Page 82 of The Confessions of a Lady
‘It weren’t my fault, dove. I owe so much money. Trying to keep my lady-wife happy with her fripperies and fancy holidays.’
‘Constable Sweet!’ Penny wanted to cry. She was also desperately tempted to slap the man silly.
‘You know how much I love her, Penny.’
Penny shook her head. ‘You did this for money? Because you’re too weak willed to tell her no? Or too scared she’ll leave if you can’t offer more than yourself? That isn’t love. It’s stupid, and selfish, and you’re a coward for not being honest with her.’
Constable Sweet shook his head like a stubborn boy. ‘No. She gave up everything to be with me. I couldn’t disappoint her. And the Devil’s Sons promised to help me. If I helped them. No one was supposed to get hurt. They just wanted information. I got connections, you see. In the Metropolitan Police. I hear things.’ He tapped his large earlobe. ‘I know things that are valuable to men like him.’ He threw his thumb behind him. Penny squintedin the dim half-light of the candle. A figure lurked behind Constable Sweet, but he kept his face in the shadows. He wore the clothes of a lord, and his shoes were new. No doubt, this was the Snake. The man Liam made a deal with at the masque. One of the three leaders of the Devil’s Sons.
‘Fine. Sell him your secrets. But what does this have to do with me?’ Penny struggled to keep her voice calm.
The man stepped from the shadows into the island of candlelight. His features were unremarkable. Thinning brown hair combed in a perfect part. A patrician nose lending his face some modicum of dignity. A weak chin, and jowls that shook when he spoke. ‘Ah, my dear. Don’t you understand? You were one of the informants reporting back to Constable Sweet.’
Realisation broke over Penny like a cracked yoke spilling over toast.
How could I have been such an idiot!
She narrowed her eyes at Constable Sweet. ‘You were using me. This whole time. Youwantedme to spy on Lord Renquist. Not to find him guilty, but to ensure he was earnest in his pursuit of brotherhood into the Devil’s Sons. There was never a reward from the Metropolitan Police. That was just another lie, wasn’t it?’
Constable Sweet shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. He shoved the flask of water into his pocket. ‘They promised me good blunt for my information. I was going to share what was left over with you. I swear it.’
‘I don’t believe you. You had no intentions of helping me save my mother. You did none of this for us.’ Penny felt ill. She let the anger and hurt amalgamate into a focused rage.
Constable Sweet’s face hardened into a mask of ugly spite. ‘Your mother was never going to get clear of the prison. She was given a thousand chances. But she never took the help I offered. She wouldn’t know how to live if it weren’t behind bars.’ He spiton the ground, wiping his moustache clean. ‘Best I could do was find a way out for you, Penny. And I did that, didn’t I?’
Penny scooted sideways to show him her back, lifting her bound hands as best she could. ‘Is this your way out of imprisonment?’
The Snake snickered, a chilling sound in the echoing room. ‘She has a point, Constable.’
Constable Sweet ran a shaky hand through his hair. His lips pulled down in a frown. ‘If you want to blame anyone, blame him.’ He pointed a thick finger at the Snake. ‘I told him your lord was playing him double. But he wouldn’t believe me. Said he needed proof.’
‘Yes. And you, my dear, are the proof.’ The Snake stepped closer, shifting to her right while Constable Sweet stayed close to her left, splitting her focus between them. ‘I know William. I was friends with his father. I’ve watched the boy since he was a little brat running around his father’s country estate. And while Constable Sweet here believes your seductive skills have swayed Renquist’s heart, I know better. The boy has too much of his father in him. He might be fucking you, but he’d never lower himself to love a maid. The very idea is ludicrous.’
‘My thoughts exactly.’ A low voice echoed over the flagstone floor.
Liam.
Penny wanted to scream his name. To rip free of her bonds and run to him. To fall into his arms and let him protect her. Instead, she blinked hard and willed her silly heart to cease beating so loudly.
They were playing a dangerous game. The plans they’d made to enter the battlefield armed and prepared were smouldering somewhere in the fiery pits of hell. But Liam must have a new plan. She needed to watch him. Predict his moves. Discern his needs. Skills she’d honed over ten years of service. If anyonecould determine a secret plan from nothing more than facial expressions and errant gestures, it was Penny.
‘Ah. Renquist. You’ve finally arrived.’ The Snake pulled a pistol from his pocket and levelled it at Liam’s chest. ‘Check him for weapons, Sweet.’
‘Lord Gartling. I should have guessed.’ Gartling was from an ancient line and close to some of the most powerful men in the beau monde. Even a lowly maid recognised a name as powerful as Gartling. Rumours abounded that despite his pedigree, he was one of the beau monde’s bankrupt. An impoverished lord whose blood was far richer than his bank account. But the cut of his jacket fit the latest style. His shoes shone even in the dim lighting, and Penny could smell the spice of his French cologne. It seemed his fortunes had changed.
‘You always were one of father’s more clever friends. I’m glad to see age hasn’t dimmed your wits.’ Liam kept his eyes on the Snake as Constable Sweet shuffled over to Liam.
‘Nor has it sharpened yours. I’d watch what you say to me, boy. I’m the one holding the pistol.’
Constable Sweet did a thorough search, making Liam take off his coat, even going so far as to make him take off his boots. Sniffing loudly, he turned back to the Snake.
‘He’s got nothing on him.’
‘Can I re-dress? It’s bloody freezing in here.’ In a display of obvious power, Liam didn’t wait for an answer. He bent down and pulled his boots on, then took his jacket from where Constable Sweet threw it on the ground and shook it out. Slipping one arm in, then the other, he buttoned it with jerky movements. He might be playing a part, but his anger was real. Penny didn’t need years of service to determine that fact.
Liam glared at Lord Gartling’s gun. ‘I think you can put that away. Unless you’re scared the maid will overcome you with her superior fighting skills.’
Lord Gartling smirked. He lowered the weapon but kept his finger on the trigger. ‘So, we have a puzzle that needs solving. But never fear. Clever man that I am, I have a solution.’
