Saving Grace (Victorian Vigilantes Book 1)

by Wendy Soliman

  She gasped. ‘What good will that do?’

  ‘It will drive a wedge between Woodstock and Stoneleigh. Divide and conquer is Jake’s mantra. It’s usually an effective one.’

  ‘I see.’

  ‘He’s sent a man to accost Barker in a tavern this evening.’

  ‘That will certainly stir an already bubbling cauldron.’

  ‘Precisely.’ He ran a finger softly down the curve of her face. ‘The more concerned they are about other matters, the greater the chance of Franklin’s success.’

  ‘I couldn’t bear it if Franklin were to be caught.’

  ‘It wouldn’t be your fault if he was.’

  ‘Then why do I feel so responsible?’

  Her tormented expression tore at his heartstrings, but he couldn’t afford the luxury of lingering and making her feel better about herself.

  ‘It’s late,’ he said, reluctantly lifting her head from his chest and sitting up. ‘I shall leave you now.’

  ‘Not yet.’

  ‘I must.’ He kissed her lightly but didn’t trust himself to do anything more. ‘We must all be alert tomorrow. If Franklin is successful it could all be over as quickly as that, then we shall be at leisure to enjoy one another’s company.’

  ‘I pray you’re right about that.’

  Isaac pulled back the covers, waiting for her to slide between them. When she did so, he pulled them up to her chin and kissed her brow, almost as though she was a child. He checked the bed for tell-tale signs of his presence and found none, stepped into his trousers and collected the rest of his clothes.

  ‘Have courage, my love,’ he said softly. ‘Jake has never failed with a mission yet.’

  Chapter Seventeen

  ‘That will be all.’

  Barker left the room and closed the door behind him. William rested his elbows on his desk and his chin on his steepled fingers, mulling over the extraordinary story Barker had just taken considerable pleasure in imparting. Could there be any truth in it? Information obtained in a tavern—how reliable could it possibly be? And yet…and yet, William couldn’t afford to ignore it. His temper in danger of erupting, he ran a hand across the surface of his desk, reluctant to jump to a conclusion that would bring his own judgement into question.

  How in the name of the devil had his affairs been reduced to such a sorry state? A meticulous planner, William never left anything to chance. The theft of the diamond might be his most audacious venture to date, but he was more than capable of managing it. In his view, the more daring the crime, the easier it was to pull it off because no one was expecting it.

  The disappearance of his wife had seen the great personal satisfaction he had felt at his own genius fall by the wayside. Everything in his life had gone to pieces and he was at a loss to know how to repair the damage. He missed Eva more than he was prepared to admit to anyone. Her continued determination to stay away ate away at him like a virulent disease. Where the devil was she? If what Barker had just told him was the truth then Stoneleigh knew a damned sight more about that than he had admitted. Such a transgression was unforgiveable.

  William rang the bell twice, a signal for Stoneleigh to attend him, and sat back to wait. Stoneleigh was slow to respond, adding to William’s impatience. When he did deign to appear, he was limping and looked as though he hadn’t slept for a fortnight.

  ‘What happened to you?’ William asked.

  ‘A misunderstanding with a hand cart.’

  ‘Really?’ William sent him a disbelieving look and leaned back in his chair. ‘What have you to tell me about Lady Eva?’

  ‘No news.’

  William fixed him with a malevolent scowl. ‘Are you absolutely sure about that?’

  ‘Well, I’ve still got some sightings to check out but—’

  ‘What about Rose?’

  ‘What about her?’

  Stoneleigh flushed and looked down at his feet, a sure sign he was holding something back. William was disappointed but somehow not surprised.

  ‘I told you to pay Rose off, not set her up for your own entertainment.’ William spoke in the deceptively quiet voice Stoneleigh would know spelt trouble. ‘What have you to say for yourself?’

  Stoneleigh shrugged, probably trying to decide how much William knew. ‘Didn’t think it made any odds.’

  ‘Have her come back here. I’ve changed my mind about turning her away.’

  ‘Well, I…that’s to say, she ran off with a jarvey who took her fancy.’

  ‘Liar!’ William stood and pushed his face into Stoneleigh’s. ‘My wife went back to Whitechapel to call on Rose and you…you, my supposedly loyal lieutenant, allowed her to escape.’

  ‘How the hell did you—’

  ‘Some people still have my best interests at heart, even if you are not amongst them.’ William was so irate, so beside himself with fury, that he was sorely tempted to reach for one of his swords and run the ungrateful peasant through with it. ‘What the devil where you thinking? How did not one but two women manage to escape you?’

  ‘I had no idea Lady Eva was with Rose. They pushed past me before I could—’

  ‘Enough! I’ll deal with your disloyalty later. First, tell me what my wife wanted with Rose.’ When Stoneleigh shuffled his feet and said nothing, William thought he might actually explode with anger. ‘You didn’t even get that out of her.’ He threw up his hands and tore at his hair. ‘Ye gods, you’re a moron!’

  ‘I would have caught them, but…but two gents appeared and took them off in a carriage.’

  William’s head jerked up. ‘Did you recognise them or the carriage?’

  ‘No, the carriage was unmarked and I didn’t see the men’s faces.’

  ‘But you followed the carriage?’

  ‘By the time I could get a Hansom they were long gone.’

  William wasn’t only furious, he was now downright worried. Eva’s interest in Rose was a puzzle. How did she even know where she was? William himself hadn’t known. Someone in his household must be in touch with Eva, knew what Stoneleigh had done with Rose and passed that information on to his wife. She had always disliked Stoneleigh and had a soft spot for Rose. It didn’t appear to concern her that William openly flaunted his relationship with Rose in a vain attempt to excite Eva’s jealousy.

  Presumably Eva had persuaded her gentleman protector to take the girl in. A gentleman protector. William thumped his clenched fist against the wainscoting. He would slice the man clean through when he got his hands on him. No one took liberties with his wife and lived to tell the tale. Stoneleigh would regret the day he started holding out on William too, once this business with the diamond was over. William’s wealth would then be equal to the richest men in the land and he would use as much of it as was necessary to find his wife and avenge himself on the people sheltering her.

  Feeling slightly more in control, he addressed Stoneleigh. ‘We leave for the warehouse in half an hour,’ he said curtly.

  ‘But Lady Eva. I have an idea where she might be.’

  ‘An idea?’ William’s lips twisted into a cynical snarl. ‘Or actual proof?’

  ‘Well, it’s just a thought at the moment, but—’

  ‘Leave it. I have put Barker in charge of tracking down my wife.’ He had the satisfaction of seeing Stoneleigh pale. They made no secret of their rivalry or dislike for one another. ‘He at least can be relied upon not to exceed his orders. Arrange for the carriage to be brought round.’

  He waved a hand in dismissal, taking a little satisfaction from the fact that Stoneleigh would be feeling totally humiliated. He had just been reduced to nothing more than a glorified bodyguard, and well he knew it.

  ***

  Eva sat alone in the small salon the following morning. Isaac had appeared briefly but told her he had to go out. For the first time since arriving in Lord Torbay’s house she was wearing something other than the day gown she had arrived in. In honour of the incredible discoveries Isaac had helped her to make about herself t
he night before, she donned a beautiful faille walking gown in a pale shade of mauve trimmed with kilt-pleated flounces that matched her mood. The tight-fitting bodice, heart-shaped neckline and dolman sleeves, embroidered with bright colours, were an outward display of the new person she had become. Isaac didn’t appear to notice.

  ‘Where are you going?’ she asked.

  ‘I shall be back shortly,’ he replied evasively.

  She hated it when people avoided direct answers, but he appeared tense and preoccupied so she didn’t take him to task for it. Presumably his outing had to do with Franklin. She wanted to call him back and beg him to take care. If anything were to happen to him, her life really would come to an end.

  Of Lord Torbay and Olivia there was no sign. At a loose end, Eva went upstairs to check on Rose. She appeared much better today and was helping Olivia’s nanny to entertain Tom. Eva could see she really did enjoy children which, given her condition, was just as well.

  Eva wandered about the house with nothing to do, other than to worry.

  ‘Everyone has an occupation except me,’ she muttered to herself. She ran her hand idly along the spines of the books shelved to one side of the fireplace and thought about selecting one. No, reading was out of the question. She wouldn’t be able to concentrate. Isaac’s tension had rubbed off on her and she felt anxious without knowing precisely why. Something was about to happen, she could sense it, and it would place Isaac in danger.

  Please God, keep him safe.

  The door opened and Olivia sauntered in, looking overheated but charming in tight-fitting breaches and a loose linen shirt that clung to her svelte form. Lord Torbay followed behind her, similarly attired.

  ‘We have been fencing,’ Olivia explained, throwing herself into the chair beside Eva. ‘He beats me, even using his left arm. It is most humiliating.’

  ‘She fights like a tigress,’ Lord Torbay replied, ‘and gives no quarter.’

  ‘Certainly I don’t, and I should be offended if you made any allowances for me.’

  Lord Torbay chuckled. ‘I wouldn’t dare.’

  Eva wondered how they could think of indulging their sporting proclivities when so much hung upon Franklin’s success or otherwise. Eva herself was a bundle of nerves and uncertainty. Patience had never been her strong point, even though she’d been obliged to display an abundance of it during the years of her marriage. Today of all days, disciplining herself to remain calm was completely out of the question.

  ‘When shall we receive news?’ she asked, glancing at the clock for the umpteenth time.

  ‘Patience, Lady Eva.’ Lord Torbay flashed a reassuring smile. ‘We will know the lie of the land soon enough.’

  ‘I wish you would tell me what’s happening.’

  ‘When I know, so too will you.’ He inclined his head. ‘Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I ought to change my attire.’

  Eva noticed Olivia watch him until the door closed behind him. She never favoured him with such direct attention when he was facing her, reconfirming Eva’s suspicions about her feelings for the handsome yet elusive earl.

  Olivia herself didn’t seem to be in any hurry to shed her masculine garb and turned to Eva with a kind smile.

  ‘Shall we have a hand of cards?’ she suggested. ‘It would help to pass the time.’

  ‘Why is Lord Torbay here when he ought to be out there with Isaac, making sure everything is as it should be?’

  Olivia laughed. ‘He’s better off here, co-ordinating matters. Believe me, he might look relaxed, but his mind is like a sabre.’ She patted Eva’s hand. ‘Trust me, my dear, he knows what he’s doing.’

  ***

  William and Stoneleigh sat across from one another in the carriage, neither of them speaking. William was deep in thought. Stoneleigh stared sullenly out the window at streets still slick from an earlier shower. They were halfway to the warehouse when it occurred to William that Stoneleigh’s hands were empty.

  ‘I assume you collected the papers for this morning’s transactions before we left the house,’ he said.

  Stoneleigh shrugged his massive shoulders. ‘You didn’t say anything about papers.’

  ‘Fool! Must I attend to every little detail myself?’ He’d gone over the contracts for this morning’s business the night before and placed them in his desk. Barker knew to collect them. William could just as easily do so, but it gave him a feeling of power to have others run around, doing these small tasks in his stead. William hadn’t thought to tell Stoneleigh. He ought to have known, even if he didn’t usually accompany William to mundane business meetings. Sighing, he rapped on the roof with his cane. ‘Back to the house,’ he instructed his coachman.

  William was starting to wonder what had possessed him to put so much trust in Stoneleigh. The man was an idler and a moron. Once this business with the diamond was over with he would pay him off and be done with it. He was handy enough when it came to a fight, but asking him to use his common sense was like expecting a woman to understand mathematics.

  Two carriages had collided in Knightsbridge, causing congestion that did nothing to improve William’s temper. It took the best part of fifteen minutes to get past them. William had an agent waiting at the warehouse to sign the contracts Stoneleigh had failed to bring with them. Vast quantities of silk and tobacco, worth a small fortune, were involved. If William kept him waiting he could easily go elsewhere, which was unthinkable. William wasn’t prepared to pass up such lucrative trade because his underlings were inefficient. He glowered at Stoneleigh, who pretended not to know it was his fault.

  Finally…finally, the carriage arrived back at Sloane Street.

  ‘Go and get the damned papers,’ William said curtly, handing him the key to his office. ‘They are in the bottom left hand drawer of my desk.’

  Presumably Stoneleigh could be trusted to carry out that simple task. He tapped his cane impatiently on the carriage floor as he waited, wondering where Eva was at that moment and how she was occupying her time. No, better not to think about what she might be doing, the whore! William’s face heated with rage and he forced himself to think about safer subjects, such as all the things he needed to do that day before having a final meeting with the Sikhs when darkness fell. Since the murder, William had insisted they remain hidden during the day and the only interaction William had with them was behind firmly closed doors or under the cover of darkness.

  Only two more days before the reception at Buckingham Palace, William reminded himself. The tricky part was overpowering the official Sikh guard and replacing them with William’s men at the vital moment. Too soon and people would notice—too late and they would miss the opportunity. They had the right clothing, spoke the language and would look the part, right down to the elaborately decorated turbans the men were required to wear.

  It was all a matter of timing and stealth, but William was confident they had hit upon a foolproof way to carry off the switch when the proper guard took time out for prayers. It was the only occasion when they were left alone. Fortunately they were due to leave for the palace immediately afterwards and wouldn’t be accompanied for the brief interval between leaving prayers and making their way to the waiting carriage.

  William knew a moment’s satisfaction as he ran through the plan in his head. The rest of his life might be in tatters, but nothing could go wrong with the theft. The Sikhs were fired by patriotic fervour and would gladly sacrifice their lives in exchange for recovering the diamond they believed had been stolen from their country. The fools actually thought they would be taking it back to India in a blaze of glory. William rolled his eyes. Sometimes people were too wrapped up in their own little worlds, too trusting, to see the bigger picture.

  The front door to his house flew open and one of his servants ran up to the carriage, out of breath and clearly panicking.

  ‘Come quickly, sir. You’re needed.’

  ‘What the devil?’

  William climbed from the carriage, a bad feeling burning thr
ough his stomach like acid as he ran up the front steps. There was a great commotion coming from his study. William dashed through the door and found Stoneleigh holding a badly beaten Franklin by his collar. There was blood spurting from his nose, which had obviously just been broken by Stoneleigh’s fist. One of his eyes was badly swollen and had already half-closed.

  ‘What the hell is going on?’ William asked, although it was obvious.

  ‘Found him skulking about in here,’ Stoneleigh said, shaking Franklin by his collar.

  William looked at Franklin, his mind whirling with unpalatable explanations. Could he be the person in contact with Eva? He certainly wasn’t who he claimed to be, that much was now obvious. William desperately needed to know. He thought of the agent and the lucrative contracts that would slip through his fingers if he kept him waiting for much longer. Damn it, he couldn’t deal with this now.

  ‘Tie his hands and bring him to the warehouse,’ he said abruptly. ‘We’ll interrogate him there.’

  William ushered everyone from his study. Alone, he anxiously checked his secret place. He breathed a little more freely when he found it exactly as he had left it. Franklin couldn’t have found it because nothing had been disturbed.

  Now all that remained was to discover who Franklin was really working for, and why.

  ***

  The card game did little to distract Eva. She looked towards the door every two minutes, willing someone to walk through it with news to impart. Lord Torbay re-joined them, now impeccably attired, but had nothing to tell them.

  ‘How do you stand it?’ she asked.

  He sent her a polite smile. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘All the waiting about. The tension. It would drive me distracted.’

  ‘That’s because you are personally involved. I, on the other hand, can remain detached and focused.’ He picked up a newspaper and shook it out, as though demonstrating his point. ‘Working oneself into a frenzy for no reason is no help.’