Victorian Vigilantes 01 - Saving Grace (6 page)

“Yes, but…just a moment.” She frowned, anger flashing through her eyes as she began to comprehend. “Are you suggesting my husband is one such?”

“Your husband’s only loyalty is to lining his own pockets,” Isaac said more severely than he’d intended. “You already said as much yourself.”

“That is true enough, but I don’t think he would go so far as to be unpatriotic, even if it meant huge monetary gain.” Lady Eva looked genuinely shocked. “Are you quite sure of your facts?”

“Absolutely.”

It was Jake who answered her question and her gaze remained focused intently on him. Her lush lips parted and a silent
oh
slipped past them. “Are you involved in this matter at the behest of the Home Secretary?”

Jake inclined his head. “We have that honour.”

“But surely there are no threats to the Great Exhibition.”

Jake shrugged. “As we already told you, a lot of people would like to see it fail.”

She stared off into the distance, frowning as she thought it through. “I do not love my husband, far from it, but still have trouble imagining him sabotaging an event that will show this country up in such a favourable light.”

“Are you absolutely sure about that?” Jake asked, fixing her with a probing gaze.

“Please, Lord Torbay, just tell me what it is you suspect him of being involved with. You clearly require my help, and I cannot offer it if I don’t know what you want of me.” She sighed. “Just spare my feelings, and tell me your suspicions.”

“Very well” Jake replied. “Were you aware the Koh-i-Noor, the largest diamond in the world, is to be exhibited?”

“Yes, I’m looking forward to seeing it.” She paused. “Well, I was. But it hardly seems important now, given the turn my life has taken.”

“The diamond is supposed to bring bad luck to any man who owns it,” Isaac said, laughing. “Which is why it is only safe in a woman’s hands. Legend mixed with fact, if you ask me.”

“To cut a long and colourful history short, it was recently confiscated by the British East India Company and gifted to Queen Victoria,” Jake explained.

“How is that possible?”

“A very good question,” Jake replied. “The actions of the East India Company have caused friction between the two nations. A lot of powerful people in India take issue with that gift and want their diamond back.”

“Yes, I am sure they do, and perhaps they have right on their side.” Lady Eva shared a horrified glance between them. “Please tell me William isn’t so lost to decency that he is involved in trying to steal it.”

***

Evan as Eva posed the question she knew she had got it right. It explained the sudden appearance of the ruthless Indians in William’s warehouse; William’s prolonged good mood; the tightening of security around her husband’s affairs; the mysterious late night meetings he had suddenly needed to attend; and so much more besides. Even so, aware that William’s main desire was to be accepted by society, committing such a heinous act of treason hardly seemed the best way to go about it.

“I believe the diamond is enormous,” Eva said. “So how could the thieves hope to profit from the crime? I mean, it can hardly be sold and stealing something so well protected must cost a huge amount.”

“Certain wealthy individuals in India require it back and are willing to pay handsomely to ensure that happens,” Lord Torbay replied.

Eva frowned. “But even if they achieve that ambition, they can’t publicly display it, or even admit to having it.”

Lord Isaac laughed. “Possession is nine-tenths of the law, Lady Eva. They will simply say they took back what was rightfully theirs and assume England won’t declare war on them for the sake of a piece of rock.”

“There is nothing you can teach me about possession,” she said with feeling, thinking of her imprisonment that went by the name of marriage.

“No,” Lord Isaac said softly. “I am sure there is not.”

The two men exchange a prolonged glance, causing a strange sensation to streak through Eva’s body when she observed it. She had just crossed some sort of line, shown too much of her inner feelings, which simply wasn’t done. Even so, she thought their speaking look was a little extreme and wondered what it implied.

“Never think, even for a moment, that we suspected you of involvement in your husband’s treachery,” Lord Torbay said, inclining his head in a gesture of great civility. “We were certain you know nothing about it.”

“Thank you, sir.”

His lips quirked. “You are entirely welcome.”

“If you know that my husband is masterminding the plan, Lord Torbay, why not simply arrest him?”

“Because we have no definite proof,” Lord Isaac replied.

“Your people saw those Indians beat that poor man to death. Surely that is sufficient reason to shut him down.”

“Sometimes it is necessary to allow smaller crimes to go unpunished, at least temporarily, for the greater good.”

“Smaller crimes!” Eva felt heat invade her face. “Need I remind you that a man lost his life under the most violent of circumstances?”

“He was a thief, Lady Eva,” Lord Torbay said softly. “He picked a man’s pocket in the street close to the warehouse and almost brought the law down on the place. He couldn’t be forgiven for that.”

“Even so, he didn’t deserve to die, especially not so violently.”

“No, he did not, and you may rest assured the men responsible will pay for their crime… eventually.”

“All right,” she replied, mollified because she observed the firm set to his features and believed him. “I accept you know what you are doing.”

“We don’t like it any more than you do,” Lord Isaac assured her. “But we have learned to exercise patience.”

“I
do
bow to your superior understanding, but surely foiling the plan by detaining those involved until after the exhibition would be the best way to proceed? You could use the beating to death of that man as your excuse.” She elevated a brow. “Presumably the Home Secretary possesses the power to imprison people for as long as he sees fit.”

“Absolutely.” Lord Torbay sent her a challenging smile. “But think for a moment. How did your husband become involved with such a plan in the first place?”

“Actually, that is a very good question.” She tilted her head as she thought about it. “And one which I really cannot answer. He does business with India, of course, so presumably that is how the connection was made.”

“Your husband imports Indian silk, tea, rugs and assorted trinkets. The merchants he deals with are a far cry from the influential people involved with this plot. To the best of our knowledge, Woodstock has never been to India himself and there is no reason to suppose his willingness to behave dishonestly would have reached the ears of the Maharajas behind this scheme.”

“Probably not, and so—” She bestowed a darkling glance upon Lord Torbay. “I believe you know the answer to your own question. Please don’t leave me in ignorance.”

“Someone high up in the government doesn’t want the exhibition to be a success,” he replied succinctly.

She gasped. “There is a traitor within government ranks?”

“Unfortunately yes, but the Home Secretary doesn’t know whom,” Lord Isaac replied. “And therein lies our problem.”

“The only way we can find out his name,” Lord Torbay added, “is to keep your husband under close surveillance and see where that leads us.”

“Yes, I suppose so.” She paused, frowning as she considered his words. “But I still don’t understand how you thought I could help.”

“Well, we—”

“You can’t,” Lord Isaac said abruptly, cutting across whatever Lord Torbay had been about to say. Lord Torbay regarded his friend steadily, quirked one brow, and remained silent. He appeared composed but, Eva thought, a little annoyed as well. It was most peculiar.

“Then why bring me here?”

“We had hoped that you might know whom he meets with. Perhaps you entertained government officials at your house, or you might have seen letters…something.” Lord Torbay shrugged. “However, it’s of no consequence.”

Eva mulled over what she had just heard. The room seemed unnaturally quiet as the two men watched her closely, saying nothing and leaving her to her cogitations. Tension vibrated through her. There were things they obviously weren’t telling her, and what they had said made precious little sense. Why would they go to so much trouble to find her, just on the off chance that she might know something of value to them? There had to be more to it than that. Besides, they already had their own man inside William’s house who could recount the names of those who came and went. He was also in a position to learn a lot more about William’s activities than she would ever be.

“Wait a minute.” She fixed Lord Torbay with a hollow stare. “Did you mean to—”

“Lady Eva,” he said at the same time.

She waved aside whatever he had been about to say and he had the goodness to fall silent. In a blinding flash of comprehension their true purpose had just become plain to her and the debilitating pain that followed was almost her undoing. She had let her guard down and allowed herself to feel safe here because she was amongst people of her own standing: people who pretended to care about her and had gone to a lot of trouble to find her. An odd, recurring sensation in her mid-section had made her wonder if there was a connection between her and Lord Isaac that was stronger than her own will, transcending every modicum of common sense.

Such thoughts ought to have shocked her. Instead she found them exciting, stimulating, and sinfully tempting.

Now she knew she was nothing more to them than a means to an end. What a fool! Had she learned nothing during the years of her marriage? Never confide and never trust because no one cared two figs about her. These gentlemen were better bred than her husband, hid their purpose behind an elegantly polite façade, but when it came down to it they were no different than William. They planned to use her to get what they wanted.

“You want to me return home and spy on my husband,” she said, drilling Lord Isaac with a hostile gaze. “That is what this is all about, is it not?”

“She’s not returned yet,” Stoneleigh informed William. “We have people posted all over Whitechapel so we know she’s definitely not in the district.”

“Then where the devil is she?”

Stoneleigh shrugged. “No one’s seen hide nor hair of her since this morning.”

“Damn it, man, track down the jarvey who picked her up and find out where he dropped her off.”

“We’re trying, but dozens of cabs use that route. It might take some time.”

“Don’t bother me with details, just do it.” William, pacing his study, turned on his heel and glared at Stoneleigh. “I want to see the room she rented. There might be a clue there. Take me there now.”

“Right you are, but there’s nothing that will help.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” William sent his man a damning glance. “You imbeciles are getting nowhere with your dithering. I had best see to the matter myself.”

William and Stoneleigh made the journey to Whitechapel in taut silence. William glanced out the window as their conveyance left the wide, leafy streets of the smart part of town in which he resided and the roads rapidly became narrower, noisier and a great deal dirtier. William had grown up in this sort of squalor, pulling himself out of it by dint of his own wits and stark determination. His Eva, on the other hand, had never set foot in such a district. He thought of the million and one fates that could so easily have befallen someone as out of place as she would be and his blood ran cold.

Aware of Stoneleigh sending him covert glances, William kept his expression passive, but his mind churned in harmony with his gut. Unless she could persuade one of her upper-class friends to take her in then she would have to return to William eventually. That was the thought he had been holding onto, relying upon, this past week. Now, her continued absence had obliged him to think the unthinkable. Would she actually sell herself in preference to returning home? A single man of means could easily set her up as his mistress somewhere beyond William’s reach.

William clenched his fists, rage surging through him in unstoppable waves. He would find her if he had to scour every corner of the country. If he couldn’t have her, no one would. All the time he didn’t know what had become of her, he imagined increasingly wild scenarios that drove him demented with worry and jealousy. At a time when concentration was vital to his future prosperity, he couldn’t think about anything other than finding his wife. Eva may not love him as passionately as he did her–he accepted that–but she also had no reason to complain about her life. She had every luxury at her fingertips
and
a daughter upon whom she doted. No, she would never willingly walk away from Grace. Presumably seeing a man beaten to death had addled her brains and she had lost her memory.

Yes, that must be it. William had hit upon an explanation he could live with—one he could spread amongst his employees to help save face.

Except women with memory loss did not possess the wits to hire rooms or pawn rings. Damn it, what had he done to disgust her so much? Eva was his life, his
reason d’être
. The grimy depths he had been forced to plummet, some of the actions he had had to take to make something of himself, seemed worthwhile when he had Eva beside him. Everything he had striven to achieve was for her benefit. Making Eva look upon him with respect, restoring her to her rightful place within society’s ranks, was what drove him. He had never had a clear idea of what went on inside his wife’s lovely head, which sometimes infuriated him, especially when she looked upon him with ill-disguised contempt. Even so, it had never occurred to him that she despised him so much that she would be prepared to live it this rat-infested hellhole rather than in comfort with him.

“This is it,” Stoneleigh said when the carriage rattled to a halt and was immediately surrounded by a bunch of urchins.

“Are you sure?” William asked dubiously. The row of tumbledown buildings with peeling paint and crumbling steps looked even grimmer than William had anticipated. His Eva would never stoop so low.