Cast in Ice (22 page)

Nick considered Cavanaugh’s admission and found that he believed him. The marquess may be the mysterious third partner, the one who fronted the money for
The Dove
, but he had nothing to do with the daily running of the club.

“Yes, exciting is one word for it,” Nick said, then continued to move forward.

Hopefully, Winnie’s brother would follow Nick to the third level.

Nick’s heart beat more frantically with each step he took.
Why
? he asked himself, each time his foot touched the ascending step. Why would she take such a chance? And tonight, of all nights?

Why would she risk winning hand after hand when she knew the men patrolling the floor watched for winners the same as they watched for losers? Why would she take such a chance when she knew how violent Ellsworth and Willard could be? If they believed she’d been cheating before, they’d be convinced of it this time.

Nick took the next step upward, then stopped. A flash of certainty exploded inside his head. She’d done this intentionally. She knew he’d be here and intended to draw attention away from him. Somehow she’d overheard the plan, and was taking his place. She was putting herself in danger to protect him.

His heart swelled with love for her. And anger. Didn’t she know that he would suffer a thousand times over rather than let her take the risks she was taking? Didn’t she know that he’d gladly give his life to protect her from the harm Ellsworth could inflict?

Nick pushed past several men filing into the large room. He was desperate to get there as quickly as possible. He couldn’t risk her being out of his sight too long. Anything could happen to her while Willard had her.

He finally walked through the doors of the large room where the auctions took place. He looked first to the dais where the females being auctioned off would stand. The platform was empty.

A stabbing of fear washed over him. Every second she was in Ellsworth’s grasp was another second something could happen to her. Another minute when she could be mistreated.

He glanced to where Lord Benjamin stood with Lord Cavanaugh. The frown on Winnie’s brother’s face made it evident that he was still confused by their change of plans. Thankfully, though, he didn’t react, other than to watch Nick for instructions. Nick gave him a reassuring nod, then focused again on the stage.

A side door finally opened and Ellsworth entered the room. The gleam in his eyes caused shards of terror to slice through every part of Nick’s body.

Winnie followed next, being supported on either side by two burly guards. Her head hung lower than usual, and she seemed to stagger slightly when she walked.

Nick watched her closer, wanting her to lift her head so he could see her face. He needed to see that she was all right. He needed to know that Ellsworth or Willard hadn’t touched her. But she didn’t look up.

The procession walked to the dais, including the sniffling redhead, followed by two young lasses, obviously taken from the streets. But they weren’t his main focus. He was too interested in watching Winnie.

Her mask was gone, but her bright red wig was still in place. Thankfully, it was almost impossible to recognize her. That was one blessing. Perhaps she could survive this night without Society knowing she’d been auctioned.

Ellsworth stepped front and center on the platform. He held up his hands for silence. The crowd made up almost entirely of men, quieted.

“Patrons of
The Dove
. Welcome to our first auction of the night.”

Several men cheered and clapped.

“I know some of you are confused as to why our first client is being auctioned off. It was obvious from the amount of chips in front of her that she was not the loser. She was the winner.”

Several men around him mumbled their agreement.

“Her crime was not that she lost, but that she won. By deceit. The lady is a cheat!”

Ellsworth motioned for the men holding Winnie to bring her forward and… Nick got his first good look at her.

The memory of Ellsworth’s whip flaying his back was nothing compared to the pain that struck him when he saw her face.

One cheek was already turning dark, and the eye above it was swelling shut. Blood trickled from her mouth, and her lip on the left side was nearly twice its size.

Nick thought he might erupt with fury, but a calming hand on his shoulder stopped him from rushing forward and ripping Ellsworth’s heart from his chest.

Nick turned his gaze to see Mack Wallace standing beside him. His reassuring expression told Nick that nothing would happen to the female on the stage, even though Nick knew that Mack had no idea who that female was. But Nick wasn’t worried about himself at the moment. He was more concerned about what Lord Benjamin would do if he realized that the female standing in front of him was his sister.

“Go to Lord Benjamin. Don’t let him do anything foolish.”

Mack frowned, but he moved to stand beside Winnie’s brother.

“
The Soiled Dove
will not tolerate cheating,” Ellsworth continued. “By anyone. Even a woman. She will therefore pay with her virtue.”

A few men muttered their agreement, but most in the crowd remained silent.

“We will start the bidding. Do I hear an opening bid of ten pounds?”

Someone in the back offered ten pounds.

“Do I hear a bid of fifteen?”

“Fifteen,” someone called out.

“Twenty?”

“Twenty,” another voice called out.

“Thirty?” Ellsworth asked.

“Thirty.”

“Forty?”

Silence.

“No one will bid forty pounds for someone who would cheat at cards?”

Silence.

“Then I will bid forty pounds,” Ellsworth said. “The penalty for someone guilty of cheating has to be more than a paltry forty pounds.”

Hushed murmurs sifted through the room, blanketing everyone with the disapproval that was growing more intently with every tense second.

“Do I hear fifty pounds?” Ellsworth said, the evil grin on his face broadening.

Nick waited. When no one spoke, he said, “Fifty.”

“Ah,” Ellsworth said on a laugh. “Someone agrees that a cheater should pay a higher penalty. Do I hear sixty?” he asked.

When no one answered, Ellsworth answered his own bid. “I guess I will have to raise the bid, then. Sixty,” he exclaimed. “Do I hear seventy?”

“Seventy,” Nick answered.

“And I raise it to eighty,” Ellsworth said.

“Ninety,” Nick said.

Ellsworth’s eyes narrowed. His glare when he looked at Nick turned more hostile. He obviously didn’t like anyone forcing his hand. “Is there a limit to how high you are you willing to bid, my friend?” Ellsworth asked with a threatening look that seemed more malicious than Nick could remember seeing on the man’s face.

“Continue bidding and you will find out.”

Several snickers echoed in the room. Ellsworth was used to making money at their human auctions, not losing it. But nothing mattered to Nick except winning Winnie.

“You may have her, then,” Ellsworth said. “We have other pretty players to auction off.”

The crowd didn’t react like Nick thought they might. No one cheered. No one congratulated Nick on his good fortune. But what they did do was lower their gazes
en mass
, as if they were ashamed that Ellsworth would auction off a member of the
ton
. It was one thing for a female to choose paying her debts in the auction ring. But another entirely for Ellsworth to force a young lady to be auctioned off. The cuts and bruises on her face told everyone that she’d been forced.

When Ellsworth declared Nick the owner of the redhead for the night, he pushed Winnie to the edge of the dais and dismissed her.

Nick rushed forward and wrapped his arm around her. Then escorted her away from the crowd.

“You’re safe now,” he whispered. “No one will harm you.”

As they made their way from the room, they passed near enough to Lord Benjamin that he was able to get a good look at her. His reaction when he recognized his sister was explosive.

Only Mack Wallace’s hand holding him on one side, and Hugh Baxter’s muscular hand clamped down on the opposite arm prevented him from charging the stage. Nick knew Ellsworth would die if Lord Benjamin got his hands on him.

Nick saw no reaction from Cavanaugh. No expression of guilt—or innocence. No indication of whether he knew what Ellsworth and Willard were doing. Only when they brought the sobbing redhead forward did he show interest.

“Here’s the next young lady unable to cover her wagers. Do I heard a bid of fifteen pounds?”

“Remove her mask,” someone in the back of the room demanded.

Ellsworth reached for the redhead’s mask and dropped it to the stage. Cavanaugh’s reaction was explosive.

“No!”

Before Cavanaugh’s bellow had stopped echoing in the room, Nick’s fellow brigadesmen had rushed forward and surrounded Ellsworth and Willard. Several other men Nick didn’t recognize stepped inside the room. The weapons in their hands indicated that Mack had informed the authorities what was happening, and they’d come to assist.

The silence in the room was deafening as Mack Wallace walked through the crowd and stepped onto the dais. He faced the gathering of men and women, and in a loud voice said, “Anyone not employed by
The Soiled Dove
is free to go. File to the center exit, and give your name to the Bedford Street Brigadesman as you pass. All Dove employees will stay.”

Next, Mack spoke to the brigadesmen waiting for their orders. “Quinn,” he said motioning to the two girls Ellsworth had stolen off the streets, “find out how these girls got here, then take them home. Briggs and Jack. Question the employees. Find out everything they know about what’s going on here.”

The men moved to follow their supervisor’s orders, then Mack gave orders to the men guarding Willard and Ellsworth. “Follow me.”

Mack Wallace led the way out of the room, and the brigadesmen followed with Willard and Ellsworth. Cavanaugh and his daughter were being escorted from the room as well.

Nick wrapped his arms around Winnie’s injured body and held her securely. She was hurt. He could see she was. She leaned against him as if she needed his support to keep from falling.

“Hold on to me, sweetheart,” he whispered.

Her arm tightened around his waist and she held on with grim determination.

It wasn’t long before her brother reached them. “Are you all right, Winnie?”

“I’m fine, Ben. Just a little shaken.”

“No you’re not. You’re bleeding. What are you doing here? How did you get involved in this?”

“Perhaps we should go someplace private,” Nick said. “Your sister needs to sit down. She’s about to fall on her face.”

Lord Benjamin nodded, and they left the room. Nick took them to the room where the authorities had taken Ellsworth and Willard. They were seated on two chairs at the front of the room. Lord Cavanaugh and his daughter were also there. They were seated on two chairs near them. Mack had already begun his interrogation.

“What is your connection to
The Soiled Dove
, Lord Cavanaugh?”

“I…uh…”

“Let me warn you, my lord. We’ll uncover the truth in time. So, it will go better for you if you tell us everything now.”

“Keep your mouth shut, Cavanaugh,” Willard bellowed.

The Marquess of Cavanaugh looked at Willard, then to his daughter, as if evaluating the tragedy that had unfolded tonight. His defeated expression indicated that he intended to cooperate. “
The Soiled Dove
is mine. I put up the initial money to start it.”

“Why did you invest in such an establishment?” Mack asked.

His question caused Cavanaugh’s mouth to turn up at the corners. Not in a smile exactly, but in a grimace. “Money, of course. I was desperate for money. My wife is convinced that money magically appears in her account each night to replace the amount she spent that day. And I have four daughters who believe the same. They are all enjoying their Seasons to the fullest.”

He turned his gaze on the daughter by his side. “I hate to admit that I was unable to curtail my family’s spending, but there you have the whole of it. Each of them has inherited their mother’s propensity for new gowns for every event. Outfitting five females can bankrupt a man if he doesn’t have a source of income to help him out.”

“So you came up with the idea of a gaming establishment,” Mack volunteered for him.

“Actually, the idea was my wife’s, although she didn’t for a moment think I took her suggestions seriously. She enjoys playing cards and complains that there aren’t any establishments where women can go to play for an evening, as there are for men. I came up with the plan for a gaming establishment that would cater to both the male and female side of Society. But never, never,” he repeated, “did I imagine these two reprobates had turned my idea into a…a whore house.”

“No, your lordship,” Willard shot out in defense. “You only wanted more and more profits each time you came. Just how did you think we were going to find those profits?” he bellowed.

Cavanaugh turned a malicious glare on Willard. “Not by ruining innocent young girls. And certainly not by kidnapping children off the street, and forcing them into prostitution!”

“Then perhaps you should have been more specific in what you intended for your club. All you cared about was the money. You’re the one who gave us free rein.”

“Enough,” Mack said, stopping the discussion before it turned into a shouting match. “How did you find these two, Lord Cavanaugh?”

“Through an advertisement. I hired these two scoundrels because they came with admirable references, which I’m now sure were forged.”

Mack motioned to the men guarding Willard and Ellsworth. “Take them to your supervisor. He’ll take over from here.”

When Willard and Ellsworth were gone, he looked at Lord Cavanaugh. The marquess had his arm around his daughter and was comforting her. “You can take your daughter home, now, but don’t plan on any sudden trips to the country. The authorities will no doubt want to speak with you.”

Lord Cavanaugh put his arm around his daughter’s shoulders and took her from the room. And they were alone.

“I just have one question for you, Lady Winnifred,” the leader of the Bedford Street Brigade said as he stared down on Winnie. “How did you know what we had planned tonight?”

Winnie slowly lifted her chin. Her eye was nearly swollen shut now, and her lip was twice its normal size. Nick reached for her hand and held it.

“I overheard you when you discussed your plan with father,” she said. “While your plan to use Mr. Stillman to expose Lord Cavanaugh had merit, it was far too dangerous for him.”

“Too dangerous?” Mack repeated.

The head of the Bedford Street Brigade turned his gaze on Nick. There was laughter in his eyes.

“I’ll remember that for future assignments, my lady.”

If Winnie hadn’t been so badly hurt, she’d have realized that Mack was making a joke, but that was a minor detail at this point.

“I also doubted the scheme would work. But, I knew using Cavanaugh’s daughter would.”

The expression on Mack’s face turned serious. “Remind me to tell your father what a brave daughter he has,” he said.

“I’ll do that, sir,” she answered. “I’ll need all the good words I can get when Father discovers what I did.”

“That you will,” Lord Benjamin said.

Mack Wallace bowed to Winnie, then left the room. Nick didn’t know which one of them would fire the first question at Winnie. From the look on Lord Benjamin’s face, he couldn’t wait to find out what his sister was doing here. Nick knew what she was doing, he just wanted to know why.

Lord Benjamin was the first to speak. “What possessed you to do something so foolish, Winnie?”

“Why do you think it was foolish, Ben? It served everyone’s purpose. I exposed what was going on at
The Dove
, and uncovered Lord Cavanaugh as the mysterious owner.”

“And you could have been killed,” he said in a voice loud enough it almost sounded like a shout.

She tried to smile, but she was becoming weaker. She needed to go home. She needed to be cossetted, and pampered, and looked after.

“Not likely,” she said on a sigh. “I knew you’d be here to look after me.”

“Except I didn’t know you were here. Nor did I know you’d be wearing a red wig.”

“A minor detail, Ben.”

Her eyes closed, then opened again.

“We’ve got to get you home, my lady,” Nick said, letting her lay her head on his shoulder. “And while we’re traveling across London, it might be wise for you to decide what you’re going to say to your father.”

Her head lifted, and she sat up straight.

“We’ll tell him the truth,” Ben said. “That Winnie was a hero—and a fool. That she thought she could expose the villains better than Mack Wallace and his brigade of investigators.”

Winnie shook her head. “Do we have to tell him anything?”

Nick raised his eyebrows and looked at her. “What? Another lie? Another made-up fall down the stairs? Another trip to the country?”

Lord Benjamin shot his sister an angry glare. “What’s going on here, Winnie? What’s Nick talking about?”

“Nothing, Ben. Just leave it be.”

Nick couldn’t stand to see her so tortured. He couldn’t watch her suffer alone without anyone to help her. “If you won’t let me help you, Winnie, let your brother. If you won’t tell me what’s going on, at least tell him.”

Winnie shot to her feet. There was anger in her eyes when she glared at him.

She tried to stand, but staggered. Nick caught her before she fell. “We have to get her home,” he said as he swung her into his arms. “She needs to be in bed.”

“Hodgekens should be out in front,” Winnie’s brother said. “Take her home. I’ll find my carriage and follow.”

Nick nodded, then walked out of the room and down the hall.

“I can walk,” she mumbled.

“You couldn’t make it two steps before you fell,” he answered, continuing down the stairs.

She didn’t speak again until they reached the lower level. “Nick?”

“Yes?”

“My chips. I need the money I won.”

If she hadn’t been so sincere he would have laughed. As it was, she was deadly serious.

Nick walked over to the table where she’d been playing and picked her reticule up off the chair. Then he sat her down and scooped up the chips from in front of her.

“Stay here,” he said, then carried the chips to Hugh Baxter, a brigadesman who’d drawn the duty of guarding the money until someone came to take it to the bank.

“Hugh, exchange these chips.”

“I don’t know, Nick.”

“I’ll explain everything to Mack. There won’t be a problem.”

“If you say so,” the brigadesman said with a smile on his face. Then, he counted out the chips and handed Nick the money. There were nearly five hundred pounds. Enough to feed half of England until Christmas.

He handed the money to Winnie and watched her put it in her reticule. Earlier winnings that she’d already cashed in were tucked inside the cloth bag. He couldn’t imagine how much she’d won tonight. He didn’t ask.

He picked her up and carried her to the exit. Hodgekens was waiting for them when they stepped out into the cool night.

“Is the lady all right?” the driver asked when Nick lifted her into the carriage.

“She will be. She had a rough go of it, but it’s over now.”

“I’m glad,” Hodgekens said, stepping up, then taking the reins of the carriage.

Nick settled back against the squabs of the carriage with Winnie in his arms. She was exhausted. She was in pain. She nestled her head against his chest and moaned.

“We’ll be home soon, Winnie. It won’t be long,”

She nodded her head then relaxed against him.

“Why did you do it?” he asked. “Our plan would have exposed Cavanaugh.”

“I know,” she sighed. “But I couldn’t let them hurt you again.”

And Nick knew without a doubt that he loved Winnie more than he thought it was possible to love anyone. “When are you going to let me help you, Winnie? When are you going to tell me why you need all this money?”

For a long while Winnie was silent. The carriage rumbled over the streets of London as it made its way to the Duke of Townsend’s townhouse. The longer she remained silent, the more convinced Nick was that she wasn’t going to confide in him. The more certain he was that she didn’t trust him enough to let him help her.

Until she spoke.

Winnie lifted her head from his chest and looked up at him. Tears filled her eyes and when she blinked, they spilled over her lashes and rushed down her bruised cheeks.

“I need your help, Nick. I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

“You’re not alone, sweetheart. I’m here. What’s going on?”