Page 87 of A Little Bit Dangerous
Anger sparked in Isabella’s chest.
“Ethel,” she began sternly, though was convinced an ounce of goodness flowed in Ethel Cartwright’s veins. Else she would not have warned the maids about Lord Oldman. “Within the next hour, we will be embroiled in a war. My employer, his agents, and the Chance brothers will descend on this mansion house and arrest all those above stairs.” If only she could believe it, but if Isabella hoped to discover the truth, she had to convince Ethel all was not lost. “I suggest you decide whose side you’re on.”
The woman hung her head.
“Very well. I cannot save you.”
A tense silence ensued, broken by weak pleas and the rattle of chains.
Isabella spent the next few minutes trying to piece together the facts.
Snippets of information entered her mind.
Captain Snell’s mysterious shipments.
The heavy cargo.
The foreign maid working for Lord Oldman.
Sarah’s pendant with the odd markings. Her pale skin and white hair. Had she come from distant shores? Had Sarah arrived on a boat from Norway?
“Whether I escape from here or not,” Isabella began, “there’s a warrant out for Captain Snell’s arrest. We searched the warehouse and found evidence to incriminate the captain and Lord Oldman. Captain Snell smuggles women into the country and sells them.”
Ethel’s lips were buttoned tighter than a nun’s coif.
Isabella scoured her mind. It sounded like her father was in charge here, not the conte, not Lord Oldman or Captain Snell.
And why had the ghostly woman complained about fake artefacts and not about being smuggled to England on a ship?
“My father won’t risk you turning traitor,” she said, trying a different approach. “At worst, I’ll get to live in an Italian villa. You’ll be six feet under in an unmarked grave. At best, Mr Chance will rescue me, and you will swing from the gallows.” She paused so Ethel could consider the harrowing mental image. “Or I could tell Mr Chance you helped me, persuade him to give you money and passage on a steamer bound for America.”
Long seconds passed.
“How do I know I can trust you?” Ethel uttered.
“Because, like you, I’ve spent my life longing for freedom.” She’d come to learn freedom didn’t mean navigating life alone. It meant finding a partner who nurtured one’s soul and understood the need for independence. “I know what it’s like to be at the mercy of a cruel man.”
Ethel sighed. “I knew nothing about the cargo.”
“You mean the women the captain smuggles?”
“Yes. I only learnt of it last year when your father began blackmailing me. Lawton said if I didn’t work for him, he’d see me locked in Newgate along with Snell.”
Isabella frowned, her head awhirl with confusion. “But you took the job in the shipping office fairly recently. What possible evidence does my father have against you?”
“Snell hired me to act as his linkman. While he was at sea, I met with those who wanted to hireThe Marigold. I took payment and managed the diary. But I swear I didn’t know what was in those crates.”
“But Mr Quigley is the captain’s broker.”
Ethel shook her head. “I’m Quigley. Few men will deal with a woman. I used to clean the stalls at a theatre in Haymarket. While there, an actress taught me how to pass myself off as a man. Though I think Oldman’s secretary is suspicious.”
Good heavens!
No wonder the description of Mr Quigley was so vague.
“But you told me Quigley worked at the museum.”
“I had to say something to throw you off the scent.”
