Silk and Shadows(152)

Sara's mouth curved ruefully. "Jenny has every right to say 'I told you so' to me."

His movements crisply efficient, Mikahl took Sara's cloak and draped it around her shoulders to cover her torn dress. Then they went downstairs. Several minutes of chaotic greetings and explanations followed.

Directed by Sara, they found Kuram in the back room by the body of the dead guard. When he was ungagged, the Pathan cursed furiously for allowing himself to be overcome. His turban had cushioned much of the force of the blow to his head, and a quick examination confirmed that he was not seriously injured.

Her face set with determination, Jenny delved into Mrs. Kent's desk for keys, then went off to free whatever children were in the house. Before she left, Mikahl warned, "Don't unlock the room on the right at the end of the upstairs corridor. Weldon is there, and it's a good place to hold him until the police can come."

"Weldon is alive?" Slade asked, startled.

Without looking at Sara, Mikahl said dryly, "My wife doesn't approve of murder."

After a calculating pause, Slade suggested, "Lady Sara has had a difficult time of it. Why don't you escort her home while I deal with the situation here? Jenny and I will take the children back to my house. Then I'll contact the magistrate and the police, and tell them what has happened."

"Very well. Here is Weldon's gun, though you shouldn't need it. Be careful, it's loaded." Mikahl glanced at Sara, his gaze unreadable. "Come. I'll take you home." He took Sara's arm with a cool, detached hand, and silently guided her outside.

Sara's heart twisted when her husband ordered the coachman to drive to Haddonfield House. So he was going to return her to the protection of her father's roof.

She had seen ample evidence that Mikahl neither forgave nor forgot easily. As he assisted her into the carriage, Sara prayed that he would someday forgive her for having left him.

* * *

Left in charge, Slade eyed the gun thoughtfully. Then he went to help Jenny. There were four girls in the brothel, one a dark-haired child known to Jenny, the other three strangers who had been in the house for only a short time.

Since Jenny had once been one of them, the girls trusted her and gratefully accepted the opportunity to leave the house and build better lives. It didn't take long for the children to gather their few possessions and be taken to the carriage.

When they were safely inside, Slade said to the driver, "Wait for me. There is one more thing I must do."

The driver nodded and Slade reentered the house, Jenny at his heels. "What else needs to be done?" she asked, puzzled.

"A little rough justice." The lawyer glanced down at her. "I must speak with Weldon, but you shouldn't come."

Her chin tilted stubbornly. "I want to see."

After studying her face, Slade nodded and led the way upstairs. He unlocked the door cautiously, pistol raised, but his wariness was unnecessary.

Weldon lay on the bed, his face bruised and bleeding, his expression dazed, as if unable to accept that his diabolical luck had run out. When the door opened, he sat up and glared at the intruders, but his malice was a pale shadow of his old manner.

"If it isn't my favorite little whore," he said nastily. "Did you come back because you missed me?"

Jenny's eyes narrowed to angry slits. "I came back to see you broken. Someday soon, I'll spit on your grave."

Slade put an arm around her taut shoulders. "I'm going to give you more mercy than you deserve, Weldon," he said coolly. "You're doomed. If you stand trial, the scandal will follow your daughter for the rest of her life. But if you die tonight, your crimes need never become public knowledge. Eliza won't have to know how vile her father was. Since Peregrine intends to save the railway, your daughter will even be a rich woman someday from the stock she'll inherit."

Weldon's bitter gaze sharpened. "That would also make things easier for you," he sneered. "Well, I'm not going to take the coward's way out. Who knows what might happen in court?"

Slade shrugged indifferently. "If you want to delude yourself that a miracle will save you, go right ahead. Your daughter will suffer, but not a tithe as much as the rest of your victims have." The lawyer set the loaded pistol on the dresser and withdrew with Jenny, locking the door behind them.

Weldon stared at the door, then got up and limped over to pick up the pistol. Caressing the warm wood and cool steel, he turned the weapon over and over in his hands while he considered what Slade had said.

Eliza was the best thing in his life, the only pure female he had ever known. He thought of the expression in her eyes when he had found her tonight. She adored him, as a daughter should, and she would be devastated by her father's public vilification.