The Seduction of Emily (20 page)

Pulling down the brim of his hat, Will lowered his head. He could not risk recognition and to have his presence reported back to Milne. He reached the door of the house Milne entered and tilted his head from side to side in an effort to loosen the tension in his neck. Exhaling a long breath, he smoothed his hands down the front of his jacket.

“Here goes nothing.” Will rapped his knuckles three times against the door.

After a few moments, the door swung open. He guessed the woman standing there to be around twenty-five or twenty-six, but she could easily have been younger. Poverty aged a person like nothing else. Her eyes, sadder and bluer than two flints of glass floating on the Dead Sea, struck Will’s heart like the claws of a hatchet. Her dress clung to her bony frame like a second skin and matted dark brown hair showed above the dirty scarf holding it back from her face.

Surely this wasn’t the woman Milne visited?

“Are you going to stand there staring at me all day or did you want something?” She crossed her arms.

Will blinked and forced the most nonchalant grin he could muster. “Good morning, Miss.” He lifted his hat.

“Good morning to you, too. Now, what do you want?”

“A moment of your time.”

A flirtatious smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “I hope you got money, handsome. Moments of time are coins in my hand.”

“The time I need won’t take me a step inside, but it would be appreciated all the same.”

Her smile dissolved and her eyes narrowed. “If you ain’t here for services, what do you want?”

Guessing he was about five seconds away from having the door slammed in his face, Will cleared his throat. It was now or never. This woman would not be bought off with any amount of charm.

“I was given your name by an associate of mine.”

Her frown deepened. “My name? Who told you my name.”

“An associate of mine. Your reputation precedes you, Laura.”

“I’m not Laura.”

“You’re not?”

She uncrossed her arms and made as if to close the door. “No, now get lost.”

Will slapped his hand to the door. “Wait. I need to speak to her. It’s important.”

“Laura’s busy. Now get out of here.”

“I’ll wait.”

The seconds ticked by as the standoff took root.

“Laura ain’t at nobody’s beck and call.” She fisted her hands on her hips. “Not even a handsome bastard like you. What’s your name?”

“I’d much rather introduce myself to her.”

“She ain’t gonna let you get within fifty feet of her without a name or knowing how you learned hers, so if I was you—”

Footsteps sounded behind her and her mouth snapped shut. She turned and a man dressed in the attire of a gentleman pushed past her. He briefly met Will’s eyes and Will touched his hat. The man nodded before hurrying on his way.

Will faced her once more. “I assume Laura is alone now?”

She shrugged. “That doesn’t mean I’m letting you by.”

He reached into his pocket. Extracting a shilling, he held it in front of her. “I want ten minutes with her, that’s all.”

She smiled. “Ten minutes? You certainly ain’t no lover who lasts, are you?”

With the confidence of a man who knew the extreme opposite was true, Will smiled and tilted his head toward the coin. “Why don’t you go and ask Laura if she can spare me ten minutes, eh?”

“Fine.” She snatched the coin from his hand. “I’ll need to know on whose recommendation you’re here. She don’t see no one who ain’t here by word of mouth.”

Will pulled back his shoulders. “I’m here on the recommendation of Mr. Nicholas Milne.”

Her rosy cheeks paled and her blue eyes grew wide. “No, you’re not.” She glanced behind her, before narrowing her eyes. “Who the hell are you?”

Will’s gut knotted with adrenaline. What was going on here? “Why couldn’t I be here on Milne’s recommendation? I know he’s a . . . friend of Laura’s.”

“He ain’t no friend. The man’s a piece of . . .” She pursed her lips together and leaned out of the doorway to look up and down the street. “Just get lost. Now!”

“No. I need to see her. I’m not leaving until I do.”

She snapped her gaze to his. “Mr. Milne likes his visits kept quiet and I can’t imagine him telling the likes of you anything.”

“Look, whether you believe it or not, I am here with Laura’s best interests in mind. I am here to help her, not hurt her.”

Her gaze darted over his face and her hands curled into fists. “Help her in what way? Is someone threatening her? ’Cause if they are, I’ll smash their damn faces in.”

The door was opened wide by someone inside. “Bette, that’s enough.”

The woman who came to the threshold was a little younger than her protector and beautiful. Her burnished brown hair was curled and teased into the latest style but lacked the gleam of moneyed care. Her chemise was clean yet yellowed with age and her red satin wrap had lost its sheen. Will’s stomach tightened. So this was the second of Milne’s lovers. This beautiful woman might not have been as stunning as Emily, but she damn well deserved to be on the arm of a man who loved her. Not languishing in a backstreet apartment taking in paying visitors like Milne.

Like his mother had before her.

Will removed his hat and swept into a low bow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss.” He straightened and beamed his widest smile. “Laura, is it?”

She looked him straight in the eye. “Who wants to know?”

“I’m an associate of Mr. Nicholas Milne’s. I need to speak to you.”

She looked from him to her door guard and back again. “You know Nicholas?”

“Yes.”

She pulled back her shoulders. “Then I don’t think we have anything to talk about.”

His smile dissolved. “Even if what I have to say saves your life?” She frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I just need five minutes.”

Her door guard stepped forward. “She said no, now sling your hook.”

Laura touched her arm, her gaze locked on Will’s. “It’s all right, Bette. Go on inside and stick the kettle on. I’ll soon have this gentleman on his way.”

“But—”

“Now, Bette.”

The formidable Bette threw Will a look loaded with warning and disappeared inside the tiny “two up, two down” house.

He smiled. It was nice to know Laura had someone looking out for her. He turned and met Laura’s gaze.

She crossed her arms. “Well? Let’s hear it.”

Will locked his gaze on hers, willing her to trust him. His heart picked up speed and when he spoke, the words came out in a seamless rush. “Milne is a dangerous man. A violent man who beat and raped my mother, leaving her for dead on her apartment floor. I don’t want you to be his next victim.”

The noises from the street at the end of the alleyway filtered toward them, louder than before. Will’s blood pulsed as he waited for her response. Two spots of color stained her cheeks but her eyes gave nothing away.

“You could be lying, for all I know.”

His stomach knotted. “I’m telling the truth. I don’t think for one minute he hasn’t raised his hand to you. Am I right? The man’s a violent woman-beater who enjoys inflicting his power when there is no chance of reciprocation.”

She turned and looked along the alleyway. “I take risks every single day with one faceless jock after another, but Nicholas is a different kettle of fish entirely.” She faced him. “Nothing is worth upsetting him. If you don’t have proof he hurt your mother, don’t expect me to put my neck on the line by talking about him.”

Will realized his stupidity. Laura had hardened necessity running through her veins instead of blood. She could easily be a mother, a sister . . . a wife . . . yet something had brought her to this and she was surviving. Will had more respect for her than she’d ever know.

“She named him. That’s enough for me.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s not enough for me.”

Will squeezed his eyes shut as frustration scorched his insides. “When she died, I promised I wouldn’t go after Milne but I can’t rest until I know he’s either dead or locked up.” He opened his eyes and met her steady violet gaze. “His poison has seeped into my veins, Laura. Please. You have to believe me. Don’t take the risk you’ll be his next victim.”

She studied him through narrowed eyes. “I suppose your mother was a whore like me was she, handsome stranger?” Skepticism dripped from her words onto the cracked doorstep beneath her feet. “You must think I’m an idiot. What is it you really want?”

Anger bit at Will’s conscience like sharpened teeth. “Milne knew her when she was working, yes.”

She smiled. “You don’t like to call her a whore.” It was a statement rather than a question.

“My mother will never be a whore to me. She was a lady. A mother doing her best to make sure I was clothed and fed.”

She stared at him for a moment before her eyes softened and her shoulders slumped. She blew out a breath. “Look, I’m sorry for your mother, I am, but I’m different than her. I’m not a mother but I’m doing what I can. I don’t need any trouble. I’m sorry.”

She moved to shut the door and Will slapped his palm against it a second time. “I know what Milne is capable of. I want to save it from happening to you or anyone else. You can either work with me or I’ll work alone. Either way, Milne will pay. It will just be quicker if I have an ally.”

A tear tipped over her lashes as she stared. She swiped her cheek, a soft smile forming. “Who named you our righteous hero?”

Will returned her smile as premature optimism threatened. “I did. That means I have you, his mistress, and his fiancée to look out for. Three women he could kill today or tomorrow. If not physically, then emotionally and spiritually until all three of you resemble living breathing ghosts of who you once were. I will not stand by and let that happen. That man will not hurt another woman while I still have breath in my body.”

His heart slammed against his chest as he waited. He daren’t breathe nor move and risk interrupting her internal debate. Her eyes flitted over his face and back to his eyes. He needed her. She had the inside information on Milne. She knew him at his most vulnerable. As a man wanting sex—a man out of control.

Women like Laura and his mother did not go with men for the hell of it. They were proud and strong. Street savvy and brave.

She put a hand up and let it linger about her throat. “How can I help pay him back for what he did to your mother? I don’t know anything.”

Quivers of possible victory stirred low in Will’s abdomen. He needed something to add to his growing arsenal of information that would ultimately ensure Milne lived the rest of his scrawny life behind bars. He swallowed his hunger for Milne’s blood, concentrated on steadying the tone of his voice. The last thing he wanted was for her to sense how close to the edge he really was. “I need one or two women willing to testify in court that Milne has beaten them, raped them, or—”

“Raped them?” She tipped her head back and laughed. “You seriously think any judge in the country will look at the likes of me or any of the girls I know and give them sympathy? What would they care if Milne or any other bastard took a piece without our consent?” She shook her head. “I appreciate your sentiment but your head is so far in the clouds, I might as well ask you what heaven looks like.”

Frustration rolled like a storm in Will’s gut. Doubt edged into his mind on a whisper. Maybe he should just kill Milne. Was that what she was saying? The justice system would fail him? Fail her? Their eyes locked, hers reflecting the hope he’d tell her she was wrong, mixed with the silent triumph of knowing she was right.

Will grappled for something more to say. Something to convince her they could do this.
Emily.
Adrenaline burst inside of him like a breaking dam.

“I have a friend.” He stared. “She is as strong and determined as she is beautiful and kind. If he marries her, he will kill her in one way or another eventually.”

She smiled. “You love this
friend
, right?”

Will nodded. “Please, Laura. Take a risk to ensure Milne never hurts another woman again. Whatever is holding you to him, making you risk his murderous temper every day, can be vanquished. You could be in a position to change your life.”

Her cheeks flushed and her eyes glistened. “He’s a man with money and position. We couldn’t win.”

He grasped her hand. She didn’t pull away. “How do we know unless we try? Fight with me. Fight for a better life.”

Her breaking smile lit his blood. “I guess not many women say no to you, do they?”

Will stood outside the milliner’s on Milsom Street. Katherine served her next customer, oblivious to him watching through the latticed window. He took the unobserved moment to study her. She, too, deserved a man better than Milne in her life. The boy he met in the back street said Katherine had known Milne since childhood. He understood Emily’s tie to him, but what was Katherine’s? Did she love him?

He rubbed his hand over his jaw. The man “owned” three women. Three. His gut clenched around his resentment, squeezing it smaller and smaller until it was a manageable heat rather than a blazing inferno. There were questions to be answered. The biggest of which was how Milne managed to get this much control over them. No doubt threats, violence, and a whole lot more played a part.