Wicked Proposition (40 page)

Nicholas decided to avoid calling upon Gabriel
right away. He didn’t know how he would react to the news of their
marriage, much less how he would receive the shock of her being
alive. There was no easy way of it.

Nicholas prayed Gabriel would not force the
issue when he found out he was her guardian. Catherine’s current
condition made it imperative she not become upset. The pregnancy
had complicated his plans.

Dane and Eric would arrive in another week at
least, giving them time to get settled in. He grew angry when the
twinges of guilt assailed him from out of nowhere. Despite his
friendship with Gabriel and his guilt in taking Catherine from him,
he felt no obligation to apologize for what he had done. She was
his now. He loved her more than his life and he would not lose
her.

Nicholas was relieved to arrive at his home and
find it had been aired, cleaned and prepared for their arrival.
Catherine was so sleepy he carried her into the house. He ignored
her yawning protests as he took her to his room and laid her
down.

Nicholas lit a fire in the hearth and retreated
below with Tieghan to secure the house and make sure all the
windows were locked. Once he was satisfied the house was secure,
they sat in the study drinking his dwindling supply of brandy and
discussing their plans.

Tieghan was eyeing him knowingly as he raised
his snifter and drained his glass.

“I see you are putting off facing Lord
Iverleigh?” He chuckled at Nicholas’s glare and made a scornful
noise. “Delaying that meeting will not make the telling of it any
easier. Face the man and deal with him. When he discovers you have
been here all this time, he will feel you are acknowledging your
guilt. If you face him right away, he will have time to get used to
the idea. He will not storm the house and drag her away. He will
have to accept she is your wife.”

“When did you become so wise Tieghan?” Nicholas
muttered darkly and refilled his glass, the sardonic expression on
his face becoming more pronounced as he digested and weighed his
sage advice.

“While I sat back and watched my friend’s all
behave like jackasses these last few years,” Tieghan offered with a
small smile. “You learn things; valuable things.”

Nicholas laughed uproariously at his words and
Tieghan chuckled as well. “I hope when you meet the love of your
life these valuable things you are referring to help guide your
behavior, my friend. When that day comes, you will surely be one
damned big jackass!”

The two men laughed and soon their talk grew
serious as they discussed what lie ahead. Gabriel was the less of
all evils.

“I want you to watch Thornton’s office, follow
him,” Nicholas said quietly. “We will go in shifts until Dane and
Eric arrive. We will know who he sees and who he meets with.”

“What of Lady Iverleigh?” Tieghan asked.

“Gabriel can deal with his own damned wife!”
Nicholas said moodily and swirled his drink in his glass.

Whoever had attempted to murder Catherine was
still out there, lurking in wait. Nicholas’s face hardened when
they reviewed what they knew. Nicholas was sure he would learn
nothing at Clarice’s.

The Madame was now dead and Yvetta ran the
house. Whatever was to be learned, it centered on Thornton and Lord
and Lady Iverleigh. He was grim as he instructed his friend about
safety precautions surrounding Catherine. She would become
suspicious if she was not allowed out of the house while he was not
at home. He anticipated problems. Catherine could be difficult when
she wanted to be. He did not need her getting into trouble or risk
being harmed.

“I have the perfect idea of keeping her
occupied,” Tieghan said and chuckled when he thought of it, earning
a raised eyebrow from Nicholas. “Never fear, your lady will take
the bait. It is perfect!”

###

Nicholas rapped on the door to Gabriel’s
residence and waited until Higgins’s appeared. He was told Gabriel
wasn’t in residence. Gabriel had journeyed to his country estate,
Iverleigh Hall. He would not be back for days. Nicholas gnashed his
teeth at that. He left and wondered if the reprieve would soften
the blow. Not likely, he thought grimly and decided to go to
Thornton’s office.

Nicholas sat outside for some time surveying the
building. There were only two entrances into the building, the
front and the rear. The shop next door to the law offices closed
early and it didn’t appear difficult to infiltrate.

Nicholas impulsively stopped to buy his wife a
gift, to kill time until Thornton and his assistant left for the
day. He found a jewelry shop. He entered sheepishly as he passed
several impeccably dressed ladies, who eyed him covertly under the
brims of their bonnets before passing. Their buzzing whispers and
giggling behind him made him grin.

Nicholas approached the man behind the counter
and expressed his idea of a gift for his wife. The man listened to
what he described. While he loitered at the front door, watching
Thornton’s office, the jeweler reviewed his stock in the back room,
finally returning with several velvet cases. Nicholas shook his
head at each piece he was shown.

The last case was flipped open and Nicholas
nodded immediately, not caring how much the thing cost. He wrote
out the draft and waited while the man’s assistant wrapped it in
tissue paper. Nicholas left the shop in time to see two men exit
the law office.

Thornton wore a bowler and a non-descript brown
tweed suit and swung his walking stick as he spoke to his
assistant. The assistant listened and juggled his valise as he
locked up for the day.

Nicholas whistled softly as he went to the rear
of the shop, noting the alleyway was empty. He approached the door
in the rear and eyed the lock. It was a basic lock, and easy to
pick. He returned to his coach still whistling. The two men were
gone. He would break in after dark and see what Thornton had hidden
there.

Nicholas made a few more stops. He purchased
some more things for his wife and headed home. He panicked when he
went upstairs and she was nowhere about. His heart thudded in his
chest as he ran down the stairs, about to shout for Tieghan, when
he heard her voice. He paused and realized his wife was in the
ballroom.

It had never been used in all the years he had
stayed at the house. He did not have many balls, he reflected with
a grin. He chuckled at his wit as he approached the room, hearing
his wife laughing and Tieghan’s voice.

The sight that met his eyes made him gasp
incredulously. His diminutive wife was dressed in boy’s clothes and
holding a cutlass outstretched. Tieghan was painstakingly teaching
her some stances.

Nicholas watched as Tieghan walked by her and
frowned down at her as her limp arm wobbled. She broke the stance,
giggling once again, and earning a glare from his first mate.

“Once again, this time hold your stance,
Catherine, you are not trying,” Tieghan said sharply and noticed
him in the doorway lounging.

Tieghan had found the perfect means of
distracting his wife. Teaching her to use a cutlass would keep her
out of harm’s way and give her the means of protecting herself as
well. Tieghan was a bloody genius!

“You don’t have to shout!” Catherine snapped and
her arm remained straight as he made her hold it for several
minutes with the weapon aloft. “I’m not deaf, you realize?”

Nicholas smiled at her words and decided not to
interrupt. He watched as Tieghan taught her the basics of using the
weapon. They practiced thrusting, parrying, and lunging. He was
relieved they had guards on the tips of the weapons.

Nicholas almost dissolved into peals of laughter
when his wife lunged instead of parrying. The result made Tieghan
howl in pain as she wacked the weapon in a region between his
legs.

Catherine was highly upset over injuring
Tieghan. He smiled as she dropped the weapon and ran to the man’s
side. Tieghan sternly ordered her to pick up her weapon.

“Don’t not ever drop your weapon and inquire of
your opponent’s welfare, Catherine! You are trying to bring your
adversary down, not be assured of his safety! Pick it up and try
again. This time we parry!”

“I am getting very good at this,” Catherine said
proudly as she flicked the cutlass in the air. After she assured
herself he was alright, she smiled up at him apologetically. “I
shall try not to hurt you again, Tieghan.”

The giant glowered down at her, clearly
unimpressed with his pupil. Tieghan eyed Nicholas over her head.
His friend’s look said he had his work cut out for him. Nicholas
left the ballroom and on his way to his study.

Nicholas removed the packages from the table in
the foyer and decided his gifts could wait. He thought of her
reaction when he gave her the velvet box. Catherine would
undoubtedly weep. Weeping came easily to most women when expecting
a child, and he was told to bear with it.

Thor always said his wife Tania became possessed
by another creature every time she was with child. He assured him
it was all very normal in his recent letter. Nicholas paused over
his accounts when he thought that in five short months he would be
a father. It was daunting. He had faced down English Naval vessels
during his smuggling career, as well as the Spanish, French, even
pirates. The thought of the tiny life coming terrified him as
nothing had before.

Nicholas shivered slightly when he thought of
losing his wife and child should his plan go sour. A shudder passed
through him. He could not fail. Too much depended upon his
success.

###

Edward was getting dressed. Yvetta pouted and
shrugged on a silk dressing gown. Her pale blue eyes narrowed as
she watched her lover prepare to leave her room.

“How much longer before we can leave London?”
she demanded.

“I told you before, we cannot leave without
money, my dear,” he said dryly and turned to her. “When all is
known, we will be on the run. How far do you think we would get on
that little bit you have stashed away?”

Yvetta looked pacified somewhat, but was nervous
still about the dwarf asking so many questions.

“Felicity will be missed. There will be more
questions!”

“Maybe you should have thought of that before
you gave her to Dartmouth, eh?” Edward said coldly and his brown
eyes met hers with little emotion. “I disposed of the body for you,
didn’t I?”

Yvetta’s expression softened. Edward had done
all he could to help them get out of town quicker. The delay was
making her nervous.

“He pays well for the privilege.” Yvetta
shrugged at Felicity’s loss. “She talked too much. She would have
given the dwarf a reason to come back. Who knows what she would
have said.”

“A pity we can’t use that information, but I
sense the man and his group are united in this open refusal to
pay.”

“None have paid at all?” Yvetta said and her
face paled.

“Not one of them,” Edward stated with an
indifferent shrug. “It appears they brazen the matter out.”

“What can we do?”

“We can do nothing at all!” Edward barked and
threw up his hands in disgust. “They refuse to pay! I told you it
would not work. They suspect one of you took what was in the safe.
They do not fear whores, even if they feared Clarice.”

Yvetta felt a quiver of fear to think Lord
Dartmouth might suspect it was her. Her hand went to her
throat.

“Surely if we threaten to expose them--”

“You do not hear me. They will not pay, Yvetta,”
Edward snarled, cutting her off. “They dare us to expose them. They
just want to know who we are. Do you know what that means?”

Yvetta looked terrified. “They know it was me! I
took over the house and run the accounts now!”

“No, you would be dead now if they knew it was
you,” Edward explained and frowned at her scared expression. “They
will kill you if you persist, my dear. Give it up. I could have
told you Clarice’s days were numbered when she started that game.
If you hadn’t poisoned her, she would have wound up at the bottom
of the Thames too.”

Yvetta felt the disappointment to know the
noblemen were digging their feet in the sand. She was smart enough
to know Edward was right.

“What do we do with the evidence?”

“I imagine we send it on to the authorities
before we leave town. Does that make you feel better, my pet?” he
offered with a brief smile.

Yvetta was satisfied with that, but still
disappointed they weren’t able to profit from the elaborate
blackmail scheme Clarice had already put in place before she
died.

“Knowing Dartmouth will have to answer for all
he has done pleases me,” she allowed with a smile as Edward
approached and kissed her lingeringly.

Edward left the brothel and hummed under his
breath, smiling to recall the last blackmail note he had written,
using Yvetta’s stationary from her office. The nobles circled the
brothel now like sharks, smelling blood. He had seen it all before.
Blackmail was a nasty business, and almost always ended in such a
way.

He warned her of it. As soon as Seaton had
refused to pay, Edward had backed off. He knew the game. One
couldn’t win against such powerful foes as these wealthy peers.

Yvetta was determined to pick up where Clarice
left off then. She went behind his back and sent the next note to
Dartmouth. She succeeded only in alerting every name on the
infamous list of what she now held over them. Now they stalked her,
closing in on the brothel.

It was only a matter of time before they
discovered the stationary used to write the notes was hers. He had
made sure of it. He did not need a companion with him when he left.
A lone man would draw no notice. A man with a beautiful woman
would. Sadly, Yvetta would have to stay behind to deal with the
sharks.