Bedford Street Brigade 01 - Where the Lady Belongs by Laura Landon Page B

soon be out of money and forced to come out of hiding. When he did, Mack and his fellow investigators would be there to apprehend him.
    Cora thought of what this would mean. It meant she’d be able to go home. She’d be able to see Bridgette again and the children. She’d be able to stroll freely along the streets and go for a ride through Hyde Park.
    It also meant she’d never see Mack again.
    That thought hurt more than she thought it would. More than she’d anticipated it would. But there wasn’t another choice for her to make. She needed to protect her heart, and the only possible way was to not risk losing it.
    Cora placed sandwiches, a pastry, and a cold drink in each of the two hampers. She would take one to Harper like she had twice a day every day since she’d come here, then take the other hamper to the back and set it beyond the gate. Jack was there today. She’d talked to him when she’d delivered the noon hamper. He wouldn’t be relieved until later, when he and Hugh would come in for supper.
    She walked to the gate, then stopped. “Jack, are you there?”
    “Yes, I’ve been waiting for you, Cora. I’ve been guessing what you might be bringing all afternoon.”
    Cora laughed. “And what have you decided I would have?”
    “I thought perhaps some of the lemon custard from last night.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry to disappoint you, Jack,” Cora said. “I know you probably had your heart set on the lemon custard, so I’ll just take out the blueberry cobbler Mrs. Ramesdale made for you.”
    “No! Blueberry cobbler is perfect. In fact—”
    “ Ooof! ”
    Cora listened. “Jack?”
    Cora set down the hamper and rushed to the gate. “Jack, are you all right?”
    She listened but heard nothing. “Jack! Are you all right?”
    “Miss,” Jack moaned. “Help me.”
    His voice was soft and strained, as if he was in pain. Cora reached for the bolt on the gate, then hesitated. What if it was a trick? What if the voice didn’t belong to Jack? What if she walked into a trap?
    But what if Jack was hurt? What if he were to die because she was too frightened to help him?
    Cora looked to the ground and searched for something she could use to protect herself with. She grabbed a sturdy piece of wood from beneath one of the trees and grasped it firmly. Then she pushed back the bolt and slowly opened the gate.
    She looked to the left and saw Jack in a crumpled heap on the ground.
    Before the man’s fingers clamped around her arm and pulled her beyond the safety of Mack’s garden, she knew she’d been a fool to open the gate. But what choice had there been? She couldn’t have left Jack without trying to help him.
    The man’s fingers bit into her flesh. She fought to break his hold, but he was too strong.
    “Fighting will do you no good, lady.”
    Cora looked up and found herself staring into the face of the man whose sketch she’d drawn over and over. She pulled and twisted, then swung the piece of wood as hard as she could.
    The wood came into contact with the man’s shoulder and he grunted in pain. Then, before she could protect herself, his arm came around, and his fist slammed against her jaw.
    Cora’s world went black for several moments, and she blinked rapidly to clear her vision. “Harming me will only make matters worse, Mr. Blake. The authorities already know who you are.”
    “They can’t prove anything, though. Not without you to identify me. Without you to point the finger at me, all they have are those drawings.”
    “That’s all they need,” she said. “Mr. Wallace has my testimony and several people have identified you. You would be wise to turn yourself in and plead for mercy from the court.”
    “No!”
    His fingers clamped tighter around her arm, and he pulled her toward the street. Cora knew the farther he took her away from Mack’s house, the harder it would be for Mack to find her. She went three steps with him, then pretended to stumble.
    “Get up, bitch!”
    Before she could