not be good enough. And if this man is discovered at Oak Hill, we will all pay the price.” She looked back at the young man. His lips moved, and she wondered if he had rallied enough to understand their conversation. She bent to listen to his slurred words.
“No more deaths because of the soldiers, mam’selle . I go with Reynard.”
Emily sat back on her heels and chewed her lower lip. She’d never been able to turn her back on someone who needed help. “How long would you leave him, Captain?”
“The moon, Anglaise . She will be bright by the time we repair the Sea Fox . Too dangerous to come back then. ’E must wait until our return at the next new moon.”
Three weeks. At least she would have tonight and tomorrow to nurse the man before she left for London. She should know by then if he was going to live. “I am willing to shelter him, but I cannot ask my people to take such a risk.”
“Mary will take the risk, Miss Emily,” Bridey whispered. “You know how she loves nursing. He’d not be fit to leave so soon anyways. And Mary told me she helped tend the sick at a hospital in London before she married Mr. Bart.”
“Perhaps I could delay Mr. Dodge.”
“No, miss. I wouldn’t put it past him to come to the house with a company of men to remove you. He’s already waited four days.”
Dear Lord! What would Ryan Sutton make of that? Well, she had to go to London. There was no way around it that would not put Oak Hill at risk. “We shall return once I discover what Mr. Dodge is up to.” She turned back to Reynard. Frenchmen, dear God! “Leave him then. We shall do everything we can, Captain.”
“That is why I brought ’im to you. The others I deal with—they are scum, yes? You are the only one I trust. Nine years I ’ave been coming ’ere. First your maman , and now you. I am indebted. Merci, Anglaise. ” His voice faltered with emotion.
Emily stood and addressed a group of waiting smugglers. “Put him in the dray.” Simon would have to come back for the rest of the brandy before daylight. She faced Reynard again with a weary sigh. “There is no debt, Captain.”
Reynard’s coal-dark eyes glittered for a moment before he blinked and clapped his hands together. “No charge tonight, eh?”
“Thank you, Captain, but I always pay my debts. Always.” She met his gaze and did not waver. She needed to make him understand that her help could not be bought, that it was hers to give or withhold and was entirely separate from their business arrangement. She took the cash from her pouch and emptied it into Reynard’s hand. “I shall take the rest of the brandy when you return—if I have the money.”
“Tonight, the special price, eh? This that you give me is enough.”
“I will pay you in full, Captain. Half now. Half later.”
Reynard stepped out of her way and nodded his understanding, a new respect evident in his demeanor. “As you wish, Anglaise .”
“What is his name, Captain?”
“Phillipe.”
“Does he have a last name?”
The captain’s voice quavered. “Reynard.”
…
It was near midnight on the night before her departure for London when Emily finished her simple list for the Barts of things to be done in her absence. She pushed her chair back from her desk. When Mr. Dodge arrived tomorrow morning to convey her to London, she did not want to risk any delays that would give the man access to the library. Though much improved by this afternoon, the young man resting in the hidden room behind the bookcase was still feverish and would occasionally groan or call out in his sleep.
Intending to check on her patient before going up to bed, she stood, turned to the bookcase and reached for the volume hiding the spring. A soft rustle behind her stayed her hand. Slowly, she turned.
There, with a crooked smile and a sparkle in his chestnut brown eyes, stood Ryan Sutton, the window open behind him. “Looking for bedtime reading, Miss Nevins?”
She surprised herself with a
Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Martin A. Lee, Bruce Shlain