Daniel could not picture the viscount in any artists garret, but he found it intriguing that Snelling knew an artist. Everything was coming together nicely, except the mention of the growing concern among the banks and their customers. Trowbridge wouldnt be happy.
For a silver coin the man recalled the artist, Eden or something.
Edel?
I spose. Must be successful, has a house in Kensington.
So Daniel left more coins with the man, to direct Trowbridge and his men to the new address. He was too busy thinking about why Edel was putting his name to inferior work to notice the worker was loading the wagon faster, to get away before any official types came near. It would be just like the magistrates men to haul away the tools and supplies as evidence. Thered be nothing left for the work crew.
Unaware his message was not going to be delivered, Daniel collected his curricle and went to find his quarry in Kensington this time.
What he found was a mob outside a small row house, shaking their fists, tossing pebbles at the windows. Concerned neighbors were standing across the street, debating about calling the Watch.
Do that, Daniel told them, although he doubted any street patrol came this way. And Bow Street, too. I dont know who guards the Finance Ministry or the Bank of England, but theyll be here soon.
Which effectively thinned the crowd of those who wished to have as little to do with the authorities as possible. Then Daniel approached the workers in their rough shirts and one, the boss, he assumed, in a leather vest. Two merchants in dark suits waved banknotes; one big chap held a pail and shovel. It was his lumps of coal, not stones, that were being tossed at the upper stories of the artists house. It was not a pretty picture, and the landlord, who lived in the lower half of the house, was in the street, too, shouting at the crowd to go away.
The workmen were ready to attack Daniel, until they saw the package in his hands.
Iffen youre expectin payment, get in line. We all found out is blunt is worthless.
Is Snelling inside? What about the artist? The fellow might have nothing to do with the cheat.
The landlord says the daubers gone to Epsom. E dont know if Snellings here or not, and the painters manservant wont say.
Let me ask.
He was the biggest man, so they let him rap on the door. Is Snelling in there? he yelled through the wood when it did not open.
No, came back. Go away.
Hes inside, Daniel told the building foreman. That was what the back of Daniels neck told him, anyway.
One of the carpenters decided that was invitation enough. He had a hammer in his hand, and he used it to batter down the door while the landlord tried to fend him off. A brickmason and the coal hauler rushed inside.
Daniel followed them, but more slowly. An aproned servant rushed past him on his way out. Then another servant, in a large cape.
Its him! someone shouted. Snelling!
All the men raced back down the stairs and outside, joining the rest of the angry creditors in attacking the fleeing man. So many bodies were piled on top of one another that Daniel couldnt tell if theyd tackled Snelling or some hapless cook. So he waded in, pulling off one man after another. He tried to avoid punches and a few kicks meant for Snelling, but some were aimed directly at him, for interfering.
It was Snelling, all right, bloody and battered at the bottom, rolled into a ball. You! he screamed when Daniel dragged him to his feet. Youre the one whos out to destroy me and my entire family!
I just saved your life!
You killed my brother. Now you set these hoodlums on me. For nothing!
For the rash, Daniel almost let the builders have Snelling again. Four of them did not see why they couldnt finish what the others started, so Daniel had to give them two good reasons: his right fist and his left. After all, he needed Snelling to confess and give up the name of the artist and the location of the counterfeit originals. Otherwise someone else could take over the operation and Englands economy could still be in peril.
Besides, they were four muscular workers against one puny lordling. Daniel never could stand to see an injustice, or miss a good melee. This one turned into a free-for-all, with the builders turning against the coal deliverer, and the merchants against the landlord, who had a musket now to keep them from destroying his house.
Somehow, Daniel never noticed that Snelling crawled away. Nor could he go after him, not with the Watch and Bow Streets finest holding him down, under arrest.
" * *
The treacherous waters turned into a sweetly babbling brook. Cories mock engagement was turning out to be more pleasant than any real betrothal she could imagine. Now she realized she couldnt imagine her life after Daniel left. Her bedroom was filled with flowers, a silly little bonnet with forget-me-nots on the brim came from a millinery shop, and all of Lady Coras friends kissed her cheek and smiled their approval.
How sweet it was . . . and how short-lived.
Corie had to accept the congratulations by herself.
Lady Cora had to start the dinner without one of the guests of honor before it was entirely ruined.
Fifteen couples had accepted the impromptu invitation; the cook had outdone herself; the Grand Hotel delivered three kinds of desserts Daniel had ordered. And his seat stayed empty. Lord Trowbridge was there, looking confused when Corie asked if hed seen Daniel. By the time he got the message about Snelling, no one was at the house on Layton Square, no Daniel, no Snelling, no workers, with no one in sight to say where theyd gone. No, he doubted Snelling had shot Daniel. No, he didnt believe Daniel was lying in the road somewhere.
Toast after toast was madebut not to the engagement, because there was no happy couple. The guests were restless, having other parties to attend after dinner. Lady Cora was looking thunderclouds; Susanna shredded her napkin. Clarence Haversmith volunteered to go to McCanns to look for Daniel, or Lydia Burtons, which earned him a sour look from everyone.
Just as they were about to leave the dining room, Daniel staggered through the door on the arm of a red-vested Bow Street Runner. Daniels lip was cut, his eye was blackened, his clothing was torn, he smelled like a sewer, and he had no Snelling to show for it.
Corie jumped from her chair, threw her wine in his face, then his ring, then his mothers ring, then the necklace hed bought her, then the pretty fan painted with lilacs he bought because she always smelled of them to him, then the flowers from her hair because hed sent them. Finally she slapped him before fleeing the room.
I suppose that means theres not going to be any champagne toast again, Lord Morgan said to no one in particular.
Chapter Twenty-nine
B
ut I won!
Go away came from the other side of Cories locked, latched, and barricadedas far as he knewbedroom door.
Dont you want to hear that we already have enough evidence to see Snelling hang?
No. It is the middle of the night, Mr. Stamfield. And I do not want to hear anything whatsoever from you. Not ever.
That Mr. Stamfield was hint enough; so was the not ever, and his sisters giggles from the next room. His mothers snores were so fake, she might develop a permanent tic in her eye. But Daniel was not giving up.
It had taken him so long to come to talk to Corie because of briefing Trowbridge, helping him send messages to all the toll keepers, the militia captains, the Horse Guards, Harrisons underworld, and the navy. Theyd get Snelling before he could sail away, ride away, or disappear into Seven Dials. And then theyd find the printing press and the engraver. Other, legitimate presses were already printing a picture of his likeness, from a sketch they found at his brother-in-laws. Nothing else about the artists rooms seemed suspicious, but Runners left for Epsom to apprehend Mr. Noel Edel, anyway.
Daniels job was done until they had someone to question. Now he had to ask a more important one, for his own future. He looked somewhat better, thanks to Deauville, a raw steak, and a change of clothes. He stood with flowers, her fan, and her rings outside her door, long after the ladies had sought their beds.
Please, Corie. We need to talk.
The door stayed shut.
I bought you a house.
The giggling stopped. So did the snoring. The door opened an inch. You did what, you buffle-headed baboon?
Corie was wearing nothing but a thin white nightgown. Daniel could almost see through it, with her hearth fire glowing behind her. He knew her hair draped her shoulder in a long braid, tied with a silly blue ribbon, but he couldnt keep his eyes from the outlines of her breasts, the dark circles of her nipples, the darker shadow between her legs.
Well?
Ah, very, thank you. I think.
She stamped her foot, which was bare. She had tiny pink toes. Hed never wanted to lick a womans toes before now. To suckle them, to fondle them. Maybe if she liked the house, shed let him.
I bought you a house. A perfectly nice one, brand-new, going to waste with Snelling a fugitive. The builder was happy enough to let me take over the costs so his men wont be out of work.
You bought me a house? Without asking?
Well, there wasnt a lot of time before Inspector Dimm from Bow Street got to the magistrates office to vouch for me. And the apothecary coming to set the builders nose. Oh, and settling with Noel Edels landlord for damages to that place before they let any of us go. You can go look at the construction tomorrow and tell the workers about any changes youd like.
While Corie stood, dumbfounded, Daniel pushed past her so he could dump the flowers and jewelry down on the bed. There werent any beds at the Layton Square house. Hed have to order some, tomorrow. Lots and lots of beds. And thick carpets. Maybe a billiard table. A dining table, too, he supposed.
You bought me a house? she repeated, ignoring the dog who padded into the room behind Daniel.
I, ah, was hoping youd share it with me. You know, as my wife.
We are not getting married. We never were.
But Ive been thinking how nice it would be. Maybe it was getting hit on the head with a coal bucket that did it, but I thought youd like a place in Town, with a little park of its own, not close to all the traffic, but not far away from the shops. I want to help at the Finance Ministry or the museums when were not at Stamfield Manor, so well need a more permanent place than staying here with my relatives, and rooms at McCanns wont do for a lady.
No. No house, no rooms, no marriage. I will not marry a man such as you. I told you beforeId never ally myself with a man of violence, a street brawler. Besides, you could have been killed. I worried all night. I will not go through that again, wondering if Snelling or some other miscreant killed you. It would be worse than being wed to a soldier. And there had to have been a way of settling the disputes without your fists.
Daniel sat on the bed, an even worse trespass than entering a ladys bedchamber uninvited. Pigs would fly before he was invited. He sighed. I was afraid youd say that. I couldnt think of a way to avoid a fight, and there was no time to have a polite discussion. The crowd was out for blood after they realized theyd been cheated. I had to save Snelling.
You saved . . . Snelling?
They would have torn him apart, not that theyd get a hapenny from him, but no one likes to be the pigeon that gets plucked that way.
Corie looked around for her dressing robe, but the oaf was sitting on it. I thought you must have fought with him.
The mans not much for using anything but words. He must have crawled away while I was holding the gang off. Hes a coward.
Without her robe, Corie felt cold. Or else the idea of Daniel battling a mob gave her a chill. She went to stir up the fire. So was his brother. He tried to jump out the window rather than face my father.
Daniel shrugged. Both men got to live another day. He tried not to look at the back side of her thin gown as she bent over the coals. He mightnt make it through the night. He stood and joined her at the fireplace and took the poker from her. Let me do that.
When he had the fire blazing, and the fire in his blood under control, he said, Um, the house is yours, anyway. So you never have to go home to your father. You can tell people you bought it with your mothers inheritance. Nothing improper about that. Of course youd have to hire a respectable female to live with you. But if that is what you want . . . ? He stared at her, waiting.
Corie looked at his poor battered face, the hope there, and almost, almost said all she wanted was him. A man who fought, to save a loathsome criminal? A man whose family was touched by a magic she could never understand? A man who bought houses while in jail, for a woman who never agreed to marry him?
