Realm 02 - A Touch of Velvet (34 page)

Talpur had known Ashmita well. He had taken his pleasure in her five times over that fortnight. Five rupees to relieve a young man’s hunger. More mature now, he understood women’s ways and preferred it when a woman came willingly to his bed. Of course, these English women, the ones he had met since coming to this frigid countryside, had preferred their sallow-faced “gentlemen” to his skin, which was forever darkened by the sun. He often felt Jamot’s rancor in dealing with the Realm and with the girl Ashmita. He had not originally known–had not realized that the always-private Jamot had planned to offer the girl honor. Jamot’s knowledge of Talpur’s violation of the female had often affected their ability to work efficiently together.
“Leave me, you son of the Devil!”
he had often heard his fellow countryman say in a drunken rage. Thus, they had planned separately to retrieve the emerald. Talpur had thought it best to take Fowler’s daughter while Jamot thought they might best achieve their mission if they took the woman the duke reportedly affected.

As he pulled his weapons in preparation of giving chase, he wondered if Jamot’s refusal to go near the child had anything to do with the knowledge that the girl belonged to Ashmita and that the child was just as likely to have been fathered by one of their tribesmen as she was by Fowler. “Let us see what Fate brings us.” Entering the darkened stairway, Talpur looked upward first, expecting to see Fowler rushing at him, but a quick glance downward told him his enemy hid in the cellar. Moving quickly, but stealthily, he chased a shadow.

James Kerrington rushed through the maze of rooms, carrying Sonali close to him. “Listen, Poppet,” he ordered as he turned darkened corners, heading toward the tunnel, “there is a secret passage up ahead–how I got into the house; but it is dark.” He used his shoulder to open one of the storage room doors. “I need for you to be brave and to go through the passage while I stop the man chasing us.”

He sat her down before the shelving. “I am afraid,” Sonali hugged him tighter.

“There is nothing of which to be frightened, Poppet–only darkness.” He handed her the shuttered lantern he had left by the hidden door. “You will take the lantern. The passage will bring you into the woods. Do not leave the opening until either Uncle Carter or I come for you. It will take us a few minutes to rid your Papa’s house of these bad men, but we will come.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks. “You will be my knight, Uncle James.” Her lip trembled.

“Come, Sweet One.” He kissed her cheek. “You can slay your own dragons, Darling. You are my brave girl–just like your Aunt Ella.” Hearing Talpur’s approach, Kerrington shoved her through the opening. “Hurry, Sonali. I must know you are safe.” As she stared at him, her body physically shaking with fear, Kerrington frantically motioned her to move before he literally closed the door in her angelic face. He stepped away from the shelves not wanting to betray the hidden passage and waited for Talpur to find him.

Seconds later, the Baloch entered the open door. “So, Fowler did not come?” He eyeballed Kerrington suspiciously. “Or is the duke one of those outside?”

Kerrington refused to answer; he just edged sideways along the wall towards the only opening. Other than the smugglers’ passageway, the doorway, which Rahmut Talpur filled very effectively with his massive body, was the only way out.

Talpur’s eyes followed Kerrington’s progress, but he did not move. He simply waited for the fight to begin. “You are Kerrington, the one they call the Captain?” An amused smile turned up the corners of Talpur’s lips. “We have met before.”

Kerrington’s mind remained on Sonali’s escape and the upcoming confrontation, but Talpur’s words brought him to the moment. Then his body recognized the man blocking his way. “You attacked my wife in Hyde Park. You followed us in the museum.”

Talpur simply inclined his head at the truth of Lord Worthing’s words. “Actually I was the one who attempted to stop the duke in my tribal tent, but it was I in the park also. We would have been successful if not for your efforts on the lady’s behalf and for the bungling of the late baronet.”

Worthing saw the amusement play across the man’s face–recognized the smugness; and it sat his blood boiling. Inflamed, he moved quickly to exact his revenge. Talpur’s words brought his ire. The man had attempted to hurt Ella, and the Baloch would pay the price. In such a confined space neither a gun nor a sword would suffice, so Kerrington pulled the dagger from his boot as he advanced. Lunging forward he caught Talpur’s arm with his first strike. Now, they circled each other–arms akimbo, each holding his weapon ready for an attack.

Used to close battles, Kerrington anticipated Talpur’s next move and side stepped the feint, sending the Baloch stumbling forward to maintain his balance. Meanwhile, Worthing spun to catch Talpur from behind, his left arm across the man’s throat, but before he could get his own footing, his enemy flipped Kerrington over his back, sending the viscount slamming into the wall and stunning him. A punch to his kidneys brought Worthing to his knees and gulping for air.

Over his own labored breathing, Kerrington now heard the Baloch pull his sword, and he calculated his enemy’s move. As if suspended in slow motion, Worthing sensed the man lift the weapon, knew when Talpur pulled his arm back to maximize his power, and felt the upcoming blow to the back of his neck. Reacting instinctively, Kerrington turned at the last second, just as Talpur posed above him. Thrusting upward, the viscount sent his dagger deep into his adversary’s stomach. As the pain spread across the Baloch’s face, Worthing pushed himself to his feet, jerking upward on his weapon, ripping the wound to open it completely. “That is for Ella,” he hissed, giving the dirk one more forceful twist. “And that is for Sonali.”

Talpur’s eyes darkened in agony, and he dropped the sword. Kerrington heard it clang against the smooth stone, as he sank to his own knees. His opponent lay on his back; arms and legs spread wide, Worthing’s stylet precariously perpendicular, protruding from his enemy’s abdomen.

“Worthing!” he heard Lowery’s voice as his friend rushed down the steps.

Whittington’s voice joined Lowery’s, “James! Where are you?” Footsteps came nearer.

“Here!” he rasped out.

Both men hit the door with equal anxiety, but it was Whittington at his side. “Please tell me you are well,” he pleaded.

Kerrington nodded his head, but did not move. “I think he broke my ribs,” he confided. “My lower back is likely very bruised.”

“He is dead.” Lowery joined the two men. “Where is Sonali?”

Kerrington began to crawl toward the shelving. “I put her in the tunnel.”

“I will go,” Whittington moved the bracketed wood aside.

“No,” Kerrington reached for his brother. “I told her to hide in the tunnel...until Uncle Carter or I...came for her.”

Lowery motioned to Kerrington. “Help him upstairs. Send Simms for a physician. I will find Sonali.” He slid in the opening, leaving it wide to keep what light he could. Taking a small candle from an inner pocket, he struck a flint to light it, before pushing forward.

Sonali had clawed at the door, begging her Uncle James to permit her return to the house, but she knew he would not to do so no matter how much she pleaded. Uncle James had closed the door to keep the bad man from her. Her father’s friend would protect her with his life. Just like the knights in the stories she had shared with Cousin Velvet. Taking the lantern, she turned to actually look at her surroundings. Holding the lantern as high as she could, she could see trickles of water running down the wall, but the passage appeared safe. “Uncle James came in this way,” she murmured. As she took her first tentative steps, Sonali suddenly realized how cold the air seemed. Her initial thought was of a grave, but she made herself not think of ghosts or goblins; instead, she thought this would be her first adventure. Like Scheherazade she would use her brains to get away from danger.

Meanwhile, Lowery worked his way through the passage. He could hear the faint sound of her movement somewhere ahead of him, but the way the sound echoed off the walls, he could not tell how far ahead Sonali might be. He would love to stand full upright and to run after her, but this was not a safe passage. He must proceed quickly; however, Lowery also must exercise caution. According to Kerrington, she had the lantern, and Carter could see no reflection of the light so he kept moving. The sound was too faint to know any more than the fact that Sonali was there. Was doing what Kerrington had told her to do. Carter thought about how frightened she must be, and he hurried his approach even more.

Sonali did not run, but she did walk as fast as she could. Coming to the collapsed wall, she sat the lantern down to scamper over the sharp rocks, but then she heard the footsteps coming from the direction of the house. “Uncle James,” she whispered, thinking to turn back, but the thoughts of the man who had brought her here, locked in a wooden box, overrode her hopes.
What if he hurt Uncle James and is coming for me?
Leaving the lantern behind, Sonali ran for the tunnel’s end. Uncle Carter would be looking for her if Uncle James were hurt. Tales of ghosts and goblins came in the form of every dark shadow. No longer walking, she ran for her life.

Finally, he saw the dim light and rushed forward, but all he found was the lantern sitting on one of the nearby rocks. “Bloody hell!” he cursed as he got on his hands and knees to crawl through the space created by the fallen rocks. Lowery knew the darkness and the tunnel must have frightened her. Reaching through the opening, he grabbed the lantern and extinguished his candle. He could move faster without the paraffin light. “Sonali!” he called, but she did not answer.

*

“Yardley.” His friend’s appearance surprised Bran. “I thought you to be seeking Lord Averette.”

“Miss Cashémere thought it best if we came to Liverpool instead. She wanted to protect her elder sister. I brought Baron Ashton and Miss Satiné with us; they reside quite close to Lexford.”

Bran shook Wellston’s hand. “I had forgotten about Satiné; I probably have not seen her for a decade or more,” he remarked as he ushered the earl into the room. “Yet, how could Miss Cashé be of use to our efforts?”

Wellston helped himself to a slice of bread on the table. “Speak to the baron, Fowler. He is a former Realm member, and Ashton has an idea of how he and the girls might foil Jamot’s plan.”

Before they could discuss it further, Lexford led the baron and the Aldridge twins into the room. “Look who Yardley brought us, Your Grace.” He had what appeared to be Cashé on his arm, but a close examination of the girl beside the middle-aged aristocrat would make any man do a literal double take.

“Baron Ashton,” Bran moved forward to greet his distant cousin by marriage, “it has been too many years, Sir.”

“More than ten if I am not mistaken–you were but a boy in your early teen years when my Louisa lost her life. It was before your dear mother, may she rest in peace, took to her bed.” The baron bowed to Bran. “And now you are Thornhill. My how time rushes on!”

Bran simply nodded in agreement before turning his attention to the young girl on the baron’s arm. “And this is our Miss Satiné? As your uncle just implied, you were but a child when I last saw you.” He bowed over her hand. “Come, join us.” He motioned to Wellston. “You will see to rooms for the baron and the young ladies.”

“Of course, Fowler.”

*

Her Uncle James had told her not to leave the tunnel until either he or Uncle Carter came for her, but now the bad man who had taken her away from her Papa and Mrs. Carruthers gave chase. When she saw the opening and the daylight, Sonali staggered towards the sunshine. She looked back over her shoulder to see if the man pursued her. When she recognized the light’s reflection on the wall, she let out a little squeak before running again. This time through the waterfall and for the copse of trees. She would hide until her uncles came for her.

Lowery heard the muffled squeal and thought mayhap Talpur had an accomplice, and now that man held Sonali. He could see the opening and the daylight clearly now. Bent over as he was, he began to run, needing to find her. Stepping from behind the waterfall and into the sunlight, he blinked away the blinding effects of emerging from the underground pit. He put his hand to his eyes to shade them, and then he saw her–caught a glimpse of a yellow dress darting into the tree line. “Sonali!” he yelled as he took off at a run. “Sonali, come back!”

She heard his voice as she crunched down behind an overgrown bush.
Uncle James,
where are you?

Following her retreat, Lowery burst into the opening to find it empty. He turned in a circle, searching for the yellow dress; then he saw it. Catching his breath in satisfaction, he eased forward. “Sonali, Sweetheart,” he kept his voice calm. “It is I, Poppet. Uncle Carter.” He squatted on the other side of the bush. “Come to me, Sweetheart. I will keep you safe.”

A burst of movement caught him off guard as she hit him at a run, taking Carter to the ground in one clean sweep.

“Uncle Carter,” she sobbed. “I was so afraid that the bad man would find me again.”

He sat up and caught her in his arms, sitting her casually on his lap. He stroked her hair as Sonali snuggled into his chest. “You should know, Sweetheart, that your Papa, your Uncle James, all your other uncles and I fought lots of bad men to free your mother. We would certainly not let someone hurt you because you are our precious Indian jewel.”