Never Run From Love (Kellington Book Four) (22 page)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Charles Francis laughed so hard that Hal thought he
would choke on his breakfast.  Then he laughed so long that Hal wished he
would.

“What you won’t do to win a bet!  I say, Kellington,
most chaps would’ve conceded by now.  You’re going to a lot of trouble for one
bloody little kiss.  Just pay me and you can give up this charade.  Or have you
fallen for the charms of our sweet little colonial?”

Hal thought perhaps he was in the process of doing
that very thing, not that he’d admit it to Francis.  This had stopped being
about the bet a long time ago.  He wished he’d never made the stupid wager,
although he never would have gotten to know Mel if he hadn’t.  “Francis, a
woman is missing, presumed dead.”

“A whore.”

“Yes, but a woman nonetheless.  You knew Miss LaRue. 
Aren’t you even the least bit curious as to where she is?”

“Not really, Hal.  Oh, don’t look at me that way. 
You look too much like Lynwood when you try to get serious and mature.”

“Leave my brother out of this.”

“I wouldn’t dream of bringing him into it.  All I’m
saying is you’re not acting like yourself lately.  You missed the most amusing
contretemps
the other night between Wallingford’s wife and mistress.  It almost made the
Norbys’ ball worth attending.  Almost.  The rest of it was a dreadful bore.”

“Then why were you there?”

“It was the place to be at that moment.  If I don’t
at least look like I’m in the market for a wife the pater will cut me off
without a sou.  He means it this time.  No idle threats for me.  And while I
truly doubt Mama would let him, I would still be dragged all the way to the
country and be forced to listen to a dreadfully boring lecture.  Better I stay
here, attend the odd ball and musicale, then spend the rest of my nights more
enjoyably.  What say we go to Dill’s tonight, then on to Madame Thurmond’s?”

Hal considered it.  Perhaps time away from Melanie
Sutton was exactly what he needed.   She had her Mr. Parker.  Let him help her
solve the disappearance of Miss LaRue.  Then he pictured Mel and Parker doing
exactly that.  “I cannot join you tonight.  I have plans.”

Francis shook his head in disappointment.  “Don’t
tell me…you and the colonial will be scouring the East End for clues.  How
absolutely droll.  The chaps at White’s will love this.”

“There’s no need to tell the chaps at White’s
anything,” said Hal, irritated.  “Can you find nothing better to do than
gossip?”

“Yes.  I can win blunt at the tables and fuck.  Both
of which are much more fun than gossiping.  But I’m man enough to fit all three
activities into one evening.”

“Well, you can do it without me tonight,” said Hal.

“As you wish.  But I do hope you can have a laugh
about this when you finally get over the charms of the colonial.”

“Her name is Miss Sutton.  And you’d be wise to
start calling her that.”  Hal turned on his heels and left.  He heard Francis’s
laughter on the way out.

*                    *                    *

It was easy to believe that the port of London was
the busiest in the world.  So many ships were anchored at the wharves that it
looked like it might be possible to jump from one to another all the way down
the length of the docks.  While the size was impressive, it also presented a
daunting challenge when trying to find answers about Miss LaRue.

Mel and Richard reached the Cassandra and informed
Captain Clinch of their news.  He didn’t recall meeting Miss LaRue on board
during that trip, which was unusual since he generally spent time with the
women on the voyage to lessen their fears.  He’d been occupied with getting the
ship underway when Mel said she’d arrived with Miss LaRue.  Upon checking his
log, he saw there’d been a delay in shoving off that morning because of an
inspection by the harbor master.  It was possible that Miss LaRue had left the
ship after Mel dropped her off.  Indeed, there was no mention of the woman
during the voyage, although her name had been listed on the manifest.    

“Is it not possible that she simply changed her mind
about going?” asked the Captain, “You might be worrying for nothing.”

The same thought had occurred to Melanie, but she
didn’t think it was true.  She had spoken to Miss LaRue over a period of weeks
about going to America.  It had taken a lot of persuasion and even a few
promises about her new life that Mel wasn’t sure were true.  But it had all
been for the good of Miss LaRue.  Surely even working as a charwoman in
Philadelphia would be better than life as a prostitute in a London brothel.

As Richard began asking his own questions of Captain
Clinch, Mel looked at their surroundings.  They’d found the captain on his ship
overseeing repairs before their return journey to America in a fortnight.  The
ship itself seemed to be relatively clean and well-maintained.  He had only a
skeletal crew aboard since they worked in shifts, with the others granted shore
leave.

She stood on the deck surveying the docks.  She was
amazed by the diversity of both the people and the cargoes.  She saw bright
fabrics and barrels labeled as spices from the Far East.  There were sailors
from Africa who looked like they didn’t care for England’s cold weather.  Fishermen
from northern England had come south to sell their wares.  Everywhere she
looked there was the hustle and bustle of men going about their work, either
unloading ships or preparing to sail on the morning tide.

There was one ship, however, that caught her eye
because of its lack of activity.  It was a large schooner, the type which would
be fast on the open seas.  On her voyage from America, she’d been seated at the
captain’s table for meals and had learned quite a bit about maritime issues. 
Captain Clinch had been a privateer in the war and he’d told her the importance
of full sail when evading capture.  He also told her how to judge the size of a
ship’s cargo by how low it was sitting in the water. 

The ship she was looking at seemed to be half
loaded, yet there was no activity on board to indicate it was either a recent
arrival or readying to cast off.  She could see a few men on board, but they
weren’t doing the types of activities being done by Captain Clinch’s crew. 
They were simply looking out in all directions from the ship.  And she could
see most of them were armed.  That wasn’t so surprising, given the criminal
activities around the London docks.  But these men appeared to almost be
expecting an attack.

“Are you ready to return to Mitchell House?” asked
Richard as he came up beside her.

“Richard, you fiend, I can’t believe you’re going to
take away the most beautiful woman I or my crew have seen,” said Captain Clinch,
joining them.  “I should throw you in the brig while Miss Sutton and I have
tea.”

Mel smiled, but her attention was elsewhere.  “Captain,
do you know that ship over there?”

Captain Clinch looked in the direction she
indicated, then gazed through his spyglass.  “The Amber Moon,” he said, as he
looked at the ship.  “Can’t say that I’ve encountered her, nor heard anything
about her.  Why do you ask?”

“It just seems odd, the way the sailors are standing
watch, but nothing else is going on.  There is just such a…I don’t know…a lack
of activity on board, compared to the other ships.”

Captain Clinch grinned.  “Unfortunately, a sailor’s
life is not quite as exciting as one might think.  Many ships take security
precautions and the lack of activity probably has more to do with most of their
crew being on shore leave than anything else.  But I can ask around if you’d
like.”

“Thank you,” said Mel.  She wasn’t sure why she’d
focused on that ship when there were so many others about.  But she’d learned
long ago to trust her instincts.

With their visit concluded, she and Richard took a
hack back through town.  There was a quiet tension between the two of them,
just as there had been on the journey to the docks.  Mel wondered whether
Richard would renew his addresses from the previous evening.  She wondered even
more what she would say to him if he did.  Even after a long night of endlessly
considering the question, she was no closer to finding an answer. 

When they arrived at the boarding house they found Hal
waiting for them with Anne.  Hal rose when Mel entered the room.   She noticed
he looked askance at the hand Richard had placed on the small of her back to
usher her into the room.  Mel stepped a bit closer to Richard, just to irritate
him.  Hal’s brows drew together.

“How was your excursion to the docks?” asked Anne as
she poured the two of them tea. 

Mel relayed what they had learned, including the description
of the ship she’d seen.

“There were many ships in the harbor, Mel,” said
Richard.  “Armed guards on deck are hardly unusual.  The London docks are known
to be dangerous.”

“Then I wonder why you allow Miss Sutton to frequent
them on your behalf,” asked Hal.

Parker put down his cup and there was no trace of
the affable religious man from Philadelphia.  “Kellington, if you’re implying I
would purposely place Miss Sutton at risk, that’s a serious accusation.  And one
I would take exception to.  I believe that even in sophisticated London insults
like that do not stand unchallenged.”

Hal looked like he was ready to duel with the man at
that very moment, only to be interrupted by Mel. 

“Gentlemen, please!  And I use the term ‘gentlemen’
lightly.  Before the two of you begin acting like mindless brutes, I’d like to
remind you that no one ‘allows’ me to do anything.  The actions I take are of
my own choosing.  Neither of you is responsible for my safety and well-being. 
And both of you should remember that.”  She turned to see that Anne was white
as a sheet and trembling.  “Anne?  Are you feeling all right?”

As all eyes turned to Anne Cartwright, she tried to
stop shaking, but the strain was evident.  Mel started to go to her, but to her
surprise Richard was there before her.  However, Anne’s instinctive flinch
stopped him when he was still several feet away.

“Mrs. Cartwright,” he said, quietly.  “Please accept
my apology for the outburst.”

“And mine, as well,” said Hal.  “It was the height
of boorishness to behave that way in the presence of ladies.”

“Do not think of it, my lord, Mr. Parker,” said
Anne.  “It is not my place to be here.  If you will excuse me.”  She quickly
left the room.

Mel’s eyes blazed with anger as she looked at the
two men responsible for upsetting her friend.  And most of it was centered on
the man who was causing her problems, as well.

“Richard,” she said.  “Could you please excuse us? 
There are some things I’d like to discuss with Lord Henry.”

For a moment, it looked like Richard would refuse,
but instead he turned to Mel.  “As it turns out, I have business to attend to
that cannot wait.  A former colleague who now lives in London wishes to speak
to me about investment opportunities.  I shall set off for Mayfair to meet with
him directly.  That is, if I can trust Kellington to act as a gentleman in my
absence.”

If Melanie hadn’t stepped between the two men again,
they likely would’ve erupted in fisticuffs. 

“Yes, Richard,” she said.  “You can trust Lord Henry
to behave himself.  Please do not let us keep you from your business.”

Richard hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he
should stay or go.  But after a moment, he chose the latter course of action. 
After bidding Mel adieu, he left the town house.

And Mel turned the full force of her wrath on Hal.

*                    *                    *

Hal knew he’d behaved badly and couldn’t believe
he’d goaded Parker into basically calling him out.  But he couldn’t wholly
regret it.  A shot to the arm could only improve the insufferable Quaker. 
Although he did feel badly about upsetting Mrs. Cartwright. 

He was out of sorts and it bothered him.  He was
almost always in control of his emotions.  Ever since the death of his parents,
he’d taken great pains to make sure no one ever saw through to the emotions
that were often roiling beneath his cool exterior.  But there was something
about Melanie Sutton that brought out the worst in him.  Even more aggravating than
that, she also tended to bring his best nature to the fore.  Never in his life
had he been so concerned about the well-being of prostitutes until he’d run
into the American.  He’d refused all attempts by Francis to get him to go to a
brothel and he was even considering giving some of his blunt to Mel’s project. 
If only Parker weren’t involved.

Maybe he would give them the funds with the
condition that he be allowed to draw the chap’s cork.  He’d be willing to give
up quite a bit of blunt in order to do that.

“Lord Henry,” said Mel, doing her very best
imitation of a starchy headmistress.

“Melanie….”

“Miss Sutton!”

“Melanie, if you’re going to ring a peal over my
head, you needn’t bother.  I am truly sorry for distressing Mrs. Cartwright and
will do anything to make up for it, including – if you insist – leaving this
house and never returning.”  He hoped she wouldn’t insist.  “I concur with
whatever you are about to say.  I behaved boorishly and I humbly ask your
forgiveness, as well as Mrs. Cartwright’s.  Now, is it possible for us to skip
your lecture – regardless of how well-deserved it is?”