Chapter 15

"To be in your children's memories tomorrow,

You have to be in their lives today." Barbara Johnson

---

Chapter Fifteen

Every so often, the newspapers caught wind of a story that would entirely capture the nation's interest.

It just so happened that the kidnapping of Jamie Cassidy became the story of the century.

Jamie was the child of a blind naval hero and his comatose wife, as well as the nephew of one of the wealthiest aristocrats in England. The press were having a field day with the sorrow of the Cassidy family.

The only benefit was that every man and his dog knew who Jamie was, and what he looked like thanks to the portrait that a reporter had somehow acquired.

Matthew would have been very angry with whomever it was that distributed Jamie's portrait without the permission of his parents were it not so helpful to his quest.

Matthew had left Annaliese and their children in Bath to care for Isabella while Helena looked after Luke.

Matthew knew that if their positions were reversed, Luke would do the same for him, so he did not hesitate in forming a search party to cover the entire country if he had to. That woman had taken a member of his family from within his own home, in the meantime harming two of the kindest, and most unfortunate, people in Luke and Isabella.

This was a crime that would not go unpunished.

Matthew had sent word to the British naval office of Jamie's kidnapping, and was inundated with offers from naval men that had once served with Luke. The police were also involved, and were coordinating the search from London.

As Matthew was more familiar with the West Country, he, Eleanor, and Commander Lockwood coordinated their squadron of volunteers in their search for Jamie.

"Jamie's portrait is in the window of every post office in Dorset, Sir Matthew," said Lieutenant Hartwell, "and the Devon party should be back sometime today as well."

"Thank you," murmured Matthew as he concentrated on a map of the English counties. Lieutenant Hartwell was one of the first navy men to volunteer his services. Matthew had learned that Luke had been the Lieutenant's captain aboard the HMS Bradbury on the day of the attack. Lieutenant Hartwell had recruited much of Luke's original crew to help search for their Captain's son.

Matthew stared at the map in front of him as he had done most days when he was not out searching himself. Jamie had been missing for a fortnight now. He was not stupid. Matthew knew the likelihood of them being able to find Jamie. People could only go on searching for so long.

Matthew had to pray that in her own deranged way, Mary loved Jamie, and that no harm would come to him.

But what would it do to his brother and Isabella if Mary hurt Jamie? What if Jamie was, God forbid, dead?

Matthew took a deep breath. Such thoughts would not locate his nephew.

"Would you like some tea?" asked Eleanor softly.

Matthew snapped out of his internal worries and looked down at his young sister-in-law. Eleanor had been caring for Isabella with Annaliese but had elected to help with the search. She wanted to feel useful, she had said, and waiting for Isabella to wake up was horrible.

Even though Eleanor was still a child, barely seventeen, she had grown up a lot over these last few months. She had done so while attention was elsewhere. She was a good girl, and Matthew appreciated her help.

"Yes, please," he accepted. Eleanor poured a cup for him, herself, Commander Lockwood and Lieutenant Hartwell.

"So where are we?" asked Commander Lockwood seriously as he accepted his cup from Eleanor.

Matthew placed his index finger on the map, directing attention to the location of his house in Somerset. "Jamie was taken from our home here. As our first concern was getting my brother and sister-in-law to hospital in Bath, the search for Jamie did not start until the following day. Mary was sighted here," he said, pointing to the border of Somerset and Dorset, "by an innkeeper, but she only stayed one night and was travelling on foot. But we do not know which direction she went after that." So, really, what did they have? They had one sighting, and even that was a long shot. "I do not know what my brother will do if I do not find his son."

"All Captain Cassidy could talk about while we were at sea was his wife and his son. Fate could not be so cruel to him, sir," declared Commander Lockwood. "Mary has committed a serious crime. She needs to hide, but in a place she knows so that she will not avoid detection. My instincts are telling me that she will go to London. It is a large city, full of boroughs, and Mary knows is well. I think she is there."

"The police have already looked in every hospital. She is not working there," replied Matthew.

"But she will still need income. London is the safest place to be with a child where people will not pry too much. She will be able to find some menial work somewhere. I seriously think London is our best option."

Commander Lockwood did have a point. If a single woman ventured into a village with a child, the gossip would be never ending. People in London were too concerned with their own business to taken notice of that sort of thing. Perhaps London was their best bet. They were turning up nothing in the West Country, so more manpower in London was a good idea.

"Alright," Matthew agreed. "As soon as your men return from Devon we will travel to London." Matthew turned to Eleanor. "You ought to stay here," he advised. "Bath is not far and I will not always be able to chaperone you."

Eleanor's brown eyes narrowed. "Do you really think I care about my reputation when my nephew is missing?"

"I know it is not the way things are done, but she will be safe with me if ever you cannot look after her, sir," assured Commander Lockwood.

Matthew would have pried into it further had his mind not been elsewhere. He scribbled a quick note to Annaliese as he gathered his things. They were London bound.

***

"When can we go home?" complained Jamie for the tenth time that morning.

"Not now, Jamie," huffed Mary impatiently. Mary's hands shook as she combed black grease through his blond hair.

Mary had been in a constant anxious state for the past fortnight. She had lost count of the number of times that she had looked over her shoulder.

Her actions had made sense at the time. She had been so overwhelmingly hurt when Captain Cassidy had rejected her so coldly.

Mary had never been in love before, and she felt such devotion to the Captain. How could he not have felt the same way for her?

Captain Cassidy had told her as such!

"Isabella is jealous of our connection."

She remembered his words perfectly. They sounded like the hallelujah chorus. Mary had been positively giddy, but Captain Cassidy had been lying to her. After all that she had done for him, after all that she had sacrificed, he still rejected her.

Captain Cassidy had pushed her away in their most intimate moment. He had fooled her into coming closer to him, tricked her into thinking that he loved her, solely to ensure that she was not holding Jamie.

Did he really think that she could ever hurt a child? Her conscious immediately reminded her of shoving Georgiana into the kitchen counter. Georgiana was obnoxious, so Mary decided that Georgiana's holier than thou attitude could afford it.

But she would never hurt Jamie.

The way she had attacked Captain Cassidy had been spur of the moment. She was a healer, after all. He had completely destroyed her opinion of him in a matter of seconds. Without even thinking, Mary had grabbed the first thing that she could get her hands on. That turned out to be a shiny, silver letter opener.

Mary had then run at a blind man, weapon in hand. It was foolish and dreadful and she had regretted it immediately, but what was she to do? A rich family like the Cassidys would never see her side. They would never let the law see her side either.

Mary had grabbed Jamie to keep him from seeing his father in such a state. She had been running to get away that she had not seen Mrs Cassidy on the staircase. Mary had not realised that Isabella had been hurt. She had simply run to get away from the house, not really realising that she still had Jamie with her.

Everything had happened all too quickly. Before she knew it Jamie's portrait was on the front page of every newspaper in the country. They were calling it an abduction. Mary's name was everywhere. They were calling her insane, a criminal.

She was guilty of loving a man who did not love her back ... and a few other unmentionables.

If the newspapers were to be believed, Isabella was seriously hurt. Mary had never liked the woman, or rather she had never believed her to be right for Captain Cassidy, but that did not mean that she had wanted anything bad to happen to her.

Isabella could be dead for all Mary new. She had not seen a paper for a few days. Every time Jamie asked for her it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Would this make her a murderer? She had not meant to do any of it!

Her only option that did not end with her having a hangman's noose around her neck was to change Jamie's appearance, his most recognisable feature being his blond hair, and hope that he would forget his mother as he grew.

He certainly had not forgotten her in the last fortnight. "Mama always washes my hair with soap that smells nice," he moaned. Jamie was not usually so intolerable. He was tired and hungry. Mary had not had any money with her when she ran, and whatever that had had to eat on their journey she had managed to pinch.

But they were in London, thanks to an illiterate courier who had offered Mary a lift on the back of his cart.

Mary could not go to any of the friends she once had. They would all think that she was mad. Mary had found a room in a little hotel that was being run by an old Italian couple. The kind courier had given her a shilling, and wishing her luck, and Mary had found a room for them.

The room was tiny, with only a bed and a basin, but it was roof over their heads.

But she needed to find work, and quickly, if she wanted to keep the room.

"I want Mama!" exclaimed Jamie as Mary combed the last of the grease through his hair. Jamie's hair was now slick and black. He no longer looked like the little boy in the papers. At least if someone passed him on the street he would not look like Jamie Cassidy.

"All in good time, Jamie," lied Mary. "Now, I need you to wait here while I go out for a bit. I shall bring you back something to eat, alright?"

"Will you take me home to Mama after?" begged Jamie.

"Wait for me, Jamie," Mary said firmly, before rising to leave.

They were not in the poshest part of London. There were several factories about, making all sorts of things, with the odd shop or inn in between. Mary thought her best bet was to find work in one of the factories. Dozens of people worked in them, and all they cared about was their hard earned pennies. They would not take any notice of her.

As Mary stepped out onto the busy, dirty street, she wondered at what her life had come to.

The first factory building that she came to made boots, or so she believed from the distinct smell of leather that was wafting from inside. Mary did not know a thing about making boots, but she did know her way around a sewing needle.

Only a few factories down was a textiles factory. Surely there could be work there. Mary kept her head down as she moved past the hordes of people that were going about their business.

The women inside the textiles factory looked a lot like Mary. Not in likeness, of course, but they had the same expression of stress on their faces. They looked tired and anxious as their hands busied themselves over their work. Nobody looked up at Mary.

She was standing in a room with at least forty other women. Each had a desk to work at and a pile of fabric before them.

There was one woman who looked over the workers. She had a quizzical expression of disappointment on her face. Her wispy blonde hair was tucked underneath a sturdy, practical cap, and her brown eyes were narrow as she walked in between the work stations. She was an older woman, perhaps in her forties or fifties, but it was obvious that she had been very pretty once.

Mary knew that they would never have occasion to meet before, but the woman was familiar somehow.

She spotted Mary quickly. She marched over to where Mary was lurking awkwardly in the doorway and placed her hands on her hips. "This is a place of business. Not a charity. Be off with you," she barked. She certainly had authority about her.

"Please," begged Mary. "I need work. I have a great talent for sewing."

The woman arched an eyebrow as she looked over Mary. "Did you make that yourself?" she asked, gesturing to Mary's dress.

It was nothing fancy, but Mary had made it herself. It was a plain, pleated dress made out of dark cotton. "Yes," she replied.

"What is your name?" she asked next.

"Anne," Mary replied, using the name she had given the Italian innkeepers. "Anne Smith."

She pressed her lips into a hard line. "You can start tomorrow, Miss Smith. Only for tomorrow, and I shall evaluate your work."

That was fair, and Mary was grateful. Perhaps this could work.

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind, the woman's brown eyes moved to something behind Mary. "Does he belong to you?" she asked curtly.

Mary's head snapped around to see Jamie standing in the doorway. His eyes were read and his nose was running. He had followed her. The fact that he had not been recovered just proved that nobody took any notice.

Mary's heart was beating a mile a minute and she scooped Jamie up into her arms. "Hush," she ordered quietly. "I was widowed, ma'am. James and I have nothing."

The woman stared at Jamie for a few moments. She even cocked her head to the side. "Curious ... he bears a startling resemblance to ..." she trailed off, not finishing her sentence, but Mary knew exactly who she was thinking of. Mary prayed that she would disregard the thought. "Tomorrow, then, Mrs Smith," she instructed. "Seven o'clock sharp."

"Thank you," Mary said gratefully.

The woman barely smiled as she went to turn away.

"Excuse me, ma'am. What do I call you?" Mary asked after her.

Looking over her shoulder, she said, "Those not in my good books call me Warden. You may call me Mrs Dawson," she replied.

---

Hope you enjoyed it :)

I've had quite a busy few weeks which is why I haven't updated lately. I haven't forgotten about you! Work has been crazy!

But I graduated!! I had my graduation ceremony the other week which was one of the most amazing moments of my life. When we arrived, we were led through all the rooms where they gave us graduation robes and caps (which we got to keep!) and I go to my friend "I feel like I'm at Hogwarts!" while I'm dancing around in my robes :P

Then we walked out to our parents and they took a bazillion photos of us. Then we got into the auditorium in order and were taught how to bow to the chancellor as we accepted our degree. When it was finally my turn I couldn't stop smiling. I walked across the stage, bowed to the chancellor and he said to me "Laura, congratulations!" really genuinely. Of course he said the same thing to the other 1000 graduates, but it still felt special. I had my degree in hand!

One of the best things was, at the start of the ceremony we had to stand for the academic procession of all the university officials. Then the national anthem was sung (and the chick messed it up!! She sang in history's stage let every page while her duet partner sang it the other way around), but anyway, at the end we all got to leave before the audience because we were now part of the academic procession!! Hehehe - I'm an academic now :P

Only downer on the day was my dad was supposed to come but canceled. I almost thought that he would show up to surprise me but he didn't. But mum was there smiling like a proud parent enough for the two of them!

Anyway! I've been working like a madman, have had three assignments due over the last three Sundays, and I've graduated. That's what been up with me :P

How have you all been?

Love xx