The Hanover Square Affair (Capt. Lacey 1) by Ashley Gardner

Author:Ashley Gardner [Gardner, Ashley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ashley Gardner
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * * * *

Chapter Thirteen

I stopped short and looked down at her in astonishment. A squat man stumbled into me, then pushed past me with a curse.

“Why didn’t you say so?” I demanded.

“You never asked. You were pleased to go on about your Janes and Lilies and Charlottes.”

“Where is he?”

“Keep your trousers on, Captain. Or rather, no. I bet you’re handsome in your skin.”

“If you are going to babble nonsense, I’ll go home and keep my shillings.”

Nancy clung to my arm. “Wait a minute. I’m only teasing yer. I did it just like yer said. I hung about watching the nobs come to the theatre. I asked and asked about people called Carstairs until I found their coach. But the coachman was new. Only been coachin’ for the Carstairs for a couple weeks. Last coachman gave notice, you see, and went off.”

“Damn.”

She laughed and squeezed my arm. “Don’t fret, Captain. I kept plaguing him until he told me where the last coachman had gone. He drives for some cove called Barnstable or some such name. But I found him. This Barnstable goes to the opera, too. We’re fine pals now, Jemmy and me.”

“Jemmy is the coachman?”

“Well, it ain’t Mr. Barnstable, is it?” She snorted a laugh. “So I found him for ya. Where’s my two shillings?”

“I wanted him to pay a call on me.”

“Well, Jemmy don’t want to. Why would the likes of him be going to a gentleman’s rooms? No, I got him tucked away in a public ‘ouse. Said I’d come and fetch you.”

“All right, then. I’ll give you your money when I’ve spoken to him.”

“You’re a mean one. Come on, then. It ain’t far.”

She led me back toward Covent Garden market, closed now, through the square and to another narrow street. A pub with the sign of a rearing stallion stood halfway down the curved and aged lane, and Nancy took me inside.

The pub was crowded, with a stream of people coming and going. Burly lads in household livery were obviously footmen who’d stepped in for a pint while their masters and mistresses sat in the theatre watching plays or operas. They risked their places doing so—the master or mistress might want them at a moment’s notice—but they seemed content to take the chance.

Men and women of the working and servant classes lingered contentedly, talking loudly with friends, laughing at anecdotes. In the snug, a barmaid led a rousing song. Nance took me to a highbacked settle with a table drawn up to it. She smiled at the man sitting there before snuggling in beside him and plopping a kiss on his cheek.

“This is Jemmy. I brought the captain to yer.”

I slid onto the bench across from them. Jemmy was not a big man; he’d be perhaps a half-head taller than Nance when standing, but his black coat, shiny with wear, stretched over wide shoulders and tight muscles. His brown hair was greasy and fell lankly over his forehead. His wide face split into a grin at Nancy, showing canine teeth filed to points.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.