Three years ago...
Alex was heavily breathing when she stumbled into the garden.
A few guests turned and followed her with curious eyes as she walked farther away.
Why did she do it?
Why did she run away?
He was merely asking for a dance and she wanted to dance.
But she could not dance.
"Nae, I can't," she muttered to herself.
Looking around the garden, Alex found that she was lost. No, not truly. But she felt lost.
She did not belong here.
Yes, the party was wonderful and one she had always dreamed of, but this was not her world. This garden was not the place she was used to hide to when she was running away from a Guard!
Looking about, she realized she had gone too far and there was not enough light to guide her path. Where were her cousins?
Perhaps they must go home now.
*****
Ralph waited for the dress he picked out.
The modiste came forward with two more dresses, eager to gain more townsends.
Ralph shook his head after taking a look at the dresses, knowing full well he was in enough trouble for getting a dress for Alex, let alone buy her two more.
"But, my lord, are you certain the dress will fit?"
Ralph nodded. "Yes." He impatiently waved his hand. "Go on. The woman who shall wear that dress might not be around by the time I get hold of that box."
But just as he finished his statement, he heard a shout coming from outside and he whirled around to get a quick glimpse of Alex being dragged across the cobbled street by two men.
Without looking back, he rushed outside the store, pushing the door open.
"Oi!" a carriage driver shouted in time for Ralph to skid to a stop. The carriage rushed past him.
When the street was clear, Ralph ran across to follow after the two men and Alex.
He could see that she was struggling and the two men were not having a jolly good time dragging her toward an awaiting old Growler carriage.
"Stop!" Ralph shouted, making the two men look over their shoulder and Alex to shout louder. She started kicking frantically when she saw him but the other man scooped her over his shoulder as they started to run.
But her weight caused him to run slower. The other man was able to reach the Growler, shouting for his companion to run faster as he struggled to take something out of his coat.
Ralph knew that if the man had a pistol, this would prove to be very difficult.
He reached for his gun before the man could and shot him right on the shoulder, causing the fellow to fall on the ground, shouting in pain.
The man carrying Alex stopped but what he did next made Ralph pause. He made a quick turn, sliding Alex back down to her feet and turned her around just in time to point his own pistol against her temple.
The other man on the ground started to crawl but Ralph shot at the gun he was trying to reach for so it flung in the middle of the road. The man scrambled away against the carriage while the horses whined in distress.
Ralph could hear windows and doors being closed shut, a common occurrence in small villages like this during an ongoing fight.
"Move and I'll kill 'er!" the man holding Alex shouted frantically.
Undeterred, Ralph moved his arms and pointed the pistol at the man. "I would not care, really," he said in an even voice.
"Aye, he will not, guv," Alex gritted out. "We dinna even know one 'nother! Ye can even kill 'im after ye kill me and we'd never be chummy in afterlife."
"Shut up, you wench!" the man shouted.
An overwhelming sense of fury ignited inside Ralph. He saw Alex's equal fury at the word wench and he saw what she was about to do. But by some miracle, Ralph was faster this time and he shot the man's hand, the one holding the pistol.
The impact caused the man to fall away from Alex, giving her time to jump on the man and straddle him while he shouted in pain. Alex threw a strong blow against his face. While it was happening, the other injured man had come to his feet and kicked Alex off his companion.
Ralph growled as he ran to attack the man but the bastard disappeared from view. Alex had quickly come to her feet and threw herself at the man, growling, "Leave 'im alone, guv! 'Tis me fight!"
Ralph did not have the time to shout back a reply for he saw the other man reaching for his pistol on the ground with his good hand. He swerved to leave Alex with her current target so he could deal with the other.
A shot rang out and all four of them froze, Alex and Ralph straddling their respective enemies, holding them by the collar of their shirts.
"Leave our village at once!" someone shouted before letting out another shut. Dust flew from where the bullet hit the ground. "Leave us be!"
"I am a Guard!" Ralph shouted.
"We don't care!" answered the angry voice. The next shot nearly missed Alex's head.
"Bloody hell!" Ralph shouted as he reached for Alex, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her away from the man she was straddling.
Another shot hit the ground between Alex's earlier attackers and the two jumped to their feet. One jumped on the carriage while the other started to reach for his pistol. Just as Ralph was about to stop him by pointing his own pistol, another shot from their invisible enemy—or savior—rang out.
"Leave! All of you!"
"Oi!" Alex called out in protest when the carriage started to move and the last of the two attackers ran and jumped into the carriage. "We can't let 'em get away!" she said to Ralph but Ralph stopped her by gripping her arm tightly.
"We have to or we shall die along with them," he said through his teeth, searching for the invisible shooter. "We are being watched."
Alex shook his hold away with frustration, glaring at the disappearing carriage ahead. "The villagers are used te these squabbles," she uttered, "they know how te scare 'em away. Don't bother lookin' fer the other shooter, guv. Ye'll never find 'im." When she turned to walk back across the street, she shouted, "We're leavin'! Nae need te shoot!"
When no one answered, Ralph was amazed that the windows and doors began to open again and life went on in the village of Blucksley as if nothing had happened.
*****
Alex was glaring at the air before her when a large white box was dropped in front of her.
They were inside the tavern, in the empty drinking salon, waiting for the carriage driver to arrive.
The owner was carefully looking at them, but did nothing to keep them out of his property. He had not spared them a room last night, but he would dare not deprive them of a good meal after what hearing about the early morning squabble involving Ralph and Alex. And his drinking salon was empty and he needed extra earnings today.
"Your dress," Ralph said when she ignored the box.
Alex did not offer a word as she continued to glower. He sat across from her, his eyes assessing her with a frown. "Were those the men that followed you along with the prisoner killed in Wickhurst?"
She nodded.
Ralph nodded and motioned at the box in front of her. "Get dressed. We must leave for Wickhurst very soon. We do not want your father finding out you have disappeared while we are here."
Alex leaned back against her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. She was not entirely concerned about her father or her cousins. Considering the amount of ale they drank last night, they would not be up until midday.
On the other hand, she was having doubts if she must continue on this journey with Ralph. She had been targeted twice, thrice if the one with the Guards was to be counted.
"I don't like this, Guard," she said, lifting her eyes to meet his gaze. "I'm bein' targeted fer somethin' and it bleedin' makes me furious 'cos I dinna know what fer."
The look in his eyes told her he knew exactly why she was being targeted. "I'm not goin' anywhere if ye dinna tell me everythin'."
His deep intake of breath told her he was not going to tell her.
Alex would have none of it. She cocked her brow in challenge. "Ye won't find yer brother's fiancée fast if ye can't find Jeremy Briars faster."
"I can find him with or without your aid."
"Aye, but he won't believe ye right away if ye tell 'im Gustav Griggs sent ye, guv."
"Your father said—"
"Me 'Pa dinna know yer a Guard, guv, but Jeremy Briars will. D'ye see what I mean?"
His jaw tightened. He looked around the empty salon before he turned to glare at her. "What do you want to know?"
"Everythin', guv. Every bleedin' thing starting from the Forest Lady."
He shook his head. "Everything is a complicated—"
"Start with Forest Lady, guv, then we'll see if it's complicated."
Ralph shook his head. "Can we not discuss this while in the carriage on the way to Wickhurst?"
"Nae," she retorted. "If we're in a carriage, guv, I'd have te travel te go back home should I decide not te go with ye, see?" When he started to glare, she shook her head. "Oi, ye tell me now or ye'll have te find Jeremy Briars alone and convince 'im why he must guide a Guard into the Dark Forest."
Ralph looked around once again. When his eyes returned to her, he said, "Her name is Aurora Randolph."
"Ah, so ye admit she was yer sisters' friend. Am I correct, guv? She was the Aurora that was friends with Ysa and Emma?" When she noted the surprise on his face, she added, "They told me in passin' 'bout her."
"Not anymore," Ralph uttered quietly.
Alex frowned.
"Aurora had lied to Ysabella and Emma and to us. She was not the woman we thought she was." She waited when he paused, obviously trying his best to tell her the story as simply as he could. "She had been Osegod's lover before she came to Wickhurst. He bore her a child and that child was born a cretin." Alex let out a tiny gasp. "Obviously, that was enough reason for Osegod to go after her. Having a mistress could be dealt with, but it would prove to be difficult should the townspeople learn that he had fathered a defect."
"Nae child is a defect," Alex strongly retorted.
"Sadly, for many, a cretin is anything but perfect," Ralph said with a shrug.
Alex gritted her teeth. "And so Miss Randolph went into hidin' te protect her child."
Ralph nodded. "She did quite a few mistakes as well, almost ruining Ysabella's chance of marrying Wakefield, ruining their friendship, in fact."
Alex could not comment as she was not aware of the depth of the friendship Ysabella had with the woman, but knowing Ysabella, Alex was certain that her friend had been hurt if Aurora Randolph did something to cause a rift in their friendship.
"How did she end up in the Dark Forest, guv?"
Ralph sighed, checked their surrounding once again, before looking at her. "Months before Ysabella and Wakefield's wedding, Aurora Randolph disappeared. We simply thought she left on her own volition due to the troubles she caused Ysabella."
"But?"
"But we soon found out that she had been taken by the League."
"The bleedin' League of Founders?"
"You know of them."
"'Cors I do, guv. What d'ye think of us bandits?" She waved her hand in dismissal. "Go on. What happened then?"
His gaze turned even more serious, even filled with warning. "You must understand, Alex, that Ysa and Emma are not aware of Aurora's association with the League."
"Aye."
With a nod, he continued his narrative. "The League took Aurora and her child under their care in hopes of protecting them and perhaps find a way to catch Osegod into their trap by doing so."
"Ye mean they took her and the babe as pawns."
"I would not put it that way—"
"Pardon me, guv, but that's how it seems te me." She frowned. "Why does the League want Osegod?"
His face turned grim. "He is not what he seems to be."
"Most of 'em Leaders are. What makes him diff'rent?"
"Let us simply say he is a very evil man. He is responsible of many bad deeds and is also planning for something far worse."
She knew that he would not tell her anything more about Osegod for now so she decided to stay on the subject. "So how did Aurora Randolph come to be the Forest Lady, guv?"
"For once I am glad that you have a quick mind," she heard him mutter under his breath but chose to not comment and waited for his explanation. "A year ago, Nicholas, my brother, was to marry Sophia."
"Aye, the one reported to have ran 'way but she didn't, 'cors. She was captured."
"By Osegod."
"What does the bastard want with the Everards?"
Ralph shifted in his chair. "For one, he wanted to take control of every influential family he could but he failed with some, including us. Second, he believes we had something to do with Aurora's disappearance. She and the child were a threat to his career."
"Did ye?"
"Did what?"
"Did the Everards have anythin' te de with her disappearance?" When he did not reply, Alex shook her head. "One of ye Everards is a Leaguer." The blank look on his face told her she was correct. Alex was greatly curious as to who among the Everard siblings was part of the League but that would be for later. "Very well, then, Sophia was captured. Te what? Te force ye to give Aurora up?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "He already had Aurora and the child. He managed to get them despite her and the child being under the League's protection."
"Then he took Sophia fer vengeance?" She frowned at her own conclusion and shook her head. "Nae, he took her te control ye."
"Both," he replied. "Osegod took her as an act of vengeance against the Everards and to control her brother."
Alex's brows rose in surprise. "She has a brother?"
He nodded. "But his identity is not to be known to anyone, of course. He has a complicated relationship with Osegod and is working on his own to help find his sister. Sophia and her brother do have a rather complicated past, but they eventually stumbled into something and were involved in one of Osegod's illegal operations—her brother mostly, Sophia, merely indirectly."
She was fine with it. She did not know this Sophia and she was not curious enough so she shrugged. "Ye were surprised te know the lady I found in the forest was Aurora." He nodded. "And ye were relieved as well."
He nodded once more. "I must admit that it would have been a lot different if it was Sophia."
"Because of yer brother."
He nodded. "Because of Nick."
Alex stared at Ralph for a long time. "So now yer lookin' fer Sophia to make yer brother happy."
"That and to bring Osegod to justice." His gaze was intense. "He did quite a ton of bad deeds."
Alex sighed. "I'm bein' targeted 'cos Osegod might still believe she's alive." It was not a question but he nodded anyway. "Either he believes I am she or that I know where she is as I'm the one who took her from the forest."
Now that she was aware of the gravity of Aurora's situation before her death, Alex felt her fear growing.
Ralph was surprised when Alex suddenly came to her feet. "Where are you going?"
"I need te think, guv."
"The driver will be out any moment. We must leave—"
"I said I need te think," she muttered, walking away from the table and out of the tavern and beside the street.
She was glad Ralph did not follow her as she crossed the street. She was not expecting another attack anyway as the two men who came for her earlier were still probably licking their wounds and pride.
She ought to have a minute to think, clear her mind.
Ought she truly be entangled in this mess?
She could hide in Meriwether, forget everything Ralph told her and let him solve this on his own.
But Meriwether would not be safe if she were to stay. The men had located her here in Blucksley and some could be lurking around nearby.
And would she ever be able to deal with it if she chose to not be involved? Would she ever be able to sleep at night knowing her friends might be in danger? And would she ever be able to erase the look of suffering on Aurora Randolph's face from her mind?
Alex did not have to walk far to know the answer to her questions.
She returned to the tavern and went to Ralph who was wearing an expectant look on his face and said, "I'll come with ye, guv." She grabbed the white box from the table. "But ye have te increase me pay, aye?"
*****
Ralph was relieved to be traveling back to Wickhurst.
Finally.
He watched Alex from across the carriage. She was still wearing her rag clothes, refusing to touch the blue dress he procured for her without having a good bath.
He hid a secret smile. She was still a woman, after all, he thought.
A woman you can't seem to touch or even reach, a voice from the back of his mind whispered menacingly.
"You must change into the dress when we reach Wickhurst," he said, breaking the silence. "And you must stay in my apartment in Dosett while I find any records of Jeremy Briars."
"Aye," she said, nodding her head. "'Tis a perfect way te earn townsends, guv, dressin' up and stayin' inside an estate."
Ralph scoffed. "They do have a term for that, bandit."
She turned her curious dark grey eyes at him.
"Mistress," he said with a lopsided grin.
She lifted her right leg, threatening to kick him, and he lifted both legs away, his hand reaching out in defense.
Before any of them could utter a word, the carriage came to a sudden halt. Ralph and Alex reached for their seats to steady themselves.
"Bandits?" he asked her.
She frowned. "If that were so, guv, 'twould be me first time te be robbed by a fellow," she said, looking out the window.
Ralph brushed her aside gently to see for himself and when he got a good look at the man striding toward the carriage door, Ralph stiffened.
"Don't tell me it's me 'Pa, guv," Alex whispered in jest.
"Worse," he murmured. "Guards."
*****
"What?"
He pulled the window curtain close and hissed, "Stay calm."
"But—" The rest of Alex's words were left in her throat when three knocks rapped on the carriage door.
Ralph sent her a warning look before he pushed the door open.
"Everard," said the familiar voice. Alex recognized the Guard immediately as amongst the three who came for her at Whiston.
"Peters," Ralph stiffly greeted.
"Someone from Blucksley sent word. I believe you are carrying with you a prisoner?" Peters asked as he poked his head into the carriage. He smiled when his eyes landed on Alex. "Or should I say a guest?"
Ralph opened his mouth but Alex thought it better to save them both this time. "Prisoner, guv," she said to Peters. "This Guard 'ir found me and caught me all on his own. I'm yet te know me crime. Ah, but I threatened 'im with a knife once, perhaps that's it?" She dared to address her question at Ralph who was looking at her incredulously, dubious that her strategy was working.
She saw the disbelief in Peters' eyes as he studied her. "My, Everard, you did not even bind her."
Ralph's jaw tightened even further.
"He wanted te, see?" Alex said, "But I went willingly, guv."
Peters cocked his brows higher. "You did?"
"Aye." She stole a glance at Ralph who was trying to tell her to shut up with his eyes. "In exchange fer a fair trial, see? I have to explain why I did what I did in Whiston! I came there in peace but ye men threatened me which pushed me te de what I did!"
Peters chuckled. He turned to Ralph. "This one has talent for jests."
Ralph simply offered a tight smile. "She does. May we move along now? I wish to deposit her in prison before I return to Beechworth."
"Aye," Alex said, nodding her head. "And I wish te prove I'm innocent at once. I merely wanted te find me friend."
Peters frowned. "Friend?"
"Aye. A former bandit who left the life te live a normal one, guv. Ye nice Guard can help me find him, aye?"
Peters' frowned deepened but he did nod his head. "You are a curious case, bandit."
"Nae, don't call me bandit, mate, not until ye can prove I'm one."
Peters scoffed.
"Peters, we truly must move along," Ralph said, his voice clearly irate.
Peters leaned away from the carriage to motion at someone. Not a few seconds later, another Guard appeared in view. Peters smiled at Ralph as he said, "We shall take her."
Ralph was fast to reply, "No."
"We were the ones who first sought her out, Everard," Peters reminded him.
"Yes, but I am the one who managed to catch her."
"Oi, dinna have te fight over a woman," Alex said, pushing away from her seat. "I'll go with ye, guv."
"No, you are staying—" Ralph started but Alex shot him a stern look. If they wanted the Guards to leave Ralph alone, she must go. Ralph would simply have to find a way to get her out of prison.
Peters was wearing a satisfied look on his face. Now that Alex could see him clearly in the light, she noticed that he had a healing bruise on his face. Ah, how could she have forgotten? He must be the man who shot the prisoner! Ah, bullocks! She could be next!
"I'll go with ye," she said, climbing out of the carriage before she regretted her decision. She reached for the door and before she slammed it shut, she hissed at Ralph, "Ye better rescue me 'efore they kill me or ye'll see how a ghost can commit murder!"