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“But this house isn’t the normal house of a soldier,” she said.
Immediately she clamped her mouth closed and looked at him in silent apology when she realised how rude she had been.
“Most of the men here have been in the army,” Kerrigan assured her. “The house doesn’t belong to any of us. It belongs to the government. We just use it whenever we have a cause to be in town.”
“Like investigating Sayers?”
They all nodded.
“We need to go,” Jacob prompted, already drawing on his cloak.
Marguerite shivered and reluctantly tugged her own cloak on.
“Are you sure you are alright to do this? You haven’t rested properly. Although it looks like the fog is lifting, it is going to be dark soon.” Joe kept his voice low but couldn’t hide his concern. He was too busy studying the dark circles beneath her eyes and didn’t see the sharp look Jacob and Kerrigan exchanged. Neither man mentioned it, however. Instead, they looked at Marguerite curiously.
“Let’s go then, but stay close to Joe here,” Kerrigan murmured, slightly stunned by Joe’s possessiveness toward her.
“There is one more thing,” Joe said before they left to find their missing colleagues. “Just in case anything happens, Sayers thinks me and Marguerite are engaged.”
Kerrigan burst out laughing. Jacob hid his grin, but barely while Jacob snorted his disbelief.
“Good Lord, and all in one night two,” Brandon chortled as he clapped his colleague on the shoulder. “Just be grateful you didn’t have to stay for two nights, or else God knows what you could have committed yourself to.”
“A few children to go with the happy home no doubt,” Kerrigan added dryly with a cheeky wink for Marguerite.
She felt her cheeks burn but took no offense at their ribbing. In fact, the idea of it brought forth a rather pleasant rush that made their teasing much more bearable.
Once everyone had their cloaks on, Joe handed Marguerite the small gun and a handful of bullets.
“Remember, only use it when you have to.” He quickly showed her how to reload it.
“I know,” she said when he had finished.
Kerrigan coughed around his laughter. “Guns too?”
Joe rolled his eyes but had to agree with him. She had amazed him with how well she had handled the last day or so. Not only had she learned to shoot a gun, but she followed instructions to the letter, and nothing seemed to faze her. Now, here she was, tired, cold, probably still hungry, yet she was heading out into the inclement weather to help them search for Eustace.
Marguerite, unaware of his thoughts, followed everyone out of the house before Joe could change his mind. She was grateful that he was sticking to his agreement and prepared to help her look for her father, not least because she was very much aware now that she wouldn’t have been able to do it on her own.
“I think you need to consider that at some point during your father’s work, he has come into contact with Sayers,” Joe announced as they made their way to the back of the house, and the long row of stables where their horses waited.
“Who is he exactly? Sayers, I mean. When I was talking to him it became evident that his accent is dropped occasionally and a London accent filters into his manner of speech. I take it he isn’t Russian then?”
“No, he isn’t Russian.” Joe sighed, aware that his colleagues were listening. “He was born to a dockhand who still lives in the East End actually. I use the term ‘lives’ loosely, you understand? He is in prison at the moment serving time for theft and murder. It seems that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree because Sayers has entered the criminal lifestyle after him. Unfortunately for all of us normal people, he has thrived in the criminal underworld and gathered himself a veritable arm
y of miscreants who are willing and able to commit all sorts of crimes. His network stretches far and wide and, significantly, into people from all walks of life.”
“Aristocracy?” she asked weakly.
Joe nodded grimly. “Unfortunately, nobody wears a sign around their neck saying that they are involved in nefarious activities so unless they do something foolhardy, we are unlikely to know who is involved in Sayers’ criminal gang until they wind up dead. Normally, loved ones don’t know of their foray into the seedier side of life until their relation ends up dead. By then it is too late. Sayers has earned himself a vast fortune and has little interest or respect for those who get caught up in his schemes. If anybody winds up dead, then that is their loss, not his. He merely steps over them because there are usually ten other people he can bully into joining his network of thugs.”
“Do you think my father is one of them?” she whispered, horrified at the thought. Everything within her froze while she waited for him to look at her and give her the honest truth. She closed her eyes when he spoke.
“I am afraid it is looking that way. While I can’t say for certain, Sayers wants to get his hands on you quite desperately. If your father hasn’t already agreed to help the thug, Sayers might be keen to get his hands on you so he can persuade your father to co-operate.”
“What a horrible man,” she whispered.
Joe nodded. “Once we find your father, it might be wise for him to vanish for a while.”
