Molly pulled open the curtains in Amanda’s room, waking her with a start.
“What time is it?” Amanda blurted. Then she fell back into her bed, moaning.
Molly laughed. “I’m sorry, my lady. But it is approaching ten in the morning now, and we do have a mountain of things to accomplish today, including saving the lives of our dear cabinet members and prime minister.”
Amanda moaned louder. “I always have to save people’s lives. Can’t we do something exciting for once?” She and Molly burst out laughing together.
When they had stopped, Amanda admitted, “You know, I am really very scared about this whole thing. I know I have to do something, but the idea of possibly seeing Bender again is terrifying. If only the magistrate had listened to you and Charlie.”
Molly ran fingers through her hair.
“But I am determined. The magistrate cannot possibly ignore me if I tell him they are all sitting in one room together at that very moment, now can he?”
“No, my lady, especially if you have to start shouting that there’s been a crime.”
Molly reached for her hand and sat on the edge of the bed. “Before we start talking all about that, I’ve been anxious to tell you something that happened at the printer’s while you were on your way to that ball last night.”
Amanda opened her eyes and asked, “What happened?”
Molly said, “A man by the name of Jonathon Edward Taylor was waiting for me. He said he is interested in the Sparrow’s drawings. Said he wants to publish them.”
Amanda sat up. “Publish them? In the newspaper or a book, or what did he say?”
Molly laughed. “I thought you would love that. He said he wants to begin a newspaper—The Manchester Guardian, he calls it—that he would distribute to the homes in the London area. He is not interested in a gossip column from the ton; he wants real news and real issues. And when he saw your latest flier, the one with the red cap, he said he would like to print it in his paper, along with any other like it you would care to draw for him.” Amanda fell back on her pillow with a smile on her face.
“It’s beginning, Molly. Our message is spreading.”
Molly bounced a bit on the edge of the bed. “It is, Lady Amanda. It surely is.”
“What was this man like? Was he interested in meeting me? I mean, in meeting the Sparrow?”
Molly shook her head. “I discussed that with him, and he seemed perfectly comfortable never meeting the Sparrow. He would be happy to communicate with me or any other messenger we send.”
Amanda sighed. “This is such good news. It is just what I needed to hear.”
After Amanda was up and dressed, Molly brought a breakfast tray to her room, and she and Molly set about planning for the day. Molly would deliver the Seeking Liberty drawing and a batch of new ones to Mr. Taylor.
They had decided to ask if Mr. Taylor would also print some of her drawings into loose fliers like those she had been using. They had proved to be so favorable with the ton of late, and Amanda didn’t want to lose the momentum they had gained. Molly was also going to try to find out where Charlie had gone, and to learn more about the Liberty Seekers and their plans. If she could just contact one of them, they could help Charlie, wherever he might be.
Meanwhile, Amanda was going to visit a park near a certain pub on Edgware Road near Cato Street, hoping to help intercept the meeting. She was certain that somewhere near there, she would discover clues as to how she should get the police involved in stopping the planned murders. Certainly, as soon as she saw the men assembled, that should be clue enough. They decided the safest way for her to travel would be by carriage with a footman. It was near Grosvenor Square, which was very close to her home, but since the chance of seeing Bender remained high, she thought it safer to take the carriage and proceed from the square to her modiste, where she was getting a new ball gown made.
The only footman available was the most taciturn of the bunch. He sat in silence with a blank expression during their short ride to the square. She informed him she would be taking a turn around the square and perhaps visiting with some friends and acquaintances. He nodded and helped her out of the carriage.
She began by strolling along the street on the edge of the square, greeting those she knew, stopping to chat with some along her path, and all the while searching the area. Her eyes passed over a man crossing the street and then immediately returned to study him closely. Her heart pounding in her chest, she recognized the long scar on the side of his face: Jack Bender. She quickly moved out of sight to the other side of a tree, ducking down low. She continued to watch him. He looked from side to side in his familiar nervous habit and then entered the pub on the corner.
She took a couple of steps out from behind her tree and yelped in surprise when she felt a strong but gentle grip on her forearm. She tried to pull her arm free while whipping around to face the intruder. She almost cried in relief to see Charlie, even though he was glaring down at her with accusing eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Charlie demanded.
She felt her ire rise. “I am merely going for a walk in Grosvenor Square, if you must know.”
“And spying on our enemy from behind a tree.”
Amanda lifted her chin in defiance. “I spotted him and didn’t want him to notice me, so I stepped out of sight.”
“And directly in the sight of everyone behind you, who is likely wondering at the beautiful back of a fancy dress, its owner obviously spying on a pub.”
Amanda looked around Charlie’s shoulder to see what kind of crowd was enjoying the park from that direction. Quite a few people glanced curiously in their direction.
“Well, I didn’t think of that. The only thing I could think of at the moment was to stay out of sight of Bender. Which I feel is particularly sensible of me.” She folded her arms and asked, “Where have you been? What are you doing here?”
Charlie tilted his head toward the pub. “I’m here for the meeting.”
Then he hissed, “Hide!” He moved away from her as quickly as possible.
Someone called to him from across the street, “Oi, Charlie! Mate! Care for a cuppa?” This new friend put his arm around Charlie’s back and led him into the pub. Amanda panicked. She had to get inside that pub. She waited a few minutes and then followed around behind the building.
She stepped into a dark hallway at the back of the pub and waited a moment for her eyes to adjust. She heard the patrons making noise up ahead and the busy kitchen off to her right. Just as she was trying to decide where to go next, the door to the public area of the pub opened, and a line of men came walking through the door directly toward her small corner in the shadows. She pressed herself to the wall, trying to breathe as little as possible.
The men took about ten steps in her direction and then turned to the left and entered through a door Amanda had not noticed before. She counted twenty men, including Bender and Charlie; after the last man entered the room, he pushed the door almost completely shut behind him. Amanda rushed to the door, hoping to learn something before she ran to grab the nearest magistrate.
The door did not fit the frame in precise lines and was cracked just enough for her to see into the room. Placing her ear to the door, she strained to hear the conversation.
“It has been confirmed. The dinner will happen in two days’ time, right here in Grosvenor Square.” Grumbling began, and Bender shouted, “Silence! I have no more time for your dissent. You have had opportunity enough to back out.”
Someone who must have been seated at the far side of the table, where she could not see, said, “And you have weapons enough?”
Bender answered, “That we do, gentlemen. Weapons enough and more.” He laughed, a noise that chilled Amanda down to her toes and sent all her arm hairs standing on end. Some of the men in the room shifted uncomfortably in their seats. How many were here by choice and how many by force? She would let the magistrate worry about that. She’d heard what she needed. If she was going to do any good at all, she must run now and find one. She turned from the door and ran four steps before she slammed into an overly large body. Gasping for air, she looked up into the face of the tallest man she had ever seen.
Behind her, she heard the scraping of chairs and a voice calling, “Who’s out there?”
This new stranger looked at the door and back at Amanda. “Come with me. We must hurry.” Amanda nodded, glancing behind her as she ran. He took her into the public area of the pub for a moment and then turned right, down another hallway that led to a stairway. “Up here. Quickly.”
She hesitated, not knowing if she could trust the man. “I am a magistrate,” he explained, and took the stairs two at a time in front of her.
A magistrate! She could not believe her luck. She heard the noises of men coming from the hallway, and so she moved up the stairs as quickly as she dared in all her skirts until she reached the top and rounded the corner. The man then led her into a room off to the right. He closed the door behind them, and Amanda felt a sharp pang of fear, wondering if he had told her the truth.
He must have seen her fear because he quickly explained, “I am here to investigate the dealings of some very rough men, and you are in grave danger. Please just stay in this room so I can get down there and do my job.”
“Are you here with Jack Bender?”
The magistrate stepped closer to her, suspicion now written across his face. “What do you know of Mr. Bender?”
“I need to know if you are indeed a magistrate.”
He considered her for a brief moment before answering, “That I am—Harrison, of Grosvenor Square. Now, you had best explain your dealings with a man such as Jack Bender.”
“Harrison of Grosvenor Square, I am Lady Amanda Cumberland. I am no friend of Jack Bender’s. That you can be sure of. He hates my family. He has been tormenting us for nearly a year. But sir, that’s beside the point. Bender is at this moment planning to murder the prime minister and all of the cabinet members. His whole gang is down there in that room as we speak. If you could just apprehend them now—”
“Apprehend them now? By myself? I am well aware of his plans.”
“This is the perfect moment, caught in the act of planning such a nefarious deed.”
“It would be, if I had a small army with me. Each man in there is likely armed, and they are suspicious—you saw how quickly they came to investigate a tiny noise at their door.”
“Then I will rally support for you.”
Harrison looked at her for a moment and then chuckled. “And I bet you will, too. Do what you must, my lady. I have to get to that meeting. If, of a sudden, a team of Bow Street runners or night watchmen shows up to aid me, then I will count myself blessed. If not, I will continue with my job anyway, which is to investigate. A good day to you.” He tipped his hat to her with a slight bow and stepped out of the room. As soon as she heard him tromping down the stairs in his big boots, she rushed down after him, through the pub and out onto the street, where she ran into Paul, her footman.
“Oof! Where have you been?” Amanda asked.
Paul answered, “My lady, I was thinking to ask the same of you.”
Amanda looked at him suspiciously. Was that just a bit of rebellious insubordination from Paul, the quietest person she had ever met? She smiled at the thought.
“Paul, we must find ourselves as many watchmen as possible.”
He considered her for a moment and then, seeming to make some kind of silent decision within himself, he nodded to her, motioned that she follow, and hurried down the street. They crossed over two blocks, turned an immediate right into an alley and approached a small doorway. He knocked four times, waited, and then entered. She followed and found herself in a very tiny but simple and tidy kitchen.
At the table sat the scariest person she had ever seen—his face was grotesquely scarred and one of his eyes stared permanently off to the right while the other pierced her with its gaze. Burn marks ran down his neck, and a long scar across his cheek, ending on his upper lip, which was twisted in such a strange way that his mouth remained open all the time. When he saw them, he stood and grimaced. “Paul, my boy! I’m right glad to see ya, I am!” His voice rang clear and strong.
Paul moved forward and pulled the man to him in a strong, back-pounding embrace. The awful grimace must be the man’s smile, because he returned the back pounding with equal vigor.
Paul pulled away and looked into his face. “We’ve come for some help—Bow Street, watchmen, local yeomen—anyone who can aid us.” Then he gestured for Amanda to explain.
She knew nothing about this man, but Paul seemed to trust him, and she knew no better way to round up help. She said, “There are a group of twenty men meeting in the pub on the corner of Edgware Road who are, at this moment, planning the murder of the prime minister and his cabinet in two days’ time. They are all in one room. If we could get them now . . .”
The man eyed her in what she thought was suspicion. “And you are?”
Amanda curtsied out of habit. “I am Lady Amanda, daughter of the Duke of Cumberland.”
“Ah, my son works in your house.”
Amanda looked in surprise from Paul to this man. “And what is your name, sir, if I may ask?”
“Garth Simmons, my lady.” He stared at her again with his one eye narrowed. “And how is it that you are here alone with Paul, full of knowledge of such a treasonous conspiracy and your father, the duke, not knowing anything about it?”
“Please, sir! We have no time.” Amanda twisted her hands together. “It is such a long story. I will happily tell all as soon as they have been apprehended.” She looked at him with her most pleading expression. Seeing no response, she realized that this man would not care one whit for any of her expressions, pleadings, or girlish ways. But surely he would respond to urgency and reason. “Have you heard of Jack Bender, sir?”
Simmons’s expression sharpened. “What do you know of Jack Bender?”
“He is there, in the pub. He is the mastermind of this plan.” And then she remembered the letters. She still had one in her reticule. “Wait, I have a letter written by Bender himself.” She pulled out the letter and handed it to Mr. Simmons. She had scraped every last piece of wax off all three letters, wishing that its absence would somehow wipe away her awful disloyalty.
As Simmons took in the contents of the letter, he stood up in alarm. “Let’s get the men together.”
Amanda let out a long breath of relief. “Oh, thank you! Do you know people who can help us?”
Paul answered, “My father is a Bow Street runner.”
“Oh, I am so glad!” Amanda sank to the nearest chair. “Thank you, sir! And thank you, Paul.” She watched as the two men scratched a list. Then they called to a young boy and asked him to take messages to one after another of the men, and blessedly soon, men started showing up.
As soon as they had ten men gathered, they left en masse and hurried to the pub together. Amanda and Paul followed behind. Simmons advised her to return to her carriage, but she planned to watch from the park as soon as he was distracted.
As they walked, more men joined them, seemingly peeled from the very walls that lined the alley. When they arrived at the pub, a sizeable group of thirty or more entered together, ready to apprehend Bender and his men. Paul and Amanda moved to a bench on the edge of Grosvenor Square and waited. She had promised to stay away until Mr. Simmons indicated she would be safe.
With his men now in the pub, the street fell into silence. Amanda fidgeted with her hands, clasping and unclasping them. She stood up and began pacing in front of the bench. She started counting the cobblestones on the street, huffed out a breath, and sat again.
She and Paul jerked to their feet when they saw a man bolt out the front door and take off running down the street. She heard gunshots inside and women’s screams. She grabbed for Paul’s hand and squeezed with all her might. She feared for Charlie, feared for Simmons, feared that the Runners would not be successful. It was all she could do to resist tearing in after them.
And then everything amplified. From down the street came another group of what looked like local law enforcement, yeomen and a group of watchmen perhaps. Some were on horses; others were running toward the pub. Just as the new group arrived at the front of the pub entrance, seven of Bender’s men charged out the door and onto the street. Immediately they collided with the group of yeomen, and in the resulting confusion and bucking horses, three of them got away and ran down back alleys.
Amanda wasn’t sure, but she thought she recognized Bender’s thick black hair among them. She strained to get a better look, when he turned around and caught her gaze. His steely eyes bore into hers. From all the way across the street, she felt Jack Bender’s hatred. The strength of his loathing caused a shiver to start in her chest and work its way through her body. He stopped and changed directions, making his way toward her.
“Paul! That man! He’s coming. It’s . . . it’s . . . Bender.” Paul stood up in front of Amanda, blocking her view of him. She looked frantically over at the yeomen and the others who had just arrived. Many had already entered the pub. The others were involved in combat with the men still outside in the front. No one had any attention to spare them, and no one saw Bender as he walked slowly, and in plain sight, across the street. Amanda trembled. “What should we do?”
She spent one more second looking desperately up and down the street for help, and then she ran. She ran toward the nearest yeoman, knowing Bender would intercept her. She ran anyway and shouted, “Help! Oh, help me, please!”
Before she could take ten steps, she was jerked to a stop with an awful pressure and sharp pain all over her scalp as her bonnet was torn off her. Her whole head rattled as Bender shook her and pulled her closer to him. His hand tightened its grip on a patch of Amanda’s hair.
Paul reached her at that moment. “Unhand her at once!” he shouted and punched Bender in the face, trying to push him backward, away from Amanda. But Bender held tight to her hair, and Amanda screamed in pain as she was sure he was going to yank it all out in one mass. She had never felt such stinging agony.
“Ow! Oh, stop! Please!” She screamed again as he jerked her closer to him, slammed Paul across the head with the butt of his gun, and dragged her off, away from the pub, away from Paul, who was now sprawled unconscious on the ground. She looked around again for anyone who would notice and help. The gunshots had cleared the square of anyone not already fighting.
And then she saw him. Nathaniel was here. Fighting with one of Bender’s men, not thirty yards in front of her. “Nathaniel!” She screamed as long and as loud as she could. “Nathaniel! Help! Nathaniel!” He swung his fist at his attacker, throwing the man off balance.
“Amanda?” He seemed frozen, stunned.
Amanda shouted, “Watch out!”
Nathaniel blinked and then ducked as his attacker swung, nearly missing his head.
Bender gritted his teeth and snarled, “Be quiet, you. Or you won’t live long enough to think of what you’ll say next.”
She shouted again in agony as a thousand pinpoints of pain fired all over her head.
“I said, be quiet!” He pulled her again, throwing her off balance.
She stumbled to the ground, knees digging into the cobblestone.
“Get up!” Bender shouted, and he swung his arm back, ready to strike her across the side of the head.
“I’m up! I’m up!” She scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could, wincing as she put weight on her feet, her knees throbbing. Bender swung his arm back, high above his head, and Amanda cowered with her hands covering her head and face. She winced, preparing for Bender’s strike.
“Let her go.” Nathaniel’s voice sounded guttural and straining. He gripped Bender’s raised arm in his hand. With one swift force, Nathaniel yanked the man down to his knees. In his fury, he shoved him again, Bender’s body slamming onto the ground, his head knocking into the cobblestone. He lay still, unmoving. Amanda turned her head away from the pool of blood forming on the stone underneath his head. The street in front of the pub had emptied. All fighting seemed to have stopped. She collapsed to the ground as great waves of relief flooded through her.
Nathaniel rushed to her, cradling her head in his hands, crouching beside her on the ground. “Amanda! My Amanda. Are you all right? Where are you hurt?” His touch was gentle as he held her head where Bender had, just moments before, commanded handfuls of her hair. Then he placed both hands on each side of her face and kissed her—desperately, longingly kissed her. She laughed; she couldn’t help it. They were sitting on the cobblestone, Jack Bender unconscious at her side, and Nathaniel was kissing her. He pulled away indignantly. “You’re laughing?” The expression on his face made her laugh even harder.
“I’m sorry!” She hiccupped, which started her laughing all over again. “But look around us. I just don’t know what else to feel.”
Understanding lit Nathaniel’s eyes. “Let’s get you somewhere more comfortable.” He swept her up, off the cobblestone and into his arms. She snuggled against him as he cradled her. They passed Paul, who was just rousing from his blow to the head. He sat up, groaning, and Nathaniel set Amanda down to stand next to him.
Nathaniel paused. “Oh, good. Man—”
Amanda said, “Paul.”
“What?” Nathaniel helped him to his feet.
“He’s my father’s footman. His name is Paul.”
Nathaniel said, “Paul. Will you sit with her on this bench and make sure that nothing happens to her?”
Amanda sat on the bench as Paul smiled wryly and said, “Impossible task.” When he saw the expression on Nathaniel’s face, he added an apologetic, “Yes, sir, my lord.”
Nathaniel grunted in satisfaction
He kneeled before Amanda and squeezed her hands. “I’m going into the pub. I must see how they are getting along. Will you be comfortable here until I return?”
She nodded. “Will you find Charlie?”
Uncertainty, insecurity perhaps, passed through Nathaniel’s eyes but he said, “You can be sure I will.”
Amanda looked toward the pub. The ground where Bender had lain, empty. Fear iced through her. “Bender! He’s run away!”
Nathaniel searched the square frantically in the direction she pointed. Seeing no one, he ran to the pub door, shouting inside, “You there! I need some men to go in pursuit.” A group of five responded and ran in the direction Nathaniel pointed.
Amanda jumped up off the bench. Immediately pain shot up her legs, causing her to stumble and reach for Paul. Struggling to move, she leaned on his arm and hobbled after Nathaniel toward the pub. When she was at his side, she said, “I am not staying outside with Paul while Bender is loose and running about. We will just come inside with you, thank you very much.” Relief filled her when Nathaniel watched the spot where Bender had been for a moment and then nodded and took her hand in his own.
“I shall retrieve the carriage, my lady,” Paul said.
Amanda nodded. “Thank you, Paul.” The footman then bowed and headed in the opposite direction.
Together, Amanda and Nathaniel entered the pub. The first thing she saw was Charlie. He sat by the window while one of the barmaids tied a bandage around his upper arm. He looked at Amanda with relief and winked. Happiness filled her. Nathaniel watched her with a peculiar intensity.
“Charlie is well,” she explained.
Nathaniel nodded. “I’m glad to see it.”
Why is he behaving in such a strange manner? She asked, “Did they arrest everyone? Well, everyone except Bender?” The thought of Bender free and hating her filled her with more fear than she wanted to admit.
Nathaniel answered, “I don’t know what happened. I had just arrived when you saw me, with the group of yeomen. Good men, those employed by Lord Annesley.”
He squeezed her hand. “Lady Amanda. You probably should not see into the back room. Why don’t you go sit by Charlie while I ask some questions?”
Amanda wanted nothing more than to stay by Nathaniel’s side forever, but she nodded. He was right. And she knew she could learn most of the details from Charlie anyway.
She approached Charlie hesitantly. But when he noticed her coming, he smiled a large, comfortable smile and reassurance calmed her.
“How are you?” Amanda stood in front of him. His clothes looked tattered and ripped in places, but he was otherwise unscathed.
He answered, “I am just fine, Amanda. And I see you are well, stayed outside—you obeyed for once.” Charlie winked at her, smiling larger.
Amanda couldn’t bring herself to tell him what had happened, not when he seemed so pleased. She asked, “So, were we successful? Did we stop Bender and his gang?”
“Yes. We were successful. There will be no July 23 disaster. We informed the cabinet, and they are taking security measures to prevent future attacks. Bender’s gang is all but dismantled. All the major players were at the meeting, and they have been carted off to jail. They may receive a trial, or not, depending on how angry Lord Liverpool is by morning.”
Amanda nodded. “So maybe we are free from his terror for now. Bender can hardly get another team together quickly, and maybe they can catch him right away before he has an opportunity to contact anyone.”
Charlie stood up in alarm. “What? I saw him walk out of this room, tied up, a man on each side!”
Amanda gently pulled him back down to his seat. “All I know is that he came tearing out of the pub alone and made his escape.”
Charlie studied her for a moment. “What aren’t you telling me?” His eyes searched her person. “Did he harm you? Are you well?”
Amanda smiled. “I am fine. But he is gone, yes, although, men went after him.” She suddenly felt tired, weary of Bender’s constant menace in her life. Her head ached and her knees stung. The enormity of her circumstances seemed more than she could bear any longer. “We can only hope they will find him quickly . . .” She had tried to keep her voice from catching, but when it started wavering, she just stopped talking and looked at the floor.
Charlie reached over and laid his hand on the side of her face. She looked into his kind eyes and tried to smile. Tears welled up, and Charlie stood and pulled her up into a one-armed embrace. His hug brought back all the feelings from her childhood. She could almost smell the fields of green and the roses from the garden. She felt again the carefree manner in which she had lived and, for a moment, she sunk into the feeling, allowing it to consume her.
She heard a cough behind her, and she pulled away. Lord Nathaniel, looking uncomfortable, stood in front of them. Charlie’s eyes held an apology as he nodded to him. Amanda wondered at that, and at the returning nod from Nathaniel. But she did not wait to figure them out. She squeezed Charlie’s hand and then rushed toward Nathaniel, her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his middle. Nathaniel hesitated before enclosing her inside his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head.
She closed her eyes and felt whole. She felt strong, as if she could face the world and feel protected at the same time. Nathaniel rubbed his hands up and down her back and then gently took her shoulders and stepped back enough to look into her eyes. His expression mirrored her own feelings. Joy ignited in her and filled her heart. She took both of his hands in hers.
Nathaniel asked, “Where are you hurt, Amanda?”
She winced. “My knees. But I think all my hair is still on my head.”
Charlie said, “What?”
Nathaniel rubbed his thumb along the side of her face. “My brave girl.”
Her heart filled with wonder. Smiling through her tears, still clutching one of Lord Nathaniel’s hands in her own, she turned to Charlie. Startled that his eyes held tears as well, she stepped toward him with concern. “Charlie, are you in pain?”
He waved her off. “I am well. Just happy is all. Now go. I am sure Lord Nathaniel is here to see you home.”
Amanda still smiled, unconvinced. “Let us take you with us.”
“No, I need to stay and see to things here. I must give a very detailed description of Bender.”
Lord Nathaniel said, “Come directly home when you are finished. I’ve arranged for a watchman to escort you. Your life will be in grave danger until we can stop Bender. Both of your lives will be, I would imagine.”
Charlie’s face clouded with concern as he looked at Amanda and then he nodded.
“Until tonight then.” Lord Nathaniel led Amanda out into the street, where her carriage and Paul were waiting.