Victorian Vigilantes 01 - Saving Grace (27 page)

Isaac grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. “Think about what you are saying, Eva,” he implored passionately. “The moment you step through that door, someone will send word to Woodstock. Once he returns you will never get out of there again. Besides, he is so angry with you for making him look foolish that his reaction is impossible to predict.” He shook his head emphatically. “No, it’s too dangerous.”

“The law would take a dim view of your breaking into his house without a justifiable reason,” Lady Eva replied. “Like it or not, I am your only hope, gentlemen. Besides, I know you will be immediately outside, ready to spirit Grace and me to safety.”

Ah, so it’s her child that motivates her
. Jake made a mental note never to underestimate the power of a mother’s love. He could also see the argument between Isaac and Lady Eva would go on indefinitely unless he intervened.

“Lady Eva is in the right of it,” he said in an authoritative tone that brought their bickering to an immediate end. “She
is
our only hope. If you are really willing to do this, Lady Eva, then we need to make immediate plans.”

“Yes, I am at your disposal,” she replied, sending Isaac a speaking look that briefly caused Jake to reconsider. He had not realised that matters had progressed between the lady and his friend to quite such a degree.

Isaac glowered the entire time they formulated their plans, barely contributing anything.

“And so we are agreed,” Jake said a short time later. “My unmarked carriage will drop Lady Eva in Cadogan Place and then continuously circle the square. Several of my people will be in the street in various guises, watching and waiting, ready to intercede if necessary.”

Isaac reached for Lady Eva’s hand, grim-faced and subdued. Jake suspected he was urgently trying to come up with an irrefutable reason for the woman he had lost his heart to not to put herself in danger. Jake felt a moment’s sympathy for him, but no more than that. If Woodstock got away with stealing that damned rock, the international consequences didn’t bear thinking about.

“Waste no time in going into your husband’s study,” Jake said for the third time. “Once you have the information we need, pull back the curtains, the ones that are always kept closed on the first floor front. That will tell us you are about to come out and we will be there to collect you.”

“What if something goes awry?” Isaac asked, speaking for the first time.

“If Woodstock comes back, we will see him.”

Isaac pursed his lips. “And go in to rescue her.”

“No,” Lady Eva replied. “If I need help, I will open a window, probably on the nursery floor. He won’t follow me up there.”

Isaac frowned. “What if he holds you hostage?”

“If Woodstock comes back and we receive no signal from Lady Eva after half an hour, then we will go in,” Jake said.

Lady Eva nodded. “Agreed.”

“Right, if there are no more questions then there is no time to lose.” Jake locked gazes with Lady Eva. “Are you absolutely sure about this? No one will think the less of you if you decide against it.”

“I am absolutely determined.” She squared her shoulders. “Come, we are wasting time.”

“I shall come, too,” Olivia said, standing. “I might be able to help.”

“Not dressed like that, you’re not.”

Jake struggled to quell the lust that ripped through him whenever Olivia paraded herself in front of him in her tight-fitting breeches. He was sure she did it just to provoke him. The newspaper had been a poor disguise for the extent of her success and, judging by the knowing little smile that flirted with her lips, Jake suspected she was aware of the power she wielded over him.

“Give me five minutes,” Olivia replied, leaving the room at a trot.

***

Eva donned the crepe hat trimmed with flowers that matched her gown and pulled on her gloves. She was surprised with the speed at which Lord Torbay had arranged things. One moment he was reading the newspaper as though he didn’t have a care in the world. The next, men she had never seen before were everywhere, checking weapons and listening closely to his lordship’s instructions.

Isaac tried once again to talk her out of her decision.

“Don’t place yourself at risk,” he passionately implored. “I can’t…” He swallowed and took a moment to control himself. “I cannot bear the thought of what he will do to you if he catches you. There has to be another way.”

Perhaps there was. Lord Torbay had the authority of the government behind him. If he decided to raid William’s house, she doubted whether even the best of barristers would get away with crying foul—especially if they found the evidence Lord Torbay was convinced was hidden in William’s desk.

But what if it wasn’t? What if there was nothing to point them to the inside man, or even to connect William to the crime?

Besides, this was about more than stopping William execute a treasonous crime, and had a lot to do with Eva proving something to herself. Thanks to Isaac’s liberated attitude and skilful hands, she was no longer the person she had once been. He had taught her something about herself, as had Olivia. She didn’t have to live by society’s rules if she preferred not to. Society had granted her few favours and Eva would vastly prefer not to. She was determined to throw off the shackles that had made her a dutiful and dull for so long and take control of her own life.

“It’s the only way,” she replied, touching his face and committing his features to memory in case…well, just in case. “I can’t live with William and I can’t live without my daughter. He will never allow me to see her unless I return to him. The only alternative is to expose him as a criminal and a traitor.”

He grasped her hand so firmly it brought tears to her eyes. Or perhaps they had been there already. Tears of passion and determination. “Yes, but—”

“Don’t you see, Isaac? I have to do this.” She lowered her voice and her eyes. “I absolutely must.”

Lord Torbay joined them, as did Olivia, dressed in a smart walking gown in a bright colour that was just this side of respectable.

“A brief lesson in opening unlocked doors, Lady Eva,” Lord Torbay said, handing her a weird implement and leading her towards the room’s door. “Your husband locks his study and might have removed the spare key from his bedroom.”

“Very well.”

Eva took to it like a natural and a short time later she had mastered the rudiments of breaking and entering. She smiled to herself. If William
did
catch her and attempted to lock her in her chamber, he would be in for a surprise.

“I clearly have talents I knew nothing about,” she said, smiling at Isaac in an effort to lighten the depressed mood he was unable to hide. He looked away without returning her smile.

“All ready?” Lord Torbay asked.

“Yes, I am prepared.”

Eva took Isaac’s arm and together they walked to the waiting conveyance. Olivia sat beside her and the two gentlemen settled across from them, along with Parker, their backs to the horses. Eva shouldn’t have been surprised to see Parker shoulder to shoulder with the gentlemen. She had guessed almost immediately he performed duties far outside of the scope of normal butlers. He looked positively lethal now, dressed all in black, armed to the teeth, his expression grim. Then he winked at her and Eva laughed aloud. The stately Parker actually winking was something she had never imagined she would see.

No one spoke as they made the relatively short journey to the scene of her marital nightmares. The atmosphere within the carriage was tense but Eva herself felt inexplicably calm. At last she could do something to help herself. Even the thought of William coming home and catching her ransacking his desk was insufficient to deter her. Besides, she would see Grace again and that thought alone was sufficient to bolster her resolve.

The carriage rattled to a halt on the northern edge of Sloane Gardens. A slight fluttering of her heart was Eva’s only reaction when she viewed the all too familiar surroundings. Today the situation with William would be resolved. Fresh determination spiralled through her as she caught Isaac’s tormented gaze. No matter how things turned out, she wouldn’t ever return to her husband, on that score she was fiercely determined.

“Take great care,” Lord Torbay cautioned.

“I will.”

“We will see you soon, my dear,” Olivia said, reaching across to pat her hand.

“Yes.”

She locked gazes with Isaac but neither of them spoke. There was nothing left to say. The coachman opened the door and let down the steps. She smiled her thanks and accepted his help to leave the conveyance. She then squared her shoulders, looking to neither left nor right as she walked briskly towards the house she had once called home.

***

“Let me have ten minutes with ’im,” Stoneleigh said as the carriage carried him, Woodstock and their semi-conscious prisoner towards the warehouse. “That’s all it’ll take to find out who put him up to this.”

“All in good time.”

“He’ll lead us to Lady Eva.” Stoneleigh could see an opportunity to regain his rightful place in Woodstock’s pecking order and couldn’t understand why the master was being so reticent. “That’s what you want, ain’t it?”

“We are late for our appointment. Let’s get that out the way first.”

Stoneleigh grunted. “I can
talk
to our friend here.” Franklin had been knocked to the floor of the carriage and lay there, unmoving. Stoneleigh kicked him in the ribs. “I told you not to trust him all along.”

“We have arrived.” The carriage came to a halt. “Wait until I have gone inside. I don’t want the agent, or anyone else for that matter, to see Franklin covered in blood. Conceal him beneath a blanket, put him up in the loft and lock him in. Set someone to guard the door and then join me downstairs.” Woodstock waved a finger at Stoneleigh. “And don’t even think about exceeding your orders again. Sometimes you don’t know your own strength and if you kill him, I will have you killed. Leave him be until we are in a position to interrogate him together. I want to hear what he has to say for myself.”

Stoneleigh clenched his fists, frustrated but resigned. “As you wish.”

Stoneleigh did as he was told. He covered Franklin with a blanket, threw him bodily over his shoulder and carried him inside, grunting from the effort it took. Once up in the loft he made do wish pushing Franklin down onto a bed of straw and kicking him a couple more times. The man was in a bad way. Blood spilled from between his lips and Stoneleigh wasn’t sure whether it was just a split lip bleeding or something more serious. Stoneleigh didn’t care how badly he was hurt, just so long as he could still talk. He spat at Franklin’s prostrate form and left the room, locking the door carefully behind him.

Below stairs Woodstock turned on the charm for the agent as they poured over the contracts he was supposed to sign. Stoneleigh couldn’t understand why he was bothering. Once they had pulled off the theft of the diamond he, Woodstock, would have more money than he knew what to do with, and yet still he craved more.

Someone hammered on the door. Woodstock looked up and frowned. People knew better than to interrupt when the boss was negotiating contracts.

“See who that is,” he said curtly to Stoneleigh.

It was Barker.

Stoneleigh glowered at him. “What do you want?”

“You’d best tell the master that Lady Eva has returned home,” he said.

***

“Lady Eva.” The housemaid’s mouth dropped open when she answered the door and saw her mistress standing there.

“Good morning, Alice.”

With her head held high, Eva swept past the astounded maid as though she was simply returning from a morning’s excursion instead of being the subject of a capital-wide manhunt. Several other members of staff appeared in doorways, gaping. Eva ignored them all and ascended the stairs with a regal dignity that focused her resolve. She didn’t pause on the first floor but carried straight on up to the nursery. She heard whispers coming from below, talk of sending for William, but she had expected that.

At the door to the nursery, Eva finally paused. Her heart lifted when she heard Grace singing to herself, something she always did when playing with her rag doll. Eva glanced around the door just as Grace looked up.

“Mama!”

The child hurtled herself at Eva’s legs. Eva swung her into her arms and smothered her face with kisses, breathing in the adorable baby smell of her beloved daughter and squeezing her tight.

“Mama, you’re squashing me.”

“Sorry, pumpkin.”

Reluctantly Eva placed the child back on the floor. She clung to Eva’s skirts, as though afraid she might disappear again. Mary was still blinking with astonishment when Eva looked her way.

“My lady,” she said. “We were that worried about you.”

“There’s not much time,” Eva said in a whisper, aware that William’s staff would have organised themselves by now and someone might be listening at the door. “We have to get away from here but there is something I have to do first. Make Grace ready and be prepared to depart as soon as I give you the word. Leave everything behind except her rag doll and any other toys she is especially attached to.”

To her credit, Mary didn’t balk. “That lady who spoke to me in the park. You sent her, didn’t you?”

Eva nodded. “Yes. I wanted to let you know that I was close, planning how to get you and Grace away from here.”

“My prayers have been answered,” her faithful nursemaid said with feeling.

“Give me five minutes, ten at most,” Eva said, patting Mary’s hand.

“They are bound to send for your husband.”

“I know that, but he is at the warehouse and even he cannot fly.”

Eva gave Grace one more kiss and forced herself to leave the child in Mary’s care.

“Mama,” she said plaintively as Eva headed for the stairs. “Gracie come, too?”

“No, darling, stay with Mary. I will come back very soon. I promise.”

Eva didn’t dare to turn back for fear of seeing Grace’s lower lip wobbling. She absolutely couldn’t afford the distraction.

Back on the first floor, Eva headed for her bedchamber. Her maid hovered in the doorway, eyes agog, but Eva dismissed her. She had never liked the girl who had been hired by William to wait on her, and whom she suspected of tattling to William every chance she got. Worse yet, she had noticed one of William’s loyal men stationed outside the door to his study as she passed it. He eyed her with suspicion and didn’t acknowledge her.