by Platt, Meara
Joshua stared at one of the newly arrived ladies wearing an unflattering green bonnet. “So, what do you think? Holly or Hollyhocks?”
“What?”
Joshua slapped him on the shoulder. “I’m speaking of Belle’s cousin. But you have eyes only for Belle. You haven’t stopped gawking at her since we got here. You may not realize it, but other females do exist. I’m speaking of her cousin, Holly, the pretty one with sad eyes we were just introduced to. Do you think her name is simply Holly, or did her parent take the embarrassing step and name her Hollyhocks?”
Finn snorted. “I don’t know. Why don’t you find out?”
“I can’t ask her that. It would be rude.”
“Fine, so ask Belle or Honey.” Finn returned the slap on the shoulder with a light, playful punch. “Or ask Hortensia, why don’t you? She knows the entire Farthingale family history and will have a comment for all of it.”
“She already tosses me the stink eye, and I haven’t done anything to her precious nieces.”
“Ah, but she knows you will.” Finn arched an eyebrow and grinned wickedly. “We’re depraved barbarians who have only one thing on our mind.”
They strode inside and joined the ladies who had made it no farther than the entryway as they removed their bonnets, gloves, and travel capes. Joshua appeared to have stopped breathing, but Finn paid little attention to his brother. His gaze was now trained on Belle, his heart tugging at the smile on her face and the glow in her eyes. He wanted her to look at him the same way.
With love and happiness.
She was getting there but hadn’t allowed herself to trust her feelings yet.
While Conyers retreated to put away the bonnets and capes, Honey and his brother joined the new arrivals in the drawing room. To his surprise, Belle held him back. “You called me love earlier. Did you mean it, Finn?”
“Yes, Belle. I did.”
“Thank you.” She cast him a heart-melting smile before joining the others in the drawing room.
He followed, disappointed she hadn’t returned the sentiment, but he was here for the week. Hopefully, she would trust herself enough to admit what was in her heart by the end of his stay.
The ladies soon retired upstairs to freshen up before supper. Because the Yorkshire cousins were tired from their journey, supper was earlier than usual and kept to a simple affair. A soup course, fish course, and a hearty lamb stew. The dessert course was rustic fare, comprised of strawberry tarts and an apple pie crumble.
Belle’s parents were unusually quiet throughout the meal. Belle and Honey filled in as hostesses and did their best to keep the conversation light and constant. They specifically mentioned their tour of Magdalen College and the tea shop afterward. Finn could not tell whether Belle’s parents had learned of their encounter with Runyon. He did not think so, but expected they would soon hear of it from that odious cur.
Therefore, it was most important to go through her father’s papers tonight before he hid or destroyed documents of consequence.
He and Joshua made excuses about meeting old friends for a drink and departed for the heart of town immediately after supper. They were both eager to hear what the Bow Street runners had found out. These men had come highly recommended, and Finn expected they would be well worth their fee.
“I hope we did not keep you waiting too long, Mr. Barrow,” Finn said, taking a seat beside the portly, older man at the Crow and Raven, a popular tavern frequented mostly by merchants and laborers. One did not find students or gentry drinking here.
“Not at all, Mr. Brayden. I was enjoying a pint. Following brigands is a thirsty job.”
Joshua took the chair across from Homer Barrow. “What have you found out for us?”
Mr. Barrow took a hefty gulp of his ale and then set down his mug. “This Runyon fellow is a right cove, he is,” Homer muttered. “Nasty piece of work. My colleague, Mick, and I followed him to a gaming hell. It’s called the Pleasure Cave, but ye won’t see a sign for it anywhere on the street. Indeed, on the outside, it looks like a pleasant, Upper Crust residence. This particular establishment services men of the better classes. Activities other than gaming take place there as well, if ye get my drift.”
Finn nodded, for it was not uncommon for such a house to address all needs—drinking, gambling, whoring. Students were likely their best customers, young men with lustful desires and generous allowances with nowhere to slake their raging urges. This place was not so very old, for Finn had visited several such establishments when he was a student and would have heard of this one had it existed while he was at school. “Do you know who owns this gaming hell?”
“Not yet. But my friend Mick just got hired as a dealer. Apparently, there’s a high-stakes card game taking place tonight, and their best dealer showed up injured.”
Finn and Joshua exchanged glances. “You didn’t do anything to…”
“The man? No, we don’t operate that way…usually. Funny thing, though. The poor chap tripped on his way to work and broke his nose.” He tapped on his bulbous red nose for emphasis. “Mick and I just happened to be close by and offered to help him out. We walked him around the corner to the gaming house since he appeared unsteady on his feet. To make a long story short, Mick’s replacing him for the next two nights. Can’t have a dealer with the face of a gargoyle staring at them well-heeled players. Anyway, Mick’s very good with cards. They’ve hired me as a bartender for the night. Ye needn’t worry. We’ll have a name for ye by tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Mr. Barrow.” Finn was eager to get his hands on the brigand who was trying to ruin Belle’s family. “How are you set for funds?”
He cast Finn a jowly grin. “No complaints. We’re fine. Besides, pay’s good at the Pleasure Cave. We have all we need for now.”
After making arrangements to meet Mr. Barrow tomorrow morning by the chapel at Magdalen College, he and his brother returned to Belle’s house. The ladies were in the drawing room, Hortensia and Belle’s mother having a glass of sherry, while the younger ladies were drinking lemonade.
He glanced around. “Where’s Belle?”
“She just went upstairs to fetch a book she wanted to show us.”
Joshua groaned. “That damn love book again.”
Although he spoke in a whisper, Hortensia’s ears perked, and she frowned at Finn’s brother. “Drinking and cursing,” she muttered, scowling in disapproval. “Is this what they train you for in the army, Captain Brayden?”
Honey and her cousins were struggling to suppress their chortles. Joshua was right. Hortensia was giving him the stink eye. Finn wasn’t sure why. Joshua was a decent man, but you’d never guess it by the daggers the old harridan was tossing at him with her sour-prunes gaze.
Finn was just about to leave Joshua with the women—he was a trained soldier, battle-hardened—surely, he could deal with one old harpy and a bevy of beautiful young ladies while he went off in search of Belle.
He didn’t like that she was alone, even for a moment.
Danger could be lurking anywhere in this house. One had only to look at her mother’s ashen complexion and the defeated slump of her shoulders to know this family was in a bad way.
He’d just started up the steps when she appeared at the top of the landing, carrying the faded, red leather tome in her hands. She scurried downstairs toward him. “Finn, you’re back!” She kept her voice low, in an urgent whisper, and took his hand when she reached his side to hastily lead him into the music room. “I hope no one saw us. What did you find out?”
“Not much. Mr. Barrow followed Runyon to a gaming hell. He’s got a man placed on the inside now, dealing cards. He’s managed to get himself in as a bartender. We hope to learn more tomorrow.”
Belle regarded him curiously. “He’s very resourceful. How did he manage that?”
Finn shrugged. “It’s a long story, but this is his reputation. He gets things done. He finds a way into the enemy stronghold without arousing suspicion. Whoever is running the establishment is
probably the man we’re after. Likely, he’s well-bred. Perhaps the disgraced son of a nobleman. He caters to an elegant crowd, knows how to treat them in the manner to which they are accustomed. Meaning he indulges them, even as he steals from them. I hope to have a name for him before tomorrow’s garden party.”
“Have you considered the person Runyon answers to is a woman? After all, what would a man want with perfume shops? He might want to smuggle the merchandise, but to be involved in selling it? Producing it?”
“You have a point, but it is unlikely that the Pleasure Cave is run by a woman.”
“The Pleasure Cave?” Her eyes rounded in horror. “It sounds tawdry.”
“Because it is tawdry. More goes on than simply gambling. But that is neither here nor there. I won’t discount that it might be a woman behind this shady gaming hell or the scheme to steal the business from your family. But profit is profit. Anyone of low moral character could be in charge, be it man or woman. Mr. Barrow will tell us more tomorrow.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“Meanwhile…” He lifted the book out of her hands and set it on a side table, then took her in his arms. “Belle, my heart shot into my throat when Joshua and I walked in and noticed you were missing. Don’t underestimate these villains. They could be anywhere, even in your home.”
“Lurking and waiting for the chance to steal me away? Because of my discerning nose?”
He didn’t want her to make light of the matter. In truth, he wanted to take her away from Oxford and the danger ever-present here. “Don’t jest about it, Belle. You mean a lot to me. I’d lose a part of my soul if anything ever happened to you.”
She reached up on tiptoes and flung her arms around his neck. “I…I…oh, Finn. I’m hopeless. Thank you for believing in me the way you do.” She kissed him with sweet, inexperienced ardor, pressing her soft lips to his and sighing into his mouth when he took over the lead.
He gentled the kiss, stroked his tongue along the seam of her lips to tease them open. His tongue slid inside her mouth, joining with hers, tangling and dipping in a timeless dance that she had yet to master. What she lacked in experience, she more than made up for in her demurely unrestrained response.
When he drew his lips off hers to kiss his way down her slender neck, she tried to speak again. He knew what she wanted to tell him, but she was struggling with the words. “That’s delicious.”
He felt the pillow of her breasts against his chest as she molded her body to his, tipping her head to the side, so he had free access to her neck. She felt so good against his body. Her touch, the taste of her skin.
He should have drawn away, for others would come looking for them soon. But he needed another moment to breathe her in, to soak in each sensation she aroused in him. He cupped her breast, liking how the soft, plush mound filled his palm. This felt so right. Why couldn’t Belle understand it?
“Finn…”
He inhaled the heat of her skin and continued to trail kisses along her slender neck. “What is it you’re trying to tell me, love?”
She gasped as he ran his thumb along the taut bud of her breast, but instead of drawing away, she arched her back and leaned into him. “Finn!” She spoke his name again in a soft, ragged whisper, giving him access to her other breast. “I want to say it back to you.”
“You can, Belle. No one’s stopping you.” He understood what she was trying to tell him. He knew she loved him. It was never about her feelings for him. Her doubt sprang from distrust of her own worth.
Having seen the way her family treated her, he now knew why she had such a difficult time accepting romantic love. They loved her, of course. But they saw her as a wounded bird, too sickly and frail to be loved by anyone but themselves.
He wanted to carry her upstairs and make slow, endless love to her. He did not know what else to do to prove he’d always love her.
But that would be a discussion for another day. Tonight, he would be busy searching her father’s study. Something important had to be hidden within those locked drawers. “It doesn’t matter, Belle.” Her skin tasted so sweet. Her body felt so soft and perfect. “The words will come in time. I know how you feel about me. I know I have your heart as you have mine.”
She nodded. “You do have it, Finn. Every bit of it.”
“Then everything will work out.” But as he spoke, he felt a sudden sense of doom. He didn’t know why this foreboding had come over him, but his senses never lied.
He tucked a few loose curls behind Belle’s ears and forced a casual smile as he released her. “You’re too tempting by far. We’ll give your family quite a show if we stay here any longer.”
“I think they could catch you down on bended knee with a ring or other love token in hand, and they still would not believe you wanted to marry me.”
“I only care that you believe it.” He watched as she smoothed her gown, knowing if he placed his hands on her, that gown would be unlaced in a trice and slipping off her body rather than staying on.
She smiled at him. “I’m starting to. You can be very persuasive.”
He wanted to take her straight up to his bedchamber, damn the consequences. The worst that could happen is they’d be forced to marry.
He wanted nothing better than to marry Belle.
Of course, he wouldn’t force her. She would come around to it on her own soon enough.
His feeling of foreboding returned.
Something bad was going to happen tonight, but what?
Chapter Eleven
The clock at the top of the stairs chimed one o’clock in the morning as Finn and Joshua stealthily prowled downstairs to the study. Finn had made clear to Belle and her sister that he did not want them skulking around downstairs. Obviously, his wishes had fallen on deaf ears, for the study door was open, and two slender figures were outlined beside the large desk. He saw them in the slash of silver moonlight filtering in through the window.
“Damn it, Belle.” He quietly shut the door and lit the candle he’d brought down with him. “What are you thinking? I told you and Honey that I didn’t want you in here.”
She smiled back at him. “You need us to make sense of whatever you find.”
He wanted to be angry with her but simply couldn’t summon more than mild irritation. He supposed she was right, and he was behaving like an overly protective oaf. He couldn’t help it. She’d brought beauty into his life, and he wanted to hold on to the precious splendor of it forever.
“Not if it’s ledgers, you don’t.” But he was losing this battle. Not even he felt strongly about this anymore. He couldn’t send her away now that he’d seen her by candlelight. Hen’s teeth. Did a prettier girl ever exist? She wore a light robe over her nightrail, and her long hair was in a loose tumble down her back. She looked exquisite. Adorable. Too good to be true. “I can read those for myself,” he said, fighting to suppress the ache in his heart. Lord, he wanted to marry this girl.
Belle frowned. “There must be something other than ledgers hidden in here.”
Honey nodded. “I’m sure we’ll find something about Uncle Jacob’s gambling debt. It must be bad if he’s dragging our parents down along with him.”
Sighing in surrender, Finn came around the desk and placed his candlestick atop it. No one said a word while he knelt beside the locked drawers and worked the metallic pick in the keyhole until he heard its soft click. “Got one open.”
Joshua laughed. “I always knew there was larceny in you. Good to know you’re not quite the saint we all believe you to be.”
“A saint?” He glanced at Belle, tossing her a wink. “Little chance of that. Ah, there are papers in here. Take them out and start looking through them, ladies. I’ll start on the other drawers. Joshua, stand by the door and alert us if you hear someone coming.”
He lit another candle so that Belle and her sister had light to read by, for he still needed his own candle. It wasn’t so much to pick the lock, for this was mostly done by feel. But
he suspected there were hidden drawers within the desk or a false bottom within the drawers, and he needed light to find them.
He understood enough about human nature to know there were secrets one didn’t want others to know because they might prove embarrassing, and then there were secrets no one else could ever know because they would destroy your life and those of your loved ones forever. These were the sort of secrets kept in hidden drawers.
He now suspected Belle’s father had one of those destructive secrets.
He hoped he was wrong.
Was this the reason for his earlier sense of foreboding?
He shook out of the dreaded thought as he unlocked the second and third drawers with little difficulty. “Belle, there’s more in here.” He lifted out a stack, setting the ledgers aside for his later perusal before handing her the correspondence and other documents mixed in with the ledgers.
Belle took them from him. “Oh, look. Honey, these are certificates of our birth. And this is the deed to our main shop. Finn, what are you doing?” She watched as he returned his attention to the empty drawers.
“Nothing. Just searching for a duplicate key.” What he was actually seeking was a hidden cavity, but he could not let Belle or Honey know about it. If he did find one, he’d quietly review its contents, and if necessary, take its secrets to the grave.
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Why would he keep a duplicate key locked in his desk? Wouldn’t it make more sense to keep it somewhere accessible?”
He glanced at her, wishing she would distract herself with the batch of papers he’d just handed her. “Yes, but perhaps it’s a key to something else. It can’t hurt to look. Does your father have a safe in here as well?”
“Behind his mother’s portrait,” Honey said. “But we don’t know how to open it. Oh, but you are a man of many talents. Is breaking into safes one of them?”
Finn winced. “I hope so.”
Joshua laughed softly. “And the saint tumbles farther down the ladder of perfection. Thank goodness.”
“Shut up, you arse.” But he chuckled as well. “Keep your eye on the door. Honey and Belle, can you take down that portrait of your grandmother? Or is it too heavy to manage?” He didn’t really need them to do it but wanted to distract them as he dug into the hidden drawer.
