Page 77 of Redemption

“Oh, I think you will. After all, I know how much you love Fanny. I’d hate to see anything happen to her. Such a pretty little thing. Why she’s just about the right age for the gents to have a go at her.” Ruckley’s threat drew every bit of air from her lungs.

“She’s not even ten yet, you bastard.”

“But that’s how a lot of me clients like them, Miss Bennett,” he gloated as he swung his glance to Arianna and back to Rhea. “All the men who fucked you and Miss Arianna over there didn’t complain none when you first opened your legs.”

At Ruckley’s crude language, Aunt Beatrice gasped loudly behind her. Grinning, Ruckley tipped his head to look around Rhea and nodded at her aunt. Immediately, Rhea shifted her body to block his view.

“If I do whatever it is you want, you’ll give Fanny to me.”

“Hmm, I don’t know that I can do that. She’ll eventually fetch me some pretty coins with that pretty blonde hair of hers,” Ruckley said with a sneer as he bobbed his head in her sister’s direction. “Just like her ladyship did.”

The cruel words made Rhea move forward until she was inches away from the man. The rancid odor of his rotting teeth made bile rise in her throat, but she swallowed it as she made certain to hold his gaze without blinking.

“I will do what you want, but in exchange you will give Fanny to me or I will kill you. It’s as simple as that, Ruckley. Do you understand me?”

The icy sound of her softly spoken words chilled the space between them and some of the triumph slid off the ruffian’s unwashed features. For a long moment, he appraised her intently as if judging whether she was capable of carrying out her threat. The man’s shifty eyes glinted with a trace of uneasiness, as she gazed at him with cold hatred. How she wished she had a gun now. With a slow nod of his head, Ruckley grunted.

“Yes, I believe you would. I never thought you had a killer instinct, but then you always did surprise me, Rhea.”

“I’m glad we understand each other.”

“You know, one of the things I always admired about you, Rhea, was you being so quick-witted. It’s one of the things I missed the most when you and little Arianna flew the coop.” Ruckley scratched the back of his neck as he arched his eyebrows at her. “That hurt me bad, it did. Lost my two best protégés. So, here’s what I want. You’re going to give me access to two or three of the boys in that orphanage where Edgar saw you.”

“You’re mad,” she exclaimed as her cool composure slipped.

“I don’t see that you have much choice, girl. Either you supply me with stock from that orphanage, or my sweet Fanny is going to start making me money sooner than I expected.”

“You bastard.” Arianna sprang to her feet and crossed the room to stand at Rhea’s side. “You can’t possibly expect her to condemn two children in exchange for Fanny. There must be something else you want. If it’s money, we’ll find it.”

“Hmm…perhaps you’re right,” Ruckley said as a calculating look crossed his face and his thin lips curved in a cruel smile. “But I can think of other ways I’d be willing to give you Fanny free and clear.”

“What would that entail?” Rhea asked with a sense of doom. She knew what the man was about to say, and the idea horrified her.

“I think you know I’ve always had a soft spot for you, Rhea. You left before I ever got to taste your wares.”

“Oh, dear God,” Arianna gasped and swayed on her feet beside her. With one hand, Rhea steadied her sister as she heard Aunt Beatrice utter a cry of horror. Ruckley smiled.

“I reckon you know what I’m asking.”

“You’re not asking,” Rhea said quietly, surprised at how calm she was. “You’re blackmailing me.”

“Blackmail is a nasty accusation Rhea. After all, it's not as if you've not enjoyed a bit of fun of late." The sly words made Rhea’s heart skip a beat with fear.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I think you catch me drift real good. Edgar told me about a fancy-looking gent he saw with you at that orphanage." Ruckley's features held a smug expression. "Seems this gent likes his museums almost as much as his late night visitors."

"You're not making much sense," Rhea snapped as fear chilled her skin.

"Do you really think I've only just discovered your whereabouts, my poppet?" Ruckley chuckled with malevolence. "Edgar has been following you ever since the day you reappeared. I know everything, even how you're parting your legs for that gent you left to die in the museum a year ago. In fact, Edgar seems to think you're sweet on the gent."

The gasps of her aunt and sister barely registered with Rhea as she struggled to stem the tide of terror racing through her.

"Percy means nothing to me," her quick, vehement denial made her heart skip a frantic beat as Ruckley's gaze narrowed at her. Horror swept through her. For all his depraved manners, Ruckley was extremely intelligent. As she met his gaze, she realized her hastily spoken denial and use of Percy's first name had given her away.

"So you've gone an' given your heart to the man. Does he know?"

"Your imagination always was overly exaggerated,” she sneered as she tried to find a way to redirect Ruckley's focus away from Percy.