Page 98 of A Devious Secret

As Stephen stepped inside, he saw that Lord Haddington was sitting next to Hawthorne. He stifled the groan on his lips as he sat across from them.

The hackney jerked forward, merging into traffic, and an awkward silence descended over them. Stephen found he had little to say to Haddington, but he was curious as to why he was there. If the annoyed look on Haddington’s face was any indication, he wasn’t pleased to see him either.

Stephen removed his top hat and wiped the sweat off his brow. The hackney was stuffy, and the open window was doing little by the way of circulating the air.

Hawthorne spoke up. “I invited Haddington to accompany us,” he said. “I hope you do not take issue with that.”

Stephen forced a smile to his lips. “Not at all,” he lied.

“Haddington is familiar with the Glistening Pigeon, and he informed me that it is a known gathering place for radicals,” Hawthorne shared.

“How exactly did Haddington come by this information?” Stephen questioned. How would a marquess know such a thing?

Haddington shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “It is common knowledge.”

Stephen knew that Haddington had no intention of answering his question truthfully. Not that he blamed the man. He would do the same thing to Haddington. It wasn’t as if he didn’t trust the man; he just didn’t like him.

Hawthorne glanced out the window before saying, “I do have unfortunate news about the man that attacked you at the museum.”

“Which is?” Stephen asked, turning his attention towards Hawthorne.

“Upon the threat of transportation, the man confessed that he had no idea who paid him to attack you,” Hawthorne said. “His job was just to rough you up and scare you into leaving Gemma alone.”

“How is it possible that he doesn’t know who hired him?” Stephen asked.

“A note was slipped under his door, along with a few coins,” Hawthorne replied. “If the man succeeded in keeping you away from Gemma, he would have received additional payment.”

“How lovely,” Stephen muttered. “So we are no closer to discovering who wants me to stay away from Gemma?”

“That would be correct,” Hawthorne said.

“Should we hire a Bow Street Runner?” Stephen asked.

Haddington huffed. “Bow Street Runners are useless,” he said. “It would be better if we hired a child to handle the investigation.”

“Surely they are not that bad?” Stephen questioned.

“If you want to waste your time and money, then by all means, hire a Bow Street Runner,” Haddington replied.

Stephen turned his attention towards Hawthorne. “Do you share the same disdain for Bow Street Runners?”

“I do believe Bow Street Runners serve a purpose, but they tend to just get in the way,” Hawthorne responded.

Hawthorne’s words gave him pause, causing him to ask, “Have they gotten in your way before?”

“On occasion,” Hawthorne replied.

Stephen stared at the earl and tried to make sense of what he was saying. Why would a Bow Street Runner get in his way? How exactly did he spend his time? These were questions that he knew he would never get a straight answer from Hawthorne.

The hackney came to a jerking stop in front of a dilapidated building. The windows were broken, the bricks needed tending to and there were men that were loitering out front. This did not look like a tavern, but more like a hovel.

“We are here,” Haddington announced.

“We are?” Stephen asked.

Haddington chuckled. “Trust me, it is worse on the inside,” he said. “Come along.”

They exited the hackney and stood on the narrow pavement. A pungent odor emanated from the ground, and he heard someone retching in the alley.