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He blushed and grinned at her concern “Oh, no one’ll lay a finger on me, milady!”
He dashed off, and Sophia was left to brood alone once ht The air was pungent with coal and the stench of a foul east wind Just as Sophia considered changing into her nightgown in preparation for bed, Ross strode into their private apartments He stripped off his sweat-dampened shirt as he crossed the threshold
“Is there any news?” Sophia de him into the bedroom “How is itation near the prison? I’ mad from the lack of news‘”
“Everything is relatively cal muscles of his back flexed as he sluiced water over his face, chest, and beneath his arms “Fetch me a clean shirt, will you?”
She hurried to co first At least a sandwich—”
“No ti it into his trousers Deftly he positioned the collar and tied a cravat around his neck “An idea occurred to ate—I expect to return soon Don’t stay up on nificance, I’ll wake you”
“You’re going to see ray waistcoat froh “Why? What is this idea? I want to go with you!”
“Not to Newgate”
“I’ll wait outside in the carriage,” she insisted desperately “You can give the footman a brace of pistols, and the driver as well And there are patrols all around the prison, aren’t there? I’ll be as safe there as I aer! You must take me with you Please He’s my brother, isn’t he?”
Pelted by the flurry of anxious words, Ross gave her a hard stare, a s in his cheek Sophia knew that he wanted to refuse her However, he also understood her anguished concern for her brother ♦ “You swear that you will stay in the carriage,” he demanded
“Yes!”
His gaze held hers, and he muttered a curse “Get your cloak”
Afraid that he e his mind, she obeyed with alacrity “What is your idea?” she asked
Ross shook his head, unwilling to explain “I a it And I don’t want to raise your hopes, for it will probably coht”
As a teate was often called the stone jug Anyone who had ever visited or been incarcerated in the place swore that hell itself could not be more wretched The ancient walls echoed with the constant howls and jeers of prisoners chained like animals in their cells No furniture or comforts of any kind were allowed in the open wards or solitary cells The gaolers, ere supposed to maintain order, were often corrupt, cruel, mentally unbalanced, or so a condeate, Eddie Sayer had returned to Bow Street with the coaolers alarmed him more than the prisoners
Although the prisoners sufferedcompared to the unholy stench that accumulated in the hot summer days Armies of cockroaches scurried across the floor as Ross bade the head gaoler to take him to Nick Gentry’s cell It was located in the heart of the prison and nicknamed the “devil’s closet,” from which there was no escape
As they proceeded through one of the twistedrats fled from the approach of heavy boots Distant cries of misery rose from the cells on the lower floors It unnerved Ross to think that he had allowed his wife to wait in a carriage just outside, and he sorely regretted his decision to bring her here He coe that she was in the co cutlasses and pistols
“That Gentry, ‘e’s a quiet one,” Eldridge, the head gaoler, commented An enormous, stocky individual with bulbous features, he reeked almost as badly as those ere incarcerated The top of his head was bald, but long, greasy strands trailed froe was one of the rare prison-keepers who appeared to enjoy his job Perhaps that was because hehis accounts of prisoners’ experiences within Newgate, including the final confessions of the condemned, to London newspapers No doubt he would make a pretty penny with his tales of the infamous Nick Gentry
“Nary a peep frorumbled “I ask ye, what kind o’ story can I sell if ‘e keeps ’is gob shut?”
“Inconsiderate of hireed sardonically
Apparently gratified by Ross’s concurrence, the gaol-keeper led him to the entrance of the devil’s closet A six-inch- had been cut in the heavy oak-and-iron door to allow the prisoner to speak to visitors “Gentry!” Eldridge grunted through the hole “Visitor!”
There was no reply
Ross frowned “Where is the guard?”
Eldridge’s oily face turned toward hiuard, Sir Ross ‘Twasn’t needed”
“I specifically ordered a guard to be placed at this door at all times,” Ross said curtly “Not only to prevent escape attempts, but also for Gentry’s own protection”
A deep laugh rose frout “Escape?” he scoffed “No one can escape the devil’s closet ‘Sides, Gentry’s been handcuffed, an’ irons fitted on his legs, an‘ ’e’s weighted with three hundred pounds o‘ chains ’E can’t et in or out o’ that cell, wivout this” He brandished a key and worked to unlock the door
The thick slab of oak and iron groaned in angry protest as it was pushed open “There,” Eldridge said with satisfaction, the la as he walked into the cell “Ye see? Gentry is—” His huge fraled from a start of surprise “Bloody ‘ell!”
Ross shook his head slightly when he saw that the devil’s closet was empty “My God,” he muttered, filled with a combination of admiration and fury at his brother-in-law’s resourcefulness A bent iron nail gleamed beside the ed to pick the locks on his handcuffs and leg irons—in the dark, no less A bar wasfrom the inneron the other side of the room It was inconceivable that Gentry could have loosened that bar and squeezed his large frah such a narrow space, but he had done it There was every likelihood that he’d had to dislocate a shoulder to accomplish it
“When was the last tiaol-keeper
“An hour ago, I think,” Eldridgefrom his sweat-drenched face
Staring through the inner , Ross saw that Gentry had broken through thethebar He strove to recall the details of the Newgate layout that was tacked to the wall of his office