Page 71 of When You Rescued Me

At last, her father gave a capitulating sigh. “The change in the porter’s stance likely occurred because he is aware that I have donated funds to support the Marine Society. But as I cannot be parked outside the building on a permanent basis, your experience leaves me concerned for those downtrodden boys and youth who appear on the Society’s doorstep at similarly inconvenient hours and without an influential escort.”

Hannah stared at the dim outline of her father’s face, momentarily dumbstruck. How had she gone twenty-three years believing that she knew him completely when in one day, he’d offered her startling new insight into his upbringing and his courtship of her mother and had now admitted to funding a charity that she’d not known existed only a few weeks ago? “I had no idea that you had contributed to the Marine Society,” she said, pausing when an unexpected thought took root. “All those unexplained withdrawals in your financial ledgers! I could never account for the missing money, but when I asked you about them, you brushed the large sums aside as personal expenses.”

He chuckled softly. “I was pleasantly surprised that you never pressed for more information.”

“Would you have told me?”

“Perhaps,” he admitted. “Had you truly insisted upon knowing. Still, I would prefer that my philanthropic efforts be accomplished privately and quietly.” He sighed again. “Though it would seem that a meeting with Hanway and Fielding over the way children are admitted might be overdue, I applaud the gentlemen for their desire to assist London’s underprivileged children. Thankfully, there are several others bent on similar rescue missions throughout the city, and I am grateful to be in a position to offer them my assistance. I cannot lay claim to anything more than that, however, and as such, I neither desire nor deserve any accolades.”

“Oh, Father.” Hannah slipped her arm through his and leaned her head against his shoulder. “You are too modest by half, but I can say this unequivocally: You are an uncommonly good man.”

He patted her hand gently. “It is very kind of you to say so, my dear. And though I would surmise that you do not need to hear it from me, I am beginning to think that Mr. Ross may hold himself to a similar standard and way of thinking.”

“Yes,” she said. Even if those within the upper echelon of Society would never countenance the comparison, she knew for a surety that her father was right.

Chapter 26

Samuel glanced at the clock on the mantel in Sir John’s parlor. If Hannah arrived at Bow Street on time, she would appear within the next twelve minutes. He ran the palms of his hands across his thighs. There was no reason for him to be apprehensive about seeing her again. Well, other than the fact that he’d kissed her so thoroughly the evening before that he’d thought on little else all night. His neck warmed at the memory. Heaven help him. Taking her in his arms had been a grievous lapse in judgment. His past had not changed, and regardless of her generous words, they both knew that his place in Society would never match hers. And yet, lovestruck fool that he was, he could not summon any true remorse for his actions. The moments they’d shared on the steps of the Marine Society would be permanently etched in his heart.

He released a tense breath. How he was to navigate a world that did not include Hannah, he did not know. But once Lady Telford’s ball was behind them, it would have to be done. Emptiness engulfed him at the very thought. Nevertheless, going their separate ways was his only hope for moving past the feelings he had for her. With that one unforgettable kiss, he had opened his heart to Hannah, but he did not need to do the same for anyone else. Gaining control of his wayward emotions before she entered the room was critical if he wished to keep his feelings hidden from the other gentlemen in the room.

Forcibly pushing the image of Hannah’s tousled hair and hazel eyes from his mind, he attempted to focus on Clarke’s update.

“You were inspired to have me seek out Edward Bancroft, my lord,” Clarke said.

“I am glad to hear it.” Sir John leaned back in his chair on the other side of the desk. “Even though Ellerby could give us frustratingly few details, his noticing someone at the wharf smelling strongly of turpentine was clue enough that the London blaze was started by the same arsonist that ignited the fires at the docks at Bristol and Portsmouth.”

“Aitken,” Jealous said grimly.

“He is definitely the most likely candidate, though it would have been helpful if Ellerby could have given us a description.” Sir John turned his unseeing eyes toward Samuel. “I assume Miss Dennington is still planning to share what she can recall with us this morning?”

“Yes, my lord,” Samuel said. When Samuel had finally made it back to Bow Street the night before, Clarke and Jealous had been updating Sir John on their findings. They had not been happy about his disappearance at the wharf, and he had used the promise of Hannah’s eyewitness account to mollify them. “She should be here shortly.”

“When you hear Mr. Bancroft’s report,” Clarke said, “I think you will agree that it further supports our suspicions of Aitken’s culpability.”

“Can his account be believed?” Samuel asked. Last night was the first he’d heard of Edward Bancroft, and he had yet to fully reconcile the fact that Sir John had sent Clarke to interview a known double-agent.

“Bancroft is a master at playing the game,” Sir John said. “He is an American spy, and as such will betray our men on the other side of the Atlantic. But he is not above sharing information with the British government if the remuneration is sufficiently high.”

Such duplicity went against every moral fiber of Samuel’s being, but he was willing to learn how to work with a man who eschewed national loyalty if it helped their cause.

“What did he tell you, Clarke?” Jealous asked.

“Aitken approached him at an undisclosed public house in London a fortnight ago,” Clarke said. “Apparently, Aitken met with the American envoy Silas Deane in Paris a week before that and came away from that discussion with the deluded notion that he has the full diplomatic backing of Deane and the Continental Congress in Philadelphia to sabotage Royal naval vessels and the docks where their repairs are made.”

“He wants the Americans to offer him a safe haven,” Sir John guessed. “Or, even better, financial reward and credit for turning the war in the Americans’ favor.”

“Exactly,” Clarke said. “Bancroft said that Aitken revealed some of his plans to him. They included using his training as a painter to mix chemicals and solvents to create incendiary devices that could burn down the flammable buildings in the Royal dockyards.”

“Why was Bancroft willing to share this with you?” Samuel asked.

Clarke shrugged. “It appears that the fellow is far more comfortable selling secrets than he is at being complicit in arson against the Crown.”

Sir John muttered something unintelligible under his breath. Samuel thought it likely that the magistrate’s opinion of double-agents was akin to Samuel’s feelings about Charlie.

“So,” Jealous said. “It appears that we have identified the right man and have uncovered his motivation for setting ships and warehouses ablaze. Why, then, would he team up with Grimsby to steal Lady Telford’s necklace?”

“Money,” Sir John said. “Aitken has to get it from somewhere, especially if he needs more chemical supplies. Grimsby graduated from petty crimes to burglary years ago, and he has a gang of men he can call upon to assist him. He also has a network of safe houses where Aitken can remain hidden until he is ready to strike again.” Sir John leaned forward and placed his elbows on the desk. “Gentlemen, I hope you all realize that, protecting Lady Telford’s valuable pendant aside, it is imperative that we apprehend Aitken at the ball if we are to avert further damage to British naval ships or their dockyards.”