Deception (29 page)

The trees grew close and thick along the darkest of the long paths that had been laid out on the extensive grounds. Here and there Jared saw couples that had sought out the shadows for obviously amorous purposes. When he passed a particularly dense area of foliage he heard a woman’s soft, sensual laughter followed by a man’s low, eager murmur.

But there was no sign of Robert.

Jared studied the shadows intently, wondering if he might have miscalculated. Perhaps Robert had not come this way, after all. In which case, Jared thought, he had a much larger problem on his hands than he had anticipated.

Visions of his wedding night receded into the distance. At this rate he would be lucky to get everyone home and in bed by one in the morning.

His entire schedule for the evening was rapidly being thrown into serious disarray.

Leaves shivered at the side of the path. A man coughed softly.

“Ahem. Ye wouldn’t happen to be a rich cove named Chillhurst, would ye?”

Jared came to a halt as the rough whisper cut into his thoughts. He turned toward the thick stand of trees that stood on the left of the walk.

“I’m Chillhurst.”

“Thought so. He said ye’d be wearing a patch over one eye. ‘Looks like a bloody pirate,’ he said.”

“Who said that?”

“Me employer.” A thin, short, wiry man dressed in a dirty brown cap, a badly stained shirt, and a pair of loose-fitting trousers emerged from the trees. He sauntered out onto the path and gave Jared a gap-toothed smile. “Evenin’ yer lordship. Nice night for doin’ business, ain’t it?”

“That depends. Who are you?” Jared asked.

“Let’s see now.” The wiry little man rubbed his jaw reflectively. “Got friends what calls me Travelin’ Tom.” He grinned cheerfully. “Ye can call me that, if ye care to.”

“Thank you. Now as you already appear to know who I am, perhaps we could dispense with the introductions and get directly to the subject at hand. I have a rather important appointment to keep tonight.”

Traveling Tom nodded, pleased. “The little blighter said ye was keen on keepin’ to yer schedule. Suits me. I’m a man o’ business meself, same as you and the cove what employed me this evenin’. A man o’ business is obliged to pay prodigious attention to his appointments, ain’t he?”

“Quite correct.”

“We men o’ business know how to deal with each other.” Traveling Tom shook his head sadly. “Not like the other sort.”

“What other sort?” Jared asked patiently.

“The sort what’s all flash and show and no brains. Ye know what I’m talkin’ about, I’m certain. There’s the type what always seems to get emotional about a simple matter of business. They start wavin’ pistols about and makin’ ridiculous threats.”

“Yes, I know the sort.”

“But then there’s rational men such as ourselves, m’lord.” Traveling Tom nodded sagely. “Men what keeps cool heads and uses logic instead of passion to make business decisions. We don’t let the blood get hot over a triflin’ financial matter, do we?”

“No point in it,” Jared agreed. “Ah, just where is the little blighter, if I might ask?”

“Safe enough. Got him stashed just outside the grounds. Now, then, if ye want him back in a timely fashion, which I’m assumin’ ye do, I suggest we get the business done.”

“I am at your service.” Jared held on to his temper
and refused to let his concern for Robert show in his face. Nothing good would come of displaying any sign of emotion. Traveling Tom was right. For Robert’s sake, the matter must be treated as nothing more than a business transaction.

Jared had been through a similar scene a few months ago in Spain. On that occasion he had found himself negotiating with hill bandits for the release of his two cousins.

It seemed to be his fate to be relegated to the task of rescuing others from the consequences of their reckless ways.

Who would rescue me?
he wondered.

He pushed the fleeting thought aside to concentrate on the matter at hand.

The weight of the dagger inside his coat was reassuring but he was loathe to produce it. In his experience violence was frequently an unnecessary last resort, the mark of failed negotiations. There were usually better methods of dealing with problems. Calmer, saner, more reasonable methods.

“Glad to hear it.” Traveling Tom gave him a wink that implied they were both men of the world. “Now then, it’s very simple, m’lord. Me client wants something from ye. In exchange, he’ll give ye back the little blighter.”

“What does your client want from me?”

“Now that he didn’t say. Between ourselves, m’lord, I expect it’ll be a prodigious amount of money. Ye know how this sort o’ thing works, I’m certain. All I was told is that I’m supposed to spirit the little blighter away tonight and deliver a message to ye. The rest is none o’ my concern.”

“What is the message?” Jared asked.

Traveling Tom hitched up his belt and assumed an air of grave importance. “Ye’ll be receivin’ a letter tomorrow
tellin’ ye to come to a certain place at a certain time. The letter will tell ye what it is yer to bring with ye.”

“That’s all?”

“Afraid so, sir.” Traveling Tom shrugged. “As I said, my part in the matter is of a somewhat limited nature.”

“May I inquire how much your client is paying you for your efforts this evening?” Jared asked softly.

Traveling Tom gazed at him with deep interest. “A very pertinent question, if I may say so, m’lord. Very pertinent, indeed. As it happens, I do believe I’m not bein’ paid quite enough for all my time and trouble.”

“That does not surprise me. You said your employer was a man of business and such men always seek a bargain, do they not?”

“It’s as natural to ’em as breathin’ air, m’lord.”

“I am well aware that a man of your talents must place a high value on his time.” Jared eased his watch out of his pocket and frowned thoughtfully at the face. It was so dark he could not read the hour, but there was just enough moonlight to reveal the glint of gold.

“Aye, sir, I do.” Traveling Tom’s eyes gleamed as he eyed the handsome watch. “Time is money to a man of a business-minded nature.”

Jared allowed the timepiece to dangle tantalizingly from his fingers. “To busy men such as ourselves, there is no substitute for efficiency. Transactions that are dealt with satisfactorily in a few minutes rather than over a period of several hours allow one to engage in several profitable enterprises in an evening rather than just one.”

“Ye are, if I may say so, a man of prodigious understanding sir.”

“Thank you.” Jared swung the watch gently so that it glimmered with every movement. “I suggest, sir, that we could both save ourselves a great deal of bother by striking a bargain here and now.”

Traveling Tom eyed the watch the way a trout eyed a lure. “Perhaps we could, sir. Perhaps we could.”

“What has your current client offered for your services?”

Traveling Tom’s gaze narrowed in a sly manner. “Forty pounds. Twenty to start and the rest to follow when I deliver the goods.”

He was lying, Jared thought. Traveling Tom had probably been paid no more than twenty pounds in all, if that. The gold watch was worth far more.

“Very well, then, let us be done with it.” Jared closed his fingers around the watch. “As I said, I have an important appointment tonight. I am offering this watch upon delivery of the little blighter. If you accept, it will mean that you can have your profit immediately rather than postponing it until tomorrow.”

“The watch, eh?” Traveling Tom considered the matter. “Well, now, I got no guarantee I’ll be able to collect the second half o’ me payment from me client, do I?”

“No.” Jared paused. “Unless you know his true identity and can pursue your claims.”

“Don’t know his name and he don’t know mine. I prefer to work through an arranger, y’see. Safer for all concerned.”

“Very wise.” Jared concealed his irritation. It would have made matters simpler if he had been able to learn the client’s identity tonight. Now he would be obliged to waste time locating him.

“Yes, sir, I exercise great caution in me work. Now, then, about the watch.”

“The case of this watch is of solid gold, as I’m certain you can tell. Very nicely worked gold, I might add. The fob is set with a rather valuable plaque. It’s worth a hundred and fifty pounds but you may wish to keep it as a souvenir of this night’s work rather than sell it to a fence.”

“A souvenir, eh? Me friends would be mightily impressed,
wouldn’t they?” Traveling Tom licked his lips and hitched up his belt again. “In exchange ye’ll be wantin’ the little blighter back, I take it?”

“Indeed. I shall want him tonight.” Jared looked at Traveling Tom. “I have more important things to do on the morrow than waste my time paying ransoms.”

“I can understand that, sir.” Traveling Tom grinned his black and white grin. “Follow me, yer lordship, and we’ll have done with this matter in a few short minutes.”

Traveling Tom turned and sauntered off the path, into the thick foliage.

Jared put the watch back into his pocket and eased one hand inside his coat. He gripped the hilt of the dagger but did not remove it from its hidden sheath.

It took several minutes to wend their way through the grounds and out onto the street. Once outside the gardens, Traveling Tom cut through rows of waiting coaches and hurried toward a narrow lane. A small, darkened hackney waited in the shadows.

A coachman, shrouded in a filthy cape, huddled on the seat. He gave a start when he caught sight of Jared. He slowly lowered his gin flask and tucked it under his perch.

“ ’Ere now, what’s goin’ on?” The coachman scowled at Traveling Tom. “Weren’t nothin’ said about this cove comin’ along.”

“He ain’t comin’ with us,” Traveling Tom said soothingly. “He and I have come to terms on a business matter. We’re turnin’ the little blighter over to him.”

“In exchange for what?” the coachman demanded sourly.

“A watch that’ll fetch us three times what we got paid for this job.”

The coachman looked sharply at Jared. He thrust his hand inside his many-layered cape. “Well, then, why don’t we take his watch and the little blighter, too?”

Jared took one step toward Traveling Tom and
wrapped an arm around the little man’s neck. He slipped the dagger out of its sheath and held the point to Traveling Tom’s throat. “I would prefer to keep this a matter of business,” he said softly. “But we can make it more complicated, if you wish.”

“Calm yerself, m’lord,” Traveling Tom said quickly. “Me friend is a mite hasty. Not coolheaded like you and me. But he works for me and he’ll do as I say.”

“Then tell him to remove the pistol from his pocket and toss it to the ground.”

Traveling Tom glowered at the coachman. “Do as he says, Davy. We’re goin’ to see a fine bit o’ blunt out of this night’s work. Stop makin’ things difficult.”

“Ye sure ye can trust him?” Davy looked skeptical.

“’Od’s blood, man,” Traveling Tom muttered. “Even me client said he was a man what always honored a bargain.”

“All right, then. If yer certain.”

“I’m certain I don’t want to get me throat slit,” Traveling Tom snapped. “Now get the little blighter out o’ the coach and let’s be off.”

The coachman hesitated briefly and then jumped down from the seat. He opened the door of the coach, reached inside, and hauled Robert, arms bound, mouth gagged, out onto the cobbles.

“Here ye go, then,” the coachman growled. “Now hand over this watch Tom says ye got for us.” He gave Robert a push toward Jared.

Robert’s eyes were huge with fear as he stumbled blindly forward. Jared lowered the point of the dagger before the boy caught sight of it. He shifted the blade around behind Traveling Tom and held the concealed tip against the little man’s back.

“Over here, Robert.”

Robert’s head jerked around at the sound of Jared’s quiet command. He gave a muffled exclamation. The
fear in his eyes vanished. It was replaced by a look of desperate relief.

Jared slipped the dagger into its hidden sheath. He stepped back and withdrew the watch from his pocket. Then he gave Traveling Tom a purposeful push toward the coach.

“Be off with you,” Jared said. “Our business is finished.”

“What about me watch?” Traveling Tom whined.

Jared tossed the watch toward him in a high, wide arc. The golden case flashed in the moonlight. Traveling Tom snatched it out of the air with a chortle of satisfaction.

“Pleasure doin’ business with ye, sir,” Traveling Tom said. The watch vanished into his pocket.

Jared did not bother to reply. He caught hold of Robert and yanked him swiftly out of the lane and into the relative safety of the busy street. He removed the boy’s gag.

“Are you all right, Robert?”

“Yes, sir.” Robert’s voice shook slightly.

Jared undid the ties that bound Robert’s wrists. “There, you’re free. Let’s be off. Your aunt and brothers are waiting. They will be worried.”

“You gave him your watch.” Robert gazed up at Jared with a stricken expression.

“And you gave me your word of honor that you would not stray from my sight.” Jared led Robert through the milling carriages, back toward the pleasure gardens.

“I am very sorry, sir,” Robert said in a hushed tone. “I just wanted to go along the Dark Walk by myself. It was the dare, you see.”

“The dare was more important than your word of honor?” Jared strode swiftly through the crowds to the well-lit area where he had left Olympia and the twins.

“I thought I’d be back before you missed me,” Robert said miserably.

“Enough. We will discuss this in the morning.”

Robert slid another glance toward Jared’s face. “I expect you’re very angry.”

“I’m very disappointed, Robert. There is a difference.”

“Yes, sir.” Robert lapsed into silence.

The display of fireworks had concluded but the band was still performing enthusiastically in the pavilion. Olympia was waiting with the restless and bored looking twins. The anxiety in her eyes disappeared when she caught sight of Jared and Robert.

“There you are,” she said with obvious relief. “We were just about to go in search of you on the Dark Walk ourselves.”