"We"re going to get her free, Hil," Roger said, his voice shaking with determination. "If we cannot find the killer, then we will get her acquitted. We will. There is no other alternative."
"We better," Lyttle said, calmer than the others. He didn"t know Eleanor yet. "If we don"t, she"ll hang." The other occupants of the room turned to glare at him. He held up his hands defensively. "I just want everyone here to know the stakes. This isn"t a jolly lark, helping Hil find a killer. Your Eleanor"s life is at stake. And they like to get these trials over with. Even if we get her out, it will only be for a few days. They"ll try her next week, when the court goes into session on Tuesday. If she"s found guilty, they"ll hang her by Sat.u.r.day."
Hil had to lean against the wall and rest his hands on his knees as he bent over, trying to clear the spots from his eyesight. "Vickery said next Friday"s docket."
"He was wrong. The court goes in session on Tuesday, and they"ll try this one first, since it"s caught the attention of the public."
Hil was shaking. He"d never felt so helpless. He"d bl.u.s.tered and bullied his way into Windsor, and made promises he had no idea how to keep.
"I will not fail her," he said to himself, though he spoke out loud. "I will not."
"They have to let her go today," Roger said in a shaking voice. "Harry is inconsolable without her."
"It won"t do for her barrister to sound frightened," Wiley said. "I"m sure she"s scared enough as it is. Get yourself together, man, before you see her."
"It"s just that I know what can happen," Roger said. "I"ve seen it. They rush through these trials and, as it"s a capital crime, she"ll be executed, just as Lyttle says. She"ll be dead in less than a fortnight if I don"t do something! What am I going to tell Harry?"
"Calm down," Hil barked, getting his own equilibrium back. "She will not hang. You and I, and Lyttle, and Alasdair and Wiley, and every other resource at my disposal will be focused on one thing and one thing only-proving she didn"t kill him. We will succeed."
Roger moved in close, his eyes darting from side to side. "We can get her out of here," he whispered. "Out of London."
"You cannot," Hil told him firmly. "You risk your own neck. Helping a convicted murderer escape is also a capital offense. What will I tell Harry as we all hang together?" Not that he hadn"t thought of the idea already. He would set plans in motion today, in case she was indeed convicted. He looked at Wiley, who was watching him closely. At Hil"s look he nodded. He knew what to do. She would not hang. Hil would die before he"d see that happen.
A carriage pulled up outside, the sound carrying through the open window. Still open for Eleanor. His heart constricted in his chest. There was a knock at the door and he heard Mandrake answer it. All the men in the room were looking at one another warily. Who could it be? No one was likely to pay a call here before the trial, especially at this early hour.
The voice coming from the entry shocked Hil, and he turned to face the door. Inspector Townsend from Bow Street entered and smiled at the a.s.sembled men. He was short and fat and quite, quite eccentric in a flaxen wig, cream-colored suit with knee breeches, and a broad-brimmed white hat. He was also a member of the king"s inner circle. He probably knew more secrets than Hil.
"Inspector Townsend, sir," the butler intoned from the doorway.
"Thank you, Mandrake," Roger said, and he left, closing the door behind him.
"Good morning, gentlemen," Townsend said pleasantly. "Having a war council, are we?" He removed his hat and adjusted his wig. He waved his hat at a chair. "May I?" Without waiting for approval, he sat down. "Have you any tea? I was awakened quite early this morning." He pointed at Hil. "On your behalf, mind. Our mutual friend sent me to a.s.sist you."
"Did he?" Hil asked, feigning disinterest. "I fail to see how."
"Now, don"t go all uppity on me," Townsend said. He looked at Wiley. "Tea?"
"What? Do I look like the mother?" Wiley complained. He stood up, marched to the door, and opened it. "Tea," he called out and then shut it firmly again and sat back down.
"Our mutual friend simply thought it would be in the best interest of Bow Street to find the real killer. Although I"m not convinced it"s not your Mrs. Fairchild." He paused and looked at Roger. "Care to tell me more about that? Seems there"s no history of a Mrs. Elizabeth Fairchild in relation to your wife"s family, Mr. Templeton."
"Is this an official interrogation?" Lyttle asked.
"Playing the lawyer, are you?" Townsend shot back. "Fine. No. I"m here on my own time, not in connection with the case. Not my case, is it? I didn"t arrest her."
Lyttle looked at Roger and some silent communication occurred. Lyttle nodded.
"Here now," Hil said, "consider your words, Roger."
"So you know, too?" Townsend asked Hil. "Of course you do. The great Sir Hilary wouldn"t get involved with a mystery woman without solving the mystery first."
"Hil, do you think he can help?" Roger asked, eyeing Townsend with some trepidation.
Hil honestly didn"t know. But the more men working the case, the better. Townsend may look the fool, but he was intelligent, and a d.a.m.n good investigator. He didn"t catch the king"s eye for nothing. He made a decision. "I don"t know, but tell him. He certainly won"t be any help if he doesn"t know the whole story."
"Mrs. Fairchild is actually Mrs. Enderby, the first."
Townsend squinted at Roger. "The dead wife?" Roger nodded. "How?"
"She escaped him," Hil said. Townsend looked at him. "She ran off and disappeared for three months, while Enderby had men searching for her. When she thought it was safe, she showed up here. Her plan was to wait until Enderby had her declared dead and remarried, then come out of hiding under an a.s.sumed name."
"Well, that wouldn"t work unless he could prove she was dead," Townsend observed. "Which he did. How did he do that?"
Hil"s lips thinned. "Enderby produced a body. We don"t know whose. But he swore it was Eleanor and she was declared dead. Since she"d been irrefutably declared dead, and Enderby had remarried, she felt she was free to a.s.sume a new ident.i.ty and go on with her life. Enderby had nothing to gain by revealing Eleanor"s location if he found out. Or so we thought."
"But?" Townsend asked. "Is that why he was in London?"
"Yes." Roger took over the story again. "He showed up at the opera the other night, out of the blue. He actually hid and accosted Eleanor when she was alone, heading to the retiring room. She got away and ran back to our box."
"Yes," Alasdair said. "Eleanor came running in as if the devil were after her, and Enderby followed."
"He demanded I turn her over. Said he was her husband and I had no right to keep her from him. He seemed quite mad, actually. What could have compelled him to seek her out? We don"t know. He didn"t tell us. Simply stormed off when I refused to let him have her. I insisted she was Elizabeth Fairchild, my wife"s cousin, and not Eleanor Enderby, though we both knew differently. I even reminded him of his new wife in Derbyshire. I was hoping he"d see the logic of simply leaving things as they were."
"This doesn"t look good for your girl, St. John," Townsend said with a frown. "Certainly gives her motive, which is all the case is lacking right now. Don"t have to prove it, of course, so it doesn"t matter. But if it comes out, it will make her look bad. Very bad. An adventuress and runaway wife." He shook his head. "Very bad," he repeated.
"Yes, thank you for your opinion," Hil said in exasperation. "We know that, although it couldn"t be further from the truth. He was a b.a.s.t.a.r.d to her, abused her in the most heinous fashion, and deserved whatever he got."
"Too bad you"ve got an alibi," Townsend said. "This is the sort of murder you can pin on the lady"s lover."
"I"d gladly take her place in Newgate," Hil said staunchly. "Why don"t you tell Vickery he"s made a mistake and we"ll do just that?"
"Can"t," Townsend said, shaking his head. "We"ve got a witness that puts her near The Bull and Mouth that night. One of the watchmen. Described her right down to those boys" clothes she was wearing, though he recognized she was a woman."
"d.a.m.n," Hilary said. "She was dressed like that to come to me. To say good-bye, actually. She was going to run again. She felt it was the only way to escape him. We were all worried he was going to show up with the authorities the next day."
"Was she in Ludgate?"
There was a knock and the door opened before Hil could answer. Mandrake wheeled in the tea cart. "Thank you," Roger said. "We"ll serve." Mandrake bowed and retreated.
Townsend wasted no time in fetching himself a cup of tea and some biscuits from the tray.
"She may have been," Hil answered after Townsend sat back down. "She took a roundabout way of getting to me, afraid Enderby was having the house watched and someone might be following her."
"He do that sort of thing?" Townsend asked, taking a bite.
Roger nodded. "Yes. Some ruffians came here several times looking for her during the initial three months of her disappearance, before she arrived."
Townsend finished his tea and biscuits as they all waited. When he was done, he fastidiously wiped his hands clean. "Now then," he said with a sigh, "where shall we start?"
Hil"s hope that Townsend could help was sadly deflated by his question. "I was hoping you"d have some idea," he said.
"First we find that body," Wiley said impatiently, standing up and glaring at all of them. "While you"ve been sitting on your a.r.s.es, I"ve sent a man to find out where Eleanor who isn"t Eleanor is buried. He"s to dig her up and bring her here."
"What?" Lyttle asked, his face horrified. "Why?"
"Because you bring that body out during the trial and let the jury see it don"t look nothing like her," Wiley argued. "That is, if it still looks like a person. And the sight of a dead body will paint Enderby the murderer, not her."
Roger stared at him wide-eyed. "You are b.l.o.o.d.y brilliant," he said slowly.
Wiley nodded with a satisfied expression. "Thanks. Next, we find that watchman. If he"s seeing Eleanor in the dark in disguise and he"s able to describe her perfectly? Either he"s been paid off and coached, or I bet he saw the real murderer and didn"t realize it." He shrugged. "You see a person hiding their ident.i.ty, you automatically think they"re guilty of something. Let"s find out what else he saw."
Hil was so relieved that Wiley was still thinking straight he nearly kissed the man. "Yes, brilliant," he said. "Wiley, fetch the watchman, bring him to my house." He turned to Roger. "We"ll meet there from now on to discuss developments. I don"t want to upset Mrs. Templeton any more than she already is." He turned to Wiley. "Tell me what to do."
Wiley didn"t blink twice at the reversal in their roles. "Think long and hard about who might want to hurt you," Wiley said seriously. "This may not be about Enderby or Eleanor. It might very well be about you."
Hil was mortally embarra.s.sed he hadn"t thought of that first. "But I"ve years of inquiries to sift through," he said, overwhelmed at the task. "Find out where the parties are now, what became of the culprits, if any. Even cases that I couldn"t solve."
"Exactly," Wiley said. "If you"re the target, Hil, they knew just where to hit you."
"Someone needs to go round to Newgate and fetch Mrs. Fairchild," Townsend said. He pulled a letter from his pocket. "Her reprieve from our mutual friend. She is to be released into the custody of Mr. Templeton here." He stood up after Roger grabbed the note from his hand. "And I suggest you two"-he pointed at Roger and Lyttle-"start strategizing. You"ve only a few days to figure this out. Have you a solicitor?"
"Yes," Lyttle said. "He"s meeting us here in half an hour."
"Good," Townsend said. "Then all the doc.u.ments will be in proper order. Now, I shall go and inquire myself at The Bull and Mouth about what exactly happened. The report was a little vague. Not sure how long he"d been dead before they reported it."
Hil felt a rush of grat.i.tude for all of them. "Thank you," he said quietly. "I am off my game, I"m afraid. The most important case of my life, and I"m turning in circles."
"Well you better get back on the straight and narrow," Townsend warned as he adjusted his hat. "The public expects Sir Hilary St. John to solve this case. That"s why they"re all abuzz about it. The great investigator trying to save his lady"s life." He looked at Hil. "They don"t care which way it goes, St. John. They"ll cheer if you save her, and they"ll gloat at your tears when she hangs."
Chapter Eighteen.
Hil looked out the window of the gaol keeper"s lodgings and saw a woman being escorted across the press yard; she wore the prison dress with a blue ap.r.o.n and bib. She looked very small and very vulnerable out there. He quickly walked to the door and threw it open. Eleanor saw him immediately. Her steps quickened and the gaoler had to race to keep up with her.
"Hilary!" she cried when she reached the door. She threw herself in his arms and the gaoler let go of her.
"Who are you, sir?" he asked, looking sharply at Roger.
"I am Mr. Roger Templeton, Mrs. Fairchild"s cousin, and this is Sir Hilary St. John," Roger told him.
"Her fiance," Hil supplied. At his remark, Eleanor held him tighter. "I have a letter from the king remanding Mrs. Fairchild into the custody of her cousin, Mr. Templeton. We will wait here with Mrs. Fairchild until arrangements can be made, if that meets with your approval."
The gaoler grumbled as he looked between Hil and Roger. "Fine. Didn"t relish sharing my quarters with a murderess. As soon as I have a look at the letter, she can go."
"I am not a murderess," Eleanor mumbled into Hil"s jacket. Her voice was rough, as if she"d been crying.
"They all say that, missus," the gaoler said, not unkindly, as he perused the letter. "You"ll find me in my office in the back where you have some papers to sign." He left Eleanor to their care as he ambled down the hall.
"Darling," Hil whispered to her. "Are you all right?"
"This is the most awful place on earth," she whispered, her face still buried in his jacket. "No windows."
"No windows," Hil echoed, rubbing his hand up and down her back in what he hoped was a soothing manner. "There are lots of windows in Manchester Square. We have opened them all."
"I want my open windows at Number Five, Saville Street," she told him, finally lifting her face so she could look at him. Her eyes were puffy and red, as was the end of her nose, and she sniffed. Her cheeks were tearstained, dark streaks of dirt smeared across them from wiping her tears with her dirty hands. She broke his heart and mended it in one heartbeat. Just holding her again cleared his mind and soothed his soul.
"Then you shall have them," he told her, kissing her brow. He kissed each swollen eyelid, and then her lips. Her lips were trembling, as was the rest of her.
"Take me home," she whispered. She put her cheek to his chest and looked at Roger. "How is Harry?"
"Despondent," Roger said. He walked over and grabbed Eleanor"s hand, kissing it. "I"m sorry. We"ll get you out of this mess, I swear."
"I"m quite messy these days," she said with a desperate little laugh. "You"ve been trying to clean up after me for the past year."
"And I"ll do it for a hundred more," Roger said staunchly. "That"s what family is for."
Eleanor clutched his hand. "I ... I want to go to Hilary"s. Can I do that? I know Harry wants to see me, but she can come there?"
"Yes," Roger said. "Wherever you want to go. I"ll bring Harry right away after we get you settled. We shall bring your things."
"Thank you," Hil said, his heart full to bursting at her desire to be with him right now. It would help tremendously in the planning of an escape, as well, should she be convicted.
As they left the prison, Eleanor looked neither right nor left, just followed Roger, still wrapped under Hil"s arm at his side. He was glad he held her tightly when they emerged. A crowd had gathered, though how they knew he and Roger were here to get Eleanor he didn"t know.
"Will you wear black to the trial?" someone called out.
"Murderess!" several people cried. Eleanor shuddered.
"Over here, Sir Hilary," an unfamiliar voice shouted. He looked over to see a man sketching the scene madly. d.a.m.n. They"d be on broadsheets before the day was over.
The crowd began to edge closer as they neared the carriage, and Roger pushed his way through, earning a shove or two himself. Eleanor buried her face in Hil"s jacket again, clutching the material in her fists. Hil used his long walking stick to keep the crowd away from them.
"She"s going to hang!" a man"s shrill voice called out from the back of the crowd. "You can"t save her!" There was something about the voice that made Hil jerk his head around to try to find the owner, but to no avail. The crowd was closing in and jostling them, and he couldn"t make out who it had been amid the clamor.
"Get her in the carriage!" Roger called out, pushing the crowd back. He had to dodge a fist, and several people in the crowd fell. Hil used the opportunity to shove Eleanor into the carriage and grab Roger, dragging him in behind them. He shut the door on several fingers grasping at it. There were a few harsh cries and he opened it a crack to allow them to pull their hands back. "Go!" he yelled, banging on the roof of the carriage with his walking stick.
The carriage jerked and took off with a cry from the driver to clear the way. Outside the windows they could see the crowd scatter, some throwing rocks after them.
"How did they find out?" Roger said angrily, out of breath and disheveled in the seat across from them.
"Someone must have leaked information about the king"s note," Hil said, his anger simmering just below the surface. Eleanor was still huddled against him, shaking. "Clearly someone from Windsor," he continued. He rubbed his hand vigorously up and down Eleanor"s arm to warm her. "The crowd wouldn"t have had time to gather here in these numbers if someone from the prison informed them."