by Tamara Gill
Chapter Three
Devil take him, but Alex did not like being hastily dismissed. Especially when said dismissal came from his lovely Catherine.
What the hell was the woman up to?
And more importantly, what was she doing carousing with an Italian princess? Everyone worth their salt knew Italians were rarely considered respectable in the eyes of Countavians. Parliament loved to toss around the fact that the Baine bloodline had a small degree of Italian blood running through their veins. In fact, his great-great-great grandfather’s wandering ways were blamed on the family’s Florentine heritage. Though he himself had nothing against the lineage. It was thanks to that Italian heritage that he had learned a true appreciation for Renaissance gardens. If only Countavians weren’t so closed-minded.
Blasted fools.
And now he had the addition of Kitty’s reputation to add to his long list of worries.
With his back to the townhouse door, he thought about turning around and demanding to know what the deuces was going on.
Demand…. As if Kitty would ever allow him to get away with that.
He laughed to himself.
The adventurous side of his demure Catherine would have no use for a pitiful man lacking self-respect. Better to give Kitty the space she wanted and keep his whining about being thrown out of the house to himself.
After all, how much trouble could two women really get into during the span of one night? He had more to lose considering he was about to assemble a team of assassins that were to operate outside the law, to hunt down a killer. Now that was a real problem to worry about.
A familiar whistle reached his ears.
Edward.
He glanced at the wrought iron fencing separating Culpepper house from the sidewalk, only to set eyes on his brother’s coat-covered back. “Aren’t you supposed to be keeping Kit company at cards tonight?”
“I was,” Edward said, pushing off the fence and turning around. “But he threw me out of Montgrieve House.”
Alex scurried down the steps. “For the love of God, Eddie. What did you do this time?”
Edward’s eyes grew wide. “I swear, it was nothing on my part.”
He adjusted his gloves. “And still, Kit tossed you out on your arse?”
“He received some secret note concerning Arianna’s true heritage and the second he read it, he dismissed us all.”
“Did he tell you what was in the note?”
“No, but based on the look in Kit’s eyes, I can guarantee it proved Ari isn’t our sister.”
“I pity him if he thinks being alone with Arianna is going to get him anywhere. She’s too prim and proper, despite having been raised alongside us seven.”
Edward nodded. “I couldn’t agree more. Though I doubt Kit saw it that way. He definitely wanted to be alone with Ari tonight.”
If only he knew what was in that letter. It had long been suspected among him and his brothers, that if Ari was not an illegitimate Baine, then her having been raised by his parents, with her true lineage hidden, was strictly to keep her safe from some unknown threat. A threat so dangerous, it stood to destroy them all, including his father’s monarchy.
He tapped his walking stick on the ground, then headed down the street to where his carriage awaited.
Edward followed.
“Care for a ride back to the palace?” he asked his brother. “I can drop you off before going to the club.”
“I’d rather go with you.”
Alex froze mid-stride. “Why?”
“I need a purpose in life.”
He cocked his head to one side and studied Edward’s face. “You’re only realizing this now, at the old age of thirty?”
“Old? You’re only one year younger than me.”
“Yes. But I have a purpose in life. I run Countavia’s greatest spy and assassin ring.”
Edward leaned on his walking stick, his glove-covered hand covering all but a small slice of the cane’s lapis-headed topper. A beam of moonlight bounced off the ornate design. “Precisely my point. Freddie and Harry work diligently at cleaning up The Wharf, Leo has the responsibility of caring for those poor sots living in Countavia’s frozen tundra, Vic keeps parliament in line, and Kit is in charge of cleaning up the anti-monarchist movement. I have nothing.”
“So goes the life of ‘The spare’.”
“That may be. But I am not going to live the rest of my life waiting for my brother to die or for him to become incapacitated in some way. Besides, now that it appears Ari may not be our illegitimate sister, the chance she will end up our sister-in-law is looking very real. Which means there will be heirs. I’ll get pushed down the royal pecking order, as will my importance in the whole scheme of things.” Eddie paused and drew in a deep breath. He lowered his head and poked the bottom of his walking stick against a pebble. “I don’t want to end up on my deathbed having never accomplished anything.”
Alex did not need Edward joining his team. “My job is dangerous. I refuse to put you in harm’s way.”
Eddie reached for his shoulder. “All I ask is if you don’t find a new member to join your team, you consider me.”
Alex rubbed his chin. If it weren’t for the danger aspect of the mission, he’d like nothing more than to have his brother join him. Edward was loyal, intelligent, and quick. But he was also his father’s son. Which meant the responsibility of keeping him alive, on a personal level, was at least ten times higher than the responsibility he carried for any other team member. “Fine. But only if I don’t find the right man for the job tonight. And I should warn you, despite having been careful in putting the word out there, I was thorough. I suspect a good number of men will show up at the gaming hell.”
“Understood.” A pleased look crossed Edward’s face.
Alex resumed walking.
“Why did you have your carriage park at the end of the street?”
“A wheel needed changing on the unmarked one, leaving me no option but to use a carriage from the palace’s lot. And we all know whenever a coach emblazoned with the Baine family crest draws up to a house, so too does the neighbors’ attention. I don’t want Kitty to have to deal with that nonsense.”
“She should get used it, though,” Edward said. “Once she’s your wife, she’ll have no privacy whatsoever.”
The horrendous thought never left Alex’s mind. He hated that by one day marrying Catherine, he’d be stealing away a part of her world forever. And not just in terms of her losing her privacy, but that adventurous streak of hers would have to go as well.
Arriving at the street corner, Alex climbed into the open carriage. He removed his top hat before sitting down. “I’d like your opinion on something, Eddie.”
Edward settled across from him, the seat’s red leather upholstery clashing with his gray great coat and trousers. “Of course. What?”
Alex waited for the footman to close the carriage door. Once the latch’s soft click echoed, he knew he was clear to speak freely.
“I believe Kitty is up to no good.”
“No surprise there. All women are always up to something. But in Catherine’s case, I doubt it is anything devious. She’s not like you.”
“Very funny. But I’m serious. She was quite eager to see me out of the house tonight and she’s never done that before.”
Edward drew the shade up on the carriage window. “Maybe she just desired a bit of time to herself?”
“Not likely. She’s entertaining a friend. A Countavian-born Italian aristocrat, named Princess Amelia.”
“The Princess Amelia?” Edward asked.
“I suppose. You know her?”
“Not directly, no. But she’s made the scandal sheets enough times I feel as if I do.”
His brother paid too much attention to those damn gossip rags. “Really, Eddie, you act more like a woman than a man most days.”
“Believe me, men gossip more than do women. Plus, don’t play the saint on the matter. I know for fact The
Landon Scandal Sheet arrives daily with your pile of post.”
So it did. But only because he was tracking the realm’s most notorious anti-monarchists, as well as Thomas Culpepper’s killer. Gossip rags bore a wealth of information he couldn’t glean anywhere else. “I only read that nonsense for the sake of keeping this realm safe.”
“Keep telling yourself that.” Edward backed away from the window and reclined against the red leather carriage seat. “I’m sure you have nothing to worry about where Catherine is concerned.”
“I hope I don’t. She’s everything to me.” He toyed with the brim of his hat, turning the black edge between his fingers, rubbing the wool in rhythm to the creak of the carriage’s wheels. “Catherine is home to me. I know most people can’t relate to that statement, but I’m sure you can. Growing up we rarely had precious moments with Mother and Father. Our lives have always been about the realm. I can count on one hand the times I’ve spent with Father where it wasn’t about him being my king. With Catherine, I’m just Alex.”
A soft smile coveted Edward’s mouth. “It must be nice having someone in your life.”
“It is and I don’t care to lose her.”
“I’m sure Catherine is not about to leave you. But I advise you get on with this business of Thomas’s killer and get the man’s murder solved. Once you’re done with that, you can marry Catherine and live your lives in peace at Kisswyck Abbey.”
Edward was more than likely right, thought Alex. Kitty was probably just excited about having Amelia’s company tonight and wanted to spend time catching up with her. If nothing else, at least he knew she was safe at the townhouse.
And at the moment, that was what mattered most to him.
***
“I thought Alex would never leave,” Kitty said, staring at her flat chest in the bedroom’s mirror. Thomas’s clothes did a damn good job at concealing her identity.
Mel, sitting on the bed behind her, looked equally unrecognizable donning Flavio’s never-before-worn suit.
“You mustn’t be harsh about it.” Mel tugged on a pair of highly polished Hessians. “The man is in love with you.”
“I know, but I just want to get tonight over with.”
Placing her hand on Kitty’s shoulder, Mel gently nudged her to turn around. “If you’re nervous about joining an assassin’s group, how are you going to manage the actual hunt?”
She wasn’t really sure about that, but nothing was going to stop her from getting justice for Thomas. “I’ll deal with it as it comes along.”
“Are you certain that’s a good idea?”
“I don’t have a choice.”
“But once you’re out there, searching for a vile and dangerous murderer, you had better be able to think with a clear head or you could meet with disaster.”
Maybe she wasn’t born to be a cold-blooded killer, but Thomas hadn’t been born to be slaughtered on his own doorstep, either. “I’m doing this.”
“You should leave it to the constable.”
“I’ve already tried leaving it to the authorities. For more than a year.” She shook her head. “No. It’s time I do something about my brother’s case, myself.”
“Very well, then,” Mel said, handing Kitty a black top hat. “I think you’re all set.” She stepped back and gave Kitty the once over. “You definitely look like a man now.”
“Bloody hell I better. The fabric binding my bosom is killing me. You shouldn’t have tied it so tight.”
Mel let out a deep laugh. “I’m afraid tight was the only option.”
Kitty turned to the side and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. “I’m flat as a stick.”
“As a man should be.”
“At least I won’t have to worry if they ask me to prove myself when it comes to pistols or swords. Thomas trained me well. As did Father.”
Having lived her entire life in the shadow of danger had afforded her a few extraordinary benefits not entitled to the average woman. And for the first time in her life, she was glad of it. “Well, best we leave now as I have no desire to arrive late. The earlier we get there, the better chance we’ll have of them picking me over someone else.”
Mel grabbed a blue greatcoat from the bed. “When I left Florence to come back to Countavia, never had I imagined I’d be dressing and acting like a man.”
“I don’t know why this is such a surprise to you, Mel. I’ve often entangled you in odd escapades over the years.”
“That’s true but building a tree house and skating in breeches is not the same as invading a gaming hell and placing a wager where the winner is taken on as an assassin.”
Her friend had a point. “Well, maybe this is the oddest of my odd moments, but Thomas deserves justice. And I’ll do anything to get it for him.”
Even if that meant dying in the process.
She snatched a walking stick Mel had earlier leaned against the armoire and took one last glance at herself in the mirror. “Alex would lock me in a tower if he knew what I was up to.”
“Have no fear, Kitty. Your secret is safe with me.”
On Mel’s words, Kitty was out the bedroom door and, on her way to entering a world she knew she’d never be able to escape from.
Chapter Four
Kitty peeked into the private room at Vulcan’s Forge and gasped. “I can’t go in there.” She backed up an inch, her spine colliding with the hard buttons of Mel’s coat.
Fear fluttered through her nerves.
“Why not?” Mel whispered. “I thought this is what you wanted.”
“It is. But from the looks of it, the advertisement was all Alex’s doing.”
“Are you certain?”
She nodded. “I know my prince.”
Mel brushed by her and shoved her hat-cover head into the small slat left open by the room’s door. She dashed back on the instant. “Fiddles. That is indeed Prince Alexander sitting at the table. I do say you are in the suds, Kitty.”
She was not going down alone. “What do you mean I’m in the suds? You’re my partner in this.”
Mel squinted, a hint of anger veiling her face. “I was willing to risk all to help you avenge Thomas’s murder. But I will not risk all to end up on the wrong side of a prince with no killer in hand. I’ve done that already. Your besotted Alexander will spot you on the instant and give us both hell.”
Mel was right. Alex would notice them the second they walked into the private room. And once that happened, she knew for fact her prince would start watching her like a hawk. Thomas’s death would never be avenged. “Alex is going to have my head if he discovers I’ve come down here. Never mind what he’ll do when he realizes the ruse I’ve chosen. I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Then we had better leave before we’re discovered.” Sliding out of the line, Mel pulled Kitty to the back of the hall. “I promise we’ll figure another way for you to gain justice for Thomas. I’ll support you in whatever you need—be it finances or men. We can assemble our own team of investigators.”
She couldn’t agree more with Mel’s suggestion. But before she had the chance to escape, heavy footsteps stomped up behind her.
She gulped.
“Get to it, gentlemen.”
Edward.
A firm shove pushed her back in line, forced her to poke Mel in the arse with her walking stick.
“Ouch!” Mel glanced over her shoulder and glowered.
Kitty lowered her voice. “Sorry. It wasn’t my fault.”
“Name?” Edward asked.
Kitty couldn’t find her tongue.
“Are you deaf?”
She lowered her top hat and shook her head. “No sir. Name’s Master…Master Cat.”
“Well, Master Cat, I hope you have the guts to step up and be a real man once you get inside.”
Heaven help her, but she was going to need a heck of a lot more than mere guts to achieve that feat.
Edward eyed her with a cautious stare. “Have we met before?”
&
nbsp; “No sir.”
The prince took a moment to think. “Are you certain?”
“Yes, sir. I would remember meetin’ a gentleman like yourself.”
“I suppose you would.” Edward’s ego at least shifted his conversation. “Now ante up one Countavian dollar for your wager. And note, it is not refundable. All proceeds from tonight will go to funding The Wharf’s School for Girls.”
She reached inside her glove and withdrew a single dollar.
Edward snatched it in a heartbeat and moved on.
“And you?” Edward continued as he apprached Mel.
“Mr. Wits.”
The prince raised his gaze. “Are you sure about the name, sir?”
Mel met the prince head on, her blue-eyed stare bearing into the man. “I’m quick with a blade, sir. That is all you need to be sure about.” She handed over her fee for the wager.
Edward smirked. “You might just make the team, Mr. Wits.” He slapped Mel on the arse as only a man could do, before he proceeded down the short line of would-be-assassins now standing ahead of her and Mel.
Kitty frowned as she leaned forward. “I swear, the man is an insulant beast.”
“You swear?” Mel glanced back at Kitty. “I’m the one whose bum is stinging.”
“I would never have pegged Edward as a man who fancies that.” She paused. “I wonder if Alex does as well. I for one, certainly wouldn’t mind it if he did. I think it would be quite exciting getting a slap or two from my prince.”
Mel leered at her. “You are going to pay for this, Catherine.”
“A second ago you were my dear friend willing to do anything.”
“A second ago my arse hadn’t been hit by a prince who thinks he can take such liberties.”
Kitty huffed. “You’ve got him all wrong. Edward is not that sort of man, despite being insulant. He doesn’t know we’re women.”
Mel pursed her lips as if she were contemplating the thought. “Still, you’re going to pay for this. And God help me if we don’t make it out of this darn scheme alive. I will haunt you for all eternity, Catherine Culpepper. On my soul.”
She hadn’t ever remembered Mel getting so riled up about anything or anyone. Not even that vile Flavio the woman once proclaimed to have loved. “So much for being content with your idle life. I do believe His Royal Highness and his high-handed slap on the arse, has stirred Amelia the Sloth, to life.”
