There was a ladder and down below stood a black horse.
And on the beast’s back was Sir Husher.
How had he gotten back on Oliver’s land?
Husher lifted a dark brow and waited.
Vita’s hands gripped the ledge of the windowsill. Was she mad to even consider it?
She was.
He hadn’t hurt her before, and she was glad to know he hadn’t hurt Elder either.
“Vita.” Remy’s voice was quiet now. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Had I been aware of the magnificent woman you are…”
“Liar,” she whispered right before she stepped out of the window.
* * *
“You can speak now,” Husher said once they were away from Oliver’s property. They stuck to the trees but followed the main road back to the town. She’d been covering her face.
“How did you get on Lord Venmont’s land again?” she asked.
“I rode in behind his carriage.”
Vita looked back and noticed Husher was wearing a deep purple jacket with gold tassels and a gold lion on the breast. Van Dero’s watchmen wore the same one. A hat covered most of his features. “Did you steal that jacket?”
“In a way,” he said. “It once belonged to me.”
“You worked for Van Dero.”
He nodded. His pale green eyes searched their surroundings as they moved on.
“Why did you help me?” she asked.
His gaze fell to her. “Who said I’m helping you?”
She froze and a coldness settled into her bones. What had she done?
“You said you’d give your answer to Dunst in a fortnight,” Husher went on. “You still have a week. Shall we go see him now?”
“You’re working for Dunst?”
“He hired me again.” He was watching her now. “I’ll take you to him… when you’re ready.”
When she was ready.
She had a week.
She frowned and turned back toward the road. “Could I hire you?”
“I’m expensive.”
“I’ve some pin money saved.” She had a great deal of pin money, actually. Her father had always pushed gifts on her before she could truly want for anything. She rarely had a chance to spend her coins.
“I’m very expensive,” he whispered.
“And I’m a wealthy woman.”
“What would you have me do?” Husher asked.
“Well, first, I’d like to buy this horse from you.” She would return the horse to Noel.
“The horse is not for sale.”
She turned around and glared at him. “Why not?”
He smiled. “I like it.”
“But it belongs to someone else.”
“It does belong to me. It was given to me at a fair trade.”
She gasped. “A fair trade? What you do isn’t even legal.”
He chuckled. “Aren’t you in love with General Astger? I would think you understand we work on a different honor system than that of the Crown.”
“You know he works for Van Dero?” Was she the only one who hadn’t?
“I was in his army, the Equerry. I was a captain.” He sighed. “He’s a good man.”
She looked away. “Your definition of good can be quite different from mine.” She didn’t want to hear how good a man Remy was. He was a liar, and she wanted nothing to do with him.
He’d made her a fool.
She thought about Husher’s comment about her being in love with Remy and realized just how much Husher knew about her.
That was unsettling.
She stared ahead as she asked, “How do you know about me and Lord Bowland?”
“He’s been knocking down doors all week trying to find me or Dunst and using little of the civility I’m used to seeing in him. Only a woman could have a man as rigid as him break from what he’s used to.”
“Does Dunst know about him?”
“No. He’s returned to London. I’m to take you there.”
She calmed once more. She didn’t want Dunst going after Remy.
She told herself the only reason she wished to protect him was because of Noel. He would need his uncle.
“You know Astger well then?”
“Very well.” He did something to the horse to get it to move faster.
“Then how could you work against him? How could you even think to take me to Dunst knowing it would hurt a man you claim to be good?” She wanted to understand Husher.
“It’s a job. I’m getting paid.”
“That’s it?” she asked. “That’s all it takes to betray someone you know?”
“I’m getting paid a great amount of money.”
“You care about money more than friendship?”
“I never claimed the general was my friend. I never betray my friends.”
“And you actually have friends?”
“You ask a great number of questions,” he growled.
“Well, I figure you won’t kill me since you are going to take me to Dunst who has offered you a great amount of money.”
He chuckled. “You’re right. I am to deliver you to Dunst in one piece.”
She smiled and opened her mouth to ask another question when he spoke again, “That doesn’t mean you can’t be hurt in other ways.”
Her heart stopped. The sharp comment was a reminder of just who this man was.
“Why don’t you tell me about this job you wish me to do,” he said. “Is it to kill Dunst?”
She pulled in a tight breath. “No.” She’d never ask anyone to kill anyone. “Rather, I’m looking for someone, someone I believe may be in town.”
“Hm. That’s sounds interesting. Who is it?”
She took a deep breath. “My mother.”
∫ ∫ ∫
4 0
* * *
“You lost your mother?”
“No…” Vita tightened her hold on the saddle. She was strangely not nervous at all to tell Husher about her situation. Perhaps, it was the fact that she planned to pay him and that his opinion of her didn’t actually matter. “I didn’t lose my mother.”
“How old are you?”
“Does it matter?”
He paused to think. “It does. Tell me your age.”
“Twenty. She went missing fifteen years ago. I believe she’s here.”
“Hm.”
Hm? That was it? “A woman named Lady Douglas may have seen her some years ago. She was with a man whose name was Fontaine. Will you help me find her?” She looked back.
His expression was blank. “What are you offering?”
She blinked. “How much do you want?”
His eyes moved down her body and then returned to her eyes. “We can negotiate.”
Her mouth fell open, and her heart leaped in fear. “Is that why you wanted to know my age?”
He grinned wolfishly.
“I’m not for sale.” No one had ever tried to buy her before him.
“Are you certain?”
She gasped. “You just alluded to the fact that you would hurt me if you could.”
His gaze was nonchalant. “Some women like that sort of thing. The danger.”
“Well, I don’t.”
“Are you certain?” he asked again. “Last I recall, General Astger was not the sort of gentleman one could call soft.”
Her cheeks heated.
“Admit it,” he pressed, his eyes dark. “You like the danger. You like the fact that he’s not like other men.”
She did, but he was a liar. It was what she got for messing with such a man. He’d looked foreboding from the beginning.
Yet he’d laughed at her stories and enjoyed her company. He’d guided her into dances and risked his life to protect her… even when she was the one who’d created her own mess.
That had never seemed to bother her. She thought he’d jump into any fire to rescue her, even if she were the one who started it.
And he looked at her as thoug
h she were the only woman in the world.
She more than liked Remy Astger’s aura of danger. She loved it and his bravery.
Perhaps, she’d run too quickly.
“No,” she whispered. He’d lied. He’d looked her in the eye and lied. She would not allow her heart to lead her over her head.
He shrugged. “Very well.” He seemed to think her ‘no’ had been addressed to him when in fact she’d been speaking to herself.
Either way, her answer would have always been no.
“Here’s my price.” He quoted a figure that was outrageous.
It would require far more than she’d thought he’d ask for.
“And that’s the fee whether I find her or not,” he added.
“You don’t even guarantee your work?” she asked. “Well, some great assassin you are. A watchman would cost me less than a tenth of what you’re requiring, and I’ve given you a clue where to start. I’m not even requiring you to do much. Just leave me somewhere safe and look for her. Tell me. Is this the price you quote all your clients or is it because I’m a woman?” Then her mouth fell open. “Is this because I won’t share my bed with you?”
They reached the town and he took an alley. “No, that’s my standard price.”
“I think you’re lying. I think all men are liars. You can’t seem to help it, can you?”
“I take it Remy lied to you?” There was a flicker of surprise. “Was it a personal matter? Was it about work?”
She turned away. “That doesn’t matter.” It couldn’t matter. “He should have told me the truth.”
“Is it about Van Dero?” Husher pressed.
“You seem to have many questions,” she said, giving him back his own words from earlier.
“I’ve just never known the general to lie.” Husher even sounded surprised. “I told you, I knew him well.”
“Let’s return the conversation to my mother.”
“Very well.” He stopped at the inn she recognized from her last visit.
“Could you not lower your price?”
“No.” He got down and then looked up at her.
“Surely, there is something you want. More than money. More than… that other thing.”
“Money and women are all I need in life,” he said.
“And friendship?” She couldn’t see a friendship with such a man lasting long, but she also didn’t want to give him all her money.
He lifted a brow. “You don’t want to be friends with me. I’ll betray you.”
She frowned and was slightly hurt by the comment, which surprised her. She was also saddened. “Are you loyal to no one?”
“My money,” he said with a stony expression.
She groaned. “You know, I once went to a lady’s home to do needlework. Her carpet was gray. Gray, I tell you. Who does that? Who buys gray carpet? Who sews in a room with gray carpet? I did, and I tell you it was the worst idea. And you can probably guess what happens next.”
He crossed his arms. “You lost something.”
“Oh, yes, I did. Can you guess what?”
“An earring. A ring.”
“Jewelry can be silver, but no. Think of the activity I was engaged in.”
“Your thimble.” He grinned.
“Do you see what I mean? Gray carpets are a terrible idea. No. Keep guessing.”
“Your needle.” He grabbed her hips and brought her down from the horse.
He let her go immediately.
“My needle,” she confirmed. The incident still upset her. “And everyone was mad at me, as though I was completely at fault. By the by, I sent my maid over to that house every day for a week and my father still forced her to do all her normal duties at our house, poor girl. A whole week of extra work. I paid her handsomely, of course.”
“How kind of you.” His voice mocked her.
“I’m no tyrant.”
“Never thought you were.”
“But do you know what? Her salary for the entire year was still far lower than the figure you quoted.”
He chuckled. “All right. New deal. You shut up until we get to London and I’ll look for your mother at half the price. Have we an arrangement?”
She didn’t say another word.
Not another word.
∫ ∫ ∫
4 1
* * *
Vita looked under the bed and then stood to check behind the screen in her room once more. “Where are my slippers?”
“Right here.”
She screamed and then peeked beyond the screen.
Remy stood by the door. He had her slippers in her hand.
She gripped the screen though she knew it would be little protection against the anger she saw in his eyes. “How did you find me?” She’d left Oliver’s home two days ago. Husher had told her Remy had left with Leo, Oliver, and Noel for London.
Apparently, that was not correct.
“Did you truly think I wouldn’t find you?” His dark eyes turned to menacing slits. Dressed in complete black and with his scowl, he was an ominous figure in the beauty of the pale yellow room Lady Douglas had offered her.
Ominous and strangely arousing.
Husher had been right. The danger did appeal to her but only because she knew this man wouldn’t hurt her.
She swallowed and looked toward her private balcony. She didn’t remember opening the doors. The cool air of the morning flowed through the room and she shivered. She returned her gaze to the man who looked ready to break everything in sight. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
No one knew she was there except for Lady Douglas and Husher. One servant had been assigned to her room, and Husher had vowed to break the poor woman if she spoke a word about it.
Remy’s mouth pinched. “Come here.”
She knew better than to do that… even as her body heated inappropriately. “I need my shoes. Toss them to me.”
“Vita—”
“I’m not properly dressed. It would be rude to appear before you without my shoes. My governess always said—”
“I’ll not say it again.”
He didn’t even give her time to come up with another excuse. He began to cross the room, and she gasped and hid behind the screen.
When he appeared, she had to suppress the urge to scream. She was frightened.
She pressed her back to the wall and jumped as he moved in.
Then he knelt and grabbed her ankle firmly in his wide hands.
“What are you doing?” she whispered around her anxiety.
He lifted a brow. “You need your shoes, don’t you?”
He put her foot into the slipper and then did the same to the other. His movements were surprisingly gentle. Then he stood and began to loom over her. “What were you thinking?”
What had she been thinking? It took her a moment to remember she was angry with him. Her fear vanished. “You lied to me.”
“You lied to me,” he told her. “You were more desperate to find your mother than you first let on. You chose Venmont Hill for no other reason than to find her. She’s why you’re still here.”
She frowned. “That’s not a lie. I simply decided you didn’t deserve to know my reasons for coming here. Besides, I eventually told you the truth.”
“And I did the same.” He kept a steady distance from her. He hadn’t touched her since he’d grabbed her ankle. “Have you any idea how worried I was? How worried Noel was?”
She lowered her gaze at the mention of Noel. “How is he?”
“You’ll learn soon enough. We’re leaving today.”
She looked up again. “No, I must find my mother. Husher—”
“Has already found her,” Remy said. “They are on their way here.”
She stopped breathing and studied Remy’s features. “Are you lying again?”
“I’m not.”
She wasn’t sure if he were telling the truth but couldn’t think of a reason he’d lie. She tried to read his expression, but he gave her
nothing to work with.
Husher had found her mother and was bringing Holly to her.
“How do you know this?” she asked.
“I followed Husher. It’s how I found you.”
“And you saw Holly?” she asked.
“The moment I saw her, I knew she was your mother.”
Vita had more questions, but there came a knock on the door.
Remy stepped so she could move from behind the screen.
A maid came into the room. “You’ve a visitor, miss. Shall I allow her in?”
No one was aware of Remy’s presence. She was supposed to still be in hiding. Therefore, she couldn’t go down to the common rooms. Her mother would have to come up to her.
Her belly fluttered with nervousness. She was glad Remy had told her that her mother had been found. It gave her a moment to prepare. “Please, send her in.”
The maid left and she looked at the screen.
“I would appreciate it if you’d leave,” she said to Remy.
“No time.”
And he was right.
Husher escorted a woman into the room. Vita took one look at her and knew it was her mother.
Holly.
She was astounded by how much they looked alike, though the signs of aging could be seen around Holly’s eyes and mouth. She looked a little tired but still pretty.
Her mother was just as Vita remembered. She hadn’t been allowed to keep any of her mother’s portraits. Her father had burned them all, but Vita’s memory was very good.
Husher had kept his promise and found her.
Vita’s heart raced.
Holly’s eyes widened, and she looked Vita over. “You’ve grown.”
“I had no choice. Forgive me.”
Holly smiled, but then seemed to fight to lower it. “You’ve been looking for me?”
Those were not the words Vita had expected to hear.
Vita looked down at herself and then looked at her mother again. It was only then she noticed the clothes her mother wore were of a common fashion, as though Holly labored for a living.
A glance at Husher showed his expression to be far darker than she’d ever seen. “Can I speak with her alone?” They’d not be alone, of course. Remy was behind the screen.
“I’ll stay,” Husher said.
Vita frowned. “But it’s been years since I’ve seen my mother. I would like some time—”
A Knight to Dare: (The Valiant Love Regency Romance) (A Historical Romance Book) Page 20
