Wicked Deception (17 page)

Catherine smiled in a cat-like manner
as she sipped her tea. Nicholas was coming home and the rest didn’t
matter. She was pleased her Uncle had arrived in time to save her
crumbling marriage with his brawny threats.

She was more than pleased when her
husband’s belongings were delivered home later that day by her
servants. She was humming to herself as she rose to go to the
nursery and see her children.

Her Uncle Devlin was regaling his
nephews with his travels when she arrived. She listened as he spoke
of all he had seen in the years since he fled Dunleavy. Jaime and
Cullen were transfixed as they listened to the tale. Brionne was
wide-eyed and sat adoringly at his feet.

She closed the crack of the door and
retreated. Devlin had them well in hand.

Nicholas arrived at Myron Chumley’s
office. He grinned as he saw the dwarf seated upon a stack of
books, perusing a document there with a quizzing glass. The little
man grinned when he entered his office. He tossed the letters
across his desk; his steely eyes met his with a look of relief to
see him still alive.

It was pure luck the assassin Rudd paid
recently was a man who often worked for their government. The
assassin had no intention of following through on Rudd’s wishes,
but it only bought him time.

“
My man returned from Wales
last night. It is as you thought,” Chumley reported thoughtfully as
he sat before him. “Lady Dartmouth never arrived there years ago.
The servants have never met her. I fear she is dead as well. What
will you do now?”

“
I think letting His Grace
know what befell his little sister is called for,” Nicholas said
coolly, gazing down at the letters with a feeling of elation. “I
don’t think he will appreciate Dartmouth once he knows of it. I can
see it ending very badly for him.”

“
My man followed Dartmouth
last night and watched him grab a girl from the street, Nicholas!”
Chumley expounded in outrage, his little face filled with anger.
“The man wasn’t happy he could do nothing for the girl. The longer
we wait; the more who die.”

“
I meet the Countess today.
Once she is tucked away, we will see Rudd deal with Dartmouth, have
no fear,” Nicholas assured him and smiled coldly. “Once Rudd knows
his sister is missing; he will know what happened to her. The rest
will go according to plan, have no fear.”

“
What are your plans for the
Countess?”Chumley asked, aware of his friend’s deadly look and
shivered. “Returning her to prison is what you should do. They will
hang her at last. She can do no more harm.”

“
Lilly is the key to the
whole thing, Chumley,” Nicholas reminded him and shook his head.
“She knows all their dirty little secrets; every last one. When she
goes missing; Rudd will panic. He will make mistakes and we will
have him.”

“
I hope you’re right. I
don’t like it at all,” Chumley insisted and thumped his fingers on
the desk. “The woman makes my skin crawl. I wouldn’t keep her
living one day longer than necessary. Get her to write it all down
and have done with it.”

“
It will take a bit of
persuasion for Lilly to turn against them,” Nicholas remarked. “As
much as I would like to see her bobbing from a rope; we need her
alive, if only to bring Rudd down.”

“
Lord Rudd will fall apart
learning the Countess is missing,” Chumley insisted, his grey eyes
met his warningly. “You had better hope her desire to live is
stronger than her hatred for you or we have done all of this for
nothing.”

“
Lilly will do what she has
to,” Nicholas replied with a tight smile. “She is no fool. Once she
learns Rudd changed the plan; she will know he wants her dead now
as well. It is within her best interest to give evidence against
Rudd and Dartmouth.”

“
What will you do with her
when she agrees? You cannot still think to let her go?”Chumley
argued heatedly.

“
I have no choice. I will
give her the money. She will have the means to start over somewhere
else. No one need know she is alive, least of all Gabriel.”
Nicholas looked at his long-time friend in regret. “I wish it
differently too, my friend. The thought of unleashing her upon the
world again has little appeal to me. I want Rudd dead more than her
right now.”

Chumley nodded sadly. “I have your
hiding place arranged, as well as those who will deal with Lady
Iverleigh until you get her to agree.” Chumley eyed his companion
with a sad smile. “Any last words before you die, my
friend?”

“
I will send instructions to
you in how to handle the matter of my last will and testament,
Chumley,” Nicholas promised and took his leave.

Nicholas left Chumley’s office and
looked up an old friend. Caspian Roth wasn’t an easy man to find.
He moved from residences weekly, confusing the enemies he amassed
over the years. Nicholas saw the huge guard Ty at the door at one
of his residences on a seedy side of town and knew he had found
him.

The crime lord looked up from his sheet
music and rose from his pianoforte, a pleased grin on his face.
“Nicky. How nice to see you again. Have you brought your gorgeous
wife with you?”

Nicholas knew Caspian had a soft spot
for Catherine and gritted his teeth. He would ignore the burning
jealousy and possessiveness to know Roth lusted after his wife. He
was here for a reason.

“
I need a favor of you once
more,” Nicholas replied tensely.

Caspian’s grin faded in an instant,
replaced with a scowl. “I thought you and that delightful minx were
happy and breeding like rabbits now. What is it?”

“
I need you to protect my
wife again.” Nicholas saw those crystal green eyes narrow. “She is
to be watched around the clock.”

“
What have you done now,
Nicky?”

“
I have mucked things up;
that is what happened. I have very rich and powerful men who want
me dead. I don’t care if they kill me, but Catherine and my
children must be protected.”

Caspian raised an arched auburn
eyebrow. “I learned of the contract. You needn’t worry. I have
dealt with it. Rudd will run out of hired shooters.”

Nicholas fumed. Caspian arrogantly
assumed nothing in London happened without his consent. He would
not risk his wife on his delusion he controlled everything. “Do as
I ask. I cannot risk her.”

“
What have you done this
time, Nicky? Tell me all or I refuse.”

“
I found the ones who hurt
the children at the brothel where I was sold. I mean to destroy
them all.”

Caspian’s gaze grew thoughtful as he
listened to his friend. “These men you speak of. Who are
they?”

“
The Duke of Rudd, for one.
Lord’s Weldon, Billingsley and Farwell too. Dartmouth must be dealt
with too. He has designs on my wife.”

“
Who doesn’t have designs on
your wife?” Caspian teased him with a delighted chuckle. “How is
the delectable minx anyway? I have had my thoughts, Nicky. You
really should have married an ugly woman if that bothers
you.”

“
She is fine!” Nicholas
barked. “Did you hear me at all?”

Caspian smiled with a patience he
wasn’t known for. “I heard every word. These men will not touch
her. I told you I have dealt with it.”

“
I want your word when I’m
gone you will make her safety a priority,” Nicholas demanded, eyes
narrowed. “I know these men. It will not end with my
death.”

Caspian was alarmed, though he showed
no sign of it. “Why do you act as if you’re already dead,
Nicky?”

Nicholas smiled grimly, wishing he
could trust his long-time friend with all of it. He trusted Caspian
but he was too aware of all that the man was involved in. Money had
a way of changing things. He would not risk Catherine’s life out of
a loyalty he could never be sure of. Caspian would learn only too
soon how serious this was when the Duke sent assassins after him.
By then it would be too late.

“
I can’t survive this, my
friend, even with you at my back.”

“
Just do not act rashly,
Nicky, and tell me what it is you’re up against.”

“
The Duke of Rudd is enough!
We both know he is too well-connected to not ensure I’m eliminated.
I want to be sure he leaves my wife alone when I’m
gone.”

“
I will have my men on her
doorstep should you meet your death,” Caspian agreed and frowned.
“Don’t scare me like that, Nicky. You know how I react. Rudd is not
untouchable. Rest assured if you’re harmed; the man will get a
visit from me.”

“
No, you’re to leave him
alone,” Nicholas told him harshly. “I have set him up for a very
hard fall. I wouldn’t want it spoiled.”

“
Very well, consider it
done,” Caspian assured him and rolled his eyes. “You should have
brought that pretty wife of yours. I could use the
distraction.”

“
Where is your lost dove we
spoke of months ago?” Nicholas asked and looked around. “Last I
heard you were taking her away with you on a holiday.”

Caspian never betrayed the hurt those
words caused. His lips curved into a smile. “Let us just say, my
way of life didn’t agree with her. She left when I ran out of
things to offer her to stay.”

Nicholas saw the uncomfortable, vague
pain in Caspian’s gaze, knowing he had to have cared for the woman.
“I’m sorry things didn’t work out.”

Caspian shrugged. “When does anything
work out for a man like me, Nicky? I have to worry about being
killed by men in my own employ half the time, dodge bullets
whenever I’m in public. She did right to leave me. The fault is
mine for not offering her what she really wanted, more than
anything.”

Nicholas knew he would not disclose
what that was. He pitied Caspian never to know the love of a woman
like Catherine. He would always be one step away from an assassin’s
bullet, denied even a normal life. The underworld leader was forced
into hiding a good amount of the time, running his empire behind
walls and armed guards.

“
It is her loss,” Nicholas
consoled him and saw Caspian smile once more.

“
She has what she wants. How
fickle a woman’s heart is until stolen for the first time; and how
unchangeable it is then, no matter what you would promise her? Now
I know how you and Iverleigh feel. I usually deal with the ones who
love me for coin. This one couldn’t love me for all the wealth I
possess.”

“
That is not like you to let
them get close to you,” Nicholas remarked, surprised Caspian
admitted to have offered all to his lost dove and she refused
him.

Caspian shrugged. “I admit to a certain
fondness for her but I will not fight for a woman who loves
another. I see it as counter-productive, Nicky. You should know
that better than I.”

Nicholas silently agreed. “Then I can
rely upon you in the future?”

“
I will watch over your
family, Nicky,” Caspian agreed. “You don’t have to ask it of
me.”

Nicholas left the crime lord’s
residence feeling the weight of the world off his shoulders.
Knowing Caspian would watch over Catherine made him feel better
about what would happen. The wheels were in motion. He grimaced to
know he could not save himself if he tried. He thought he would
have been less eager to meet his own end. Now, he could hardly
wait.

He arrived at the rented
rooms early, peered out the window through the part in the curtains
to wait for Lilly’s arrival.
She would
come
, he thought grimly as he waited. He
had only to convince her to help them and he worried she would
prove stubborn. He hoped having her locked up long enough would
wear her down.

Much depended upon his impressing her
of how few choices she had now. Dartmouth and Rudd could not risk
leaving her alive. Farwell was found dead in an opium den. The
scandal was the talk of London. Nicholas knew without a doubt Lord
Rudd was eliminating all those who knew of his crimes.

Lady Farwell retreated to the country.
All were privately thinking her better off now that her weak
husband was dead. Weldon and Billingsley were missing after a
weekend party they never arrived to. They were no doubt murdered by
Rudd’s men, buried on Dartmouth’s property. Rudd had planned all
very well in his attempt to frame his brother-in-law for his own
crimes.

He turned and looked about the room in
despair, thinking of Catherine living here once before her planned
seduction of the Earl. He wished he could go back in time and
change the past. Had he pressed the issue that night at Clarice’s,
she would have been his then. Lilly would have had to find some
other to aid her in her schemes. He sighed, for the past would
forever haunt them all.

~ ~ ~

Lilly arrived in London on a mail
coach, stifling a chuckle at her daring. Dartmouth would never know
she’d been gone. She had hours to enjoy her admirer before she
returned to her oppressive prison on Dartmouth’s country
estate.

She smoothed her ice-blue velvet skirts
appreciatively, glad little Eunice left such beautiful clothes
behind before she left for Wales. She looked beautiful and she knew
it. Some pleasure was derived when the mail coach driver swallowed
hard as she demanded passage to London. She insisted she was
leaving her abusive husband to seek out her family here.