“That must be him.” Seth exclaimed and turned. He sprinted out of the room and down the stairs, Winnifred and Victoria right behind him. The three stood and waited until someone knocked on the door.
As they watched Mr. Purvis open the door, Frances and Helena joined them in the hall. Purvis received the communication from the man whose cloak obscured his features. It was impossible to tell if he was the same one who had delivered the false notification of their siblings’ deaths. But it didn’t matter.
The moment he had handed over his notification, the man turned and dashed away, his cloak fluttering in the breeze.
Winnifred retrieved the letter from the butler and ripped it open. As her eyes scanned the note, she broke into a smile.
“Seth, send for Mr. Weston. This is the letter we have been waiting for.”
* * *
Frances sat on the chaise, the letter in her husband’s handwriting in her lap. Winnie could only imagine what it had to feel like for the woman. She didn’t want to marry him; he was forced upon her. Just like his life’s choices were forced upon her.
In a way, she was born into this role of gang leader’s bride the same way Vicky and I were born into our lives as daughters of a Baron. We all had so little choice over how our lives turned out, so little control. Always at the mercy of the men in our lives. But it doesn’t have to end that way for her. She can find freedom. She can make her own life. There’s no need for her to suffer anymore, not after this.
To think it would be Elton’s wife who finally brought about this turn of events was almost the most shocking thing to happen. When she first ventured into St. Giles from Mr. Markham’s office, she could not have imagined it would be so. How curious life could be.
“Mrs. Banks, may I?”
Winnie was still startled to learn the gang leader’s last name, Banks. She’d thought of him only as Elton until now. With a nod, the woman handed the letter to Mr. Weston.
I want my family. How clever of you to take them from me in exchange for your siblings. And how clever of you to figure out they are still alive. I venture to say it was Peter, that traitor, who told you. He will get his. But first—I want my family. I will admit I have been outwitted for now.
Meet me on Friday, at Hyde Park. We will meet at midnight on the north side of the Ring. No authorities. I stress this once more due to past experiences. If I so much as smell a Bow Street Runner, I will kill your siblings in front of you. So this time, you can be sure they are dead. Do not test me.
Elton
“Well, it sounds as though we are in control this time,” Seth said. Beside him, Mr. Weston lowered the letter and nodded his head.
“Indeed, it does. I am glad that you have included me in your planning, and I would like to suggest something that I know may not be very welcome here. In light of what happened recently.”
“We’re not having any Bow Street Runners but you involved. Not this time,” Victoria announced with determination in her voice. Seth could not help but smile at the young girl. Oh, how she had changed these past few days.
“I must agree with Victoria. We have asked you here because you have, indeed, been helpful to us, and you are truly the only one of your compatriots that has been trustworthy. In addition, Mr. Markham speaks very highly of you.”
Weston turned and nodded at Markham, who stood at the window, his arms crossed in front of his broad chest.
“Your Grace, I understand your concern. But this time, it is different. I have a plan. I want to present it to Mr. Henderson, and with Mr. Markham’s help, I am sure we can convince him to go with my plan if you approve it.”
Seth stepped from one foot to the other and closed his eyes as a trifling headache announced itself behind his right eyeball.
“We may as well listen to him.” Winnifred said, much to Seth’s surprise.
He blinked at her, and Victoria shook her head vigorously from side to side. “Winnifred, you cannot be serious.”
“Mr. Weston has not led us wrong thus far. We can at least hear him out.”
When nobody else objected, Weston nodded.
“Very well. My plan is this. We will arrive early, a small group of the Runners, handpicked by myself and Mr. Markham, who is familiar with all of them. We will hide and wait. It will be easy to disguise ourselves in the dark of night. Elton wants to meet at night, as opposed to the afternoon, as was the case at Vauxhall Gardens. We will wait for the exchange to be made, and then, as he leaves, we pounce. Simple as that.”
“Your last plan sounded just as simple, and look what happened,” Victoria complained.
Seth was about to agree with her when Frances cleared her throat.
“Your Grace, I know you gave your word that Helena and I would not be forced to return to my husband. But pray, how exactly would you get us back from him if we do not follow Mr. Weston’s plan? After all, to get your siblings, we’d have to switch places with them.”
Seth scratched his chin. “I plan to negotiate with your husband. Ensure that he first lets go of our siblings. I will not release you and your daughter until we have our siblings. He does not know that you don’t wish to return to him. He’s under the impression that we came and snatched you from your home and are keeping you hostage. Thus, I venture to say that I have a good possibility of having our siblings released first. Then when they’re in our possession, we will leave. Well, we may need to run rather than walk.”
