Page 38 of Lady Gambit
The snippet of information was like an elixir reviving her flagging spirit. “You told Aaron my parents died and are buried in a pauper’s grave. Did I tell you that? Is it true?”
“It was sixteen years ago,” the woman said impatiently. “Of course your parents are dead. Who’d leave such a sweet little treasure on the streets?”
Keen to ensure Miss Chance had the answers she needed, Dorian said, “I can do more than give you your husband’s address. I can tell you where he went when he betrayed yourtrust and disappeared like a dawn mist.” He paused. “But I shall say no more until you’ve told Miss Chance whatever she needs to know.”
The crone’s shrewd gaze turned sinister. “No one issues orders in the hen house. Lucky for you, you have something I want.” She demanded her louts leave the room and waited until the door clicked shut before speaking. “She said her parents were dead. That someone had hired a man to kill them. I told her if she wanted to live she had to forget where she came from. We never spoke about it again. She did what she was told and earned her keep like the rest of my boys.”
“And you didn’t attempt to discover her real identity?”
The woman chuckled. “I ain’t got time to go knocking on people’s doors. Besides, if she had any hope of surviving, I knew it was best left alone.”
Daventry was in complete agreement. “We won’t mention the year Miss Chance spent here. The truth may place you both in danger.”
The woman’s hard features softened. “Something spooked her the night she fled. I don’t know how she hurt her head.”
Dorian wasn’t sure why, but he believed her.
There was still one fact gnawing away at him.
“You have eyes and ears all over St Giles. Why give Aaron Chance the option to raise her as his sister? You had the power to take her back.”
The woman looked at Miss Chance and sighed. “Having her here would have put all our necks on the chopping block. She’d have brought trouble to my door, Mr Flynn. And when Aaron Chance offered to fight for her, the purse was large enough to keep my boys indoors that winter.”
Silence descended.
Miss Chance’s shoulders slumped. “Aaron is a man of his word. He knew the truth would hurt me and put me in harm’s way. He’s done everything he can to keep me safe.”
Mrs Haggert snorted. “I’d sooner cross the devil than Aaron Chance. He’s grown more powerful over the years. I’ve often thought it was so I’d be forced to keep my vow. Every sacrifice he’s made, he’s done for you, gal, and those other men you call brothers.”
Miss Chance took a calming breath. “Regardless of your motivations, I want to thank you, Mrs Haggert. You could have thrown me out onto the street. Had you not helped me, I might have perished that night.”
Tears filled the woman’s eyes but she blinked them away quickly. “Sentiment is for fools, Caterina. The world is ruled by cruel people. You join the pack or die. That’s the way of it.” She faced Dorian, her temper returning. “I want everything you have on Harold Haggert. It best be worth my while, or you’ll not leave here without a fight.”
Dorian explained what he’d learned by studying the witness statements from a spate of highway robberies on the Kent Road. The fool had made the mistake of stealing his last victim’s hat—a signature Harold Haggert had used as a footpad in his youth.
“He’s working at The Bell coaching inn on the Kent Road.” He explained that the landlord had moved from Peterborough, where there had been a spate of similar robberies.
“Working?” Mrs Haggert turned up her nose as if she’d smelled something foul. “What’s he done with the jewels he stole from me?”
He shrugged. “You’ll have to ask him yourself. I checked his likeness against the sketch Daventry sent with the statements last night. Your husband may be a partner in the business but wishes to remain incognito.”
Mrs Haggert gritted her teeth and hauled herself out of the chair. “If what you say is true, Mr Flynn, I’ll be in your debt.”
He merely inclined his head.
The crone whistled for her louts. “Gather the men. As soon as the sun sets, we’re going out.” She ushered Miss Chance out of her seat. “Time to go. Just one thing before you do. I heard Lord Meldrum ain’t got the funds to pay his gambling debts. He’s been spouting nonsense. He said if he married you, it would solve all his problems. He might have hired the men who tried to snatch you off the street.”
Miss Chance gripped the woman’s gnarled hand. “Thank you. I’m grateful for any information that might help me find the man who shot my brother.”
“You mind yourself. They’ll be slinking out of the shadows now they know you ain’t invincible. When your life’s on the line, you remember what I told you.”
And with that parting message, Mrs Haggert shooed them all out into the alley and slammed the front door shut.
During the subdued five-minute walk back to Hart Street, Daventry suggested they visit Nora Adkins again. “Dig deeper. There’s some truth to the woman’s mad ramblings.”
Miss Chance walked silently beside them, lost in thought.
Dorian wasn’t sure which piece of information had affected her most. The fact she should be in fear of her life. That, in all likelihood, she was the mysterious Caterina who had been told to run and hide in the darkness. That men were scheming to see them both married to people they didn’t love.
