After a Fashion (27 page)

When her aunt didn’t immediately disappear into thin air, Harriet’s lips twitched just a touch as she realized how absurd her request had been. Lifting her chin, she began stomping forward, praying that her aunt didn’t have something of a diabolical nature on her mind.

15

H
arriet, there you are my darling,” Jane purred when Harriet came to a stop beside her. “You look simply delightful today. Is that a new dress?”

Ignoring the question, Harriet narrowed her eyes on her aunt. “What are you doing here, Jane?”

Jane’s green eyes narrowed right back at her. “It’s
Aunt Jane
, and . . . honestly dear, given the amount of money I spent on deportment lessons for you, surely you’re aware that when someone extends you a compliment, the proper response should be
Thank you
.” She twirled her parasol around. “And then good manners dictate you respond in kind. What do you think of
my
dress?”

Taking a moment to consider her aunt, Harriet came to the immediate conclusion that Jane was looking very well indeed as she preened in the middle of the sidewalk. The muted green of Jane’s gown lent itself well to her pale complexion, and the ornate hat on her head was perched exactly right, showcasing Jane’s expertly styled red hair underneath. The perfection of Jane’s hair gave clear proof that she’d somehow secured the means to hire on a lady’s maid. Overall, she presented a most respectable picture, even if Harriet knew there was next to nothing
respectable about her aunt. “Your dress is beautiful and certainly proves that thievery is allowing you to live in style.”

The parasol twirling came to an immediate halt. “Don’t be snide, Harriet. And for your information, I’ve put that particular business aside, at least for the most part.” She fingered a diamond brooch pinned to her dress before she tilted her head. “You’re not wearing the necklace I sent you for your birthday.”

Since Harriet had no intention of telling her aunt the necklace was currently residing with the police, she decided her best, and perhaps only option, was distraction. “Surely you, being an expert on deportment, must know that diamonds aren’t to be worn during the day.”

Jane’s hand dropped from the brooch as her expression turned sulky. She turned from Harriet and gave a wave of her hand, that action summoning a well-equipped carriage. The coachman pulled on the reins, the carriage came to a smart stop, and two familiar-looking brutes hopped off the back and immediately took to looking intimidating as they crossed beefy arms over their chests.

Suppressing a shudder, Harriet turned back to her aunt. “Dare I hope you’ve had enough of my
delightful
company and are now going to get on your way?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I came out specifically to speak with you.”

Dread was immediate. “So this isn’t just an unfortunate happenstance, meeting up with you today?”

“Good heavens, no. This
fortunate
happenstance is a direct result of me having you watched around the clock ever since you moved into that house on Washington Square.” She smiled. “I’ve been taxing my mind no small amount to come up with an explanation as to how that came about.”

“How long have you been having me followed?”

“Oh, a few years.” Jane turned to Lucetta, who was wob
bling a little on her feet, probably because Buford had stuck his nose into the folds of her skirt and was trembling like mad. “I must say, Miss Plum, you certainly gave my handsome Martin over there an unpleasant time of it when you took the reins of that carriage the other day.” She nodded to one of the brutes, who smiled a most gruesome-looking smile back at her, his face anything but handsome. “Your reckless manner of driving caused him quite a bit of aggravation, but because he’s a determined sort, he kept after you and discovered your final destination. Someone could have knocked me over with a feather when I did a bit of snooping and discovered the three of you were living under the roof of one of society’s most respected matrons.”

Harriet’s sense of dread immediately increased. “May I assume there’s a reason behind all of your subterfuge?”

“Would you believe I’ve simply been longing to have a lovely chat with my most cherished of nieces?”

“I’m your only niece, and you’ve never cherished anything except money.”

Jane’s lips thinned. “Very well, since you obviously don’t care to exchange the expected pleasantries, we’ll get right down to business.” She closed the parasol and used it to point at the carriage. “Shall we make ourselves comfortable and take a few turns about the city while we have ourselves a little chat?”

“I think I’d prefer chatting out here on the sidewalk,” Harriet countered. “I find carriages a little . . . secluded.”

“What I have to say is not something I care for anyone to overhear, and besides, I’m beginning to perspire out here in this dreadful heat.” Jane glanced to Lucetta. “Your friends may join us, but you’ll need to leave that beast behind. I’m certainly not going to make myself uncomfortable by having all of us squeeze together so that the dog can ride about the city in style.”

Harriet’s teeth clinked together. “Since, given your tenacious
nature, you won’t leave me alone until you’ve had your say, I will join you, but Lucetta and Millie will not.”

“And you, Harriet,” Lucetta said through teeth that seemed to be as gritted as Harriet’s were, “will only be taking a ride around town with Jane over my dead body.”

Jane wagged a finger in Lucetta’s direction. “Famous actress or not, my pet, that can be arranged.” She nodded to one of her men, who immediately pushed aside his jacket, revealing the handle of a pistol.

“Enough of your threats, Jane,” Harriet said before she caught Lucetta’s eye. “You and Millie need to take Buford back to Mrs. Hart’s house, and no, I don’t want to hear any arguments about that,” she added when Lucetta began muttering. “I’ll be fine.”

“We’ll never see you again if you go off with Jane,” Millie said, speaking up in a voice that had taken to quivering.

Harriet smiled. “Jane’s not going to hurt me, Millie. She needs me for something, and I won’t be able to fulfill that need if I’m dead.” She looked at the watch pinned to the underside of her sleeve. “However, to be on the safe side, I’m going to limit our little chat to one hour, so if I’m not back at Mrs. Hart’s within that hour, feel free to contact the police.”

That pronouncement earned her a rapid hustle over to the carriage as Jane took a death grip on her arm and certainly didn’t seem as if she intended to let go anytime soon. Looking over her shoulder at her friends—both of whom were now almost completely blocked from view by the two thugs—she opened her mouth to assure them she’d be fine one more time, but Jane suddenly shoved her, leaving Harriet no choice but to stumble into the carriage in order to avoid a nasty fall. Landing hard on the seat, she rubbed her elbow and watched while Jane, after speaking in a hushed tone to her driver, settled herself on the opposite side right before the carriage lurched into motion. A heavy thud sounded behind Harriet, leaving her little doubt
that Jane’s men had rejoined them, making the idea of a quick escape, if Jane turned unusually nasty, infeasible.

“Now see, isn’t this much cozier than lingering on the street?” Jane asked, smoothing a gloved hand against the red crushed-velvet upholstery.

“Most people don’t consider abduction to be cozy.”

“It’s rather irksome to discover you still possess such a flair for the dramatic,” Jane said with a roll of her eyes before she leaned down and pulled a very large, very black cat out from under the seat. She settled it on her lap and began stroking it, although the cat didn’t seem to be enjoying it much, since it kept letting out little hissing noises every other stroke.

Harriet frowned. “I thought you loathed cats.”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say I loathe them, but Precious—that’s truly her name—isn’t mine. She belongs to a Mrs. Fish, and that lady’s growing quite distraught over the idea her cat has yet to be found. Why, I expect if I maintain possession of Precious for another couple of days, the reward Mrs. Fish keeps increasing for its safe return will be up to at least five hundred dollars.”

“You stole Precious in order to claim a reward?”

“Hmm . . . would you believe I just happened to discover this cat in my carriage,
and
that I didn’t have the slightest idea Mrs. Fish was so attached to the creature?”

“I thought you said you’d put your thieving ways behind you?”

“I said
for
the most part
, but if you must know, Precious here was just a little too tempting for me to resist.”

“Give me the cat.”

“I most certainly will not. I have bills to pay, and this little darling is an easy way to pay them.”

Reaching over, Harriet plucked Precious away from Jane and settled the now purring cat on her lap. “She obviously likes me more, but enough about the cat. What is so important that you
felt it necessary to go through such extreme measures to get my attention?”

“I wouldn’t have had to resort to such trying means if you’d only had the courtesy to acknowledge that letter I left for you.”

“I didn’t read your letter.”

“Then you really can’t complain about your current situation, can you? Since you didn’t bother to read what I wrote—which was quite rude of you, by the way—I’ll tell you what the letter said. I want you to come and work for me.”

“Didn’t we have this exact same conversation last year on my birthday, and . . . didn’t I make myself perfectly clear when I said I wasn’t interested in joining forces with you because I’m not really keen on illegal activities?”

“Oh, you made yourself clear, Harriet, but the last time we spoke, you were mostly uncomfortable with the idea of stealing for me. You’ll be happy to know I’ve moved on to a more lucrative business, one where I’m rarely dealing in tangible goods.” She leaned forward. “However, now that you’ve somehow managed to get yourself involved with high society, I’ve come up with the most wonderful of plans, one that will finally allow you to pay me back for everything I’ve done for you over the years.”

Harriet’s mouth dropped open. “Pardon me?”

“You’ve evidently put aside those pesky moral convictions you always stood behind, and I couldn’t be more delighted about that. But you really should have sought out my counsel when you decided to try your hand at scheming. You don’t have the experience to pull off a scheme effortlessly, and I would hate to see you land yourself in jail.”

“We are obviously having two different conversations here, Jane. What, pray tell, are you talking about?”

“You . . . following in my footsteps, of course. As I mentioned before, I was flabbergasted to learn you’d gone to live with Mrs.
Charles Hart. But when Martin discovered the gentleman you were riding with in that carriage Miss Plum was driving was none other than Mr. Oliver Addleshaw, well . . . it almost brought me to tears.”

A hiss of protest from the cat had Harriet relaxing the death grip she’d taken on it. “You’ve heard about Mr. Addleshaw?”

Jane’s lips thinned. “Not much, other than he’s been seen coming and going from Mrs. Hart’s house, and that the two of you were seen shopping together at Arnold Constable & Company. I don’t currently have informants in houses owned by members of the true quality, but I do believe, given Mr. Addleshaw’s obvious interest in you, that may be about to change.”

“Did you ever consider that he may simply be a good friend of Mrs. Hart?”

“You really shouldn’t doubt my intelligence, Harriet. Gentlemen don’t escort ladies shopping unless there’s a very good reason behind it. At first I thought you may have agreed to become the man’s mistress, but then . . . that didn’t make any sense, because Mr. Addleshaw certainly wouldn’t take his mistress to the leading department store in the city. It’s driving me mad, trying to figure out what confidence scheme you’re actually perpetuating, which is why I felt compelled to track you down today. Quite honestly, if you hadn’t been so kind as to leave the safety of Mrs. Hart’s house, I was actually considering marching up to the door and demanding to speak with you.”

“I’m sure that would have provided everyone with a bit of amusement—you trying to take on Mrs. Hart—but back to this confidence scheme idea. Don’t you remember me telling you last year that I’m of the firm belief God wants me to live a good life? I highly doubt He’d consider my participating in a confidence scheme to be an acceptable way of living honorably.”

Releasing a snort, Jane waved a hand in the air. “Yes, yes, I remember that nonsense about your God and what He wants
for you, but tell me . . . if you’re not scheming, what exactly are you doing with Mr. Addleshaw?”

“It’s really none of your concern.”

“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong, my pet. My business of choice these days is collecting information, and if you now find yourself in the midst of society, I can use that to my advantage. And again, you owe me.”

Harriet frowned. “You’re blackmailing people now?”

“Exactly, and I wanted you to join me while you were working in that hat shop, because you must have been privy to juicy gossip overheard from customers. But . . . since you’re apparently no longer employed there, there’s no reason to discuss that particular plan.”