TemptedByHisKiss (27 page)

“You’re nothing if not tenacious, Byron. Almost a shame to see a man of your caliber find his ultimate reward, but alas, your luck has run its course.”

Cade continued cutting the rope. Having to pause occasionally to keep Everett from noticing slowed his progress, but he was nearly there, the bonds beginning to loosen. When they did, however, he knew there would still be the gun Everett was holding on Meg. I’ll figure something out, he told himself, when the time comes.

“Now, which one of you to kill first?” Everett mused aloud. “You, I suppose, Byron, which would leave me time to play a bit more with Miss Amberley. But that seems wrong somehow, depriving you of the opportunity to watch.”

The blade slipped, cutting into Cade’s wrist. Only a quick save kept the shiv from tumbling to the floor.
“What?”

“Oh, come now, you must know how attractive I find your fiancée. There are no secrets between us now,
so I see no reason to conceal my lust. What a waste to send her to her grave untouched, do you not think? I believe it would be an even greater crime than taking her life.”

“Let me go, you disgusting animal!” Meg struggled against him, her unexpected resistance momentarily loosening his grip on her. But he caught her again and slapped her hard across her face.

She swayed from the force of the blow, crying out against the pain as she raised a trembling hand to cover her reddened cheek.

“None of that now,” he warned. “Unless you want to play rough. With a little persuasion, I could be convinced.”

Cade came partly out of his chair, despite the bonds that still held him in place. “Let her go! This is between the two of us, not her.”

“But you’re wrong. This does involve her now, and I want you to suffer a bit more before you die. Just like in Portugal, I know of no better means of tormenting you and enjoying myself at the same time.”

Cade fought the red haze that enveloped him, his blood beating in time to the fury pulsing through his veins. He wanted to leap up and pound his fists into Everett, beat him until there was nothing left of the man but regret and pain. But that reaction was exactly what Everett wanted, he realized, as he struggled to calm himself. Everett wanted to draw his rage and anguish, to revel in his suffering. And he knew that the more he reacted to Everett’s provocation, the worse matters would go for Meg. What he needed was a calm head, so he could gain their freedom. In the meantime, he would have to find a way to distract Everett. But how?

“This is nothing like Portugal,” Cade declared, working the shiv into the rope again.

Everett paused. “Oh, and how is that? The similarities seem striking enough to draw certain important parallels. For one, you’re once again at a disadvantage—all tied up, as it were. For another, I have your woman again, yet another fiancée for you to cry over.”

“But it’s not the same, since she isn’t really my fiancée.”

“What!” Everett narrowed his eyes, his attention most definitely caught.

“That’s right. Our engagement is a ruse. We’ve been deceiving everyone this Season, while she looks for another man to marry.”

“This is nonsense,” Everett scoffed.

“Not at all. Ask her yourself, if you don’t believe me. A few months ago Meg was forced to take shelter at my country estate. We were alone for some time, which unfortunately left her compromised. But neither of us wished to marry the other, so we came up with an alternate plan. A Season at my expense in exchange for the opportunity for Meg to find another bridegroom. I’ve been waiting eagerly for her to make up her mind and jilt me. So despite an admitted affection for her, I am by no means in love with her.”

Everett swung his head toward Meg, whose face had drained of color. “Is this true?”

She nodded. “Yes. Everything is as he says.”

“So you see, Everett,” Cade continued, “my objection to seeing you force yourself on Miss Amberley is the same one I would have were I made to watch you violate any young woman against her will. If your intention is to elicit some sort of personal anguish on my part by assaulting Miss Amberley, you will be sadly disap
pointed. The sort of feelings you crave are dead in me now. You killed them the day you murdered the only woman I shall ever love.”

A soft sound escaped Meg’s throat, as though she couldn’t quite catch her breath, her eyes vividly blue, almost bruised looking, against her stark white cheeks.

“It doesn’t look like Miss Amberley is glad to hear you say that,” Everett remarked. “And I am not convinced that a closer relationship doesn’t exist between the two of you.”

Cade forged on, refusing to let himself dwell on any distress his words might be causing Meg. Surely, he reasoned, she must realize he was doing this to keep Everett from her and buy both of them a bit more time.

“You’re right,” he admitted. “You’ve caught us out on that. Meg and I are lovers.”

Under Everett’s inquiring gaze, a rush of condemning warmth returned to her skin.

“She’s an extremely attractive woman, so how’s a man to resist when she’s living right under his nose?” Cade went on, using a seemingly negligent shrug to cover the snap of the rope finally pulling apart, yet careful to keep his arms together as if he were still confined. “But just because I’ve enjoyed a tumble or two doesn’t mean I want to slip on a parson’s noose. After all, why pay for the sweets when I’m already getting the sugar for free?”

Meg gasped in obvious offense. With the sound still reverberating in the room, he reached sideways for his cane and leapt from the chair.

Everett started in shock, completely caught off guard. He brought the pistol up, but not in time, as Cade
bounded forward. Lifting the cane high, he slashed it down against Everett’s head, grabbing his other hand, as he fought for control of the gun.

Everett bellowed in pain and fury, twisting in an attempt to escape Cade’s hold. But Cade drank in the sound, Everett’s resistance fortifying his own rage and determination to crush the other man like the low, vile insect he was. Tightening his grip, he squeezed harder, willing bones to break, if that’s what was needed to take possession of the gun. He pressed on with relentless force, knowing he couldn’t afford to lose his advantage or underestimate the viciousness of his opponent.

Cane raised his walking stick to strike a second blow, but Everett grabbed the cane. The two of them took several staggering steps as they grappled for control of both weapons this time.

Everett lashed out with a savage kick at Cade’s weak thigh. Leaping to one side, he managed to take only a glancing blow, avoiding what otherwise would have been a disabling strike. Nonetheless, the kick sent painful reverberations pinging up through his leg, his muscles protesting the strain and abuse. Instead of weakening him, though, the discomfort only increased his ire, his heart hammering out a vengeful beat, as he redoubled his efforts.

He and Everett struggled for a seemingly endless time, muscles bulging, lungs heaving for breath, as each tried to gain supremacy. Suddenly, Cade sensed the other man weakening. With a brutal, almost merciless strength, he wrenched the cane free of Everett’s grip and brought it down, aiming for the arm and hand that held the gun.

Everett roared at the blow, his arm trembling, his fingers reflexively loosening their grip. Cade reached for
the weapon, but the barrel popped free of his sweat-slick grasp and flew into the air. For a second he watched as the gun hit the floor, spinning outward in a series of wild circles.

But he didn’t have time to consider going after it, as Everett lowered his head and plowed bodily into him. Cade stumbled, fighting to retain his balance and his hold on the cane as he was propelled back. Dimly, he heard Meg scream.

He hit the far wall with a punishing thud, bits of dust drifting over both he and Everett, as they continued to struggle. Again Everett tried to get in a few well-placed kicks, Cade taking more glancing blows that left him aching.

With blood pounding between his temples and desperation fueling his efforts, he reached out and clamped a hand around Everett’s neck. The other man’s eyes bulged and then he was gasping, his hands clawing to escape Cade’s brutal grip. Blood dripped over Cade’s fingers as Everett’s nails scored his skin, but Cade did not let go. Instead, he squeezed even harder.

Abruptly, Cade shoved Everett to the floor, leaving him sprawled in a heap, the other man gagging and struggling to gain his next breath. While he did, Cade pressed a pair of fingers against the bejeweled eyes on the head of his cane and unsheathed the sword inside with a single, graceful sweep.

Moving quickly, he brought the lethal tip down and laid it against Everett’s neck. The man grew still, chest still heaving as he stared up at Cade with undisguised malevolence.

And something else this time.

Fear.

In his mind’s eye Cade saw himself driving the blade deep, watching Everett’s life slip away as the blood drained from his body. Clearly, this was a man who did not deserve to live. Yet such a fate seemed too easy; no punishment at all, really, for someone who deserved no less than hell. Cade towered above him, his hand unmoving while he weighed his choices.

With a sudden twist of his hand, he drew the blade across Everett’s throat from one side to the other. A shallow line of blood blossomed deep scarlet against the material of Everett’s ruined cravat, the wound deep enough to scar but not kill.

“Something to remember me by,” Cade murmured.

A heavy footfall sounded from the doorway. “Put that down now an’ let ’im go!”

Cade looked up and saw Everett’s manservant slowly approaching, a gun in his hand, with the muzzle pointed squarely at him.

“Like I said, step off or I’ll shoot ye,” the servant declared.

Cade heard a rustle of skirts to his right. “And I’ll shoot you!” Meg declared. Everett’s pistol—the one abandoned in the fight—was now in her hands.

The servant sneered and took another step forward.

Meg fired. The gun gave a kick, the acrid scent of gunpowder thick in the air.

Across the hall, the servant dropped to his knees and toppled sideways, a red stain spreading across his shoulder.

Cade met her gaze, reading the shock in her silvery blue eyes and pallid cheeks. “Dear heavens!” she said. “Did I kill him?”

He didn’t have an opportunity to reply, as the sound
of footsteps rang out in the entry. A moment later his brothers—Edward, Jack, and Drake—burst into the room. They stood silent for a long moment as they took in the scene. Everett lay moaning on the floor in pain, Cade’s sword still leveled just above his chest. The servant was slumped in an unconscious, bleeding heap, while smoke still curled from the end of the pistol in Meg’s hand. Cade could only imagine how the tableau must appear.

“Well, damn,” Jack remarked with raised eyebrows. “Looks like you didn’t need us, after all. Sorry we missed all the excitement.”

“N
ot that I’m displeased to see you, but why are you here, and more to the point, how did you know where to find us?” Cade asked his brothers.

As he watched, Edward strode forward with his usual smooth, commanding gait. “Obviously, we came to help,” his older brother replied. “As for the how, you are not the only one who has been having Everett watched. When my man saw what was happening tonight, he rode immediately to notify me. Jack and Drake were there when word arrived, and insisted on coming along to lend their aid.” The duke looked down at Everett’s bloodied body with derision. “Though as Jack so aptly observed, you and Miss Amberley do not appear to be much in need of our assistance at the moment.”

“Nonetheless, Meg and I are glad to have it,” Cade stated.

Edward nodded. “We found your man, by the way. He’s suffered a severe beating, but I think he’ll pull through. I already had him sent along to the nearest inn to have a physician see to his injuries.”

“Again, my thanks.” Cade said. “Now, maybe the three of you can help me decide exactly what to do with Everett and his servant. Is he still alive?”

Drake walked over and bent to check. “He’s breathing, so I would have to say yes. Did you really shoot him, Meg?”

All eyes turned toward her, where she stood with the gun still clutched in her hand. She said nothing, just stared, her cheeks devoid of color. Only then did Cade realize she must be in a state of shock.

“Watch him, will you?” he said with a glance at his brothers.

Jack stepped forward. “With pleasure.”

Handing the sword over to his brother, he crossed to Meg. “Here, let me take that,” he urged in a low tone as he gently pried the pistol from her grip.

She relinquished it without resistance, then let him lead her across to the chair in which he’d so recently been tied. She sank down, her eyes lowered to the floor.

“Will you be all right here for a few minutes?” he asked in a voice meant for her ears alone.

“Of course,” she said.

“I shan’t be long, then we’ll go home.”

“Yes,” she murmured. “Home is exactly where I need to be.”

He made no comment to that cryptic reply, but brushed his fingertips over her cheek. She withdrew ever so slightly from his touch, leaning subtly away. He
frowned but said nothing, knowing how hard the past few hours had been. With another concerned glance at her, he rejoined his brothers.

Cade told them about the evening and how Everett had plotted to kill both him and Meg. Prudently, he left out as much of Meg’s involvement as possible, glossing over their intimate relationship and the fact that she had followed him there against his express wishes—something he planned to discuss with her later, when she was more herself again.

“Given the circumstances,” he said as he concluded his tale, “I suppose the most we can pin on Everett is kidnapping and attempted murder. Hopefully, that will be enough to see him imprisoned—and hanged, if we’re lucky.”

Everett, who had been silent until now, glared up at Cade. “It won’t be enough. I’ll deny everything, so it will be your word against mine. I have powerful friends who will rally to my side, including Prinny. I won’t spend so much as an hour in gaol.”

“I wonder if that will be the case, when your friends realize that you have indeed been spying for the French?” Edward mused aloud.

Everett laughed, then stopped abruptly to press a hand against the lacerated skin around his throat, fresh blood seeping into his cravat. “There’s no proof,” he rasped. “I’m a loyal English citizen.”

“That’s not what
this
will prove,” Edward stated as he crossed the room to retrieve a small leather satchel lying near the door. “You’re not the only one who can set a trap, you know.”

“What trap?” Everett jeered.

“The one I arranged with the War Office a few weeks
ago. I consulted with two of the highest military officials, and together we let certain classified information slip out. Only, that information was false, planted to see if you would take the bait.” The duke leaned down as if to share a secret. “The documents I have in this case prove you did.”

Everett remained defiant. “I don’t see how—”

“No, you don’t,” Edward interrupted, his contempt clear. “The man to whom you passed this particular bit of intelligence—which includes what would have been vital troop strengths and positions—just happens to have been one of ours. France isn’t the only country with double agents,
mon ami
.”

Everett paled—and not due to blood loss from his wound.

“With this evidence, we have enough to put you on trial for treason, and to eventually see you hanged,” Edward continued. “My only regret is that we weren’t able to trail you to a meeting with your other contact. We know there’s someone else, a mole in the organization. We just don’t know who.”

“Well, I’ll never tell,” Everett stated. “You won’t get a scrap of information out of me.”

Edward shrugged. “We’ll see how you feel after you’ve spent a few weeks in a cell. The accommodations are rather lacking in creature comforts.”

Everett sighed resignedly, as though the prospect didn’t trouble him.

“And if he would like to do the honors, I believe I can convince the ministry to allow Cade to conduct your interrogation. I assure you he would be given free rein on his choice of methods.”

A visible shudder went through Everett, the last of his bravado slipping away. In that moment, he looked terrified.

Footsteps sounded near the entrance as a quartet of men came inside—rough, burly fellows who looked to Cade as if they regularly bent iron bars with their bare hands.

“Your escort has arrived, your lordship,” Edward announced, gazing down at Everett. “Before I left London, I sent word to have a prison wagon driven this way.” He looked at the men. “Take him,” he ordered. “And the other one over there. See that he is given medical attention.”

Over the past few minutes, Everett’s servant had regained consciousness, and now sat clutching his bloody shoulder in obvious agony. He groaned aloud as he stared at his gaolers.

“Aye, Your Grace,” stated the eldest of what Cade presumed were a crew of Bow Street Runners. “We’ll give both of ’em our finest.”

Everett and his accomplice were led out into the night, Lord Everett complaining volubly at being handled by such rabble.

When they were gone, Edward turned to Cade. “I can actually arrange for you to conduct the interrogation, if you would like. Perhaps it would provide you with some much needed recompense for all he put you through.”

For a long moment Cade considered the offer, waiting for the familiar, burning need for revenge to sweep through him. Instead, he felt only an odd sense of quiet—of peace.

“No,” he finally replied. “Let someone else do it. Tonight I’ve gained all the recompense I need. It’s enough to know that the truth about Everett will finally be out for all to see and hear. I’m done with violence. All I want now is to get on with my life and be a plain, ordinary man.”

“There’s nothing plain or ordinary about you,” Edward remarked. “But I’m glad you’re ready to put this behind you.”

And I am,
Cade realized with a dawning sense of wonder. The time had come for him to make some essential choices—to bury the painful memories that were holding him in the past, so that he could look ahead to the future.

With those thoughts in the forefront of his mind, he turned and gazed at Meg, who sat patiently waiting. As he studied her, he considered the evening just past. Her impetuous decision to ride after him tonight had been reckless in the extreme. And, of course, she had disregarded his express wish that she remain safely at home—a topic about which they would clearly need to speak again.

Yet Meg had been incredibly brave, as well. Calm and resilient under circumstances that would have reduced a great many of his acquaintances—including men—to blubbering fools. But she’d held her own, even at the last, coming to his defense in a way he could only admire. What other woman, he mused, could possibly have done such a thing?

Only my Meg.

And she is my Meg, he realized, a wondering smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “If you’ll excuse me,” he murmured to Edward, “I believe I ought to take my fiancée home.”

“Yes, of course,” his brother replied, a curious glint in his eyes as he glanced between Cade and Meg.

Before Cade could go to her, however, Drake appeared. “Here’s your cane,” he said, offering the walking stick with its hidden sword. “Interesting mechanism. I took the liberty of inspecting it. Good design, but I could make some improvements, perhaps even add a new feature or two.”

New features, hmm?
Cade wondered what those might be, well aware that Drake was a marvel when it came to all things mathematical and mechanical. Right now, though, he had other more important matters that required his attention. “Let’s talk later.”

“Oh,” Drake replied, as if he’d just then remembered their circumstances and less than elegant surroundings. “Not the time or place, I suppose. Besides, the delay will allow me to refine a few potential flaws.”

Cade hid a smile, then started across to Meg. As he did, he realized that this was also not the time or place to discuss all the things he had to say to her. Early morning was already upon them, and they still had a long drive home before they could seek their rest. Tomorrow would be soon enough to talk, he decided. For now, he would keep his own counsel.

Stopping before her, he held out a hand. “Come. Let us be away from this place.”

After a brief pause, she nodded and laid her palm in his.

Despite having arrived home at nearly five in the morning, Meg could not sleep. Lying awake and alone in her bed, she watched the sun grow ever brighter in the morning sky.

Earlier, she and Cade had slipped in through the servants’ hall, silent as they made their way upstairs. He escorted her to her door, but did not come inside.

“Sleep well,” he whispered. “We shall talk later on.” Then he bent, pressed a sexless kiss to her forehead, and disappeared along the corridor to his rooms.

Going inside, she’d stripped down to her chemise, then stretched out atop the coverlet, the room warm in spite of the faint summer breeze drifting through the open window. Closing her eyes, she’d willed herself to find oblivion in slumber.

Instead, her thoughts ran in circles, replaying the events of the night in a continual loop. Shivering, she recalled the sensation of having a loaded gun held to the side of her temple, and considered again the horror of being threatened with rape. But strangely, those were not the events that truly distressed her. No, it was the memory of Cade’s words that made her eyes sting and pressure build in her chest, as if a hod full of bricks had been laid on top of her.

Of course, she realized that a great deal of what he’d said to Lord Everett had been done in an effort to distract and delay the man, his words far from sincere. Still, there were phrases that rang with an undeniable truth…

Just because I’ve enjoyed a tumble or two doesn’t mean I want to slip on a parson’s noose…

That statement had come as no particular revelation. Cade had never made any claims of wishing to wed her, not even after they became lovers.

Despite an admitted affection for Miss Amberley, I am by no means in love with her.

She squeezed her eyes closed, willing the memories to cease…

You murdered the only woman I shall ever love.

Hot tears slid across her cheeks, the echo of Cade’s declaration leaving her numb inside. The sentiment of his words allowed her no hope at all.

At the beginning of this deception of theirs, she had thought to find another man and marry him, had assured herself she could forget Cade Byron and happily go on with her life. But she knew now that she’d only been deluding herself. She loved Cade, had loved him from the first, and no other man would do.

Not now. Not ever.

And even if Cade abided by his promise to “take care” of her by offering to make her his wife, she knew she could not endure the thought of marrying him simply to assuage the dictates of Society and convention. She did not want his pity or his forbearance, she wanted his love. But his heart had been given to another, as she’d been so cruelly reminded tonight, and she needed to accept that truth, however harsh it might be.

So then, what to do?

Brushing at the wetness dampening her cheeks, she considered her options. At length she came to a decision, then rose and rang for her maid.