Lady Catherine's Secret: A Secrets and Seduction book (29 page)

“I’d prefer to ride horseback as well. I wouldn’t want to share the carriage with Attwood on the return trip,” Catherine said.

Daniel shot her a sharp look, but she just lifted her chin. “You can go without me if you like, but I’ll only follow. I already know where you’re going, since I read the letter.”

“A lady can’t go to a dog fight. It simply isn’t done,” Daniel said, exasperated.

“Perhaps not, but Alexander Gray can attend. And he’s quite useful as a lookout.”

Daniel glared at Charles, but the man only shrugged. “She’s always been like this. You might as well get used to it. The only family member she’s ever tried to hide this side of her personality from is Mother.”

“Fine,” Daniel said. “You have five minutes to ready yourself, or we’re leaving without you.”

Catherine’s eyes widened with surprise, and without a word, she spun on her heel and ran from the room.

“Did I frighten her away?”

“Not likely,” Charles said. “It takes about seven minutes to create that scar. I think she’s trying to make every second count.”

Daniel pulled his watch from his pocket. “Let’s time her,” he said, trying to look stern.

34 - Dog Fights

They made their way toward a seedier section of London where the dog fight was being held. The wider streets gave way to narrower ones, and then the well-kept homes and storefronts transitioned to places with peeling paint and broken windows. This was a neighborhood where people minded their own business and stayed behind closed doors— a perfect place for dog fights.

Daniel glanced at Catherine. Her transformation into Gray was amazing. She wore the white head covering with a hat over it, and the scar that bisected her cheek seemed a bit wider and longer than he remembered, but she’d made it downstairs within the allotted five minutes. She didn’t wear fencing clothes but those of a privileged young man. Probably Charles’s castoffs.

If he hadn’t known better, he would have taken her at face value. As it was, however, he had a difficult time dragging his eyes away from her thighs. He kept glancing at her hips as he rode beside her. They were well proportioned and nicely rounded. He mentally shook himself and forced his eyes to turn away.

Following Mr. Phipps’s directions, they headed toward an abandoned warehouse near the river. Even in winter, the stench in that region was palpable. After years of neglect, the smell of dead fish and other rotting detritus permeated the place. His valet, Madson, would have his work cut out trying to remove the insidious odor from Daniel’s clothes tonight.

When they arrived at the warehouse, a tall, burly-looking man stepped out from between two buildings and waved them down. The carriage stopped and Charles jumped from it, hurrying forward to shake hands with the man.

Daniel and Catherine dismounted, and he had to force himself not to assist her. As they approached the new man, Charles introduced him as Mr. Phipps.

“I was lucky to find him,” Charles said, tilting his head toward Phipps. “When word got out that I was searching for Attwood, he contacted me. He used to know him, but apparently Mr. Attwood took something that belonged to Mr. Phipps.”

Phipps smiled as an evil glint appeared in his eye. “I’ve been wantin’ to catch up with Attwood for years,” he said with a nod. “I’d not miss out on this for anythin’.”

They left their carriage with the coachman and approached the warehouse on foot. Nearing it, Daniel heard the raucous shouts of men coming from inside. There was a smaller shed to one side of the main building, and it emitted the frightened whines of dogs.

Daniel’s stomach clenched. This sport sickened him. He paused, wanting to move toward the pitiful sound, but with a sweep of his arm, Mr. Phipps motioned them to move closer to the wall of the warehouse.

Catherine stayed close as they approached the building, and her floral scent invaded his senses. He murmured into her ear, “You don’t smell like a boy.”

Her face paled. “I forgot,” she replied softly. “I usually wear a men’s cologne, but I was in such a hurry that I didn’t put it on.”

“Just don’t stand too close to Attwood or Phipps. But even if they smell your perfume, they’ll be unlikely to guess the real reason.” They’d be more likely to assume the boy had come from a brothel, but there was no need to embarrass Catherine by telling her.

From ahead of them, Phipps gestured toward some mounts tied to a rail near the entrance. “His horse is still here. It looks like they’re almos’ done. I don’t think there are many dogs left. I’ll go in n’ drive ’im out. He hasn’t seen me in years, but I’ll lay money that he’ll go flyin’ out that door as soon as he claps eyes on me. You can grab him then.”

The three “men” stationed themselves on either side of the main door, with Charles and Catherine on one side and Huntley on the other. Mr. Phipps entered the warehouse. Just a moment later, the door opened again. The three were poised for an attack, but had to break off when they realized it wasn’t Mr. Attwood.

The man they’d nearly attacked scowled at them, but since it was three against one, he didn’t confront them, but instead found his horse among the mounts and left. He’d just cleared the open yard when the door slammed open. This time, it was Attwood. As the door bounced shut, Charles grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him to face him.

“Attwood, my old friend. How are things at Oxford?” Charles’s face was grim as he stared at his opponent.

The only people Attwood saw were Charles and “Gray.” He never noticed Huntley standing behind him.

“You need to come with us.” Catherine used her deep voice, imbuing it with a strength that surprised Daniel. “There’s a certain young lady you’ve wronged, and it’s time you did right by her.” She pierced Attwood with her hard, steely gaze.

Attwood smirked and ignored Catherine, turning his attention to Charles. “Found me out, did you, Charles, my boy? But you’re overreaching. There’s nothing you can do.”

“You might be surprised at what we can do.” Charles stepped forward, forcing Attwood to back away from him. “You’re coming with us. Now.”

For a moment, it seemed Attwood would comply with his command, but then his years as a bully asserted themselves and he offered a flash of defiance. Straightening his spine, he said, “No.”

Attwood spun on his heel and took a step toward the horses. He didn’t get far.

“Wrong.” Daniel grabbed his arm and spun him back to face them. “You’re coming with us, one way or another.”

Attwood might have been surprised to see him, but if so, he hid it and instead shot Daniel a belligerent look. “Let go. Now.” He tried to yank his arm free, but Daniel’s iron grip held him in place. “You think you can stop me? I remember you. You’re the one with the mad father who couldn’t add two numbers together,” he said with a sneer of derision. He pulled back his elbow, breaking Daniel’s hold on his arm. Then he threw a punch toward Daniel’s face.

Daniel ducked to one side and landed a fist in Attwood’s gut. When the man doubled over, Daniel followed it up with a second blow to his face.

Attwood fell to his knees. His hands flew to his face as he let out a low wail. “My nose.”

The door behind them opened, and Mr. Phipps came hustling out. He stepped forward to take in the scene and let out a loud guffaw. “I see them lords got the best of you, Attwood.” Phipps grunted as he looked over his shoulder and closed the door. “We’d best be gone. This match is dragging on, but there’ll be two more short fights after it. They have a couple of mongrels they picked up to use as bait, and they’ll let their newer dogs take them down in the warehouse to get used to fighting there. It should be over quick.”

Daniel glanced back at the shed. He could still hear the frightened, high-pitched whines of the dogs. Knowing their fate sickened him. Without saying a word, he turned away from the others and stalked toward the sound, his jaw aching from the tension of his tight muscles. He’d seen something like this before, when he was a boy at Eton. At the time, he hadn’t understood what would happen to the poor dogs used as bait. He’d seen one ripped to pieces before his eyes, still alive as the other dog ravaged it. The poor animal’s eyes had been so trusting as the man had led him to his death.

Daniel wouldn’t let that happen again.

He flung open the door of the shed. His eyes adjusted to the darkened space quickly, spying only one man sitting inside on a low stool, gawping at Daniel with his mouth hanging open.

With great strides, Daniel closed the distance between them. The man barely had a chance to climb to his feet before Daniel was upon him. He slammed the man, hard, against the wooden beam behind him, and then held him against the wall by pressing his forearm against his throat. He held the man in place as he glanced around the dirty shed.

The small space smelled of dog excrement, and in the dim light he saw the two remaining dogs cowering before him, whining as they backed away. He turned back to the man and pressed harder with his arm. As the man’s eyes rolled back in his head, Daniel let him slide to the floor.

He should be out for a few minutes. Long enough to get the dogs away.

Each dog had a rope tied around its neck, and the other end was attached to a hook on the wall. The ropes kept the dogs away from one another. Daniel unhooked one lead, then another, all the time speaking softly to the dogs.

“Come along, lads,” he crooned at them. “Let’s go for a walk.”

At those words, both their ears perked up. They looked at him expectantly and then glanced toward the door behind him. The smaller of the two let out a whine and bounced with excitement.

These dogs are pets. They looked so ragged that he’d assumed they were strays. But these two were obviously used to going on walks with their owners. They’d been stolen, probably for this express purpose. It would be cheaper to steal a dog than to raise one.

He moved toward the door, but as he reached out to open it, the latch moved. Daniel dropped the leashes and launched himself to the side of the door, pressing his back against the wall. Someone pulled the door open, but remained standing outside the shed.

The dogs lowered their ears and backed away.

The person paused, blocking the entrance, and the dogs continued to stare at the intruder. Daniel used their gazes to estimate the height and location of the man and then thrust his hand through the open doorway to grab at an arm and yank the intruder into the shed.

Catherine let out a shriek of surprise, and Daniel lowered his fist and dropped his other hand from her arm as though burned.

“What in blazes are you doing here? I almost hit you.” Daniel glared at her in shock, his voice sounding harsh, even to his own ears. She looked terrified by both him and the two growling animals.

When her chin began to tremble, the last vestiges of his anger were swept away, and he reached out to pull her into his embrace, pressing her face against his chest.

She murmured something unintelligible into his chest, and he released his hold on her so that she could tilt her head back and speak to him. “I was worried about you,” she said.

“You scared me. I nearly hurt you.” He frowned. He never could have forgiven himself if he had hit her.

She surprised him by rising up on her tiptoes, wrapping her hand behind his neck, and pulling his head down to press her lips to his in a quick kiss. “We need to stick together.”

Pride blossomed in his chest for this fierce woman. “And you need to curb your impetuous nature. If you plan to continue putting yourself into dangerous situations, I need to teach you how to wield a knife.”

“What do you mean? I don’t put myself into dangerous situations.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “What do you call this? And the night you rescued me? And surely you’ll agree that the evening at the duke’s ball would have ended quite differently if Stansbury hadn’t been able to intimidate you.”

Her face paled, and she looked away.

“We need to hurry before someone comes for these last two dogs.” He glanced past her shoulder and through the open door toward the warehouse as he fumbled to take the leashes. A loud booing came from within. “I think the fight’s ending.”

With the dogs firmly in tow, they rushed across the snow-dusted lot, hurrying toward the carriage. The two dogs eagerly bounced into the conveyance, underscoring their status as pampered pets.

Charles glanced at Huntley through the open door. “I see we now have two escapees to join our prisoner. You seem to have a habit of rescuing others.” He glanced at Catherine. “You two go on ahead and we’ll follow. Gray needs to be home before Mother returns from her afternoon calls, so hurry.” He snapped the door shut and thumped on the ceiling as a signal to the driver to depart.

As the carriage pulled away, Daniel glanced at Catherine. Behind her, the side door of the warehouse sprang open. The man who walked through it didn’t spare them a glance, but trudged toward the empty shed. “We were just in time,” he murmured.

35 - Surprise Visitors

After Daniel escorted Catherine back home, he informed her he planned to backtrack and meet Charles's carriage. That seemed like a wise plan.