Silk and Shadows(148)

Weldon always carried a small pistol when he came to this part of London. He pulled the weapon from under his coat, checked the loading, cocked it, then concealed it again. White-hot with fury, he went downstairs to Mrs. Kent's office.

When he opened the door, the madam said, "We've a visitor, sir. This female just pranced in, bold as brass. Is she the one you told me about earlier?"

The words Weldon had meant to hurl at his employee were temporarily forgotten when he saw Sara tied to the chair. Incredulous, he exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Sara stared back, vivid shock on her face. "I might ask you the same, Charles. I refused to believe that you could be involved in something so sordid, but I see that I was wrong." A mask of cool control smoothed her expression. "I came because I feared Eliza had been brought here. Is she upstairs?"

"Yes, but she's about to leave." Weldon gave a smile of deep, malicious satisfaction. "You, however, will not." He turned to Mrs. Kent, his expression vicious. "The girl upstairs is my daughter, you stupid bitch. Are the two beasts who abducted her in the house?"

Mrs. Kent paled. "One went back to Mrs. Cambridge's, where he usually works. The other is here, in the back room watching the servant who came with this lady."

"For laying hands on my daughter, you must die,"Weldon growled as he reached under his coat and withdrew a small, ugly pistol.

Her gaze fixed on the gun, Mrs. Kent gave a strangled gasp. "You can't blame me for not blowing who she was! The girl wouldn't even tell me her name."

"You should have known she was an innocent!" he said relentlessly, his finger tightening on the trigger. "Instead you treated her as just another worthless slut."

Finally believing that her master meant what he said, Mrs. Kent screamed and tried to run away, but flight came too late. The pistol discharged, the noise deafening in the small room.

The ball caught Mrs. Kent in the temple and she crashed to the floor, knocking over a wooden chair. She sprawled in an ungainly heap, her eyes still wide with desperate disbelief as the room filled with acrid smoke.

"Fortunate that this house has such good soundproofing." Weldon turned to Sara, a wild, dangerous gleam in his eyes as he reloaded his pistol. "Before I am done, you will wish that I had killed you so quickly. I have some business to take care of, but I will be back soon."

He strode from the room, the door behind him not quite closing. Sara began to work frantically to loosen her bonds. Before she would not have believed it possible that Charles would hurt her, but now she knew that he was capable of any kind of mad violence.

She tensed as she heard a single shot in the back of the house. Had he killed the guard or Kuram? Considering how he had executed Mrs. Kent for the mistaken abduction, probably he had shot the guard and spared Kuram, at least for the moment. Weldon was mad, thoroughly, terrifyingly mad, executing others for the same crime he had routinely committed against other children.

Weldon's footsteps ascended on the stairs again. Several minutes later, two sets of feet sounded, one heavy, one light.

Listening hard, Sara heard Eliza say fearfully, "Is that awful woman gone?"

"Yes, darling," Weldon said in the soft, comforting voice of a perfect father. "You're safe now. Papa will let no one harm you. But you must be brave and ride home in the carriage alone. The driver will take you straight back to your uncle's house."

"You can't come with me?"

"No, darling, there are some things that must be done before I can leave. The people who hurt you must be punished."

Sara could have screamed, but that would do no good. Eliza could not help her, and knowing that Sara was in the brothel would put the child in an intolerable position.

The front door opened and closed. Then the house was silent for perhaps five minutes. It was odd just how quiet it was; Sara supposed that the children were locked in their rooms, and it was too early for customers. If there were any servants, they were wisely keeping away. Perhaps they had fled.

Sara had one wrist almost completely free when Weldon returned to the house and came directly to the office. He crossed the room and finished undoing the bonds, then yanked her to her feet. Savagely he said, "We're going upstairs, where I can punish you in comfort."

Praying that she might be able to calm him, Sara said quietly, "What have I done to deserve punishment, Charles? For Eliza's sake, I risked my life coming here."

His eyes flared with renewed rage. "You have tried to corrupt her! Eliza was captured while attempting to visit you. She would never have disobeyed her father's orders if not for your pernicious influence. But it is not just for Eliza that I must punish you."