The Charleston Chase (Phantom Knights Book 2) (5 page)

“I do hope that we shall meet again, Miss
Martin.”

I inclined my head and watched him mount his horse,
tip his hat to me, and ride down the street.

“Here only seven days and you have a conquest. How
my brother will be overwrought with jealousy,” a young, bright
voice tittered from behind me.

Turning, I smiled at the young woman standing in the
open doorway. Her blonde hair was pulled back with only a few
artfully placed curls hanging at her temples. Her wide mouth was
grinning, and her bright blue eyes were filled with the fun that
made up Charlotte Mason, Samuel’s little sister. She assured me
that she was not as ‘little’ as Samuel said she was. She was
sixteen and filled with vivacity.

She was one of the members of Samuel’s team, though
I was not certain why. She was too animated to take the work of a
Phantom as serious as the job required, but her vivacity was
perhaps why she had received the Phantom name Juno, she seemed to
give new life to anything she tried.

After handing the reins of the horse to Abraham, who
had dismounted, and thanking him for his escort, Charlotte ushered
me into the house. The female agents of Samuel’s team all lived
together in a lovely light stone, two story house. It did not have
the enviable view of the water, but if you stood on one of the two
porticos, you could see the harbor in the distance.

Upon stepping into the foyer, I had been impressed
by the house. Peach walls with white columns flanked the rooms to
the right and left. There were no doors to close off the rooms.
They were open and inviting. Even though I was upon short
acquaintance with the three ladies who lived in the house, I
immediately noticed whose taste was in the decorations.

Rose Eldridge was a wealthy widow
whose husband had died during the war. At first I had thought she
was older than me, for when she spoke, there was worldliness to her
as if she had seen and endured much in her life, but Charlotte told
me Rose was not yet twenty. Ivory skin, black hair, and soft blue
eyes made up an elegant woman who knew where she
belonged.

Straight through one of the archways was a staircase
that rose to the second floor where four bedchambers were to be
found. The chamber they gave me was smaller than mine in
Philadelphia, but it was comfortable. It had belonged to an agent
who had died in a fire two years past. Since Rose offered no more
information about her, I did not ask. I had heard about her death
from George Crawford, so there was no need to inquire.

The third occupant of the house was a shy, wisp of a
girl named Betsy Coles. Both her skin and eyes were the color of
smooth cocoa with the softest black hair I had ever seen. She
exuded sweetness that extended to anyone she met.

The fourth member of Samuel’s team was Betsy’s older
brother Abraham. He lived and worked with Samuel, and I had spoken
only a few words to him, but I found him both kind and intelligent.
From the little I had heard from both Rose and Betsy, Abraham had
earned the name Phoenix, rising from the ashes of his battered past
to create a new life for himself and his sister.

As I settled into my new surroundings I soon became
accustomed to their way of life. During the day, Rose, Charlotte,
or Betsy would alternate between patrolling the marketplace in the
guise of shopping, or watching the different ships that sailed in
and out of port, searching for smugglers, or particular foreign
immigrants. They did not go on missions like my team had in
Philadelphia, and I learned that other than some brief self
defense, they had never truly been trained.

As Charlotte and I entered the parlor, Rose was
seated at an escritoire. She smiled at me, but went back to the
letter she was writing. Mrs. Beaumont, who had come with me to
Charleston, was there to take my bonnet, gloves, and riding whip
from me. She appeared to be a frail woman, but it was not so. She
carried a full arsenal of attack words if one threatened any person
in her charge. She cast her eyes over me and sniffed in disfavor. I
smiled at her.

“I should tell Sam about your new acquaintance,
Bess, just to see him squirm with jealousy,” Char, as everyone
called her, said to me in a conspiratorial voice.

“Do not be vulgar, Charlotte,” Rose said without
looking up.

“Your brother thinks no more of me than I do of him,
Char,” I assured her.

Charlotte released a peal of laughter. “Oh does he
not? He has only spoken of you for the last seven months.”

There was a twisting in my stomach as I stared at
Charlotte. No duplicity was in her tone. She was speaking the
truth. I felt as if someone had dropped the floor from beneath me.
What could Samuel Mason possibly have to say about me? Surely he
did not tell them how we met.

“Raven is so brave, Raven is so intelligent, Raven
has unmatched beauty of both spirit and face, Raven can make grown
men burst into tears.”

“Now you are being ridiculous,” I told her.

She laughed again leaning against the arm of the
sofa. “It is true, is it not, Rose?”

Rose set her quill down and looked over her
shoulder; her head held high and her slender neck like polished
ivory. I was secretly envious of her quiet, commanding presence.
She was known as Sphinx by the Phantoms, but I had yet to discover
why.

“He certainly spoke of you when he first returned
from Philadelphia, but I do not remember him saying anything about
men’s tears.”

“I wish he would fall in love with you, Bess,”
Charlotte admitted, and heat rushed into my face, but Char had
turned her attention to Rose. “Did you see the way Miss White was
hanging upon Sam last evening, Rose? I believe she is his new
inamorata.” Charlotte said, disgusted.

“Charlotte Mason! We do not speak of such things,”
Rose chastised her, but they had piqued my interest.

Charlotte raised her innocent
looking blue eyes to Rose. “Why not? Men have no qualms about
speaking such things before us, though it makes no matter. She will
not hold his attention for long,” Charlotte glanced at me, “if the
way he kept staring at the door in expectation of
someone
to arrive is any
indication.”

I knew that Charlotte was trying to tell me
something with her eyes, but Rose had drawn her attention away
before I was forced to make a reply.

“Miss White may be an heiress and a beautiful woman,
but give your brother some credit for common sense and leave it at
that.” Rose nodded, closing the subject.

“Thank you for that vote of confidence, Rose,” a
deep voice said from the foyer, and we all turned to stare at
Samuel, who was standing with Levi on the threshold. I wondered how
much he had heard. “And you, you little termagant,” he said to
Charlotte, but his words held only mild disapproval, “need to learn
to mind both your manners and your tongue. Some things do not
concern you.”

Char rose to her feet. “If you
mean to marry that
woman,
it does concern me. Though I do not know why you
would want to, when Bess—”

“Levi, I need to speak with you,” I said hastily.
“Pray, accompany me into the foyer for a moment.” I rose and walked
toward him. I did not meet Samuel’s gaze as I left the room, though
I could feel his upon me. I half dragged Levi into the foyer.

When we were in the dining parlor,
I released him. “Levi, whatever you do, do not tell them about
Andrew.” I halted, staring at him. “Unless you have—”

“Of course I have not,” Levi retorted. He laid a
hand on my shoulder. “You may have been sent to join this team, but
I have not. You have an ally in me, never fear.” I thanked him then
left him, to run up the stairs to my chamber.

Asking Levi to keep my secret was
not because I was ashamed and embarrassed, though I was; it was
because I did not want to put a strain on the new friendships I was
forming. Even though Rose and Charlotte were Phantoms, they were
also women of society, and they had been trained to look askance at
situations such as mine.

After running a brush through my hair, I pinned it
up into a knot at the back of my head. Removing my riding coat, I
smoothed a hand over my ivory dress. There was mud on the hem, but
I did not have time for a change of raiment. Expelling a long sigh,
I left my chamber, forcefully telling myself it did not matter what
I looked like. I was not trying to impress anyone.

When I reached the parlor, I heard Samuel say, “Miss
Martin will be overseeing your training beginning on the
morrow.”

Charlotte clapped and said
something, but my attention was on Samuel standing near the
fireplace. He looked at me, and his gray eyes traveled the length
of me in an appraising, yet inappropriately intimate caress. He met
my furious look with one of calm superiority. He knew I could not
refuse; he had the upper hand.
Atrocious
man!

There was a lull in the conversation as I glared at
Samuel, and he stared back unabashedly. Charlotte filled the
void.

“Who was that handsome specimen of manliness that
escorted you home, Bess?”

I felt as if hot coals were beneath my skin, burning
my cheeks as my gaze slid to Charlotte, who was smiling
triumphantly, then to Samuel who was appeared curious. No doubt he
was expecting Abe to be the only man out riding with me.

“His name was Lucas Marx, and he is a sea captain
only in Charleston for a few weeks,” I told the room at large.

Mrs. Beaumont sniffed again from where she was
pouring out tea into cups. She never had approved of my riding
without Jack or Leo with me when we lived in Philadelphia, even
when I was dressed as a man.

“Where did you meet this,” Samuel looked close to
sneering, “Lucas Marx?”

With my head held high, I advanced into the room and
stood behind the chair nearest the fire, closer to Samuel, but I
wanted him to see that I was not intimidated by him. “In a meadow,”
I replied with perfect composure.

If ladies were not present, I was
sure Samuel Mason would have cursed. I had lived with men long
enough to know the signs. “A meadow? How...quaint. Might one
inquire what you were doing with him in said meadow?”

Fighting down my anger at what his words were
implying I forced my most brilliant smile as I said, “Racing.”

“Who won?” Levi asked.

Char slapped his arm playfully, then held her finger
to her lips and shushed him. Levi rubbed his offended arm but was
grinning. Even Rose was smiling, as she watched Sam and me. It was
as if they were all waiting for us to pull out sabers and begin
fighting in the middle of the parlor.

“Did you win?” Samuel asked after a long moment. One
of his eyebrows was raised as he awaited my response.

“I could have,” I said, “but I could not bring
myself to crush him, for it has been my experience that men have
such fragile spirits when outshone by a woman.”

Samuel took a step forward, his mesmerizing eyes
only on me. “Could you win in a race against me?”

“That would depend,” I said with a note of
mischief.

He took another step toward me. My heart was beating
frenetically in my chest, but I would not back down.

“Depend upon what?”

“If I were breathing or not, Mr. Mason.”

Levi barked out a laugh, and I could not refrain
from grinning. I knew what was coming, Levi knew what was coming,
every person in the room surely knew what was coming, but only Levi
and I knew of my skill.

“Would you care to pit your skill against mine, Miss
Martin, or are words all you are capable of?”

He was pushing the limit of what I would tolerate,
and the man knew it. I could see it in his eyes. He wanted to see
how far he could push me before I would lose my temper and
retaliate.

“You of all people should know that I am capable of
far more than mere words, Mr. Mason.” His eyes narrowed, and I knew
we were thinking of the same thing. That day seven months ago in
George’s bedchamber. I should not have brought his attention to it,
but if Char was correct, and he had been speaking of me then he was
aware of what I was capable of, even sounded to admire my
skill.

“Just so. Tomorrow, when you train my team,” he
smiled, “we shall show them what true skill upon a horse looks
like.”

“What do I receive when I win?” I asked.

“Anything you desire.” He said it
and smiled as if he expected me to say I desired
him
.

“I want all of the information you have about the
Holy Order. I want your promise that you will not leave me out of
any of your dealings with them.” I would win that race. I would
capture the Holy Order, and then I would go home.

“Fair enough,” Samuel said with a
nod, “but when I win, I want an artifact.” I must have looked
startled, for he added, “I know that you have a few
of them, but all that I ask is for
one.”

It was unnecessary of me to ask how he knew. His
uncle would have written to him about that. All that I knew about
the artifacts was that the Holy Order and Guinevere wanted them,
and that was enough to make me want to protect them at all
cost.

“You have a bargain, Mr. Mason,” I turned toward the
door, pausing only to look over my shoulder and say, “but do give
it your best, for I would hate to see a grown man cry when he loses
by many lengths.” I went out of the room with Charlotte’s laughter
following me all the way.

Bess

A
braham
arrived early with a carriage to take us to Sam’s plantation.
During the ride, I learned from Charlotte all about her brother’s
business and holdings. Sam, as I was coming to think of him but
never call him, had bought his uncle’s plantation when George moved
to Philadelphia. In the city, he owned two large warehouses for
import and export of goods from his six ships. He owned a
haberdashery, pastry shop, mercantile, and a lending library. He
also hosted an annual boat race, the course running all the way to
Savannah and back, that according to Char was the social event
beyond all others. Sam hosted a party before the race, he was the
marshal of the race, and then hosted a grand ball the night after
the race to close the festivities.