Page 57 of The Artisan and the Duke
“Hiding her how?” Gregory asked. He was growing angry at the senseless nature of it.
Fredrick sighed and said, “He isn’t sure. He thinks that it would be a good idea if we check the poor and workhouses.”
“I pray she is not in them,” Gregory said quietly. “Prison would almost be better, but it is good that she hasn’t been charged, isn’t it?”
Fredrick raised his hands helplessly and said, “My uneducated guess would be that it would be so, but at least if she had been charged, there would be a trail to follow.”
With a sigh, Gregory was forced to agree, “That is true. We will start searching tomorrow, and we will keep searching until we find her, our uncle, or Mr Larkin.”
“Yes, there are a good many questions that I can think of for him,” Fredrick said with a sneer. “Did you ever find out if that story he came to the house with was actually true?”
Gregory sighed and sank down into the chair behind the desk. “It honestly had slipped my mind. I am going to the guild tomorrow though on my way to search. I feel it is a good place to start and the closest tie that I have with Mr Larkin.”
“I wish us the best of luck then,” Fredrick said.
***
Jules’ clothes had been taken from her, and she was forced to put on clothes that she suspected had been ripped off some other poor soul.
Jules was then taken from the workhouse and put in the back of a wagon much to her dismay. If she stayed in one place, she would be easier to locate, and Jules’ heart sank as she watched the workhouse growing ever distant out the slots at the top of the wagon.
The next workhouse was a dismal place, but Jules tried to talk to some of the women. Every time she opened her mouth, Jules was rewarded with a slash from one of the long ropes the overseers carried. Eventually, she gave up trying to talk to pass the time.
It turned out that talking to her housemates would have been pointless anyway, as the next day Jules was loaded up into another wagon and taken to a different house.
She sighed and leaned against the brick wall. She did not even bother trying to talk to any of the people around her. The overseers seemed to be watching her, and Jules did not like attracting that kind of attention.
***
Gregory walked towards the building that the guild used as its headquarters. There was faded lettering over the top of the door to signify it as a guild charterhouse. Gregory used the iron knocker.
Eventually, the door was pulled open by a young lad, who eyed Gregory suspiciously. “Can I help you, Your Lordship?” the boy asked with a trembling voice.
“If I could speak with one of the higher members of the guild, then I would be most appreciative. Tell them it is about Jules Kelley and David Larkin,” Gregory said. As Gregory waited, the lad disappeared back inside, and Gregory could hear the boy’s footsteps running away from the door.
A few moments later, the door came open, and a graying man appeared. The man stood the same height as Gregory, but with a long beard, and the man’s clothes were streaked with dirt from his labours. “Begging your pardon, Lord,” the man said, “you have news of Jules?”
Gregory nodded and cleared his throat. “I do know of …” Gregory hesitated because he knew Jules had kept her gender a secret from most of the guild. “Jules,” Gregory said finally. “Jules has been taken by the guards, but we’ve been unable to locate … him.”
The man chuckled, “I know Jules’ true self. You need not feel uncomfortable. I wondered what happened to her.”
“Thank goodness,” Gregory said with a laugh. “I was not sure how much longer I could go with that. Truth is that Jules and I are married now, and I am most anxious to find her.”
The man’s mouth fell open. “You must be that man that everyone was telling me about that Jules was running with for a time. Forgive my manners, Your Lordship. My name is Charles Foster. I’m the guild master here.”
“Glad to make your acquaintance,” Gregory said as he clasped the man’s hand in a friendly shake. “What about David?”
Mr Foster spat, “That lowly cur would do best not to come within my sight. He is not welcome in the guild any longer.”
“I must confess my confusion. He showed up at our door outraged that some of your guild members had been hanged. He convinced Jules that it was my fault, and she left to go to London to help,” Gregory said honestly.
Mr Foster sighed and shook his head. “That’s a grievous lie. We had a kind barrister who spoke for us and eventually got the judge to release us,” Mr Foster said. “I do not know why he would say such a thing unless he did it just to incense Jules. Jules believed that the guild was family. She would never willingly turn her back on us.”
“I know. I had to ensure your guild members’ safeties before she would even agree to marry me.” Gregory chuckled as he thought back on it.
“You don’t say,” Mr Foster said with a smile. “Then I am doubly pleased to meet you, Your Lordship.”
Gregory nodded and asked, “I don’t suppose any of your members have seen Mr Larkin within the week? I am searching for him as I think he might have answers about Jules’ whereabouts.”
