Vintage Love (54 page)

Enid stopped her efforts to release Armand, whipped out her pistol, and aimed it at the newcomer, sending a bullet into him. He dropped to the floor at the same moment that Esmond let out a howl of rage and risked a lunge at Gustav.

Gustav was momentarily caught off guard, and the bald man sped past him and out into the darkness beyond. Gustav ran after him, sword in hand.

Enid quickly finished untying Armand, and he stood up stiffly, rubbing his wrists and ankles.

“I’ll be able to move in a moment or so,” he promised her.

“Are there any others?” she asked.

“There were five,” he said, “including Esmond.”

“We took care of two outside. And these two as well!” She glanced grimly at the prostrate forms on the wooden floor.

“Then Esmond is the only one left!” Armand cried.

“We’d best get out of here,” she urged him.

“Yes. I can manage now.”

They had reached the head of the stairs when Gustav came racing up to them. He was breathless and pale. “Esmond got away!” he groaned. “The slimy vermin escaped!”

“It cannot be helped,” Armand said, “and we must make ourselves scarce. He may return with reinforcements at any moment.”

“We have one last task before we leave here.”

Armand nodded. “I understand.”

Enid did not know what they were talking about. But when they reached the lower level, she realized what it was. The two men quickly splintered one of the stacked boxes and hunted for sacks to place among the kindling. Then Gustav found a taper and some matches, and after lighting the candle, he flung it on the sackcloth. When the blaze was under way, they hurried from the building.

In an alley nearby they sought out a hiding place from which they could gaze through the fog at the warehouse. Within a comparatively short time they heard a loud explosion from within. The windows were shattered and they could see flames blazing. It would not be long before the entire structure was completely destroyed.

The glow from the fire reached as far as the alley, and Enid could see the triumphant expressions on the perspiring, weary faces of the two men beside her. She had no idea what she looked like, but she didn’t care. She was filled with a strong feeling of elation.

Then there were shouts in the streets. She was positive she saw Esmond lead three or four men up to the blazing building and then fall back in chagrin as another explosion occurred and flames shot up through the roof of the warehouse. More onlookers appeared out of the fog, and there were cries of excitement and glee from some of the drunken observers.

“Time to be gone from here!” Gustav said tautly.

“A night’s work well done,” the count commended him. “And you, Enid, have taken more risk than you should have!”

“I wanted to be here,” she said simply.

He kept a comforting arm around her as they made their way back to Gustav’s studio. When they finally arrived, they found Susie in a dreadful state of alarm. As soon as she saw them she recovered from her fright, and even found it possible to laugh at them.

“You look like three scarecrows!” she teased.

And it was true! Perspiration, soot, and grime had combined to give them a very strange appearance. After some scrubbing they more closely resembled themselves, although their clothing still reeked of smoke. Susie prepared a late-night meal, and Gustav told her of the events of the past few hours.

Susie listened grimly, and when he had finished, she said, “The truth is, four men are dead and any one of you could easily have been added to the list of victims.”

“We don’t know that they were all fatally wounded,” Gustav demurred.

“The ones in the warehouse surely died,” Enid said.

Armand sighed. “Violence is always regrettable. But this is now an undeclared war.”

Susie was indignant. “Those Frenchies aren’t content to destroy their own country. Now they slink over here and kill!”

Her husband patted her hand. “They are concerned mostly with agents for the Royalists. And with the English people who deal with them.”

“You are a Royalist agent,” she reminded him. “What sort of security do we have now?”

“None,” he admitted. “Now that I have shown myself to them, we will be listed among the enemy.”

“You had better stay in the shadows for a time,” Armand suggested. “Keep them off guard before you take an active part again.”

“They will probably still seek him out for vengeance,” Susie worried.

Gustav smiled wearily. “That’s the price you pay for having a French husband.”

“A French husband who is wild and reckless!” Susie cried. Immediately she placed her arms around him and kissed him, saying, “Still, I’m foolish enough to be proud of you!”

Gustav kissed her in return, then turned to Armand. “The big problem now is you, Count Beaufaire.”

Armand shrugged. “I must return to France as soon as I can.”

“I disagree. They will be on the lookout for you. Their agents will be covering the coast. You must wait a week or two at least.”

“But I will be in danger in London. Tonight is an example. There are other agents in the city, and Esmond is still alive and undoubtedly determined to capture me again.”

Gustav sighed. “That is all too true. London is almost as unhealthy for you as France.”

Enid spoke up. “I think I have the answer. I propose to stay with my father and mother in Surrey for a while. It would be an ideal place for you to rest, Armand.”

“An excellent idea!” Gustav cried enthusiastically. “I will find a carriage driver we can trust to take you both down there tomorrow morning.”

Armand looked unhappy. “I don’t wish to run away and hide.”

“It is merely a strategy,” Gustav told him. “Better to hide for a short time and then strike back when they don’t expect you. That is the way to victory!”

The handsome count’s face wore a sad expression. “In such a struggle, is there to be any sort of victory?”

“At least we are saving the lives of a few innocents,” Gustav said.

While Susie was making up temporary beds for them, Armand took Enid aside to speak to her privately.

“You have problems enough,” he said, stroking her hair gently, “without getting caught up in our fight.”

“But I want to help.”

“You have left your husband?”

“Yes. After the other night I had no choice.”

He nodded gravely. “That is true. He is a strange, perverse man. I fear he will make things difficult for you.”

“My parents will protect me, so please don’t worry about that.”

He smiled. “All right, I won’t.”

“And you will come back to me one day.”

“I hope I’ll be able to, but we cannot count on it. In any case, I must return and continue my work in France. For as long as I’m needed there.”

“At least we shall have a few days together!” she said brightly.

“A few days,” he agreed.

They were not able to leave until late the next morning. Gustav had needed that much time to find a suitable driver and carriage to undertake the journey. Shortly before noon, Enid kissed Susie and Gustav goodbye, and she and Armand embarked on their trip to Surrey.

Armand was in a more relaxed mood, and as they left London and began traveling southwest through the early March countryside, she told him of her growing-up days in Henson House. He was much taken with the character of her native heath.

“A dairy region,” he said with a smile. “Why did you ever want to leave such a peaceful place?”

“I think everyone should venture forth to explore life elsewhere.”

“Well, now that you know what London is like, you should be more appreciative of your Surrey.”

“If I were happily married, I would like to live there and raise my children there,” she said.

“You must be free of Lord Blair, of course, before you can think of doing that.”

“Yes. I will have Father set his lawyers to the task at once.”

Armand frowned. “What will your parents think of my descending on them like this? They won’t be prepared for my arrival.”

“But they will!” she insisted. “I have already told my father about you, and that we are truly in love.”

“When was this?”

“When I went home for a visit in the summer,” she replied. “So of course they will be glad to meet you.”

Armand’s face brightened. “It will be good to rest in the country for a few days. I’m looking forward to it.”

Enid leaned toward him as the carriage rolled over the rough road. “Armand, let us pretend that you are staying for always.”

“Dearest, how can we do that? We know better.”

She smiled sadly. “Let us pretend, for a little while at least. It will make things so much easier.”

“All right,” he agreed, kissing her brow and cheek, and drawing her into a protective embrace.

• • •

It was late in the evening by the time they reached Henson House. Enid’s parents were asleep, but she roused one of the servants to prepare a room for Armand and made sure that it was close to hers.

After she had shed her clothing and bathed, she donned a peach silk nightdress and tiptoed along the hall to Armand’s room. Even though this was her parents’ home, she was determined to spend the night in her beloved’s arms.

Armand greeted her eagerly, his long-pent-up emotions free to express themselves at last. With consummate care he divested Enid of her silken garment and gazed adoringly at her creamy skin, her rose-tipped breasts, her slender, inviting thighs, and the golden mound of delight nestling between. Enid took as much pleasure in the sight of his naked, sleekly muscled body, as strong and as beautifully etched as his handsome features.

He caught her to him in an embrace that left her breathless and cast a film over her sloe eyes. His maleness was hard, erect, pulsating, and she could barely restrain her desire to feel him inside her.

They moved as one toward the bed, their arms and legs entwined. Armand stroked Enid’s body with his hands, the tips of his fingers, his lips and tongue. Every inch of her flesh responded as the wick to the flame. She clung to him in a frenzy of longing, writhing with joyous abandon, until neither could contain the passions about to explode from within.

She arched her hips to meet his entry, answering each deep thrust with a delicious movement of her own. Through the mists surrounding her she heard Armand gasp, and knew that he was enveloping himself completely in her warm, moist depths. Then she, too, experienced a surge to that unparalleled pinnacle of ecstasy, and slowly, slowly, the poundings ebbed and abated.

Murmuring endearments and promises of undying love, they lay there deeply contented, drifting into a blissful sleep.

• • •

Early the next morning Enid crept back to her own bed before the maid came with her tea. And a little later, at breakfast, she had the pleasure of introducing Armand to her parents. Her mother seemed overwhelmed by the dignified, handsome Frenchman. Her father took to him at once.

“Bad time you fellows are having,” Lord Alfred remarked.

“We are fortunate to have some staunch British friends,” Armand said with a smile.

Enid’s father rested his hand on his cane. “Well, to state it truthfully, the English and the French have not often seen eye to eye, but in the face of villainy and inhumanity they stand together.”

“Quite true!” Armand agreed.

“And speaking of villainy,” Lord Alfred went on, “I can think of none more offensive than that of the man I’m unfortunate to have as my son-in-law. To think that he would seat himself at a gaming table and calmly wager my daughter’s virtue is beyond my understanding!”

“You mustn’t excite yourself about it, Alfred,” his wife put in. “We have known for some time that Lord Andrew was not a suitable husband for Enid.”

“I did not expect him to stoop so low,” he said, shaking his head.

Armand gave Lady Caroline a reassuring glance. “I think your daughter managed to withstand his cruelty without too much harm done to her. But I don’t think she should be exposed to it any further.”

“I’m in full agreement,” Lord Alfred declared.

“Surely something can be done,” Enid’s mother fretted, her still-lovely face not hiding her distress.

“I shall see my lawyers tomorrow and get their advice. It would seem to me that Blair’s flagrant display of his preference for men would offer grounds for annulment.”

Armand nodded. “That would be the best way.”

Lord Henson then changed the subject. “While you are here, Count, I beg you to enjoy yourself. You must be exhausted by the dangers you have gone through.”

Enid smiled. “Now is the time for recuperation.”

“I consider myself most fortunate indeed,” Armand said, recalling last night’s impetuous lovemaking.

That afternoon he and Enid went riding through her favorite lanes and woods. They stopped by a brook that had not frozen over and allowed their horses to quench themselves of the bubbling, pure water. Then they rode on to the village, where they were the subject of curious interest to the townsfolk. Armand had a distinctly foreign manner and bearing.

They halted for a short stop at the local tavern and both had a tankard of ale, compliments of the tavern-keeper, a jolly, toothless old man whose wig was a trifle askew and none-too-clean.

“ ‘Tis good to have you home again,” the publican said.

“Thank you, Mr. Root,” Enid replied with a smile. “I have missed the quiet of Surrey.”

“Aye,” the old man said gravely. “I have been to London only once. It is too large and wicked for the likes of me. I took the stage back the morning after I got there.”

“You’ll get into less trouble here,” she teased him.

“True, your ladyship, very true,” Mr. Root agreed.

It was all very bucolic and relaxing. In the evening Lord Alfred and Lady Caroline sat by the fire and listened to Armand speak of his experiences in France. His account of the murder of Lucinda and her husband sent chills through Enid. Her parents were also very touched, since they had known Lucinda from the time she was a child. Armand described the pillaging of their fine estate and how the vandals had put a torch to it and reduced it to ashes.