Jo Goodman (44 page)

"One more thing," the pickpocket said.

"What's that?"

"The lady loves you."

"She told you?"

"More or less," Blue-eye said, chuckling. "She's been working it out for herself since she arrived. Mostly out loud."

Colin looked over his shoulder again. This time Mercedes was purposely avoiding his glance. "Talks to herself, does she?"

The thief's eye was dancing now. "Most definitely."

"Thank you." Colin pushed the handkerchief into the crack, muffling the pickpocket's last salute: "Glad to be of service."

Colin leaned against the wall and leveled his dark, usually remote gaze on Mercedes. "That was interesting."

"I believe you said that," she reminded him.

"I said it to the pickpocket. Now I'm saying it to you." His grin was cool and a little superior. "So you talk to yourself. I didn't know that."

"My point all along," she said. "You don't know me."

He straightened. There was no lightness in his tone and his dark eyes were grave. "This is what I know: you're as unpredictable as the weather and as strong and steady as the sea. You embrace your family like sails embrace the wind and stay a course once it's set. And when I hold you in my arms you cradle me like the curve and swell of the ocean. I think I've known you all my life."

She stood there, still and silent, moved by the manner in which he saw her, the way he likened her to all that was familiar to him. "I do love you, you know," she said softly.

"That's the rumor among the inmates." He reached for her, drew her close, and laid his cheek against the crown of her hair. "It's good to have it confirmed." He held her just that way for a long time. When he sensed her peace he lifted his head and raised her face. "My solicitor has arranged for the special license and Mr. Fredrick has agreed to perform the ceremony. We can be married in three days. Mr. Patterson has no objection and your cousins approve of the idea."

"You've thought of everything."

"Not everything. I didn't think you'd say no."

"Well, I'm saying yes now."

Colin's heart slammed hard in his chest but he didn't lose a moment reveling in this victory. He pressed his next concern. "I did some other things in London yesterday besides arrange for the license and meet with your barrister."

"Oh?" There was something in his tone that warned her she would not like what was coming. Mercedes shifted in his embrace and he let her go. "Go on," she said.

"I had dinner at Mr. Ashbrook's inn. He works hard and manages his place with a tight fist. I could see that the earl's man would be impressed by obvious habits. Less noticeable is that Mr. Ashbrook waters his drinks and shortchanges his customers. What's truly remarkable is that he's gotten away with it. I can believe that your uncle had dealings with him, and it's even less challenging to imagine Severn being able to buy him off."

"And Mr. Deakins? I assume you saw him."

"I did. I booked two passages to Boston." He saw questions and objections already forming in her expressive eyes. "Don't say anything, Mercedes. They're available if we need them. I'm hoping we won't."

"I suppose I shall have to learn to trust someone besides myself," she said finally.

"That would be a good beginning."

"Tell me about Mr. Deakins."

"Very talkative. The fact that I wanted passage to Boston interested him. The Garnet Line is based there, same as Remington. He mentioned he had booked passage there just a week earlier for another man. Not the usual thing, he said. Most Londoners are interested in New York, he told me. Especially the toffs."

"Do you think he was talking about my uncle?"

"He could have been." He shrugged. "Or it could have been anyone."

"But you don't think so."

Colin shook his head. "No, I don't think so. We all suspect Weybourne was going to leave the country. But why would he choose Boston? What was there for him?"

"And you think I know the answer?"

"You may. Think of what he's told you, Mercedes. Isn't there something that he's ever said, even off-handedly, that would give you—" He stopped the moment he saw her clouded eyes clear. She seemed struck by her own revelation.

Mercedes's smile was slow to rise, almost disbelieving. "It was you he was after," she said.

"Me? But I was here. He had an opportunity at the Park to face—"

She shook her head furiously. "No. No, that's not it." Her voice rose slightly with excitement. "He once told me..." She frowned in concentration. "No, it's no good. I can't remember his precise words, but the gist of it was that what you had done—winning the wager—
couldn
't have been done. I think he intended to prove you cheated him. Where else would he go but Boston to discover the truth?"

"That makes sense."

Mercedes sat down on the cot. "For all the good it does. He's dead. That we might know his intention doesn't help clear me or find his murderer."

Colin was thoughtful. He raked his bright hair back at the temple. "It may," he said slowly. He fixed his eyes on Mercedes. "If you're willing to see Marcus Severn the next time he comes calling."

Her mouth flattened. "I asked Mr. Patterson to tell him not to bother coming again."

"That won't stop him," Colin said. "Not when he learns we're going to be married."

* * *

Mercedes was not as confident of Severn's eventual appearance as Colin. She had no idea what she would say to him if he arrived. It was not something that she and Colin talked about and she had no clear sense of what Colin thought Severn's presence would accomplish. When she asked Colin if he thought Severn had murdered her uncle, his answer was an unequivocal no. That was the last he would discuss it.

The remainder of his brief visit was spent sitting side by side on the narrow cot, their backs against the rough stone wall, her head resting on his shoulder, his hand over hers. Mercedes drew up her legs and the black skirt of her gown lay smoothly around her. It didn't seem necessary to talk about anything at all.

Now Mercedes wished she had bent his ear. According to the sheriff, Marcus Severn was due to arrive within the hour and Mercedes's anxiety had reached almost crippling proportions. For all appearance she was numb, nearly expressionless, while on the inside her heart pounded and her stomach churned.

Since Colin's departure, and the removal of his handkerchief, the blue-eyed thief had struck up several conversations with Mercedes. Even her limited responses were more interesting than ones from the sober drunk sharing his cell. For Mercedes it was what she imagined a confessional to be, with both of them taking turns as penitents.

With Severn's visit nearly upon her Mercedes found herself drawn to the small opening in the wall again. "Are you there?"

The blue eye appeared almost immediately. "Always."

"Do you ever think about the hanging?" she asked.

Blue-eye blinked. "You come straight to the point."

"Well, do you?"

"Actually, no."

"Because you're innocent?"

"You know I'm not. But I'm not entirely guilty, either."

She peered closer and could see the single blue eye in her view was brighter with the smile she couldn't see. "You don't think they'll hang you?"

He shook his head. "No. But not because they won't find cause."

"Then why?"

"Because I intend to escape."

It was the last Mercedes heard. Her attention shifted to the door as the key was turned. "He's here," she breathed. For the first time since she had begun speaking to Blue-eye, he failed to reply.

Chapter 13

Marcus Severn stepped into the cell. He raised a perfumed handkerchief to his nose to briefly subdue the odors that could not be eliminated. Moving away from the door after he heard it lock, he held out the handkerchief to Mercedes.

"No, thank you," she said softly, politely, but with no feeling.

"Don't tell me you're used to this stench. My God, Sadie, it's time to get you out of here."

"Oh? And you can do that?"

"I'm the one who made certain you were put here, wasn't I?" There was no remorse in his tone. "Have you had your fill?"

"I can't see that it matters to you. As you pointed out, your lies made my confinement possible."

He smiled a little at that. "I don't believe I said it quite that way."

Mercedes managed a careless shrug when what she wanted to do was shiver. She had always been uncomfortable in Severn's presence but the chill was never this pervasive. "Please, sit down," she said, extending her hand to indicate the cot.

"Always gracious," he said, amused. "Even here. Will you join me?"

Her eyes darted to the cot. "No. I've been sitting all morning. But please, do as you wish."

Severn remained standing.

Mercedes tried to increase the space between them without making it look like a retreat. She went to the small window where she could let sunlight glance off her shoulders. "I confess some surprise that you're here," she said. "I made my wishes very clear to Mr. Patterson two days ago."

"And he conveyed them correctly. But you've agreed to see me in spite of what you said, so it was worth the effort."

"Why make an effort at all?"

Severn made a point of looking around the cell before his eyes returned to her. "Can you believe this is where I think you belong?" The question was rhetorical. He did not give her an opportunity to answer. "Any more than I believe you belong with
him?
What can you be thinking, Mercedes? Marrying Thorne is no solution. Oh yes, I've heard about it already. I was skeptical at first—I couldn't credit you with being part of the nonsense—but then I heard the same story from several other sources. It's caused quite a stir in the county." The corners of his mouth lifted in a thin smile, but his eyes held no amusement and his tone remained dry. "More of a stir, I would say, than your arrest."

"People are always interested in weddings," she said helpfully. "And for the marriage to take place so soon after the earl's death, well..." She let her voice trail off because Severn looked as if he might throttle her. The thought of his hands on any part of her body made it difficult to breathe.

"Tell me about this marriage, Mercedes. What purpose does it serve?"

She frowned. "I don't understand what you mean. It serves its own purpose. I love him."

"I don't believe it."

"I'm not going to try to convince you."

Severn ignored that. "More likely you believe it will help your case. Is that what he told you?" He held up his hand, halting her reply. "No need to say so. I can see that it is. He's been telling you that if you're married he can't testify against you. I hope you have good legal counsel, Mercedes, because Thorne's not giving you full truths."

"It doesn't matter. Nothing Colin says or doesn't say means anything. I'm not guilty of the charges and protection is not why I've agreed to marry him."

"You're so naive," Severn said, shaking his head. "I knew I had to come to protect you from yourself. Haven't you had enough, Mercedes? This is no place for you. Can you even appreciate how you look here?"

"You put me here," she said quietly.

"And I can get you out."

Mercedes said nothing. Her look was skeptical. Severn's price for her freedom was bound to be steep.

"Marry me," he said.

It took her breath away. Mercedes actually recoiled at the notion of being bound to Marcus Severn. "You only wanted me as your mistress before. Perhaps that will do as well."

"I know what I want."

"And if I agree to become your wife you'll—"

"Not merely an agreement. You have to marry me."

"You'll recant your story."

"I'll see that you're released."

Mercedes frowned. "How is that possible? You won't be believed any longer, especially if we're wed. In my eyes you have no credibility whatsoever. I can't imagine that anything you could say in my defense would be helpful."