Betrayal (2 page)

Both men nodded.

Drake said, “Do inform me if you need anything to accomplish your goal, Elizabeth.”

“I will consider it and let you know.”

“Very good.”

* * * *

They stepped out of the castle, and a light snow had already dusted the ground. By the time the carriage crossed the few blocks to the hotel, the streets were thick with the stuff.

“I think we had better delay our trip to London until the weather breaks.” Reece eased from the carriage and handed her down.

She admired the winter wonderland. “I suppose we have no choice, but that means we could be wintering in Edinburgh.”

“It won’t be so bad, Lizzy.”

“Humph, not for me. You will go and eat something, then get some rest. I suggest you put on some warm clothes. In an hour, I will collect you for a long walk.”

He frowned and a crease formed between his eyes. “In this weather?”

“We will get you strong, Reece Foxjohn, if it’s the last thing we do.”

As they climbed the steps, he offered his arm. “If you’re going to put me through my paces in a blizzard, it may well be.”

* * * *

It was eight weeks of grueling weather before Elizabeth finally got her wish and started the journey to London. The roads were wet and the going slow. She was sick of travel when a week earlier, she’d been sick of waiting.

Elizabeth took the reins from Reece when he could no longer hold them up to guide the horses. He winced with every rut she couldn’t avoid. Though he’d grown stronger each day she’d pushed him to trudge through mounds of snow in Edinburgh, he still had a long way to go.

“Lizzy, where are we going?”

She’d turned down a lane away from the main road. “I decided to divert a short distance so that we might have a rest.”

“Have you? And where exactly are you taking me?”

“It is a surprise.”

“Are you whisking me away for a tryst? If so, you might have just crawled above the sheets in the last posting house, my dear.” His grin was almost worth the embarrassment warming her cheeks.

Of course, he’d been a perfect gentleman at every inn and posting house. Though he’d told the innkeepers they were married, he made no overtures. He’d slept above the sheet and she below. In fact, there had been no flirting until now.

“I did not have the impression that would have been welcomed.” Her voice shuttered.

He ran his hand through his long hair. He needed a haircut, though she hoped he wouldn’t do it.

“I must be losing my touch.”

“Are you teasing me, Reece?”

“I thought I was flirting with you, Lizzy.”

“Whatever for?” She slowed the horses.

He gave a short laugh devoid of humor. “I am most definitely out of practice.”

She giggled. “Perhaps it is merely your timing is askew. After all, we have been in each other’s company for months, and you gave me no hints of your regard. Every day we trained in the castle, and all you did was complain never flirt. Since leaving Inverness, you had many opportunities to show me affection. Yet, here I sit, mystified by your trifling.”

He looked straight ahead and frowned. Maybe shame haunted him, but whether over his current behavior or his past, she had no idea.

He turned toward the lane in front of them. The front entrance of the house came into view. “Where are we?”

“Spero Hall.”

He sat up straight. “Why on earth would you bring us here?”

“You needed a rest, I wanted to see the new hunter school, and the earl offered when we were at the wedding.”

He no longer looked quite so tired. Evidently, anger had lessened his malaise. “I am not at all happy, Elizabeth.”

“I cannot imagine why not. If I’m not mistaken, you are quite close with Lord and Lady Tullering.”

“How do you know they are my friends?” He growled.

Her chest tightened. She tried to remember what Drake had said about no longer being in service. The Company made her a hunter, and not even Reece Foxjohn should intimidate her. “I don’t know why you are so cross, Reece. We need to rest, and the school was on the way. His lordship kindly offered us beds for a few nights, and I see no reason not to accept. As far as how I know they are your friends, you forget that they were with you when you rescued me. I remember. Besides, you’re hunting with Lady Belinda and Miss Dellacourt is legend. Though I suppose I should call her Mrs. Lambert now. Or is it Lady Montalembert?”

“Call her the devil for all I care. You will learn that people say things they do not mean. We should have sent a note ahead. They will be put out.”

“I have met Lord and Lady Tullering on several occasions. It seems unlikely they will be unhappy at our coming.”

She maneuvered around a pond, which reflected the stupendous three story, sand-colored building, and pulled the horses to a stop in front of the house.

Reece crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to climb down.

“You are being ridiculous, but you may do as you please. Go on to London without me if you want. I shall find another means of travel and join you in a few days.”

He narrowed his eyes. “When did you get so bold?”

Her chest tightened with excitement. When had she gotten so daring? Elizabeth climbed down, grabbed her skirts with both fists, and ran up the steps to the front door. The house stretched several hundred yards in either direction from the entrance. Large windows on two levels, with smaller on the third, gave the façade symmetry and added to the stateliness. Several spires and chimneys crowned the roofline. The faint clash of steel echoed from a distant field or garden.

The oak door rose several feet beyond her head. Head high, shoulders back, she banged the brass knocker.

Within, glass shattered and metal clashed. A loud thundering of wood had her reaching for the sword strapped beneath her full skirts.

Behind her, Reece took to the ground, and stiff as an old tree, began climbing the steps.

Finally, the door opened, and a butler who looked more like a street thug than a man in service to an earl stood, guarding the opening. He looked at Elizabeth’s weapon, his expression docile and unchanging. “May I help you?”

“Is everything all right? I heard quite a lot of noise,” she asked.

He raised an eyebrow. “The foyer table was knocked over during a bit of sport. Who are you, if I may ask? Do you have an appointment?”

Reece reached the landing. “It’s all right, Faust. We come in peace.”

“Mr. Foxjohn, it is good to see you again. I’m glad you are recovering from your injuries.”

“Thank you. Is her ladyship at home?”

“Yes. Please come in. I will tell her ladyship you are here.” Faust stepped back, his hulking form less threating than it ought to be for a girl of her size.

Splinters of the demolished foyer table and a shattered vase littered the floor while two young people rolled around in hand-to-hand combat. Elizabeth returned her sword to its sheath. A short sword jutted out from the railing of the grand staircase, and two fighting knives lay abandoned nearby.

The butler didn’t even glance at the row as he excused himself down a hallway to the right.

A moment later, the lady of the house walked, with the slightest waddle, across the foyer. She turned toward the fight, placed her hand on her round belly, and shook her head. “Billy, Rose, how many times have I asked you to try to keep these things outside or in the ballroom?”

She had not raised her voice, but the ruffians froze in place. They disengaged, made quick apologies, and rushed from the foyer.

Belinda turned toward the pair waiting at the entrance. Her smile spread from mild amusement to sheer joy at the sight of Reece. She walked forward and opened her arms.

Reece walked into her embrace. “It’s good to see you, Belinda.”

“I wanted to talk at the wedding, but everything went so fast, and I never got the chance. I’m so glad you are here.” She broke the embrace and touched his pale cheek.

“It looks as if you will burst at any moment.”

She slapped his arm. “That is not an appropriate comment, Mr. Foxjohn. But it’s quite true. We expect the happy event soon.”

“You look radiant.”

With a smile, she turned toward Elizabeth. “Welcome, Elizabeth. I heard you finished your education in spectacular fashion. You even managed to impress Brice.”

“Thank you, mi’lady.”

“None of that. My name is Belinda, and I expect you to address me as such. You are a hunter after all.”

“What on earth happened to the table?” Gabriel, the Earl of Tullering, strode into the foyer.

“Billy and Rose were at it again.” Belinda waved at the mess.

He laughed. “Those two are going to make fine hunters.” He shook Reece’s hand and bowed over Elizabeth’s. “Good to see you, Reece. Welcome, Miss Elizabeth, I’m so please you took me up on our offer.”

Elizabeth curtsied. “I’m happy to be here. I’m so curious about how things are going now that the school is here at Spero Hall. I see you have some new students.”

Belinda took Reece’s arm. “Let’s go into the parlor, and I’ll order some tea. Reece looks about to drop, and frankly, I need to sit as well. You wouldn’t think a child could be so taxing, but I sleep more than I’m awake these days.”

Gabriel offered Elizabeth his elbow, and they headed down the hall. “We have several new students as well as some nearly ready to join the hunt. Brice seems pleased with the progress, and things are going well.”

Faust appeared from out of nowhere and opened the parlor door for them. It was unusual for a man so big to manage such stealth.

Belinda stopped. “Thank you, Faust. Will you see to the mess in the foyer?”

“The staff is already gathering to clean it up.”

“Make sure you have those two ruffians help you. No need to let them think they can destroy the house without any consequence,” she said with some amusement.

In comparison to the rather bare foyer, the parlor, lush with overstuffed chairs and expensive rugs, spoke of a life that had nothing to do with demons or hunting. Here lay the last vestige of a past life.

Her ladyship ordered tea and sat.

Elizabeth sat on the settee, and Reece sat beside her. Red and tan fabrics, expensive vases, and statues on ancient inlaid tables gave the room a warm and lived in ambiance.

With his hand resting on her shoulder, Gabriel stood behind his wife. “How long can you stay?”

“Not long,” Reece blurted.

Elizabeth said, “A day or two. We are expected in London, and Reece and I have a lot of work to do to get him ready to hunt again.”

He glowered at her. “Wishful thinking on my companion’s part.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Belinda said. “You look better now than you did when we saw you in Inverness, and I cannot believe the improvement since Edinburgh. The cold hard winter seems to have done you good.”

“That is kind of you to say.”

“Pfft. I never say anything out of sheer kindness, Reece. You know that better than anyone. If I thought you were not improving, I would tell you.”

He let his scowl slip. “I know you would, my friend.”

A long silence hung over the room. Awkward spaces always made Elizabeth nervous. “Tell us how things are going here. Has the transition gone well? How is your father holding up?”

The tea arrived and Belinda struggled over her heavy belly to pour.

Elizabeth took over the task and accepted a grin from her hostess.

Belinda sat back. “The transition from the Inverness school to Spero Hall has been remarkably smooth. Of course, we’ve had to move anything we value to rooms where the students are not likely to go. As evidenced by what just happened in the foyer, things do get broken quite frequently. Otherwise, it has been fine. Brice arrived a few days ago and has taken over the running of the school.”

“And your father?” Reece asked. Belinda’s father had been the overseer of the hunter school, and it had resided in his Scottish holding of Brendaligh near Inverness. Do to the earl’s misjudgment and secret keeping, the school and its stewardship had been moved into his daughter and son-in-law’s care.

“He has moved to London with my mother. He seems to be taking his new role very seriously. He even sent me a note warning of signs that the master might know where the school moved and we should be cautious of attack.”

“Do you believe him?” Reece’s question might have been impertinent, but they all knew about the strained relationship between Belinda and her father, the Earl of Shafton.

She sighed. “He believes it. We have tightened up security, but I think he’s just being overzealous.”

“Of course he is,” Gabriel chimed in.

Elizabeth sipped her tea. “Did your father tell you what these signs were?”

Adjusting her seat, Belinda rubbed her round belly. “As usual, he was very cryptic. He did say that there are fewer demons in London and something about the weather.”

“What does the weather have to do with anything?”

“My father has a theory that the weather is affected by the demons. He says he’s been charting it for years. Evidently, the rainy spring we’ve had can be related to additional demon activity.”

The winter had been severe, and the spring rains kept them slogging through mud the entire way from Edinburgh. Maybe Shafton was on to something.

Reece laughed. “It is England. When is it not rainy, especially in the spring?”

Belinda smiled. “I said the exact thing, but he was adamant.”

Gabriel said, “So we’ve added security to the house, and everyone has been told to keep sharp.”

“I suppose it cannot hurt to be careful, though Shafton’s theory seems weak to me.” Reece took a biscuit from the tray and gobbled the sweet in one bite.

Most meals, she had to badger him into eating as if he were a fussy child. It was only a biscuit, but any sign of recovery gave her hope for the future. Maybe she’d really be Reece Foxjohn’s partner and not sent to some remote hamlet with some novice hunter after all.

* * * *

After tea, the housekeeper showed them to their rooms. Elizabeth had never stayed anywhere so lush. As a scullery maid, she’d lived at the top of the house in a very plain room with white walls, two beds, and a dresser. She’d always shared with an under-maid. As a student at the hunter school in Inverness, she’d had her own room, though sparse with only a bed, dresser, and small writing desk. She’d spent many nights learning to read and write at that desk. Still quite slow at both, she planned to improve with continued practice.