Saving Grace (Victorian Vigilantes Book 1) Page 6

  ‘You were doing your job,’ she said. ‘A little incidental damage is presumably inevitable when set against the duty you owe to Queen and country.’

  ‘Hang our duty!’ Isaac cried passionately, ignoring Jake’s warning glower. ‘We will not ask you to go back to that man’s house and there’s an end to the matter.’

  ‘Is that not up to me to decide?’

  Jake answered her question with one of his own. ‘What will he do to you if you do return?’

  ‘Beat me, humiliate me, punish me in lots of small, public ways the servants cannot help but see, or hear about. That is his way of showing he has absolute power over me. But all the time he will pretend he is delighted to see me again.’

  ‘Will he restrict your access to Grace? Your freedom?’

  ‘Possibly the former.’ She shrugged. ‘As to the latter, I have no freedom to speak of anyway.’

  ‘Well then, I see no advantage to your returning.’

  ‘I might very well need to return.’

  Isaac felt ready to explode with anger at the thought of the things the oaf would do to this delicate beauty. ‘The devil you will!’

  ‘You don’t understand. He will think I am with friends to whom he would never be granted admittance if he enquired about me at their addresses. The only way to get close to them, or to find out where I am, would be to talk to my brother and engage his help in hunting me down. Gerald will have to do so otherwise William will find a way to ruin him.’

  Jake nodded. ‘I had heard your brother shares your father’s love of the gaming tables.’

  ‘Yes, self-destruction appears to run through all of us.’ She spread her hands, looking indescribably sad. ‘Just look at the mess I’ve made of things.’

  ‘Hardly your fault,’ Isaac said softly, somehow resisting the urge to touch her.

  Parker entered the room and whispered something to Jake. Jake nodded grimly and Parker withdrew.

  ‘It is fortunate you came here this morning,’ he said, turning towards Lady Eva. ‘I sent people to watch over your room in Whitechapel once you told me where you had been staying. It seems your husband and one of his men just arrived there.’

  Lady Eva gasped. ‘How did he find me?’

  Jake shrugged. ‘The man has resources.’

  She looked totally defeated. Pale, frightened and tormented. ‘Then it is hopeless.’

  ‘Not in the least.’ Isaac, seated beside her, grasped her hand. ‘Will you place your trust in us to keep you safe?’

  ‘How can I ask you to concern yourselves with my affairs when you have more pressing demands on your time?’

  ‘You can either return to Whitechapel, where your husband will be waiting, or to Sloane Street, where you will be beaten.’ Isaac’s voice softened. ‘I won’t allow either fate to befall you.’

  ‘It is hardly your choice to make.’

  ‘No, but I can offer you a third choice.’ Jake’s voice caused them both to look in his direction. He took a seat across from them and arranged his limbs in his habitually elegant style. ‘You can stay here, where no one will be able to get anywhere near you. I give you my word that I will reunite you with your daughter. I shall have Franklin bring her out.’

  ‘And lose your inside man?’

  ‘Unfortunately I cannot afford to do that, so it won’t happen immediately. But it will happen, if only you’re prepared to be patient.’

  ‘Perhaps we can find a way for Franklin to bring her out without giving himself away,’ Isaac suggested.

  ‘Yes, very possibly. I shall give the matter some thought.’

  ‘Concerning yourself with my daughter will distract you from your work for the government.’

  ‘We would be more distracted if I had to think of you suffering at the hands of that monster,’ Isaac replied for them both, squeezing the hand he was still holding.

  ‘He won’t hurt me, not really.’

  ‘How can you say that?’ Isaac asked passionately. ‘You’ve already admitted he beats you without provocation. This time he can claim plenty of provocation.’

  ‘I don’t feel it,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘I have taught myself to withdraw, to rise above whatever he does to me so he can’t reach the part of me that feels emotional or physical pain.’

  Her response made Isaac even more determined that she wouldn’t return to such a man. ‘Even so, please don’t think about going back there. You will be doing us a service by staying clear of him.’

  She frowned. ‘How so?’

  Isaac wasn’t surprised when Jake supplied the answer that had only just occurred to Isaac. ‘All the time he’s looking for you, he will be neglecting other matters.’

  ‘He will be less vigilant, which is all the opportunity Franklin needs to find the information we require,’ Isaac added, overcome by a torrent of protective feelings, willing to say whatever was necessary to convince her to stay safely with them. ‘Please say you will be Jake’s guest.’

  Her gaze swivelled between the two of them, firm and resolved, and she shook her head. Then, in a heartbeat, the fight appeared to drain out of her. She looked tired, defeated and heartrendingly wretched.

  ‘Very well,’ she said with a deep sigh. ‘I accept your offer with thanks. At least temporarily.’

  Chapter Six

  The address in the newspaper led William to vacant premises above a shop in Regent Street. The vendor below, a haberdasher, knew nothing about the people who had briefly occupied the apartment above.

  ‘Some sort of employment agency, far as I could tell,’ he said, repeating what William already knew. ‘They were here for just a few days, and then left again. Lots of people came and went. Couldn’t say who was in charge.’

  ‘Who owns the premises?’

  The man couldn’t tell him that either. He paid his rent to the former tenant, who had sublet the shop to him. William submerged into a simmering silence, aware that it would be a waste of time trying to trace the owners. Whoever had taken the place didn’t want to be found, and clearly had sufficient means to ensure that they were not.

  Damn it, William didn’t have time for this! Eva had been within his grasp. He had smelt her perfume lingering in that awful room in Whitechapel, could almost feel her voluptuous curves beneath his hungry hands, could anticipate the fear in her eyes when she was required to account to him for her disgraceful behaviour.

  Now she had slipped away again, like a shadow without substance.

  He was so angry he wanted to hit something, or someone, but retained his composure by the sheer force of his will. Without a word of thanks William strode from the shop, Stoneleigh keeping pace with him.

  ‘Now what?’ Stoneleigh asked when they had returned to the carriage.

  ‘You’re the person I charged with the simple task of finding my wife,’ William replied with icy disdain. ‘I should be asking you that question.’

  ‘Someone’s helping her,’ Stoneleigh said with conviction.

  ‘Idiot! If someone was helping her, she would not have been hiding away in Whitechapel.’

  ‘She was hiding there to start with, but now she’s got help.’

  ‘Even if that’s true, unless we can discover who has come to her aid, it gets us nowhere.’

  ‘The child’s the key to it all,’ Stoneleigh said stubbornly. ‘She loves that kid and sooner or later she’ll feel compelled either to come back to her or try and snatch her from beneath your nose.’

  It was the first time Stoneleigh had dared to imply Eva didn’t want to return, compelling William to concede that all of his servants were aware he had no control over his wife. Fortunately, no one other than Stoneleigh would dare to say so to his face—not if they valued their positions.

  ‘What are you suggesting?’ he asked.

  ‘Have Mary start taking the child to the park again. That ought to do it.’ Stoneleigh nodded emphatically, sniffed and then wiped his nose on the sleeve of his coat. ‘Women are funny about their kids and if you don’
t mind me saying so, Lady Eva’s funnier than most. She would give her life for that child. She’ll be pining for the brat and won’t tolerate remaining parted from her for much longer.’

  William wanted to argue. It hurt to accept that Eva loved the child more than she loved him, even though he knew it was true.

  ‘Of course, you could send the child to the country. If Lady Eva does have ears everywhere, she will hear about it and fancy her chances of rescuing her. It will be easier for you to spot her if she arrives at a country location.’

  ‘I’ll think about it.’ William tapped on the roof with his cane. ‘Hyde Park, and make haste. I’m late for an appointment.’

  The driver knew which part of the park to head for without being told. Indeed, his options were limited since most of the park was off limits while the finishing touches were put to the magnificent building that would house the Great Exhibition. William had to admire his associate’s guile in arranging to meet in the shadow of the event they planned to cause great scandal and political unrest by ruining. They made this journey frequently and William always found a closed conveyance, blinds drawn down, awaiting them. When they arrived William alighted from his carriage, telling his driver to wait for him. As soon as he entered the closed carriage, it moved off.

  ‘You’re late,’ remarked the superbly attired gentleman inside the carriage.

  ‘My apologies. I was unavoidably detained.’

  ‘Have you located your wife?’

  William wanted to tell the man to go to the devil. It was none of his damned business. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in a position to follow his instincts. Besides, in some respects, it was his business. This man was his ticket to a life of social acceptability. Not only had he singled William out to co-ordinate the theft of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, but he had also promised to pay him handsomely for the risk he was taking and sponsor his introduction into the right circles. By offering him a foot into society’s door he had hit upon the only thing William wanted and couldn’t purchase for himself. It was those sorts of weaknesses that William looked for in others and so, even though he didn’t like or trust the man, he did recognise in him a kindred spirit.

  However, it would only work if he had Eva at his side. Even his high-born co-conspirator couldn’t make William appear socially acceptable without Eva’s impeccable credentials to ease his path. Infuriatingly, this man knew it and used William’s ambitions to keep him honest.

  ‘I know where she is,’ William said, attempting to sound bored with the entire business. ‘She will be home before the sun sets today.’

  ‘That is what you said the last time we met,’ the man replied languidly.

  ‘This time it’s true.’

  The man crossed his legs elegantly at the ankles and examined the sleeve of his coat. ‘I do hope so, for your sake.’

  William’s tone was as indolent as his companion’s. ‘Are you threatening me?’

  ‘I can’t help feeling that you have lost your edge along with your wife, Woodstock. First you allow one of our hot-headed Sikh guests to murder one of their fellows in broad daylight, where anyone might have seen. Where someone did see. Your wife to be precise. And then you carelessly manage to lose said wife and devote all your energy to looking for her instead of focusing on the things you have agreed to do for me.’

  ‘She ran because she was scared for her life.’

  The man flexed an indolent brow. ‘Too scared to return home and seek protection from her husband?’

  His upper class drawl was staring to wear on William’s nerves. ‘She has no reason to be afraid of me, if that’s what you’re implying. She’s frightened and confused after what she saw and lost her wits for a while. Any lady of quality would react in the same way, especially one of Lady Eva’s sensibilities.’

  ‘And yet she has the wits to…well, to outwit you, old fellow. It makes me wonder if I’ve chosen the right man to help me repatriate the stone. I mean, if a mere woman without funds can lose herself in the middle of London and you, with all your resources, fail to locate her—’

  ‘Everything is under control,’ William said through tightly clenched teeth. ‘You have no cause for concern.’

  ‘Oh, I am not the slightest bit concerned for myself because no one knows of my involvement, nor will they ever. It’s your neck on the line if things go awry, in which case I would recommend you follow your wife’s example and disappear as fast as you can. You knew the risks when you agreed to become involved. Your life won’t be worth a farthing if you fail. Nor will I be able to protect you if that happens.’

  ‘I am well aware of that. And nothing will go wrong. The plan is fool proof, the final details have been agreed; nothing has been left to chance.’

  ‘I am very pleased to hear it.’ He handed a plain, unsealed envelope to William. ‘Here is the information you asked me for. I don’t wish to know why you need it. In fact the less I know of the particulars the better.’

  The man’s insistence on not knowing how they planned to execute the theft bothered William. He was meticulous to a fault but never allowed William to discuss specifics. He claimed the fewer people who knew the precise details, the less likelihood there was of word getting out. William suspected he was simply covering his own back.

  ‘Oh, did you discover who just happened to be in the vicinity of your warehouse and was able to fire a shot at our murdering Sikh friend?’

  No, William had not, but he wasn’t about to admit to another failure.

  ‘Violent sailors swamp the area, waiting to pick up a ship. There’s a lot of resentment when they see foreigners taking their work. We picked up a man who claimed to see a seaman target the Sikh.’

  William was unable to tell if his associate was convinced. Since it was a complete fabrication and William still had no idea who fired the shot that saved Eva’s life, he would be surprised if he was. William would have instigated thorough enquiries had not Eva disappeared, pushing the incident from his mind. Now it was too late. The area was a seething mass of ever-changing humanity. To see the same face twice in one day was unusual, and so William’s unease remained unappeased. If anyone was watching his warehouse—which he doubted—there were far more vantage points from which they could do so than William’s men could possibly keep under observation.

  No, that shot was a lucky one, and there was nothing more to be said.

  ‘I see.’ The man straightened his legs in front of him and examined his feet. ‘It would be wise to ensure no strangers linger near your warehouse at this sensitive time.’

  And how the devil was he supposed to do that?

  ‘Naturally,’ William said dismissively.

  The carriage stopped where it had started from and William put his hand on the door. ‘I shall require a progress report in two days’ time, as usual,’ his companion reminded him. ‘Be here and don’t keep me waiting next time.’

  William mumbled something incomprehensible and returned to his own conveyance. Did these people take him for a complete idiot? Did they imagine he hadn’t made contingency plans on his own behalf, just in case? William had been born into a house even worse than the one in which his wife had spent the past week living. He hadn’t pulled himself up from the slums without knowing how to keep one step ahead of the game at every turn.

  ***

  Eva felt conflicted. On the one hand she was still out of charity with Lord Torbay and Lord Isaac for attempting to manipulate her into working against her husband. On the other, she felt a great sense of relief at having agreed to remain in Grosvenor Square and place herself in their care. She had nowhere else to go. Whitechapel was now compromised and she had neither the strength nor the will to seek alternative lodgings, to say nothing of the fact that she had no money to pay for them.

  A moment’s reflection was all it took for her to concede that in Lord Torbay’s position she would probably have acted in a similar fashion. Given the responsibility that rested on his shoulders she was almost able to forgive him.
The theft of such a well-known and controversial diamond would start a huge diplomatic incident, reflecting badly upon the Queen and her incumbent government. Of course they needed to do whatever was necessary to secure its safety. Her difficulties paled into insignificance by comparison.

  ‘I have taken the liberty of ordering a chamber to be prepared for you,’ Lord Torbay said, having just rung for Parker and exchanged a brief word with him. ‘You look exhausted. I suggest you spend the remainder of the day resting and we will meet again at dinner. We can talk some more then, by which time I dare say you will have more questions for us.’

  ‘Yes, I expect I shall.’

  Eva hadn’t realised how tired she actually was. She had barely slept this past week, as evidenced by the shadows beneath her eyes that had so appalled her earlier. Was it only this morning when she looked in that cracked glass? It seemed like days, and another world away, when she had been forced by necessity to push herself to the limits of her endurance. The sounds and smells of Whitechapel were unfamiliar; everything seemed like a threat. She had tried to disguise her identity and remain hidden in her room as much as possible. Even so, she drew attention to herself when she was forced to venture out in search of food. Every time she felt eyes tracking her movements she feared she would be followed back to her room and attacked—or worse. The fact that William had now found her bolthole afforded her the perfect excuse to remain here. The thought of clean sheets and the opportunity to regain her strength overcame all other objections.

  ‘You look ready to collapse with fatigue,’ Lord Isaac said with a sympathetic smile. ‘Take some time to recover your strength and then, if you still wish to leave and return to your husband, we won’t try to prevent you. On that you have our solemn word as gentlemen.’

  Reassured, Eva acquiesced. ‘Very well.’

  She inclined her head and smiled at the engaging Lord Isaac. He really was a very attractive man. He clearly liked her and it was difficult not to feel the full force of the compliment he paid her by acting as her champion, putting her concerns ahead of affairs of state. She had overheard snippets of his private conversation with Lord Torbay a few moments earlier and knew it was his urgent entreaty that had changed Lord Torbay’s mind about using her to get to her husband. She obviously still possessed the power to influence a man of Lord Isaac’s standing and that knowledge went a long way to restoring some of the self-esteem that had been knocked out of her by William.