A Taste of Seduction

by Bronwen Evans

  “She’s not going anywhere with you,” Augustus replied.

  Her pistol cocked. “Then I’ll simply shoot you and take her with me.” With that, she drew out another pistol. “I need extra bargaining power should we encounter any of your friends.”

  Augustus hesitated, clearly not knowing what to do.

  Hadley had to act. Perhaps if he kept Victoria here talking, the others might find them and aid in her capture. He stepped away from the beam, pistol in hand.

  “I can’t let you do that, Lady Victoria.”

  She moved sideways, keeping the smaller pistol trained on Augustus and Evangeline and pointing the other in his direction. “Oh, what a surprise. The father is here to rescue his son. Or is it the lady he’s here for?”

  Victoria’s words taunted Hadley. “You know very well I’m not the boy’s father.”

  Her smiled widened mockingly. “Well, well, well. I may be a lot of things, but I never lie. Ask her.”

  His blood stilled and his gaze sought out Evangeline. Her guilty face told the tale. He had a son! A son he’d just put on a horse and sent off to safety.

  Why hadn’t she told him?

  Victoria laughed. “She didn’t tell you, and you obviously have not met the boy. He’s your exact image. I knew as soon as I saw him. That’s when I decided I no longer wanted you dead. I’d rather have you alive, understanding that your son is the next Viscount Stuart and you will never be able to acknowledge him.” She aimed the pistol at Evangeline. “Especially if she is dead.”

  His finger tightened on the pistol’s trigger. He’d never wanted to kill someone so much in his life.

  She continued her taunts. “I never dreamed my plan would be so successful. Did you know you were the first Libertine Scholar I targeted?”

  “I hardly think so. Christian—”

  “No, not Christian. This was five years ago.” As he cast a glance at Evangeline, Victoria followed his gaze and said, “Who do you think put the idea into your mother’s head to trade your beauty for money? Who do you think introduced your mother to Viscount Stuart? I wanted to destroy Hadley’s happiness. It worked perfectly. I just didn’t understand you were with child.” She sent a gloating smile toward Hadley. “And while Lady Marisa cannot have children, this is the ultimate triumph—your firstborn son is denied your name.”

  “You bitch.” Hadley could barely form coherent words.

  “Most definitely. Now, Evangeline, be a good girl and come to me.”

  “Don’t move, Evangeline,” he countered.

  “If you do not come to me, girl, I’ll kill him.”

  He heard Evangeline gasp, but his eyes never left Victoria. “You shoot me, I shoot you. We both might die.”

  “I’m not afraid of death. I’ve caused enough of it. I knew you might learn of my identity once Evangeline arrived in London with her husband’s journals.” She shook her head. “Viscount Stuart was a greedy man—greedy and stupid. He tried to blackmail me about my past. It cost him his life.”

  “You killed him?” Hadley had suspected as much.

  Victoria grinned like a madwoman. “Yes. He underestimated me. I wouldn’t make the same mistake if I were you. Lady Evangeline, over here if you will.”

  “Stay, Evangeline,” he ordered. Instead of showing how fearful he really was, he goaded Victoria instead. “You killing Stuart did me a huge favor. It saved me the task of killing him myself, and leaves Evangeline free to marry me. We’ll have another son.”

  Victoria’s smile vanished, and her face grew tight with hatred. She swiveled her arm to point the second gun at his chest as well. He was afraid for himself, yes, but as long as Evangeline was safely out of the pistol’s aim, that was all that mattered.

  Victoria watched him intently for a few moments, and then a smile of pure evil broke on her lips. She turned one of the pistols back toward Evangeline again.

  “You’ve just told me how I can hurt you. I wasn’t sure what your feelings were for Evangeline, but now I know. You love her. You’d give your life for her, that’s why you’re here. If I kill her now…you’ll be thwarted once again.”

  To Hadley’s consternation—and admiration—Augustus stepped in front of Evangeline.

  “You will have to shoot me first,” he said, his voice calm, “and then my brother will kill you.”

  “I don’t think so. I know where Lord Labourd is. He needs me alive.”

  Augustus looked at him, evidently weighing the options. Hadley nodded at him. None of them looked good.

  Hadley took a step forward, and Victoria re-aimed the pistol in her other hand squarely at him. Trying to reason with her, he said, “Why not simply ride off now while you can, before the other Libertine Scholars turn their attention to finding out where I am and search this stable? Look, Evangeline’s horse is still saddled—take the mare.”

  Victoria looked toward the stall, and before Hadley could stop him, Augustus launched himself at the bitch. But His Grace wasn’t fast enough. She whipped round like a snake and fired the pistol.

  Hadley leaped forward and tackled Victoria to the ground. She was no match for his size and strength, and with one punch he knocked her senseless. He turned from her, his breath ragged, only to see Evangeline kneeling in the straw at Augustus’s side, tears streaming down her face.

  With a heavy heart he knew his brother was dead even before he reached Augustus’s side. He dropped to his knees. It was a small hole with only a trickle of blood, but it was right between his eyes. Augustus had died before he hit the floor of the stable. Grief, guilt, and anger roiled in his stomach. His heart burned in his chest.

  “Goddamn it to hell,” he cried. “It should have been me. This was not his fight. Why was he even here?”

  “It’s my fault,” Evangeline sobbed. “I forced him to come. I was worried about you rescuing Sealey and learning you are his father.” She gripped his arm. “God forgive me, but is Sealey safe? I know it’s selfish, but please tell me he’s safe.”

  “He’s safe. Clarence has taken him back to London. Supposedly to your waiting arms.”

  His mind kept trying to deny what he knew to be true: his brother was dead. He barely heard Evangeline’s sobs over the anger roaring in his ears. If they hadn’t needed Victoria alive in order to find Arend, he didn’t know what he’d do to her right now.

  “I’m so sorry. I’m so very sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”

  —

  Hadley didn’t even look at her. Turning his attention to Victoria, he asked Evangeline, “Can you find something to tie her up with?”

  She looked at the reins hanging on the wall. “We could use those,” and she pointed.

  He strode over to the wall and used his dagger to cut a length of leather. His face was closed off, and his body trembled with what she guessed was suppressed sorrow and anger. He roughly turned the still-unconscious Victoria onto her stomach and bound her hands tightly behind her back.

  He handed Evangeline both pistols. “Watch her. I’m going to try to find Grayson and the others. We need her alive. She knows where Arend is.”

  “You’re leaving me here? With her?”

  “I won’t be long, and I won’t need to go far. We arranged a signal to use if anyone captured Victoria.” With that, he turned abruptly and walked out of the stable.

  She looked round her. She could hear the horses stamping, her mare’s bridle jingling. She kept flitting glances round, scared of every shadow. Mainly she was trying to ignore the fact that Augustus lay dead not far from her, Hadley’s greatcoat over him. She couldn’t stop herself from looking at him. For him to die just as he was getting his life together was beyond cruel.

  If she hadn’t talked him into coming…A shudder ran through her body. Perhaps it would have been Hadley lying dead instead. Her hands were blocks of ice and she knew shock was setting in. Her stomach still churned. Until she saw with her own eyes that Sealey was safe and well, she couldn’t relax. What if some of Victoria’s men had followe
d Clarence?

  Anger grew as she thought through all the things that could happen to Sealey before he reached the safety of London. She also thought of Marisa and all she’d lost. It was all the fault of one person: Victoria.

  Her gaze swung back to the unconscious woman who had caused so much heartache and pain. She aimed the pistol at Victoria’s head. She could squeeze the trigger. No one would blame her.

  She couldn’t bring herself to have any pity for Victoria. She knew the Libertine Scholars’ fathers had done something terrible to her, and she dreaded to think what that was. Unlike her, Victoria had not been left with money or position to survive the aftermath of her ordeal. She had to thank Dougal for that small mercy at least.

  How was it that Victoria had no one to turn to? Evangeline knew nothing of her enemy’s background.

  Two abused women, each with a different road to survival.

  Evangeline had been torn from her life, forced into the bed of a man she did not know or love, and kept there against her will. Yet, once freed, she hadn’t set out for revenge; she’d sought out the one person who would make her life happy, the one man who might just love her enough to erase the pain of the past.

  Hadley had asked her to forgive him for not rescuing her, for not believing in their love. Would he now forgive her for her foolishness, for demanding Augustus bring her into danger? She had altered his world, and maybe her own. She swallowed her fear.

  Hadley was now the Duke of Claymore.

  Nothing would really change. His family would still turn to him as they did now. Only now society would recognize his status. They would welcome the handsome, intelligent, honorable man with open arms.

  He would also have more options as far as marriageable young ladies were concerned. Every mother in England would be seeking a match with him for their daughters. A wave of unease spread through her. If he couldn’t forgive her…

  Just then the woman at her feet stirred and tried to roll onto her back.

  Victoria spat straw from her mouth. When she looked up and saw Evangeline, she croaked, “Go on, gloat. The wicked witch has been caught.”

  “I don’t think I can feel sorry for you after all the evil you have done to those innocent of any crime.”

  “I don’t want your pity.” She paused, then added, “Unless, of course, it would make you untie me and let me slip away.”

  “There is no way I would let you leave. Arend and Isobel are still missing.”

  “Who do you think brought your son to me? I wouldn’t be worrying about Isobel.”

  Victoria’s smile made Evangeline’s insides clench in rage. “Isobel would not hurt a hair on Sealey’s head. I don’t believe you. You have taken Isobel as well as Arend. Where are they?”

  She did not want to believe her friend would be in league with this evil woman. But then a thought came to her, and she bit her lip. It had been Isobel who originally put the idea of visiting the deer in Richmond Park into her son’s head.

  “That is for me to know and you to ascertain. Maybe Isobel is sympathetic and wants me to win my revenge.”

  Isobel had never seemed particularly fond of her stepmother. “I don’t think so.” She stepped closer to really look at Victoria. “What I can’t understand is how you can let the innocent suffer for a crime that is not of their doing.”

  To Evangeline’s amazement, Victoria had the gall to say, “I thought you of all people might have some understanding of why I set off down this path.”

  “I must admit, the temptation to fire this pistol is rather strong,” Evangeline told her. “But to do so would make me no better than you. I want justice for my friends, and for the five years of misery you put me through, but everyone deserves a fair trial.”

  Victoria laughed at that. “Do you really think ten years ago I would have received a fair trial? Those men were rich and powerful, and I was a nobody. Who would’ve believed my word against a duke, let alone two dukes and a handful of powerful lords?”

  Evangeline remained silent but she had to agree. It was unlikely that those men would ever have been brought to trial. What would she have done in Victoria’s place?

  “Was there no one back then who could have helped you?”

  “I was fifteen. My mother was dead. I was an only child, and it was my father who sold me to the Duke of Lyttleton to pay off his gambling debts.”

  “I can see where you got the idea for your revenge against Hadley. Only it wasn’t my father who had the gambling debts but my mother. Surely you felt a twinge of guilt forcing your fate on another. On me.”

  “Your situation was nothing like mine. You married a wealthy viscount, what did you have to complain about?”

  Anger erupted inside Evangeline, and she took a step closer to Victoria, the pistol shaking in her hand. “What did I have to complain about? How about the fact I had to share the bed of a man I loathed? How about the fact you took away my chance to marry the man I loved, the father of my child, a child who will now never carry his name?”

  Her chest was heaving.

  “The child is alive and a viscount. Count yourself lucky,” Victoria retorted. “My child died three weeks after she was born. Given my circumstances and the life I’ve led, it was probably a blessing.”

  Victoria’s voice had softened, and Evangeline’s anger dispersed somewhat. Any woman could empathize with a mother who’d lost her child. The idea of losing Sealey was so horrible she couldn’t face it. She lowered the pistol.

  “When Emily died—her name was Emily—I swore I would get my revenge. What would you do if Sealey was killed? You have no idea what it’s like to see your child die of disease and starvation.” Victoria’s voice, shrill and distraught, moved Evangeline.

  She swallowed back her pity. “You are right. I have no idea what that is like. I’m so sorry for what happened to you.” She drew in a deep breath and focused on the truth. “However, you have gone too far. You talk about losing your child—Lady Marisa faces never having a child of her own.”

  Victoria sighed and tried to sit up but rolled onto her back again. “That was unfortunate. I had no idea the carriage would crash. The drivers did not go unpunished.”

  That didn’t make Evangeline feel any better, and she was sure Marisa would find no peace in that thought either.

  “Why hurt the sons? They too have been hurt by their fathers. Do you really feel no remorse for the misery you have caused us all?”

  “No.”

  “Then I will leave it to God to decide your punishment. You do know you’ll likely hang for this?”

  Victoria’s smile made Evangeline’s hand grip the pistol harder. “I still have Arend,” she said softly. “The threat of hanging is no incentive for me to reveal where he is. The men will want their friend back alive and well. I might do so in exchange for my freedom. I hear the Americas are a land of opportunity.”

  “If I were you, I’d be more worried about what the men are going to do to you. They want to know where Arend is. They will want to know soon.” This time it was her chance to gloat. “Get ready for a world of pain.”

  A scowl appeared on Victoria’s face, and her eyes flashed with anger.

  “You are the one who should get ready for a world of pain. Isobel is still out there, and if anything happens to me, her sole goal will be to go after Sealey.”

  Before Evangeline could respond, the door to the stable scraped open, and Hadley and Grayson entered.

  Grayson’s gaze momentarily flickered to Augustus’s body before he rounded on Victoria, eyes blazing with anger and hatred.

  “Your sick game is over, my lady. Your men are either dead or captured. I swear, if anything has happened to Arend I will personally kill you myself, and I promise you it won’t be quick.”

  Grayson’s threats made Evangeline shudder. But Victoria didn’t seem bothered at all.

  “I’ve been threatened by far scarier men than you. I should also warn you that pain is a welcome friend. If you want Arend back ali
ve, I’d choose another path for negotiation.”

  She heard Hadley expostulate, “I don’t want to negotiate with the bitch!”

  Grayson threw him a look but said only, “I don’t want to take any chances. Let’s find something to bind her feet as well.”

  Silence reigned as Hadley did Grayson’s bidding. Victoria was soon trussed up like a fat turkey ready to be roasted at Christmas.

  By then the rest of the Libertine Scholars had entered the stable. The threat of violence hung naked in the air. Evangeline watched Maitland flex his fists, his shoulders taut and his face filled with hatred. She made her way to his side, used her fingers to unfurl one of his fists, and slipped her hand in his. He looked down at their joined hands and gave her a weak smile.

  “Think of Arend,” she whispered, and he nodded.

  Then Hadley said, “I have to take my brother home to Hardstone Hall.”

  Maitland stepped toward Victoria. “I’ll take Lady Victoria back to London. I have a windowless and lockable cellar. I’m also sure it’s soundproof.” Victoria’s smirk seemed to egg him on. “I will get the truth from her. I want to know if Arend is still alive.”

  Evangeline gasped, not even having considered that Arend might already be dead. She looked from face to face and saw that all the men were of the opinion that they could take nothing for granted where Victoria was concerned.

  Christian stepped in front of Maitland. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Think of your wife.”

  “I am bloody well thinking of Marisa. She deserves her revenge.”

  The tension rose until Evangeline quietly said, “Let us not forget that revenge is the reason we find ourselves here. Yes, Victoria will be punished, but it should be through the appropriate channels, or else we are no better than she.”

  Silence greeted her statement, but she noted Maitland stepping back and turning away. His shoulders shook as he struggled to bring his emotions under control.

  “I don’t believe we should take her to London,” Christian said. “I shall take her to my estate, Henslowe Court. Until we find Arend, the smaller the number of people who know we are holding her, the better. We don’t know whom she has working for her, or how long finding Arend will take.”