A Time for Honour

Chapter 13

It had taken Damien two days to gather any useful information about her whereabouts. The previous evening, he had been to Ellington's club and had begun to question some of the girls about her. Whenever he described the woman in the miniature, they instantly became cagey and avoided answering any of his evasive questions. It was like she had never existed. It was not until he engaged a drunken man, one of Ellington's clientele, in conversation, that he began to slowly discover the truth.

'You must mean La Rosa d'Oro,' the man had said, with a slur, as he looked at the miniature Damien was showing him. 'Delightful creature,' he said, with a grin, 'and she's game for anything.'

Damien, trying to keep the anger, that was now bubbling under the surface, in check, said, 'when did you last see her?'

'That would have been three nights ago, or was it four,' he slurred, 'I really can't remember. I do know it was the night when that fool Richardson came in with his underlings, brandishing muskets. I never saw the like. When a gentleman can't have a bit of fun, without some fool from the military appearing and ruining it, the world's gone mad.' He sighed and took another drink. 'They came and took some young buck away,' he said as he looked longingly at his empty glass. 'Not good at all, you know, not good. A man shouldn't interfere with a gentleman's...'

'What about the girl?' Damien interrupted, trying not to sound too impatient with him.

'Her?' he said, with a hiccup, 'she was...' He stopped and looked at the ceiling, 'I remember,' he said triumphantly, looking at Damien, 'she was the young buck's sister or something like that. The young scallywag used her as a wager in a card game.'

'He used her as a wager?' Damien repeated in disbelief.

'She didn't seem to mind,' the drunk man said defensively, 'she looked like she was enjoying herself.'

'What happened to her?' Damien said, after a long silence, in which the man drained another glass of brandy.

'Richardson asked if she wanted to come with him as well,' he said, looking around for another bottle, 'and she refused. Haven't seen her since. Maybe Susie will know?' He then looked around, smiled and motioned for a young girl, who Damien guessed to be no older than fourteen, to come over to them. 'Now my little Susie,' he said, putting his arm around her waist, 'this gentleman wants to know what happened to Rosa.'

As soon as her name was mentioned, the girl's cheeks flushed, and her body stiffened. 'I don't know anything,' she said fretfully, eyeing the two gentlemen with suspicion.

Damien, sensing that she knew more than she was letting on, dug into his pocket and pulled out a gold coin. 'Go and get yourself another drink,' he said, thrusting the coin into the gentleman's hands.

The man grinned and said, 'very generous of you. Thank you, old chap.'

When he was alone with Susie, Damien led her to a deserted corner of the room, and said quietly, 'I need to find out what has happened to Rosa.'

The girl looked at him and swallowed hard. 'If I tell you,' she said, in a fearful whisper, 'he'll do the same to me as he did to her.'

'Do you mean Ellington?' he asked. She looked up at him and nodded. He could not mistake the glassy sheen in her eyes, and he knew she was close to tears. 'What did he do to her?' Damien said, still using a gentle voice, 'if I am to help you, you must tell me.'

The girl, sensing her chance to escape, said with a pleading look in her eyes, 'if I tell you, you will have to help me?'

Damien said earnestly, 'I will do everything in my power to help you. Just tell me where she is.'