Dawn at Emberwilde (37 page)

Colin had only seen Bradford once or twice since interrupting him and Miss Creston that evening in Emberwilde's Blue Parlor, and they had not spoken since that night. But he was surprised to encounter Bradford here, for he was not one to frequent the Pigeon's Rest Inn.

Bradford ducked to step through the low-beamed doorway. By the torches' light Colin could not deny the fact that Bradford appeared much altered. A shadowy beard masked his normally clean-shaven jaw, and his hair hung disheveled beneath his hat. Dark shadows cupped his eyes as one deprived of sleep. If Colin had not heard the rumors of Bradford's broken heart, he would have judged the man to be ill.

He expected Bradford to pass by him without a word. Instead, Bradford blocked the way, preventing Colin from advancing.

“Galloway. Just the man I have been waiting to see.”

Colin stopped, bracing himself, unsure of what to expect. “What can I do for you?”

“Heard you made a delivery to Heddeston Park today.”

Bradford's words held a challenge. Colin cleared his throat. “If you are referring to Miss Creston and her sister, then yes. They have been safely delivered and are, no doubt, settling into their new home as we speak.”

Bradford laughed and looked to the distance, but the expression on his face was anything but amused. Within moments, his tone once again sobered, and all trace of laughter dissipated. “I imagine she believes you rode in and saved the day. Quite the hero.”

Colin brushed off the sarcasm in an attempt to end the conversation as soon as possible. He thought of the conversation he had with the Ellisons, and the role that Bradford played in using Miss Creston for financial gain, and he bristled. “You forget my cousin is a solicitor involved in finding the heiress, and I work for my cousin.”

Bradford snorted. “You visited Miss Creston on behalf of your cousin? Come now, Galloway. Despite what the rumor of the day may be, I am not a fool. Your interest in her is hardly a secret. Let me ask you this. Do you think it better for her to be attached to someone like you instead of someone more established? Her family approved the match. I believe she did as well. Until you filled her head with other ideas. Accusations against me.”

Colin bit back his words, for the very family that had approved the match had also attempted to take advantage of her situation. Both were unforgivable. “I made no attempt to sway her.”

“So you deny it,” Bradford accused. “You deny that you knew full well her aunt's intentions—”

“Were you aware?” Colin challenged. “Did you know that Margaret Ellison's intentions were to prevent Miss Creston from laying claim to Heddeston Park?”

Bradford sighed and looked out at the drizzling sky. The anger left his voice. “I did not. Whatever you may think of me, my affection for her was sincere.”

The signs of his grief inclined Colin to believe him, and yet something in him resisted. For even though Miss Creston had not a farthing to her name when she arrived, she now had an impressive fortune, and any man who married her would be wealthy indeed. Even with this knowledge, Colin thought he could muster some compassion for the man, until Bradford said, “You were the manipulative one.”

With each word that Bradford uttered, Colin found it increasingly difficult to keep his own temper in check. “Miss Creston, regardless of what you may think, is hardly a puppet to be manipulated. She has every right to make up her own mind, especially regarding her future. I had no part in her decision to refuse you.”

“Did you not?” A sly smile curled Bradford's lip. “I am sure that once you learned of her inheritance you thought you could bend her situation to your advantage.”

Colin shrugged. “She could inherit thousands of pounds and it would make no difference to me. But what about you? Now that she has fallen out of favor with the Ellisons, is your love still strong enough to chase her? Or can you not afford the cost of Mrs. Ellison's fury?”

Bradford's face twisted in anger, and he pushed past Colin into the dark of night.

Colin looked back to the inn to see McKinney's thick build filling the doorframe. Warmth and light tumbled from the door, and the sounds of clanking pewter and laughing patrons met his ears.

He wondered how long McKinney had been standing there, and if he had heard Bradford's insinuation of his interest in Miss Creston. But McKinney only shook his shaggy head, looking out toward Bradford's retreating form.

“Wondered when you would get here.”

“Would have been here sooner, but I just had a little conversation with Bradford.”

“Nothing will mess with a man's senses quite like a woman.”

Colin followed McKinney's gaze and watched as Bradford turned the corner to the main bridge and disappeared into the night's shadows. He was not sure how to respond. Perhaps the man's heart was broken, but if so, Colin doubted it was from unrequited love. More like an unrealized fortune.

He turned back to McKinney. “Something is not right.”

“About what?”

“About a great number of things.”

“He plays a convincing role.”

Colin nodded. “That he does. But that's just it. He plays the role too well. We need to keep our eye on him, McKinney. Like I said, something is not right.”

Chapter Forty

S
o I take it you brought the ladies back with you?” asked
McKinney as he led Colin toward a table near the fire, where they were seated.

Colin nodded and drummed his fingers on the table. “Yes, Miss Creston and Miss Lizzie are now at Heddeston Park.”

McKinney clicked his tongue. “Serves those Ellisons right. Never did like them, this is just one more reason why. Bet Miss Creston is none too happy living so close to them.”

“Oh, I don't know,” Colin replied, allowing his thoughts to rest on her for several moments. “She does not seem like one to hold a grudge. After all, she's not as cantankerous as you.”

McKinney threw his head back in laughter. “Well, this is true. Besides, at least the story has a happy ending. Look at that new home of hers. I'd gladly endure a bit of betrayal if in the end I was to walk away with a dwelling like that.”

Colin sobered and glanced around the room at the dozens of faces. “You have quite the guest list tonight. Anything interesting happen while I was gone?”

McKinney sobered. “There was a man found battered and beat up along the Black Wood Forest yesterday. He's fine now but wouldn't say who touched him.”

Heaviness pressed against Colin's chest. That was the way it was in the smuggling world. No one would dare speak out against the ring for fear of retribution. “Who was it?”

McKinney shrugged. “I'd never seen him before.”

“Where's the man now?”

“He stayed here one night and was gone the next day. A new trading company has come through and increased traffic even more. To that point, our friend is back.”

Colin frowned. “Who's that?”

“Dent.”

McKinney nodded toward the corner Dent frequented.

Colin lifted his gaze, and at the sight, he went on alert. After all, not only was Dent one of the main suspects for the smuggling, but he was the one-handed man who had threatened Miss Creston.

The thin man huddled in the corner, alone. He bent his head over his meal, his shaggy hair hanging in his face, seemingly oblivious to anyone around him.

Colin returned his attention to McKinney. “Thought he hadn't been seen in a while.”

McKinney stretched out his long legs. “You know how these traders are. Some come through regular, and others are a bit more unpredictable. He's just come through a few days ago, and now he's on his way back.”

Just as Colin was about to respond, the door flung open to reveal a youth—one of the youths Colin had encountered that morning many weeks ago in Mr. Bradford's study. His small chest heaved and his eyes were wide. He scanned the room.

The boy's panicked expression alarmed Colin, so he stood and went to him. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”

The boy gasped for air. “Is Mr. Bradford here?”

Colin sensed McKinney approaching from behind. “No, you just missed him. Did you not pass him on the road?”

The boy shook his head. “No, sir.”

“Is something wrong?”

The boy gasped for air. “We saw a man sneaking around on the
home grounds. He tried to get in, Mr. Galloway. Some of the boys scared him off, but I got out to find Mr. Bradford.”

Colin looked over his shoulder to make eye contact with McKinney and gauge his opinion, but as he did, he noticed something else.

Dent had disappeared.

Every muscle tensed and Colin gripped the boy's shoulders. “You stay here. I will go check it out.”

“But I can't stay here,” the youth protested. “I must—”

Colin looked directly at the boy. “Stay here until I come back for you, is that clear?”

McKinney was now just behind him. His usually jovial expression was darkened.

Colin directed his words toward McKinney. “Where did Dent go?”

“I don't know.” McKinney shrugged. “I looked up and he was gone.”

Colin looked at the boy. “You stay here, all right?”

The boy nodded.

McKinney adjusted his coat. “Where are you going?”

“I'm going to find Dent.” Colin pulled his hat low over his eyes.

“What, now?” McKinney gaped.

Colin gave a sharp nod. “Yep. And you are coming with me. Go get your weapon and I will find my cousin,” he said. “Meet me back here.”

McKinney lowered his voice to just barely above a whisper. “What's the plan?”

“Not sure yet. But the boy should have met Bradford on the road.”

“Unless Bradford was not headed home.”

“And now Dent has seemed to evaporate. If Dent is connected somehow to the activity at the foundling home and he heard the
boy's words, then perhaps he went to secure something. Or warn someone. I suspect if we can find Dent, we will be that much closer to figuring this out.”

By the time Colin had returned to the boardinghouse, informed Henry of the night's happenings, and returned to the alley by the Pigeon's Rest Inn, McKinney was waiting for them. Drizzle fell in uneven mists, and a haze blanketed Northrop.

“Where's the boy?” Colin asked.

“He's inside with Martha. She gave him some tarts and suddenly he wasn't so concerned about getting back to the home anymore.”

“Good.” Colin said the word aloud, but in fact nothing was good at all. There were many other children in harm's way at the moment.

The men decided to take a back road through the Black Wood Forest to the foundling home, avoiding Benton Bridge and the other main roads.

Colin had expected Dent to retreat to the forest, where he could hide in the shadows and mist. But by the time they reached the home, there was no sign of him. No noise, no activity, only stillness.

The trio settled in a low-lying spot at the forest's edge, one where they could easily keep an eye on the foundling home and the toolshed where one of the tunnels emerged. The home rose up majestically to meet the pewter-tinged clouds. But tonight the structure seemed to cast eerie, foreboding shadows. An occasional shadow would pass across one of the foundling home windows, but otherwise, all seemed normal.

“Don't think we are going to see anything here,” growled McKinney, shifting his weight. “Think we ought to go check on the children?”

Colin was about to agree when he thought he saw movement along the tree line. How this reminded him of another time so very long ago, when he hunched in battle waiting for an enemy to burst forth.

He adjusted his grip on his pistol and fixed his eyes on the spot as if daring it to move again.

An owl's cry broke the silence, and Colin squinted into the shadows.

And then they saw him.

A figure, thin and wiry, crept out from the foliage. He was near the small shed, the one that marked the tunnel's entrance. Colin's heart raced.

“Think that's Dent?” asked Henry.

Colin looked to the man's hands, but darkness covered all. “Not sure.”

McKinney kept his voice low. “I'd be willing to bet that wherever Dent is, Stanway is near. Stanway wasn't with him at the inn, but from what I've observed, where one is, the other is close behind.”

Colin nodded. It would be foolish to assume that Dent was doing anything alone, and now he wondered if Stanway might be the man the children saw earlier.

McKinney jerked his head toward the forest. “What are you wanting to do? Follow him?”

Colin licked his lips, forcing his mind to stay calm. He wanted this business to be done, for as long as there was smuggling going on, the safety of the village was in jeopardy.

As Colin was weighing the best course of action, the man crept back out from the shadows, like an animal in slow retreat. He hunched as if dragging something behind him.