Victorian Vigilantes 01 - Saving Grace (30 page)

“Thanks to you.” She pushed the hair away from his brow, placed a hand on it and tutted. “You’re too warm.”

“Stop fussing and give me another kiss.”

Eva obliged. Once they returned to Grosvenor square she handed Isaac over to Lord Torbay’s servants, satisfied he wasn’t about to die, and busied herself with installing Grace and Mary on the nursery floor. They obviously couldn’t stay here, but she would think about her future tomorrow. She was unable to stop touching her daughter, still convinced she was a figment of her imagination. Seeing her husband killed in front of her eyes hadn’t unduly bothered her. He had been an evil, manipulating individual and it would take a better person than she would ever be to mourn his loss. A huge shadow had been lifted from her life and she was now free to live that life as she saw fit, free from outside interference.

Lord Torbay had only returned to the house just before dinner was announced, looking tired and drawn. She felt as though she was intruding on a relationship that neither party was yet willing to admit to and was tempted to leave him and Olivia alone. She would have done so, except she was anxious to hear how matters had progressed.

“All right then, Jake,” Olivia said. “Put us out of our misery and tell us who the inside man actually was.”

“Woodstock’s code was easy enough to brake,” he replied. “The man is called Jennings, he—”

“Alfred Jennings?” Olivia’s eyebrows elevated. “Lord Jennings’ son?”

“The very same. He is, or should I say was, a private secretary at the Home Office and one of the people whom I suspected all along. He was tipped to go far as a Whig but was actually a secret supporter of Marx. It was easy enough for him to convince the Sikhs the diamond belonged to their country. He was planning to make away with it himself, of course, and leave evidence leading to your husband, Lady Eva.”

“Harrumph.” Olivia elevated her chin. “I never did like the man and I can’t abide people using positions of power to undermine the monarchy.”

Lord Torbay sent her a smile that heated the air between them, causing Eva to feel even more like an outsider than she already did. “Jennings has been arrested and no longer has any power to usurp.”

“And Eva has her daughter back, so everything worked out for the best.”

***

Isaac insisted upon dressing the following morning. His wound caused him some discomfort, but was bearable. Jake was at the Home Office, making his report, leaving Isaac free to seek out Eva. He knew exactly where to find her but was only able to negotiate the stairs to the nursery floor frustratingly slowly.

She was playing with her daughter, singing to her at the same time. Isaac remained in the open doorway, drinking in the sight of their laughing faces. She must have sensed his presence and turned towards him, a question in her eyes.

“What are you doing out of bed?”

“Looking for you.”

“You shouldn’t be up yet.”

“Come and walk in the garden with me, Eva. I want to talk to you.”

She glanced at Grace, then back at him, and nodded. She kissed her daughter’s soft curls and stood up. They walked side by side in the gardens for some time without speaking. Isaac knew precisely what he wished to say to her, but now the time had come, he was nervous and unsure of his reception.

“Jake mentioned this morning that your husband made no will,” he said, watching her closely to see how the mention of that odious man affected her. “That means you inherit everything and are a rich woman.”

Eva shuddered. “I want nothing to do with his ill-gotten gains.”

“Think carefully. You have your daughter’s welfare to consider.”

“That is true, but even so—”

“Not all of his fortune was amassed illegally.”

“No, I suppose not.” She absently plucked at a leaf, shredding it to pieces and then allowing it to flutter to the ground. “Perhaps I could put something aside for Gracie and give the rest to charitable causes.”

Isaac smiled. How typical of her generous nature. They reached a bench overlooking a pretty bed of spring flowers and Isaac invited her to sit.

“This is hardly an appropriate time,” he said, claiming her hand. “But my heart is too full to allow for delay. I love you, Eva, and it would make me the happiest man on this earth if you would agree to be my wife.”

She sent him a bemused look. “You wife?”

“I know I should have waited to ask you. You’ve been a widow for less than a day, but you must forgive a man who is violently in love his little foibles.”

“My situation makes Olivia’s appear respectable by comparison. My husband was a traitor.”

“But you were not.”

“Even so, your family will hate me.”

“No, they will not. They only wish to see me happy. I could purchase a small country estate in Surrey and return to my career in the law.” He clasped her hand a little more tightly, willing her to accept him. “Do you need time to consider?”

“Not in the least.” Her radiant smile stole his breath away. “I love you, too, Isaac, but I never thought—”

Isaac silenced her with a kiss and never discovered what it was that she hadn’t thought.

***

Isaac retired to rest immediately after luncheon. Eva’s wicked intentions of waking him were thwarted when she received an unexpected visitor in the form of her brother.

“My dear,” he said, taking her hand as soon as he was shown in the small salon. “I came as soon as I heard. How distressing.”

“There was no need, Gerald.”

“There was every need. You’re my sister and my responsibility.”

“You didn’t appear to think so when I applied to you for assistance last year.”

“Ah yes, well…doesn’t do to come between a man and his wife.”

“Especially when that man holds your notes.”

“It’s over with now. I can’t believe the rumours that are circulating about Woodstock. I always thought he was a rum-un, but treason—”

Eva quirked a brow, almost enjoying herself. “You thought that about him but encouraged me to marry him?”

“You can’t stay here, my dear, not under a single gentleman’s roof. There’s already enough gossip circulating. You’d best return to the country and live at home with us. There will be a lot of things to sort out with your husband’s affairs but you can leave all that to me.”

“No thank you, Gerald, I shall handle everything myself.”

“But…but, you wouldn’t know where to start.”

“I believe these are what you came for.” Eva handed him his promissory notes. “Don’t come to me for anything more, Gerald. You weren’t there when I needed you, and now I no longer do…need you, that is.”

“You are overset. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I know perfectly well. My advice to you is to stay away from the tables. I cannot force you to do so, but let us be clear on one point, if you get in too deep again I won’t help you. If you lose the estate it will be entirely your fault.” She stood up and rang the bell. Parker answered so quickly he must have been waiting outside. “My brother is leaving, Parker,” she said, turning her back on her weak sibling. “Please see him out.”

Eva clung to Isaac’s arm, defiantly wearing grey half-mourning, much to the apparent consternation of several matrons who glanced her way, tutted and averted their gazes. Eva simply didn’t care. She wasn’t such a hypocrite that she would publicly mourn a man whom she had hated and who was a traitor to her country.

Gracie skipped beside her, her hand firmly clasped in Eva’s, as they looked around the exhibition with open astonishment.

“I had no idea it would be so vast,” Eva said, looking upwards.

“It’s certainly the architectural adventure we were promised,” Isaac agreed. “Prince Albert has achieved his wish. It’s a testament to Great Britain’s role as industrial world leader.”

“It is a massive glass house,” Olivia said, walking beside Lord Torbay, her son skipping ahead of them, giving them the appearance of an established couple. “Let’s hope no one is bad-mannered enough to throw stones.”

“We ought to take advantage of this pre-view and see the star exhibit,” Lord Torbay said. “I have a great desire to discover what all the fuss was about.”

“Oh yes, do let’s,” Eva agreed.

Together the two couples—one acknowledged to be in love, the other in denial—made their way to the controversial stone, displayed on a velvet cushion beneath thick layers of glass. Several guards stood beside it, stern and alert. The four of them gazed at it for some moments in silence. Grace demanded to see what they were looking at and Isaac lifted her up. Eva adored the way she already reacted so naturally with him in way she never had with her real father.

“It sparkles, Mama,” she said, making them all laugh.

“Indeed it does, darling.”

They were quiet again, each presumably thinking about the journey, the sacrifices, that had been made to bring them to this point. It was, predictably, Olivia who broke the silence.

“Do you think it’s real?” she asked.

The four of them laughed so hard that people stopped and openly stared at them.

The End

About the Author

Wendy Soliman is a British author, brought up on the Isle of Wight, who now divides her time between Andorra and the west coast of Florida. She shares her life with her long-suffering husband and a rescued dog of indeterminate pedigree, named Jake Bentley after the hero in one of her books. Both Jakes are handsome mongrels with independent spirits and wild streaks.

Wendy has over fifty published books to her credit, ranging from Regency romance, (her first love), to contemporary women’s fiction and marine crime mysteries. She also writes erotica for SirenBookStrand under a pen name.

When not writing, Wendy enjoys walking miles with her dog, reading other people’s tomes…oh, and she’s on a one woman mission to save the wine trade from the world recession. She figures someone has to do it!

Check out all of Wendy’s books, and learn more about her from her website:
www.wendysoliman.com

Also available from Book Baby

To Defy a Duke

The Duke’s Legacy

A Duke by Default

Mrs. Darcy Entertains series

Miss Bingley’s Revenge

Colonel Fitzwilliam’s Dilemma

• Title Page
  
• Copyright
  
• Chapter One
  
• Chapter Two
  
• Chapter Three
  
• Chapter Four
  
• Chapter Five
  
• Chapter Six
  
• Chapter Seven
  
• Chapter Eight
  
• Chapter Nine
  
• Chapter Ten
  
• Chapter Eleven
  
• Chapter Twelve
  
• Chapter Thirteen
  
• Chapter Fourteen
  
• Chapter Fifteen
  
• Chapter Sixteen
  
• Chapter Seventeen
  
• Chapter Eighteen
  
• Chapter Nineteen
  
• Chapter Twenty
  
• Chapter Twenty-One
  
• Chapter Twenty-Two
  
• Epilogue
  
• About the Author