Saving Grace (Victorian Vigilantes Book 1)

by Wendy Soliman

  Stoneleigh smirked. ‘That I will.’

  Rose was head parlour maid and everything Eva was not. She enjoyed William’s attentions and, unlike Eva, was inventive and athletic between the sheets. Not that he would ever want Eva to behave in such a manner, and would be shocked if she showed any inclination to do so. She was a lady and ladies didn’t enjoy sexual relations—it was merely a duty they bore with stoicism in order to please their husbands. Every night when William called upon Eva, she simply lay there like a statue, spread her legs without him having to ask and twisted her head away as though preferring not to look at him.

  That was the part William didn’t understand. He had been told by more women than he could count that he was pleasing to the eye. Why did Eva find it so distasteful to look upon him when all he wished to do was worship her? It made no sense at all. He felt as though he owned her body but there was a core part of her he could never touch.

  He would be interested to know if all ladies of quality behaved thus when their husbands went to them. There was no one he could possibly ask.

  Rose tapped on the door and entered without being told to do so.

  ‘You sent for me, sir,’ she said with a cheeky smile that both pleased and annoyed William.

  ‘Go through and prepare yourself.’

  William jerked a thumb towards the door to his adjoining bedroom. Rose swung her ample hips as she walked through the door, already unfastening her bodice. By the time William joined her she was completely naked, lying on his bed, looking a bit like a rotund cherub. She had gained weight recently, William thought off-handedly. He removed his jacket and unfastened his trousers, nothing more. His wife was the only lady entitled to enjoy the sight of him as nature intended.

  In no mood to linger, William took her quickly and violently, gouging at her pendulous breasts in a futile effort to assuage his anger. He had never touched Eva’s lovely breasts with anything other than gentleness and consideration, simply because he respected her too much to defile her.

  Despite her willingness, William already knew Rose would leave him feeling unfulfilled and disappointed simply because she wasn’t Eva—Eva, whom he longed for and missed more than he would have imagined possible. Her treachery was like a physical ache. She was his one weakness and, try as he might, he couldn’t conquer his desire for her. Nothing he gave her would ever win Eva’s heart, but William wasn’t noble enough to let her go. He needed her as much as he needed the air he breathed and the food that sustained him.

  William slid into Rose and finished quickly, feeling little better than he had before he started. Since Eva’s betrayal, not even Rose could hold his attention.

  William got up and adjusted his clothing. ‘Get dressed and go back to your duties,’ he said curtly.

  ‘If it’s of no inconvenience, I need a word in private, sir. Something’s happened—’

  ‘Not now.’

  ‘Oh, but−’

  William left the room without a backward glance.

  Chapter Three

  Eva mentally conceded defeat. What madness made her imagine she could ever outsmart a man of William’s ilk? His evil tentacles reached into every corner of society, even the rarefied echelons of Grosvenor Square, apparently. What other reason could these gentlemen possibly have had to lure her there? Disappointment, fatigue and a lack of food combined to make her feel lightheaded. Coherent thought, in her current agitated state, was near impossible. She gave up trying it and contemplated her hands instead, unaware what she should say, feeling alone, furious, and utterly desolate.

  ‘Don’t be alarmed, ma’am,’ the earl said in a softly persuasive tone. ‘We mean you no harm.’

  The expression of deep concern in his warm brown eyes was so convincing that an unfamiliar feeling of wellbeing seeped through her, almost persuading her to lower her guard. Almost. Eva reminded herself what was at stake as she attempted to assess the turn events had taken. Lord Torbay knew who she was and had the advantage of her. Had she realised he was Lord Torbay instead of just plain Mister Morton she would have been better prepared to face him—or else she wouldn’t have come at all.

  Damn it, she should have made the connection anyway. As it was, she was unequal to meeting the intelligence she saw reflected in those compelling eyes and turned away, taking a moment to collect herself.

  Lord Torbay was probably now thirty-five. He’d been considered the catch of the season when she had her own presentation six long years ago, and for many seasons before that. But even the most determined of debutantes had been unable to persuade him to the altar. His chiselled features, beautifully disposed, his elegance, wealth and charm were a potent combination and she could quite understand why so many ladies had attempted to ensnare him.

  Had her circumstances been different, perhaps she would have joined their number, but at the time she had been more concerned about her family’s perilous circumstances than her own future. Marriage to a bully and tyrant had quickly followed, teaching her never to notice other gentlemen. Her husband seemed to think he could read minds and often punished her for having disloyal thoughts where none existed.

  She turned her attention to Lord Torbay’s fresh-faced companion. Something deep inside her changed when their gazes locked. A disturbing yet thrilling premonition that had nothing to do with her hazardous situation ripped through her. She ignored her feminine reaction, which had chosen a most inconvenient time to make its presence felt, refusing to lower her guard. She had been lured here for a specific reason and she knew very well that reason must somehow be connected to William.

  Absolutely nothing else made any sense.

  ‘Lady Eva. ‘Lord Torbay’s deep voice recalled her to the here and now. ‘Allow me to introduce my associate and friend, Lord Isaac Arnold.’

  Lord Isaac took her hand, and bowed over it. ‘It is a delight to make your acquaintance, Lady Eva, and I am entirely at your service,’ he said.

  Oh, if only I could believe that!

  With a legitimate excuse to train her eyes upon Lord Isaac, Eva was confronted by a shock of curly blond hair that gave him a boyish look, although she knew him to be of a similar age to Lord Torbay and still a favourite target on the marriage mart. He possessed sparkling blue eyes that made her think of the Aegean Sea, even though she had never actually seen it. Both men were dressed impeccably in the height of fashion. Tall and broad-shouldered, they bore auras of tough resourcefulness that made her doubly surprised to find them under William’s auspices.

  ‘You set a trap for me on behalf of my husband,’ she said accusingly.

  ‘Good heavens, no!’ Lord Torbay sounded convincingly surprised by the suggestion. ‘Whatever gave you that idea?’

  ‘You know who I am and obviously went to a deal of trouble to get me here.’ She spread her hands, anger giving way to despair. ‘Why would you do so if you weren’t working for William?’

  To her mortification, Eva felt tears leaking from the corners of her eyes and trickling down her face. Lord Isaac was immediately at her side, passing her a crisp linen handkerchief, the genuine-seeming concern in his expression causing the tears to fall in earnest. Eva didn’t know what had come over her. She had learned during the course of her marriage never to show weakness of any sort. William made a living out of exploiting weaknesses—hers especially—and using them to his advantage.

  ‘Excuse me,’ she said, mopping her face but refusing to look at either of them. ‘When am I to return home?’

  Lord Torbay’s silence added to Eva’s strain, causing her to glance his way. Her nerves were in tatters and she was in no mood to play mind games with a gentleman who had clearly mastered the art.

  ‘When did you last eat?’ he asked softly.

  She lifted her shoulders, unable to completely hide her surprise at his question. ‘Why should that concern you?’

  Without responding, Lord Torbay rang the bell and gave muted instructions to the servant who answered it.

  ‘Come,’ he said, offer
ing her his hand.

  Eva stood without his help, too cast down to offer up any resistance. She expected to be taken from the house and bundled into a carriage, consoling herself with the thought that at least she would see Grace again very soon. William would beat her for running away, just as he routinely beat her for no reason other than his own pleasure. Eva was dead inside and no longer cared. She had long ago learned to take his punishments by detaching her thoughts from what was actually happening to her body, thus barely feeling the pain.

  Instead of the anticipated carriage ride, Eva was conducted into a small parlour. Lord Isaac opened the door and both gentlemen stood back to allow her to pass through it first. She felt slightly better at this display of manners. Daily exposure to inbred good manners was one of the many things she had left behind on her wedding day. A blazing fire made the room feel cosy and comfortable. Its warmth seeped into her body, reviving her just a little.

  ‘Sit down before you fall down,’ Lord Torbay said firmly.

  Eva complied because she didn’t have enough energy to do anything else. A servant appeared with tea. Lord Isaac poured her a cup and sweetened it for her. She lifted the cup to her lips and drained it in two unladylike gulps. Earl Grey. When had she last savoured its sharp, citrusy taste? If felt more like ten years than mere days. Lord Isaac chuckled and refilled her cup. By the time he had done so, several dishes had been placed in front of her. She espied coddled eggs, crispy bacon, cold meats, fresh muffins, strawberry jam, tempting pastries and a bowl overflowing with fresh fruit. She was mortified when her stomach growled.

  ‘Eat!’

  Lord Torbay issued the order and then seated himself on one side of her, presumably to ensure that she did as she was told.

  ‘Allow me to serve you,’ Lord Isaac said, taking her opposite side.

  With a heaped plate in front of her and her mouth literally watering, Eva picked up her fork and ate. She cleared the entire plate and drank another cup of tea, feeling more human by the minute. Only when she couldn’t eat another bite did it occur to her that hunger and fatigue had caused her to jump to foolish conclusions. She knew of Lord Torbay’s reputation as a gentleman of conscience, of course, and had even danced with him once in a previous life. He was rich, powerful and, unless she read him entirely wrong, completely incorruptible. William, who used knowledge as power to manipulate people into doing his will, would fail in his attempts to turn such a person.

  ‘Yesterday lunchtime,’ she said, turning to him.

  Lord Torbay raised a brow. ‘I beg your pardon?’

  ‘Yesterday lunchtime was the last time I ate anything.’

  She noticed the two men exchange a glance. ‘No wonder you were feeling so emotional,’ Lord Torbay replied. ‘Come, let’s sit beside the fire and we can talk in comfort.’

  Lord Isaac proffered his hand. A powerful surge shot through her as his fingers made contact with hers, causing her to stare at him as she tried to identify her wild reaction. She had known nothing like it before and put it down to the fatigue and emotional turmoil Lord Torbay had just referred to. She was no longer hungry, but still tired and on edge. Suspicious about the turn her fortunes had taken and slow to trust, Eva supposed it made sense for her body to play tricks on her.

  ‘Am I to assume you placed that advertisement in the Times just to attract my attention?’ she asked.

  She expected them to deny it, to laugh, to denigrate her in some way, so deeply had she been indoctrinated to William’s reactions if she was unwise enough to express unsolicited opinions. Instead Lord Torbay inclined his head.

  ‘We lost all trace of you,’ he said, furrowing his brow, ‘and were concerned for your welfare.’

  She shook her head, convinced she must be hearing things. ‘Excuse me, Lord Torbay, but did you just say you lost all trace of me?’

  ‘I’ll explain more fully later but for now, suffice it to say that men working for me had your husband under surveillance.’ He softened his voice. ‘They were outside his warehouse when you arrived with your daughter and her nursemaid. They saw his associates torture and then murder a man, and also saw you arrive in time to witness the actual killing.’

  ‘Oh!’ Eva shifted her gaze between the two gentlemen, questions she had no breath to voice tumbling through her head. ‘Then—’

  ‘It was my man who shot the rogue who tried to grab you. We have always known you play no part in your husband’s affairs and my people were told to rescue you and your daughter if you seemed to be in any danger. Unfortunately, before they could carry out my orders, you ran one way and the nurse went into the warehouse with your daughter. When they tried to find where you’d gone, you had already disappeared.’

  ‘I thought they were shooting at me,’ Eva whispered. ‘I ran the other way from my daughter to save Grace from being hit by a stray bullet.’

  ‘That is what we assumed,’ Lord Isaac replied, briefly touching her hand. ‘It was a brave and sensible thing to do. It says a lot about your character that you could think so coherently at a time when you must have been terrified out of your wits.’

  She shrugged. ‘I am not so sure about being brave. My only thought was for my daughter’s safety.’

  ‘Where did you go?’ Lord Torbay asked.

  ‘I was near the docks, with no clear idea of where I actually was.’

  Lord Isaac nodded. ‘You obviously didn’t return to your home in Sloane Street.’

  Eva flashed a wan smile. ‘I have been looking for a way to get away from my husband for years, but he keeps me too well guarded.’

  ‘You are his prisoner?’ Lord Isaac asked in an affronted tone.

  ‘More or less.’ She looked away, concentrating her gaze on the flames dancing in the fireplace. ‘I am never allowed to go anywhere unescorted. If I called upon any of my old friends, which he seldom allowed, he always sent me in the carriage, which waited for me. He said it was for my own safety, that his enemies might try to get to him through me, but I knew that wasn’t his real purpose in keeping me so closely guarded.’

  ‘Then what was?’ Lord Isaac asked.

  ‘Well, this probably sounds ridiculous, but for some reason I have never properly understood he is obsessed with me. He always has been. He saw me during my first season and boasts he decided then and there he would find a way to marry me.’

  ‘You are an earl’s daughter and he is a merchant with a dubious reputation,’ Lord Isaac said. ‘How did he imagine he would bring that boast to fruition?’

  Eva flashed a wry smile. ‘He is a collector of information, Lord Isaac, and when he set his sights on me, he made it his business to discover any weaknesses in my family that he could use to his advantage.’

  Lord Isaac appeared gratifyingly outraged. ‘The rogue!’ he cried.

  ‘Yes, he is certainly that.’ Eva expelled a prolonged sigh. ‘Unfortunately he didn’t have to dig too deep to find a way to have my family beholden to him. My father was well known as a gamester. He risked everything he had at the tables and finally got in so deep we were in danger of losing the estate. He killed himself rather than face the ignominy and disgrace of bankruptcy.’

  ‘That was cowardly,’ Lord Isaac said. ‘I seem to remember some small scandal about it at the time.’

  ‘I thought it was cowardly too, but then my father always was weak. My mother continued to make excuses for him though, claiming others had led him astray.’ Eva lifted her shoulders. ‘Whatever the truth, it fell to my brother’s lot to clear up the mess Papa left behind. Gerald faced losing his inheritance, of course, since Papa’s debts of honour would have to be paid before anything else. Then along came William, all charm and good nature. He had bought up Papa’s promissory notes but offered to tear them up if I would agree to become his wife.’

  She was aware of Lord Isaac grinding his jaw and Lord Torbay looking severe, as though he disapproved. She was unable to decide why it should matter to either of them how she had come to marry William, but clearly it did.
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  ‘Your family allowed you to make that sacrifice?’ Lord Torbay asked.

  ‘There was no other way. He made himself quite agreeable to us all, you see, and none of us understood his true character at the time.’ She shook her head. ‘I knew he wasn’t my social equal, but stranger alliances have been known to work. I certainly didn’t realise what I had committed myself to until it was too late.’

  ‘You were explaining why you didn’t return to Sloane Street,’ Lord Torbay reminded her. ‘Although I think I can anticipate your answer.’

  ‘I was afraid for my life. Nothing else would have kept me from my daughter.’ She thought of Grace and gulped back her anguish. ‘I have no idea who those men were at my husband’s warehouse. They terrified me and I got the impression William probably didn’t have control over them. They knew what I had seen and couldn’t know if I would keep silent.’ She shuddered. ‘I shall never forget their mean, soulless eyes. They were absolutely without consciences.’

  ‘I have met men like that. No wonder you were so afraid.’ Lord Isaac sent her a reassuring smile and touched her hand again. ‘Anyone in your situation would have reacted in the same way.’

  ‘There was one obvious way to ensure I remain permanently silent…’ Eva paused, renewed terror trickling down her spine as she recalled the death stare the actual murderer had fixed her with. ‘I didn’t have the slightest doubt that if they had caught me they would have killed me without a second thought, despite my being William’s wife.’

  ‘Very likely,’ Lord Torbay agreed. ‘You were right to run.’

  ‘I had to put Grace’s welfare first since I would be of no use to her if I was dead. Besides, the opportunity to escape from William was too good to pass up. It didn’t occur to me that I had only the clothes I stood up in—these clothes,’ she said, waving at her skirts, ‘and a few pounds in my stocking purse. Nor did I stop to think how I would rescue Grace. That, obviously, is my only concern now. However, short of returning to William, I really don’t know how I can get her back.’