Dueling With the Duke (Brotherhood of the Sword) (14 page)

“Gabriel Campbell, Duke of Lynford.” Normally Gabe took no pleasure in proclaiming his title, but in this moment he relished his place at the aristocratic table.

“Ah, yes, Your Grace.” He bowed. “A pleasure. If you will excuse me I’m late for another meeting.”

It was on Gabe’s tongue to begin interrogating the man. The speaker was after Isabel, which meant he played a role in this entire conspiracy, but revealing all his cards now could prevent the Brotherhood from discovering just how deep this plot went. The speaker of the House of Commons was certainly a powerful position, politically speaking, but certainly there were others pulling strings. Only time would tell how deeply this man was entrenched in the conspiracy.

“Where is he going?” Gabe asked Potterfield after the speaker walked away.

“I’m certain I have no notion. Why?”

Gabe could tell Potterfield. He certainly had proved himself suspecting Thornton, but doing the wrong thing to get the right outcome never worked with Potterfield. So if he spoke up, he risked being subjected to Potterfield’s disbelief and then being ordered to stand down. This plot against Victoria was bigger than any of them had first anticipated, and until he had more answers than questions he would have to merely handle things himself. “I must go,” Gabe said, then he left in the direction the speaker had gone.

From behind him, he heard Somersby make some excuse about his fiancée.

A door closed from somewhere ahead of Gabe and then Somersby was there beside him. “What did you discover?”

Gabe stopped walking when they reached the end of the corridor; they were presented with three doors. “The speaker is involved with this somehow,” Gabe whispered. “I heard his voice at the girls’ school. At the very least, he’s behind her brief abduction.”

“This is bigger than we thought,” Somersby said.

“Do you know where that door leads?”

“Stairs to the old Palace of Westminster.” Somersby shook his head, then tried the door. “I’m surprised it’s still open.”

“Secluded ruins from a fire,” Gabe said. “Perhaps the perfect place to meet and discuss assassinating the queen.”

Somersby nodded and they breached the doorway. They kept close to the walls as they crept down the stairs.

“You think he’s behind it all?” Somersby asked when they reached the bottom of the stairs.

“He’s definitely involved, enough so that he murdered a man.”

Somersby pulled a pistol from the back of his trousers.

Gabe eased open the door.

“What the devil are the two of you doing?” Potterfield hissed from behind them.

“Damnation, Potterfield, you scared the life out of me!” Somersby said.

“Why are you skulking about?” Potterfield asked.

Somersby quickly filled the man in on the details.

Pottersfield scarcely had time to react when Gabe held his hand up, and both men quieted. If the speaker had gone this way, he was out in the midst of the remnants of Saint Stephen’s chapel, what had once been the primary offices of the House of Commons until that devastating fire had destroyed them years before. As Gabe and the others stepped outside, he noted there was nothing out in this area now save some construction materials that had recently been delivered for the rebuilding.

They stepped out into the crisp night air and stood for a moment to adjust their eyes to the darkness. The sound of rocks crunching and tumbling came from up ahead of them, farther into the ruins and construction elements.

“We should be able to stay hidden behind those rocks.” Gabe motioned his colleagues forward.

They had barely situated themselves behind a large crumble of fallen rock when someone off in the distance spoke.

“You’re late,” the unfamiliar man’s voice said.

“I had a meeting,” the speaker said. “Are the others here yet?”

“No,” the first man barked. “I suspect those idiots will have nothing new to report. They’ve done nothing but bumble everything since we started this.”

“Yes, well, the next time we try to usurp the throne, we’ll set higher standards,” the speaker said.

Gabe turned to see if Potterfield had registered the information. If the narrowing of his eyes was any indication, then he most assuredly had.

Gabe moved around some of the large slabs of limestone that sat waiting to be built into the new Parliament, then slid down behind one so he could better see, but remain hidden. Just enough moonlight spilled forth, giving Gabe a shadowed view of the men.

“Thornton assured me that he would be here with the girl,” the speaker said.

As if the mere mention of his name conjured him, Thornton rounded the corner. “I’m here. Would have been here sooner had your damned goons not intercepted me.” Two hulking men stood behind him, and when they moved out of the way, there behind him was a decidedly feminine shadow, one Gabe knew without a doubt was Lilith. Even from this distance and poor light, he recognized her curves. His heart squeezed. Damned if this didn’t put her right in the middle of the danger. That, in and of itself, left him no choice.

He swore, then turned to Somersby and Potterfield. “With my bloody injury, I’m in no condition to help the two of you with all of those men. Right now, all I care about is getting Lilith to safety.” Then he glanced at Potterfield. “You can consider this my resignation if need be.” Then he stepped out from behind the stone and walked toward the other men.

No one seemed to notice him as of yet, or they hadn’t recognized he wasn’t part of their group, because they continued with their conversation.

“Is this her? I thought her to be younger?” the first man said.

“No, this is my damned wife,” Thornton said. “But she assured me that this is where the Brotherhood would have the princess since this is where they gather.”

Gabe decided it was his perfect opportunity. “Your wife was right. And we’re willing to make a trade,” he said loudly. They all spun toward him.

“Gabriel!” Lilith cried out.

Once Gabe had walked close enough he could see Thornton’s and Lilith’s faces clearer. A cut split her bottom lip and a purplish knot marred one otherwise perfect cheek. Gabe had to fight to keep his temper in check. What he wanted to do was throttle the man, wrap his hands around the bastard’s throat and squeeze until there was nothing left. But in his current condition, he’d likely lose a hand-to-hand battle. And that was if any of the other men didn’t take him down in the process.

“What did you do to her?” he asked.

“She’s a clumsy sort, always has been. Fell down the stairs, didn’t you, darling?” Thornton asked.

Lilith looked up at Gabe, her gaze unwavering. “He shoved me into a wall.”

“Ah yes, that is what happened,” Thornton said with a chuckle. “Now then, enough chitchat. We are not women at a tea and card party. We have business to attend to. Where is the princess?”

“At the moment she is safe,” Gabe said. More than likely Ellis had her on a ship to the Continent, but right now the thought of her was the only thing keeping Lilith safe.

“We demand the girl as well as the proof of who she is,” the speaker said from his hidden position.

“She’s on her way,” Gabe said.

“Gabriel, please. You cannot mean to give them Isabel,” Lilith said.

Gabe did not dare look at Lilith else he might give something away, so he ignored her protest. For now she could worry about Isabel, but it was her life that was in danger. “I can give you the proof, but it will cost you.”

Thornton made a sucking noise through his teeth. “I’m not in a negotiating mood, Lynford. Give me the proof.”

“Leave Lilith with me, and I’ll give it to you.”

Thornton barked out a laugh. “I’m not going to give you my wife. If you want a willing body, you’ll have to find your own whore.”

“I don’t want her. I merely know she has more than earned her freedom from you. Allow me to set her up in the country where she can live in peace,” Gabe said.

“So you can visit her and share her bed. Do you think me mad?” Thornton asked.

“Thornton, enough of this,” the unknown man’s voice yelled. “Your wife is not a part of our deal. You have a job, so do it or face the consequences. So if her life is what it takes to get the princess, do it.”

Thornton’s head ticked to the side and his face contorted in a half snarl. “She’s my wife,” he said through gritted teeth.

If he couldn’t get Thornton to hand Lilith over, the other men were likely to simply kill her for sport. “As I said, I do not want her for myself.” As Gabe said the words, he willed them to be true, all the while knowing the effort futile. He made the mistake of glancing at her, saw the hurt in her eyes. They could not be together. It mattered not what either of them wanted. She was still married. Gabe would still want her despite that, but he knew no one would care that her husband was a monster. The ridicule and shame she would be subjected to would destroy her. “I’ll not give you anything, no proof, no princess, until I know you shall leave Lilith alone, that she will be safe.”

Gabe still could not see the other two men or their supposed goons that Thornton had mentioned. Still he knew they were there, somewhere, watching.

“The authorities know everything,” he yelled to them. “If you survive this ordeal, you will all be brought in for treason and hung for your crimes.”

“They will not allow such things to happen. Soon there will be a new monarch, and I will serve at the king’s pleasure,” Thornton said. He lifted his hand and aimed his pistol at Gabe. “Give me the proof.”

“Are you going to shoot me again? I don’t believe your aim is very good from this distance.”

“Yes, I’m disappointed to see my first bullet did not do as much damage as I would have liked. I will simply use more bullets this time.”

“Sorry to disappoint. I think you killing one Duke of Lynford is more than enough.”

“No,” Thornton said. “I don’t think I’ll miss this time.”

There was a loud series of noises, then several shots rang out, coming from the direction of the other men. Stone ricocheted in front of him and then he was shoved into one of the slabs of limestone.

Lilith screamed.

Gabe checked himself, expecting to find blood somewhere. Instead he found Potterfield at his feet, blood seeping from his chest. He coughed and sputtered. Quite obviously the man had pushed Gabe out of the way and in the process had taken the bullet meant for him.

Lilith ran over to Gabe and he pulled her behind the large chunks of limestone. Somersby yelled something.

“Stay here,” Gabe told Lilith.

Then he went back to check on Potterfield. Somersby knelt by the man, then looked up at Gabe and shook his head.

“Bastards!” Somersby said. He moved away from the body, exploring the areas around them. “Cowards!” he yelled. Silence echoed around them. He came back over to Gabe and Lilith. “They all ran off. Killed Thornton, too.”

“Lilith, you can come out,” Gabe called. She crept over to him. “Did you need to see for yourself that this time your husband is truly dead?”

“No.” She shuddered. “When he got shot, his blood spattered all over me.”

It was then that Gabe noticed the blood smeared on her face where she’d obviously tried to wipe it off.

“I need to get you home,” Gabe said.

“I’ll send word to the rest of the Brotherhood,” Somersby said. “With the speaker involved, this might go up higher than we thought. Did you recognize the voice of the other man?”

“No. You?”

Somersby shook his head. “Not even remotely.”

“They might have some of our members swayed,” Gabe said. “We might want to keep things among only those of us whom Potterfield had already spoken to about this matter.”

“I’ve thought that, too.”

“Keep me abreast of the situation,” Gabe said. And with that he led Lilith out of the rubble and to the main road to hail a hack.

She said nothing as he assisted her inside the carriage. She sat and immediately picked up the hem of her dress and scraped at the blood still remaining on her face. He retrieved his handkerchief and held it out. “Here.”

She snatched it from his hand and scrubbed her cheek. “He’s finally dead.”

“Yes,” Gabe said. “Are you all right?”

She took a shaky breath. “Where is Isabel?” she asked, ignoring his question.

“She is safe, that is all I know, but Ellis will protect her with his life. He knows the stakes, knows the kind of danger she’s in. She will be fine.”

Lilith looked up then, her eyes red-rimmed and searching. “So you had no intention of trading her for me?”

“Of course not. My only concern was to get you to safety.”

She bit down on her lip, then asked, “Did you mean what you said? That you didn’t want me for yourself, that you only wanted to grant me freedom?”

“Lilith, you made it abundantly clear you had no wish to marry. Even now being free to do so, I can’t imagine your wishes have changed.” He glanced out the tiny carriage window. “Besides, I have work to do with the Brotherhood.”

When the rig stopped, Gabe walked her inside the townhome, made certain she was safe, and then he turned to go.

“Is that all?” she asked.

“It’s all there can be. Let me know if you need anything.” He looked around the room. “I don’t think any of the men will come back here. With Thornton truly dead, you should be safe. They’ll be after us now to find Isabel.”

“You won’t let anything happen to her, will you?”

He placed his hand on her cheek, and she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. “Of course not.”

Chapter Thirteen

After the night outside Parliament, the Brotherhood had been on an official search for the speaker of the House of Commons, but no one had seen or heard from him in days. In the weeks that followed, they’d searched his house and his offices and had come up with other names and were in the process of questioning all of those suspected to be involved. Queen Victoria had sent a lengthy letter to her uncle, the King of Hanover, apprising him of the situation so that he knew she was keeping an eye on him.

Victoria had also named Somersby as Potterfield’s successor to lead the Brotherhood. Somersby’s first act had been to remove Gabe’s suspension. But the reinstatement had brought Gabe no relief. He’d discovered that his life had taken a drastic turn over the last few weeks.

It hadn’t taken him long to realize, with brilliant clarity, that he had fallen unabashedly in love with Lilith. Beyond anything physical, he craved her voice and her smile and her presence as a moth craved light. He knew, though, that winning her wouldn’t be simple. Lilith would not be moved by ordinary wooing. He finally understood her feelings about marriage. So it was that he came up with the perfect plan to win her heart. The hardest part had been staying away from her, but the plan had taken a little time. Today, though, was the day.

He penned the note and called for a messenger.

He just hoped he wasn’t too late.

…

It had been two weeks since everything had happened at Parliament. She still resided at Thornton’s townhome, but his nephew had begun to leer at her, so she planned to move elsewhere and set up a new life with Isabel as soon as possible. Of course Isabel wasn’t with her, she was in hiding, being protected by the Brotherhood until it was certain that no threat remained. As they saw it, as long as Isabel was in danger, then the queen herself was in danger. Without Isabel to care for, Lilith wasn’t quite certain what she would do with herself.

Here it was. Her freedom staring her blank in the face, the single thing she’d desperately wanted for as long as she could remember. This time she knew Thornton was dead. She’d seen it with her own eyes, seen the life drain right out of his. But what now?

Isabel was gone, though Gabe assured her that Ellis had her and she would be safe. It was all the information he could give her at the time. What did that mean for Lilith?

“My lady,” Millie said from the doorway. “This message came for you.” She entered the room carrying an envelope. Millie had been a lifesaver since Lilith had returned home. She had been someone to talk with, and together they’d gone about the house ridding it of any overbearing sign of Thornton. But every day she hoped she’d hear from Gabe, even if it were only an update on Isabel.

Her heart fluttered as she accepted the envelope. Only her name was scrawled on the front; there were no other identifying marks. The wax seal was unremarkable. Still, she hoped.

She popped the seal and unfolded the parchment.

My dearest Lilith,

Please meet me at the following address at seven o’clock this evening.

Affectionately yours,

Gabriel

Her breath shuddered. She frowned at the address, uncertain of where it was or what it would mean. She glanced at the clock; she had only an hour to ready herself.

Lilith climbed the steps of Number Seven Hampstead Road. The tall redbrick townhome sat on a corner directly across the street from Regent’s Park and reached upward with at least four floors. Two columns accented the black door. Why would Gabriel have her meet him here?

She stepped up to the door and reached up to knock when she realized the door was already ajar. With a light shove, she pushed it open. She entered, noting the elegant foyer with the marble flooring and wood-paneled walls. No one rushed to greet her. Her slippers made no sound as she padded forward.

“Gabriel?” she called.

“Third door to your right,” he said.

She opened the double doors and found him in a room that was most certainly meant to be a library, as three of the four walls were lined with empty shelves that stretched from floor to ceiling. He stood in the middle of the room in front of a butter-yellow settee and motioned her forward.

“Sit.”

“What is this place?”

“All in good time, love,” he said.

Love
. Her heart stammered at the tender word.

He looked good, so handsome with his lovely hazel eyes peering at her from behind those spectacles. More than anything she wanted to fling herself against him, relax into his warm embrace. But she did as he bade and lowered herself onto the settee. From here she could see that not all of the shelves were empty, as she’d first thought. On one shelf, in particular, varying sizes of leather-bound volumes lined up next to one another like proud soldiers.

He sat beside her, gathered her hands into his. “I’ve missed you these past two weeks.”

“And I you.” More than she’d thought possible. She’d dissolved into a lovesick schoolgirl waiting for her suitor to come calling; though she’d kept hoping, she’d determined he’d never come. But here they were.

“I’ve given much thought to our time together and the many things you told me. I respect your position on marriage, even understand it given your union with Thornton. That being said, I’m not ready for you to be out of my life. While my preference is for you to someday be my wife, I shall be content with you by my side in any capacity.”

She shook her head trying to make sense of his words. “What are you asking, Gabe?”

“Will you be my mistress?” He stood and walked to the bookshelf. “These are the very best books on astronomy. Though obviously we can purchase more, I thought this was a good start.” He retrieved a small box from the shelf and brought it to her.

She opened the box to find a brooch. The center diamond appeared as if it had a star etched into it, and surrounding it were clusters of smaller diamonds accented with rubies. “Gabriel, it’s stunning. It looks like—”

“A small constellation was what I hoped it looked like,” he said.

She nodded. “Yes. It’s beautiful.”

He cupped her face and wiped her cheeks.

“I hadn’t realized I was crying,” she said with a shallow laugh.

“Do you have an answer for me?”

“This house? Whose is it?” she asked.

“It’s yours. I thought that part was obvious.”

“You bought this house for me?”

“I did.” He looked around. “Once I made my decision, this is what I’ve been doing these past few weeks. Trying to find the right place for you. I know you probably won’t want to remain at Thornton’s townhome now that his heir has arrived. I thought you would love this house. This room was my favorite, but I bought it primarily because the top floor has a small balcony that would be perfect for stargazing.”

She clung to his hands, unable to believe his words. “You did all of this in hopes of my becoming your mistress?” she asked. It was the very sweetest of actions, yet it left her unsatisfied. “But why? What of your belief that marriage is superior?”

“I feel that way still, but you made it abundantly clear that you were not interested in marriage. If this is the only way I can have you…”

“But why me? If you are going to settle for a mistress, certainly you can find one with fewer emotional wounds than myself.”

“I undoubtedly could. I could also go and pursue marriage with Clara Salisbury as I’d once planned to do.”

The abrupt end to that sentence made her breath catch, but she found she had no words to add. He certainly deserved to be married to a sweet and gentle woman.

“I’m afraid that would make me terribly unhappy.”

“It would?”

“Indeed.” He took both of her hands, brought them to his lips, and kissed each one. “My heart, you see, belongs to someone, and I’m afraid I’ll never get it back. If the only way I can have my heart’s desire is for her to be my mistress, then that is what I shall do.” He looked at her then; his hazel eyes warmed her. “Lilith, I love you.”

She’d hoped, but hadn’t dared to expect that. How she’d longed to hear those words from any man, but here, in this moment, she realized with brilliant clarity that they’d have meant nothing coming from any other man. It had been Gabe’s love, in particular, that she’d longed for all these years.

“So will you be my mistress?” he asked again.

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m afraid I cannot do that.”

“I see,” he said, disappointment lining his voice.

“I believe I’ve recently discovered that I’m far more ambitious than I’d first realized. I’ve tired of being a countess and should like to try being a duchess for a change.”

He stood, pulled her to him. “You shall marry me instead?”

“Yes, after an appropriate amount of mourning. I shouldn’t want to damage your pristine reputation. Besides, it simply won’t do to have you pining away for me.”

“That makes me very happy indeed.” He kissed her, then tilted her chin up so he could see her face. “Dare I hope that this means you love me as well?”

“I do. Very much.” She kissed him then, putting every ounce of passion she had into the embrace. “I cannot believe all the trouble you went to for me. All the books, the house. It is too much.”

“You deserve the very best, my love. I’m sorry I doubted you before. In truth I think I’ve wanted you from the first moment I laid eyes on you, and I blamed you for it.”

She kissed him again. “Shh. No more such talk. We both lived the hands we were dealt. It is all in the past.” Then she linked her hand with his and pulled him to his feet. “Now then, show me to this stargazing balcony.”

“It is still light out.”

“Yes, but I have always wanted to have a romantic tryst outside on a balcony. We can look at the stars afterward.” She flashed him a wicked smile.

“You are going to be a m
ost naughty wife.”

“I shall try.”

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