Secrets In Savannah (Phantom Knights) (23 page)

Once we are outside the house, and
the door was firmly shut, I allowed Leo to lead the way across the square. He
knew where Lucas was hiding, for there was little that Leo did not know.

His knowledge was one of the
reasons that he was a Phantom. There had been a time when I admired Leo more
than anyone else. That fact alone made me trust him.

“What are we going to do?” I asked
in a harsh whisper as we walked across the silent square.

Leo laid a hand on my shoulder.
“What we have always done. This changes nothing.”

“Everything has changed. Lucas
will murder my sister if we do not find her first. He does not need her alive
to gain control, he needs only one of us and the artifacts.”

Leo pulled me to a halt, staring down
at me with his impassive face that had always brought me comfort when I saw
him. “We will not allow any harm to come to your sister.” I could see a
question in his blue eyes before he voiced it. “Have you told Jack?”

I closed my eyes and shook my head,
my stomach clenching, my heart aching. “No, but I must. I promised him all of
the secrets of the Holy Order and you are one of those secrets, Leo.”

“What will you tell him?”

The sadness in his voice made me
ache all the more. He had become a Phantom in the three years that he had
worked with them, and Phantoms were family, as I had been told numerous times.

“The truth,” I replied in an
anguished whisper. “That you were the trusted guard who helped me escape our
country. Have no fear about your father, though. Jack does not need to know
that he was once the head of the royal guards.”

Leo released a soft breath. “You
will have to tell him
your
secret as well.”

“I know.” It expanded the ache in
my heart to think about it. For when Jack knew all, I would lose him forever.

We said nothing else until we
reached Chippewa Square. As the morning was dawning, a gray hue filled the sky,
and people were beginning to wake up. We were crossing the street for the green
in the center of the square when Leo spoke up.

“We are being followed.”

I did not look at Leo, for that
might have given alarm to our follower, but I nodded just once to show that I
understood. “Anyone we know?”

Leo chuckled. “Yes.”

“This way then,” I said and we
turned before the row of houses instead of walking to the green. We slipped
into a narrow alley and waited.

It was only a minute before a man
came into view. He was stocky, and my mind reeled for an instant. He was not
looking toward us, but at the green as he walked near to where we were
standing. I eased toward the opening, ready to grab him, but Leo grasped my
arm. He shook his head, placing a finger against his lips.

The stocky man continued down the
road toward the next square.

“What was that all about?” I asked
as we stepped out of the alley.

“It is better to let him move on
than to alert him to our knowledge of his following us.”

He was right of course, and I put
thoughts of Dudley Stanton from my head as we moved across the square.

We slinked up against the house
that Leo knew Lucas to be using.

“Can you hoist me?” There was a
small balcony extended over the front door with a window that was open. Leo
hoisted me onto his shoulders so that I could reach the balcony. Lifting myself
up, and climbing over the rail, I took in a deep breath of the sultry morning
air. Leo raised his hand, extending all five fingers, telling me I had five
minutes.

Inside the house, I went to the
closest door. It was open, and there, sleeping peacefully on a bed, was Lucas.

Keeping the door open in the event
that a hasty exit was required, I pulled a gun from my belt and a knife from my
boot.

Feeling rather exhilarated, I
placed the blade against his throat and the barrel of the gun against his
temple, hard. His eyes fluttered open and then widened in pure alarm and fear,
but he quickly replaced it with mockery.

“What a pleasant surprise,” he
said and I pressed both the knife and gun harder against him.

“Be silent, or I swear I will end
your life, and gladly. I will speak, and you will listen.”

He smiled but remained silent. The
light brown stubble along his jaw and his upper lip, along with his bare chest
made me slightly put off, but I ignored them, choosing to see instead of a
half-naked man, my nemesis.

“You tried to kill my husband.” He
opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. “You tried to sway Charlotte with
your lies, but you have failed on both accounts. I trust that you have heard of
the Phantoms.”

Lucas licked his lips.

“Soon every Phantom that there is
will be upon you and you may be sure that you will not escape. They are as
skilled of fighters as they come. Assassins, every one.” I gave that a second
to set in before going on. “I am about to save your life. Call it an act of
mercy, one that you have never shown to anyone else.”

“What are you going to do?” he
rasped out.

“Give you what you want.” I fought
with my inner self to get the rest of the words past my lips, but it was
difficult because I was about to betray my home, my country, and my family’s
memory. “The artifacts.”

He stared up at me for a long
moment, and I knew that my five minutes were quickly dwindling.

“Think of what you could
accomplish. You would never have to listen to Luther; you could be King.”

“You would never betray your
monarch,” he said, and under different circumstances he would be right, but not
now, not with all that I had to lose.

“Ah, but you and I both know that
there is no current monarch. The governing council would be easily overthrown.”
I spoke with a touch of mockery, but it proved enough.

“I accept your offer. When shall I
expect delivery?”

“Even now the artifacts are on
their way here. I expect them to arrive within the next two days. When they do,
I will send word. Until that time, if you so much as look in the direction of
my friends all bargains are invalid and you are at the mercy of the Phantoms
though no mercy will be shown you.”

Lucas inclined his head, and I
removed the blade but kept the pistol to his head.

“One more thing,” I said and his
eyes watched me intently. “You will not touch my sister. If you are approached
with news of her arrival, you are to say that you are no longer interested. Am
I understood?”

“Indubitably.”

I removed the barrel from his head
and backed toward the door, keeping the gun trained on him.

Once outside, Leo was leaning
against the house. When he looked up, I swung myself over the side of the
balcony. Without hesitation, I dropped down into his waiting arms. He set me on
my feet, and we moved off swiftly.

Leo always had the appearance of a
staid soul, but this day he was more talkative than usual. “What did you offer
him?”

“What I must.”

“She will not be pleased if this
comes to her ears,” he said, and I nearly smiled, having forgotten that I used
to call him omniscient.

“Then let us hope that my plan
works, and this never does come to her ears.”

“Aye,” he said and for a moment
the only noises came from those around us. “You know that I am at your side,
regardless of the danger.”

A long forgotten feeling of
security covered me.

“Aye,” I returned, smiling up at
him for a moment. “Together, let us finish this.”

JACK

M
y head ached atrociously as I
awoke and more so when I found that my wife was not beside me. Remembering the
events of the previous day, it was not anger that filled me, or even
disappointment. It was shame, thick and suffocating.

Last evening Dud had arrived in a
mood of dejection. He sought my aid to find a way to win Hannah back, but
foremost he wanted to know if she could be trusted not to run again. It was my
opinion that she could not, but after voicing that, I retracted it. Guinevere
had run from me many times, but now that she was my wife, I knew that her days
of running were at an end. She was nothing if not faithful to those she loved.

After Sam and I had deposited a
snoring Dudley on the sofa, I had gone to my wife’s door, prepared to
apologize, but her door was locked. Making a choice to let her sleep and speak
with her in the morning when calm heads prevailed, I went to sleep.

When I reached my wife’s chamber
in the morning, it was empty, and after an extensive search of the house, I
found not only her missing, but Dud and Leo as well.

In the dining parlor, I was
surprised to see Charlotte alone. It was the first time she had come down from
her bedchamber since the ordeal with Frederick the day before.

“I give you good morning,
Charlotte.”

She smiled, but the attempt was
sad at best. She pushed her plate away. “If you are searching for your wife, I
heard my brother say she has gone in search of Lucas.” Her mouth puckered
before a scowl descended upon her brow. “Why does she wish me so unhappy?”

“Guinevere does not wish you
unhappy, Char. She does not wish to see you harmed.”

“Lucas would never harm me, he
loves me. We are to be married.”

“Are we not friends, Charlotte?”

She was surprised. “Of course we
are, Jack.”

“Then how can you wish to marry
the man who tried to kill me?” My direct approach knocked her off her victim
platform. She appeared unsure.

“It was an accident—”

“It was no accident, Char. His
guards held me captive while he bid me farewell, and then shot me. He did it to
hurt my wife.”

Charlotte’s face was pained. “I am
sure that he meant only to wound you. He is trying to right the wrong that
Guinevere has done to his family. He promised me that you would not be harmed.”

“What?” I demanded, and Char’s
eyes widened to the size of teacups. She had not meant to say so much. “Char,
please, be honest with me. What is your arrangement with Lucas?” I refrained
from saying entanglement. Char required gentle prodding, not commands.

“Lucas’s life has been so full of
grief. He cannot marry until his brother is avenged.”

“You have been helping him? Spying
for him?”

Char bristled. “Lucas did not ask
for my help, I gave it freely. He did not want me involved, but I—” she stared
at her hands, guilt writ in every line of her face, “I offered to tell him when
you were in contact with Guinevere.”

“You sent him after me on the day
that I was shot. You sent him word that I had not died. That is why you came
here.” It was said with a calm that I was far from feeling.

Charlotte did not know me well
enough, but Bess would have recognized the calm as danger, not understanding.

“You led us into that trap at the
Pirates House,” I said after a moment of thought.

“You are not going to tell me that
I should be ashamed of myself? That I should have more sense than to put my
trust in a man I hardly know?” She asked it with skepticism.

“No.”

She smiled, perking up. “That is why
I like you best, Jack. You do not scold me.”

“It is not my place to scold you.
You are of an age to be able to determine right from wrong.”

She bristled, but spoke
imploringly. “Why is it acceptable for you to love and marry the enemy, but it
is morally wrong for me to love and marry a man who is truly good inside?”

Lucas had played his cards
skillfully indeed. No amount of scolding or truth would change her convictions.

“Do you fear him?” I asked with
softness.

Her gaze rose quickly to meet
mine, and the answer was there.

Her laugh was mirthless, strained.
“Of course not. I love him.”

“There is no fear in love. Perfect
love
casteth
out fear: for fear hath painfulness, and
he that
feareth
is not perfect in love.”

“Did you quote
scripture
to me, Jack?”

Laughing, I rose from the table.
“There is much to be gained from placing your trust in something greater than
yourself, Char.” Walking toward the door, I paused when she called out to me.

“Do you fear your wife?”

“No,” I said after a moment, and
Charlotte grinned.

“Perhaps you should, for your
higher power and hers greatly differ.”

Gideon entered the house at that
moment, and a reply was not possible as he asked me to join him in the parlor.

When we were seated, he told me
that he had seen the strain between Guinevere and
I
after we returned from the temple.