“What’ll it be?”
The man now before her was as large as the one at her side, with huge hands braced on the wood. He had the look ofsomeone who had seen everything life had thrown at him and wasn’t terribly impressed by it.
“Three ales, please,” Lord Stafford said, and Alice wondered if one was for her, but doubted it.
With the drinks, they made their way to the booth, where the tall, thin Huckle sat.
When Alice had first begun investigating Kenneth Jackson, she’d gone directly to Blackwood Hall. No one there had known where to find the housemaster and all were unwilling to speak of the years that had clearly put a dark stain on the Hall’s reputation. One week later she’d received a note from Huckle. It had told her to come to the park near her street in London. He’d then explained that he’d worked at Blackwood Hall when Jackson had been a housemaster and had seen much.
Alice had not pushed for more information about if he’d suffered too. She’d also never questioned Huckle as to who had directed him to her. For now, it was enough she had someone who knew Jackson. Since that day, she’d paid him handsomely to dig up any information he could on the man. Thus far, Jackson had remained elusive. She hoped that was about to change.
Chapter Thirteen
Jamie had arrivedat the Black Dog early, after making one more stop on the way to chase a lead on Jackson. Like the others, it had come to nothing.
Every instinct in him rebelled at the sight of Lady Alice in a place like this. It was dirty, loud, and crawling with danger. But experience told him that ordering her to leave would be a waste of breath. Even on short acquaintance, he already knew she was the sort of woman who did exactly as she pleased.
One of his sisters was the same. He’d spent a lot of time with Briar growing up, following her around and then extracting her from the trouble she sometimes fell in.
Jamie felt a small measure of relief that her large, surly footman was at least keeping her company, but if anything went wrong and they got into a fight with a handful of men, then what would happen to her? The thought made him go cold.
One look in her eyes when they’d met outside and Jamie had known she was not as calm as she wanted him to believe. But she held herself still, unlike one of his sisters who waved her hands about when agitated.
He slid into the seat opposite the man Lady Alice had said was awaiting her. She took the space next to him, and Ezra stood, arms folded, and glared from beside her, effectively blocking her from leaving until he was ready for her to do so.Good man.
“You sent word you wished to speak to me, Huckle?”
Jamie, who had been looking around them, snapped his gaze back to the man across from them.
“Huckle?” He was almost unrecognizable from the boy who had once collected their laundry daily at Blackwood Hall. He was losing his hair and had lines on his face that had not been there when last they’d seen each other. But it was his height that shocked Jamie the most. He’d been small as a child, but now he was tall, with broad shoulders.
“Aye, ’tis I, Lord Stafford.” Huckle bobbed his head.
Jamie looked at Lady Alice and then back to the man who had taken beatings right alongside him, and no doubt they had continued after Jamie, Anthony, and Toby’s had ceased. They’d shielded him as best they could, and yet had been unable to save him completely. He’d then been moved to different lodgings and they’d not seen much of him after that.
“I—you’re well?” Jamie didn’t know what else to say in that moment, because he was suddenly ridiculously pleased to see the man before him. Like him and his friends, Huckle had survived, it seemed. But, he was sure, also like him, Huckle had memories that haunted him too.
“I am, thank you, Lord Stafford, but I’d be better if you found that”—he shot Lady Alice a look—“nasty individual, and rid the world of him.”
“Agreed,” Lady Alice said. “What news do you have for us, Huckle?”
“You work for Lady Alice?” Jamie asked, ignoring her.
Huckle nodded. “I have been searching for him on her behalf, my lord. In between working with my father, and I think I may have something.”
“What business does your father have, Huckle?”
“He is a corn chandler, my lord.”
Jamie wasn’t entirely certain why a sense of ease settled over him upon learning that Huckle now worked with his father,weighing and measuring dry goods for households. Yet it did. He had thought of the boy often—one among many who had suffered—and wondered what had become of him. Now, at last, he knew.
“Excellent. Where is the business located?”
Lady Alice waited patiently while Huckle gave him the address. Jamie would from now on ensure his and his friends’ households got their supplies from there.
“Now, tell us what information you found, Huckle?” Jamie asked.
She didn’t flick her fingers or move in her seat, because he would have felt her, as their legs were brushing in the cramped seat. Lady Alice had her hands settled in her lap and watched Huckle as Jamie did.
