Page 51 of The Bridal Quest

"That you got out of the situation you were in, that you got away from that man you told me about—"

"Jack Sparks."

"And you stopped being a thief." She paused, then added, with a touch of concern, "Didn't you?"

Gideon laughed. "Yes. You need not worry that the Runners are going to track me down and toss me into gaol. All my business concerns are now legitimate. They were not always so, but I managed to become legal a good many years ago. I had no desire to end my days hanging from a gibbet."

They continued in silence for a moment, then Irene asked, "How did you do it?"

"Get out of the business of thievery, you mean?" he asked, looked surprised. "Do you really want to know?"

"Why, yes, why wouldn't I? It must be a most unusual story, I should think."

"It is not one that my family has been interested in hearing. Their main concern is to keep me from talking about my past, not encourage it."

Irene shrugged. "Well, I am interested in it. It would seem to me that it must have taken wits and courage."

"I think it was more bloody self-interest than anything like wit or courage," he responded. "I started thinking, why am I doing all the work, then giving this fellow all my money? Why do I have to settle for crumbs from him? So I started hiding some of the money I took from people, not giving it all to Sparks. I managed to get a bit of thread and a needle, and sewed a secret pocket inside my pants, and I'd take a bit out of each purse and hide it there. I had to take a caning a few times because he thought I hadn't brought back enough cash, but I considered it worth it to keep something for myself. Later I got big enough that when he tried to beat me, I was able to stop him."

He paused, and for a moment Irene thought that he had decided not to tell her any more. But then he said, "And after a while I went into business on my own."

"As a thief?"

"I was not perhaps always entirely honest, but no, my skills were not best suited to thievery. I grew too large to do well climbing into windows or slipping unnoticed through a crowd. I was bigger than most, and stronger. I knew how to fight. So I hired myself out to protect people."

"Protect people? Who?"

"There are always men whose lives are lived on the edge, who have enemies and no recourse to the authorities. They need someone they can count on to keep others from stealing from them or hurting them, and if you can do that well, they are willing to pay you a good deal of money. That was when I was still a lad, before I learned things. Before I figured out easier and better ways to make money."

"How did you do that?"

"I made it a point to learn from the men I worked for. I saw how they made money, and how others made money from them. I saw how the chain ran, and how those at the top used their brains instead of their muscles. And how those who made the most money made it legally. More importantly, they didn't wind up in gaol or dangling at the end of the hangman's noose."

"So how did you make the move from illegal to legal business?"

He shrugged. "Gradually, I suppose. I had my store of money, and I saved most of whatever I was paid. I wasn't going to be like the other lads I knew, spending every ha'penny they earned on gin and women. I lived lean. The last man I worked for owned taverns and gambling dens, along with some less savory businesses. I spent a good deal of time at them, too, and at one of them I got to know a chap who worked there. In fact, I saved him from having his throat slit by a dissatisfied customer."

"Really?" Irene turned wide eyes on him. "That sounds like more than dissatisfaction."

"Well, he was a rum 'un. One of your 'gentlemen.'"

"He doesn't sound like any sort of gentleman I would claim," Irene retorted.

"He resented losing all his money to Piers."

"Piers? The man you invited to the party?"

"Yes. He was the one who had won the money. Ask him—he'll be happy to show you the scar. An inch long, right here." He pointed to one side of his neck. "The fellow had a sword tip hidden in his cane. He waited outside until Piers left the place, then twisted the cane, and this thing popped out of the end. Piers was quick enough to bring up his hand and knock the thing aside, but he slipped and went down on the wet cobblestones. It would probably have been the end of him, but I happened to walk out right then, and I saw what was happening. So I took the cane away from the customer and sent him on his way."

"You make it sound so easy."

"He had little experience fighting. I did. The sword-cane did not improve his odds much. After that, Piers and I became friends. And eventually we went into business together. With a loan from my employer and the money I'd saved up, I bought a little place and turned it into a gambling den. Piers ran the place. Another friend of mine worked there, as well. And it was a success."

"Was it then that you met my father?" Irene asked.

He nodded, casting a sideways glance at her. "Yes. Lord Wyngate was a frequent customer ... at least at first."

"Until you tossed him out."