A Not So Respectable Gentleman?

by Diane Gaston

Leo laughed. ‘Does my attire offend my valet’s sensibilities?’

  Walker grimaced. ‘You know I never truly acquired a valet’s sensibilities.’

  Penny piped up. ‘We have your bags! They were thrown from the carriage when it fell.’ She turned to Mariel. ‘There is a fresh dress for you, and we still have your brush and comb and hairpins.’

  ‘I have been very grateful for the dress I am wearing. If you could have seen my other one...’ She made a face.

  Leo sat up straighter. ‘Now that we know you are safe, we must attend to other matters.’ He looked towards Mariel.’ ‘We must be close to this hunting lodge. Let us find the bank clerk. We have time.’

  Walker exchanged a glance with Penny. ‘The bank clerk is gone.’

  Chapter Seventeen

  ‘Gone?’ Leo could not believe his ears.

  ‘Miss Jenkins and I went in search of him today.’ Walker explained. ‘We just returned a short while ago.’

  ‘You did not find him?’ Mariel’s voice rose in distress.

  Leo drummed his fingers on the wooden table, waiting for Walker to explain.

  ‘We found the hunting lodge with no problem, but the bank clerk was not there.’ Walker’s expression was grim. ‘The housekeeper told us that some men called upon him yesterday morning and that the clerk left with them in some haste.’

  ‘Did she say where they took him?’ Perhaps they could still find him in time.

  ‘She heard the men say they would take him back to London, but she did not know more than that.’

  ‘London...’ Leo curled his fingers into a fist. ‘To Kellford, I’ll wager. He’ll use the man to ensure Mariel goes through with the wedding.’

  Mariel’s eyes turned solemn. ‘Leo, it is as I feared.’

  ‘It changes nothing,’ he insisted. ‘We still have four days. We can find him in London.’

  ‘Three days, Leo,’ Mariel corrected. ‘It is too late to do anything today.’

  Leo glanced to the window. ‘There’s still daylight left.’

  But it would soon be evening. Already the sun was low in the sky. Even if they found a carriage to take them to London, there would not be enough daylight left to reach the city.

  ‘There is something else, Fitz,’ Walker broke in. ‘I am not so certain that the carriage mishap was an accident.’

  Leo looked at him. ‘Why do you say so?’

  Walker rubbed his chin. ‘Well, it is nothing so clear, but after we jumped from the carriage, I saw something. I took no heed of it then, as there were other matters more important.’ His glance slid to Penny and back to Leo. ‘But afterwards I remembered. I saw a man in the wood, running from the accident. Why would he run from it unless he caused it?’

  ‘Why would he cause it?’ It made no sense.

  ‘To stop us on our errand.’

  ‘But no one knew we were going after the bank clerk.’ Had Leo missed something?

  Walker shrugged. ‘Kellford’s valet might have guessed.’ He glanced away. ‘Although I swear I never gave him any reason to think I considered what he told me anything more than gossip. Even so, he never showed any inclination to help his employer in any way. But it is a possibility....’

  ‘Or someone in the gaming hells might have told Kellford I was asking about him.’ A sick feeling lodged in Leo’s stomach. ‘Kellford would have wanted to stop me.’

  Leo had made a mistake. He’d underestimated Kellford and the lengths the man would go to in order to achieve his ends.

  Mariel touched his arm. ‘But he would not have wanted to hurt me. What would that serve?’

  ‘He did not know you would be in the carriage.’ Leo himself had not known she would come.

  Kellford could not have conceived Mariel would be in the carriage, too.

  Her eyes widened. ‘Leo, he tried to kill you for helping me.’

  ‘He wanted to stop us, not kill us,’ Leo said. ‘No one could have planned for the carriage to fall in the river.’

  ‘They took the bank clerk away the same day,’ Walker added. ‘So they could have been on the road the same time as we were.’

  ‘Kellford must have known our plan.’ There was no other explanation.

  ‘He also must have known you could die,’ Mariel insisted. ‘People die from carriage accidents.’

  Penny nodded vigorously.

  ‘Likely he did not care,’ Leo mused. ‘He has long held me in ill favour.’

  Mariel shook her head. ‘But there was also Walker and the coachman. Surely he could not have had a dislike for a coachman!’

  The world abounded with men who cared only for their own gratification and nothing for another’s life. Kellford was but one of them.

  She lowered her head into her hands. ‘He is a monster.’

  Leo regarded her intently. ‘That is why you must not marry him.’

  ‘It is too late,’ she whispered.

  Once again happiness had been within Leo’s grasp, but luck had failed him, as it had failed him before when it came to being with Mariel.

  No. He refused to give up. Stone-hard determination grew inside him. He refused to give up.

  He stood. ‘It might be too late to reach London tonight, but we can get a great deal closer. I am going to find a carriage to take us as far as possible tonight. We might still be able to find the bank clerk in time.’

  ‘I’ll go with you,’ Walker said.

  ‘I will, too.’ Mariel rose from her seat.

  Leo put a stilling hand on her arm. ‘No, Mariel. Rest your feet. We can move faster without you.’ He assured her, ‘It is only to procure the carriage. We will return very soon.’

  Penny extended a hand. ‘Come with me, miss. All our things are here in the room Walker got for me. You and I can pack and have our bags brought to this parlour so we will be all ready to go. We can wait for them here.’

  Mariel nodded.

  Leo embraced her quickly.

  His resolution was strong. He’d not fought for Mariel two years ago. This time he’d fight to the bitter end.

  * * *

  For an hour Mariel paced the length of the private parlour, ignoring the pain in her feet. Penny sat by the window, busying herself with some mending.

  The situation was worse than ever. Now her choices were to marry Kellford or risk Leo’s death—and the death of anyone else who got in the way.

  She paced faster.

  Finally there was a knock on the door. Before she could say, ‘Enter,’ it opened and Leo appeared.

  Mariel clasped her hands together expectantly. ‘Leo?’

  He avoided her eye, instead looked towards Penny. ‘Miss Jenkins, would you mind leaving us alone for a moment?’

  Penny rose and curtsied. She hurried to where Walker waited just outside the doorway.

  Mariel faced Leo and instantly knew they’d not had success. ‘You did not find a coachman to drive us.’

  He met her gaze steadily. ‘We enquired everywhere. No one was willing to transport us anywhere before tomorrow.’

  She turned away. Leo would be safe tonight. If only he would never go back—

  She swung around to him. ‘Leo! You do not need to return to London at all. You can simply disappear.’ She strode over to him, curling her fingers around his arms. ‘Penny and Walker could go with you. I can hire a coach tomorrow and still return to London in time. No one would know I was with you. Once I am married to Kellford, you’ll be safe.’

  ‘No. That would never do.’ He held her face in his hands. ‘I have hired a horse. I will ride to London tonight and start the search for the bank clerk.’

  She moved away from his grasp. ‘No, Leo.’

  ‘The horse is already saddled and waiting for me.’ His voice was fi
rm.

  She could not allow him to go to London. ‘Kellford will discover you. He will try to kill you again.’

  His eyes hardened. ‘I can handle myself.’

  She gripped his coat. ‘I cannot let you do this, Leo. It is too dangerous.’

  He remained steady. ‘My brothers used to tell me what I could and could not do, what was too dangerous. I have faced danger before, Mariel. I can conquer it.’

  ‘Not alone, then,’ she persisted. ‘Take Walker with you.’

  ‘I need Walker to stay here with you and Penny.’ His voice turned low. ‘I will not leave you unprotected.’ He leaned down and touched his lips to her forehead. ‘Do not worry over me.’

  His kiss only increased her pain.

  She pulled away. ‘Do not leave,’ she begged. ‘I fear all kinds of frightful things. You put me through this once before, I cannot bear it again. This time I know you will be in danger. We may all travel back tomorrow, then. But I want you to give up trying prevent my marriage. Kellford has won.’

  He stroked her cheek. ‘I am not ready to give up. I’ll have more time if I reach London tonight. Trust me that I can take care of myself.’

  Helpless tears stung her eyes, but she refused to stop. ‘This is the worst thing you could do, leaving me to worry over you.’

  He swept fingers over her hair, a soothing gesture. ‘I will be in touch with you as soon as possible.’

  When he’d left her two years before, her imagination had gone wild with fear that some danger had befallen him. This time she knew precisely what the danger would be—Kellford. She remained unbending, even when he embraced her and touched her cheek. She was already afraid that this might be the last time she saw him.

  She watched him say a quick goodbye to Walker and Penny. He glanced back at her.

  Her gaze met his as she stood in the doorway, her fears abounding. She watched him until he disappeared from the public room. Despair threatened. Despair and utter helplessness.

  She could see no good outcome. She could only see losing him again.

  Penny approached her and put an arm around her. ‘Mr Walker is ordering us some food. You should sit now.’

  She let Penny lead her to a chair. What difference did it make what she did now?

  When Walker entered, she looked at him accusingly. ‘You should have stopped him, Walker.’

  His brows rose. ‘I do not tell him what to do, miss.’

  ‘You should have told him this time,’ she insisted. ‘He is riding into danger; I am sure of it.’

  Walker looked towards the door as if still watching his employer leave. ‘He is accustomed to danger.’ He turned back to Mariel. ‘Do you know how he met me?’

  She crossed her arms. What difference could it make?

  Walker regarded her intently. ‘In Paris I encountered some vicious men intent on stealing my purse. I had but a few coins to my name, so I fought them. It was three against one, but I was raised on the streets and knew how to fight. Turns out Paris street fighters fight with their legs—savate, it is called—and a kick has a longer reach than a punch. They were kicking me to a fair pulp, when suddenly this fellow I never saw before jumps in to help me. The other men pulled out knives, but this stranger still fought hard. We beat them off.’

  The fight where Leo suffered the wounds that scarred his chest? He’d been heroic. He’d saved Walker. Despair threatened again. He would attempt to be heroic again.

  Walker went on. ‘Fitz and I have been in other dangerous situations. He handled himself well then, too.’

  Mariel closed her eyes; all she could see was men beating Leo and no one to come to his aid.

  She regarded Walker again. ‘You are not there to help him now, are you?’

  ‘Now he knows someone is after him, he’ll take care. Do not worry.’ Walker sounded confident.

  Mariel tried to be reassured, but she knew when she lay in her bed to try to sleep this night, her fears for Leo would return.

  * * *

  Leo made the most of what was left of the daylight, changing horses frequently at the posting inns along the way, resting little himself. He had ridden through another bout of rain and, in the last two hours, near pitch-black darkness, hardly able to see past the horse’s head. The roads were muddy and full of ruts from the day’s earlier traffic. For many moments he held his breath against the chance that the horse would stumble or, worse, break a leg.

  He rarely rode these days but found little pleasure in returning to horseback for such a difficult journey. Each horse he mounted showed a distinct personality. Some were adequate to the task of getting him back to London as fast as possible. Others were not.

  He needed to concentrate on the road. His nerves were strained to breaking point and the darkness ahead was an oppressive void.

  Dark and oppressive were his fears of failing Mariel. He simply could not fail. He must find a way to stop Kellford before Kellford married Mariel. Each mile convinced him that finding the bank clerk would be impossible. The man would be well hidden. There was no time for him to discover where. He needed another plan.

  His horse stepped into a rut, stumbled and faltered before regaining its gait. Leo drew his concentration back to the road.

  Suddenly hoofbeats sounded from behind. In front of him a man on horseback emerged from the blackness and blocked the road.

  ‘Stand and deliver!’ the man shouted.

  No bloody way, Leo thought. He urged his horse into a gallop and rode directly for the man.

  A shot rang out, its explosion illuminating the darkness for an instant. It missed its mark. Leo continued straight for the man.

  The highwayman’s horse jumped away at the last minute. Its rump brushed against Leo’s leg as he sped past. He heard more than one man riding after him, but Leo did not slow down until their hoofbeats faded into the night.

  His heart continued to race and the exhilaration of thwarting danger pumped through his veins. From surviving the river to escaping highwaymen, Leo felt like a soldier who’d run a gauntlet and emerged triumphant.

  Only one more trial to endure.

  After a final change of horses at the next posting inn, the glow of London’s gas lamps soon shone in the distance.

  The closer Leo came to London, the more he could turn his thoughts to planning a confrontation with Kellford. If there was no time to find the bank clerk, all that was left was to face Kellford directly and convince him to withdraw from marrying Mariel.

  Leo returned his horse to a posting inn at the edge of town and hired a hack to take him to Jermyn Street. Once back in his rooms he built a fire in the grate, took off his clothes and washed himself from top to toe, finally feeling clean of the river. He climbed into bed and fell into an exhausted sleep.

  * * *

  Lord Kellford, seated at the desk in his library, looked up from his papers. ‘What news have you for me, Mr Hughes?’

  He disliked having this common ruffian come to his house, but it was the lesser of two evils. It would be vastly more unpleasant to meet Hughes in whatever hovel he might dwell.

  ‘Your clerk is safely tucked away in Covent Garden.’ Hughes smiled an ingratiating smile. ‘And the other...matter...will not trouble you again.’

  Kellford’s brows rose. ‘Not trouble me again? Do not say you have eliminated the problem completely?’

  Could he be so fortunate? To be rid of Fitzmanning, that self-righteous prig?

  Hughes’s grin turned more genuine. ‘There was an unfortunate carriage accident. The carriage fell into the Medway River. I saw it disappear under the water and be swept away.’

  ‘And he was inside?’ Could this be true?

  ‘He was indeed.’

  ‘Ha! Ha!’ Kellford clapped his hands. ‘Who could have imagined it? I thought yo
u were merely going to stop him.’

  Hughes withdrew a piece of paper from a pocket. ‘Here is an accounting of my expenses and the fees we agreed upon.’ He handed the paper across the desk.

  Ah, yes. An accounting. No doubt Hughes would charge as much as possible.

  He took the paper from Hughes’s hands and peered at the figures.

  He gaze shot up. ‘This sum is astronomical! It is twice as much as we agreed upon.’

  Hughes shrugged. ‘Carriage accidents come at a high price.’

  How he detested dealing with these low lifes. As soon as he had his fortune, he’d pay this creature and be done with him. From then on he’d move only in the most esteemed circles, precisely where he belonged.

  Kellford glared. ‘Your task is not completed yet. You still have to produce the clerk at the church Saturday morning. I want my new wife to see him seated in a pew. Not too close to my guests, mind you, but where she can see him.’

  ‘I’ll tend to it personally and produce the final accounting afterwards.’

  Kellford was sure putting the bank clerk in a pew at church would be quite an additional cost.

  He favoured Hughes with a false smile. ‘I am very certain you will.’

  There was a knock at the door and Kellford’s footman appeared. ‘You have a caller, your lordship.’

  It was much too early for reputable callers. That was why he’d scheduled Hughes at this hour. It would not do for his reputable visitors to catch him with such a man. Obviously his precautions had not worked perfectly.

  ‘Well, who is it?’ Kellford snapped.

  The footman answered, ‘Mr Leo Fitzmanning, sir.’

  Kellford felt his face drain of colour.

  ‘I saw him float away,’ Hughes whispered. ‘I swear it.’

  Kellford signalled for him to be quiet. He turned to the footman. ‘You may tell Fitzmanning I will see him here.’

  The footman bowed and left.

  Kellford, anger raging inside him, ripped up Hughes’s tally of expenses. ‘Unless a ghost walks in here, Mr Hughes. You failed to complete your task.’ He waved him away. ‘Hide yourself now while I hear what Fitzmanning has to say.’