by Wendy Vella
“Bother.”
“My Lady?”
“‘Tis nothing.” Grace had not realized she’d spoken out loud. But the truth was that she did care about Nick now, she just wasn’t sure in what capacity and why, after only one night of harmony with the man. Harmony, it sounded such a pathetic word for what they’d shared. Grace had felt as if Nick touched her soul last night, such was the intensity of what they shared.
Bother.
“I am finished, my Lady.”
Her hair was now loosely bundled on top of her head, with a few ringlets teased free to settle on her shoulders, and Bessie had woven cream satin ribbons into a band, which she wore around her head so the ends trailed down her neck.
“Oh,” was all Grace could manage as she studied her reflection.
“You look very pretty, my Lady.”
She actually did, Grace realized.
“Thank you, Bessie. My hair looks lovely,” she said before leaving the room once more. Restless, Grace made her way to the gardens and found a stick to throw for her dog. She paced along the high stone wall at the bottom of the grass, and smiled at the gardener bent over a bed of flowers.
“Good day,” she said, and he doffed his hat.
She walked until she found the open gate. Peeking through, she saw a black carriage in the small lane that ran behind the property. It was as she pulled back that she felt someone approach her from behind. She turned to see whom it was and felt an arm band around her waist. Her feet were suddenly lifted off the ground.
“I have her!”
Grace fought, but whoever held her was strong. She screamed as loudly as she could, but he kept hurrying toward the carriage. She heard Nipper barking furiously and then she felt the hands around her loosen. Suddenly, she was on her feet.
“He’s biting me!”
Grace ran as she heard a volley of Russian, screaming for Nipper to follow. She picked up her skirts and hurried up the hill. The man had stopped howling in pain, which told her the dog had released him. She saw a little white streak run past her and was relieved to see her hero was all right.
“Vidal!” Grace started screaming the butler’s name as she neared the house, and in seconds two maids, a footman, and Vidal had run out the French doors and were coming toward her.
“My Lady, what has happened?”
“A man tried to grab me, Vidal,” Grace gasped. “He came through the open gate at the bottom of the garden.”
“Get George and go and look, Thomas,” Vidal told the footman. “Bring tea for Lady Attwood,” he then ordered the maids. “Come now, my Lady, we must get you inside.”
Grace realized she was shaking as Vidal held out his arm toward her, asking her permission to assist her.
“I-I will be all right, Vidal, thank you.” She patted the sleeve of his jacket before bending to pick up Nipper and cuddling him close. “He saved me,” she added. “The man held me and Nipper bit his leg, I think, which forced him to release me.”
“Then he will receive a large bone from the kitchens for his efforts, my Lady. I will see to this myself.”
Vidal talked to her and patted Nipper’s head as they walked, his arm touching her spine gently when she stumbled, until finally they had reached her rooms. Once inside, she sat in one of the chairs and started to shiver. The butler placed a blanket over her knees and lit the fire.
“I shall take Nipper to the kitchens now and summon your maid, my Lady. I shall return soon with your tea, if you will be all right here alone until then.”
“Of course, and thank you so much, Vidal, for everything.”
He bowed, gave her a gentle smile and then left. It was only as the door closed that Grace allowed herself to put her head in her hands and give way to the terror that still gripped her.
She didn’t weep, that wasn’t her way, but she shook and her breathing was labored. Inhaling a deep gulp of air, she attempted to bring it under control before Vidal returned.
“Grace, dear God, Vidal just told me what happened!” Nick burst into the room and came to her side. “Are you all right? Tell me everything.”
“Harry?” Grace had to know about her cousin first.
“He is safe and unhurt. Leo is bringing him here now.”
“Thank God,” Grace said as she was being lifted into Nick’s arms. He then sat with her on his lap. “Where did you find him?”
“It is enough that he is safe; now you need to tell me what happened to you.” He held her close, her head pressed into his chest, his arms around her. “Everything, from the minute you walked outside to running back to the house.”
She did, talking quickly until she’d told him all she remembered.
“And they were speaking Russian, Grace, you’re sure of this?”
“Y-yes.” She still felt shaky, and remembering the events did not help that.
“It’s all right, I won’t let anyone touch you again,” he soothed, and Grace felt his lips in her hair.
“It was them wasn’t it, Nick? Those men that took Harry just tried to take me, didn’t they?”
“It’s likely.”
She pulled away from him and looked into his eyes.
“It has to be, there can’t be two lots of Russian-speaking men pursuing translators.”
“Yes.” He ran his eyes over her face, before moving down her body. “You look beautiful, by the way.”
“How can you think of my clothes at a time like this?” Grace couldn’t believe he’d said that.
“You’re safe, as is your cousin, and if I let myself give rein to the anger that is inside me it would benefit neither of us, and you do look beautiful,” he added.
She brushed his words aside and tried to rise, but his arms held her still.
“You’re still trembling,” he said the words into her hair. “Sit and let me hold you.”
“You want to hold me?” Grace could feel his body around hers, warming her, making her feel safe.
“Very much.”
Her chin was lifted and then he was kissing her, his lips soft and seeking. It was a gentle kiss, but one that in seconds had her body on fire.
“I don’t understand this,” Grace whispered against lips. “Any of it.”
“Don’t think too hard about it, Grace, just feel,” He ran a finger around the neckline of her dress. “I promise that the Russians will not get near you or your cousin again, so have no fear there.”
Her head was filled with him and so many thoughts that swirled around and around. So as he kissed her, she did as he said and simply felt. When Vidal knocked on the door they were both breathless.
“Your cousin has arrived, my Lady.”
“Excellent, we shall come down at once,” Nick said through the door, before he lifted Grace off his lap and placed her on her feet.
She hurried to the door with Nick on her heels and down the stairs.
“I have placed him in the west parlor, my Lady,” Vidal said when she reached the bottom floor.
“Food, please, Vidal, and have a room readied for Lord Harrington,” Nick said from behind her.
The door was open and she heard male voices as she hurried through.
“Harry!” He stood as she came toward him and held out his arms.
“It’s all right, cousin.” He hugged her hard, and she wrapped her arms around his body and held him close.
“Lord Attwood,” Harry said when he had released Grace. He held out his hand to Nick, who took it immediately. “Thank you for rescuing me.”
“I am glad you are unharmed, Lord Harrington. Do you feel up to telling us what happened?”
Nick urged Grace into a seat and took the one beside her, while Leo sat in one of the other chairs.
Grace watched her cousin pace. He was tired, his eyes bloodshot, but he seemed all right otherwise.
“They realized soon after they had taken me that it was actually Grace they wanted, but decided to hold me until they could capture her.”
“They tried today.
” Beside her, Nick growled the words. “But Nipper rescued her.”
Harry smiled. “Brave little dog, that one.”
He did not have much to tell them, only that he was held by two men. “And neither of them was Mr. Zavorski,” Harry added.
“His name is Boleslav,” Nick added. “He is not a very pleasant man, Lord Harrington, and my friends and I have found out many bad things about him, so it is fair to say I am glad we were able to get you away from him, and that my wife is not in his clutches. It seems that whoever took the translations that Grace was working on was disposed of by Boleslav, and then he kidnapped you to finish them.”
Grace felt the tension in her husband. “He killed a man?” She whispered.
“We believe so, yes.”
“But what was in those papers?”
“Our information is that they were instructions for a series of robberies that were written in some kind of code.”
“God good,” Harry said.
“But how will we stop him from trying again, Nick?”
“There are other translators in London, but as you have started and are now aware that they are more than just words, our fear is that it is you he will continue to target, as you know much about him.” This came from Lord Vereton, who until then had been silently watching them converse.
“Therefore, we think it is best that both you and my wife leave London, Lord Harrington,” Nick added. “I have a hunting box, tucked on a quiet piece of countryside that we shall stay in until these men are caught.”
“What!” Grace looked at him. “But I don’t want to leave London.”
“Why not? I will come with you, as will your cousin and dog,” Nick reasoned. “It is for the best, Grace. There, I will be able to protect you better, while Leo, Jacob, and Marcus, along with some other men, find Boleslav.”
“Capital,” Harry said loudly. “I love the idea of a trip to the country, Grace.”
“You will come with us?” She looked up at Nick, who was watching her closely.
“Of course. Did you believe I would send you alone, or with someone else to watch over you?”
She had thought that actually, but did not say the words. “All right, as long as we are all going, then I see no reason to refuse.”
“I would have simply carried you had you not agreed,” her husband then said, his eyes steady on her face.
“Capital,” Harry said again, and Grace had the feeling that her cousin realized there was now more than animosity between her and Nick, and was more than happy about that fact.
Plans were made and they were to leave early the next morning. Lord Vereton took Harry to his house to collect his things, and then they all were to stay at the Attwood townhouse. Grace retired early, after their evening meal, leaving Nick and Leo, as the marquis insisted she now call him, to discuss everything. Harry had long since found his bed, tired from his ordeal.
After a bath, Grace climbed into her bed yawning. It had been a trying few days, but tonight she would sleep knowing that Harry was safe and under the same roof as she and Nick. The fire cast a soft glow around her room, and she felt her eyelids grow heavy.
Would Nick seek her bed tonight? She hoped he did, as she wished to sleep wrapped in his arms, warm and safe. Grace let herself drift to sleep with the memory of last night in her head.
Something roused her, a noise in her room. “Nick?” She pushed herself into a sitting position.
“No, Lady Attwood, and if you wish for your husband and cousin to remain unharmed you will come quietly.”
The man Nick had called Boleslav now stood beside her bed, and in his hand was a pistol.
“You have caused me much trouble, Lady Attwood, but it will end tonight. Now get out of bed slowly and walk to the windows.”
“I am in my nightdress!” Grace hissed. “Surely I must be allowed to dress?”
“There is no time, as your husband could enter at any moment.”
Throwing back the covers, Grace grabbed the shawl she had thrown over the foot of the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders before pushing her feet into slippers.
“Now move to the windows as I have said, Lady Attwood.”
He was too big for her to think about overpowering, plus he had a gun, and unfortunately Nipper had chosen to remain downstairs with Nick, so he would make no noise to alert anyone as to what was happening.
“Am I to jump?” Grace said when she reached the windows and threw them open.
“There is a rope. You will climb down and my men will be waiting.”
It is three stories,” Grace gasped.
“My men will catch you should you fall.” These words were accompanied by a prod in the back by the gun. “Now hurry please, I have no wish to meet your husband or his large friend.”
Lifting her skirts, Grace stepped onto the ledge and looked over. It was dark below but she saw three men, and the rope that was attached to the small balcony. A cool wind brushed over her and Grace thought furiously of what her next move should be. She had no wish for Nick to come running into the room and Boleslav to shoot him, yet she did not want to go with the man. Something told her he would not let her go, even when she had done as he wished.
“Move.” She was prodded again, so she swung her leg over the edge and gripped the rope in her hands. She was not even sure she could do this; climb down and not fall. Was she strong enough to hold her weight?
“There are knots, they will help you down, and I shall follow.”
Grace started slowly, clinging to the rope every time she moved lower. Her hands burned, as did her thighs, but she was making progress, and focused solely on reaching the bottom. Everything else, she shut out of her mind. Once she was at the bottom she would find a way to alert Nick, for now she had to concentrate on not breaking her neck.
“Move!”
“I’m tired,” Grace snapped at the man above her. “My hands hurt, and as I have never done such a thing before, you must allow me time to get down.”
“We do not have time, now move, Lady Attwood.”
She did as he asked, every muscle in her body aching from holding her weight.
“Let go now, my men will catch you.”
“Certainly not!” Grace said, but her hands lost their grip and she fell. Hands caught her, and then she was placed gently on her feet. Her shawl was handed to her, and she took it with hands that shook.
“Get her to the carriage,” Mr. Boleslav said as he landed on his feet beside her seconds later.
Grace was then lifted and thrown over a shoulder before she could try to flee, and as her windows faced the gardens, they were soon running down the hill toward the gate at the bottom.
Chapter Nine
Nick should let his wife sleep. He shouldn’t be opening her door and making his way toward her bed, but he was. He hadn’t even taken the time to go to his rooms and undress; such was his need to see her. He would hold her, he thought, just sleep with her in his arms. Surely he could do that.
He saw the open window then and frowned. Why would she open a window and have the fire lit? Panic gripped him as he looked at the bed and saw it was empty. Running to the window he looked out and saw them, running down the garden toward the gate at the bottom. In the moonlight he could see Grace over the shoulder of one of the men.
“Leo!” he roared, running back through the house. Continuing to rouse his friend as he ran, Nick took the stairs two at a time, and made it out the French doors off his office seconds later. He sprinted down the grass hill, to reach the gate as the carriage door slammed shut. Running as the carriage started to move he leapt into the air, managed to grab the back, and held on, hauling himself upward until he was balanced. Looking behind him he saw no sign of Leo, but he knew his friend would find him, Nick just had to keep Grace safe until then.
The carriage picked up speed when it left the street. He watched for landmarks and hoped Grace was all right inside. How the hell had they got her out of the house without him noticing i
t? He went cold, realizing they must have made her climb out the window; it was the only way he would not have seen them.
Nick closed his eyes at the thought of her falling. He had underestimated the Russian, believing he would not come for her again, here, knowing that Nick was now on to him. Especially as they had found the house Boleslav had held Harrington in, and taken three of his men whilst rescuing Grace’s cousin.
The carriage swung around a corner at speed, and Nick bit back a curse as he felt his hand slip, but he managed to hold on. They were leaving the busy streets of London, but it was some time before Nick felt the carriage begin to slow and he noted they had entered a village. The carriage rolled by some cottages and then turned up a driveway that was rutted and narrow. The dark concealed him as he jumped from the back and followed on foot, watching as the carriage pulled up in a clearing outside a house. The doors were thrown open and soon Grace appeared.
She was struggling against the hands that held her. Dressed only in her nightwear, she at least had on her slippers and a shawl. She was saying something in Russian, her words clipped and angry. The man who was presumably Boleslav grunted something back.
They carried her into the house and she fought them every step of the way.
“Good girl,” Nick whispered, making his way through the shadows toward the house. The moon was high, which would alert whoever was watching if he stepped out into the open, so he stayed where he was until he knew how many people Boleslav had put outside to guard the house.
He saw one at the front, and making his way round the rear of the house, he found another. With no gun or knife, he would need to be quick to disarm them. Waiting until the man had turned, he made his move, running across the grass and leaping, catching him from behind and throwing him to the ground. Once there, he knocked the man unconscious. Taking his gun he then searched him and found a knife. He slipped both into his waistband then headed around the building and did the same to the guard at the front.
Opening the front door slightly, Nick listened. He heard no voices, so slipped inside.
He checked the downstairs rooms, but found no one, and began to make his way up the stairs, stopping when he heard voices. One was Grace’s, but she was still speaking Russian, so he had no idea what was being said. He could hear another voice, again presumably Boleslav, but was unsure if he had any other men up there with him.
