Page 59 of Taken to the Grave
The Firework Tower was within sight, and still, Hugh had not relented.
“I would have been more use fetching a foot patrol across the river than I will be standing guard,” Audrey groused, keeping her eyes peeled for the access door Mr. Gye had told them about.
The door Hugh had commanded she stand next to while he and Lord Thornton entered and pursued Hammond Abbey.On their own.It had certainly tamed the bubbling of elation she’d felt after discovering who was behind the Sanctuary: Hammond Abbey, the sour-faced steward she’d briefly met the night Mr. Givens had been found at the Cascade. He’d been easy to overlook, with nothing much remarkable about him, other than his obvious dislike for his employer. Not that Mr. Gye had noticed.
Now, however, the man wearing the devil mask in the vision the cuff links had imparted,didresemble what she recalled of the steward. Black, curled hair with streaks of gray. Tall and lanky. A pronounced curved stoop to his shoulders.
“We need someone on this side of the tunnel unless there is trouble, and also to direct the foot patrols, should Gye directthem this way,” Hugh replied as they passed a pair of marquees built to house onlookers for the firework displays.
“I know what you are doing,” Audrey said.
He did not stop his march toward the boundary of the gardens to look at her. “I told you that I would always say when something was too dangerous, whether you wanted to hear it or not. This is one of those times.”
Audrey balled her hands into fists, then noticed an arched wooden door set into a tall stone wall. She swallowed her reply as nerves prickled her skin. The door was half hidden behind some hanging ivy, but closer, Audrey noted the ground next to it had been worn down to smooth dirt. This entrance was used often.
Hugh inserted the key into the lock and twisted. It gave and the door swung open, revealing an arched wall and ceiling constructed of pale brick leading into a darkened space.
“There must be something else that I can do than just stand here,” she said.
Thornton stepped into the tunnel but didn’t go far. Just far enough away to give Hugh a moment with her.
“Audrey.” He took her by the shoulders and cocked his head, waiting for her to look at him. “We have no idea what we will meet with in there. We are going in blind. If Gwendolyn is still alive, I need to be able to help her. If you are with me, no other person in the world is going to matter to me. I will choose to protectyou, not her.”
She despised the feeling of being left behind—and of having to admit that what he said wasn’t wholly unreasonable. Audrey did want him to concentrate on finding and rescuing Gwendolyn, not her. She crossed her arms.
“Very well. But Hugh…” She ran her palms down the front of his waistcoat. “You must be careful.”
Hugh took one of her hands in his, kissed it, and then stepped into the tunnel with Thornton. They partially closed the door behind them, and Audrey let out a groan as she faced the grounds. The parkland was quiet and serene, while she felt nothing of the sort. She kicked at the dirt, frustrated. And worried. What if Gwendolyn had already been silenced? She dreaded the idea of having to see Flora Bertram again and telling her that she’d failed to save her sister.
Audrey walked a few paces, turned, and then paced some more. There was nothing to do. Nothing but stand and wait, and she’d never been any good at that. It made her muscles bunch tightly, her skin uncomfortable. Backing up from the stone wall a bit, she was able to see the rooftop peaks of a house. A weathervane topped one ridge, and she held her breath. Instead of an arrow pointing the direction of the wind, the decoration was a wrought iron cross. The brass had oxidized over time to a pale green. Did that indicate that the Sanctuary wasn’t anything new?
How long had it been operating? If Mr. Abbey was flush, as Mr. Gye had said, the money he made with the Sanctuary had to be exorbitant. Places like White’s and Brooks’s, and even the Seven Sins, were only available to those who could afford the high membership dues. And if the Sanctuary offered up uniquely perverted pleasures, the singularity of it could come at a much higher premium.
If he took over Vauxhall, Mr. Abbey could tie his society to the pleasure gardens. Expand his empire. Already, the entertainment grounds were known for its seedier side, where trysts and hired companionship could unfold in the remoteness of the parkland at night. Audrey felt ill thinking of the young women who might be lured to the Sanctuary the way Bethany had been.
“Your Grace.”
The voice came at her back, and she leaped as she whirled. But then, she let out breathy laugh. “Good heavens, Officer Stevens. Where did you come from?”
The Bow Street officer had come upon her without a sound. He held his hands clasped behind his back. He narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Your Grace.”
He was alone, without his partner, Officer Tyne. For that, Audrey was grateful. Especially if what Hugh suspected about him was true.
“I didn’t expect to be here either,” she replied. “You’ve gotten here rather quickly. Did you meet with Mr. Gye?”
Stevens nodded, but it was a sad, almost regretful motion. And then, he unclasped his hands from behind his back to bring them forward. Gripped in one hand was a small pistol.
“I did. My apologies, Your Grace, but I’ll ask you to do as I say.”
Though he did not aim the barrel at her, her next breaths shriveled in her lungs. “Stevens…” She couldn’t continue. Couldn’t understand. But then, with paralyzing fury, she did.
“It isn’t Officer Tyne. You’re the Bow Street man that belongs to the Sanctuary.”
Stevens raised the pistol slightly in a gesture for her to move. “Into the tunnel.”
“How could you?” she asked. “Hugh trusted you!”
“I don’t want to have to do this here,” Stevens said.
