone gives you trouble, do no’ hesitate to bury the blade in him.”
She wet her lips. “Please, be quick about it. I must know if we’ve found her.” She couldn’t admit she was frightened, or he might not leave her. Sometimes Helena felt as if they were chasing a specter. They never came any closer to the end of their hunt.
She watched until he entered the brothel, then leaned back against the door to wait and listened some more. Her fear dissipated as she detected no more evidence anyone was stalking her. Time dragged, and when she tired of watching the brothel, she glanced toward the alley where the man and child were. The street was deserted and the only sounds were the ones she had grown accustomed to hearing in the rookery.
The man and child seemed so alone, forgotten. Their sadness called to her. She glanced back at the brothel. No one was coming from that direction. If she hurried, she could slip the man a few coins and return without anyone being the wiser. She hesitated a moment, but then made up her mind and pushed away from the building to head for the alley.
***
Sebastian ducked into a dark doorway when he heard light footsteps quickly approaching. A figure passed him without detecting his presence, and when it crossed the street and entered the ring of light created by the fire, he could see it was Lady Prestwick. A halo lit her hair and surrounded her lithe figure. Her manservant was mysteriously missing.
As she neared the man and child, the outline of her body showed through the thin muslin dress. Sebastian smiled, appreciating her form. He wished his sister had been right about his association with the lady. He would have liked to share Lady Prestwick’s bed, but alas, she had only saved his life.
She spoke briefly with the man before bending over and providing Sebastian with a better view of her behind. The man thanked her profusely for whatever it was she handed him, then she turned to make her way back down the lane. She barely made it two steps before another man shot out of the alley in pursuit.
Sebastian sprang from his hiding place, which was too far away to reach her first. “Look sharply, Lady Prestwick.”
Her cry of surprise pierced the air. The lanky form lunged for her, but before Sebastian knew what was happening, she grabbed the man’s ears and her knee slammed into his groin. He crumpled to the cobblestones, groaning in agony. She lifted the hem of her skirts and dashed away.
“Mo chroi, where are you?” a man called.
“Fergus! I am here.” It was her servant looking for her. Their voices faded as they hurried away in the opposite direction.
Sebastian crossed the road and nodded to the wide-eyed man and child. “Good evening.”
When the footpad began to stir, Sebastian pulled his firearm from his jacket and cocked the hammer. “Stay where you are.”
He held the man at gunpoint until he was certain Lady Prestwick and her servant had escaped.
The Scot had called her mo chroi. My heart. What exactly was the nature of her relationship with the man? An irrational surge of jealousy raced through him, and he turned it on the thief.
“Do you have a pair of Hessians that don’t belong to you?”
The man responded with a confused grunt.
“Consider yourself fortunate.” Sebastian nudged him with the toe of his boot. “Stand up and take your leave before I finish what the lady started.”
He struggled to his feet and limped away, disappearing into the alley again. Sebastian turned his attention to the man before the fire and the young boy.
The boy held out his palm to reveal a coin. “The angel gave it to me, sir. I didn’t take it.”