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s ruthless. " For emphasis, her cousin pounded the head of his axe on the wooden floor. " Hammer and nails , Nicola , have you forgotten that he killed his br other for the title? At least his father was wise enough to recognize his son ' s perfidy and kicked him out of the country. I realize we were only striplin gs at the time, but I remember. "
     
    " How could I forget? "
     
    Ramsey snort ed, and his mouth turned down. " Now that his father is dead, he thinks he can walt z back to Nottingham. Why doesn ' t he stay in London? "
     
    Nicola shrugged, realizing she was worldlier than her idealistic cousin. She leaned on the loom and rubbed at the gouge, wishing she could rub it out. " He ' s got the Prince Regent on his sid e. He can do whatever he wants. "
     
    " Then my small demonst ration will let him know we don ' t like his kind. " He motioned her away and raised his axe.
     
    She glowe red at him, refusing to budge. " You cannot right his crimes by committing a nother. Besides, unlike him, we ' re not aristocrats. If we ' re caught, w e ' ll be labeled criminals and punished. "
     
    He lowered the axe. " If you won ' t help, then leave. "
     
    " No. "
     
    " Confound it, Nicola. " He frowned at her for a few moments, and then his brown eyes softened. " Come now, sweet cousin. You ' ve been quite brave. It isn ' t as if the militia is standing outside waiti ng for us. "
     
    She faked a yawn, and leaned back further on the loom, not giving him a chance to break the mechanism. She examined her fingernails with the deep purple polish, pretending she had all night to stand there. " It ' s not working. You know I despise it when men treat me as the helpless little woman. "
     
    He huffed in exasperation and paced. After a while, he glanced at her. " Think of wee Tommy and his father, who can ' t make enough money for his family because of the high rent hosiers charge for their looms. "
     
    His expression was so beseeching, her resolve seemed to dissolve as rapidly as sugar in water.
     
    Since she ' d spent most of her life in Nottingham, even during her father ' s ye ars of traveling as a stockinger, she knew the families in the village—including the Smiths and their plight. But violence wasn ' t the answer, so she resisted his persuasive tone, instead thought of Ramsey chained on the galley of a sh ip headed for New South Wales. " Don ' t sweet-talk me. This is a c rime punishable by deportation. "
     
    He frowned. " And you ha ve become annoyingly skittish. "
     
    " Destroying someone else ' s property is a far cry from protest pamphlets. "
     
    " Stand aside, Nicola . I ' ve got to wreck the moving parts. "
     
    She jutted out her chin. " No. "
     
    He dropped the axe with a thud. The muscle in his jaw bunched. " I ' ll throw y ou out the window if I have to. " Stalking forward, he made a sudden grab for her.
     
    She dodged under his arms and dove for the axe, grasping the smooth wood of the handle in her palm. Her reticule bumped against the hard surface. Two distinct musical yelps rang out. She cringed as she remembered the Callers.
     
    " I ' ll just take this with me, then, " she said. For emphasis, she held up the tool.
     
    " Nicola , I ' m warning you! "
     
    A steam engine ' s pistons churned nearby . The sound of the motor idling came from the front of the workhouse. Nicola ' s heart raced and sweat broke out on her brow as she too k in a jerky breath. S he glared at her cousin. "Go on. G et out of here. Someone is coming. And do something with that confounded lantern. "
     
    In a stiff motion, he clutched his lamp. " Thunder and turf , Nicola , you've ruined everything. " The light shining from below his broad cheeks cast his eyes in shadow, his face contorting eerily before he extinguished it.
     
    As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw Ramsey ' s lithe shadow against the silvery-blue rays of the rising moon.
     
    " Hurry, Nicola . Leave this death trap. "
     
    " Not until you ' re gone. " Under