The Formidable Earl (Diamonds in the Rough #6) - Sophie Barnes Page 0,106

She had every right to be there, and when my uncle came to call, intent on chasing her away, she refused to open the front door which led him to enter the house through the kitchen. Uninvited, I should add, in case that’s not clear.”

“Miss Strong did try to tell us as much,” the chief magistrate said. He was starting to look most uncomfortable. “I fear my men and I chose to believe Mr. Nugent instead. After all, he is a respectable member of Society while she…”

“She?” Simon asked.

The chief magistrate cleared his throat. “Mr. Nugent, I do believe you may have misjudged Miss Strong, believing her to be someone she clearly is not. As such, I have every intention of ensuring the charges against her are dropped, effective immediately.”

“But—”

“If you prefer,” the chief magistrate told Elliot, “we can turn this into a public spectacle.”

“That’s really not necessary,” Elliot grumbled.

The chief magistrate gave him a hard look. “I thought not.”

“If you don’t mind,” Simon said when no one else spoke, “I’ll accompany you to Bow Street.”

The chief magistrate’s expression softened as he gave his attention to Simon. “By all means.”

Simon thanked Huntley and Guthrie for their assistance and took his leave of the other gentlemen too.

“Please give our regrets to Miss Strong,” Kirksdale said. “I’m very sorry for what happened to her father.”

Simon paused on his way out the door. “You tried looking into it too, did you not?”

Kirksdale tilted his head. “Why do you ask?”

“Murdoch, the captain of The Soaring Falcon, mentioned you came to press him for information years ago.”

“He told me he didn’t know anything, and I eventually chose to believe Matthew Strong must have been a traitor after all. I’m glad his daughter met with more success than I did.”

Simon nodded and followed the chief magistrate to his carriage.

“I will see you all brought before a judge,” Mr. St. John said as they rolled along toward the Bow Street office.

“Vincent St. John, perchance?” Simon asked. He smiled at the look of surprise in Mr. St. John’s eyes. “I trust he’s a relation of yours?”

“If you must know,” Mr. St. John sneered, “he’s my brother, and he’ll make damn sure the charges against me are dropped.”

“No.” Simon crossed his arms. “Not even he can help you with this I’m afraid. You’re going to be eaten alive by rats at Newgate prison for what you’ve done.”

The chief magistrate chuckled. “Aye, that is the harshest punishment we have, and one most fitting for the crime that’s been committed.”

Mr. St. John seemed to gnash his teeth in fury, but he refrained from saying anything more, much to Simon’s relief. He was still so bloody enraged by what the man had done, first to Matthew and then to Ida, he feared he might strangle him if he uttered one more complaint.

Honestly, all Simon wanted was to reach Bow Street as quickly as possible, so he could be reunited with Ida. It had been too long since he’d seen her – he’d been too busy – but at least the whole ordeal was now over. They could finally be together again. He’d make her his wife and damn anyone who protested the match. She was the woman he wanted, his future countess. They loved each other and that was all that mattered.

The breakfast Ida received that morning was mediocre at best, consisting of flavorless, watered-down porridge. She ate one spoonful and forced down a second before setting the bowl aside. The guard had told her it was six o’clock when he’d come to wake her, and it felt as if that had been ages ago.

Staring at the hallway beyond the bars, she wondered when Simon would stop by again. She knew he was busy trying to help her, but she missed him terribly and hoped it wouldn’t be too long before she saw him next. Perhaps later in the day? She sighed and leaned back against the wall. He’d done well asking Guthrie and Huntley for help. Individually, each man was exceedingly powerful, but together, they would surely be able to get her out of here.

It was what she had to believe in order to calm her nerves. Simon was on her side. He would support her to the best of his abilities. He’d told her he loved her and he’d asked her to be his wife. She closed her eyes and smiled in response to the thought. A happy future awaited them. She had to have faith in that no matter