Finally, when Marilee had been put to rights and Peggy had brushed out her hair and pulled it back into its braid, finally Marilee revealed the notes she had retrieved.
Peggy stared agape at the list. “So many names,” she cried.
“They are selling us,” Marilee said from behind clenched teeth. “Free labor while we have use, but then we are for sale to cover their debts. That explains the additional funds.”
“Is this proof enough?” Peggy clenched Marilee’s hands so tight that she felt her bones shift. “Kate, can Nick end this now?”
“I don’t know,” Marilee admitted with a shake of her head. “I have no clue what the three sparrows means or where these payments are coming from. I don’t know if it’s enough, and now, if Lord Edward should accuse Nikolas of hitting him… I told him to go. I don’t know when he will be back.”
“He won’t desert us,” Peggy assured her, but Marilee was not sure what she wanted. To never see Mr. Crowley again would be torture, but if she was the cause of the man’s ruin or even death, she was sure she would die herself. “We have to get ourselves together,” Peggy said as she shook her hands in front of her as if the motion would help her to calm her nerves. “He won’t appear today at least, and we cannot let on that anything has changed.”
“Agreed,” Marilee took a steadying breath herself. “We need to hide the list until then. Someplace no one can find it. It cannot stay on my person. It may be found or get wet while we work.”
“Put it in the bottom of the sewing bin,” Peggy suggested. There was no place else to hide it. Their lives were sparse and watched from every angle. None of the servants had much opportunity for secrets. Marilee did as instructed; took one more deep breath and moved to unlock the door.
Before she could, Peggy threw her arms around Marilee’s neck.
“Please promise me that you will never do anything so risky again,” her friend pleaded. “I cannot bear to think what might have happened.”
“But it didn’t,” Marilee protested.
“Kate…” Peggy pulled away and looked down upon her companion with tears in her eyes, “they would have done more than whip you.”
Marilee nodded, her throat feeling choked all of a sudden, but she could not bring herself to confirm Peggy’s fears aloud. “I promise,” she murmured, and she wrapped her arms around Peggy’s waist. “I’ll be more careful. Besides,” she said with a shrug and a half grin, “I don’t think that there is anything else to find in that room at least; I’ve gone through everything.”
Peggy feigned a cross glare, but it soon gave way as she smiled down at her friend. “I love you like a sister; you know that?” she tucked Marilee beneath one arm and moved to unlatch the door. “Getting out of here won’t mean much if you are not with me.”
Marilee tapped her head against Peggy’s shoulder and grinned. “We shall do this… you and I,” she promised. “Together.”
The pair had put on a good act for the remainder of the day and the next. When Nikolas arrived the following day, he guessed that something further was amiss as soon as he laid eyes upon them. Once more, Marilee shared her stealthy tale. From the tight line of Mr. Crowley’s attractive features, she could see that he was a mixture of pleased and horrified that the girl had gone to such lengths for his request.
“This right before that cretin attacked you!”
“Oh, please don’t scold me,” she said when it appeared that he had opened his mouth to do just that.
“Never!” he said consolingly biting his tongue. “But please be careful.”
“I know. Peggy has already given me the lecture, and I am well aware that it was reckless. Still, I would do it again just to have that list.”
Mr. Crowley took the list and looked at it. Then he looked back at Marilee. “Do not do such a thing again,” he scolded. “No matter what the gain, it is not worth your life.”
“I won’t,” she promised.
“You are precious to me,” he muttered, and Marilee felt her heart soar.
“Please say that it is enough,” Peggy worried from the corner. “Say that the magistrate will see these criminals punished for their crimes.”
Mr. Crowley grimaced and shook his head. “I cannot say until I can inspect the contents away from this wretched place and investigate the names. This might help me locate some of the others, but unless I can make sense of the bank notes… I am afraid that it gives little opportunity to dissect the scheme, and until that is done, I’m afraid that confronting the culprits would be useless.”
“Then you haven’t heard of the three sparrows?” Marilee said with audible distress.
He shook his head. “The lady must be taking the notes to a lender and having them transferred so as to hide the trail. The payments that she has brought me have been in coin, not receipts.”
“Another dead end,” Peggy said with a growl. “Damn!” she swore hotly, her eyes misting, and Marilee caught her hand sympathetically.
“Not quite,” he grinned. “I now have something to investigate. If I can use my contacts to locate this source, then the jig may be up at last.”
“The three sparrows must have a seedy rapport indeed if Lady Lydia knows enough to hide the trail,” Marilee replied. “Do your contacts sink so far south as to access such knowledge?” She doubted it. Mr. Crowley was a good man through and through. He seemed to keep his hands well clean of London’s underbelly.
He gave a short laugh. “More than you know,” he said enigmatically. “And I have a few favors to call in that might be of some help in the discovery.”
Marilee could not decide whether this knowledge increased her estimation of Mr. Crowley’s prowess or if it made her fearful for his safety. A little of each if she were to be honest with herself. The fact that he was willing to go to such lengths to help them, to put a stop to this horrible trade in human life right in the center of London’s ton, was remarkable. Still, a single word to the wrong person could mean that the kindly gentleman would find himself with a knife to his back. Not to mention that he was already in a tenuous situation after attacking Lord Edward in her defense. Protection of a maid or not, there would be no leniency to a commoner for such behavior. Proven guilt was a hanging offense. That thought brought a chill to her already shaking bones. She hated to think that any harm might come to him. Although she had tried to deny it even to herself, she had come to care for the man. Both she and Peggy begged him to be careful, even to keep his distance from the house until all had blown over. And yet, if he did not take such risks then there might be no hope for escape for the very same reasons that she herself had deemed her stealth play to be worth the cut. Not for herself, nor Peggy, nor Miss Caroline, not to mention the dozens of other girls held captive here and perhaps elsewhere.
That evening, Peggy joined the pair in the small, walled garden. She seemed remiss to leave Marilee’s side after the near-miss that afternoon, or perhaps she just wanted the company herself, and Marilee did not mind.
Nikolas promised that he could handle any of Lord Edward’s claims, but the women exchanged worried glances. Marilee felt that his words were simply male bravado for their benefit. All three knew that if Lord Edward pressed charges against him, there was little hope of his escaping the recriminations, whether that was jail, deportation or the noose was anyone’s guess. Marilee tried not to think of it.
“There were none to witness save Kate, and they would be fools to call her to witness for everything else that she could reveal about this house,” he had argued. “Lord Edward may not know your condition, but Lady Lydia would never allow it. Besides, this is not Lord Edward’s house. Would he admit to Lady Lydia that he had been mauling you in a corridor?
“Perhaps not,” Marilee agreed feeling slightly less panicked.
“More importantly, you must consider the risk you took today to gather this information, Kate.”
“I’m fine,” Marilee repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. “Honestly,” she laughed, “you two are like a pair of mother hens. Shall you cluck at Nick as well, Peggy, when he starts asking more questions amongst the nefarious lot?”
“I certainly shall,” Peggy scoffed. “I cannot imagine that you would not ring a fine peel over him if he speaks too freely and turns an eye in his direction. We cannot aide him from within these walls, and if he is caught, we are all lost.”
Nikolas sobered. “I give you my vow to be careful and act with caution.”
“You had better,” Marilee snapped before she could help herself. Peggy crossed her arms in satisfaction, having proven her point.
“I have no intention of being reckless.” He was seated between the females upon the harsh stone bench and was feeling the full force of their concern. With the next move to be made at his hand, he could see that they felt helpless. “The results reach further than my own neck. I am aware.” Yes, Marilee thought. If Mr. Crowley were to fail, to reveal their plot to the wrong sort, it would mean more than his own demise. Peggy and Marilee could be caught in the draw and then any hope of their escape would be dashed in an instant. They could be split up and transferred to other locations, or worse things that she did not wish to dwell upon.
“My brother has an acquaintance that, how shall I say it… collects information for the magistrate.” He gave a slight shrug. “I shall begin there and see if these three sparrows can be located. Or, at the very least, find out which financier is converting Lady Lydia’s banknotes.”
“Your brother in Northwick?” Marilee asked carefully. Peggy was still blissfully unaware that Marilee and Mr. Crowley possessed a mutual acquaintance. She had grown to love Peggy and did not wish her friend to have any additional knowledge of Marilee’s previous life that could put her in harm’s way. She wished that Nick’s knowledge could be withdrawn, but there was nothing for it. The best that she could do was to pretend that she merely recalled that he had mentioned a brother, not that she knew the doctor quite well.
Nikolas narrowed his eyes slightly, catching the generalization of her phrase. “No,” he replied with a curt shake of his head. “If you’ll recall, I told you that I have two brothers. The other is here in London, for the most part. Perhaps he can help me. We will see an outcome for better or for worse.”
On that note, he bid his farewell. It was late, and the snow had begun to fall. He tucked his scarf more securely about his neck and took his leave.
The ladies waved him off at the stair and began to walk arm-in-arm back toward their quarters.
“Do you really think it is wise for him to make these inquiries?” Marilee wondered when they were out of earshot of the night guard. “What if it brings him to harm? He’s already set a target to his back against the peerage in my defense. I’m glad that he arrived when he did. I cringe to think what might have happened otherwise. But it was dangerous and we are already in such a precarious situation. If harm should come to him…” Marilee broke off worried.
Peggy squeezed tight the limb that she held. “Do not think on it,” she whispered. “He is a grown man, and he knows the risks. If we allow ourselves to worry, you and I, we shall become sick with it. I too have a pit in my gut at the thought of the trouble he might bring upon himself, but he knows, as well as we do, that there is no other choice. It must be done, and he is the only person who can do it. Our hands are tied, quite literally, to this house. We must have hope.”
“I’m trying,” Marilee said with a sigh. “It is only that…” but she had no words.
“It is only that you have come to care for him,” Peggy finished with a shrug.
“We both care for him,” Marilee corrected. “All this time here, I’ve grown closer to the pair of you than… almost anyone.” Almost, because there was one other person whom she considered just as dear.
“Yes, I care for him as well,” Peggy agreed. “But it is different, I think, for you.”
Marilee shook her head. “It cannot be.” She had thought on it long and hard and determined that she must put a halt to any developing feeling that she might have been harboring for the solicitor. Their position was far too tenuous. Even if she were freed, by some miracle, she would be returning to serve Miss Caroline. They would go their separate ways and the likelihood of seeing Mr. Crowley again was far too fantastical to allow any hope to take hold. When she escaped this place, she was determined to be happy. She could not find her freedom only to suffer a heartbreak. No, any thought of a future with Mr. Crowley was daft. Marilee put it from her mind; told herself that she could care for him in the same platonic manner that Peggy cared for the man. She could. She would.
Peggy hummed a note that sounded suspiciously like a disagreement, but said nothing. Yet, from the held tongue and raised brow that were directed her way, Marilee suspected that Peggy would have a thing or two to say on that matter if they were ever to find themselves gifted with freedom.
Marilee was granted a fitful rest that night. Her dreams were filled with dark figures that followed Nikolas just outside of view only to spring up in sudden moments to attack him in the most gruesome of ways. Shots were fired. Knives flashed. Perhaps her viewing of the bloodied bodies of the duke and his men had altered her mind. Her ability to imagine the most horrific deaths was something that was new to Marilee. In her dreams, Nikolas seemed to be in constant danger at every turn. He would speak with a shadowed figure who would present the offer to help him, only to then drive a knife into his back, run a blade’s edge across his throat, or press a pistol to his heart.
Everything they had done up to this point had seemed in relative safety, she realized. Had they ever been caught, a few well-placed words could attempt to explain away, or at least lessen, the truth of their investigation. As they got closer to the truth, the threat became more real, and Nikolas was out there in the streets of the city on his own. Marilee tried to remind herself that he was not truly alone, he had his contacts whoever they may be. Besides, what could two maids really do to help in a world of men? Nonetheless, her captivity grated the nerves even further when it meant that she was forced to sit idly by with nothing more to do than wait. What if he was found out, disposed of, and never returned? She and Peggy might never even hear word of his demise. He would simply stop arriving for their evening chats and that would be the end of it. The thought brought a chill to her bones.
You must stop this, she told herself when she awoke the following morn with an aching jaw from the constant clenching of her teeth. It was clear she had become far too attached to the man. Her worry for her own safety had always been lesser than her worry for Miss Caroline. But now she had the added burden of fearing for Mr. Crowley. Peggy was safe within her sights, where she could relieve herself throughout the day with the verification that the laundress was unharmed. The others… well… her mind ran wild with scenarios of their downfall. She tried to alleviate her concern for Miss Caroline by telling herself that Nick’s investigation into the Blackwell finances could never be linked to the young duchess. So long as Marilee kept the truth of the murders and Mr. Crowley’s investigation wholly separate, one could not connect the two.
Lady Lydia might be selling indentured servants against their will to pay her vowels, but the abduction of Miss Caroline and Marilee, the murder of the duke and his men, had been unconnected and unapproved by this network of brigands. She was sure of it. The highwaymen had been scolded by the madam of the brothel for arriving with what she thought were two well-to-do, ransomable ladies. She had heard the truth of the woman’s shock and anger herself. Had this been their usual scheme, then they would not have kept the secret so tight-lipped, even amongst their own devious ranks. If Lady Lydia had any idea that the real Duchess of Manchester had been hauled off into the night, she would have acted against Miss Caroline, and Marilee, by now. No, Marilee told herself, that secret was still well in hand, though for how much longer even that might hold she could not predict. Surely the demands must have been made by now? If there was going to be a ransom, it would have been asked.
She tried not to think on it. With her composure balancing on the edge of a knife she was forced to throw herself into her duties rather than focus on what may or may not come to pass.
Lady Lydia seemed blissfully unaware of what had passed between her maid and her lover at the top of the servants’ stairs. Of course, Lord Edward would not wish her to know of any attempted infidelity. As Peggy had surmised, to admit that he had been crossed by Nikolas would require an explanation of why he and Mr. Crowley had come to blows in the first place. Marilee was clinging to the fact that the knowledge may hold the gentleman’s tongue.
She had just set to brushing Lady Lydia’s hair when the errand boy, James, made another unexpected appearance. Marilee feigned disinterest as Lady Lydia scanned the letter and tossed it into the fire. It was only by chance that Marilee caught the sleight of hand. When Lady Lydia had finished penning her reply, she handed her own letter to James, whose hand upon first glance appeared empty. When Lady Lydia withdrew from the brief exchange, Marilee saw her spin away and, in one smooth motion, tuck a folded slip of paper into the bodice of her gown.
That, Marilee would bet her life, had been a banknote similar to the ones that she had seen inside of the locked chest, the ones containing the mark of the three sparrows. Lady Lydia shooed the boy away and sat back at her dressing table as if there had been no such visit at all.
“I think that I shall have my hair full up today,” she said while curling a long lock about her finger. “The mark has faded and Ed likes it when I show as much skin as can be deemed decent. Besides, I am to see His Grace this evening,” her voice changed to a sneer at the mention of the elder of the Bennington brothers.
Marilee did as Lady Lydia bid her, and pinned her tresses high atop her head, exposing the full length of her neck and a good amount of shoulder and décolletage as well. By the time the brothers arrived to take her for an evening at the theater, Marilee had had enough of listening to Lady Lydia’s insults against the new duke. She could not wait to leave Lady Lydia’s company.