Page 29 of Lady Gambit
Dorian glanced at Miss Chance, wondering what was so awful her brother would demand their fealty. “You have my word. I shall protect Miss Chance as if she were my own sister.” He would do an excellent job of convincing himself he should treat her as kin. Yet every time he looked at her mouth, his blood rushed to his loins.
Daventry gave his oath.
After a visible wrestle with his conscience, Aaron confessed to knowing how the lady had found herself in the rookeries. “When your parents died, a woman took you in. She fed you, clothed you, kept a roof over your head. You were with her for almost a year before you stumbled upon me.”
Hope sprang to life in her eyes. “Someone kind like Mrs Maloney?”
“Someone so cruel and selfish she would make Satan look like a saint.” The malice in his voice sent a chill down Dorian’s spine. “She hacked off your hair, dressed you in breeches and put you to work with herboys,determined you would earn your keep.”
Daventry inhaled sharply. “Her boys? Where was this?”
“Seven Dials.”
“Tell me she didn’t work in Mrs Haggert’s hen house.”
Dorian braced himself, praying Aaron Chance would correct the misconception. Most of the boys who worked for Mrs Haggert found themselves dangling from the hangman’s noose.
“Who is Mrs Haggert?” Miss Chance said.
“She’s a notorious criminal who uses children to line her pockets.” Dorian had encountered her during his time at Bow Street. Despite being an ageing woman of sixty now, she commanded an army of louts keen to do her bidding. “Her charitable work and the children’s fear of speaking out means she remains a free woman.”
Aaron Chance looked pained when he said, “The dress you wore when we met was probably stolen. It’s likely you were involved in criminal activity when you received the blow to your head.”
Miss Chance shook her head vigorously. “No! I would have remembered committing a crime. You must be mistaken. I can be terribly clumsy. I would have made a useless thief.”
Dorian listened intently.
All the rules and secrets made sense now.
They explained why Miss Chance was encouraged to remain at home. Why her brothers had not helped her to find her parents. It was a testament to the men’s dangerous reputations that their sister had not encountered trouble before.
“Mrs Haggert would not let you take one of herchickswithout a fight.” Dorian had heard that Mrs Haggert would kill a boy if he threatened to leave. No one escaped the coop. Not when they were party to her wicked deeds.
Aaron clutched his hand to his chest. “I almost died fighting for Delphine. But I won the wager. Mrs Haggert agreed to let Delphine go as long as I agreed never to seek vengeance. Our blood pact has remained binding ever since.”
Miss Chance buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
It took every effort for Dorian to remain in his seat.
Aaron crossed the room and knelt before his sister. “Please understand why I didn’t tell you. The risks were too great.”
She rubbed her eyes and sniffed. “I do understand. And I don’t care where I came from. I care that you almost died to save me. I’ll never forget that dreadful night. We all thought we’d lost you.”
Dorian was forced to watch another outpouring of love. Despite a silent wrangle with his thoughts, he envisaged Miss Chance holdinghishand, not her brother’s. She was strokinghischeek, telling him nothing would ever come between them, that they would always have each other.
Bloody hell!
He shot daggers at Lucius Daventry.
Damn the man to Hades.
He would have taken any case but this one. He would have repaid the debt tenfold to avoid the rush of unwanted emotions.
Then Daventry drove the metaphorical blade a little deeper between Dorian’s ribs. “If I might offer my expert advice.” He waited until he had everyone’s attention before making a shocking suggestion. “Aaron, you should establish if a peer was brave enough to arrange the abduction. I will visit Mrs Haggert with Flynn. We need to know if she is involved. Hopefully, she will tell us where she found Delphine.”
In the stunned silence, Dorian considered the plan.
The first task in finding a missing person was to trace their last steps. The second was to question anyone in the known vicinity at the time of their disappearance. For the right fee, Mrs Haggert might provide answers to many important questions.
