“Who are you?” she asked again. If she could only understand what he wanted with her and Evan, she might be able to talk her way out of it.
“I am Lord Ashby.”
Lilly’s stomach grew heavy. He was Eleanor’s husband.
“You recognize my name, I see. Your Lord Hawksley has caused me many problems. My wife is dead and my friends shall have nothing to do with me.”
“You should have thought of that before you beat her!”
He raised the back of his hand and smirked when she flinched. “A man is well within his rights to beat a disobedient woman. Eleanor need never have died had she not planned on breaking the sanctity of our marriage by leaving me.”
“You broke it when you hurt her,” she spat.
She never saw the blow coming. There was a smack and the other side of her cheek exploded. Both sides of her head throbbed incessantly and she tried to shake away the fog crowding her mind. “He will not come for me,” she panted, trying to ignore the pain that forced tears into her eyes. “He has cast me aside, you see.”
Lord Ashby tapped his lips with his finger. “Perhaps, but Hawksley never could resist a woman in need, even a fallen one like you.” He spun on a heel and paused to mutter, “Let us see if your driver is still waiting patiently for you. I shall have him send a letter to your dear marquess.”
The lord strode out and Lilly expelled the air from her lugs. Squirming against the ropes, she threw her head from side to side, searching for a way out. She could not let Lord Ashby use her against Evan.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
When Evan was halfway through his third whisky, Thomas entered the club and approached. Evan groaned to himself. If he wasn’t careful, he would take a swing at his brother. He only hoped the man was wise enough to keep his mouth shut where Lilly was concerned.
“Ah, there you are. I was about to stop by the house when I ran into Thornberry, you remember him?” Thomas settled himself into the green leather chair opposite. “He said he had seen you come this way.”
“What do you want, Thomas?”
“That chap you asked me about when I visited the other day—Miss Claremont’s cousin…”
“Yes?”
“He ran into him in the park a few days ago. The same day you claim Miss Claremont was shot at.”
Evan let his brows knit. It was hardly proof of his guilt but it might be enough to force the truth from him.
“You don’t seriously believe he tried to harm her, do you?”
Shoving aside his whisky glass, Evan pushed away from the table. “If he did, he will regret it.”
He turned, ignoring his brother shouting his name and strode out onto the street. He contemplated a carriage but it would probably be quicker to walk with the streets so busy. Evan raced across the road, scarcely avoiding being run down by a barouche. He made it to the Grosvenor Hotel in good time and paused to catch his breath outside. It boasted the latest architecture, with arched windows and exquisite detailing. He remembered the papers touting it as ushering in the golden age of travel, having been built by railway pioneers. This was the first occasion he’d had to step inside.
A doorman held open the dark wood door and a rush of cool air greeted him inside. Heavy moldings garnished the ceiling and underfoot the black and white tiles gleamed. He marched over to the front desk. “Do you have a Mr. Henry…” He trailed off as he spotted a flash of red hair at the bar behind the glass doors to the left. “Excuse me.”
Evan stormed over to the bar where Henry sat, elbows propped on the carved mahogany. Without prelude, Evan grabbed him by his collar, spinning him around and slamming him against the wood and making the glasses on it rattle.
Several shouts of dismay and a feminine cry rang out, but he ignored them and pressed the young man harder until his face nearly matched his hair.
“I say now,” he gasped, “what are you doing?” Henry flailed uselessly and tried to pry his hands away.
Evan merely smirked. “I know you tried to harm Lilly,” he hissed. “You shall be saddened to know you didn’t succeed. The poison did not work.”
“Poison? What in the devil—”
“First you got her thrown from her horse and then you shot at her. When that failed, you poisoned her food. Don’t deny it!” He kept a tight grip on him and Henry fought for air.
“No…” He shook his head frantically. “I didn’t poison… Release me,” he croaked.
“Not until you tell me the truth.”
One of the bar stewards approached cautiously. “Sir, please take this outside.”
“Why not? No one will have to witness a murder then,” Evan said with a snarl. Henry trembled but the fight had left him as Evan dragged him out into the street and down the side of the hotel. He threw him to the dirty ground and the man curled up.
“Please don’t hurt me. I swear I didn’t poison her.”
“I don’t believe you.” Even hefted him to his feet and gripped his shirt once more.
“I swear it. The horse and the shooting… I admit it… it was me. But I never poisoned her!”
Evan eyed the red-faced man, searched his gaze for the truth. Was it possible the poisoning was just what the doctor had suggested? Brought on by some spoiled food and nothing else?
“I never meant for anything to happen,” Henry blubbed and Evan relaxed his hold on him.
“For what to happen?”
Henry rung his hands. “It was not my fault, you see. Some bad people took advantage of me. I wagered too high and found myself in debt to them. They… they threatened my life. I had no choice!”
“No choice but to try to kill your cousin?”
“I didn’t know it would go this far. Once I told them I would be coming into money eventually, they made threats and then… then when my uncle ended up dead, I knew they would come for me next if I didn’t pay quickly.”
“You were responsible for Mr. Claremont’s death?”
“No!” He began to sob freely, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I didn’t know they would kill him. When I heard about the attack, I knew it was them. But I never thought for one minute they would go that far. They warned me I could expect the same if I did not pay up soon but most of the money is tied up. I needed Lilly’s inheritance.” He swiped a hand across his face. “You’re not going to kill me, are you?”
Evan almost laughed. Funny how his temper had abated at seeing this sniveling mess. He suspected these loan sharks could do worse to Henry than he ever could. “I will not kill you, but I shall tell Lilly all. What happens next will be her decision.”
“I didn’t want to hurt her really,” Henry admitted quietly. “It was terribly hard to try to shoot her but I had no choice after the accident with the horse failed.”
“Just think yourself lucky you are a terrible shot because if you had succeeded, you would be dead.” Evan shook his head. Poor Lilly. How would he tell her that Henry had been the one to cause her father’s death? All down to greed. He hoped she believed him after their argument, but at least he knew the danger had passed. If she was still set on leaving him, she would no longer be at risk.
“What now?” Henry sniffled.
“Take me to your room.”
His eyes widened. “So you can kill me?”
“No, so you can write all this down. Every. Little. Detail. Should I ever see you near Lilly again, I shall hand that letter over to the police. That is, of course, unless she decides to do it herself.”
Henry nodded frantically and Evan marched him to his room. There he penned the details with a shaking hand, describing how he put a bramble under the horse’s saddle and planned to leave her there in the hope she might succumb to illness when she didn’t die immediately. Fresh rage swirled through his veins as Evan read everything over his shoulder. But it was Lilly’s decision what to do, he reminded himself. If he could do one thing for her, it was this.
He left the man—who with his red nose and watery eyes looked more like a
little boy than a man—and headed for home. In truth, he didn’t envy Henry. He could well end up dead at the hands of the loan sharks anyway. They looked for easy prey and Henry was clearly one of them. But he couldn’t bring himself to worry for him. His concern was for Lilly.
Pausing at the railings outside the house, he gripped the cool iron for a moment and glanced up at Lilly’s room. He almost expected her to be standing there, looking out for him, but the window was empty.
Would she still be angry with him? He scrubbed a hand across his face and put his foot on the first step only to pause at the sound of a horse and carriage barreling down the street. Evan swiveled and noted it was his own carriage that was careening carelessly over the cobbles. When it came to a halt, the driver leapt down and something pulled at his heart.
Unable to fathom why dread churned in his stomach, he dashed over to meet the driver on the pavement. “What in the devil is going on, Andrew?” he asked the harried-looking man.
“It is Miss Claremont.” He paused to bend double and catch his breath. “She is in danger. She went to help someone. A woman.” Andrew straightened and motioned to his cheek. “The woman was hurt. Had a bruise here. So Miss Claremont intended to help her. I was to take them to the train station after they collected something.”
“Damn it all! And you let her?”
“My lord—”
Evan waved away his protest. “It is well enough, Andrew. I know you were only doing your job and I had asked you to do whatever Miss Claremont wanted. But tell me, man, where is she and why is she in danger?”
Andrew pulled a missive out from his jacket and handed it over. “A gentleman gave me this and told me to bring it to you with great haste. He warned me if I did anything other than deliver it, he would kill Miss Claremont.”
The air vanished from his lungs, replaced with searing pain. This man had Lilly and intended to harm her, but why? He tore open the letter and the agony nearly forced him double when realization hit. Lord Ashby had her. All because of Evan, she was in danger. The man clearly had some petty revenge in mind. First Henry and now this.
“My horse,” he demanded, not even looking at Andrew as he scanned the letter once more.
The address was in King’s Cross—a derelict house if he remembered correctly. What had she been thinking trying to help this woman? He pinched his nose. Would he have expected anything else of her? Lilly might be the most stubborn and infuriating woman he knew, but she was also kind and charitable.
And now he might lose her for good.
Evan shook his head and shoved the missive in his jacket. The mild fog of drunkenness had vanished and he saw everything clearly now. He had to go to Lord Ashby and negotiate her release. He might die. A fair sacrifice, he reckoned. Lilly’s life for his. Evan thought it unlikely Lord Ashby merely wanted a civilized discussion with him.
“Your horse, my lord,” Andrew prompted.
Evan snapped his head up and snatched the reins. Uttering his thanks, Evan mounted the horse and urged her into a gallop. He rode her hard, cursing cyclists and carriages and forcing several pedestrians to shout at him. He cut through Kensington Park and across the river into Hyde Park, trying not to recall a time when Lilly had been pressed against his arm.
If Ashby hurt her… He bunched the reins in his hand until the leather hurt his palms.
The journey took too long. It gave him time to consider what Ashby could be doing to her, time to worry what he might do if he had already harmed her and the chance to regret every harsh word he had ever uttered to her.
When the old house came into view, Evan eased the horse into a canter. How did he intend to handle this? The truth was, he had no choice but to do what Ashby asked. While he had Lilly, he also had Evan at his beck and call. A shudder wracked him as he eyed the gloomy house. Was she terrified? Did she think he might not come? He muttered her name over and over in his mind as if he could somehow transmit his thoughts to her to reassure her.
He pulled the gelding to a stop, dismounted and wrapped the reins hastily around a nearby lamppost. Taking a breath, he took the stairs up to the door and considered knocking. Smirking at himself, he twisted the knob and the door eased open. Before he took stock of the gloomy entrance hall, the door slammed shut behind him and he felt the jab of something in his back.
Evan stiffened and lifted his hands slowly in surrender. “Ashby.”
“Glad you could make it, Hawksley.”
“Where is Miss Claremont?”
“Patience, patience.” Ashby began patting down Evan’s jacket. “You weren’t foolish enough to bring a weapon, were you?”
Inwardly, Evan groaned. He hadn’t even considered grabbing his pistols before he left, but it seemed Ashby was prepared for that in any case.
“I was not,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Excellent,” Ashby said.
He prodded what was almost certainly a pistol into his back once more and urged him forward and into an empty drawing room. There, to the left, in one darkened corner sat Lilly. His legs almost gave way from beneath him when she sobbed his name. Fury boiled through his veins and made the pulse in his temple throb. When he neared her side, urged on by the metal in his back, he noted she was bound to the chair and marks marred her face. One of her beautiful eyes was partially closed.
It took every ounce of his control not to whirl around and punch Ashby until he was nothing but a bloody pulp. However, the knowledge that he couldn’t help Lilly with a hole in his back or his gut made him uncurl his fists and concentrate on breathing deeply.
“Stand next to her,” Ashby ordered.
Cautiously, he edged over to Lilly’s side. The desire to put a hand to her shoulder and reassure her ate at him but he kept his mouth shut and his hands to himself lest Ashby take objection to it and shoot them both.
“You have me now. Let Miss Claremont go,” he urged as he faced Ashby.
He hadn’t seen the man in many months but even in the shadows of the large room, he saw his features had grown sunken and dark rings lingered under his eyes. Even with the extra weight he still carried, he had a gaunt appearance to his face. Good. Evan felt some kind of smug contentment. Perhaps it meant Eleanor’s death haunted him.
“Untie her,” he ordered.
Evan sank to his knees without question. His hands shook as he fought with the knots at her wrists. They were slick and nausea rose in his throat when he realized it was her blood. She must have rubbed her wrists raw trying to escape.
“All will be well,” he murmured to her.
“Be quiet!” the earl bellowed.
Unwilling to aggravate the man who still had them both at gunpoint, Evan said nothing else. Lilly’s ragged breaths and shaking hands tore at his heart, but she controlled herself admirably, not even whimpering when he tugged the ropes from her damaged wrists. He ground his teeth together. Ashby would have to pay. Somehow, he would make him pay for ever touching her.
“Now, you sit, Hawksley, and you tie him up, Miss Claremont.”
She stood and shook her head. “No,” she said quietly.
Ashby lifted his pistol, and Evan quickly took her seat. “Just do it, Lilly,” Evan pleaded.
She lifted her chin defiantly. “I will not.”
Taking a moment to consider them both, Ashby moved quickly. Evan readied himself to leap to Lilly’s defense but he had not been prepared for an attack on himself. Ashby swiped the barrel of the pistol across the side of his head, making his ears ring. He sagged against the chair and heard Lilly’s cry—though it sounded distant.
“Tie him up,” Ashby ordered, “or I shall break his knees.”
With shaking hands, she began to bind his hands. Evan realized she was not tightening the knots as much as she could. It was a dangerous game she played. If Ashby realized, they could be in increased danger. She met his gaze as she finished tying his hands together and he saw the determination there. Was she going to do something foolish? Damn the impetuous woman. He
feared it might be so.
“What is this about?” he asked Ashby. He doubted he could talk the man out of whatever he had planned but he might give himself some time to consider a plan or at least ensure Lilly got out safely.
“Don’t play the fool with me, Hawksley. I know you intended to take Eleanor from me. Wanted her for yourself, eh? Were you not content with having just one whore in your bed?”
“You’re wrong, Ashby. I never intended to take her away from you.”
“You made me hurt Eleanor.” The gun shook in his hand. “I never wanted to kill her. It was all your fault.”
“No, it was your fault for laying a finger on her. You should protect the woman you love, not harm her. You’re a coward.”
Lilly shifted marginally to one side and Ashby swung at her. There was a crack and she crumpled.
“Coward, am I?” He laughed manically. “Who has a woman trying to fight his battles for him?”
“Damn you, Ashby,” Evan roared, fighting against the chair.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lilly lift her head but even the knowledge she was yet alive didn’t cool the fire in his veins. He twisted his hands and felt the ropes loosen further. He wrenched and pulled and rocked the chair with all his might. Wood splintered.
“Keep still.” Ashby thrust his pistol out. “Keep still or I shall shoot!”
The deafening sound of the blood in his ears all but drowned out the threat. Only Lilly dragging herself up from the floor, her face battered, registered in his vision. He ignored the threat of the barrel bearing down on him and the chair cracked again.
“I warned you.” Eyes wild, Ashby pulled back the hammer and its click echoed through the room.
The explosion of the gun mixed with the sound of the chair disintegrating as Evan pulled his hands free. Lilly screamed at the same time, creating a deafening concoction of noise. A blur of lilac shot past him and pain struck his chest. It was no bullet wound though. Lilly had leaped in front of him. She fell to the ground.
Ripping away from the chair, wood crashed around him and he barreled toward Ashby. The man let out a yowl and clutched his hand, dropping the pistol. It was only then Evan realized the gun had misfired and exploded in his hand. He glanced back to see Lilly pushing herself up to sitting.
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