While some of the din quieted to a dull murmur when she entered, it didn’t take long before the crowd erupted into cheers and whistles of approval. Apparently, they weren’t worried about their eternal souls if they were eager to welcome a fallen nun into their midst.
Moving past the merriment above, she glanced toward a set of stairs that led down and heard the unmistakable sounds of shouting coming from below. “What’s going on down there?” she whispered to Amos.
“Bare knuckle fighting.”
“Oh.” Lexie was curious despite herself. She’d heard of such events before but had never had the opportunity to witness sucha violent sport. But since she was more interested in what had befallen Dominic, she said nothing more as Amos paused before an unmarked door.
He rapped sharply on the door, and it was opened in short order by a man who looked as though he’d had several bare knuckle matches in his day. The hard glint in his eyes was not very welcoming, but when his gaze flicked over her, he opened the door wider to allow her entrée.
She tentatively walked over the threshold and discovered that the room was filled with four more men similar to the one who had answered the summons. More interesting than that was the beaten man who was tied up in a chair, his head lolling on his shoulders as he tried to remain upright. If that wasn’t horrifying enough, Lexie’s glance slid to the man beyond the captive.
Dominic.
But no, that wasn’t right.
Thiswas Avalon, the famed criminal of the fearsome London underworld. Which meant that the men surrounding him in silent reverence must belong to the Blue Boys gang.
For a moment, Lexie wasn’t sure if she was impressed—or some other sensation that she couldn’t quite name.
As Avalon turned around and pinned her with a blank expression, as if he hadn’t just made love to her so passionately earlier that morning, she decided that her first reaction was annoyance. However, since he had to play a part to continue this ruse, she clenched her fists at her sides and held her tongue.
“Ah, here is your redeeming angel, Mr. Dartmouth.” He waved her closer. “I realize it is the job of the priest to deliver the last rites, but since this is the best I could gain on such short notice, perhaps she can pray for your miserable, worthless soul.”
Lexie had no idea how to properly pray for someone who was about to meet the Lord, but surely something would come to her. It was regrettable she didn’t have any rosary beads, but she wasn’t sure the man would notice at this point.
She kept her focus carefully averted from Dominic as she approached the man in the chair. She knelt by his side and made the sign of the cross. “Dear Heavenly Father?—”
“Damn your eyes, Avalon!” he abruptly growled, blood-laced spittle flying from his lips and landing on her habit.
Lexie gasped, but before she could react, she was jerked aside and Avalon took her place. Setting his face directly in the other man’s sight, he snapped, “Where. And perhaps once you kindly offer that information, I will ensure my Boys let you disappear from London. For good.”
Dominic had never hatedAvalon more than he did in this moment. He had hoped to spare Lexie the dark truth of his past, but there was no help for it. Mr. Dartmouth had refused to speak without a priest present. While Dominic knew it was a ploy to bide some time in case the man he worked for decided that his life was worth sparing, he’d had no choice but to play along with the ruse. Thus, he’d sent Amos out to procure a nun’s habit and retrieve Lexie, the only woman he could trust to not expose all of his secrets.
He hadn’t missed the flash of recognition in her gaze, nor the anger and frustration that had followed. She didn’t approve of Avalon and he would be inclined to agree with her. While the Blue Boys weren’t as ruthless as they had been made to appear, their actions had to be brutal on occasion out of necessity to keep the peace. That didn’t make it right, but it was one of the things that had to be done.
He hoped he would be able to soothe Lexie’s frustrations, but for now, he had to concentrate on the matter at hand. He was so close to uncovering who intended him harm and he couldn’t allow that information to be ignored.
After a bit of blubbering and a few curses for good measure,the man lifted his head and glared out of the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut. “We meet every Wednesday mornin’ just before dawn at th’ bridge crossin’ over th’ Serpentine in Hyde Park.”
“What does he look like?” Dominic was done asking questions. Now they were demands if the man valued his life.
“’E’s a toff. Neat beard. Yellow hair. But a nasty disposition.”
Dominic searched his brain to see if that description met anyone of his acquaintance, but he was drawing a blank. Perhaps because his mind was racing with too many possibilities to light on one for too long.
Retrieving the knife that Mr. Dartmouth had initially used on him, he grabbed his arm and brought him to his feet. He shoved him in the direction of one of the Blue Boys. “Take care of this one.”
Without a word, the men of the gang removed themselves from the room with their captive in tow.
The moment they were gone and the door shut, leaving him along with Amos and his fiery nun, she wasted no time in demanding, “What are they going to do to him?”
Rather than reply directly, he wondered what sort of opinion she held of him. Allowing his lips to twitch, he asked, “Does it matter? The world would likely be a better place if he was no longer involved in it.”
“But that’s not for you, or anyone else, to decide,” she returned emphatically.
He considered allowing her to continue thinking the worst, but he already had the answer he’d been searching for. “No. He will be set free, but for society’s sake, it will appear as though his body washes up on the shores of the Thames so that he can start anew. Let’s just hope he makes the right choices this time.”
Some of Lexie’s fury abated, but he could tell their discussions were far from over. He glanced at Amos. “Might I have a word with the lady in private?”
