CHAPTER 28
Michael laid low on his belly on a grassy hill, looking into the spyglass.
Shaw’s estate was akin to Cheswick House with grand stairs leading to the main door, and stylish Composite columns and wings that extended outward. In essence, it reeked of new money. Not that he had anything against the emergence of rich merchants. In fact, he thought it was a long overdue change. But this one flaunted wealth without shame or decorum.
The intelligence he’d gathered revealed that Shaw had an English grandmother who had once been a high-end whore. And, a French grandfather who made his fortune as a merchant. Their wealthy and only surviving daughter married an Englishman and sired Shaw.
But from what he could gather, he had no loyalties to either country, which made him a perfect accomplice for the right price.
There on the west end, servants were scurrying about transporting wares from the vendors that had just arrived to deliver their goods. No doubt for the upcoming ball. Not far from the servants entrance sat a large stable with several horses and two carriages.
He checked each window and door and scanned for any movements other than the servants, hoping he’d see a sign of Emma. Just then, through his spyglass, he spotted a butler exiting the house through the servants’ door. He proceeded to reprimand the footman who had just shamelessly pinched a young maid’s arse.
Michael shifted his focus and spotted an impeccably dressed man walking out of the front door. The target raked this hand through his hair and pulled out his pocket watch to check the time.
You must be Shaw.
Shaw’s steps were quick, impatient and uneasy. The target proceeded to rub his temple and pace the front door several times before heading back inside again.
Perhaps his plan wasn’t going as scheduled.
Michael looked on….
* * *
It was a risk Tomkin had to take, but it was either Shaw’s estate, or hazard being seen while he looked for a place to hide until their departure. With Emma in tow, he decided to turn to Shaw.
By now, Hansford should be dead or bleeding to death, he thought with a wide grin. That’s what you get for snooping around where you aren’t welcome. Reflecting back, he surmised Hansford may have been the one who removed the missive from his study. There wasn’t anything on it that would incriminate him, not without a full story.
Shaw entered the small guest room at the east end of his wing and quietly closed the door. “You are a fool to come here, especially with her. I want her removed from my property this instant.”
“I’m afraid that isn’t possible.” Tomkin looked back at Emma who was tied down to a wooden chair and gagged.
Shaw paced the room, glaring at his partner. “I have dozens of servants roaming the halls. She will be discovered.”
“Calm down. There is no reason for them to question her presence here. We are guests for tomorrow’s masquerade ball, remember that.”
“Christ, I hate it when you do this,” Shaw barked. “Changing plans without consulting with me first. Do you realize what I am risking here?”
“Lower your voice. We’re all in this together and when it’s over, you will be handsomely compensated.”
Shaw stopped pacing the room and looked squarely Tomkin. “It’s not enough. I don’t want just any title, I demand a dukedom. I want more land, more than we had previously agreed on. And, I want that sniveling, over-indulgent pompous Prinny to suffer for humiliating me the way he did last Season.”
“Indeed,” Tomkin said. “You will have it all when this is over.”
“And that bitch….” Shaw pointed his finger at her. “She will remain in this room for the duration of the ball. Or I will take care of her myself.”
“Take caution,” Tomkin warned.
“Do not order me about in my own house,” Shaw blurted out. “Hear me now, I always—always—ensure my survival in the end, so make sure this goes well for your own sake,” Shaw warned.
Tomkin narrowed his eyes at Shaw. You sniveling fool. This isn’t the time. He forced his emotions back down and allowed them to settle back into a ripple as he had done countless times. “She will remain in this room. I will make sure of it.”
Shaw pointed his finger at Emma. “Good.”
Emma was certain if she was left alone with Shaw, he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her. She had seen the cool rage boiling beneath Tomkin’s exterior recoil. He banked his wrath well. That kind of control scared her more than anything.
“If you promise to be very quiet, I will untie the gag.” When she shook her head, he unfastened the choke and tossed the restraint on the bed. But he didn’t unbind her hands.
“You succumb to your emotions too easily, child. You are simply too much like your mother.”
“You don’t deserve to speak of my mother,” she snapped. “She was beautiful and she loved my father—they loved each other—not that you know what it means to truly love someone.”
“And you do?”
She looked away from him.
“Oh, my foolish, foolish child. You need to see the world for what it is. Don’t you see, you will better off with me?”
“I’d rather rot in prison than go with you.”
“If you’d spent even a single day in Newgate, you’d see things a little differently. Life in prison has a way of churning a soul into a retched animal.” He shook his head.
“You speak from experience?” she bit back.
Tomkin reached out to touch the lose tendril of her hair, and she pulled away. “It will take some time, but you will come around I am sure of it.” Tomkin walked to the bed where he placed his satchel and dug through it looking for something. Smiling wide, he pulled out a long metal pipe with an opening that protruded out about two-thirds way down the pipe.
Emma said, “What is that?”
“It’s a pipe.” He approached her. “I have just enough to help you relax, I promise.”
“What is in there?”
“You don’t need to concern yourself with that, my dear girl.”
Knowing she could not win by resisting him, she thought about negotiating. “There is no need for this. Clearly, I am not going anywhere.” That didn’t seem to convince him. “How do you expect me to trust you, if you won’t give me the chance to prove myself?”
He studied her words carefully. He shook his head. “Tsk, tsk, tsk…nice try, but I am afraid this is the only way.”
With that she watched him prepare the pipe as her blood quickly rushed to her chest in panic.