Page 73 of A Perilous Passion

He twisted the thong more tightly. “I’m feeling lots better now. Must have been a fishbone or something. But I can’t go to school this late. Mrs. Carboys won’t want to be disturbed in the middle of a lesson.”

At Charlotte’s snort of disbelief, he looked away, and his hand slid into his pocket, where it fidgeted nervously with something.

Curious, she asked, “What have you got in your pocket, Jacky?”

“Nothing!” he said quickly. “Nothing important or valuable. Or secret. I’ve done nothin’ wrong, Miss Allston, honest I haven’t.”

She knelt down, her interest piqued by the child’s blatant lies, and held out her palm. After a long hesitation, Jacky reluctantly dropped something small and shiny into it.

A coin.

As she examined it, the hairs on the back of her neck tingled. “Where did you get this half-sovereign?”

He shuffled his feet. “Can’t say.”

She captured his gaze. “Can’t say, or won’t?”

“He told me not to,” Jacky said anxiously. “On pain of death.”

She searched his nervous face. “Does your mama know about this?”

He shook his head vigorously. “The gentleman said it was secret, and I must save it for when I get married. But I don’t want to get married. I hate girls.”

Charlotte’s next question was stern but quiet. “What gentleman?”

“Telling’s more than my life’s worth.”

Why would a stranger give a small child a half-sovereign and order him to secrecy? Her pulse raced because she knew exactly why.

And her heart quailed at the thought of little Jacky being blown to bits when he went to earn his coin.

“Jacky, I have to ask you some very important questions. If I’m right, nod your head. If I’m wrong, shake it. That way, you won’t have to say anything out loud, and it won’t be telling. So you haven’t broken your word to the gentleman. Understand?”

Looking about warily, he nodded.

“The man who gave you this money, have you ever seen him before?”

Shake.

Not Culverdale then, but one of his cronies.

“Did the man talk with a strange accent?”

Vigorous nodding.

A French spy, then.

“Were you to start a big fire in return for the coin?”

Another nod.

Her heart thundered. “Did he show you where?”

Jacky nodded again, looking relieved, as if glad to unburden himself of his secret.

“Good boy. Now, you’re going to take a walk with me and Mama, and show me the place where the wood for the bonfire’s been stacked. Or as close as we can get without leaving the path.” She thought for a moment. “Let’s not tell Mama. It’ll be our secret. When we’re there, I want you to stop and pretend you’ve got a stone in your shoe. Understand?”

He nodded again. “Yes, Miss.”