Victorian Vigilantes 01 - Saving Grace (4 page)

She turned her attention to Lord Torbay’s fresh-faced companion. Something deep inside of her changed when their gazes locked. A disturbing yet thrilling premonition that had nothing to do with her perilous situation ripped through her. She ignored her feminine reaction, which had chosen a most inconvenient time to make its presence felt, reminding herself to remain on her guard. She had been lured here for a specific reason and she knew very well that reason must somehow be connected to William.

Absolutely nothing else made any sense.

“Lady Eva. “Lord Torbay’s deep voice recalled her to the here and now. “Allow me to introduce my associate and friend, Lord Isaac Arnold.”

Lord Isaac took her hand, and bowed over it. “It is a delight to make your acquaintance, and I am entirely at your service, Lady Eva,” he said.

Oh, if only I could believe that!

With a legitimate excuse to train her eyes upon Lord Isaac, Eva was confronted by a shock of curly blond hair that gave him a boyish look, although she knew him to be of a similar age to Lord Torbay and still a favourite target on the marriage mart. He possessed sparkling blue eyes that made her think of the Aegean Sea, even though she had never actually seen it. Both men were dressed impeccably in the height of fashion. Tall and broad-shouldered, they bore auras of tough resourcefulness that made her doubly surprised to find them under William’s auspices.

“You set a trap for me on behalf of my husband,” she said accusingly.

“Good heavens, no!” Lord Torbay sounded convincingly surprised by the suggestion. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

“You know who I am and obviously went to a deal of trouble to get me here.” She spread her hands, anger giving way to despair. “Why would you do so if you weren’t working for William?”

To her mortification, Eva felt tears leaking from the corners of her eyes and trickling down her face. Lord Isaac was immediately at her side, passing her a crisp linen handkerchief, the genuine-seeming concern in his expression causing the tears to fall in earnest. Eva didn’t know what had come over her. She had learned during the course of her marriage
never
to show weakness of any sort. William made a living out of exploiting weaknesses—hers especially—and using them to his advantage.

“Excuse me,” she said, mopping her face but refusing to look at either of them. “When am I to return home?”

Lord Torbay’s silence added to Eva’s strain, causing her to glance his way. Her nerves were in tatters and she was in no mood to play mind games with a gentleman who had clearly mastered the art.

“When did you last eat?” he asked softly.

She lifted her shoulders, unable to completely hide her surprise at his question. “Why should that concern you?”

Without responding, Lord Torbay rang the bell and gave muted instructions to the servant who answered it.

“Come,” he said, offering her his hand.

Eva stood without his help, too cast down to offer up any resistance. She expected to be taken from the house and bundled into a carriage, consoling herself with the thought that at least she would see Grace again very soon. William would beat her for running away, just as he routinely beat her for no reason other than his own pleasure. Eva was dead inside and no longer cared. She had long ago learned to take his punishments by detaching her thoughts from what was actually happening to her body, thus barely feeling the pain.

Instead of the anticipated carriage ride, Eva was conducted into a small parlour. Lord Isaac opened the door and both gentlemen stood back to allow her to pass through it first. She felt slightly better at this display of manners, although why that should be, she could not have said. Daily exposure to inbred good manners was one of the many things she had left behind on her wedding day. A blazing fire made the room feel cosy and comfortable. Its warmth seeped into her body, reviving her just a little.

“Sit down before you fall down,” Lord Torbay said firmly.

Eva complied because she didn’t have enough energy to do anything else. A servant appeared with tea. Lord Isaac poured her a cup and sweetened it for her. She lifted the cup to her lips and drained it in two unladylike gulps. Earl Grey. When had she last savoured its sharp, citrusy taste? If felt more like ten years than mere days. Lord Isaac chuckled and refilled her cup. By the time he had done so, several dishes had been placed in front of her. She espied coddled eggs, crispy bacon, cold meats, fresh muffins, strawberry jam, tempting pastries and a bowl overflowing with fresh fruit. She was mortified when her stomach growled.

“Eat!”

Lord Torbay issued the order and then seated himself on one side of her, presumably to ensure she did as she was told.

“Allow me to serve you,” Lord Isaac said, taking her opposite side.

With a heaped plate in front of her and her mouth literally watering, Eva picked up her fork and ate. She cleared the entire plate and drank another cup of tea, feeling more human by the minute. Only when she couldn’t eat another bite did it occur to her that hunger and fatigue had caused her to jump to foolish conclusions. She knew of Lord Torbay’s reputation as a gentleman of conscience, of course, and had even danced with him once in a previous life. He was rich, powerful and, unless she read him entirely wrong, completely incorruptible. William, who used knowledge as power to manipulate people into doing his will, would fail in his attempts to turn such a person.

“Yesterday lunchtime,” she said, turning to him.

Lord Torbay raised a brow. “I beg your pardon?”

“Yesterday lunchtime was the last time I ate anything.”

She noticed the two men exchange a glance. “No wonder you were feeling so emotional,” Lord Torbay replied. “Come, let’s sit beside the fire and we can talk in comfort.”

Lord Isaac proffered his hand. A powerful surge shot through her as his fingers made contact with hers, causing her to stare at him as she tried to identify her wild reaction. She had known nothing like it before, but Eva put it down to the fatigue and emotional turmoil Lord Torbay had just referred to. She was no longer hungry, but still tired and on edge. Suspicious about the turn her fortunes had taken and slow to trust, Eva supposed it made sense for her body to play tricks on her.

“Am I to assume you placed that advertisement in
the Times
just to attract my attention?” she asked.

She expected them to deny it, to laugh, to denigrate her in some way, so deeply had she been indoctrinated to William’s reactions if she was unwise enough to express unsolicited opinions. Instead Lord Torbay inclined his head.

“We lost all trace of you,” he said, furrowing his brow, “and were concerned for your welfare.”

She shook her head, convinced she must be hearing things. “Excuse me, Lord Torbay, but did you just say
you
lost all trace of
me
?”

“I’ll explain more fully later but for now, suffice it to say that men working for me had your husband under surveillance.” He softened his voice. “They were outside his warehouse when you arrived with your daughter and her nursemaid. They saw his associates torture and then murder a man, and also saw you arrive in time to witness the actual killing.”

“Oh!” Eva shared a gaze between the two gentlemen, questions she had no breath to voice tumbling through her head. “Then—”

“It was my man who shot the rogue who tried to grab you. We have always known you play no part in your husband’s affairs and my people were told to rescue you and your daughter if you seemed to be in any danger. Unfortunately, before they could carry out my orders, you ran one way and the nurse went into the warehouse with your daughter. When they tried to find where you’d gone, you had already disappeared.”

“I thought they were shooting at me,” Eva whispered. “I ran the other way from my daughter to save Grace from being hit by a stray bullet.”

“That is what we assumed,” Lord Isaac replied, briefly touching her hand. “It was a brave and sensible thing to do. It says a lot about your character that you could think so coherently at a time when you must have been terrified out of your wits.”

She shrugged. “I am not so sure about being brave. My only thought was for my daughter’s safety.”

“Where did you go?” Lord Torbay asked.

“I was near the docks, with no clear idea of where I was.”

Lord Isaac nodded. “You obviously didn’t return to your home in Sloane Street.”

Eva flashed a wan smile. “I have been looking for a way to get away from my husband for years, but he keeps me too well guarded.”

“You are his prisoner?” Lord Isaac asked in an affronted tone.

“More or less.” She looked away, concentrating her gaze on the flames dancing in the fireplace. “I am never allowed to go anywhere unescorted. If I called upon any of my old friends, which he seldom allowed, he always sent me in the carriage, which waited for me. He said it was for my own safety, that his enemies might try to get to him through me, but I knew that wasn’t his real purpose in keeping me so closely guarded.”

“Then what was?” Lord Isaac asked.

“Well, this probably sounds ridiculous, but for some reason I have never properly understood he is obsessed with me. He always has been. He saw me during my first season and boasts he decided then and there he would find a way to marry me.”

“You are an earl’s daughter and he is a merchant with a dubious reputation,” Lord Isaac said. “How did he imagine he would bring that boast to fruition?”

Eva flashed a wry smile. “He is a collector of information, Lord Isaac, and when he set his sights on me, he made it his business to discover any weaknesses in my family that he could use to his advantage.”

Lord Isaac appeared gratifyingly outraged. “The rogue!” he cried.

“Yes, he is certainly that.” Eva expelled a prolonged sigh. “Unfortunately he didn’t have to dig too deep to find a way to have my family beholden to him. My father was well known as a gamester. He risked everything he had at the tables and finally got in so deep we were in danger of losing the estate. He killed himself rather than face the ignominy and disgrace of bankruptcy.”

“That was cowardly,” Lord Isaac said. “I seem to remember some small scandal about it at the time.”

“I thought it was cowardly too, but then my father always was weak. My mother continued to make excuses for him though, claiming others had led him astray.” Eva lifted her shoulders. “Whatever the truth, it fell to my brother’s lot to clear up the mess Papa left behind. Gerald faced losing his inheritance, of course, since Papa’s debts of honour would have to be paid before anything else. Then along came William, all charm and good-nature. He had brought up Papa’s promissory notes but offered to tear them up if I would agree to become his wife.”

She was aware of Lord Isaac grinding his jaw and Lord Torbay looking severe, as though he disapproved. She was unable to decide why it should matter to either of them how she had come to marry William, but clearly it did.

“Your family allowed you to make that sacrifice?” Lord Torbay asked.

“There was no other way. He made himself quite agreeable to us all, you see, and none of us understood his true character at the time.” She shook her head. “I knew he wasn’t my social equal, but stranger alliances have been known to work. I certainly didn’t realise what I had committed myself to until it was too late.”

“You were explaining why you didn’t return to Sloane Street,” Lord Torbay reminded her. “Although I think I can anticipate your answer.”

“I was afraid for my life. Nothing else would have kept me from my daughter.” She thought of Grace and gulped back her anguish. “I have no idea who those men were at my husband’s warehouse. They terrified me and I got the impression William probably didn’t have control over them. They knew what I had seen and couldn’t know if I would keep my mouth closed.” She shuddered. “I shall never forget those men and their mean, soulless eyes. They were absolutely without consciences.”

“I have met men like that. No wonder you were so afraid.” Lord Isaac sent her a reassuring smile and touched her hand again. “Anyone in your situation would have reacted in the same way.”

“There was one obvious way to ensure I remain permanently silent…” Eva paused, renewed terror trickling down her spine as she recalled the death stare the actual murderer had fixed her with. “I didn’t have the slightest doubt that if they had caught me they would have killed me without a second thought, despite my being William’s wife.”

“Very likely,” Lord Torbay agreed. “You were right to run.”

“I had to put Grace’s welfare first since I would be of no use to her if I was dead. Besides, the opportunity to escape from William was too good to pass up. It didn’t occur to me that I had only the clothes I stood up in—these clothes,” she said, waving at her skirts, “and a few pounds in my stocking purse. Nor did I stop to think how I would rescue Grace. That, obviously, is my only concern now. However, short of returning to William, I really don’t know how I can get her back.”

“You cannot return to your husband,” Lord Isaac said in a passionate tone. “I won’t permit it.”

The burning weight of his gaze caused something unfamiliar to tug at Eva’s heart. It was most peculiar. Only Grace now possessed the key to unlock the bars she had erected around her emotions and she was unable to think how Lord Isaac’s burning intensity had managed to slipped between the cracks. He looked as though he wanted to say something else but Eva was just discovering that pouring out her troubles to a sympathetic audience—troubles she had never fully disclosed to another soul—was cathartic. Her load felt lighter with every word she spoke and she was now anxious to tell it all.

“I found lodgings in a small boarding house in Whitechapel,” she explained. “I bought what few items I needed from stalls and second-hand clothing shops and eked out my coins until I was in danger of running out altogether. Then I pawned my wedding ring, the only item of jewellery I was wearing that day.” She glanced at her bare finger and shrugged. “Not that I mind the loss of it. It was vulgar and ostentatious. Besides, the thought of being free of that symbolic link to William was intoxicating.” She frowned. “Although I shall never be really free, of course. I am well aware he will leave no stone unturned in his search for me, but I have been endeavouring not to dwell upon that depressing thought. Instead I’ve been thinking how best to earn a living so I can rescue Grace.”