The Devil's Thief, page 7
That quieted the group. A young man who had been leaning against one corner of the building stepped forward. He was thin, but in a youthful, wiry way, without the hungry look of the other street urchins. He looked oddly familiar to Julianna, with his clever face and intelligent blue eyes. He tipped his battered hat as he swatted the rude girl who’d mocked her. “Quiet down, Bess.” He bowed slightly. “Miss,” he addressed her politely. “Ain’t you the lady what runs the foundling ’ouse over in Ludgate?”
Julianna blinked in surprise. “Why, yes,” she answered with a smile. “Have we met?”
He shook his head. “Not proper like, ma’am. But you’ve got two of me chucks there,” he replied with a grin.
“I beg your pardon?” Julianna frowned in confusion.
“Chucks, little ones,” he said. “Babes. Two of me babes.”
“Good Lord,” she exclaimed. “You have two children?”
The group erupted in laughter again. “ ’E’s got his self more than two,” the mocking girl named Bess replied. “ ’E’s a good provider, too. Got a gang of his own to do the work. Blackman gives him a nice cut to take care of his girls, he does.”
Tessa stiffened next to her, whether in anger or shock Julianna wasn’t sure.
The boy beamed with pride. “Yes, ma’am. I ain’t leaving none of me baggage wantin’, that’s for sure.” He tipped his hat again. “But the two you got, well, their mum’s in Newgate prison, and I’m no good at taking care of babes, you see.”
Julianna was stunned speechless. Many of the children in the home had been left there on the doorstep, abandoned, and some had been sent by the hospitals and prisons. But she’d always imagined the children were without parents of any kind. To find out that this young father had abandoned his children was shocking. But the logical side of her understood his motives for doing so. And he was right in thinking that they were likely better off where they were.
“Ma’am?” he asked cautiously, as she just stood there and gawked at him.
Julianna shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “It’s just that I’ve never met the parents of any of the children before.” She stuck out her hand to shake the young man’s. Tessa made a disapproving sound, but Julianna ignored her. “How do you do?”
Looking startled, he wiped his hand on his pant leg before gingerly taking hers and shaking it. “How do, ma’am,” he said formally. “Me name’s Wiley.” He stepped back quickly. “Been keeping an eye on the boys at your house. You’re doing a fine job. Ma’am.” He tipped his hat again.
Bess swatted him on the arm and glared at Julianna. “You don’t have to keep tipping your hat, Wiley. She ain’t no duchess.”
“I … thank you.” Julianna had no idea what to say. This conversation was so far outside her experience and she was floundering.
Mr. Wiley narrowed his eyes and looked at her suspiciously. “If you don’t mind me asking, ma’am, what are you doing here?”
“Oh,” Julianna said intently, “perhaps you could help, Mr. Wiley.” A few of the youths sniggered at her use of the formal address. “You see, I need to see the”—she almost said receiver, but stopped herself in time—“proprietor here on a matter of business. Please, could you help me?”
He looked even more suspicious. “What kind of business?”
Julianna was about to give him a sharp set down when she realized that he was concerned because she was the caretaker of his children. “I have something to sell,” she replied honestly. “I need the money for the home.”
Mr. Wiley strutted over to her like a peacock and made quite a production of giving her his arm. Most of the boys looked unimpressed, but many of the girls had adoring looks on their faces. “ ’Course I can help you, Miss,” he told her self-importantly. “Take you in to Blackman myself, I will.” Tessa began to follow them as they started toward the building, but Mr. Wiley frowned at her over his shoulder. “Best not to bring the baggage,” he told Julianna. “Blackman don’t like too many strangers hanging about while he does business.”
Julianna stopped and turned back to look at Tessa, who had an uncharacteristically mulish expression on her face. Once again, Julianna wished she’d left Tessa at home. She’d have to spend some of the money she got today to keep Tessa quiet about where they’d been and what they’d done. “Now, Tessa,” she said as convincingly as possible, “I’ll be all right. You can wait right here with the driver. That way I know he’ll wait for me and I won’t have to worry. You’ll do that for me, won’t you?” Tessa looked worriedly over her shoulder, as if it hadn’t crossed her mind that the driver might leave them. She was still quite young, younger than Julianna, and she was clearly conflicted. “I’ll be fine. Won’t I, Mr. Wiley?” she asked her young escort.
“Right as rain,” he said blithely. “No worries, there’s a good girl.” Tessa blushed, but nodded and reluctantly returned to the hackney. The driver’s frown indicated his clear disapproval, but he helped Tessa back up into the carriage as Julianna and Mr. Wiley made their way to the building.
He bypassed the public entrance, which was topped with a large sign proclaiming it the Black Horse, and led her to a side entrance. Before they could even knock, the door was opened by a rather ferocious-looking burly man with a bald head, a frowning face, and the beginnings of a very dark beard. “Who’s this?” he asked with no preliminary greeting.
“This ’ere’s a friend of mine,” Mr. Wiley told him. “She’s got somethin’ to sell.”
The burly guard squinted at her and she wondered if he could see properly. He looked more like he was trying to focus than to intimidate.
“What?” he asked, not moving out of their way.
“I beg your pardon?” Julianna nervously inquired, not sure what was expected of her.
He turned to Mr. Wiley with a frown. “What sort are you bringin’ ’ere, Wiley? This littl’ dove ain’t got nothin’ worth Blackman’s time.”
“I have a priceless treasure.” Julianna spoke firmly, although her voice cracked on the last word.
Mr. Wiley turned to look at her with a wide-eyed expression. “You don’t say? ’Ave you now?”
The guard frowned more fiercely. “Don’t be tellin’ tales, girl. How could you get somethin’ like that?”
Julianna’s hand tightened on Mr. Wiley’s arm in fright. Her escort shoved the guard back. “ ’Ere, you’re frightening her! Go tell Blackman what she said. I’ll keep her here until you get back. I know his rules.”
The guard huffed in impatience, but he turned and thudded up the stairs in his heavy boots. Mr. Wiley patted her hand and then turned to close the door behind them. The small hall was immediately cast into darkness, illuminated by only one lantern and a slight glow from the second floor. A sliver of sunlight crept under the door and Julianna surreptitiously slid her foot over to it. For some silly reason that made her feel better.
“So, miss,” Mr. Wiley said with affected nonchalance, “you ’ave got somethin’ to sell, ’aven’t you?” He rubbed his chin with his forefinger as he looked at her hopefully.
Julianna nodded. “Oh, yes. I stole it last night.” She nearly swooned as the words left her mouth. Good Lord, she never thought she would hear herself utter something so awful. Drastic times make for drastic measures, she lectured herself as she forced her knees to stop knocking.
Mr. Wiley whistled under his breath. “Never would have thought you had it in you,” he murmured, looking her up and down appreciatively. “Looking for a man, are ya?”
It took Julianna a moment to decipher his meaning. She stared at him wide eyed. This young boy thought to become her protector? She felt as if she had entered a whole new world without even leaving London.
He shook his head and laughed. “No, I can see you’re not. But if you change your mind, sweets, come and see old Wiley.” He tapped her chin affectionately and then turned to look up the stairs. The burly guard stood at the top of the steps and was motioning for them to come up.
Mr. Wiley gave him a thoroughly impudent grin and waved Julianna up ahead of him. She wished he wasn’t following so closely behind her, but there was nothing she could do. Better Mr. Wiley, she supposed, than another burly guard.
The stairs creaked so loudly that Julianna was sure they could hear it out on the street. She had to keep one hand on the wall next to her as she ascended the stairs, afraid of tripping in the dim light. When they reached the landing, the guard motioned for them to go left, down a hallway that was only slightly better lit than the stairs. She gasped as he grabbed her arm and jerked her to a stop at the first door.
“In here,” he growled. He opened the door and Julianna was momentarily blinded by the bright sunlight in the room. She was pushed in. “Only her,” the guard barked, and Julianna swung around to see him shove Mr. Wiley out the door, slamming it closed in his face.
“Good afternoon, miss,” a smooth voice said from inside the room. Julianna slowly turned to see a large man sitting at a table beside a window that faced the street. Julianna knew that if he’d been sitting there all along, he must have witnessed her arrival.
The man’s hair was still deep black, but he looked older than her father and all his youthful muscle had turned to fat. His eyes were a watery blue, and Julianna was struck by his resemblance to the guard. She looked back and forth between them, and the large man sitting before her chuckled. “My brother, Cam. I am Blackman.”
Julianna gave a slight, very polite curtsy. “How do you do,” she said. “I am Julianna Harte.”
He looked taken aback at the curtsy, but his gaze sharpened when she told him her name. “Any relation to Philip Harte?”
Julianna blushed at her father’s name. She nodded. “Yes, he is my father.”
He chuckled again. “Well there you have it, Cam. The gentry cove’s daughter. That explains how she got what she claims she’s got. Your father take it?”
Julianna felt her brow furrow as she tried to follow the conversation. “My father? No. No, he knows nothing about it. And he mustn’t find out.”
“Hmm,” was all Blackman said, as he tapped the table with his finger. “Let’s see what you have for me.”
Julianna opened her reticule and awkwardly removed the pearl from the pouch. She unwrapped it, nearly dropping it in her nervousness. When it was unwrapped, she set the whole bundle on the table, the pearl perched on top so that it wouldn’t roll off.
Barely touching the pearl with the tip of his finger, Blackman rolled it this way and that as he bent his head at a sharp angle to examine it. “How’d you get it? From where?” His questions were sharp, although not unfriendly; just rather businesslike.
“I hardly think that is your concern,” she told him, reluctant to reveal details after her earlier experience in the curiosity shop.
Blackman laughed loudly. “Leave it to my imagination, eh?” he asked slyly. “I’ll be wondering what you traded for it.”
Julianna’s face flamed, her cheeks burning in embarrassment and shame. Luckily Blackman only took it for embarrassment. “Didn’t mean to offend, miss,” he said snidely, before snatching the pearl up into his hand and closing his fist around it. “One hundred pounds.”
Julianna gasped. “That’s outrageous! I happen to know it is worth at least five times that much.” She held out her hand. “Give it back, please, and I shall find another buyer.”
Blackman tilted his head and pursed his lips as he watched her. He sucked on his teeth thoughtfully and then said, “Two hundred.”
“Absolutely not,” Julianna declared firmly. “Five hundred or I take my business elsewhere.”
Blackman spread his hands out in a gesture meant to convey the question, Where?
Julianna’s lips tightened. “I found you, didn’t I? I am not altogether ignorant of this sort of business.”
Blackman leaned forward and tapped his finger on the table as he regarded her with narrowed eyes. It had become a battle of wills. “Two hundred fifty.”
“Five hundred.”
He sighed and sat back with a frown. “The way negotiations work, miss, is that I offer and you counteroffer. I raise my price and you lower yours until we reach a mutually satisfying agreement.”
“Five hundred,” Julianna said stubbornly.
“Girl,” Blackman growled. He shook his head. “Three hundred.”
“Fi—”
He cut her off. “Four hundred and not a penny more.”
“Fi—”
He cut her off again. “Don’t misunderstand my meaning,” he purred quietly. “When Blackman says not a penny more, he means it.”
Julianna swallowed. She glanced over at Blackman’s brother, who nodded at her, before turning back to the man himself. “That’s robbery, plain and simple.”
Both of the brothers laughed uproariously. Blackman could barely speak through his laughter. “ ’Course it is, girl. Don’t forget how you got it.”
Julianna blushed furiously. She had forgotten. Whatever money she earned this day was ill gotten, and she had best remember that.
“Fine,” she bit out. “Four hundred. But I’m not happy about it.”
Blackman sighed as he stopped laughing. “It’s not my job to make you happy, miss.” He held the pearl up to the sunlight, rolling it gently between his thumb and forefinger. “You’re lucky I’m paying you at all, and that’s a fact. No one knows you’ve got it, and no one knows you’re here. If I weren’t such a gentleman … well, the Thames is deep and memory’s short, if you get my meaning.” He made the comment offhandedly, as if they were having a normal conversation. It made his threat that much more sinister, and Julianna wrapped her arms tightly around her body, suddenly chilled. He went on as if he hadn’t just threatened her life. “The Stewart Pearl,” he said, shocking her.
“How did you know?” she blurted out before she could stop herself. “I didn’t say a word.”
“It’s my business, isn’t it?” he asked. “I make it a point to know all the jewels worth stealing in London. It’s going to be hard to sell it, make no mistake. I’ll have to find someone wealthy enough and who won’t feel the need to brag about it. And I’ll be lucky to make me money back.”
Julianna almost snorted in disbelief. As if she believed that clanker. She was quite sure he already had a buyer in mind, or he wouldn’t have taken it. Blackman’s sharp eyes swung back to her, pinning her to the floor.
“Once you’ve got your money, you won’t be coming back here, will you, miss? And you won’t be telling anyone where this little beauty got off to, eh? This transaction here is just between you, me, and Cam. If’n I was to find out that you talked to anyone about me, well, there’d be some serious consequences. Understand?”
Julianna nodded vigorously to indicate her understanding, absolutely certain that she was incapable of speech.
Blackman nodded with satisfaction. “I liked you from the first. Knew you were my kind of people. I don’t negotiate with many and that’s a fact. But it seems I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for you.” He grinned at her, and Julianna knew fear of another kind.
Just then Cam brought over a lockbox and set it on the table in front of Blackman, and once again he was all business. He pulled a key from out of his pocket and unlocked the box. When he opened it, Julianna saw a jumble of pound notes and small packages similar to the one she’d just handed over. She presumed they were wrapped jewels or some such. Blackman counted out some banknotes, and then tucked the rewrapped pearl into the box. He locked it and handed it to Cam, who carried it over to an open panel in the wall that Julianna hadn’t noticed before. Cam tucked the box inside on a little shelf and closed the panel. The closet would be undetectable to anyone who didn’t already know it was there. It was quite ingenious.
When she looked back at Blackman, she realized that he was watching her coldly and she felt the blood drain from her face. He motioned her over with a crook of his finger, and when she remained rooted to the spot, he waved the signed banknotes he was holding in one hand. “Don’t you want your payment, Miss?” His grin was wicked, and she knew with utter certainty that men like him were the reason why her father had wanted to protect her from this sordid side of his life. But she needed to get her money—otherwise this whole trip would be wasted and she would be right back where she started. She inched forward as close as she dared and stretched her hand out. As soon as he placed the notes in her palm she snatched her hand back and immediately counted them.
Blackman laughed. “Now you see, Cam, this is my kind of girl. Doesn’t trust a soul, and well she shouldn’t.”
When she finished counting, she looked up suspiciously. “It’s all here.”
He shrugged. “ ’Course it is. If word got around that I stiffed a supplier, my merchandise would run low.” He waved his hand at the door as he turned away from her, already moving on to other business. “Go on. And if you’ve got a mind to steal any other famous jewels, you come and see Blackman about it.”
Cam grabbed her upper arm again and shoved her unceremoniously toward the door. He opened it and pushed her through before she had a chance to jam the notes into her reticule. She immediately slammed into a warm body.
“ ’Ere, now, Cam, no need to be so rough with the lady.” Mr. Wiley grabbed her shoulders and peered at her, and she noticed that they were exactly the same height. “Are you all right, miss?” he inquired gently, and Julianna could have kissed him for his kindness. He looked down and saw the banknotes in her hand. “You’d best be puttin’ those away, miss, if you don’t want to lose ’em.” She shoved the notes into her bag—uncaring that they were wrinkled as long as they were out of sight. She could feel Cam’s impatience behind her. Now that the transaction was done, he clearly wanted her gone.
When she was done, Mr. Wiley took her arm and steered her down the steps. It was awkward because of the narrow stairwell, but Julianna didn’t complain. Now that her encounter with Blackman was over, shock was beginning to fray her nerves. She was trembling and her legs felt like butter. The hulking presence of Cam descending just behind her didn’t help.
