Page 23 of The Moonstone Major
“An outsider who claims to know you.”
The comment genuinely startled Fionn. “Are you holding him in custody?”
The constable nodded. “Although I’m not sure how long my cell will hold one such as him. He is a cagey weasel and doubtless capable of escaping even the strongest prisons.”
A few old friends from Fionn’s past came to mind. They had all been an unsavory lot, living off the streets and taking to a life of petty crime to support themselves. But what would a London street urchin be doing here? Why toss a dart at a viscount’s horse?
He raked a hand through his hair in consternation.
What profit was there in this sort of mischief? And why would any culprit follow a viscount and his friends all the way from London to here? Merely to pick their pockets as a crowd gathered?
Was this why the culprit shot a dart at the viscount’s horse? Cause a commotion and then make his way through a gathering crowd?
It seemed too elaborate a plan and needlessly reckless. And why here? Pickings would be far more profitable anywhere else.
The notion seemed absurd, but many of the street urchins he had come to know were not the brightest and could not see beyond their noses to understand the consequences of their actions. Whatever tactics worked in busy London would not work here.
First of all, the locals would spot the outsider immediately. Second, the locals themselves were not wealthy and knew how to secure their coins inside their clothing. Even the top-lofties who showed off their wealth with careless abandon took care with their coins. In any event, none of them had been on the street or even awake when the incident occurred.
He followed the constable to his office.
“Well, I’ll be demmed,” the prisoner said, recognizing Fionn instantly. “Ye’ve done all right for yerself, haven’t ye?Major Brennan. I could hardly believe m’own ears when I heard ’em call ye that.”
Blessed saints.
Were his eyes deceiving him?
“How are you still alive, Ducky? You were always a terrible pickpocket. I was sure they would hang you before you were old enough to grow whiskers,” Fionn said, his heart in a roil as his past life now confronted him.
“I survived. But I wouldn’t have taken the job had I known ye was the target. We all thought ye was dead in the war. Good to find ye very much alive.”
Fionn exchanged a glance with Constable Angel before returning his attention to Ducky. As a boy, the fellow had been a likeable dimwit. Highly unprincipled, and yet always willing to share his ill-gotten gains with Fionn. “Why was I the intended victim? Who would want to be rid of me?”
“Guv, that’s what I was suddenly thinking when I realized it was ye that cove had me try to kill. Sorry about the pretty lady. I didn’t see her walking across the high street until it was too late. Good thing ye’re quick as ever. Then that fancy gent went tumbling into the harbor, and I thought I might have killed him, too.”
“Ducky, you’re an idiot. Good thing you failed on all counts. But that does not absolve you from your attempted crime.”
“Ooh, listen to all ’em fancy words. Ye always was smarter than the lot of us.”
“Who paid you to kill me?”
“One of ’em relatives of Viscount Brennan. Not the eldest nephew who took over as the viscount after the old man passed. One of the other younger ones, a prune-faced fellow with a snooty look, as though he’d just sucked on lemons. Who is he to look down on me as though I’m low and vile when he’s the one plotting murder?”
“Randolph,” Fionn muttered, but he knew they all had to be in on it. The Right Honorable Randolph Brennan had never had an independent thought in his life.
“That’s the one. A sniveling cove, he was. But my wits must have fled, ’cause I never put it together that you were the Major Brennan they was after. Only once I saw ye carrying the young lady to safety did I take a closer look and realize ye were their quarry. So, now I’m thinking they have something to hide from ye, and they’re worried as hell ye’ll find out what it is and come after them.”
Constable Angel regarded him thoughtfully. “Do you have any idea what he is talking about?”
Fionn shook his head. “None whatsoever.” But he was curious to find out. “Ducky, I cannot leave my post. I have responsibilities, a hospital about to start construction, and I am also in charge of the regimental outpost here.”
“Caw! We always knew ye’d make something of yerself. Most of us is dead or rotting in prison, but ye…ye’ve survived it all. We’re proud of ye, Guv.” The man’s beady eyes brightened. “What are ye proposing?”
“Assuming Constable Angel permits your release, I propose you return to London and find out what the Brennans are so afraid for me to discover.”
“And what will ye give me in exchange?”
“Your life back, for what you did is a hanging offense. You almost killed a viscount and the daughter of an earl. I’ll also provide an honest job for you, if you return with information that proves true. However, about that job…if you so much as steal a spoon, I shall have you shot at dawn.”
