Too choked to answer, Finn lifted his arm and pointed. The Reverend craned his head forward and squinted, until suddenly he saw what the boy was looking at.
It was Flossy.
***
As Nate ran towards theWestern Star, he kept his pistol in his hand. Though he knew Reinhardt had spent all the shots, he couldn’t discount the possibility that the American had another gun onboard the ship. By the time he reached the gangplank, the sailors had stopped what they were doing and were watching him warily.
‘Where is he?’ Nate shouted. ‘I know he came onboard this ship.’
The nearest crewman shrugged and turned away, leaving Nate gritting his teeth. Did he dare go aboard? How would the crew react if he did? He’d just stepped onto the gangplank, throwing caution to the winds, when Reinhardt suddenly appeared.
‘Where is it?’ he screamed. ‘It was here, I know it.’ He spun round to the nearest sailor, waving his pistol in one hand and the locket he’d stolen from Mercy in the other. ‘One of you bastards must have had it. What have you done with the key?’ His voicehad reached a crescendo, and the same sailor who’d shrugged stepped menacingly towards him.
The Viscount had remained where he was, thinking Reinhardt had finally gone mad, but as soon as the American had yelled the wordkey, Nate abruptly remembered Flossy’s small trophy. With difficulty he dipped his hand into his pocket and brought out the tiny brass key the little dog had carried off the ship. Clearly, she’d found it in Reinhardt’s cabin.
‘Is this what you’re looking for?’ he shouted, holding his hand out, the key dangling from his fingers.
‘Give it to me,’ Reinhardt spat. Spittle was flying from his mouth and for the first time, Nate realised just how truly deranged the man was. ‘Give it to me,’ he screamed, lifting his pistol and pointing it.
Nate was aware it was the same spent pistol from earlier, so didn’t react. The sailor in the rigging above him, however, must have believed the gun was loaded. Leaning forward, he lazily pulled a pistol from the top of his own breeches and shot the American in the back.
Shock held Nate immobile as he watched Reinhardt topple forward onto the gunwale, surprise etched on his face. On colliding with the ship’s side, his body continued to slide and instinctively he reached out to grab hold of a rope, dropping the locket in the process. Realising what he’d done, Reinhardt cried out and lunged forward, trying to retrieve the necklace. Nate stared in horror as the American’s body did a slow cartwheel before tumbling into the water.
At the same time, Mercy’s locket somersaulted in the air, and landed on the gangplank at the Viscount’s feet.
***
Christian, Adam, Max and Gabriel arrived minutes later, and the next half an hour was spent in a tearful reunion between humans and humans, humans and dogs, and dogs and humans, by which time, Jamie arrived with a full contingent of Runners.
All in all, it was a very emotional thirty minutes.
After speaking with theWestern Star’scaptain, the magistrate was happy to agree that Reinhardt had been dispatched to prevent him going on a rampage of violence - or as the Reverend said afterwards, to stop him from putting a deuced pickle in the biscuit jar.
The body was fished out of the water and taken to the morgue where it would no doubt be buried in a pauper’s grave. Reinhardt’s belongings were removed from the ship and given over to Jamie.
Of the American’s two thugs for hire, there was no sign. Neither did the renegade clergyman show his face. The Reverend liked to think the Almighty had had a quiet word.
The next day, everyone convened in the Earl and Countess of Cottesmore’s townhouse, and no one mentioned that perhaps Lady Mercedes was sitting a little close to Viscount Carlingford, and even more scandalous, holding his hand as though she would never let it go.
On going through Reinhardt’s belongings, Jamie had found a letter from Mercedes Alfaro – Mercy’s mother.
It was addressed to Christian Stanhope.
With a sigh, Jamie handed the letter over to the Earl, who opened it without speaking. Five minutes later, he put themissive to one side and shook his head, clearly fighting tears. Chastity took hold of his hand, whispering, ‘What does it say, love?’
Christian squeezed her hand gratefully before getting up to hand the letter to Mercy.
‘Your mother wasn’t an orphan,’ he murmured hoarsely. ‘She came from an old and noble Mexican family named Alfaro.’
Mercy scanned the letter. ‘She couldn’t go home,’ the young woman cried. ‘Because of me.’
‘She loved you,’ her father insisted, firmly, ‘and she wanted you to have what was yours by right.’
Mercy shook her head, tears streaming down her face. Gripping Nate’s hand, she looked down again at the letter.
‘So where the devil did Reinhardt fit into all this smoky business?’ the Reverend interrupted. ‘And what was the deuced key Flossy found?’
Christian sat back down. ‘It appears that Mercedes wrote the letter to me not long after she delivered Mercy to my door. Unfortunately, I never received it.’
