Victorian Vigilantes 01 - Saving Grace (23 page)

“Doesn’t he ever assign you to guard duties?” Isaac asked.

“He hasn’t as yet, and somehow I don’t think he will.” Franklin rubbed his bearded chin. “He only trusts his long-standing inner circle, such Stoneleigh and a couple of others, with things like that.”

“Damn!” It was Jake’s turn to fall into a thoughtful silence. “Has he found a replacement for Rose?”

Franklin rolled his eyes. “Course he has. He didn’t wait five minutes to take advantage of a young girl who works in the kitchens. Well, she did. She’s already been promoted to house maid, but don’t think of using her. She’s still got stars in her eyes. Thinks Woodstock loves her and will elevate her to Lady Eva’s vacant position.”

“Ah, the optimism of youth,” Isaac said, a cynical twist to his lips.

“Still, Woodstock always goes to the warehouse in the mornings to attend to his legal trade. Stoneleigh or Barker will go with him, probably Stoneleigh because Barker’s now in charge of the search for Lady Eva. Things are always more lax when those three are out of the house so I might get a chance tomorrow morning.”

“Excellent!” Jake clapped his shoulder. “I think we can help put the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons, too.”

Franklin grinned. “What are you planning, m’lord?”

“To divide and conquer,” Jake said after a brief pause. “We already know Woodstock’s annoyed with Stoneleigh for attacking Mrs. Grantley. Supposing he found out that his right-hand man not only set Rose up as his mistress but also had Lady Eva within his grasp and let her escape?”

Franklin nodded his approval. “That would certainly stir the muck, and I assume you want me to drop the word. But how am I supposed to know that about Stoneleigh’s activities without casting suspicion my way?”

“No, I don’t want you to say a word. I’ll have someone whisper a few words to one of Woodstock’s inner circle. I assume there’s competition between them for the top spot.”

Franklin’s smile was broad and infectious. “Barker is Stoneleigh’s main rival and the two of them can’t stand the sight of one another. Woodstock knows that and enjoys seeing them fighting for his favour. Anyway, one of them is usually in the house, even when Woodstock isn’t. Barker likes to drink in a tavern in Sloane Square and he’s in there most nights when he finishes work.”

“Right then, I shall ensure Barker hears of this latest development right away.”

“Why not have Rose go back and tattle on Stoneleigh?” Isaac suggested. “I’m pretty sure she’d prefer to hitch her star to your wagon, so we can trust her not to change sides. Besides, she wants revenge on Stoneleigh.”

“We can’t ask a pregnant woman to do our work for us. Besides, she has no proof, unless she admits why Lady Eva went to see her.”

“Ah yes, I suppose there is that.”

“I have to get back before I’m missed,” Franklin said.

“Send word if anything develops,” Jake replied.

“You know I will.”

Franklin doffed his cap and disappeared into the night. Jake and Isaac returned to their carriage, still mulling over the problem of the desk.

“I am beginning to think stealth is overrated,” Jake said as they made the short journey home. “We need a contingency plan in the event that Franklin doesn’t gain access to the desk. Perhaps we should just raid that house when we know Woodstock isn’t at home, rescue Lady Eva’s daughter and get the information we need that way.”

“I like the idea of reuniting Eva with her daughter.”

Jake chuckled. “How surprising.”

“But, Jake, we don’t actually know for sure Woodstock has anything written down that will lead us to the inside man. We are just assuming he has because that’s how everyone says he operates. And even if he does, unless we intercept the crime while it’s being committed, the man could probably wriggle out of it somehow. He strikes me as the sort who is careful enough to have contingencies arranged for precisely that purpose.”

Jake pondered Isaac’s suggestion. “You think we would be showing our hand for no good purpose?”

“Precisely, and even if we find the information we need, the raid would alert a lot of the blaggards involved and give them the opportunity to escape.”

“Yes, you’re right.” Jake sighed. “This is a damned sight more complicated than I had supposed it would be when I accepted the assignment. Still, we have a few days left before we absolutely need to act. If we can set Woodstock against Stoneleigh, on top of his problems with the newspaper article and Lady Eva’s continued absence, something might develop.”

“That’s the spirit.” Isaac grinned into the darkness. “Ah, here we are, home again.”

Jake shot Isaac a knowing look. “Can’t imagine why you are so keen to be here.”

“What do you plan to do about Olivia?”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“Don’t pretend not to understand me, Jake. The two of you have been dancing around one another for over a year now. Eva noticed at once, pointing out what ought to have been obvious to me. Now she’s put the idea into my head, I am surprised I didn’t realise it for myself. I have never seen you half so enamoured of any woman, try as you might to disguise the fact.” Isaac grinned. “And now you have her under your roof. Too good an opportunity to resist, wouldn’t you say?”

“You are quite mistaken,” Jake said coolly.

Isaac choked on a laugh. “What are you afraid of, and don’t tell me it’s Olivia’s reputation? That sort of thing is likely to attract you, not the opposite. I know how you like to thumb your nose at convention.”

“Olivia has made it very evident she has no personal interest in me.”

This time Isaac’s laugh was fulsome. “For an intelligent man, you can sometimes be deucedly dense. Just because Olivia doesn’t hang on your every word the way most of the women you meet do, it doesn’t mean a thing. She is clever enough not to make herself too obvious, that’s all. Or,” Isaac added thoughtfully, “perhaps she thinks she would sully the Torbay name by encouraging your advances.”

“The devil she does!”

Isaac slapped his friend’s shoulder. “Think about it, Lord Torbay. You have to marry at some time or other and I can think of few women better qualified to stand up to you than Olivia.”

“Send Pearson to me, Parker, and then I shall have no further need of you this evening.”

“Very good, my lord.”

Parker left to carry out his instructions and Jake turned his attention to Isaac, an ironic twist to his lips. “Do you not have a prior engagement?”

Isaac knotted his brow. “I am being dismissed?”

“You are perfectly welcome to stay while I give Pearson his instructions and sent him off to the Sloane Square tavern.”

“Thank you, but since that’s a task that does not require two of us, I
will
excuse myself.”

Jake waved him away. “Good night.”

“Good night,” Isaac replied, leaving Jake to his brandy and his brooding.

Satisfied there were no servants loitering in the main part of the house, Isaac made a quick detour to his own room to collect something he would need later and then hastened to join Eva. Every second in her company was to be savoured. Matters with her husband would come to a head over the next few days and there was no telling when they would have another opportunity to be alone.

Isaac was obliged to face the very real possibility that they might never see one another again. His feelings for Lady Eva ran deep–very different to anything he had experienced before. When he wasn’t with her, she occupied his thoughts. When they were together, the rest of the world might just as well not exist. He was drawn to her like a sun responding to the earth’s gravitational pull, completely and totally intoxicated by her feminine allure. But Isaac was acutely aware of the many obstacles that littered their path. It would be extremely unwise to think beyond the moment, to make plans for a future they might never be at liberty to enjoy.

Isaac relived the horror that had gripped him that afternoon when they realised she had gone missing. He swallowed against the ache in his throat, even as he reluctantly admired her spirit. To have been quick-witted enough to stab Stoneleigh with a hat pin said much about her determination to fight against the life she had been trapped in these past six years. Even so, Isaac was equally determined she would never act so impulsively again. Furthermore, she was about to discover what to expect if she ever frightened him so badly in the future.

He entered the room without knocking, closed the door behind him and leaned against it. She was sitting beside the fire, dressed in her night attire, pretending to read a book. Her pose would have been quite convincing, had the book not been upside down. She looked up but the welcoming smile flirting with her lips quickly faded, presumably because she saw the stony set to his features and realised just how angry he actually was—a situation he had done his utmost to conceal from her during the evening. What he had to say to her was for her ears alone.

“You came,” she said, nervously licking her lips.

Isaac was so overbalanced by the sight of her translucent skin glowing in the dwindling firelight, her eyes shimmering as they regarded him with complete faith—and something else—he didn’t trust himself to speak. If he allowed her to see how profoundly she affected him, he would lose the battle with his baser needs before this opening skirmish had even played itself out. He folded his arms across his chest and fixed her with a censorious gaze.

“What the devil did you think you were playing at this afternoon?” he asked.

“I did what was necessary. Given similar circumstances, I would do the same thing again.” She tossed her head. “So if you have only come to scold me, you might as well save your breath.”

Isaac’s brows snapped together. “Necessary?”

“Yes.” She inverted her adorable chin. “And I succeeded.”

“Actually, you almost undid all of Jake’s hard work.”

She gasped. “Whatever do you mean?”

“If Stoneleigh had caught you, you would have told him where you had been staying.”

“I would not!”

“Sooner or later you would have.” Isaac paused, trying not to conjure up mental images of the Stoneleigh’s methods of persuasion. “And make no mistake about it, whoever is controlling your husband from within Whitehall would have made the connection between Jake and your tenure under this roof and aborted the theft.”

“Well, isn’t that what you want?” She stood up and faced him, arms akimbo.
Dear God, does she know how appealing she looks when she’s angry?
“The safety of that ostentatious stone is all anyone seems to care about.”

“You imagine that’s why we have gone to so much trouble to keep you safe?”

“I didn’t mean that.” The anger appeared to drain out of her as quickly as it had arrived. “I have been a terrible nuisance to you all, of that I am very well aware, which is why I wanted to help. I knew Rose would talk to me, but I couldn’t be sure how she would react if either of you went to her. I tried to tell Lord Torbay as much but he wouldn’t listen to my advice.”

“Even so, what you did was foolhardy, ill-thought out, and endangered us all.”

“In which case, I am truly sorry.”

She lowered her eyes in a contrite gesture that found Isaac immediately absolving her from blame. The desire to kiss away the distress clouding her eyes almost quelled his anger. Almost. He clung to it, determined to make her understand the danger she had placed herself in and extract a promise from her not to do anything so foolish again before he forgave her.

“Whatever were you thinking?” he asked softly.

“Before you brand me a complete ninny,” she replied, lifting her head again, a glint of fire igniting in her eyes, “consider the circumstances from my perspective. Mrs. Grantley was attacked, thanks to me, Franklin is in danger every second he spends under my husband’s roof and my poor daughter must wonder why she has not seen me.” Eva impatiently dashed at the tears forming in her eyes. “You and Lord Torbay appear to think nothing of taking risks, and yet I must sit here and twiddle my thumbs. I cannot think why you went to so much trouble to get me here if your only intention was to keep me as closely guarded as I am in Sloane Street.”

A crystalline silence greeted this statement. She appeared to realise what she had said and took a step towards him.

“Isaac, please, I did not mean to–”

“We want to keep you safe. We have no desire to own you. The next few days will see things resolved one way or another, then you may leave here whenever you wish to. But in the meantime we need to focus and can’t do that if we are worrying about you.”

“Are you saying I am more of a hindrance than a help?”

“I’m saying you frightened the life out of me.” He reached for her, desire chasing all thoughts of lectures from his head, and she willingly fell into his arms. “I thought I had lost you,” he said in a raw voice. He breathed in her heady perfume as his arms closed greedily around her and her body melded against his. “You cost me ten years of my life this afternoon. When I saw that brute Stoneleigh had you virtually within his grasp, I—”

“Shush.” She placed a finger against his lips. “It’s done, and he didn’t catch me. That is all that counts.”

“More by luck than judgement.” Isaac couldn’t help smiling as he recalled how her quick thinking had saved the day. “Tipping over that barrel of oranges was inspired.”

“It was an impulsive action borne of desperation.”

Isaac shook his head. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Ah, since you ask, I have some suggestions to make about that.”

“Oh no, you do not get to decide. You have to be punished for your disobedience.” Isaac released her from his embrace. “Stand over there and remove all of your clothes.”

She did as he asked, slowly, biting her lower lip and sending him frequent saucy glances from beneath her lowered lashes. Feminine, knowing glances, as though she was already aware of the quite profound power she exerted over him. When she was completely naked she looked up at him with an enquiring expression.

“Take your hair out of that God-awful braid.”

Isaac’s breath caught in his throat when she combed her fingers through her tresses, loosening them, and her lovely amber curls tumbled around her shoulders, shimmering like liquid copper in the flicking light of the fire. Isaac was fascinated by the lighter shades he detected highlighting the earthy tones. There were so many things he wanted to say to her, so many reassurances he wished to offer her, but he remained silent. He was not in the business of making promises he could not keep.