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"Good afternoon, Mrs. Wilkins."

"Why, good afternoon, Cordelia. Are you going to stay with Harmony?"

"Yes, ma’am. Thank you for inviting me. We’ll have such a good time getting ready for tomorrow’s musical evening."

Mrs. Wilkins nodded. "Wonderful, dear. I hope you can cheer poor Harmony up. She’s been so despondent lately. I’m beginning to think she’s more infatuated with Montgomery than I thought. She’s been positively moping since he left town." She smiled brightly. "But he’s due back in the next week or so I believe, so she should be in good spirits again soon, especially once we announce the engagement. Well, you two enjoy yourself."

Cordelia headed up the stairs, breathing a sigh of relief to be out of Mrs. Wilkins’ presence. She was sure the guilt she’d felt over letting Harmony getting involved with that soldier in the first place must be plastered all over her face. Now, it was her job to fix it.

She opened the door to Harmony’s room.

"Harm? How are you today?"

Harmony turned a pale face to her friend. "Not very well." Her voice lowered to almost a whisper. "Cordy, I’m still getting sick every morning."

Cordelia bit her lip. This wasn’t good. She knew it was one of the signs that a woman was expecting a baby, her Aunt Katie had been pale and ill every morning when she was carrying her niece. Of course they hadn’t come right out and explained it, no one would discuss those type things with her, but she’d pieced it together. And now Harmony seemed to be having the same symptoms.

"Harmony, do you think, is it possible, that you could be . . . with child?" She kept her voice low.

Harmony’s eyes lit up as she turned back to Cordelia. "Do you really think I could be?"

Cordelia grimaced. Oh dear, here came another rapturous monologue on the joys of Riley. From what she’d seen, he wasn’t much of a catch so far, leaving poor Harm alone to face this.

"Harmony, honey, if you are, you’re going to have to tell your parents."

Harmony blanched, her fleeting joy forgotten. "Oh no, I can’t not yet. We have to wait until Riley returns."

Cordelia cast a glance at Harmony’s waist. Did she look a little plumper than before? She couldn’t quite tell. "Harmony, you can’t wait much longer, it will start to become apparent. You need to tell them now. You don’t want nasty rumors to start that you’ve gotten yourself in trouble."

Harmony clutched her arm. "Oh Cordy, I can’t tell them yet. Riley has to come back soon. Can you please get in touch with Graham and see if there’s word?"

"I’ll send a note, but I’m not promising anything. C’mon, let’s go for a walk, perhaps some fresh air will help you feel better." Cordelia linked arms with her friend and moved her firmly towards the door.

~~~~~~~~~~

"So the reports all look up to snuff? We should be in good shape for the final licensing application hearing?"

Wesley nodded. "Yes, Xander, you and Will have done a better job with the bookkeeping than I would have imagined. I should be able to balance out the accounts in no time. And we’re showing a decent profit already, more than I would have expected."

"Good to hear."

Wesley closed the last ledger and leaned back in his seat. "You’ve done an excellent job in securing clients here, both you and Will. And I do believe I see your affinity for this town you’ve adopted, Xander. It’s a lovely city, and the citizens seem quite friendly."

Xander smiled. "They’re people just like anywhere, Wes. We’ve had a bit of an easier time because they think Will’s got a title, and there are quite a few Anglophiles here. But, don’t be fooled by the pretty manners. They can be just as spiteful and mean, maybe more so. They have a rather elaborate system of social standing that would give the English bloodlines a run for their money."

Wesley laughed. "Yes, I did pick up on that when the charming lady at the dinner last night recounted half her lineage to me in her introduction. Nonetheless I’m finding the place quite charming. It’s a nice change of pace and the weather is delightful."

Xander crossed the last t on the report he’d been finishing and laid down his pen. "Well, that does it for me, are you ready to be off?"

"I am. We’re going to see this investigator you hired?"

"Yes, he sent word that he’d found some information that could be of use to us."

The pair locked up and wound their way to a small office in the back alley of a rundown area of the town.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Miss Cordelia? A man done left a letter for you."

Cordelia took the note. "Thank you." She closed the bedroom door and began to read. Harmony looked over from where she was brushing out her long blond hair..

"Is that from Graham? What does he say?"

Cordelia waved her quiet as she began to pour over the note. Words and phrases leapt off the page at her, ‘illness, very serious, not expected to recover.’

"What does it say Cordelia?"

Cordelia carefully folded the note with a trembling hand and crossed to where her friend sat at the dressing table. "Harmony, I need for you to listen to me. You’ve got to hold yourself together, for Riley’s sake, do you hear me?"

Harmony turned paler. "What are you talking about, what’s wrong with him?" She grabbed the note away and read through the scrawled lines and then with a small sob, collapsed on the floor in a faint.

"Harmony? Harmony!" Cordelia rang the bell frantically for the servants. "Come quick, Miss Harmony has fainted."

She stood to the side as her friend’s corset was loosened and the doctor was called. After a brief examination that amounted to little more than holding a hand to her head and a glance in her eyes, he announced it to be a nervous condition and insisted Harmony had been overwrought with the rounds of parties that marked the holiday season. He proscribed bed rest.

Mrs. Wilkins drew Cordelia away as Harmony was dosed with laudanum and drowsed off again without coming to. "Cordelia, it was so good of you to stay through all of this, you were so very brave."

"I’m glad that I could help, Mrs. Wilkins, Harmony’s like my own sister. I just hope she’ll be alright." She glanced nervously at the still from on the bed. "I’d be happy to stay and sit with her, if you don’t mind."

"That is most kind of you, Cordelia. Thank you."

As she watched her friend sleep. Cordelia turned the contents of the note over and over in her head. If Riley was dying or likely dead by now, and Harmony was pregnant, it would cause a huge scandal. One that would probably come back to haunt her, since the liaison started while Harmony was her guest. What were they going to do?

Cordelia drummed her fingers. There was always Montgomery. Harmony had a bridegroom ready and waiting. But would it be soon enough to pass the child off as his? She counted back on her fingers. Riley had been gone for some time now. It might not be possible to fool Montgomery, and that would only make matters worse. The whole house of cards would come tumbling down.

Cordelia fretted as she watched Harmony sleep heavily under the effects of the drug. Maybe the solution was to just . . . make it go away. There were ways that one could get rid of babies, if a girl found herself in the family way without the benefit of marriage, potions of some sort that a girl could drink to bring on her monthlies. She’d heard of them, whispered behind fans. But where could she get them?

Those houses down by the docks, the one the men frequented that young ladies weren’t supposed to know about. They must know about that sort of thing. She’d wait until dark, disguise herself and sneak down there. Surely she’d be able to buy something that could take care of this one and for all. Then Harmony could go back to her normal life and forget about this crazy business with the solider and move on.

Not that she was happy that Riley had been struck down with a deathly illness. No, she wasn’t so cold-hearted as all that. But it did make everything simpler. William Montgomery might be a few years older, but he seemed to be rich as Croceus and hardly someone a girl would turn her nose up at. Harmony would get over this silly notion, before she caused them all a great deal of trouble, and everything would be fine.

At least that’s what she hoped would happen.

~~~~~~~~~

"So, Finch, what do you have for us?" Xander took the offered report and passed part to Wesley as they listened to the evidence that had been uncovered against Wilkins. Stories of other briberies for shipping permits and a few shady business deals. Much of it was useless, items so grey that they’d hardly been given a second look by the social set, and most of them involving one of more men that were now clients of Montgomery & Harris themselves. Simply evidence of business as usual.

"This is all you have? That’s all you could find?"

Finch nodded regretfully. "I’m sorry, that’s it."

Xander closed the file and fished out the promised payment for the research. "You do understand this project cannot be mentioned to anyone? That was part of our original understanding."

"Absolutely sir, not a peep."

The pair exited the office into the late afternoon sunlight.

"So that’s that, I suppose." Xander said. "I really thought he would find more."

"Do you think he was telling you the truth? You know what they say about not having smoke without fire."

"I know, I was sure we’d uncover something. But this," he gestured with the file, "is hardly the kind of ammunition Will needs. He needs something juicy, something that will cause the gossips to lick their chops over the scandal."

"Perhaps. But it appears the information won’t come from that source at least."

"So what do we do with this?"

Wesley shrugged, "We can give it a more careful perusal later, but ultimately it will be up to William if he wants to try to use it." He clapped Xander on the back. "You’ve done what you could Xan. It may be that all he needs to do is call this pillock’s bluff. After all, he hardly comes out looking stellar as a result of the arrangement himself. And if this Mrs. Crawford has left town as Anya mentioned, then he can hardly force William into the marriage now."

Xander nodded. "I know, Wes, but that’s the thing. William’s going to go after her, you know he will. He won’t be able to let it go."

"That is Will to a fault, he may not always think things through, but once he latches on to something, he’s tenacious. He’ll work it out Xander. Now, shall we go find more attractive companionship? I quite liked that Faith from the other night."

"An excellent suggestion." They turned and headed for Anya’s.

~~~~~~~~~~

Cordelia looked around nervously. She’d borrowed one of her mother’s veils and was wearing one of her plainer gowns for this trip. She hardly wanted to be mistaken for someone plying her trade in this area. She clutched her purse as a rather drunken man staggered by, caterwauling some tune off-key and shrank to the side. Now where was that street . . . ah yes, there was the sign.

She turned into the quieter side street and followed it to the house at the end. It wasn’t quite what she’d expected, no painted ladies hanging out the front windows enticing men into the den of sin. In fact, it looked almost respectable, neatly shuttered, well-landscaped.

She ducked back as two man walked past her and turned into the gate, up the walk and were admitted to the house. She caught just a small glimpse of the warm glow of the interior hall, painted a deep red. Ahh, that was more like it. Probably the whole house was that shade.

Did she go round to the side? Should she just go up to the front door like those men had? Cordelia paced back and forth for a moment as she gathered her nerve. Front door it would be. She hastily mounted the steps after a final glance around to ensure she wasn’t being observed and raised the heavy knocker.

"Welcome." The door swung open to reveal a brunette wearing a gown in a deep jewel tone which highlighted her creamy skin perfectly and showed just enough cleavage to make a man sit up and take notice. Cordelia felt a tiny twinge of jealousy. Her mother would never let her wear something quite that low cut, but if she did, she’d just knew she could get a proposal out of someone. Maybe that Parker Crawford, he had to be looking for a wife soon.

She pulled her thoughts back to the task at hand as the woman eyed her suspiciously. "Are you looking for someone?"

The directness threw Cordelia off a bit. "Madam Anya? Is she available?"

The brunette tilted her head slightly and looked her up and down. "Are you here about employment?"

"Employment? Here? No. No, no, no," Cordelia gasped quickly.

"Very well then." The woman began to shut the door.

"No, please wait. I do need to speak to Madam Anya, about another matter. Please." Cordelia knew she sounded rather desperate.

"Very well. Come in. I’m Madam Anya. We can speak in the parlor."

Cordelia tried to peep down the hallway, hoping just to glimpse as to what these places were all about, as all she’d seemed so far appeared awfully respectable. Maybe the tales of these places were just bogeyman after all. She seated herself on the couch as Anya indicated.

"Would you care for some tea?"

"Oh, why yes, thank you, that would be quite nice."

"Very well then." Anya rang a bell and a girl clad in a flimsy wrapper that barely concealed the fact that she was wearing little more than a chemise brought in a tray containing a tea set.

"Is that all Anya? Don’t want to keep the gentlemen waiting."

"Yes, Faith, that’ll be all."

The woman named Faith winked at Cordelia and sashayed out of the room.

"Oh my."

Anya smiled. "Was that what you were expecting?" She busied herself with the tray. "Now, there are really only a very few reasons a young lady like yourself chooses to visit here. Why don’t you go ahead and tell me your story." She handed Cordelia the cup to occupy her.

"Alright. My name is . . . Jane, and I have a good friend who, well she’s in the family way."

"Yes, Jane, do go on."

Cordelia warmed to the story. "She’s married, really she is, but her husband, he’s a soldier. He was struck down with the fever. But their marriage was a secret and if her family finds out she’d going to have a child, she’ll have all kinds of trouble. They didn’t know of the marriage, and they want her to marry another man, who’s very well off."

She paused, surprised how much she was telling, but Madam Anya continued to nod understandingly.

"So you see, if there’s some way, that is, I’ve heard that there are ways, that it might be possible to not have the child. Is it? Is there some way?"

Anya studied her carefully for a moment. "There are ways, but they aren’t always foolproof and it may depend on how far along the girl is in the pregnancy. I’d need to know some additional information, but yes, I may be able to help."

Cordelia brightened. "Really? You could?"

Anya rose from her seat. "Why don’t you come with me to the back and we’ll see how far along you are."

"What?" Cordelia squawked. "It’s not me. I told you it’s a friend of mine."

"Yes, Jane, that’s what ladies who come to visit usually say. But it’s rarely their friends in trouble."

Cordelia’s eyes widened. "But I swear, it isn’t me."

Anya sighed. "Very well, then. You’ll need to bring your friend here. Otherwise I can’t help you."

"Alright. Tomorrow? Could we possibly come during the day? Perhaps near lunch time."

"That would be acceptable. Now, if you would excuse me, I need to return to my clients."

"Oh yes, of course." Cordelia rose hastily as if she’d forgotten precisely what sort of establishment she was in. "I’ll be off then and we’ll see you tomorrow."

She settled the veil back over her face as she slipped out into the night with a sigh of relief. That hadn’t been so bad, really. And Madam Anya seemed a decent sort, hardly the bawdy woman she’d been expecting. Maybe this would all work after all.

~~~~~~~~~~

"So you gave them the information I provided you?"

Finch nodded. "Harris seemed disappointed, but there was just enough there that he believed it. I think he’ll probably drop things now, he seemed to think there was nothing worth pursuing."

Wilkins smiled. "Excellent. Keep your ear to the ground if Montgomery or his partner make any further attempts to delve in places they shouldn’t. I have to say I’m glad to see William taking the initiative here though. He’s a sharp young man."

He rose from his seat. "Remember to keep me posted if you hear anything new."

"Yes sir." Finch slumped back in his seat as Wilkins departed, staring at the second payment of the day. Now this was the way to do business, double pay for no work at all.





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