Masterful Trickery

XI. Rent

Three years ago...

Ralph did manage to escape Levi and Victoria, but he realized he had lost the lady in blue.

He went on to spend a chat with Samuel who complained about the many changes the Town Herald was planning to do in the next years to come.

Not quite listening attentively, Ralph kept searching for the woman until he found her, once more surrounded by his family. He kept his curiosity to himself as Samuel kept talking.

And after a while, his patience was rewarded. Emma tried to invite Lady in Blue to dance the quadrille but Ralph saw her shake her head. His sister walked away with her partner, their brother-in-law, Cole as Margaret was not around.

He waited until the others surrounding Lady in Blue disappeared, scattered around the ballroom as the quadrille began.

"Please do excuse me, my friend," he said to Samuel, stopping his friend's speech.

"What? Why?" Samuel asked, confused.

Eyes still on Lady in Blue, Ralph smiled. "I have a dance to collect."

*****

He ought not to have brought the man in.

It was the right thing to do, his mind contradicted. If he did not take the prisoner in, any statement he would have said would not have been permissible in the Men of Courts.

If only there were no threats to the man's life, he would have had his day in court.

But apparently, someone wanted the prisoner dead. And someone did it for him.

Ralph knew that if he had to do something, he would have to learn not to trust any of his colleagues in Wickhurst at the moment. He wanted to bash Peters in the head, accuse him of being one of Osegod's paid men, but it would merely make things more difficult for him.

This was a game of chess as Maxwell had once said to him. Osegod was not the kind of man who would fight his battle head-on. He was the kind of man who did things stealthily without leaving a trace that would lead directly to him.

If they wanted Osegod caught, if they wanted to find Sophia and Aurora's child, they must play Osegod's game. They must learn to ignore some things. They must pretend to be total fools even though they were certain Osegod did not believe it as well. It was a bluffing game that they must play without being face to face with their enemy.

Ralph left their headquarters without saying a word that would have made Peters suspect. If the man did what he did under Osegod's orders, the worst thing Ralph could do was to accuse the man.

He did not even return to the Men of Courts. Cole would learn of what happened sooner or later.

Instead, Ralph rode the horse back to Beechworth. He needed to think what his next course of action must be.

*****

Alex was already waiting for Ralph in the middle of the hallway. The footman stood cowering in one corner, afraid to look directly at her but also hesitant to leave her alone. The butler, on the other hand, stood as if his master had done naught but the most honorable thing.

She stopped pacing, stood in the center of the hallway, glaring at the front doors. Her arms folded over her chest, Alex veered her murderous gaze at the footman who happened to have made the mistake of stealing a glance at her. "What ye lookin' at?" she snapped.

She had been away from Meriwether for too long and she had a lot of worries in her mind. Her father would surely murder her when she returned. Her cousins could be out there looking for her now to return her to her father to be murdered. And now her horse was stolen by the very person whom she ought not to have ever met!