To avoid suspicion, they navigated Leadenhall Street as if in no hurry. They laughed and stopped to look in the milliner’s window. Theo kept her close and whispered for her to run should the thugs attack.
With Fortune’s Den in their sights, Theo brought her to an abrupt halt at the entrance to the Saracen’s Head Inn.
“Wait until they come a little closer, “ he said, “then I shall confront them and demand to know who the devil hired them. We can’t afford for them to run.”
Eleanor could see the men out the corner of her eye. “Should we not call on Aaron first? We’re but a stone’s throw from the front door.”
He’d been itching for a fight ever since he was shot in the shoulder. He couldn’t tolerate being seen as weak.
“If these men have nothing to hide, it will be a brief conversation.” He made to usher her across the street. “Alert Aaron. Go now. I’ll be fine on my own.”
Eleanor turned her head, meeting the burly fellow’s gaze.
To avoid detection, he led his lackeys into the inn’s yard.
“Theo, you’re outnumbered.”
“I live on this street. I know all the men who work here.”
Every instinct said not to leave him. While struggling with her dilemma, the answer to her prayers left the confectioner’s shop and walked towards them.
Miss Lovelace noticed them and stopped. “Miss Darrow. How wonderful to see you looking so well.” She turned to Theo and inclined her head. “Mr Chance.”
Eleanor clutched the lady’s arm and whispered, “We desperately need your help. Would you call at Fortune’s Den and ask Aaron to join us at the Saracen’s Head. Tell him it’s urgent and relevant to the case. Go now. Hurry.”
Miss Lovelace frowned. “Are you in some sort of trouble?”
“I’ll explain later. There’s no time to lose.”
Eleanor as good as shooed the lady away.
Miss Lovelace raised the hem of her skirts and hurried across the street before hammering on the door of Fortune’s Den.
“Eleanor, go with Miss Lovelace.”
She gripped Theo’s arm. “I’m staying with you.”
After a brief exchange, they entered the yard. The men were leaning against the wall near the taproom door. The owner of the gold pocket watch straightened when he saw them.
Keeping her behind him, Theo strode up to the men and addressed their leader. “You’ve been following us for days. Tell me who hired you, and you can leave with your face intact.”
The lackeys gawped at their master.
“I don’t know what you mean, governor,” the bold brute said.
“Don’t lie. You were outside Pickins coffeehouse fifteen minutes ago, watching us drink our beverages.”
The thug laughed like Theo was a loon. “You’ve got me confused with someone else. I’m out for a stroll and to see a man about a dog.”
As the King of Hearts, Theo was kind and considerate. As the part-owner of a gaming hell and the brother of Aaron Chance, he could be the devil incarnate.
A darkness passed over his handsome features. He rose to his full height and lunged at the beast who dared to mock him. His fist connected with the man’s jaw, a punch that sent the fellow reeling and left his counterparts wondering what on earth to do.
One found the courage to strike. He was about to hit Theo when Eleanor whacked his hand with Miss Franklin’s book. “Touch him, and it will be the last thing you do.”
Panic ensued when Aaron Chance burst into the yard, looking like he could flay men alive with his obsidian glare. People hurried indoors and peered through dirty windows. Men scrambled to move carts and horses.
One fled but tripped over Miss Lovelace’s extended foot and hit the ground with a thud. The lady looked quite pleased with herself.
Sigmund grabbed the lout by the scruff of his coat and hauled him to his feet. “I’ll take this one to the basement,” he yelled before dragging the fellow away.
Aaron gripped the other scrawny devil by the throat. Though the man tried to fight, he was no match for one with an arm of steel. “We’ll question them in the fighting pit. It’s been a while since I flexed my fists.”
Theo scowled at the miscreants’ leader. “You’ll come with me to Fortune’s Den, or I’ll drag you there myself. As I said in the beginning, save yourself the trouble and tell us who hired you. Was it Berridge?”
The fellow held his hands up in surrender. “I ain’t a fighting man. I was paid to follow you about town and keep a list of the places you visited. Duncan and his brother”—he pointed to the man with his neck wedged between Aaron’s firm fingers—“are out of work and said they’d help.”
“Who hired you?” Theo demanded.
“If I tell you, I won’t get paid.”
“You’ll spend a month in the infirmary if you don’t.” Theo gave the man a few seconds to reply before adding, “Trust me, you don’t want to visit my brother’s basement.”
Shifting nervously, the beast wrung his hands before confessing. “She never gave her name. Her maid is friends with Duncan’s sister and knew we were men for hire.”
“Her maid?” Eleanor said, knowing the culprit was one of two people. “Was the lady young or of middling years?” Was Mrs Dunwoody looking for the means to hurt Theo? Was Lady Lucille worried they’d discover she’d paid her fiancé’s debts?
“She was young and pretty. Spoke like she had a peg on her nose. Had hair like spun gold. She spread her hanky out on the chair before she sat down.”
