“Because he is your brother, as am I. We will assist you, in spite of yourself. I have some available funds—” Elijah stopped speaking at Henry’s glare.
“You need your funds to find your sister. I will not interfere with that. It has been your deepest desire since I met you.” Henry turned to the window.
He was thankful for his friends, but once his funds were restored, he would no longer take advantage of their kindness. The carriage slowed as it approached White’s townhome. Henry’s mouth fell open at the sight in front of him.
“Stop the carriage!” He rapped furiously on the ceiling.
Before the carriage was fully stopped, Henry leapt out and ran toward the townhome. Mr. White was being dragged out by several constables and Bow Street Runners. At least twenty irate and hostile people stood outside of the townhome, screaming at White.
“Liar!”
“Where is my money?”
“You killed my brother!”
Henry walked through the crowd, bumping into several people. The sight of White being escorted out of the townhome, caused Henry’s rage to renew. This man had stolen everything from him, and he would pay.
Without another thought, Henry ran to the man and rammed his fist into White’s jaw. Someone wrenched Henry away, but he struggled to reach him again.
“You bastard,” he growled out, feeling immense satisfaction from the one punch that connected before he was stopped by the Runners.
“Henry! Let’s go find your mother and uncle.” Elijah took hold of his arm and led him through the crowd. As they pushed their way through, they saw many familiar faces. Henry’s family were not the only aristocrats who had believed in Pomais and the hope of adventure.
Once they were inside the house, they saw investigators crawling all over the place. Nothing was left untouched. Servants huddled in the hall, some in tears, clearly worried about their futures.
“You damn fool!” His mother’s shrill wail pierced the chaos.
Henry followed the sound to the parlor. When he reached them, he found his uncle hunched over in a chair, his body shaking with grief. His mother stood over him, her eyes wild and frantic. Her contempt and fury were directed at his uncle.
“I-I didn’t know. H-H-He was my friend,” his uncle muttered. The sight of him broken and downtrodden caused pain to spear Henry’s heart.
He was angry at the man for being so trusting, but he didn’t want this.
“Your friend robbed us of every single penny!” His mother threw her hands up, tears falling down her weathered face.
The evidence of vulnerability trailing down her face stunned him. In all his life, he had never seen his mother cry. Not when his father’s countless lovers dared to confront her, not when the paternity of his sister Amelia was revealed to the entire ton, and definitely not when his father died.
But now, with the crisp reality of destitution knocking on her door, her mask of indifference was gone.
His uncle looked up with red-rimmed eyes, his gaze locking on Henry. “There has to be some kind of mistake. White would never deceive me.”
Henry’s mother followed his gaze. Once she saw her son, her body began to crumple to the floor. “Henry, we’re ruined.”
He hurried over to her and caught her before she hit the ground. Although he was still upset with the pair of them, seeing them so defeated made him want to protect them.
“Everyone must vacate the premises within the hour!” a loud authoritative voice called out as Elijah entered the parlor.
“You must gather what you can, the authorities are seizing the house and all of White’s possessions.” Elijah looked from Henry’s mother to his uncle. “There isn’t much time, everyone must leave the premises.”
“Mother, Uncle, let’s get your things.” Henry practically dragged his mother to her feet and led her out of the parlor.
He could hear Elijah coax his uncle to rise. When they reached the wide-eyed bewildered servants in the hall, Henry found two familiar faces. “Sarah, Donald, can you please pack Mother’s and Uncle’s things, as well as your own. Please hurry.”
“Right away, my lord.” Donald, his uncle’s valet, took the maid by the arm and rushed her up the stairs past the other servants.
Henry’s mind swirled. He had to find somewhere for his mother and uncle to stay until they could figure out the mess that they had created.
He had no idea where to begin, but he knew there was one person he could depend on.
