“Devil take it, I think he’s spotted us.”Indeed, the boy was staring straight at them.A heartbeat later, he was dashing toward the opposite side of Hanover Square.
Not waiting for orders, James went in pursuit.The boy was young and nimble, but James’s legs were longer.Plus, he knew Alfie’s goal would probably be to reach Saint Giles and disappear into the slum.
This suspicion was quickly confirmed when the boy dodged a carriage while sprinting straight across Oxford Street.James followed, heedless of those who cursed the reckless behavior.
Deciding to try and cut Alfie off, James veered left at the next intersection instead of following him through it.He quickened his pace, counting on the fact that there were no alleys the youth could slip through before he reached Tottenham Court Road, and praying he wouldn’t think to double back.
Three side streets later, James sprinted right and halted, his back pressed into the wall of the building behind him.He drew a ragged breath and ignored the almost painful pounding of his heart against his chest.
Alfie would have to come this way since the road he’d taken had no other exit.Resisting the temptation to look around the corner, James waited while trying to isolate the sound of approaching footfalls.
Hearing nothing but silence, he’d almost given up when the boy emerged, carefully stepping out of the street and producing a terrified yelp when he realized he wasn’t alone.
Before he could pivot and flee, James snatched him by the front of his jacket.“I’m in no mood to chase you all over creation, so the next time you try and run, I’ll take you straight to the nearest workhouse.Is that clear?”
Instead of responding, Alfie glared at James as though he were the cause behind his wretched existence.
“I want information from you, that’s all.”
A disbelieving snort followed along with a sneer.“Ye’re a toff who saw me pick another toff’s pockets.Only thing I sees ye doin’ is ’andin’ me over to Bow Street.”
“Tempting, that’s for sure.But I think I’d rather talk to you.More use in that.I’ll even give you five pounds for the trouble.Same as you got from that other fellow a couple of days ago, as long as you tell me what happened then.”
“I don’t know what you’re on about,” Alfie replied.
He tried to shake himself free from James’s grasp, only to end up dangling with his feet off the ground when James hoisted him upward.The boy began wheezing, then coughing.
James leaned in, his patience so thin it was dangerously close to snapping.“Was the woman you stole from wearing a lavender-blue pelisse?”
“How’s I supposed to know?”Alfie squirmed like a fish on the end of a hook.“It was just blue.”
“And her dress?”
“Pink, like her reticule.”
James lowered Alfie back onto his feet but didn’t release him.“What about the man who paid you to steal from her?”
“He was ’avin’ a bit of sport is all.No ’arm done.”
“Since the woman in question has since disappeared and you may have helped him abduct her, I disagree with you, lad.”He dug his fingers more firmly into the front of Alfie’s jacket.“Any idea who the man was?”
“That information will cost ye another five pounds.”
“Or,” James suggested, “I take you back to Croft House with me, lock you in the basement an—”
“Marsdale.”Alfie spat the name as though it were the key to his very survival.
A shiver rolled over James’s shoulders.Surely he must have misheard.“Marsdale?”
The level of terror on Alfie’s face was more appropriate to someone being dangled over the side of a cliff.“That’s what ’e said when I asked ’im ’ow I’d be sure not to get in trouble for doin’ as ’e asked.I swear it.Just please…let me go.”
James stared at the boy.“Are you certain that was the name he gave?”
“Yes.He was a bit shorter than you, slimmer too, and with lighter ‘air.You can check the callin’ card he gave me if ye don’t believe me.It’s in me pocket.”Alfie jutted his chin toward his left, his chest rising and falling in uneven bursts.
James reached inside the specified pocket and pulled out a cluster of items the boy had collected.Still holding him in his grasp, James sorted through all the bits and bobs as best he could until he found the card.
Edward Pryce, Earl of Marsdale, Number 2 Berkley Square.
