Happy Mother's Day! I wish I had a fluffier chapter to share, as this one is still 'darkish' and foreboding. I think you'll like the things Edward and Jasper have to say. Seems our entitled young lords are growing up!

xx Elise

~I~

Change

"Drink?" Jasper raised his glass when Edward joined him that evening at their club.

"God, yes."

Both men sat in silence for a while, nursing their brandies while lost in similar thought.

"Did you ever . . ." Jasper shrugged a shoulder. "With younger girls?"

"No! Well, not that I know of. I was only eighteen the first time. The girl was about my age, or so I assumed, older around the eyes. She seemed eager enough, but damned if I know whether it was an act or what had compelled her to such a calling. But I certainly never suspected any of the girls might be being held against their will."

"Nor I." Jasper grimaced. "But there were a couple of times when I was concerned the lassies were too young. Not ones I chose, as I had no desire to bed a child. I questioned a madam about it once, but she just laughed and offered me two girls for the price of one if I kept my mouth shut."

"Did you say anything?" Edward sat forward, curious to hear his friend's response.

"I told some more senior gentlemen, but they made sport of it. I should have reported my concerns, but to whom? I doubt the girls were younger than ten, so no laws were being broken."

"Bella's right." Edward slumped back in his chair. "The laws need to change, though I can't see it happening in a hurry."

"We would be laughed to scorn for suggesting it."

"Which doesn't mean we should do nothing." Ignoring the problem was no longer an option. Edward's conscience had been well and truly exercised listening to the girls tell Bella their tales, though Jasper was right. Decades of struggle had yet to accomplish the abolishment of slavery abroad, despite concerted political will. Seeing girls protected from exploitation wasn't even open to discussion.

"What do you have in mind?"

Edward shrugged. "Supporting the charity home, of course." After what they had both witnessed, it was a given. "We'll need more homes and in places where security won't be such a nightmare."

Jasper nodded thoughtfully. "We'll have to be discreet, as there will be opposition from every quarter. The powers-that-be fear change, and the perpetrators won't take kindly to the loss of income. If Isabella's name is linked to this undertaking, she could find herself in danger . . . more danger than she's already in from Edgeley threatening to reveal what he knows."

"Don't remind me," Edward muttered.

"You've not told her about the blackmail?"

"No, and I have no intention of doing so. She has enough on her plate with this damned spectacle of a wedding the King is insisting upon without having to worry about her reputation being besmirched. She's already apprehensive about living up to her new role as my marchioness."

Jasper smirked. "Unnecessarily so. She has the society mamas eating out of her hand, the debutantes mimicking her every choice in fashion or interest, and half the gentlemen of the ton professing undying admiration. As for the other half . . ." He waggled his brows, and Edward scowled. "The public have taken her to their heart, and the press adores her. Upon reflection, I believe she would have made an excellent queen."

"Oh, shut up." Edward threw an embroidered cushion at his friend.

Laughing, Jasper caught it easily. "How ever did we mistake her for a maid?"

"God only knows."

"At least you had the insight to recognise her potential."

"From the first glance." Edward smiled at the memory. "She attracted ne'er-do-wells like moths to a flame and was blatantly ill-equipped to deal with the dangers inherent in a life of servitude. I held out for an entire month before making her mine, resisting until I deemed it the only way to protect her."

"A great hardship on your part, if I recall," Jasper added dryly.

Edward smiled, but it soon faded.

"At least Hunter is out of the picture, but I've got to get Edgeley off our backs. He keeps upping the amounts he expects me to pay, and I'm guessing it's only time before his greed overrules what little common sense he possesses. When I think of his taste for young girls, like that fair-haired lass Bella was sitting beside today, it makes my blood boil. If only we could find something I could use against him."

"As to that . . . I received a report I had been waiting on when I arrived home this afternoon." The bleakness of Jasper's expression focused Edward's attention. "Girls go missing all the time in the poorer parts of the city. More often than not, nothing is done about it, but lately, much younger girls have been taken, and in large numbers. There's talk of an organised ring."

"Edgeley wouldn't attach himself to such a sordid undertaking, surely?" Edward was aware the man was a blackguard now, but they'd once been friends. He found it hard to imagine one of his peers could stoop so low.

"There's a hellish amount of money to be made, and more than a few gentlemen involved. You'd be surprised how many respectable members of society have links to one form of vice or another, and not just as a means of indulgence."

Edward shook his head. It would seem the prohibition for those of their class to "dabble in trade" didn't apply when the pickings were rich, the victims powerless, and society content to look the other way.

"Like I said, it's time the laws were changed, but since that will most likely take decades and requires a political will that does not yet exist, we must do what we can in the meantime."

"Starting with neutralising the threat Edgeley poses."

"You have something we can use against him?"

"Nothing you could present in the House, but my man has found witnesses willing to testify Edgeley is part of a group abusing boys. Society will turn a blind eye to young girls, but this could seriously harm his standing."

"Blasted pederasts." Edward was appalled by the practice—and the hypocrisy—but willing to use it to defuse the threat of Bella's past being exposed. "It looks like we need to add setting up a home for young boys to our list."

"Damned sordid business." Jasper grimaced. "As much as I admire their eagerness to assist the victims, I wish our ladies could be protected from such knowledge."

"Amen to that," Edward muttered, more determined than ever not to add to Bella's burden.

~I~

"What do you mean you shan't be paying any more of my gambling debts?" Edgeley demanded when Edward tracked him down later that night. "Do you honestly think the papers won't turn on Lady Isabella like a pack of ravening wolves if I disclose what I know?"

"If her reputation is tarnished in any manner that can be traced to your door, I will delight in exposing you as a pederast, a far more damaging disclosure, wouldn't you say?" Edward stepped up close to his old friend turned nemesis. "You can forget ensnaring a dowered debutante when I'm finished with you. You will be a pariah, unwelcome in a single respectable home."

Edgeley's jaw worked convulsively. "You don't know who, or what, you are dealing with, Masen."

"Filth," Edward spat. "Blackmailing filth. How does it feel to have the tables turned?"

To Edward's surprise, a sly smile curved the other man's lip.

"The tables have definitely been turned, but I doubt you will enjoy the outcome as much as I will."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Edward resisted the urge to grab Edgeley by the throat, though the temptation was almost overwhelming. "If you think I won't expose you if my betrothed's reputation is harmed, you are sorely mistaken."

Edgeley shrugged. "I've no intention of harming your lovely lady's reputation. Under the circumstances you have created, I imagine it is quite an asset."

He turned and sauntered away, while Edward watched, a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He feared the upper hand had been stolen from him, but he wasn't sure how.

~I~

Hmmm...this is a short chapter and finishes on such a foreboding note. I think another, fluffier, one is needed. It is Mother's Day after all!

xx Elise