Page 61 of Code Name Duchess
“Are you ready?”
“I am. Although what exactly are we going to do?” Winnie looked up at him, her face a question.
He hesitated. He had been so determined to get to St. Giles and start investigating so they could find Elton’s family, they hadn’t spoken about the details at all. His mind had been in such a blur, and his heart in such an uproar due to the recent developments.
“I think we should knock on the door. See if whoever is there is willing to give us any information. I will pretend to be your husband, and we will tell them that you are ill. And that we are in desperate need of speaking to Elton. Regarding a loan.”
“And I will tell him that I conversed with Elton’s wife not long ago, and she assured me her husband would be able to help. Then we can request to know just where they live.”
Seth nodded, his lips pressed together. He was entirely convinced that it was a simple, yet effective plan.
It wasn’t until they approached the green door that his own words echoed back in his mind. Had he not confessed to Mr. Markham that he and Winnie didn’t have street smarts? Yes, he had.
Was this really a good idea? He considered Winnie. What if he was putting her in danger? Perhaps they should have…
“Seth,” Winnifred called out through clenched teeth, and then, before he could stop her, she banged on the green door. Together they stood and waited with bated breath for the door to open.
When the door handle jiggled, and the door swung open with an enormous creaking sound, Seth sucked in air. This was it. There was no going back now.
“Yes?”
A tall, burly man with a substantial stomach sticking out so far, his white shirt was stretched to its utmost limit, opened the door. Seth noticed that the man’s white stomach and dark hair poked out between the buttons. He swallowed and withdrew his eyes instead of focusing on the man’s face.
A beard covered the lower portion of his face leaving only his dark blue eyes exposed.
“Hello, we have come to call on….” To his surprise, Winnifred elbowed him in the ribs, stopping his flow of words. He stared at her, not quite sure why she had done so, but when she spoke, he understood.
“Elton, we’re after Elton. Do ye know where he is at? We have been lookin’ all over. ‘pon my honor, if this ain’t the place, then I don’t know what we’re to do. Mary from the Hare and Fox Tavern sent us this way. She sent us wrong?”
The man blinked and examined the two before him with confusion. Seth could not blame him as Winnie had spoken with a rather broad accent Seth could not quite place. However, it seemed to work.
“Mary? The ginger broad?” The man asked.
Winnifred nodded. “That’s the one. So, she wrong? Elton ain’t here?”
The man rolled his eyes. “People ought to mind their own business. Elton does not come here. Never does. Beneath his touch, this humble abode is. Why are you after him anyway?”
“I suppose you had better ask my husband that. It is not a woman’s place.”
She averted her eyes and looked humbly at the dirty pavement below her. To hear her speak in such a manner was such a stark contrast to the confidence she displayed in Markham’s office. However, he knew that this was the only way to get information, for he was sure she recognized the man by now.
It was the same man who had sat in the kitchen talking to his compatriot the first time they were here.
Seth cleared his throat and attempted his very best to sound like Winnie.
“Me ole lady here has taken ill. She don’t seem it now but trust me; she’s in a bad way. The thing is, I ain’t got sixpence to scratch with, and we heard Elton was the one to speak to.”
The man blinked.
“I spoke to his wife Frances some while ago, and she surely told me her husband could help a poor woman out of a spot of bother. That ain’t true?”
The man finally cleared his throat, and when he did, he broke into laughter.
“The two of you are mighty entertaining. Morris, come ‘ere. We have a couple of court jesters on our hands.”
Seth swallowed and grabbed Winnie’s hand. Their ruse didn’t work. The man didn’t believe them. When a second man appeared behind him, Seth recognized him at once. It was Peter, the other fellow who was here the first time they visited the establishment.
“What’s this rumpus about?” The other man poked his head out and looked at the two before them. Seth’s feet twitched with a desire to run away, but he stayed steady because, beside him, Winnie made no motion to leave. She stood firm, and thus, so did he.
