The Custom House Murders (Captain Lacey Mysteries #15) - Ashley Gardner Page 0,104
corner from him? Juliet is a strong young woman. She could easily have hefted a pitcher at the back of Warrilow’s head. I did not want you and Pomeroy rushing in and arresting the poor lady, Lacey. She’s had a hard enough life without landing in Newgate on a charge of murder.”
“I see.” I stretched my knee, which was beginning to cramp. “You and your damned honor. I begin to understand why others find mine a nuisance. You could have trusted me completely, but I suppose you could not know that.”
“I soon realized you were a stickler for justice,” Eden countered. “You always have been, Lacey. But if you believed that Juliet, or even Robbie, who’s a wiry lad, had killed Warrilow, you’d have had them in the dock.”
“Perhaps,” I conceded. “But I am just as pleased they had nothing to do with it.”
“Juliet?” Grenville asked, his lips twitching.
Eden’s color rose. “Mrs. Davies’s Christian name. Lovely isn’t it?”
“So is the lady,” Grenville said.
“A lady who gazes at you with great admiration,” I put in. “You have given her back her son, on top of freeing her from a life of servitude.”
“Is there a Mr. Davies?” Grenville asked.
“No,” Eden answered quickly. “I confess, I am not certain who fathered young Robbie.”
“Warrilow?” I asked gently. “That would explain why he was so adamant about not selling the lad to you.”
Eden shook his head. “I do not think so. I believe she would have told me that, and Robbie does not have the look of him, thank heavens. No, I suspect she loved his father and that he is dead or out of her reach. As you point out, Lacey, Juliet’s life was not her own. I won’t hold that against the poor woman.”
“I am certain you will not.” Grenville let his smile come. “Mixed marriages are not uncommon these days, you know. I followed my heart, and it has brought me great happiness thus far.”
Eden’s brow furrowed, and he gazed from Grenville to me in bewilderment. Then he let out a hearty laugh.
“Good Lord, gentlemen. You believe me smitten? I am fond of Mrs. Davies, it is true, and young Robbie, but marriage?” He laughed again, the sound deep and loud. “I have told you many times, Lacey, I am an avowed bachelor.”
To the rumble of his laughter, we rounded the corner into Wellclose Square and to Robbie’s and his mother’s home.
WE SPENT another pleasant hour with the lovely Mrs. Davies in her parlor, explaining to her what had happened. She applauded in delight when we described the villain being taken away.
“You should have no more worries, dear lady,” Grenville assured her.
I would not be as sanguine until all parties were locked away. I would ask Sir Montague to either send patrollers to guard her house or contact his cronies in the Tower to do the same.
Eden decided to remain behind with Mrs. Davies when we departed. We pried Harry from the rear yard where he was teaching Robbie the boxing moves Brewster had showed him and returned him to his grandmother. Mrs. Beadle was surprised to learn the identity of the killer, but relieved he’d been arrested.
“None want to stay in a boarding house where men are murdered in their bedchambers,” she declared. “But if it had to do with the excise men, then there’s no worry. No one likes them,” she finished with conviction.
I bade Jackson return Grenville and me to the Thames River Police. Once there, Thompson thanked me for this coup and told me he’d given his prisoner to the Constable of the Tower, who had jurisdiction over Wellclose Square and its environs.
“If he’s convicted, it might well be treason,” Thompson said. “Stealing weapons from Britain and supplying them to other countries.” He shook his head. “I’m sure it was bloody lucrative. He already gave me names, which I have passed on to the Runners. I may have hinted to Seabrook that his charges might be reduced to smuggling and theft, rather than treason if he assisted me.” Thompson shrugged, his worn coat swaying. “Don’t know what the judges at the Old Bailey will decide to convict him on.”
“Where has Brewster got to?” I asked after we’d said our farewells. A swift glance around told me he was nowhere in sight. “His wife will want him home in one piece.”
“He said he was going back to the warehouse that burned yesterday. He gave no reason. I bade him a good day.”