London's Most Wanted Rake (20 page)

Chapter Twenty

I
t hit Alina all at once: She was starting to feel safe. Cassandra Eisley looped an arm through hers and pulled her into a shop with an exclamation of, ‘Oh look, what an adorable hat!’ The middle of a shopping trip was the oddest of places for such a realisation, but there it was none the less.

It had been a week since Channing’s friends had taken up her cause. Change had come within days. The scandal sheets stopped speculating about her character and she’d been to every social event of merit. The last had been at the insistence of Annorah and Cassandra, who had argued she needed to make her presence known. Nothing would be accomplished if people thought she’d crept off to lick her wounds. She’d been surrounded by Channing’s minions at each occasion. Society would see that she had their backing.

Alina smiled, watching Cassandra try on the hat, turning her head this way and that in the mirror. ‘Do you think Jocelyn will like it?’ she asked as if there was any question.

‘I think Jocelyn would like you no matter what you wore,’ Alina answered honestly. One could not be in the same room as Jocelyn and Cassandra without seeing the great affection they had for each other.

Cassandra gave a cheeky smile. ‘That’s probably true.’ She reached for another hat. ‘What about this one? You should try it, it’s just your colour.’

Alina tried the hat to please her. Feeling safe wasn’t only about the rumours having died down or knowing that the men were busy delving into Seymour’s affairs. It was also about the way she’d been welcomed into the fold. The wives of Channing’s friends had taken her in wholeheartedly, attending events with her, taking her on calls with them and inviting her on personal errands like this shopping trip. When it had come to making their position clear, no one could say the attention had been pro forma. To anyone looking in from the outside the attention would appear to be quite genuine.

Maybe it was. That was one of the more dangerous thoughts she’d had this week. Maybe the ladies really did like her. Maybe she really could belong with a group like this. It wasn’t as if she was low-born or had no breeding at all. Why shouldn’t such friendships be within her grasp?

Just when she’d let herself believe such a thing was possible all the impossible reasons surfaced. The rumours would always be there, would always follow her. There was always the chance even worse would leak out. Heaven help the ladies if they knew what her marriage had been like, of the lurid things she’d been forced to do, or the things she’d done in the name of freedom. They would not want such a soiled creature in their association, not when it came to being a wife. She’d be tolerable as a mistress, someone they didn’t have to see. Quite perfect even—a worldly, widowed woman. But that would put an end to all this. No one went on shopping trips with their husbands’ friend’s mistress.

Besides, Channing hadn’t spoken of marriage again. It was a ridiculous leap of logic. They were together until this episode with Seymour was finished. Familiar association with these fine ladies would end then, too. Alina took off the hat and set it aside, sadness unexpectedly swamping her. In August she would be alone again.

‘Don’t you like it?’ Cassandra asked. ‘I’m going to get this one.’ She paused. ‘Oh, my dear, what’s wrong? Has something upset you?’

When had she become so transparent? Alina smiled in an attempt to recover. ‘I’m fine, just a little peckish. Perhaps we might get something to eat?’

The excuse was enough to allay Cassandra and Annorah’s worries and they set off for a place a few blocks down the street, Cassandra swinging her hatbox in her hand. It was a busy time of day, the pavements crowded with shoppers. There were people they knew along the way and they stopped a few times to exchange conversation with acquaintances.

As they neared the tea shop, a commotion broke out ahead of them. A man darted through the crowd, a package in his hand, followed by a shopkeeper brandishing a broom and yelling, ‘Stop him! Thief!’ The man was too fast, the shopkeeper too portly. The man barrelled towards them, head down, giving the appearance of a charging bull. Cassandra gave a little scream and pushed Annorah towards the wall of a shop out of the way, but the man collided directly with Alina. The force of the collision sent her reeling into the street, gasping and off balance.

Alina staggered. Oh lord, she couldn’t breathe! In her panic, she tripped on the hem of her dress and fell. She managed to get to her hands and knees, her world spinning as she tried to focus, tried to breathe. She was going to die, right here in the street, suffocated by her own inability to draw a single breath. What was wrong with her? She wanted to cry, but that required air. She managed a short gasp and then another, each short breath reminding her of the air she lacked. The world continued to spin, black spots forming before her eyes. She was aware of a rumble in the distance like thunder, and the rise of screaming voices, but they were of no help to her.

Annorah’s voice cut across the others. ‘Alina! Get up!’ She wanted to, she really did. She just couldn’t. The rumbling was growing louder. She managed a glance down the street with her spotty vision and froze. A wagon was racing towards her, pulled by an enormous draughthorse.
Crawl!
her brain commanded.
Worry about breathing later, crawl now. Crawl back to Cassandra and Annorah.
Somehow she dragged herself a few feet, maybe it was only a few inches, the effort taking all her will. In the periphery of her vision she caught the blur of a flying object whiz past. She heard the cry of a startled horse. The horse shied, veering towards the left-hand side of the street.

It was Cassandra who ran forward, hauling her to her feet and shouting orders. She got an arm about her. Breathing was a little easier. ‘You’re all right, I’ve got you. Annorah’s sent for Channing. He’ll be here soon,’ she murmured. ‘You’ve had the wind knocked out of you, but it will be better soon.’

It was better; she was panting now instead of gasping. Alina tried to slow her breathing. Her gaze strayed to the street where a bright-pink striped box lay crushed, its ribbon ripped and smudged with dirt, its contents trampled. ‘Your hat!’ Alina cried.

Cassandra hugged her. ‘Silly girl, better my hat than you. Channing would have had my hide if anything happened to you.’ She gave a tremulous laugh. Her nerves were getting the best of her now that the crisis had passed. ‘I didn’t know what else to do. I only knew I had to stop that wagon.’ Cassandra burst into tears.

The enormity of the near-accident swamped Alina then. She’d almost been the crushed hat box. If it hadn’t been for Cassandra’s quick thinking, it
would
have been her.

* * *

She was shaking by the time Channing arrived. He shouldered his way through the crowd that had formed around them, looking like a thunderous blond Apollo in his concern with Nick and Jocelyn behind him.

Channing took charge immediately, clearing the pavement of onlookers and wrapping her in his coat. ‘Can you walk? The carriage isn’t far.’ His arm was tight about her.

‘I’m fine, really. I’m just a bit mussed.’ She tried for a laugh, but it came out reedy and shrill.

‘You’re shaking,’ Channing scolded.

‘Where are the others?’ Alina tried to look around.

‘Don’t worry about them. They’re coming. Jocelyn wants to ask questions.’

‘Cassandra threw her hat box at the horse. Her new hat is ruined.’ She was babbling when they reached the carriage.

‘Shh. Never mind about that, Jocelyn will buy her a new one.’ Channing bundled her into the carriage and gave the driver directions before climbing in beside her. He pulled her close and dropped a kiss on top of her head. ‘You’re safe now.’

‘Hmm,’ she said, feeling a little lightheaded from shock and adrenaline. ‘I was thinking the same thing.’ This is what she got for believing she was safe. If a random wagon in a street could end a life so precipitously, was anyone really safe?

* * *

Channing insisted on going to Argosy House and calling the family physician in spite of her protests to the contrary. She was fine, nothing a good bath and clean clothes couldn’t fix.

‘Cassandra and Annorah will want to see you and assure themselves you are all right,’ Channing had answered her protests with a smile. Secretly, she thought he wanted to assure himself. He had even carried her upstairs to a spare room before turning her over to the doctor, another gesture that was entirely unnecessary.

* * *

‘Let him fuss,’ Annorah said later when they came to call. ‘No doubt Channing feels guilty he wasn’t there to protect you.’

‘There was no way he could have known. It was an accident. He can’t be with me always,’ Alina argued, letting Annorah pick up a brush and comb out her hair.

‘Well, there’s no reasoning with a man in love.’ Annorah smiled at her in the mirror.

Alina smiled back, not wanting to argue. She couldn’t very well tell Annorah that she was wrong. Channing Deveril wasn’t in love with her—even if he was, she couldn’t allow it.

* * *

‘We have to allow for the fact that Cassandra is right.’ Jocelyn paced the office downstairs at Argosy House with an agitated stride. Channing pushed a hand through his hair, thinking through all his friends had reported.

Jocelyn and Nick had stayed behind and questioned people at the crash site. The information they’d brought back was disturbing, but not necessarily reliable. ‘Cassandra might be overwrought. It wouldn’t be unusual for her to have imagined what she saw,’ Channing argued.

Jocelyn shot him a censorious look. ‘If Cassandra says she saw the man deliberately push Alina, then she did.’ Jocelyn was stubbornly block-headed when it came to his wife.

Channing studied his friend. Jocelyn was a good critical thinker. ‘You believe Seymour was behind this,’ Channing surmised. It was a conclusion he was unwilling to draw simply for its implications— mainly that the game had escalated.

‘I do,’ Jocelyn said seriously. ‘Nick thinks so, too. Seymour is scared. He knows his rumours have been rendered insignificant. He knows the
comtesse
’s popularity is growing thanks to her association with our women. He can no longer fight her alone. Alone, she wasn’t much of a threat. There was no one she could rally except for a paid team of solicitors. But now—’ Jocelyn waved a hand to indicate an invisible army of people who could rise to Alina’s cause ‘—Seymour knows all the
comtesse
has to do is whisper her concern and he will be exposed. It is only her discretion that has kept her from publicising the situation thus far and Seymour knows it.’

Jocelyn stopped here and gave a smug smile. ‘He also suspects we are doing more damage to him behind the scenes. Any day we’re going to find proof about who he really is and what he really does. He’s in a race against time and he’s decided the best way to win that race is to eliminate Alina.’

Channing’s anger started to boil. ‘When will we have enough go after Seymour? Surely the solicitors have uncovered enough by now? Perhaps we can even bluff him into confession if we can serve up a tasty enough deal.’

‘Soon,’ Jocelyn affirmed. ‘Don’t rush this. We’ll only get one chance. We have to make it stick. A man like him has got out of jams before. He’ll know all the loopholes. This has to be airtight.’

Channing slammed a fist down on the arm of his chair. ‘I can’t sit here doing nothing. I don’t want Seymour to think for a moment that I will tolerate such a blatant attempt to harm someone under my protection.’

Jocelyn stopped and fingered a paperweight. ‘Under your protection? Those are strong words, Channing. What are you prepared to do in order to provide that protection?

Channing met Jocelyn’s gaze slowly. ‘Anything, everything. With my body if need be, with my name. If I’d been there today—’

‘With your name,’ Jocelyn interrupted. ‘I don’t mean in the way we’re doing now with the girls playing their part. I mean more permanently. You have to talk her into it. She doesn’t have a choice now.’

To make her Mrs Alina Deveril, wife of Mr Channing Deveril. It was a dream he’d never allowed himself to contemplate for too long. It wasn’t distasteful, it was just improbable. ‘Marriage would be complicated.’

Nick gave a wry smile. ‘All marriages are complicated in their own way. If love was easy, everyone would do it.’

‘Aside from whether or not Alina would have me, it would mean giving up the agency,’ Channing said slowly. It was one thing to know that in theory, to actually do it would be hard, but he would for Alina. To truly be Mr Deveril, he would need a different presence in society. The agency could go on, but he would have to remove himself from any attachment. ‘I’ve been thinking of retiring.’ But he was also thinking perhaps the reason he hadn’t asked Alina before was fear of rejection. He didn’t know if she’d say yes.

‘I’d put the question to her in terms she can understand, like her safety.’ Jocelyn pinned him with a hard stare. ‘While you’re thinking, think about this. The afternoon’s effort wasn’t a warning. It was an attempt on her life and it was botched.

‘Now, ask yourself what are you prepared to do? Convince her to do the same.’

Anything, everything. The words like a litany through his brain. ‘I’ll put the question to her tonight.’ It would take all of his considerable skills at persuasion, but he was prepared to give up everything for Alina Marliss, even the agency. He understood Jocelyn’s comment fully. Alina was alive either because someone had made a mistake or because Cassandra had an incredibly good aim.

* * *

Who would have thought Cassandra Eisley had such a good aim? Seymour was seething with anger when the news came. Eagleton was with him, his mouth set in a grim line. The attempt to trample the
comtesse
had failed, the only casualty being a hat box.

‘Send a letter,’ Eagleton said in quiet tones. ‘We must act now while she’s frightened, before she can think clearly.’

Seymour gave Eagleton a puzzled look. ‘A letter? Why?’

‘We can’t make another attempt on her life. It would look too suspicious. They’ll be alert to it if they even remotely think the accident today was foul play. We can’t threaten her, but we can threaten someone she cares about.’