Page 29 of The King of Whitechapel (Victorian Outcasts #7)

twenty-nine

“Y OU LOOK VERY handsome, Finn.” Elizabeth straightened Finn’s bow tie as they crossed Hyde Park on a bright, sunny afternoon.

“I’m so nervous. My hands are all sweaty.” He showed her his palms.

“Do not worry. We’ll take a nice stroll through the park, have a chat with Odette, and that’s it. I’ll keep her chaperone busy while you’ll have the opportunity to have a private talk with Odette.”

“Thank you for being with me. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

She patted his shoulder. “Let’s go. A gentleman doesn’t make a lady wait.”

He shrugged. “I’m not a gentleman, anyway, am I?”

“You’re a good young man, Finn. That matters more.”

He showed her a wide grin. “I know there isn’t a single possibility I might court Odette, but at least I want her to know me for who I am.”

“Right choice.”

“And who knows, maybe she’ll be as brave as you and decide to be with me, anyway.”

Elizabeth felt anything but brave.

She paused along the Serpentine, remembering a time when she’d walked that very path with her mother, sisters, friends. She hadn’t appreciated the privileges she’d enjoyed back then. The free time, luxuries, and nice meals had been taken for granted. If anything, she was grateful to have learnt that important lesson.

“That’s her.” Finn fiddled with the collar of his shirt. “Isn’t she lovely?”

Elizabeth watched the pretty blonde girl in a dark-blue capelet walking towards them. Her expensive shoes and gown marked her as a girl from a wealthy family. Unbidden, a pang of nostalgia hit her because there had been a time when her mother had cared about her and spent time with her before caring about their reputation more than her daughter.

“Yes, she’s very pretty.”

An older woman, who had to be Odette’s chaperone, narrowed her gaze the closer she came.

Odette beamed when she saw Finn and waved at him. “Finn. I’m so happy to see you.”

Finn bowed from the waist. “Odette, ma’am.”

“I’m—” Elizabeth was cut off by the woman.

“I beg your pardon, miss, but are you Lady Elizabeth, the daughter of the Earl of Lincoln?”

“Yes, I am she.” No point in lying.

Odette bowed her head. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Elizabeth.”

The woman put an arm around Odette’s shoulders, pulling her closer. “I’m afraid we must leave.”

“Mrs. Dupont,” Odette said. “We’ve just arrived.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Mrs. Dupont said. “We can’t stay.”

“Finn and I have planned this walk for a while.” Odette slid out of her chaperone’s grip. “We can’t leave.”

“Why do you need to leave?” Finn asked.

Oh, Elizabeth had a hunch. She also guessed Mrs. Dupont didn’t want to divulge the full story of the disgraced lady, daughter of an earl, in front of her charge. Mrs. Dupont gave her a pointed look, confirming Elizabeth’s suspicions.

“If the ladies are busy, we won’t keep them,” Elizabeth said.

“But I waited for today for a long time,” Finn said at the same time as Odette protested, “I don’t want to go.”

“Come, Odette. Don’t be difficult. Your mother told you to obey me.” Mrs. Dupont’s firm tone matched her expression. She half-pushed, half-dragged Odette away. “Have a nice day.” From her tone, it sounded like she meant the opposite.

“I’m sorry, Finn.” Odette waved at him, her eyes shining.

Finn’s deep frown made him look older. “I don’t understand. Am I so repulsive? I put my best suit on and … I must be the most disgusting man they’ve ever seen.”

“Good gracious, no. You’re perfectly all right. It’s because of me,” she said. “Mrs. Dupont recognised me as the disgraced daughter of an earl. No one wants anything to do with me, and she doesn’t want to be associated with me. She has to protect her charge as well.”

“That’s unfair.” He shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Don’t blame Mrs. Dupont. She surely has orders from Odette’s parents not to put Odette in any compromising situations. I’m sorry, Finn. If Jane had come instead of me, your day would have been different.”

He kicked a stone. “This is an injustice. Your father is an ass.” He glanced at her. “Sorry, but that’s what I think.”

That was what she thought as well.

* * *

The more Christopher listened to Elizabeth telling him about what had happened in Hyde Park, the more his urge to kick the toffs in their aristocratic arses grew.

“So Finn didn’t have the chance to talk to Odette,” she said, sitting on the chair next to him in his study. “I’ve never felt more humiliated and sorry for Finn. I thought being thrown out of my own house was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me. I was wrong.”

He caressed her cheek with his knuckles. He had no words of comfort to offer because he’d been humiliated, beaten, and hated only because he was a bastard, and he hadn’t found words to soothe the pain.

Through his years, he’d dealt in different ways with his sense of guilt for something he had no control over. Anger worked only for a short time. Hate was a good motivator, but indifference was better.

Let us not speak of them: look and pass on , Dante had said.

“You shouldn’t care about what they think of you,” he said, trailing his fingers down her neck. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I hate the fact that, because of what happened to me, other people are suffering.”

“Come here.”

He hugged her, and she buried her face in the crook of his neck. He hated the feeling of impotence in front of her pain. Aside from holding her, he couldn’t protect her from how people treated her, or from how she felt about that, and having experienced people’s hatred on his own skin—literally—he felt even more frustrated.

“I have some news that might cheer you up,” he said, kissing her forehead. “I asked Smithy to search Rebecca’s life for secrets. He found something interesting.”

She lifted her head.

“So Finn told us Rebecca was at the ball,” he said. “Smithy discovered that her brother has some serious gambling debts he must settle.”

“Why is that good news?”

“Because if her brother is in financial difficulty, Rebecca is looking for a wealthy match, and Pearce is a duke. Imagine if she went to him and told him you and I were lovers, and that we’d been together during the Great Blizzard. She could prove it. Pearce constantly fears to be overlooked and dismissed by those he cares about, so he didn’t hesitate to believe you and I were lovers. She would play the part of the devoted friend, offering to be close to him in a moment of suffering. He needs to marry, and after the scandal, he needs to marry quickly. Nothing better than a wedding to distract the gossipmongers. And whom he’s going to choose as his wife?”

“You’re probably right.”

“We should talk to Pearce and tell him about Rebecca.”

She chuckled bitterly. “He won’t believe us.”

“No, but he would believe Rebecca. We can convince, or trick, her to confess what she did while Pearce is listening.”

“How?”

Finn barged into the room like a battering ram, with a wide grin, as happy as Larry. “I have news!”

“Dammit, Finn, you scared me half to death.” Christopher withdrew his hand from the gun.

Finn kept smiling. “What happens if you get scared half to death twice in a row?”

“Why did you teach him maths?” Christopher asked her.

Elizabeth laughed.

“So you have news. From the dock?” he asked.

“No, from the gambling den in Fulham.” Finn dropped a heavy leather bag on the desk and opened it. Banknotes, pocket watches, and documents spilt from it. “I, dear Guv, won all of this.”

“Damn me to hell and back.” Christopher went through the banknotes. There had to be a few thousand pounds. “How did you do that?”

Finn sat on the chair and crossed his arms behind his head. “Maths. Statistics and probabilities, to be precise.”

“Yes!” Christopher pointed at the money, grinning. “That’s why you taught him maths!”

She opened her mouth, surveying the small fortune. “Actually, I didn’t want him to use his knowledge to gamble. Finn, education is meant to elevate the spirit, not to rob people.”

“I didn’t rob anyone.” He scowled, indignant. “I used my knowledge to not exactly cheat. I counted the cards and made a quick calculation to better my chances, yes, but it was for a good cause.” He rummaged through the documents and selected a few of them. “I won the money and this place …” He read from a document. “Spencer Hall, from none other than your not-so-esteemed father.”

“What?” Christopher and Elizabeth said together.

Christopher quickly read the document. No doubt. The earl had gambled his unentailed estate in Dartmoor and lost against Finn.

He read the document again. “Unbelievable.”

Finn clicked his tongue. “The earl was very upset, let me tell you. He’s also a terrible player, lacks vision and strategy.” He hooked his thumbs in his waistcoat. “All things I excel in.”

Elizabeth sagged into a chair. “How did you do that? I didn’t even know my father attended gambling dens.”

“Maths aside, the earl can be easily provoked,” Finn said in a smug tone. “He has a temper and is a sore loser, not to mention arrogant. It didn’t take long for him to play one game after another just to prove he was so well off he could lose easily.”

Christopher was impressed. “And why did you do this?”

Finn stretched out his hands towards Elizabeth. “Justice for Elizabeth. Her father kicked her out, left her with nothing, and didn’t care about her. She was disgraced, and because of that, I can’t see Odette anymore. Now Spencer Hall is yours, along with the money I won.” He pushed the prize towards her.

She blinked a few times. “Finn, I can’t accept it.”

“The hell you can,” Christopher said.

“Why not?” Finn lost his cocksure attitude, looking just like a boy.

“I appreciate what you did for me. I really do.” She took Finn’s hand. “But I have no interest in taking my father’s estate or money. I don’t want anything from him. He had the chance to show me his love and trust but failed me. He hurt me deeply. He was supposed to protect me but did the opposite. That’s why I can’t accept the offer.”

“I don’t understand. Exactly because he hurt you, you should take the money and the estate. You deserve them.”

She shook her head. “I think we should give everything back to him.”

“No!” Finn scraped his chair back and shot up to his feet. “I won against him fair and square. I won it for you!”

“Not exactly fair and square, and I don’t want my father’s money extorted with deceit. In my eyes, I wouldn’t be better than he is, and I am.”

“This doesn’t make any sense. He deserves to lose his estate, and you deserve to be compensated.”

She lowered her gaze. “I can’t take this.”

Finn stormed out of the room, leaving everything on the desk.

Elizabeth sighed, pressing two fingers on the bridge of her nose. “I’m sorry he got angry.”

Christopher leant back in his chair, aware the situation was another normal occurrence in his underworld life. “I agree with Finn. You should take everything.”

She glared at him. “My family rejected me. I don’t want anything from them, and certainly, I don’t want a gambling prize.”

He held up a hand. “I understand, but what do you have to lose? Your father doesn’t know Finn is associated with you. Just enjoy the loot.”

“And what am I supposed to do with Spencer Hall? Spend the summer there?”

He shrugged. “Sell it. I reckon you’ll make a fair amount of money.”

“It’s not about the money.” She shoved the banknotes into the bag. “Why is money so important?”

Ah, that was the point, wasn’t it? “With due respect, you don’t understand where Finn comes from.” He took her hand to stop her from filling the bag. “When I found Finn, he was a scrawny thing, dirty with grime, and halfway to an early grave. That’s why I took him in. Seeing him so frail and scared broke my heart. It’s always about the money for him. Money means life for him. I don’t mean to be preachy, but you grew up wealthy, never worried about food or the cold.”

“I lived on the streets as well. I’m not a spoiled girl anymore.”

“I know.” He squeezed her hands, desperate for her to understand. “What I mean is that you experienced both sides of life. He didn’t. The only thing he knows and understands is surviving, and money makes the difference between life and death. You can afford to reject the offer, and you have my sympathy. I appreciate your decision, but he can’t. Not now. In time, he’ll see things differently. You can afford to be morally superior. He can’t. So I think you should at least keep the money.”

She fiddled with the strap of the bag. “Finn can have the money.”

“Don’t insult him. Please.”

She exhaled. “All right. I’ll keep the money, but I can’t keep an over one hundred-thousand-acre estate.”

“You can, but it’s your decision. Hell, I would keep it and throw the biggest party Dartmoor has ever seen.”

She smiled. “I want to give Spencer Hall back to my father. Will you come with me?”

He kissed her hand. “Always.”