The Ruby in the Storm

Chapter 33: Show Me Your Hero

"Be that as it may, captain," Robert sneered, "if you betray me, I will call in the debt that Phillip's brother owes me and he will see the inside of a prison cell. It is a substantial sum, there is no way he will be able to pay it in full before judgment day."

Phillip sat forward. "Actually, I have friends of my own who all owe me a tidy sum, altogether. It is a stretch to say that such a sum will cover the debt, but it will certainly make for a good start. So you, sir, will be paid in full in good time, making your threat as obsolete as your conscience."

"And you have nothing against me, remember?" Sebastian added in. "Remember, it was I that approached you all those years ago and warned you about Bertha Denning. If anything, you owe me," he waved the invitation around. "Consider accepting this as your debt repaid to me."

Robert cursed foully and shook his head. "I was a fool to think any one of you would stick to the plan; or that any one of you would honor the oath."

"Oh, we will," Phillip replied coldly. "But first you need to know that your power over us is extremely limited, and growing weaker every second you delay accepting that invitation."

Robert remained in infuriated silence.

"Ross is willing to confess," Phillip added. "I do not need to be doing this to fulfill my brother's debt, but I am not an unreasonable man. I've helped Lucy this far after all, it be a waste to turn away now. If you accept the invitation, I will stick to the plan, but for Lucy, not you."

Ross nodded firmly in agreement. "I think somewhere down this dark path, Robert, you did forget that this was not about you," he took the last invitation from Sebastian's hand and placed it on the table between him and Robert. "You asked us for our loyalty. Give us yours first."

Robert glanced around the room, giving each man his own varied version of a hateful glare. He should have known that there was never just one Judas. He truly was alone in this.

"This must have been how Caesar felt, I imagine," he growled, seizing the invitation. "On the steps of the senate floor, bleeding at the feet of the statue of Pompey Magnus, he must have mirrored my thoughts at this very moment."

Sebastian snorted. "I doubt he was thinking of a direct method of vengeance, sir. He was, after all, dying."

"And that outcome is not entirely out of the cards," Ross added. His expression showed that he meant it, and Robert knew it.

Well, if that was how it was going to be, perhaps he would just have to strike first before they had the chance.

XXX

Charlotte returned to Dawn-Bridge later that day with news from the market. Lucy and Abigail were in the library, discussing plans over cups of steaming hot tea when Charlotte approached them with her findings. Whether or not they were grim tidings remained to be seen.

"Elizabeth Donaldson is throwing a dinner party," she said to start, removing her gloves and taking a seat next to Lucy. "She is inviting the best of Lanfore, it seems, including your uncle, Robert, two close associates of his and, of course, Mary Boatwright and her sister."

"Of course," Abigail murmured into her cup.

"Who are the associates?" Lucy asked. "Did you catch any names?"

Charlotte nodded, watching Lucy closely. "You know that Ross must be one of them," she said. "He told me he would try to find you once he came here, and knowing him he probably went directly to the source. Likely your uncle told him that you are still in Derbyshire. The other associate is a man named Phillip Doyle, do you know him?"