by Vella, Wendy
“Where is the book?” He ripped the bonnet from her head and grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked it hard. “Tell me!”
“I will tell you, but p-please, untie me. My arms are aching.”
“I’ll untie you, but only long enough to strip you.”
The binds at her wrists and feet were released. He blocked her exit into the sewer with his large frame, and she had no hope of making it upward without him stopping her.
“Now take off your clothes.”
Beth looked at the gun he pointed at her. She’d never be able to wrestle him; he was too big. But if she could run, then maybe she could escape, as it was dark down here.
Letting her shoulders sag in defeat, she choked back a sob. From behind them came a loud clang that had them both jumping. He turned to look, and Beth ran into him with everything she had, knocking him backward. He stumbled and fell. The gun fired, the noise deafening in the small area. Leaping over his body, she ran down the sewer away from him.
“Stop!” he roared, but she was nobody’s fool and kept moving. Picking up her skirts, she sprinted away from her captor and prayed there was another exit somewhere up ahead.
She ran until her lungs burned and the pain in her abused throat tightened. Ran, stumbled over debris, then ran some more. Finally, out of breath, she stopped and listened, but could hear no footsteps behind her. But that did not mean she was free.
There was no light, no sign of life down here. The squeak of rodents told her that was not quite true, and she vowed to keep moving so she didn’t get too close to them. She walked touching the walls, hoping to find another ladder, anything to alert her to a way out.
She had to get to Nathan. He would help keep her and her family safe. And Mary, Beth thought desperately. Mary too was in danger.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The knocking on his door roused him from sleep and dreams of the woman he loved. Opening his eyes, Nathan struggled onto his elbows.
“What?” he bellowed. If it was Zach coming home from a night of revelry, he’d make him pay.
“Mr. Deville, Lady Carlow and her footman are asking to see you. She says it’s most urgent and concerning Miss Carlow,” Fairfax said through the wood paneling of his door.
“I’m coming!” Nathan threw back the curtains and saw the gray fingers of dawn were beginning to creep over London. He dressed quickly, then stomped his feet into boots.
Is Beth in danger? What other reason could there be for her mother and footman calling here?
Wrenching open the door he found Fairfax stood outside.
“They are in the front parlor, Mr. Deville. I will have tea brought.”
“Thank you.” He ran down the hall, then took the stairs down two at a time. His heart was thudding hard by the time he reached the parlor. Beth was in danger; he felt it.
Entering the room, he found Lady Carlow seated, pale and red-eyed, and a tall, broad-shouldered man standing behind her. Something about him was familiar, but as yet he could not place him.
“Oh, Mr. Deville, you must find my daughter!” Lady Carlow cried, getting to her feet. She hurried to where he stood. Nathan took her hands and squeezed them gently.
“Where is she?”
Tears began to fall, and the man who had stood silently watching came forward.
“If you’ll allow me to tell him, my lady.”
“Y-yes.” She wept, as he led her back to the seat she’d just left, then lowered her gently into it.
“Who are you?”
“I am a footman to the Carlow family,” the man said, facing Nathan.
He recognized the accent, and something clicked into place. “That night at Spitalfields, you were there with that woman.”
The man nodded.
“Was Miss Carlow that woman?”
He nodded again.
No wonder he’d felt unsettled after their kiss. Something she’d said slipped into his head. “Using your feet that way, I’ve never seen that before.” So that’s when she’d seen him fight.
“Where is Miss Carlow?”
“What is going on?”
Nathan looked over his shoulder and saw Gabe had entered the room. He wore a shirt and breeches, and his feet were bare.
“I’m just about to ascertain that, brother.”
“Excellent.” He waved a hand at Nathan, yawning.
“I want the truth,” Nathan said softly. “All of it.”
The man nodded. “I have only now been apprised of all the facts.”
Lady Carlow sniffed.
“Miss Carlow left for the evening stating she was going to visit with Miss Blake and her family. She did not return. This I know, as after a conversation with Leonard, the Carlow butler, I grew concerned over Miss Carlow’s actions. I sent a maid into her room. Her bed was empty and had not been slept in.”
Nathan kept his expression calm, when inside he was anything but.
“I had someone go to the Blake residence. Miss Carlow is not there, and she did not spend time with Miss Blake last night.”
“Where is she?” Nathan’s voice rose.
“Justin Logan has her, I’m sure of it,” Lady Blake said. “The man who has controlled my family’s every move for too long.”
“Leonard told me that Miss Carlow gave him this to hand-deliver to you early this morning.”
Nathan took the roll of papers the man handed him and untied the ribbon. He read the first page of what he’d just unrolled. It was written in Beth’s handwriting.
Nathan, these papers are for you to do with as you must. Forgive me for leaving you three years ago, but I had no option but to do so. I had to keep you and my family safe.
His fingers clenched briefly around the paper at the thought of her in danger. He then continued to read about what had occurred and why she’d done as she had.
My father was a spy for Russia.
Christ! He hadn’t expected that.
Tonight I am to deliver Mr. Valentine’s book to Justin Logan. It’s my hope I can convince him to release us from his clutches. If you are reading this, it is likely I have not succeeded or returned home and am in danger or worse.
“Worse? What does she mean by that!” he roared.
“Shouting does nothing to help this situation,” Gabe, who had been reading over his shoulder, said.
I need you to know I do love you, and always have, Nathan. I’m so sorry for the pain I have caused you. Yours always, Beth.
“Where is she?” he roared at Lady Carlow.
“Don’t speak to her like that,” the footman said, standing at Lady Carlow’s back once more.
“No, Lucas, it is all right. He has a right to his anger. He more than most. Beth loved him, as he did her, and because of her father’s actions she had to walk away from him, thus both their hearts were broken.” She looked up at Nathan, eyes red, face tight with fear. “I hope you can one day forgive us.”
He said nothing. Behind him he heard Gabe telling Fairfax to wake his brothers.
“Where is Logan?”
“Staying at Grillon Hotel.”
“Is your husband safe until we can get to him, my lady?” Gabe asked.
“He is unwell, having suffered a seizure. We have household staff watching over him, but I have been so worried, as I am not there to care for him,” she whispered.
“Devilles.” Everyone turned to watch Daniel and Ace walking through the door. “Lady Carlow.” Both men bowed to the woman, surprise clear on their faces at the sight of her.
“What are you doing here at this hour?” Nathan demanded.
“Returning home from a night of revelry; what possible other reason could there be? And it is not that late,” Daniel said, looking alert. “Clearly age is catching up with you.”
“This house is not on the way to yours, and the sun is rising,” Gabe said.
“Is it not?” Daniel looked at his brother, who shrugged.
“Is there a problem?” Ace asked politely, his eyes going fr
om Nathan to Lady Carlow. “I can feel tension.”
“What were you really doing?” Gabe asked.
“Ace and I went to a boxing match, and then for a pie. For some reason we passed here on the way home. Hello, Walter,” Daniel said, bending to scratch behind a large ear as the dog wandered in. “You seem remarkably chipper considering you were limping yesterday.”
“We need your help,” Nathan said, making a decision.
“Anything,” Daniel replied, suddenly serious.
“Lord Carlow is unwell at his residence in Reading. We need someone to check on him,” Nathan said.
“Of course, we will see it done,” Daniel said. “And when we return, you will explain everything,” he added, throwing Nathan a steady look.
He nodded.
“You will stay here now, Lady Carlow,” he added. “Fairfax, make Lady Carlow comfortable.”
“Bring my daughter home safe, Nathan.”
He nodded, then ran to his rooms and pulled on his black cloak. He pushed a pistol into the back of his waistband and a knife into his boot. He then filled a pouch with money.
“I have called for the carriage,” Gabe said, entering. “Zach and Michael will be ready.”
“There is no time; I must go now.”
“Not without us, you won’t, and on foot you’ll be slower. We will leave in a matter of minutes.” He wore his cloak also and a determined look on his face. “We must notify Geraint. The king, too, must be made aware that Mr. Valentine’s diary has got into the wrong hands.”
“I know. But first we find Beth.”
“For future reference, if all emergencies could be in daylight hours, I would be grateful.” Zach entered looking disheveled. “I found my bed a mere two hours ago.”
“Shut up and listen,” Gabe snapped as Michael walked in, looking alert.
They headed down the stairs running seconds later, with Gabe still explaining things to Michael and Zach. Walter followed them out the door, nary a limp in sight.
“Toddy, I need you to get us to the Grillion Hotel as fast as you can,” Nathan said to their driver.
“Aye, Mr. Deville.”
“What’s he about?” Michael asked as Walter sprang into the carriage.
“I thought he was still injured.” Zach frowned.
“He’s been playing all of you for days,” Gabe said. “His limp is more pronounced when in company. None of you besides Nathan realized that fact.”
“What a smart fellow you are.” Zach scratched behind a large ear.
“And now he’s decided, for whatever reason, to accompany us,” Nathan said. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that dog is human.”
They were soon rolling along the streets at speed.
She didn’t leave me because she doesn’t love me.
“I cannot believe Lord Carlow sold English secrets to the Russians,” Michael said. “If that gets out he’ll be in a lot of trouble.”
“Then let’s make sure it doesn’t get out,” Nathan said.
“But if that book gets in the wrong hands, Nathan, and lives are lost because of it, I doubt we can stop either of the Carlows being tried for treason.”
He knew Gabe’s words were right, but he could not think of that now. Now they had to find Beth.
“If this Logan is as ruthless as he sounds, then she could—”
“She is not dead.” Nathan cut Zach off.
“You still love her?” Michael asked gently.
His nod was curt. It was more than that now. More than the sweet, gentle love they’d once shared. His love for her was deep and filled every corner of his heart. It was something savage inside him. He wasn’t sure he’d survive losing her a second time; therefore, that was not an option.
They were dropped some distance from the hotel, and Gabe dismissed the carriage. They then walked the rest of the way in silence, with the clip of Walter’s nails on the streets accompanying them.
“What’s the plan when we arrive?” Michael asked.
“I’ll go in and see if I can get Logan’s room number.”
“No,” Zach said. “You are not going anywhere alone.”
“I can control myself,” Nathan protested. “This is no different from any other mission we’ve undertaken.”
“It is in every way different,” Gabe said. “We’ll circle the hotel first, find out what is at the rear and if that will be a way in should we not get what we want through the front.”
Nathan chafed at the delay. He wanted to get inside that hotel and, if need be, pound on every door until he found Beth.
Was she hurting? Closing his eyes, he pushed the visions that filled his head aside and found the calm and control he could usually summon in his role with Alexius.
Following Gabe, he walked to the rear of the hotel with Walter on his heels.
“Psst!”
“Did someone just psst us?” Zach turned a full circle, looking for the maker of that noise. There were not many about, as the hour was still early.
“Psst!”
“Definitely sounds like someone is,” Michael said, moving into the shadows between the hotel and another building. The brothers followed.
“Is that you, Nix?” Nathan watched a man emerge. “What the hell are you doing here and not home with your six children?”
The man looked left and right before speaking.
“There’s trouble afoot, Mr. Deville.”
“The very reason we are here, Nix. A friend of mine, Miss Carlow, has gone missing, and she was last seen here,” Nathan said.
“Below average height? Shapley lass?” Nix asked.
“Yes.” Nathan tamped down the anger that anyone but he thought Beth shapely.
His brothers stood silently watching, listening at his back.
“A woman arrived in a hackney alone, around ten o’clock, Mr. Deville. She walked into the hotel and up the stairs, not stopping at reception,” Nix said.
“You were inside?”
“Badger was inside. He told me.”
“Right, please continue.” He’d learned early in his relationship with this man that it paid to let him finish whatever it was he needed to say before questioning him.
“We’ve been watching him, that Mr. Logan. He’s a nasty piece of work and has been turning men on each other. Trying to winkle out the informants among us.”
“But not succeeded?” Nathan pressed.
“Not as yet, but they are throwing money about the place, so someone will give in soon. He’s the one behind the unrest too. Sending men out to fill ears with lies and incite trouble.”
“Riots, Nix?”
“Planned for tomorrow, Mr. Deville. Gathering near Vauxhall.”
Nathan stored that piece of information away, as he knew his brothers would be.
“Now back to the lady, Nix.”
“The man, Logan, he’s here with two Russian men. One of them left not long after she went to his rooms.”
“You’re sure she went into his rooms?” Nathan’s fists clenched at the prospect of Beth anywhere near men like Logan and his cohorts.
“She did, and when the big one of the three left, he carried something over his shoulder. Squirrel couldn’t see what, as a blanket was covering it, but said it looked like a person.”
A body. Dear god, not Beth, please.
“Did Squirrel follow the man?” Michael asked, resting a hand on Nathan’s shoulder.
“He did. The big man stopped by a grate and stood his bundle upright.”
“So, it was alive then presumably?” Zach said, shooting Nathan a look.
“Badger said as much,” Nix agreed.
“I thought it was Squirrel who was following?” Gabe said.
“They were both there by then.”
“Goddamn it to hell, Nix. I don’t care what forest animal was there, tell me what happened next!” Nathan roared.
“Well now, no need to take that tone with me,” Nix said, affronted.
“He love
s the woman we believe the man was carrying,” Michael said.
Nix shuffled his feet a few steps, then gave Nathan a pitying look.
“Right sorry I am for your suffering, Mr. Deville.”
Nathan managed a nod instead of reaching for the man’s neck.
“She was lowered inside. The man followed, closing the grate behind him. We… ah, we heard a scream, as I’d arrived by then.”
Nathan closed his eyes briefly.
“We raised the grate, thinking we’d go in and help, but when we got down there no one was about.”
“So, you confirmed it was definitely a woman?” Gabe asked.
“That’s the conclusion the three of us came to. Badger stayed and watched the hole. The man returned, the woman didn’t.”
“Show us the grate,” Nathan said in a voice that sounded like his, but he couldn’t be sure because his head didn’t seem to be sitting on his shoulders right.
They followed Nix to the grate. Nathan bent and wrenched it open. Walter whined, so he lowered him through the hole, then followed, and before his brothers could stop him, he’d started running.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Her eyes watered from the stench, and she was cold, but she was also alive, and Beth was determined to stay that way. She had no idea how many hours she’d been down here but thought it was several. Would Nathan have those papers by now? Beth hoped so; then he’d come looking for her.
But how would he know where to look?
Her mother would tell him because surely he would call to speak with her after he’d read those papers.
She shut away all thoughts of what she stepped in and what crawled over her boots, and kept moving for fear that if she stopped, she’d fall asleep and die down here.
“I will not die.”
However, she would end up that way if she could not locate an exit. Not an easy thing to do with limited vision and no clue as to where she was.
Massaging her aching throat, Beth swallowed. It was tight and sore from Logan’s fingers. Her face ached, and her body hurt all over, but for all that she was alive.
A tapping sound made her slow her steps and press to the wall once more. Last time, a mischief of rats had run by squealing. Beth had swallowed down her scream and they’d run by her.
