Love's Peril (Lord Trent Series)

by Holt, Cheryl

  John’s cheeks flushed with shame. He vividly recalled the pretty blond. She’d been so devoted to Harcourt, so fiercely protective. John had envied Harcourt for having such a loyal doxy.

  “I remember her.”

  “Her name is Harriet.”

  “I heard they survived, that they wed when they got home.”

  “They did.” Charles studied John. “Were you aware that she’s your sister?”

  John scowled. “She’s what?”

  “You were so eager to kill your brother, but you almost killed your sister, too.”

  John shook his head. “You’re lying. You have to be.”

  “I’m not. They’re my daughters—she and her twin sister, Helen—along with your sister, Fanny. Is this the legacy you’ll leave to them? Is this the memory they’ll have of you? That you tried to murder Harriet and you don’t even care? That you’ll let the King execute you without a whimper of protest? Have you ever considered your sisters and how they might feel about it?”

  Charles whipped away and left.

  John stood, paralyzed with guilt and remorse, listening as his father’s footsteps faded down the hall.

  At the last second, John raced over and called, “Charles?”

  “What?”his father said again.

  “I had no idea. Tell her I’m sorry.”

  “You can tell her yourself—if you decide you’re man enough to fight for your life. Why Miss Teasdale has such faith in you, I’ll never know.”

  Then he disappeared through the barred gate, a guard slammed it shut, and John staggered into his cell and collapsed down on his bed.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Raven huddled in the dark, watching for Reggie Thompson to emerge from a nearby tavern. There was only a sliver of moon, and no lamp lit on the corner pole, which suited Raven’s purposes.

  Reggie liked to sit in clean, tidy offices, pouring over ledgers and adding long columns of numbers. He didn’t like to get his hands or clothes dirty. But Annalise’s treachery had guaranteed they had to carry out duties that weren’t normally expected.

  Finally, Reggie staggered out, pretending drunkenness in case any of the patrons inside saw him leave. As the door swung shut, he straightened and hurried away.

  He passed the spot where Raven lurked like a specter, but didn’t glance in his direction.

  “He’s had her declared a lunatic,”Reggie whispered. “He’s had her locked away in Bedlam Hospital.”

  He kept on down the block to their carriage.

  Raven listened as Reggie climbed in. Then the narrow street was quiet again.

  Another hour dragged by before Archibald Patterson stumbled out of the bar, but Raven hadn’t minded the wait. The interval had given him plenty of opportunity for his fury to boil. Not that he’d needed to become any angrier, but an excess of temper focused him.

  Patterson swayed to and fro, then unbuttoned his trousers and took a piss on the wall of the building. He shook his cock, shoved it in his pants, and fastened them again.

  Once finished, he tottered away, humming an off-key sailor’s jig. He walked by Raven without noticing him, and Raven slid from his hiding spot, moving like a ghost, like the Angel of Death.

  The past few weeks had been a nightmare of disasters—all caused by Annalise—and there were several loose ends that had to be tied. Starting with Archie Patterson.

  Raven had many irons in the fire as he plotted various vengeance for various people. First and foremost, he’d rushed to retrieve Caroline from her brutal husband, only to learn from his servants that the man had never brought her home from Bramble Bay. No one knew where she was, and a terrified housemaid had nervously confided that she was afraid Patterson might have murdered Caroline.

  Patterson had been strutting around town, going to work, going to supper, acting as if he’d never had a wife. Raven had finally followed Patterson to his favorite tavern, had sent Reggie in to feign friendship and ply Patterson with liquor until he babbled secrets he hadn’t meant to reveal.

  The bastard had locked her in an asylum! And not just any asylum, but the most foul, dangerous, squalid one in the land. There were occasions in Raven’s life where he regretted his penchant for violence, but this was not one of them.

  Patterson approached the entrance to an alley, and Raven swooped in, grabbed him by the waist, and whisked him into the shadows. In a flit of a second, he and Patterson were alone.

  “What the hell…?”Patterson drunkenly mumbled.

  Raven threw him against a wall. He banged his head very hard and would have collapsed to the ground, but Raven clutched his coat and kept him on his feet.

  “If you’re hoping to rob me,”Patterson muttered, “you’re out of luck. I emptied my purse in the tavern.”

  Raven drew a knife from his boot. The blade was long and sharp, and moonlight reflected off it. Patterson’s eyes widened with terror as Raven dug the tip into the soft skin below his chin.

  “Where’s your wife, Archie?”Raven hissed.

  “My wife?”

  “Take a look at my face. I realize it’s a tad dark in here, but take a good look. Do you remember me?”

  Patterson opened his mouth to shout for help, and Raven jammed an elbow into his cheek, breaking the bone. Patterson winced in agony and might have fainted, but Raven slapped him so he’d remain conscious.

  “It’s pointless to call for help, Archie,”Raven whispered. “You can’t be rescued from me. Now tell me where you’ve put your wife.”

  Patterson smirked. “I have no idea where she is. She ran off months ago.”

  “Let’s review what I told you that day at Bramble Bay.”

  “Fornicator. Adulterer.” The words were slurred, blood gushing from his nose and dripping onto his shirt.

  “Those are some of my best traits. Would you try to focus, Archie? You must recollect what I told you. I warned you that if I ever saw you again, I’d kill you. Did you think I wasn’t serious?”

  “I’m not afraid of you,”Patterson blustered. “I’ll complain to the authorities that you seduced my wife, then threatened me. A man has rights.”

  “Yes, he does,”Raven amiably agreed, “and my right is to protect the woman I love. I know where she is, Archie.”

  Patterson frowned. “You couldn’t possibly.”

  “Caroline always insisted you drank too much. I guess she was correct.” Raven dug the knife in further, deep enough to make Patterson squirm and moan. “Tell me what’s become of her. If I hear it from your own stupid lips, I’ll let you live.”

  “Bedlam Hospital,”he blurted out. “The whore is in Bedlam, and I’ll never free her. She’ll die there.”

  “Didn’t you know, Archie? With a big bribe, a fellow can purchase any conclusion, and I’m very, very rich.”

  Raven moved the knife from Archie’s chin, and Archie relaxed, foolishly believing the attack was over. Before he had time to grasp that it wasn’t, Raven plunged the blade into his stomach, twisted it, and gutted him like a fish.

  Patterson lurched as if he might protest, but it was too late.

  “Sorry, Archie, but I’m a renowned liar. I never intended to let you live.”

  Raven released him, and he fell to the muck on the cobbles, a fitting end for the despicable swine. Raven tarried a minute, then a minute more, until Patterson’s heart stopped beating.

  He reached into Patterson’s coat, sliced through the chain on his purse, and pulled it out. Patterson had claimed he’d spent all his money in the tavern, but some coins clinked together.

  During the assault, Raven had noted a street urchin hiding farther down the alley. He tossed the wallet in the boy’s direction.

  “The nob said he spent his last farthing on liquor,”Raven murmured, “but he hasn’t. You can have what’s left.”

  The boy scampered out to retrieve the purse, then vanished again. Raven almost reminded him to get rid of it, to pitch it in the Thames where it would never be found, but Raven didn’t suppose th
e lad needed a warning.

  Raven, himself, had been an orphan on the streets. A child like that didn’t require instructions on how to survive.

  He whipped away and calmly proceeded to the carriage parked down the block.

  “Take us to Bedlam Hospital,”he told the driver.

  The man blanched. “This time of night? Are you sure?”

  “I have business there that can’t wait until morning.”

  Reggie poked his nose out the window and asked as the driver just had, “Bedlam? Now? It’s almost midnight.”

  “I’m not leaving her there another second. Don’t expect me to.”

  * * * *

  Caroline was lying on a cold floor in a line of twenty other women. They were sleeping, but she wasn’t. Since the day she’d first arrived, she hadn’t been able to rest.

  She was consumed by the worst feelings of dread and shame. Shame—because she could never have envisioned her life descending to such a low precipice. Dread—because the facility was filthy and dangerous. If she closed her eyes, she was afraid she wouldn’t be alive at dawn to open them again.

  The woman next to her had a blanket, and she was kind enough to share it with Caroline. On two previous occasions, the woman’s husband had committed her, so she’d learned to bring the items she needed.

  From the moment Caroline had staggered in, the woman had pitied her, had watched over her and taught her the ropes.

  A few of the patients were actually mad, but mostly, they were females like Caroline: a trial to their parents or their husbands, so they’d been locked away.

  When Archie had kidnapped her from Bramble Bay, her wrists and ankles bound like a hog being carted to market, she hadn’t imagined she’d make it to London. He’d been so angry, she’d thought he would kill her and dump her body in the forest.

  But no. He’d driven her straight to town, and she’d been hideously surprised when he’d delivered her to the infamous asylum. The dire event was infuriating, both because she’d been deemed a lunatic, but also because she couldn’t escape. Her cordial companion, who’d passed several years in the place, insisted it was impossible, and Caroline suspected she was correct.

  As she’d been dragged inside, Archie hissed in her ear that she’d never be released, that she’d die in the putrid spot. It was the ultimate punishment. If he’d taken her home, she could have eventually fled, but he’d guaranteed that he would always know her whereabouts—for the remainder of his days.

  Footsteps sounded in the hall, growing nearer and nearer. A guard was approaching, and Caroline shut her eyes and feigned sleep. The guards were all male, and they often sauntered in and left with various patients.

  Usually, the women returned beaten or injured in more nefarious ways. Other times, they didn’t come back, and there were many rumors: that they were sold to brothels, that they were strangled to death and buried in anonymous graves.

  No one ever assumed the women went away to happy endings.

  Upon being admitted, they’d cut Caroline’s hair very short, and Archie had given her no change of clothes. So she was grimy and grubby, which was good. It was easy to hide her pretty looks, easy to blend in and be invisible.

  She was positioned in the very middle of the group. If anyone was removed, it would be a person at the end of the row. Yet to her dismay, the guard strolled down the line, scowling at faces but having difficulty seeing in the dim light.

  “Caroline Patterson?”he finally said, and her pulse raced with alarm.

  They never called a specific name. They simply grabbed whoever was closest and walked off with her. How had he noticed her? What had she done to stand out?

  His voice—masculine and low—in the women’s quarters roused everyone. People shifted about, peeking up from blankets.

  “Mrs. Patterson?”he said again, and he stopped beside her.

  He waited and waited, his impatience clear, and she answered, “Yes?”

  “Come with me.”

  He leaned down and clasped her arm, but she yanked away.

  “Why?”

  “Don’t argue. Just come.”

  “Not until you tell me what’s happening.”

  Her friend sat up and told the guard, “I’ll go with you. You don’t need to take her. I’ll do it.”

  Caroline frowned. “Absolutely not.”

  “Sorry, ma’am, but it has to be Mrs. Patterson.”

  Women were glaring, but even though there was one of him and twenty of them, none of them would confront him. They wouldn’t risk trouble for her.

  She glowered at him, determined to save herself, but how?

  A wave of fury swamped her. Why was the world so unfair? Fleetingly, she wondered about her dear Raven Hook, but in her current situation, he didn’t seem like he’d ever actually existed.

  What had he thought when he’d returned to Bramble Bay and she was gone? Had he figured out what occurred? Was he searching for her? Or had she simply vanished, with there not being the slightest clue as to Mildred’s perfidy?

  She remembered the slip of paper she’d put in his coat, the one with Archie’s address printed on it. If Raven found the paper and went to Archie’s house, it would be a fruitless trip. She’d disappeared as quickly and completely as if she’d died. The only thing missing was the gravestone and epitaph.

  “I haven’t got all night,”the guard snapped.

  He latched on more tightly. He was fat and strong, and with ease, he lifted her to her feet.

  They marched out, twenty pairs of stunned eyes watching them depart. She wanted to hear them shouting with offense, demanding he halt, but sadly, the room was quiet.

  The hospital was huge, and they walked and walked. Every time they passed a door, she braced, certain he was about to drag her in and commit unspeakable acts without fear of reprisal, yet they kept on.

  With each step, she was more reluctant, more frantic. She struggled with him, desperate to pull away, to run back to the other women, but they’d turned so many corners, she wasn’t positive she could find the route.

  Eventually, they exited out the rear of the building and approached a gate. There were two men on the other side, obviously waiting for her. Was she to be sold to a brothel? Was the rumor true?

  Bile rose in her throat, and she began to fight in earnest.

  “No, I won’t do it,”she vehemently said. “You can’t make me.” She swung a fist at him, but she was off balance and couldn’t land a solid blow.

  “Hold on, hold on!”the guard griped.

  “Caroline…”

  Her name whispered by, and at first, she didn’t realize it had been spoken. She continued to fight as the guard drew her over to the two men.

  “Caroline!” The summons was louder, more firm.

  She slowed and peered into the dark, anxious to see who had arrived. It wasn’t Archie. So who, then?

  “It’s me, Caroline,”a familiar voice said.

  “Raven?”she tentatively murmured.

  “Yes, and please hurry. We need to be away.”

  She assumed she was hallucinating, that her incarceration had left her as mad as the real lunatics in the place. But he seemed to be standing there. Another man—shorter, well-dressed—was there, too. He appeared to be a clerk or accountant.

  The guard fumbled with a ring of keys, then unlocked the gate and opened it just a crack. He shoved Caroline toward Raven, and Raven caught her. She could feel him and smell him, so he wasn’t a figment of her imagination.

  He smoothed a palm across her shorn head. “They cut off your beautiful hair.”

  “It will grow back.”

  “Yes, it will.” He dropped to a knee and clasped her hand. “Can you forgive me?”

  “Forgive…you?”she stammered. “For what?”

  “I didn’t protect you. I swore I would, but I didn’t.”

  “Of course I forgive you.”

  She tugged him to his feet, and he stood, towering over her. Instantly, she felt safe a
gain.

  “You came for me.” She was so amazed. “How did you know where I was?”

  “We asked your husband. It only took a bit of coaxing to pry some answers out of him.”

  The clerk motioned to the guard and gave him a small cloth bag. The contents clinked, and Caroline could tell it was a bribe being tendered.

  “Payment in full,”the clerk informed the guard.

  “I have to count it,”the guard mulishly said.

  “You doubt the word of the Raven?”the clerk huffed. “How dare you, sir!”

  The guard stared at Raven, noting his large size, black clothes, and fierce expression. “Ah…I’m sure it’s all here.” He carefully closed the gate so it didn’t clang. “I’d appreciate it if you could be on your way. The sooner the better.”

  “We’re happy to go,”the clerk pompously advised.

  He turned and proceeded to a parked carriage. Raven gestured for Caroline to walk to it too, but she was frozen with shock. It had all happened so fast. It was bizarre, like a peculiar dream where she was floating above it all and observing the characters down below.

  “It will be all right now,”Raven gently urged. “It will always be all right.”

  “What about Archie? What if he finds out? What if he comes after me?”

  “You don’t have to worry about Archie ever again. He will never come after you.”

  Raven flashed a look of such calm certainty that, when he gestured to the carriage again, she stumbled over and climbed inside.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  “Are you sure about this?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Would you like me to come in with you?”

  Sarah stared at Raven across the carriage seat. It was a cool, blustery day, giving stark indication that summer was over and autumn had arrived. She tamped down a shiver and pulled on her cloak.

  In the past few months, so many things had happened, and she’d changed in so many ways. Raven could have saved his own skin, could have sneaked away to France where he’d have been out of danger, but he’d stayed with Sarah at Bramble Bay.

  He’d rescued Caroline and brought her home. When they’d learned a short time later that Archie had been slain in an apparent robbery, Raven hadn’t seemed surprised in the least.