Authors: Amanda Quick
“Yes, what on earth do you mean?” Imogen asked.
“It’s very simple,” Matthias said. “I do not want either you or Patricia to leave this house unless you are escorted by myself or Bagshaw. Ufton will serve in a pinch, but he has a number of other duties. I would prefer that he be left free to discharge his responsibilities.”
Hugo stared at Matthias, clearly fascinated by this turn of events. “Are you saying that there is a threat to the ladies of this household, Colchester?”
“Yes,” Matthias said. “That is precisely what I’m saying. I do not yet know how great the threat is. I intend to determine that at the earliest possible moment. In the meantime, I want to enlist the assistance of a man I can trust. Well, sir?”
Hugo glanced at Patricia, who blushed. He straightened his shoulders and raised his chin. “I would be honored to serve as Lady Patricia’s defender.”
Patricia looked at him with a worshipful expression. “Oh, Hugo. How very brave and noble of you.”
Hugo flushed. Then he apparently recalled the bouquet he held. He thrust it toward her. “For you.”
“Thank you.” Patricia smiled as she came forward to take the flowers.
Imogen sidled closer to the desk and gave Matthias an approving smile. “Well done, my lord,” she murmured out of the side of her mouth. “You have made two people very happy.”
“Thank you, my dear, but I assure you, it’s all in a day’s work for a man who possesses my degree of delicate sensibilities and exquisite depth of feeling.”
She was standing in Uncle Selwyn’s black-draped library. Ebony candles burned low. Dark hangings drifted over her head. The eyes of the sepulchral masks watched her from the walls. The scene had become chillingly familiar, but she realized that something was different this time
.
She turned, searching for Matthias in the shadows. Then she noticed that there were two sarcophagi rather than one in the chamber. Both of the heavily carved lids had been removed. She froze in horror as two figures sat up inside the coffins. Selena and Alastair. They laughed silently, their eyes cruel and mocking. Then they pointed skeletal fingers toward the cloaked figure of a man sprawled on the carpet. Imogen went forward with a sense of dread, afraid of what she would discover. His face was turned away from her but she could see the swath of silver in his night-dark hair
.
“It’s entirely your fault, you know,” Alastair said as he got out of the coffin. “He would never have been dragged into this amusing little play if you had not assigned him a role in it
.”
“
Entirely your fault,” Selena concurred. She rose from her sarcophagus and stepped onto the carpet
.
I
mogen came awake very suddenly. Ghostly fragments of the terrifying dream clung to her thoughts. Her skin was damp. So were her eyes. She took several deep breaths in an attempt to quell the sense of panic that assailed her. Strong nerves, she reminded herself. She had very sturdy nerves.
For a moment she lay motionless in the darkened bed. Something was wrong. Dreadfully wrong. Then she realized that she was alone. She could not feel the familiar, comforting heat of Matthias’s large body or the weight of his muscled arm across her breasts. Fear seized her.
“Matthias.”
“I’m right here, Imogen.”
She sensed rather than heard him move. She sat up quickly, clutching the sheet to her throat. Matthias was silhouetted against the window. He came toward her through the darkness, his face concealed in shadow. There was just enough moonlight to reveal the streak of silver in his hair. It looked exactly as it had in the dream.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. She squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to blot up the remainder of the dream and the tears. “This is all my fault. I should never have brought you into it.”
“What damnable nonsense is this?” Matthias sat down on the edge of the bed and gathered her into his arms. “Calm yourself, my dear. Are you all right?”
“I had a dream. A nightmare.” She rested her face on his shoulder. The woven silk of his black dressing gown was reassuringly rough against her cheek. “It was similar to one I’ve had on previous occasions, but this time Selena and Alastair were in it.”
“Not surprising under the circumstances.” Matthias stroked her hair. “I’ve had a few unpleasant visions concerning that pair myself tonight. The only difference is
that mine occurred while I was lying awake in bed. But such dreams will end once I’ve located Drake and his sister.”
“Matthias, I never meant to put you in danger. It was wrong of me to ask you to help me. I had no right—”
“Hush.” He bent his head and kissed her into silence.
Imogen trembled and clung to him.
Matthias lifted his mouth from hers and smiled slightly. “I shall tell you something now, Imogen. Something very important, so listen closely.” He framed her face between his hands. “You could not have kept me out of this.”
“I don’t understand. If I had not held you to that promise that you made to Uncle Selwyn, none of this would have happened. You would have been safe.”
“From the moment I met you, nothing could have kept me from becoming involved in your life, do you understand?”
“But, Matthias—”
“Absolutely nothing.”
“But if I had not summoned you to Upper Stickleford—”
“I would have found you soon thereafter. I had already determined to discover the identity of I. A. Stone. It would not have taken me long. So you see? It would all have been the same in the end.”
“Oh, Matthias, you are so kind, but I—”
“No,” he interrupted roughly. “I’m not kind. But I want you more than I have ever wanted anything in my life.”
His mouth came down on hers again, overwhelming her protests with the potent force of his sensual hunger. Imogen struggled briefly and then, with a small sigh, allowed herself the rare luxury of surrender.
Sometimes it was very pleasant to let Matthias take charge, she reflected. Then again, sometimes she had little choice. He did seem to have a natural tendency to take the lead in a number of activities besides the waltz. And as
she was inclined to do the same, it was safe to say that their lives together would not be dull.
When Matthias raised his head, his eyes were fierce. “You will not speak of regrets or guilt again, do you understand? I regret nothing and I will not allow you to feel any regret either.”
Imogen shivered and nestled closer. He wrapped her in the cloak of his strength and warmth.
“Do you think that you will be able to find the Bow Street runner Lucy hired?” she asked after a while.
“I hope to hear something tomorrow, but I have decided not to invest all of my expectations in that quarter. It would be extremely useful to interview the runner, but there are other ways to obtain information. In the morning I shall explore one of them.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“Pay a call upon Felix Glaston.”
“Your former partner?”
“Yes. Information flows through The Lost Soul the way the River Styx flows through Hades, and Felix is an adept fisherman. He might be able to catch something of interest in his net.”
Imogen raised her head. “I shall look forward to making Mr. Glaston’s acquaintance. He must be a most interesting individual.”
“You wish to meet Felix?” Matthias was startled. “Impossible. Your aunt would surely murder me if I introduced you to him. And no one would condemn her.”
“My aunt has nothing to say about the matter.”
“Imogen, be reasonable. Felix operates a gaming hell. A lady does not pay social calls upon men who own business enterprises such as The Lost Soul.”
“You operated that same hell yourself at one time.”
“That was several years ago, and I can assure you that in those days you would not have been able to call upon me either.” His mouth twisted. “At least not without damaging your reputation beyond any hope of repair.”
“Do you think that would have stopped me?”
Matthias groaned. “Knowing you, no. But that is not the point. It is simply not done for a lady to enter the residence of a man who runs a gaming hell.”
“Rubbish. When did you become such a keen arbiter of proper behavior and good manners, my lord?”
“Imogen—”
“Cold-blooded Colchester and Immodest Imogen have certain reputations to maintain. I trust that you do not intend to turn into a stuffy, straitlaced prig now that you have assumed the duties of a husband, Matthias. It would be a dreadful disappointment.”
“Would it, indeed?”
“You know very well that I do not care what the Polite World thinks. Why should I, when it has always thought so little of me?”
M
atthias laughed in the darkness. “Once again my common sense is undone by your bold logic, madam. Very well, I shall take you with me to meet Felix on the morrow. Something tells me that the two of you will get along famously.”
Matthias was thoroughly amused by the stunned expression on the face of Felix’s butler. The poor man swallowed heavily several times before he managed to repeat the names of the visitors.
“Lord and
Lady
Colchester, did you say, sir?”
“You heard me, Dodge,” Matthias replied dryly.
“Lady Colchester?” Dodge repeated very carefully. “Are you quite certain, sir?”
“Dodge, are you implying that I do not know the identity of my own wife?”
“No, of course not, m’lord,” Dodge stammered.
Imogen gave him a blinding smile.
“Beg pardon.” Dodge was transfixed by Imogen. “I shall announce you both at once. If you will excuse me.”
Dodge bowed himself back into the hall, turned, and
promptly slammed the door in Matthias’s and Imogen’s faces.
“Mr. Glaston’s butler seems a trifle unnerved,” Imogen observed.
“He’s seen me standing on Felix’s doorstep often enough,” Matthias said, “but I can assure you, he’s never before opened the door to a countess.”
Imogen gazed at the closed door. “He did not actually open it, if you will note. At least not for long.”
“He was flustered. No doubt he will soon realize that he left us standing on the front step and rush back to make amends.”
At that moment Dodge yanked the door open again. He was sweating profusely. “Beg your pardon. So sorry. Accident. Wind caught the door. I pray you will both come in out of the cold. Mr. Glaston will see you at once.”
“Thank you, Dodge.” Matthias took Imogen’s arm and escorted her into Felix’s grand front hall.
“This way, madam.” Dodge went to stand in the doorway of a firelit library. He cleared his throat very loudly. “Lord and
Lady
Colchester to see you, sir.”
“Colchester.” Felix rose from his chair with the aid of his cane. “This is a surprise.” He turned a speculative gaze on Imogen. “Dodge tells me that your new bride has accompanied you.”
“Allow me to present my wife.” Matthias was aware of a surge of satisfaction as he said the simple words. “Imogen, this is my old friend, Felix Glaston.”
“I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Mr. Glaston.” Imogen held out her hand as though she had just been introduced to a high-ranking gentleman of the ton. “Colchester has told me a great deal about you.”
“I see.” Surprise flared in Felix’s eyes. For a few seconds he looked as though he did not know quite what to do with Imogen’s hand. Then he swiftly took it and bent over her gloved fingers with the air of a cultivated courtier. “I am honored. Please, won’t you both be seated.”
Matthias saw Imogen into a chair near the fire and then sat down across from her. He watched Felix wince as he lowered himself cautiously into his own chair. He noticed that his friend had his gnarled hands wrapped very tightly around the head of the cane.
“Leg acting up?” Matthias asked quietly.
“It’s the weather.” Felix sighed heavily as he leaned the cane against the arm of his chair. “I think I can safely forecast rain in the next few hours.”
“My aunt has an excellent remedy for rheumatism and other pains in the extremities,” Imogen said conversationally. “I shall ask her to write out the recipe for you.”
Felix blinked. “That is very kind of you, Lady Colchester.”
“Not at all.” Imogen smiled. “It is Aunt Horatia’s own personal recipe. She created it herself.”
“Very kind,” Felix repeated. He looked as dazed as Dodge had appeared a few moments earlier.
Matthias concluded that it was time to take command of the situation. If he did not act quickly, his old friend was likely to turn into a blithering idiot.
“We have come upon a matter of some urgency,” Matthias said.
Felix tore his attention away from Imogen’s face. “Urgency? What sort of urgency?”
“A matter of life and death,” Imogen announced.
Matthias grimaced. “My wife has a somewhat lurid turn of phrase on occasion, but I assure you the matter is serious enough. I have a question for you, Felix.”
Felix spread his hands. “Ask it, my friend. If I know the answer, I shall be happy to supply it.”
“What do you know of Alastair Drake?”
“Drake?” Felix scowled in thought. “He appeared in Town about three years ago, I believe. Plays cards at The Lost Soul on occasion. Come to think of it, he has not been there much of late. Why?”
“Did you know that he is Lady Lyndhurst’s brother?” Imogen asked.
Felix quirked a brow. “No. Is it significant?”
“We want to know why the pair of them have kept their connection a secret,” Matthias said. “For starters, I wish to discover where they lived before they took up residence in London.”
Imogen leaned forward eagerly. “Were you by any chance acquainted with Lord Lyndhurst, Mr. Glaston?”
Felix exchanged glances with Matthias. “I do not believe so,” he said.
Imogen looked at Matthias. “Did you know him, Colchester?”
“No,” Matthias said thoughtfully. “I never met the man.”
“How very odd. Between the two of you, I would have thought that you would have met most of the gentlemen in London at one time or another. I am told that sooner or later they all show up at The Lost Soul.” Imogen paused. “Do you suppose that there ever was a Lord Lyndhurst?”