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“Never!” he said consolingly biting his tongue. “But please be careful.”
“I know. Peggy has already given me the lecture, and I am well aware that it was reckless. Still, I would do it again just to have that list.”
Mr. Crowley took the list and looked at it. Then he looked back at Marilee. “Do not do such a thing again,” he scolded. “No matter what the gain, it is not worth your life.”
“I won’t,” she promised.
“You are precious to me,” he muttered, and Marilee felt her heart soar.
“Please say that it is enough,” Peggy worried from the corner. “Say that the magistrate will see these criminals punished for their crimes.”
Mr. Crowley grimaced and shook his head. “I cannot say until I can inspect the contents away from this wretched place and investigate the names. This might help me locate some of the others, but unless I can make sense of the bank notes… I am afraid that it gives little opportunity to dissect the scheme, and until that is done, I’m afraid that confronting the culprits would be useless.”
“Then you haven’t heard of the three sparrows?” Marilee said with audible distress.
He shook his head. “The lady must be taking the notes to a lender and having them transferred so as to hide the trail. The payments that she has brought me have been in coin, not receipts.”
“Another dead end,” Peggy said with a growl. “Damn!” she swore hotly, her eyes misting, and Marilee caught her hand sympathetically.
“Not quite,” he grinned. “I now have something to investigate. If I can use my contacts to locate this source, then the jig may be up at last.”
“The three sparrows must have a seedy rapport indeed if Lady Lydia knows enough to hide the trail,” Marilee replied. “Do your contacts sink so far south as to access such knowledge?” She doubted it. Mr. Crowley was a good man through and through. He seemed to keep his hands well clean of London’s underbelly.
He gave a short laugh. “More than you know,” he said enigmatically. “And I have a few favors to call in that might be of some help in the discovery.”
Marilee could not decide whether this knowledge increased her estimation of Mr. Crowley’s prowess or if it made her fearful for his safety. A little of each if she were to be honest with herself. The fact that he was willing to go to such lengths to help them, to put a stop to this horrible trade in human life right in the center of London’ston, was remarkable. Still, a single word to the wrong person could mean that the kindly gentleman would find himself with a knife to his back. Not to mention that he was already in a tenuous situation after attacking Lord Edward in her defense. Protection of a maid or not, there would be no leniency to a commoner for such behavior. Proven guilt was a hanging offense. That thought brought a chill to her already shaking bones. She hated to think that any harm might come to him. Although she had tried to deny it even to herself, she had come to care for the man. Both she and Peggy begged him to be careful, even to keep his distance from the house until all had blown over. And yet, if he did not take such risks then there might be no hope for escape for the very same reasons that she herself had deemed her stealth play to be worth the cut. Not for herself, nor Peggy, nor Miss Caroline, not to mention the dozens of other girls held captive here and perhaps elsewhere.
That evening, Peggy joined the pair in the small, walled garden. She seemed remiss to leave Marilee’s side after the near-miss that afternoon, or perhaps she just wanted the company herself, and Marilee did not mind.
* * *
Nikolas promisedthat he could handle any of Lord Edward’s claims, but the women exchanged worried glances. Marilee felt that his words were simply male bravado for their benefit. All three knew that if Lord Edward pressed charges against him, there was little hope of his escaping the recriminations, whether that was jail, deportation or the noose was anyone’s guess. Marilee tried not to think of it.
“There were none to witness save Kate, and they would be fools to call her to witness for everything else that she could reveal about this house,” he had argued. “Lord Edward may not know your condition, but Lady Lydia would never allow it. Besides, this is not Lord Edward’s house. Would he admit to Lady Lydia that he had been mauling you in a corridor?
“Perhaps not,” Marilee agreed feeling slightly less panicked.
“More importantly, you must consider the risk you took today to gather this information, Kate.”
“I’m fine,” Marilee repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. “Honestly,” she laughed, “you two are like a pair of mother hens. Shall you cluck at Nick as well, Peggy, when he starts asking more questions amongst the nefarious lot?”
“I certainly shall,” Peggy scoffed. “I cannot imagine that you would not ring a fine peel over him if he speaks too freely and turns an eye in his direction. We cannot aide him from within these walls, and if he is caught, we are all lost.”
Nikolas sobered. “I give you my vow to be careful and act with caution.”
“You had better,” Marilee snapped before she could help herself. Peggy crossed her arms in satisfaction, having proven her point.
“I have no intention of being reckless.” He was seated between the females upon the harsh stone bench and was feeling the full force of their concern. With the next move to be made at his hand, he could see that they felt helpless. “The results reach further than my own neck. I am aware.” Yes, Marilee thought. If Mr. Crowley were to fail, to reveal their plot to the wrong sort, it would mean more than his own demise. Peggy and Marilee could be caught in the draw and then any hope of their escape would be dashed in an instant. They could be split up and transferred to other locations, or worse things that she did not wish to dwell upon.
“My brother has an acquaintance that, how shall I say it… collects information for the magistrate.” He gave a slight shrug. “I shall begin there and see if these three sparrows can be located. Or, at the very least, find out which financier is converting Lady Lydia’s banknotes.”
“Your brother in Northwick?” Marilee asked carefully. Peggy was still blissfully unaware that Marilee and Mr. Crowley possessed a mutual acquaintance. She had grown to love Peggy and did not wish her friend to have any additional knowledge of Marilee’s previous life that could put her in harm’s way. She wished that Nick’s knowledge could be withdrawn, but there was nothing for it. The best that she could do was to pretend that she merely recalled that he had mentioned a brother, not that she knew the doctor quite well.
Nikolas narrowed his eyes slightly, catching the generalization of her phrase. “No,” he replied with a curt shake of his head. “If you’ll recall, I told you that I have two brothers. The other is here in London, for the most part. Perhaps he can help me. We will see an outcome for better or for worse.”
On that note, he bid his farewell. It was late, and the snow had begun to fall. He tucked his scarf more securely about his neck and took his leave.
The ladies waved him off at the stair and began to walk arm-in-arm back toward their quarters.
