“I will. Will you go to Bristol?”
Beau stared at him for a moment, his heart hitting his shoes.
Bloody hell. Bristol. Theo was supposed to be at Bristol. But Pip was here where she could be in imminent danger if those people learned of her connection to the government action. He could help either place. He wanted to help both.
He didn’t know what to do. God, he did not know what to do.
20
He stayed.
As Drake reminded him, while they sat in Drake’s parlor being watched over by frisky angels, Theo would have the army to assist him at Bristol. There was no way they were going to leave the safety of the Prince of Wales to a handful of gentlemen spies, even if they had been successful in rooting out the conspiracy. As soon as he dispatched the flurry of messages to all parties involved, Drake would assist as well. After all. The Prince of Wales. Alex Knight could be dispatched to Portsmouth to oversee operations there with the home guard and revenue officers, and Ian Ferguson back to Plymouth as fast as possible.
“I would rather you not be involved at Bristol,” Drake said, leaning back in his chair. “Might strain your patience too much. We’ll send him up as soon as we separate him out. Why don’t you maintain vigilance along with Braxton at the asylum and report to Hilliard, since that project is under his Household Army. If the Lions catch a whiff of our movements, they might try to cut their losses there.”
And Beau had thought he couldn’t feel any worse.
But before he could protest, Drake was on his feet. “In fact, why don’t you head over to see him now? Organize the response if we find we need to go in. If there is a danger of losing any of the women, we won’t be able to wait. Hilliard cannot afford to lose Schroeder.”
Beau followed Drake to his feet. “And I cannot afford to lose my wife.”
He almost stopped breathing. He hadn’t exaggerated, he thought. He had survived believing that Theo had died. He doubted he would Pip. He might well lose her to Theo. He wouldn’t even consider losing her to death.
* * *
If Pip learnednothing else changing beds and cleaning out chamberpots, it was that no matter what Beau paid his staff, it was not enough. She couldn’t imagine being more exhausted. And then on top of her regular chores, she made it a point to claim the quieting rooms as part of her purview. Considering how much trouble she was having trying to eradicate that smell, she wasn’t surprised that no one challenged her for them. Matron’s only restriction for her was that she was only allowed into the rooms once they had been vacated.
She did not obey that directive. Along with her mop and bucket and scrub brush, she managed to smuggle in some food. Nothing fancy. Bread and cheese and a wrinkled apple or two. From the reaction she got, it could have been manna.
She hated this. She hated the fact that every time she opened those doors, their occupants would be huddled in the corner in the cold darkness. She hated that she could already see that Miss Schroeder was losing weight, and that Mrs. Baxter was beginning to look vacant and disconnected.
“How long has she been in here, Miss Schroeder?” she asked, since Mrs. Baxter just shook her head when asked.
Miss Schroeder lifted an eyebrow. “Considering the fact that I expect you to help me escape this hovel, do you not think you could see your way to calling me Barbara?”
To be truthful, Pip had never imagined it. But since Miss Schroeder—Barbara—was sitting on the floor tearing bread apart and gnawing on it like a badger, she supposed it wasn’t too outlandish a request.
“How long, Barbara?”
She got a smile, even as her teacher kept chewing. And then, to show how far they had fallen, she spoke with her mouth full. “Well, I was put here some eight days ago, I believe. It is difficult to gage days in the dark. She came two days after.”
“Have you heard anything from staff about the Lions?”
Barbara shook her head. “They only appear once a day to drop off food and empty the chamberpots, and they don’t waste their time speaking to us. Although I get the strong impression that the good doctor works alongside Matron and the male guards to keep the Lion wives in control.”
Pip’s eyes widened. “The men?”
She shook her head. “They haven’t bothered me. But there are others.”
“I saw five red cards besides yours.”
“In this I suspect they are egalitarian.”
Pip kept thinking she couldn’t be any angrier. She kept being wrong. Pip made a vow that she would be leaving this hellhole with them if she had to free every woman in the place.
Considering how every woman was being treated here, that might not be a bad idea. Although, since many of the families would just send their women to another facility, possibly futile.
After the first day with no contact from Diccan, no intervention, Pip took her walk around the campus, looking for a familiar face, wishing desperately for someone to talk to. No, she realized. Not someone. A particular one. She wanted a chance to sit with Beau and share everything. She wanted his opinion. More, she wanted his support. His comfort, even if he could only provide it in the dark.
