Miss Minnie and the Brass Pluggit (12 page)

There was a moment’s utter and complete silence. A silence so loud it was deafening.

Then Dusk made a muted sound, which was probably a laugh he was trying to strangle.

And Felicia’s lips began to curve.

Within moments all three of them were laughing, something which obviously pleased Pierce who chose that moment to join them.

“A happy group this morning, I see.”

More laughter greeted his statement, and he blinked. Then he took Minnie’s cup and sniffed it curiously. “Hmm. Smells like tea. But you’re all giggling like it was a double shot of my best brandy. Including you, Dusk, which is highly irregular.”

Minnie leaned toward him and smiled, feeling as if the sunshine outside had settled inside as well. “It would appear that Dusk and Felicia also…um…enjoyed the storm last night.”

“Uh…pardon?”

She rolled her eyes. “Felicia and Dusk. Together.
Enjoying. The. Storm
.”

Pierce looked confused. Then he straightened and threw a disbelieving glance at his friend. “Dusk?”

“Sir?” Dusk stared back imperturbably.

“You
devil
.”

Felicia put her head down on her hands and howled with laughter.

It took a little time to restore order to the breakfast table. Blushes were finally set aside, laughter controlled and it was a cheerful foursome who shared the marmalade and drained the teapot.

However, it wasn’t too long before personal matters took a backseat to their project and plans for the day.

“I’d like to get a look at the Godolphin property.” Minnie glanced out the window. “Do you think we could manage that?”

Pierce nodded. “Yes, I think so. The carriage—you’re here on holiday—what could be more natural than taking a nice drive along the coast?” He glanced at Dusk. “I’m thinking we could benefit from ocean-side eyes as well.”

“You want me to take the launch down the coast?”

Pierce nodded. “Why not? Getting a good look at the place from two perspectives might give us a clue.” He turned. “Felicia, I’m not sure how you feel about boats, but if you’d like to accompany Dusk, you would be a very good cover. Just another couple taking advantage of the weather to enjoy the sea air.”

Felicia nodded. “I like the ocean.” She adjusted her round glasses. “I have a big hat and a parasol that will work. As long as it’s not too choppy.” She grinned ruefully. “Like many of our countrymen I’m a sailor who isn’t fond of rough seas.”

“It’ll be fine. Smooth as glass today.” Dusk brushed her shoulder affectionately. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take good care of you.”

“I’m sure you will.” She reached up and patted his hand.

Minnie blinked. There really wasn’t a darn thing left to say after that.

Pierce watched the excitement leap into Minnie’s eyes as he rolled his steam-powered carriage up to the steps where she and Felicia were standing.

“My God. That’s a truly frightening noise.” Felicia had grabbed Minnie’s arm.

“It’s all right. Looks like Pierce has been working on transportation.” Minnie tilted her head as she stared at the vehicle. “Two seats, a guiding mechanism and an engine, puffing politely. I suppose it was the warning horn that made you jump.”

“Is this the whimsy you told me about?”

“No. This is larger. Different. Noisier,” laughed Minnie. “Pierce has been keeping secrets.” She looked at him with one eyebrow raised in question.

“Not really. We haven’t had much leisure time of late. And I haven’t had occasion to use this transportation in quite a while. It’s designed for two—goes places where my whimsy can’t. Yet.” He leaned over and opened a small door, patting the leather seat beside him. “Are you ready?”

“I am indeed.” Minnie turned to Felicia. “Be careful, my dear. We’ll see you when we get back.”

“You too.” Felicia accepted Minnie’s quick kiss on the cheek.

Making sure her hat was securely pinned to the knot of hair beneath it, Minnie stepped up into the carriage and sat next to Pierce, gathering her skirts carefully around her feet before closing the door.

“You’ve ridden in one of these before?” Pierce noticed her casual actions.

“Several. They’re all the crack in London. None, I might add, are as nicely made as yours. Most are much louder and not as well designed.”

Pierce nodded. “Thank you. That’s good to know.”

“Well, if it breaks down on us, I’ll retract my compliments.” She grinned and leaned back. “Think I need my parasol yet?”

“Soon. We’ll be going inland first, since the road doesn’t follow the edge of the cliffs, but once we get back to the immediate coastline you’ll probably want the shade.”

They waved to Felicia who didn’t wave back, since she couldn’t make them out as they drove away.

“She’ll be all right with Dusk, won’t she?” There was a note of worry in Minnie’s voice.

“I can’t imagine anyone else better able to take care of her. Don’t worry. Dusk is someone I’d trust with my life.”

She smiled. “All right then. Thank you. That’s a weight off my mind.”

“You mother her.”

She looked at him in surprise. “I don’t mean to. She’s a good friend and I like to think I was able to help her after her husband passed away.”

“Did you know her before her sight began to fail?”

“No. That happened before we met. Apparently her vision began to blur and got worse until it reached the point where it’s at now. It hasn’t changed in years and she’s used to it, but—well, I’m her friend. I can’t help but worry about her now and again. Especially here, where she’s surrounded by unfamiliar things.”

“Seems that Dusk is a lot less unfamiliar with her than he was.”

“Yes. There is that.” Minnie chuckled. “Mind you, they’re a good match. She’s stubborn as a mule about some things. I think he’ll know how to handle her.”

“You think so?”

“Of course. He works for you.”

Rendered speechless by that artless comment, Pierce turned his attention to the road and pointed at the coast. “There’s Fotheringay’s manor.”

Several red pointed roofs showed above the rolling countryside and a lane led from the one they were presently traversing toward the shore and Fotheringay.

“It’s a bit remote.” Minnie looked around at the empty fields and rolling hills.

“He seems to like it. And he does have quite a bit of company. He told me once that his brother runs some sizeable industry somewhere. But he said it like it was a bad thing. Still has that awful attitude that if you’re in trade then you’re beneath notice, I suppose.”

“It’s not unusual to run into people who still think that way.”

“True. It seems that Stanley bred true to the Fotheringays. All name and property and lineage, holding themselves far above the hoi polloi who have to work for a living. But not far enough so as to remove themselves from the brother’s financial successes. Hence the occasional weekend in the country for the rich and overprivileged investors, at Stanley’s manor.”

“Hypocritical idiots.”

“Yes.”

“Does he have a beach? A dock?” Minnie sounded thoughtful.

“Yes to the beach, but no dock that I know of. If his guests come by boat, they usually tie up in Yarmouth. It’s not a long trip.” He glanced away from the road briefly and looked at her. “Why?”

“Just wondering. Those weekends for investors. I have to ask myself if perhaps the indolent rich might want a certain type of entertainment. The sort of thing where girls would be required?”

Pierce wrinkled his nose. “I’ve not heard a whisper about girls arriving for a fun visit with the randy rich. This crowd, including Stanley…well, let’s just say it would be far more likely to see a pack of handsome young men.” He cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Aha. A man with different interests.”

“That’s one way of putting it, yes.”

She frowned a little. “I’m still wondering how those girls got onto that ship. If our theory is right, they must have come this way. And then gotten themselves ferried out there. The big ships can’t come in too close, right?”

He shook his head in agreement and turned over her ideas. “No, nothing too large can make it in as far as the cliffs. They wouldn’t want to. The sea floor is too irregular around here, even though it drops off quite quickly.” He turned the vehicle slightly, trying to make sure their ride was as smooth as possible. Since they’d passed Fotheringay’s, the road had become much more of a path through the countryside than a real road. “It’s a good question. But I have to admit I’m having a difficult time seeing Stanley Fotheringay in the role of villain.”

“We need to keep an open mind,” she admonished him with a slight frown. “Villains seldom wear signs announcing their underhanded intentions, you know.”

“Ha ha.” He grinned cheerfully at her sarcasm. “Most amusing.”

She waved it aside. “So somehow, on some sort of boat, these girls made the trip out to the anchored ship. That means there has to be a dock involved.” She paused. “You have a dock at the Brass Pluggit, don’t you?”

“Yes I do.” He snorted. “And I’d like to state quite clearly that I am not now, nor have I ever been, involved with white slavery, similar illegal activities or murder.”

She looked smug. “I didn’t say you were.”

“You implied it. It’s the same thing.”

“Is not.”

“It is in my book.”

“Get a new volume. Yours is overdue back at the library.”

Pierce sighed and stopped the vehicle with a puff of steam. It chattered quietly to itself as he turned to Minnie. “There’s no help for it.”

“Help for what?”

“Me.” He pulled her into his arms. “I’m a lost cause. Kiss me.”

“Oh very well.” She linked her arms around his neck. “But I don’t think you’re lost at all.”

Quite a few delightful minutes passed before Pierce could manage to string words together into a coherent sentence.

And even then, he realized the effort was probably pointless. She’d only take them and turn them back on him and then serve them up neatly on a platter.

He smiled at the notion. God, he was
really
falling in love with this woman.

Minnie was afraid she could get rather terribly used to this. Being able to reach for this man on a whim and relish his kisses at her leisure.

It wasn’t that she could never have done so in the past with her lovers—she could have.

It was that up until now, she hadn’t
wanted
to.

She tugged her thoughts away from the lingering pleasure of the kiss and back to the current matter in hand. “You know we’ve never considered the possibility of anyone using an airship.”

“For the girls?” Pierce stroked her cheek with a finger and then moved away with a sigh. “I can’t see anyone who was looking for anonymity or discretion loading up a bunch of prostitutes into an airship. That’s point one.” He nodded out to sea. “Then there’s the weather factor. As you saw last night, storms can blow up and be a real nuisance, if not a hazard. Ships have been riding them out since before recorded time. Airships, on the other hand—not so much.”

“Point.” She awarded him the victory. “All right. No airships. We’re back to our original proposition.”

“Yes.” He slipped the vehicle back into gear and let the idling engine stir back to life. They moved forward, more slowly this time over the rough tracks. “Do me a favor please? Open your parasol and then reach behind you. There’s a basket there.”

Minnie did as she was bid. “All right.” She turned around and saw the hamper. “What do you need?”

“Inside there’s a pair of binoculars. I need them available but not necessarily visible to anyone watching.”

She pursed her lips as she retrieved the bulky object and settled it beside her, under her ruffled skirt. “You think someone is watching us?”

“Not yet. But when we top that rise, they may be.” He pointed to a slight hill ahead. “On the other side is the Godolphin development. This track ends there. To head south, we should have taken the road where it forked a while back. The only reason to be on this particular path would be to visit Stanley, whose estate we’ve passed, or to go to the Godolphin site.”

“Which we’re about to survey. As what…tourists?”

“I suppose so. A man and a woman out for a little drive. They’ll know it’s me, since I think I’m the only one with a steam-propelled vehicle. A halfway decent telescope will show that and more.”

“Does it matter if they know it’s you?” Minnie tried to follow his logic.

“At this minute? No. If I start investigating their site through binoculars, then maybe.”

“Ah. Yes. I see.” She absently angled the parasol to shade her nose from the bright sun. “So we’re going to be enjoying the scenery and the day and each other. And also discreetly checking out what they’re doing. And hoping nobody’s paying much attention to us.”

“That sums it up, yes.”

“Not the most solid of plans, but I can’t think of anything better, so we might as well try it.” She moved nearer to Pierce and held the sunshade over both of them as they slowly ascended the last hill.