"A couple more minutes and I would have left," the man added, obviously displeased with her silence in response to his complaint.
Shrugging impatiently, Charlie reached into her pocket to retrieve the sack of coins that was the payoff, eager to get this meeting over with.
"Put that away," he snapped, adding with disgust when she did, "D'ye want to get us killed or something? Gawd!" Rising abruptly, he gestured for them to follow and headed for the back of the establishment, leading them through a door that opened into a small, filthy kitchen, then on through that to another door.
This one led into an alley behind the inn. An alley that positively reeked of rotting meat and human excrement.
Covering their noses with distaste, Charlie and Bessie followed the man several feet away from the door before he stopped to face them, grinning with obvious pleasure over their discomfort. He didn't seem to be affected by the odors at all. Apparently his nose was all show, and not very useful otherwise.
Years of boozing had probably killed any ability it had once had to smell, Charlie thought nastily as she once again reached for the sack of coins. This time he did not stop her. Dropping the sack into the hand he held out, she waited while he opened it and peered at the coins inside. When he nodded in satisfaction, she shifted, drawing his attention once again. "If our business is concluded?"
"Not quite."
Stilling, she glanced around when he gestured as if to someone behind her. With a sinking heart she saw two men moving toward them from the back door of the inn, and whirled angrily back to the man she had just handed the coins to.
"What is this?"
"Well, now, it seems that my boss thinks that if you will pay this well to keep your whereabouts a secret, your uncle will pay even more to have you back."
Before Charlie could do or say anything in response to that, a cry from Bessie brought her around to see that the men had reached them. One had grabbed her upper arms from behind and was attempting to subdue her as she began struggling and kicking. Charlie moved at once to try to help, but had barely taken a step when she found herself facing the second man. He was a behemoth. As tall as a tree and as broad as a bam. His presence before her blocked out the sun and cast her in shadow.
Charlie swallowed grimly, fear leaving her frozen until another cry from Bessie made her move. Stomping on the man's foot, she ran around him and launched herself at the back of the other man as he forced Bessie up the alley toward a carriage that suddenly appeared there. This man wasn't quite as tall as the other, but he was as brawny. He gave a grunt when she attached herself to his back, one arm around his neck, the other hand caught in his hair and pulling furiously. Her feet and knees dug into the flesh of his h*ps as she scrambled for purchase. Then she was grasped about the waist, and her upper body was pulled away from the man.
"Here now, don't hurt her," the man with the nose muttered. It was the last thing Charlie heard. The fellow who had grabbed her released her at once, and Charliewhose legs were still wrapped around the other man's hipshad no time to grab at anything to stop her fall as her upper body suddenly plummeted downward, her head crashing onto the cobbled street.
"Good day, my lord. I trust your expedition-was successful?"
"Most successful. Stokes," Radcliffe murmured, handing over his frock coat, hat, and gloves before reaching down instinctively to pat his pocket, feeling for the jeweler's package there. "Is Lady Elizabeth in the salon?"
"Nay, my lord. She is still out."
"Out?" He stilled at that.
"Out where?"
"With her brother, my lord. Lord Charles asked me to procure them a carriage shortly after you left this morning."
"And they have not returned yet? Where did they go?"
Before Stokes could answer either question, a tap at the front door drew him forward to answer it.
"Elizabeth!" Radcliffe hurried forward as he spied The woman on the doorstep, his smile turning to a scowl when he noticed Tomas a step behind her.
Takingher arm, he drew her into the house and away from the other man. "Stokes said you left with Charles this morning. Where did you go? And where is Charles?"
"Charlie is not here?" Worry pulled at her brow as she asked Stokes that.
"Nay, my lady. He has not returned since the two of you departed this morning."
"The two of us?"
"Aye, my lady." His confusion was obvious.
Elizabeth frowned at his words, then seemed to come to a conclusion that soothed her. "But not at the same time. First one left, then the other, is that not right?" she guessed. Stokes blinked.
"Nay, my lady. You both walked out together. You were wearing a different gown, though."
This news seemed to simply confuse the woman, Radcliffe saw with irritation as Elizabeth turned worriedly to Tomas Mowbray, whispering his name in confusion.
"And a veiled hat," Stokes added suddenly, which brought a spark of what seemed to be understanding to Mowbray's eye.
"You are saying Charlie and a woman in a veiled hat left the house this morning, but they have not returned yet?"
Stokes nodded slowly, his expression becoming thoughtful as he recognized the distinction being made. "Aye, my lord."
Beth's frown deepened. "Who could the woman have been?"
Radcliffe was frowning now, too. "Are you saying it was not you?"
"It was not me," Beth confirmed Radcliffe glanced at Stokes confused face, then asked, "Then when and how did you leave the house today?"
"I did not leave the house today."
He shifted impatiently. "Do not be ridiculous. You must have left. You have just returned with Mowbray in tow."
Beth shook her head. "Nay, my lord. I never left the house today. I have not been here for the past three days. I left the night of the Fetterleys' ball.
Charlie pretended to be me to hide the fact that I was gone."
"That is rot, madam and you know I know it is!" Grabbing her wrist, Radcliffe turned toward the library. "I do not know what game you are playing, madam," he snapped as he moved. "But you shall explain yourself."
"Hang on there," Mowbray said as he hurried after them and caught Beth's free hand, tugging her away from Radcliffe.
"Let go of her, Mowbray, this is none of your concern." Radcliffe dragged her back a step so that Beth stood between the two men, caught in the middle of a tug of war.
"It certainly is my concern, man. She is my wife."
"What?" Radcliffe blanched Tomas nodded with satisfaction. " 'Tis where we have been for the last few days.
Gretna Green. We rode there by carriage, married, and I brought her directly back."
Radcliffe laughed his relief at that. "Do you take me for a fool? You could not have possibly taken her there. She was here."
"Nay, my lord. That was Charlie," Elizabeth said. "Charlie has been covering for my absence," she repeated gently.
Rather than being soothed by her gentle words, Radcliffe grew more angry, his mouth tightening grimly. "You know you cannot fool me with that nonsense, Elizabeth. Why would you even try?"
"But 'Tis true, my lord," she insisted, merely managing to annoy him further.
"Charles in a dress? And with long dark tresses?" he queried sarcastically.
"Aye."
Radcliffe shook his head. "Even if it were true that Charles could pass himself off as a woman in a dress, you and I both know that I know that it was not him.
Do I really have to state how I know it was not Charles in front of this young buck, or will you confess this a poor joke and give it up?"
"But Charlie did pretend to be me while I was gone," she insisted once more.
"Madam, the body I held in my arms and made love to last night was a woman's. It definitely was not your brother, Charles."
"You made love to Charlie?" the girl asked with some shock.
"I made love to you!" Radcliffe snapped back.
"The devil you did," Tom muttered. "Even I have not had that honor yet.
There was no opportunity what with having to rush back here to save Charlotte."
"Charlotte? Who the deuce is Charlotte?"
"Charlie!" Beth and Tomas answered as one. When Radcliffe merely stared at them blankly, Tomas explained. "Beth and Charlotte are twin sisters."
"Charlie only pretended to be a boy so that we might travel safely," Beth added quickly. "Are you all right, my lord? You have gone quite pale."
Radcliffe shook his head. "I think you had best explain this to me slowly."
Beth bit her lip and glanced at her husband, then back to Radcliffe. "Well, it is really very simple. You see. Uncle Henry had arranged our marriages to Carland and Seguin, and Charlie and IWell, really, my lord, you yourself said Carland has seen three wives to the grave. As for Seguin, I fear he has some peculiar predilections. Though I must confess I did not know that until you took Charlie to the brothel."
Radcliffe gave a start at that, honor passing across his face even as Tomas turned on him accusingly. "You took her to a brothel?"
Grimacing now, Radcliffe shook his head. "I took Charles. The boy was missish. I thought to make a man of him."
"I fear that would be quite impossible," Beth murmured with amusement, then hurried on with her explanations when he glared at her. "At any rate, we decided Carland and Seguin were unsuitable and that we would flee to our cousin Ralphy's."
Radcliffe gave another start. "Ralphy? I thought you were headed to London."
She smiled apologetically. "Well, no, not really. Charlie simply told you that in case you should run into Uncle Henry and give us away. We were really headed to Ralph. He is our cousin on our mother's side, and Uncle Henry did not know about him as far as we knew. It seemed the best place to go, but it is not safe for a woman to travel alone Nor even for two women, so Charlie decided to dress as a man. She thought it would keep us safe from ne'er-do-wells, as well as make it harder for Uncle Henry to track us. He would have been looking for two women, you see?"
"I see," he said dryly, recalling the slim youth facing him in the stables.
His fear had been obvious, but equally obvious had been the boy's determination to protect his her sister. "Why did the two of you not tell me the truth?"
"Well, we did not know you then, my lord."
"Nay, at first you did not," he conceded. "But after, when I offered my aid"
"We never really meant to accept your assistance. In fact, we did try to refuse it, if you will recall, but you seemed unwilling to leave us to our own devices.
So we were forced to start out for London with you, but planned to sneak off in the middle of the night and head back for Ralphy's alone."
His eyebrows rose at that. "And why did you not do so?"
"You did not stop," she pointed out dryly. "We expected you simply to lead us to the next inn to rest for the night ere continuing on the next day, but you rode us through the night, stopping only at dawn. We were too exhausted to be able to leave then."
Radcliffe smiled wryly, recalling Charles's stumbling wearily about their room that first morning as dawn had crept into the sky. She had taken a grave risk in sharing that room. She could have been ruined had she been discovered.
He suddenly recalled waking up with her wrapped around his body and his own shock and honor at his physical response to the boy's proximity and grimaced. If he had known then what he knew now Pushing such thoughts aside, he asked, "Why did you not leave the next night, then?"
She shrugged. "You had pointed out the necessity of having a firing arm and we did not have one. Then, too, as time passed and we got to know you, my lord, we came to quite like you. It did not seem right to run off in the middle of the night when you had been so kind. So we decided mayhap London would be the better destination for us. You had offered to help change our jewels for us and"
Flushing guiltily, she glanced at Tomas. "Well, we did rather hope that we might find alternative husbands, saving us from having to hide at our cousin's country estate and spend our lives as spinsters," she admitted self-consciously.
Smiling, Tomas placed his arm around her comfortingly. "And so you did, my dear, and I am grateful for it."
"As am I. I was attracted to you from the first, but I knew you were the man for me that day at Radcliffe's club," Beth murmured back,hugging him close so that she missed Radcliffe giving a start again.
"My club? When were you at my club?"
"The day after we arrived, my lord," Beth answered, glancing at him with surprise. "Do you not recall?"
"I took Charles there, not you." .
"I was Charles that day," she admitted, blushing furiously.
"That day?" He looked nonplused. "What do you mean, that day? I thought Charlie" He was looking bewildered again and Beth hurried to explain.
"Well, Charlie seemed to be having so much fun that I thought to try it.
After all, you had taken her to learn to shoot, to a brothel, sat up all night drinking with her" She frowned as he seemed to pale further with each example of the "fun" he had shown Charlotte. "I thought I should like to try being a man for a day. So the morning after we arrived, we switched. Charlie played me, and I played Charles."
"I see," he murmured faintly and thought he actually might be beginning to. He vividly recalled the trip to his club that she spoke of. How could he not? It had been the first time that he had been with Charles and not found himself reluctantly attracted to the boy. Thinking on it now, he realized that that afternoon had also been the first time he had found himself attracted to who he had thought was Beth. It had actually been Charlotte. He had kissed her there for the first time, then they had gone to the theater that night and she had flirted horrifically with"But you were Beth again that night when we went to the theater?"