Page 49 of The Gentlewoman Author

Chapter Twenty

Mary knocked on the splintered wooden door, behind which they hoped to find Louisa. They heard not even the scurry of a mouse in response.

Mary waited for three thunderous heartbeats and then pounded her fist against the door. “Louisa? Let me in. It is your aunt. Please?” The longer she and Daniel spent looking for the girl, the more Mary’s anger at her niece swelled. She swallowed her fury but continued abusing the door, knuckles burning, until a rustle sounded from within the house. “Someone is there.” She met Daniel’s eyes, drawing a measure of comfort from his apparent calm. “Thank you for not interfering with my outburst.” She rested her forehead against the door and closed her eyes as much as to forestall tears as to listen to what might be going on inside.

The door opened. She rubbed her knuckles and took in the man who stood before her. Clothed in dirty linen shirtsleeves and stained breeches, he wobbled before her, unshaven and unwashed. Before she could stop herself, she covered her nose. He smelled like a pig in a distillery.

“Where is Louisa?”

“How should I know?” he slurred.

Daniel stepped forward, his fists clenched, but Mary stopped him, her ladylike scruples buried in fury. She would handle Savage.

“You took Louisa and left Bath.” The dream from the night before still worried her. What if there were guns in the house?

“She spurned me, an unnatural, repulsive woman.” He took three unsteady steps back and stumbled into a chair, placing his head in his hands. He cried like a toddler who’d broken his toy.

“Let me help him remember.” Daniel’s eyes were flinty.

Mr. Savage took Louisa, but he’d also stollen Daniel’s horses. She would not begrudge him his revenge, but she didn’t like violence. “Don’t hurt him,” she said. “Not too much, anyway.”

Daniel strode into the house and clattered around the hearth. Would he find a poker and strike Mr. Savage over the head with it? Instead, he came forward with a bucket and dumped the contents over the drunken man’s head, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slapped one cheek then the next.

Mr. Savage blustered for a moment. “Stop!” he shouted at Daniel, who released him, sending Savage to the floor.

“Where is Louisa?” Mary asked again.

“I don’t know. She is possessed. I’ve never met such a vile creature.” His red eyes narrowed on Mary, as if it were her fault.

“Now we are getting somewhere.” Mary remained calm. “Tell me what happened. I want to know everything.”

After a little cajoling on Daniel’s part, Mr. Savage began his tale, stating that Louisa had begged him to take her to Gretna Green and then locked herself in a room at an inn in Stroud. Though no one could ever say Louisa was shrewd, under the circumstance, she had done well for herself.

“You left her in Stroud?” Daniel asked.

“At the Fox and Hound.” Savage was more himself now.

Stroud? They’d passed through the town, not stopping because their horses hadn’t needed rest. Oh! If only they had stopped. “Why leave her behind after ruining her, a gentle young lady with little idea of the world?”

He met Mary’s inquiry with a full sneer and scoffed with a dismissive puff of air through his lips. “I ruin a lady? Louisa is no lady. She ensnared me, and my intentions were purely for marriage.”

Mary did not want to believe it, but she wondered.

Daniel snorted. “You are nearly twenty-five years old. Are you telling me that a chit of only seventeen tricked you into running off with her with the intent of escaping from you afterward? You did it for her money, to pay your debts and restore your sister’s dowry.”

Mr. Savage looked away.

“What will you do now?” Daniel’s voice was gentler.

“I can’t go back home until I’ve money. I can’t go anywhere.” Savage’s tone was bitter.

Daniel rubbed his chin. “I can get you employment, but the position may take you overseas. It won’t pay much at first, but it’ll get you on your feet, and if you do well, you will return to the country with your pockets lined. I’m certain you have something you can sell for your sister’s dowry, and you’ll employ someone to look after your estate.” With a sharp glimmer of hope, Mr. Savage’s eyes met Daniel’s. “The minute you enter a gambling house, I will charge you for horse theft. The manager has eyes everywhere and will know. You cannot afford a misstep.” Savage looked at the floor and nodded. “I will return tomorrow to discuss details. In the meantime, you need a wash.”

Daniel took Mary by her elbow, and together, they walked through the door and repositioned themselves in the carriage.

Mary sank into her seat. “She is not with him. I do not know how to feel.”

“It is a good sign, I think,” he said.