And with that, he turned on his heel, climbed over the side to his boat and began to row for shore, humming to himself.
Miss Miller approached me. ‘That young man is the devil incarnate, Sister Catherine. Thou must have nothing to do with him.’
‘You’re right – he’s Satan himself,’ I murmured. And, like the foolish Dr Faust, I appeared to have struck a dangerous bargain with him.
SCENE 3 – THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
By the time we arrived back ashore, we found the fish market had been transformed into a battleground. Groaning bodies and blood were strewn across the snow, splashes of scarlet on what had been glistening white. Milly and the younger Miss Millers were ministering to the injured, picking their way across smashed crates and crunching over oyster shells.
‘What on earth’s been happening here?’ asked Mr Equiano.
‘It was the mob from the Rookeries,’ explained Milly, wiping her own cut lip with a lace handkerchief. Charlie hastened to her side but she waved him away. ‘It’s nothing – I just caught an elbow in the face. They were lying in wait for the Butcher’s Boys – but we won.’ She smiled, then winced as her lip began to bleed again.
I now noticed that among the fallen were several liveried footmen as well as Elias Jones. He had a nasty knife wound to his cheek.
‘Is anyone seriously hurt?’ asked Lizzie anxiously as the runners began to move among the injured, checking them over.
‘Fortunately, no. It was mainly fists until an ugly thug arrived just before you landed. He had a knife. He slashed at anyone in reach, then whistled and the whole gang moved off, carrying their injured away.’
Constable Lennox gave a nod to two of his men. ‘See if you can catch up with them and make sure you arrest that one with the knife.’
I knew it was too late. Shepherd would have disappeared back into the Rookeries. They had no more chance of catching him than trapping water in their hands. But Lennox had to look as if he were doing something before a duchess.
‘How’s Syd?’ I asked, not seeing him among the boys on the ground.
My answer was a bone-crushing hug from behind. ‘I’m all right, Cat,’ he said. I wasn’t so sure: his nose looked as though it was broken. He had a puffy black eye and his clothes were in tatters. ‘I’m just relieved to see you and Prince alive. I thought Shepherd ’ad trapped you both good and proper. I was near desperate to get out on the water but ’e ’ad all ’is boys waitin’ for us.’
‘You should have seen Mr Fletcher, Cat,’ said Milly. ‘He laid about him with his fists like a second Samson.’
‘And you were pretty ’andy with that there umbrella of yours, if you don’t mind me sayin’, miss,’ said Syd.
Milly blushed but looked very pleased at the compliment.
‘But your nose, Syd?’ I asked.
‘Oh that? That’s nothink. Got that earlier in the boxin’ match. I’d just knocked ’im down when this lady strode into the ring, bold as brass, and told me what was up. You should’ve seen our faces. Never seen a lady at a fight before – except you, of course, Cat, but not a real, genuine top notch lady.’
‘Thanks, Syd,’ I muttered.
‘You know what I mean, Cat. Anyways, I’ll get me nose fixed when we get you ’ome.’
‘I can’t go home just yet. I’m under arrest.’
‘Not again?’ Syd groaned.
‘But not for long, we hope,’ added Pedro, coming forward to shake Syd’s hand. ‘So Shepherd didn’t want you to come to my rescue. Then why tell Cat where I was?’
Syd shrugged. ‘I guess ’e wanted to trap ’er too. What d’you think, Cat?’
I didn’t want to let on to them about the deal I had struck with Shepherd. They wouldn’t approve. ‘I think it was his idea of fun,’ I said lightly. ‘He wanted to see if I could free you on my own.’
‘He’s evil,’ commented Lizzie, shaking her head.
‘Not all evil,’ demurred Pedro quietly. ‘He was the only one who was half-decent to me during my captivity. He brought Cat to see me, remember?’
‘But he was the one keeping you locked up!’ Lizzie protested.
‘It wasn’t personal,’ Pedro said philosophically.
I agreed with Pedro: Billy was rotten but he had never had anything against my friend. Indeed, I had an inkling that Billy may have treated him well because he knew I cared for him. But that wasn’t a pleasant thought. It reminded me too sharply of the complicated feelings Billy had for me, and standing here in the snow knowing that I had him to thank for saving Pedro, I knew that my attitude to him had become equally entangled. I hated him, of course, despised his way of life, naturally, but now there was a slight suggestion of gratitude, a glimmer of admiration for his diabolical cleverness in getting what he wanted from both Hawkins and me.
The runners commandeered hackney carriages to transport their two prisoners and the wounded back to Bow Street. Unfortunately, this meant I had to leave my friends to ride with the guards and Mr Hawkins. The slaver glared at me the whole way, no doubt wondering what revenge he could exact despite everything. I knew my weak spot even if he didn’t: Pedro. Hawkins was still technically my friend’s master. If Pedro stepped beyond the protection of his English allies, most courts around the world would hand him over to Hawkins without a second thought. Our victory in preventing Pedro’s removal from England was only partial. He would still be living in fear of Hawkins for the rest of his life.