Authors: Mary Adair
Chapter Twenty-five
Sara smudged soot onto her cheeks. She took one last look into the mirror to assure herself that she looked the part of a street urchin. She left her room and hurried toward the kitchen. When she entered, Fredrick, her brothers and Mark, from the stables, were already assembled and awaiting her arrival. Davie jumped up and ran to her.
With cold fingers, he clasped her hands. His gaze, filled with a frantic mixture of fear and hope, darted back and forth across her features. "You know where she be, don't you? You wouldn't be dressed like ye are if ye didn't know something."
Sara took a deep breath to steady her own nagging fears. "Yes, I do. They have her hidden away in a warehouse on the docks. I want you and Tom to get ready as quick as you can."
"I be goin' as well, Miss Sara," Mark stammered with uncertainty.
"Have you been on the streets before?" she asked.
"Of course," came his indignant answer. "I 'ave been goin' out with Tom and Davie since Miss Dawn came up missin'. We been out every night, we have. I wanted to be the one Lord William sent to look for 'er, but he said I was too young. But I'm not! Tom and Davie and me, we figured we'd hear somethin' if we just went out there and kept our ears open. So that's what we been doing."
Warmed at the depth of their concern, Sara said, "I didn't realize. All right, then, we'll leave by the back gate."
"I will go as well, Sara," Fredrick said stiffly, as he stepped forward.
"No, you mustn't." Sara turned down his offer, but hurried to soften the rejection. "I appreciate you wanting to help, but you must stay here and look after the Ladies."
Frederick's voice took on a softer, almost pleading tone. "But who will look after you and the boys? I can't allow you to go alone. It's much too dangerous."
His words touched Sara. As long as she had known him, he carried his stiff pride as if it were a shield. Now as she gazed into his aging eyes, she saw true concern for their well-being. "We've been out before, as you well know," she reminded him of the scandal she and Dawn had created among the stiff and proper servants.
A small smile touched his lips. She realized, though he had showed no reaction at the time, that he secretly enjoyed all the fuss. The smile soon vanished to be replaced by a look of worry. "But this time you will be walking in on a pit of vipers," he spoke softly, his troubled eyes pleading with her for understanding.
The three boys shuffled nervously as they peered past Sara and Fredrick. Davie began, "Ah, Sara..."
Sara raised a hand to silence her younger brother. "All the same, you must stay here and watch after the Ladies. Besides, who said we were going to walk right in? Do you think I would endanger my brothers? Have some faith in me, Fredrick." She smiled at him. "Look at you. You would stand out as plainly as one of the Ladies on the docks at this hour of the day."
"I agree with Sara."
Sara spun toward Lady Gaylord.
"You must stay and watch after Lady Montgomery. She mustn't know the house is empty or where we have all gone. Do you understand?"
Fredrick looked helplessly at Sara.
Sara wasn't sure she understood Lady Gaylord's intent, but the pit of her stomach knotted into full alert. "What are you saying, Lady Gaylord?"
"I'm going with you." Lady Gaylord squared her shoulders and stood firm. Her short stature and ample girth did nothing to diminish her regal appearance and her determination showed in her posture and on her face
"Oh, no you're not." Sara's surprise caused her to speak without thinking. Though her words gave Lady Gaylord fair cause to discharge her for impertinence, she could not allow the good woman to accompany them to the rough warehouse district. The air in the room was thick with tension. Lady Gaylord could never blend in with what they were about to do. A woman of her station would stand out like a lighthouse beacon. She couldn't chance Lady Gaylord drawing attention to them. There were too many lives at risk here.
In her desperation, she spoke firmly, "Lady Gaylord, please understand, you must stay here where it's safe."
Lady Gaylord drew in her breath to answer, but Sara silenced her. "No," she raised a hand, "Not another word. You must know I will do whatever is necessary to keep you here and out of harm's way. William could not bear it if anything were to happen to you."
Lady Gaylord's lips pinched together in a tight little knot and Sara wondered at her own startling response to her employer's intentions. Lady Gaylord clasped her hands together in front of her and wiggled her plump little body in an impatient gesture. She raised her chin high as if to issue an order.
Fredrick stepped back as Lady Gaylord puffed like a mother pigeon about to do battle. "You dare to order me about in my own home?"
Sara noticed the hardness in Lady Gaylord's voice, but the situation had progressed too far for her to back down. "You presume to put yourself, Dawn, myself and," she pointed to the door, "those brave young men into danger? I won't have it. Do you not remember Captain Brown saying that one of his men was found with his throat cut from ear to ear?"
Lady Gaylord's anger cooled as she considered Sara's words. "Hmm, I see you are set in this, and maybe for good reason," she acknowledged generously. "I'll not trouble you further." Lady Gaylord glided toward the parlor.
The corner of Frederick's mouth twitched. "You mustn't concern yourself with Lady Gaylord at the moment. I will handle things here." He motioned to the door. "You had best be on your way."
She turned to her brothers and Mark. One look at the boys and she knew she was doing the right thing about her ladyship, but her doubts plagued her about placing the boys in danger. Covering her uneasiness, she ordered briskly, "Out with the three of you. Get ready and meet me at the gate in fifteen minutes. If you're not there, I'll leave without you."
When Sara and the boys had gone, Lady Gaylord glanced down at the note held tightly in her hand. She walked swiftly to the hall table and placed the paper back where she had found it. Nodding to herself, she smiled. She knew exactly where that warehouse was located.
***
Sara gripped the rough, damp tiles as she and Tom crouched on the rooftop across from the warehouse. The night air was thick with the combined odors drifting from the Thames and the filth-laden street below. The usual organized bustle of the day slowed to the stumbling, brawling activities of the evening. Drunken sailors clung to damp walls as they shuffled from one alehouse to the other. Prostitutes called out, advertising their trade. The meager light from the street lamps battled against the settling fog and smoke as the lamplighter made his way along the gloomy street.
"Calm down, Sara. Davie will be just fine," Tom whispered and patted his sister on the shoulder.
She lay on her stomach, frozen in place. Fear almost sucked away her voice as she watched Davie in stunned disbelief.
"What is he thinking of?" She shivered when Davie darted across the street, walked up to the door and then called out. A burly, angry looking man came into their view and waved his arms threateningly.
"Please, kind sir, 'ave you a few pence to spare? Me mother's sick and me and me sisters 'ave no food." His small, thin frame and pitiful voice must have convinced the large, brute of a man.
To Sara's surprise the man pulled a small bag from the waist of his britches and fumbled to open it. His grumbling could easily be heard by Sara "You just be sure ye spend this on food, you scrawny little beggar."
Her fear took on a new dimension when Davie reached out and snatched the purse from the man's fumbling fingers. With a quick spin, her brother took off at a dead run. Bellowing out a curse the giant took up the chase.
"What if he catches him?" Sara stammered past the lump in her throat.
"'E won't." Tom answered. "Davie be the fastest runner I know. He 'as outrun better than that old drunk a thousand times. I wouldn't 'ave told him to do it if I thought 'e could be caught."
Sara almost lost her grip on the roofing tiles as she tried to stand. "What? You told him to do that!"
Tom fought for his own balance as he pulled Sara back down. "Stop that Sara!" He shook his sister. "We are 'ere to save Dawn. You knew you couldn't do that alone. Now 'ave a little faith in Davie and me like you asked Fredrick to 'ave in you."
Sara shook as she spoke loudly, "Why?" She lowered her voice and fought for control. "Why did you tell Davie to do that and where is Mark?" She tried to steady herself as Tom took a quick survey of the street below to determine if they had been spotted. Davie and Tom had been on the streets most of their lives, she reminded herself. If anyone knew how to survive in this place, they did.
Pulling herself forward, she looked over the edge. Five men came to the doorway of the warehouse they were watching. One of the men called out to the retreating back of his cohort while the other four laughed and slapped each other on the back. Satisfied that they had not been seen, she and Tom slowly slid back.
"We need a—now what did Lord William call it ta other day? Oh, yeah, a diversion. We didn't expect 'im to be chased." Sara opened her mouth and he hurried on, "But it's good that 'e was. That makes one less in the warehouse. Davie will be just fine," he added with confidence and brotherly pride. "I don't know nobody what can outrun Davie."
Even with the settling fog and smoke from the chimneys, she could see the cocky smile spread across Tom's face. "Now, do ye want to know what we found out down there?" he said.
Sara swallowed the terror that threatened her resolve and nodded.
"From peeking in the front window we could see crates stacked nearly to the ceiling. To anyone looking in from the window or doors, it would look like the building was full to tha rafters. Around the side we found a small window up high. I lifted Mark on me shoulders so 'e could get a look. And what do ye think? Beyond that first row of stacked goods the space is nearly empty. There is a small table set up where four of those blokes are playing cards. From there, they can see the front and keep an eye on Dawn at the same time. The other two were standing guard just inside the door."
At the mention of Dawn's name, Sara's hands flew to cover her mouth. Tom gave her a warning look and then continued.
"There be a small barrel a little way behind Dawn. It's filled with what looks to be a good amount of black powder. There's several crates beyond that what 'ave somethin' written on them, but Mark can't read so I don't know what they are. Piled high all around Dawn are bales of cotton, bolts of fabric and open crates of paper. And one more thing, there be a lantern ready to light very close to one of them bales of cotton."
Sara slipped from her knees to land heavily on her bottom. She hardly noticed Tom's quick arm about her waist that kept her from sliding. Her head raced with too many possible versions of the villain's plan for Dawn to stay mindful of her own unstable perch. She rubbed her fingers across her forehead as she forced herself to think about things that threatened to break her control. "If that lantern were to be knocked over..."
She heard Tom clear his throat. "Aye. The flame would burn hot enough to..." he stopped and Sara looked up.
"It would take Dawn before it reached the gunpowder," she finished for him. "Once it reached the gunpowder and whatever is in those crates, the explosion would collapse the warehouse into the Thames. Anyone trying to reach Dawn would likely be killed as well." She held her head in despair. How could she and her brothers save Dawn from such a terrible fate? "What are they doing, Tom? What does all this mean? Is this Mr. Cloud's warehouse? Where is Mr. Cloud? I thought he was having it watched."
"It's a trap." He pulled Sara's hands from her head where her fingers gripped her hair. He readjusted the ragged cap meant to hide her auburn bun. "This is not the warehouse used by Mr. Cloud. I'd say it was a smart move to set their trap so close to Mr. Cloud's own. Who would expect it? I don't know why Mr. Cloud is not 'ere, or how they got Dawn from 'im. I do know we can't just rush in. Even if we were armed and a match for those men, one of 'em could set that fire and no one could get to Dawn before we 'ad time to escape. We could all be blown into the Thames."
"We have to do something," she whispered frantically. "Where is Mark? Why didn't he come back with you?"
Tom's chest puffed out. "Now this is where ye come to know just how lucky ye are to have such smart brothers."
Sara smiled in spite of her fear.
Smiling smugly, Tom began his story. "Well, this is the whole of it. We piled up some empty crates what was sittin' around, so he could crawl into that window I told you about. He needed a diversion so he could get in without bein' seen. By now he's in there. He will go to Dawn and untie her, and if he can, do somethin' about all that black powder."
"What can he do with the powder without them noticing?"
"I don't know, but Mark thinks real good on 'is feet. He'll think of something. We just 'ave to give him time. Remember, once he unties Dawn, she'll be helping him. But doin' something with the powder is not so important after 'e gets 'er untied. The main thing is to get 'er out of there before they notice. Once we got Dawn, there'll be no stoppin' us from getting away."
***
Dawn shifted to escape the point of a broken chair slat poking her into her back. A filthy blindfold hid the details of her surroundings, except those she determined by smell and sound. Rough hemp ropes bound her wrists behind her. She heard the squeak of a long closed window slide open. Her heightened senses detected rustling sounds from her right. The sounds were too much for a mouse or a rat. Someone was behind her. Whoever it was, it wasn't Raven. He would not
make so much noise. She heard the sound of wood scraping against wood, then wrinkled her nose as an acrid smell drifted toward her. This was definitely not Raven. A floorboard cracked and she braced herself.