Page 20

“Shhh… listen,” one of the men said behind the wall. And then everyone went still for a while. Ford and Tricheuse didn’t move either.

“What did you hear?”

“Nothing, probably a rat or something.”

Tricheuse visibly relaxed, letting out a deep breath.

“There’s no one here, sir!” A man stalked into the room with confident strides. “We’ve turned the entire building upside down.”

“Marlow confirmed that the whore and a thief-taker entered the bloody building a few minutes ago. They couldn’t have disappeared so quickly.”

Ford and Madame Tricheuse were indeed their targets! Ford gritted his teeth.

“Marlow?” Madame Tricheuse asked in a barely audible whisper.

Ford nodded. It was one of the constables. The bastard had sold them to these thugs.

Ford felt his blood boil inside of him. And here he was, worried about the traitor’s well-being. Afraid that the thugs might have hurt him and his partner.

Madame Tricheuse rested her hand against his heart. Calm down, her gesture said. It’s not the time.

And oddly, it worked.

His breathing evened out, and he was able to hear past the rushing of blood in his ears and concentrate on the intruders’ words. Ford squeezed Madame Tricheuse’s wrist in gratitude.

He needed to stay calm. They were at an advantage, hiding behind the thin walls of the brothel. At least, they had already found some answers to the questions they didn’t even ask. They’d found out they couldn’t trust anyone. Not even the constables.

If they stayed hidden, perhaps they’d find out more.

Who were these men? Were they after Ford or after Madame Tricheuse? And what did they want with them?

The next words out of the aristocrat’s mouth answered one of Ford’s questions. “This is the first time in weeks that we got information on a single whore from this damned place. I can’t believe we missed her.”

The man paced inside the room like a caged tiger, occasionally thumping a wall with his fists.

Both Ford and Tricheuse held their breaths. If he tapped on their wall, perhaps a dull sound would give away the fact that there was a secret passage here. Would the man realize that?

The room grew quiet for a moment as the man paused and muttered something to himself. Ford couldn’t make out everything, but he understood bits and pieces.

He said something about Portsmouth’s murder. Then, “I told him to quit coming here, this place is a cesspool of waste. They thieve, they fish out information, and then sell it. No wonder the next step was murder.”

More steps. More hushed conversations.

Ford turned to Madame Tricheuse, to see if he could discern anything from her facial expression. It was probable that the man was making up the accusations simply out of anger at one of his friends being murdered in this place. But Madame Tricheuse stood still, her face a blank canvas.

“We found a back door…” somebody said loudly. “Perhaps they heard us and left.”

“Ran away like the cowards they are,” the aristocrat ground out. “Very well. Let’s make certain they remember that we’ve been here. Tear this place down!”

Cheering followed the loud, booming sounds. The rattling and shuffling noises, as well as the sounds of metal clinking, echoed in the room. Then the bang of the furniture being overturned and thrown about. Madame Tricheuse’s eyelids narrowed, her silent rage palpable despite her complete silence.

It must have been difficult to hear the destruction of the very place she cherished and fought hard to save.

Ford took her wrist and felt the pulse leaping inside her veins. He tried to calm her, the way she’d managed to do for him. By bringing attention to her frantic breaths and her leaping heartbeat.

They stood like that for a long moment. Her eyes were closed as she listened to whatever atrocity was going on outside their little hideaway. At times, she would flinch whenever a sharp noise would pierce the air. Ford felt pity for her and a certain anger at the men for the pure joy they expressed while causing immense destruction.

Yet he could do nothing but hold her hand, his thumb running sweeps across her wrist, trying his best to soothe her pain.