August saw the lantern flickering even as he heard Duncan, Tummet and the others starting down the stairs. He broke out into a cold sweat as memories of the dark and the squeaking rats overcame his usual sang froid. His eyes became unfocussed and he froze while "The rats! Oh my God, the rats!" burst from his mouth in an anguished whisper.

Flora turned at the sound of his agony and put her hand on his, trying to reassure him as the men finally reached the cellar after a number of really amazing epithets were bandied about as elbows, ribs, and legs collided in the tumultuous rush down the very dimly lit stairs.

"What's the problem, Guv?" Tummet's rough voice snapped August from his involuntary trance and he gave a startled , "Oh yes!" and pointed to the wall.

"It's a false wall and there must be a lever or a button to move it."

Duncan moved over to Flora's side and handed her an extra lantern which he had had the forethought to bring. He looked at her enquiringly. He had seen her touch August and wanted to make sure all was well. She gave a little smile and then turned her attention to the men whose eager hands were running all over the wall, searching for the part that would move it. A sudden shout of "'Ere, there's a knob!" signified success and the wall slowly moved on a roller into a cleverly constructed groove in the real wall.

Duncan and Tummet dashed through, lanterns held high and stopped in amazement. Jacob, Theo, and James were carefully laid in a row, rolled up jackets under their heads and there were strips of cloth binding James' and Jacob's wounds.

Flora flew into the small room and dropped to her knees by Jacob, unmindful of the dirt or the billowing of her hoops. She grasped his hand and leaned over whispering, "Oh, Jacob, are you all right?"

He groaned and in the lantern light she saw the dreadful bruises on his face. One eye was swollen shut and the other nearly so. "Oh, my love, what have they done to you?" Tears rolled down her cheeks and she kept tight hold of his hand as she sobbed.

Jacob heard her words as if in a distance and he groaned, then made the supreme effort and opened his least battered eye. It was difficult but worth it as he saw the tear stained face of an angel, his angel, hovering above him, and he managed to croak, "Your love?"

"Oh, yes, yes, my love!" Flora leaned over further and gently kissed his swollen lips, totally unheeding the fascinated men about her.

Jacob gave a big sigh. He closed his eye again but his mind retained the sight of his Flora crying over his bruises and her love words. He might be a wounded warrior but he was a supremely happy one. She loved him!

August cleared his throat loudly and began issuing orders. He sent some of the men to find table tops, table leaves or even doors that could be used to carry the wounded from the cellar. Theo had not wakened at all and James just groaned so they would have to be lashed down to negotiate the steps. Two of the men were sent to get carriages to take everyone to Seaforth House.

After a lot of loud thumping and banging in the upper regions, Tummet and his men returned with an assortment of makeshift stretchers. Theo was lashed down on a table leaf and then lifted slowly. The men began the delicate task of carrying him up the stairs. It was not easy since the steps were narrow and Flora, still holding tightly to Jacob's hand and watching over him anxiously, learned some very colorful swear words, things a young lady of good breeding should be totally unaware of!

Once Theo was settled in the drawing room upstairs, James was transported in the same way. Since he regained consciousness during the trip up the stairs, Flora was privileged to hear some round stable oaths too, and she filed them away for future reference, to share with Margo and to use in times of stress.

Finally, it was Jacob's turn and Duncan quietly leaned over and told her to drop the hand she was clutching. It was hard to let it go but she leaned over and kissed him once again, murmuring some disjointed love words, and then she led the way upstairs, turning frequently to chastise the men for every groan Jacob uttered. Tummet muttered and mumbled at Missy's sharp tones and scolding, but he was wearing a big smile. He could see how the wind was blowing for Missy and the Major and he was enjoying himself hugely. Others might be caught in that love trap but not Enoch Tummet. He had no idea that Fate was already laughing long and loud at his boastful thought.

August sighed to himself at love's young dream. He thought of his Small Rossiter and sighed once more. He wondered just how James was going to react to his niece's love and then he thought, 'Well, he's certainly a better man than Daventry ever was, title or no title. The Duke, Roly and James could get together and find a small estate for Holt. Then, when the Guardians were finally vanquished, Theo would come up with a handsome dowry for his sister. And, just maybe, a grateful but extremely parsimonious King might be persuaded to open his purse, too.' August gave another, even longer sigh, reached into his pocket and took out a small biscuit, and munching it thoughtfully, ascended the stairs thinking about his Gwen's face and praying that the next months would pass quickly. He was not a particularly patient man.

The wounded were loaded into the carriages with great care and Flora, unmindful of her disheveled state, scrambled in after Jacob and rode to Seaforth House, scrunched up on the floor but holding his hand and watching his every breath. The procession finally arrived and they were taken into the warm house with clean beds awaiting them. Willing hands were ready to assist and Dr. James Knight had once more been aroused to minister to them all. Seaforth House was now a hospital, albeit an unofficial one.

Fiona and Roly were enjoying a few peaceful moments. Mary and Clifford were safely tucked up in their beds and the pups and the cat were in their baskets in the kitchen. Roly smiled at his wife and said, "Peace and quiet! Come here wife, and kiss me!"

Just then the knocker sounded and their rather decrepit butler, Butler, shuffled across the hall to answer it, uttering all kinds of dire imprecations under his breath. Some rather spirited dialogue was heard and then Butler threw open the drawing room doors and announced "Mr. Jeffries" in a very aggrieved voice. His whole body was rigid with indignation and Roly could almost see the bristles sprouting along his spine. His amour propre had been severely tested by a visitor at such an unheard of hour. Roly glanced at Fiona and grinned and muttered, "Do you think we could possibly pension him off?"

Fiona giggled and said, "I wish you luck if you try!"

Roly grunted a few choice words about old family retainers as a tall man, garbed entirely in black with his tricorne pulled low over his forehead to shadow his face, literally lifted Butler out of his way and strode into the room as if he owned it.

"Hello, Roly," he snapped. "You had my letter a couple of days ago and haven't answered. Why not?"

Roly looked up and gaped. "Hector?"

Fiona bristled at the abrupt statements and said imperiously, "I have the letter and intended to give it to my husband in a few days. He was badly wounded and has needed time to recuperate."

Jeffries bowed to Fiona, removed his hat, and almost threw himself into a chair while Roly began to laugh. "Kadenworthy, you are the only villain beside me who would dare to be so presumptuous! What are you doing in England? I believe treason charges are still dogging you, and surely you don't wish to be hanged, drawn, and quartered as a spectacle for the unwashed masses to enjoy."

Kade laughed too and turning to Fiona begged her pardon. Fiona was busily sorting through a whole stack of letters and invitations, talking to herself until she finally found what she was looking for and with a dark look at Kade, she handed it to Roly. He frowned and then blew her a kiss as he opened the seal and quickly read it.

"So, the Guardians are even stirring up discontent in the Colonies?"

"Yes, but a group of us, mainly with shipping interests have identified the troublemakers. We are keeping close watch on them. I came back to England because all the strings are being pulled from here. The men there are only the small fry and it is better to leave them alone and watch them. Better the devils we know than those we don't. I may have helped Treve escape but I never fought with the Jacobites. Treve was a friend and needed me, but I had no desire to change things then, nor do I wish to see civil unrest and anarchy in England because of some men's overweening ambitions."

"Just why are you here tonight?" Roly asked.

"Too many of the 'supposed' clues to 'traitors' are false, planted by the real traitors. Your grandfather's name has been whispered across too many tavern tables, Roly, and we both know what a furor it would cause for a Duke of the Realm to be denounced as a traitor to the Crown in the House of Lords. The Red Heart of Flame is in some way part of the plot. Everyone in England knows it is a Marbury possession and how could he defend himself? It would be done so insidiously and that is the kind of thing that is so hard to fight. Rumor always is!"

Fiona blanched at Kade's matter of fact recital and turning to Roly said, "We must warn him immediately."

Jeffries nodded his agreement and added, "I have another suggestion for the Duke. Do you think he could be persuaded to make a gift of that hideous tiara to the Queen? Just think what a crimp that would put in the Guardians' plans."

Roly threw back his head and gave a great shout of laughter. "What a wonderful idea! I have always lived in mortal dread that one day I would inherit that revolting thing. Queen Caroline certainly wouldn't care about its bizarre looks, just its value. I'll send a messenger to Marbury at once and with any good luck at all, Queen Caroline's Germanic brow will be adorned with that immensely valuable and indescribably horrible piece of jewelry by tomorrow night!" He chuckled and chortled and finally sputtered, "Now why didn't my devious mind think of such a way out of inheriting it?"

Jeffries smiled at Roly's merriment and taking up his hat, started to walk to the door. He turned as he reached it and said, "Good night then - oh, and Roly, please tell your friends that Cecily Tilbury is mine. I will remove her from England when the time is right and none of you must pursue her." With that, he opened the door, almost upsetting Butler who was trying to listen at the keyhole, and waving to them all, he strode out the front door, a dark, powerful figure, disappearing into the deep shadows of the night.

Fiona looked at Roly and gasped, "He wants Cecily? Whatever for?"

Roly stared at his wife, stupefied for an instant and then muttered, "Well, I wanted you! I imagine he wants her for the very same reason," and he reached to pull her down to him for a kiss.

Miranda Dickens clutched her cloak around her as the damp wind swirled through the various alleys as she hurried along. She could smell the familiar scents of her childhood - salt water, seaweed, tar, ropes and all the other things that made up the dockside smells. She was used to them and in a way, loved them for they meant home to her. She paid little attention to anything as she hurried along to her parents' tavern, The Jolly Tar. She missed working with Ann Tilbury, now Lady Seaforth, but she still had that imp Ronnie to keep her busy.

Just two more streets to go, she thought, and then she would have two days at home with Da and Mam, her brothers and sisters, and all the household gossip to catch up on. Suddenly, from the alley she was passing, she heard a deep groan and she stopped, unsure as to whether she should investigate. Miranda was no coward, so she opened her cloak and put her hand into her bodice. She pulled out her useful push dagger and then stepped into the alley.

She almost fell over the man lying there, and a hasty examination told her that the man was badly beaten and stark naked. She gathered her skirts up and flew down the streets to the tavern, burst through the door and ran to her father crying, "Da, Jimmy! Come quick. There's a cove hurt down in Fisher's Alley."

She stepped behind the bar after throwing her cloak down on a small settle and watched several men rush out with her Da. Dispensing ale and grog occupied her until the rescue party returned carrying the man. Someone had tossed a jacket over him to preserve his modesty, and Miranda hastily led them into the small room adjoining the bar. Her father often rested on a cot there during the afternoon when it was quiet.

After the victim had been settled, Miranda went in to see what, if anything, she could do to help him. He had been badly beaten and she could see from the awkward angle that his arm was broken. His ribs showed signs of having been kicked at least half a dozen times and she was sure they were cracked, if not broken. She went for rags and wooden splints, being an old hand at some of the more violent bar rough houses. As she washed the man's face, he opened his eyes and started babbling a whole stream of words. She was busy, not paying much attention to his outpourings when the words "James Seaforth and Alistair" penetrated her consciousness. He repeated the names several times, along with some disjointed words sounding like "forgive me, traitor and coward". Miranda looked at him more carefully and took note of the new blisters on what had been obviously hands unused to manual labor. He might have been dirty, beaten, and unshaven but he bore the unmistakable earmarks of a gentleman. He muttered other words and she caught something that sounded like "disgrace to the Gunnetts or Dunnetts." Miranda made a quick decision and after setting the broken arm with the help of Jimmy who had come in to help, went to the bar and told her father she was going to the Seaforths. He looked at her and realizing that she was in earnest, signaled another of her brothers to find her a hired jarvey for the trip.

Seaforth House was ablaze with candles when Miranda arrived. She was pleased that she would not be waking anyone up especially since she knew that Ann - no, she must remember that she was now Lady Seaforth - was enceinte.

She paid off the jarvey and raced up the stairs. Just as she raised her hand to use the big brass knocker, the door swung open and Enoch Tummet rushed out, knocking her against the iron balustrade. Her startled, "Ooof," stopped him in his tracks and he turned and looked into a pair of big blue eyes. Enoch Tummet gulped and Fate or Cupid chortled with glee as he gulped and then stuttered, "Enoch Tummet. Ye're... ye're... ye're?"

August stepped into the hall at that moment and saw the two staring at each other. He walked forward and then said, "Miranda, whatever are you doing here so late?"

Rafe, Daventry, a heavily veiled Cecily and a very nervous Catherine sat staring at each other in the drawing room. The fire did little to warm a room that was filled with hate and anger, and Catherine drew her cashmere shawl tighter around her body, closed her eyes and wished with all her might that she were somewhere else.

Rage was the emotion suffusing Rafe's face. He looked at his co-conspirators and wondered again just why all his machinations and Warburton's brilliant plans had been thwarted by a bunch of well-meaning idiots. He failed to recognize loyalty to their friends, their families and their country. Rafe knew nothing of loyalty; his only legacies had been ambition and hatred for others who had what he wanted.

"Well," he almost screamed at them. "What has happened now? I went to Mount Street and saw your prisoners being carried away. How did you come to lose them?"

Cecily shuddered. She opened her mouth to mention the brown-haired, brown-eyed man but couldn't get the words out. Despite her ambition, her pride, and her belief in her royal destiny, the man had made an impact on her heart and her mind and she could not, would not betray him. Cecily was a very confused woman as she sat and listened to Rafe rant on and on about the shortcomings of all of them.

Just as Daventry started a stammering explanation of his movements, the back door opened and Warburton entered. Daventry looked at him with an expression of horror and fright and weakly said, "But you're dead!"

Warburton gave Daventry a wintry, cruel smile and said, "You don't think I would put myself in danger of being killed by one of my faithful compatriots, do you?" Daventry subsided and tried to push himself so far into the chair that he could be mistaken for part of it.

"Well, my friends, we were stymied again. And I have even worse news! The Queen attended the Afternoon Presentation wearing The Red Heart of Flame tiara, the gift of the Duke of Marbury to the Crown. How did he know we intended to use it against him?" He stared at them all, and each felt stripped bare of all secrets.

Catherine moaned and fainted, falling back in her chair, face absolutely ashen. The others fidgeted but said nothing.

"There is another loose end that has gotten away, too. Brooks Lambert has disappeared. The innkeeper where he was staying said some friend took him away to the country to rest and recuperate. Brooks Lambert had no friends. Where is he?" Warburton was almost frothing at the mouth with rage and contempt. "How dare someone interfere with my plans? He must be found at once!"

Warburton looked about him and snapped out order after order - jarveys and cabs for hire must be checked. Everyone in the neighborhood of the inn must be questioned. Brooks Lambert was not to be allowed to escape his destiny as assassin. He raged on and on and then, with a derisive glance at them all, left the same way he came.

Rafe looked at the others and said slowly, "I think there is something far more wrong than he has told us!"

The small travelling coach halted at the gangplank of a ship busily taking on cargo. The men inside looked at it and Brooks sighed at the sight of his passport to freedom and a new life. He still was thin and wasted looking, but not nearly as much as he had been when Gordon had found him in that sordid room. Food, sunshine, and fresh air had done him a world of good, and he was neatly arrayed in a brown suit, completely suitable for travelling.

Gordon smiled at him and said, "I think you will be safer out of England and this ship sails with the tide in less than an hour. You would have to wait another ten or twelve days for another ship to Charleston in the Carolinas, and I had the feeling that you would be far safer on the high seas than here in London. I really could think of no where else to hide you successfully either."

Brooks looked at his benefactor with gratitude and replied, "I feel much better. Your old nurse was so good to me and I am so appreciative of all you and she have done. I don't want to cause more trouble than I have and I have a feeling that the Guardians are looking for me right now."

Gordon handed Brooks a packet of letters, explaining that his agent in Charleston would arrange for a place for him to stay while he looked for a farm. There was also a letter of credit so that he could purchase the farm, hire some help, and stock it with equipment. He had also included credit for seed, livestock, and furniture. Brooks put out a trembling hand to accept the packet and the fairly large purse it had hidden.

Brooks almost broke into tears as he thanked Gordon and swore that he would repay him somehow. Gordon laughed and said, "Just have a good life, don't ever buy slaves, and write once in a while to let me know how you fare."

Both men shook hands and Brooks climbed out of the coach slowly. The driver had already taken his trunk and portmanteau to the ship and it was safely aboard. Brooks turned to Gordon and put his hand in his pocket. He drew out a piece of metal. It was a key, but a most unusual one - long and thin and with an odd shaped head with a crest imprinted on it. He handed it to Gordon and said, "I learned a few tricks in Bedlam. When the Guardian leader took me from the place, I managed to pick his pocket and this was the only thing I found. I think it might be very important!"

Gordon took the key and with Brooks' words in mind, secreted it in a small compartment built in the roof of the coach. He watched Brooks walk up the gangplank and waited until he had stepped aboard. Lines were being cast off and as Brooks turned and waved, the ship began to move. Gordon waved back and then ordered the coachman to drive on.