The Formidable Earl (Diamonds in the Rough #6) - Sophie Barnes Page 0,108

damn it. I need to get her home this instant.”

“She’ll be at Newgate until the ship is ready for departure,” the chief magistrate said. He snatched the summary of Ida’s sentencing from Simon and skimmed it. “Looks like you’re not wrong, my lord. The recommendation is for her to be aboard the next outbound vessel.”

Simon started to shake. He grabbed the edge of the front desk and forced himself to stay upright. This wasn’t happening. After everything they’d just been through, this could not be the next obstacle they had to face. It was simply too overwhelming. “There has to be something you can do to help – a way in which to stop this.”

“I will go to Newgate and check for her there while you head for the docks. Agreed?”

Simon nodded. “Yes.”

“Take my request for release with you, along with this letter.” The chief magistrate grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a few lines which he signed not only with his own signature but with a wax seal bearing the Bow Street office’s emblem. “It will lend credence to your words.”

“Right.” Simon thanked the man and ran from the building, down the front steps, and into the street where he hailed an approaching hackney. “To the docks. As fast as you can.”

The carriage lurched forward the moment Simon shut the door, jolting him back onto one of the benches. He grabbed the leather strap next to the window, barely holding himself upright as the vehicle caught speed, and Simon thanked God the coachman knew what urgency meant.

Chapter Twenty-One

Shivering, Ida pressed herself up against the side of the wagon the guards had placed her in after her trial. Her wrists were tightly bound behind her back, making it hard for her to find a comfortable position. All around, huddled much in the same way as she, were dozens of other prisoners, all eerily silent. They were beyond tears and complaints, their spirits so broken they simply accepted what was to come.

Ida wondered how many were just as innocent as she, mistakenly or perhaps even purposefully wronged by a system that simply wanted them gone. The trial itself had been a laughable affair. The judge’s blunt words still rang in her ears.

“You have been charged with attempted murder by a peer of the realm, an offense for which you ought to hang. But since there are no scheduled hangings for a few days, you can work yourself to death in the colonies instead.”

“But—”

The judge’s gavel had fallen with a resounding thud. “Next!”

Firm hands had grabbed her arms and dragged her toward the exit. There had been no chance for protest, no opportunity for her to argue her case, not the slightest possibility of being heard or of being treated with fairness. Every word she’d tried to speak had fallen on deaf ears. Her throat tightened and she closed her eyes to block out her grimy surroundings. Where was Simon? It had been hours since her trial had ended – hours she’d spent in a filthy prison cell hoping and praying he’d come and save her. So why hadn’t he shown up?

The wagon bounced as it rattled along, knocking her shoulder straight into the side. She winced and opened her eyes. The gown she wore was crumpled and covered in splotches of dirt while the elegant coiffure Miranda had worked to create had turned into a tangled mess. Ida bit down hard on her lower lip and told herself all would be well.

The wagon eventually drew to a halt. There was a pause and then the scrape of keys in the lock that secured the barred door.

“Get out,” a brutish voice spoke.

Ida stepped down onto the pier and glanced around in all directions, still hoping and praying for a glimpse of Simon. Her heart sank as realization crashed over her with unforgiving force. He wouldn’t come. Although she was sure he’d done his best, he’d failed. She was about to leave England and he was out of time.

“Move,” one of the guards sneered next to her ear. He shoved her forward and laughed when she stumbled.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Ida made her way toward the gangplank and onto the ship that would take her away from the man she loved. Defeated, she stepped onto the deck of the three-masted seagoing vessel.

“Keep moving,” another guard cried out. “Down the ladder you go.”

Ida grabbed the railing and followed the woman in front of her into the ship’s dim interior. A good