The thought of any of the younger gang being subjected the harsh cruelties of life in jail was unconscionable to Luke. Although it would probably be a slightly better life than they had at the moment, there was less freedom in jail and more brutality from the wardens who were apt to give lashings as punishment. As far as he was concerned, jail was no place for any child, no matter what crimes they committed.
At the main gates, the men turned and looked at each other. Barnaby?
?s eyes dropped to Luke’s gold chain again and a cunning look swept over his dark features. Luke sighed. He knew that look and realised then that it was going to be some time yet before he could get any breakfast.
CHAPTER FIVE
Poppy visibly shook by the time she returned to the hovel later that morning. Her journey had taken far longer than it should have done because she had stopped several times to make sure nobody had followed her. As a result, her stomach was a bundle of churning worry that threatened to overspill at any moment. She didn’t want to be at the hovel at all, but there really was nowhere else she could go. Not unless she wanted to take a return journey all the way back to Cumbria, which she didn’t have the strength for right now, or her possessions at hand to take with her. She was so worried that she felt as though she was capable of jumping out of her own skin if anything even remotely untoward happened. Although she was fairly confident nobody had trailed her to the hovel, she would feel infinitely more confident about that once she was inside where it was, well, sort of safe.
She hated London, with its smog filled and confusing, litter strewn streets. She longed for the quietude of country life, and the small, somewhat humble abode she had grown up in. Her journey across London to the park had changed her outlook on life completely, and she knew that after today nothing would ever quite be the same again. Mostly because she had been ensnared by the enigma that was Mr Luke Brindley, and she knew she would ponder about him for a long while yet.
She entered the house as quietly as she could because she needed a few moments alone to compose herself and decide what to do next. Fate was working against her though because she barely made it across the hallway before she became aware of the shuffle of footsteps coming from the front room of the house.
“You are back,” Clarence called from the depths of the front room. It wasn’t a question.
Poppy’s lip actually curled, which was quite uncharacteristic of her but bore testament to how derisively she now looked upon her sire. She was angry with him. No, more than that, she was coldly furious at him for his selfishness; his callous disregard for everything she held dear, and his complete cowardice for not having the strength of character to deal with the mess he had gotten himself into.
She didn’t bother to answer him. Instead, she silently made her way through the scullery toward the kitchen. It was only when she reached the doorway that she realised she was still held the bag with the money in. Strangely, she had been so busy scouring the streets for anyone acting suspiciously that she had forgotten all about the huge sum of money in her hand. The last thing she wanted to do was admit to Clarence that she had not delivered it as she was supposed to do. Just knowing that kind of money was in the house would be impossible for him to ignore, and he would be plundering its bountiful depths before the clock struck noon. It was important to her future that the money remain largely untouched for now – at least until she could decide whether to return it to Peter or not.
“It is foolish to hand this over,” she whispered. She continued to ignore Clarence’s repeated calls for her to answer him and hurriedly stuffed the bag into a cupboard beside the hearth. She turned around just as Clarence made his entrance.
“Well?” he demanded without preamble.
“Well what?” she asked coldly, careful to keep her gaze averted from the cupboard, and Clarence’s somewhat searching stare. Rubbing her chilled arms, she turned her attention toward lighting the fire. It was enough to make sure that her cheeks didn’t flush guiltily and she was able to meet Clarence’s gaze with all the cool aplomb of someone who belonged within the upper echelons of the ton rather than someone who was half out of her mind with worry. Now that she was back at the hovel she wondered whether it would have been better to have stayed with the corpse and wait for Luke to return as instructed. Right now, she really wanted to be in his company. That cool, calm, almost unflappable demeanour would know how to handle this situation without much in the way of thought. If only she could do the same.
Clarence sighed and looked at her with disgust, which was somewhat daring given the task he had landed her with. It raised her anger another notch, and she lifted a querulous brow as she waited.
“Have you handed it over?” Clarence snapped impatiently.
Don’t bother to ask if I am alright. Don’t worry about whether I was frightened, or ask if he threatened me. Just think about yourself you great oaf, she mused snidely.
“That’s what you sent me out there to do wasn’t it?” she replied evasively. In spite of her anger she couldn’t bring herself to lie to him outright. She knew well enough that the creditor hadn’t got his money, and he would undoubtedly let Clarence know as soon as he could. At some point in the not too distant future, the fact that she still had considerable wealth in her bag would be discovered by Clarence. What then?
It galled her now to think that she had to give the money away to a veritable stranger. The money was the only money they – she - had left in the world, and after what had happened today she knew it had to be used to secure her future because Clarence would never bother. His total disinterest over her safety today was the final straw. She had now completely had enough of his selfishness and callous disregard for her and her future welfare. It was time to leave Clarence to his down devices. As far as she was concerned, he could sort his own problems out now.
“Well? Did you?” He snapped impatiently.
Poppy clenched her teeth and nodded briskly.
“Good, then that should keep him quiet for now.”
Poppy stared at him suspiciously. “What do you mean ‘for now’?” She knew from the way he studied the floor and began to turn around without bothering to answer that there was something more he wasn’t telling her.
“Wait right there!” she demanded in a querulous voice she had never used before.
Having never heard it himself either, Clarence dutifully froze. Rather than mumble and declare himself in need of a seat as he usually did when she challenged him, this time he turned around to look at her with eyes that were as cold as ice.
“Pardon?” His voice was pure menace.
Poppy stared at the contrast in the man before her to the man whom she thought was too sick to get out of bed that very same morning and knew that she had been used once again. If that wasn’t insult enough, she knew from the scornful look on his face that going to the park for him had earned her no more respect than anything else she had done for him.
“You seem to be feeling better this morning.” Her doubt as to his honesty was confirmed when his eyes turned shifty. “So, remind me, why were you not well enough to go to the park yourself this morning?”
“Well, you have to make yourself useful,” he drawled condescendingly. “After all, what other uses do you have? You are another mouth to feed. You have to earn your keep.”
“You scoundrel,” she whispered.
“Watch your mouth,” he growled. “You are not too old for a thrashing.”