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And her husband had been correct—people insidewerearguing, vociferously. From this vantage point, she couldn’t see them but could make out a portion of the interior chamber. Crates were shoved up against the rough walls and a few dozen barrels of what appeared to be whisky were stacked on top of each other.
“No one on the right side,” she whispered over her shoulder.
The voices were coming from near the entrance to the chamber. One was Arthur’s.
“And what the hell are we supposed to do now?” he angrily exclaimed. “This whole night has been a spectacular cock-up.”
Samantha closed her eyes and sucked in a calming breath. Roger’s best friend had betrayed him, a fact she still could hardly believe. But hearing his voice made it all too real. It harrowed her with sorrow but also made her want to carve him into bits.
When Braden gently squeezed her shoulder in silent support, she forced herself to focus completely on the voices instead of her fury.
“What the hell did ye expect Becky to do?” came another male voice. “The Penwith bitch obviously figured it out. And that’s because ye and that moron Haxton didn’t cover yer bleedin’ tracks.”
Samantha felt Braden tense behind her. He recognized that voice, as did she. It was one of the men who’d confronted them that night in the slums, when they’d first tried to get to the Hanging Judge.
MacGowan.
“I didn’t expect her to kidnap Felicity,” Arthur snapped back. “Rebecca, what the hell were you thinking? Why do such a criminally stupid thing?”
“Dinna ye be blastin’ my sister like that, ye bloody ponce. I’ll slit yer feckin’ throat.”
“Oh, I’m shaking in my boots,” Arthur replied. “Whatever you think, the fact remains that Rebecca’s foolish actions have put us all in mortal danger. Abducting the girl will bring the entire Kendrick clan down on our heads.”
“I was trying to protect you and my brother,” Girvin said in freezing tones. “It was obvious that Mrs. Kendrick had the scent.”
“So you kidnapped her bloody sister?” Arthur snapped. “Just brilliant. Why didn’t you bring the entire Edinburgh Constabulary after us while you were at it?”
“It was yer bloody job to keep the law off our backs,” MacGowan butted in. “Yer doin’ a piss-poor job of it.”
“As usual, you don’t know a damn thing,” Arthur replied.
“Just stop this,” Girvin said. “Right now, we need a plan to get out of Edinburgh. We have Felicity for leverage, and the Kendricks don’t yet know where we are. Time is still on our side.”
“Do you really think we’re safe down here?” Arthur said. “Why hasn’t the man you sent to kill Haxton returned? They’re onto us, I tell you.”
Arthur’s pertinent observation led to a few moments of silence.
“Boss,” said a new voice. “Do ye want me to go to Haxton’s and find out what happened to Billy?”
Braden and Samantha flattened themselves against the tunnel wall. If MacGowan sent someone out—
“Don’t be a fool,” Arthur exclaimed. “If Billy didn’t come back, he failed to kill Haxton. Sending someone else then will make matters worse.”
“Oy, don’t be tellin’ me what I can do, ye bloody bastard,” MacGowan barked.
That set off a vigorous round of yelling, with Girvin, from the sounds of it, trying to intervene.
“Now’s your chance, love,” Braden whispered.
Samantha inched forward and popped her head around the corner.
She caught a glimpse of a high, wide chamber with corners shrouded in darkness, but the center lit with multiple oil lamps. A few coal braziers, obviously intended more for heat than light, imparted a smoky haze over the room. More crates and barrels were haphazardly stacked around the chamber, and a number of cots were shoved against the wall.
Huddled on those cots were Felicity and four of the orphanage children. Their gazes were tense as they listened to the arguing adults who were clustered around a table in the center of the room.
Swallowing a gasp of relief, Samantha pulled back and leaned for a moment against Braden.
His arm circled her waist, and his mouth was close to her ear. “Did you see her?”
