Nate wasn’t as sure. At least in Foxmoore’s case. The man seemed to have hidden talents. Nate smiled. Maybe Lawson should recruit him.
“I doubt I’ll be back before nightfall. Do you have things handled here?”
Nate knew Grant was referring to his nightly position outside Anna’s window. Nate had taken to keeping vigil in the hall while Grant made sure someone—The Viper specifically—didn’t utilize the window.
“I have it covered.”
Grant raised his brow in question.
“Let’s just say it is going to be a long night.” He hoped he’d survive it with his sanity intact.
With Grant off to find Foxmoore, Nate returned to the house and to Anna, pushing aside his guilt for not involving Grant in his plan. As loyal as Nate found his man to be, something told him if everything fell into place, and he lured out the thief, he wouldn’t want another Runner involved. Hence the need for Foxmoore.
With no sign of Anna, Nate assumed she remained cloistered in her bedchamber. Feeling the need to poke her temper, he gave a solid knock on the door before asking, “Done hiding, princess?”
Predictably, the door swung open. “I’m not hiding. Though, if I was, your annoying company would be ample reason.”
“Sure you weren’t. And I’m King Tut.”
A smile lit her entire face and set off a twinkle in her eyes at his rather foolish reference to the dead Egyptian ruler her father had mentioned the day before.
“Fitting since you act more boy than man.”
Her saucy retort had him longing to push her into the room and remind her how manly he could be. What about her overruled his better judgment? He wouldn’t go as far as to say he’d remained celibate during cases in the past, but he sure as hell had never mixed work and play so intricately before.
“Be honest, Nate, aren’t you at all weary of being my shadow? Especially since nothing remotely dangerous is ever going to happen. Don’t you want to get out of the house? Maybe go for a ride? I know Father asked for you to guard me, but I thought we’d concluded it isn’t needed.”
She studied him for a moment. When her eyes narrowed into little slits that masked their enchanting color, he realized his error.
“Unless something has changed. Has it? Is there a reason you’ve been plaguing me with your constant presence?”
Before Nate could reply, a commotion at the end of the landing distracted him.
“Mr. Frederickson! Mr. Frederickson!” Mr. Thomas thundered down the hall before halting breathlessly before Nate. The man acted as if he’d run from the stable and not merely the parlor.
“Oh, thank God. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. You must come quickly. Brodford needs you!”
The panic in the thin man’s eyes had Nate swallowing two words. The Viper.
He didn’t stop to think before he pushed past Mr. Thomas and raced down the hall. Was it possible? Had The Viper been brazen enough to attack during the day, not caring who he killed to get to Nate?
Intent on reaching Brodford—and praying he wasn’t too late—Nate ignored the pounding of feet following him. His legs were much longer and he didn’t pause to hit every step on the way down the stairs in order to reach whatever awaited him before Anna or Mr. Thomas.
To be safe he threw an order over his shoulder. “Keep Anna here.” He hoped the scholarly man had enough courage to do what needed to be done.
Years of training had taught him to use his head more than his fists. Before he closed the distance to the parlor door, Nate paused and assessed the situation. Thank God there was no visible blood or deadly screams. Maybe he’d reached Brodford in time. Was Jarvis in the room with the earl?
Not about to go face to face with a man who could shoot him dead the moment his shadow crossed the threshold unarmed, Nate pulled the pistol he’d started to carry the same day he’d learned of The Viper’s escape. Thoughts of the last time he’d confronted Jarvis flashed through his mind. That night he hadn’t been alone. Now Nate would be testing his skills against the best.
Pistol poised, he slid against the wall leading to the parlor. As his heart pounded in his ears, Nate noticed something was missing. Gone was the thrill of catching his man. Even when he’d faced Jarvis that night in the rain, a twinge of excitement had flared when the man had finally appeared. Now all Nate felt was terror.
What if he couldn’t stop him? What if Jarvis managed to get to Anna? Nate’s insides froze at the possibility.
Determinedly, Nate turned off the fear. He’d been afraid before, and his success stemmed from his ability to set his fear aside. Never had that mattered more than now.
Knowing a surprise attack would be his best chance to secure his quarry, Nate inched closer. When he reached the door, spun around the doorpost, gun ready.
Instead of meeting the lifeless eyes of The Viper, Brodford’s angry gaze greeted Nate.
“Indeed, Frederickson, I believe charging in with gun drawn is a tad excessive for a robbery,” the older man growled. “Despite your repeated promises to catch the man responsible.”
Robbery? Had Mr. Thomas’ panicked plea been because of a simple robbery? The man had come close to fainting in horror at Nate’s feet.
At Anna’s approach, Nate returned his pistol to its hiding place, attempting to keep his overreaction from her. It was bad enough he’d have to explain why he’d felt it necessary to race down the hall, hurtle the stairs, and burst into the parlor. Hopefully he wouldn’t need to explain why he’d aimed a pistol at her father.
If Brodford’s glare meant anything, Nate would not escape offering an explanation to the earl. First he needed to figure out what the hell was going on. The man who held those answers appeared behind Anna, once again out of breath.
Incensed, Nate growled, “Mr. Thomas, would you care to explain why you felt the need to come barreling through the hall in a crazed state pleading for help when Brodford is perfectly fine?”
“But . . . but . . . the . . .” The man sputtered through deep gasps.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, catch your breath, man.” Nate had already passed beyond merely annoyed. First, he’d made a fool of himself. Second, he was still trying to eradicate the fear of losing Anna—an emotion stuck tighter than a leech. And just as bloodthirsty.
As everyone waited while Thomas relearned how to breathe, Brodford’s voice obscured the man’s shallow wheezes. “I think I know what happened, Frederickson, and I owe you an apology.”
Nate switched his focus from Thomas to Brodford who now seemed ashamed instead of red with rage.
“Poor Walter was just reacting to my anger upon discovering another item had been stolen. I didn’t stop to think how you would take his urgency.”
Brodford gave Nate a knowing look, understanding his alarm. The threat of The Viper. The misunderstanding explained, Nate turned his focus to the real crime that had occurred.
“All of this because of a missing artifact?” Nate asked, still annoyed with Thomas’ unnecessary alarm.
His breathing under control, Thomas injected, “Not just any artifact. The Eye of Horus amulet.”
As if any of that made sense to Nate. All he managed to take away from the insightful comment was that Mr. Thomas had indeed spent too much time digging in the past and not enough of enjoying the present in bed with a woman. That would surely knock loose some of his stuffiness.
Instead of trying to get answers from Brodford’s man, Nate addressed the earl, hoping someone in the room still retained some intellect.
“The amulet I’d mentioned a couple days ago—the one that had recently arrived—it is gone. Unfortunately, I can’t say when it went missing. I haven’t given it much thought since the day I wanted to show it to you and Anna.”
At the mention of Anna, Nate realized she hovered,
unusually quiet. Surely she’d have something to say about Nate’s fit of alarm. Probably something scathing and to the point.
He kept a threatening smile from his lips.
Yet when he turned to her, she didn’t resemble the bold woman he’d come to expect. Instead, she seemed to have curled into herself. No twinkle of life shone in her eyes and her skin was the color of chalk.
Maybe she had seen the pistol before he’d concealed it. If so, surely she’d have rung a peal over his head about the safety of others and some nonsense about thinking before he acted. Rather expecting it, he was weirdly disappointed she didn’t deliver. Perhaps she was saving it for when they were alone.
None of that explained her current state. She appeared both sad and remorseful. Neither made sense. He’d find a way to extract it from her later. As long as there were no flat surfaces around when he did it. For some inexplicable reason she always ended on her back when he tried to finesse answers from her. An outcome he struggled and failed to feel remorseful about.
“What do you propose to do about it, Mr. Frederickson?”
Thomas might be Brodford’s favorite crewmember but Nate seriously contemplated hitting the man.
“Leave the investigating to me, Mr. Thomas,” Nate replied.
“Hopefully you’ll manage to get it right this time.”
Oh, without a doubt, Nate was going to show the man his fist, and soon.
Since it would only lead to Lawson giving him a lecture on beating the associate of a client, Nate let the moment pass and turned back to Brodford. “You say the item had just arrived?”
“Yes. I’d only had it for two days when I’d last seen it, about three days ago.”
Instead of taking something Brodford might not notice missing for some time, the thief had stolen a new artifact. The question now, did the thief do it deliberately, thinking the amulet held more value being a newer discovery, or had the individual finally blundered?
Nate silently hoped it was the former since it would fit with what he’d planned. What he needed Foxmoore to assist with.
Still leery as to whom he could trust, since something about the entire situation felt off, he kept his thoughts to himself.
“I’ll speak with my men and see what we can determine. I’ll also get word to Foxmoore so he can track the item.”
“That is all? What about the amulet? It might be damaged!” This from the hapless Mr. Thomas.
Luckily for the buffoon, Brodford interceded, “I trust Frederickson.”
The earl’s faith only strengthened Nate’s resolve to do what must be done.
Chapter 30
How she managed to make it through the scene in the parlor without confessing all, Anna had no idea. Probably because she’d been frozen and her body incapable of moving, much less speaking.
Even now, sitting across the table from Mr. Thomas with her father at her side, she had to force herself to lift her fork and chew the roast threatening to choke her.
To make matters worse, Nate was absent from the meal, claiming a need to see to some business. If not mistaken, and in her current state she could very well be, he'd replaced himself with the man standing guard outside the door of the dining room. One of these days she would learn why Nate felt the need for such increased security.
Then again, after today and the realization there had been another robbery, she couldn’t fault him. Little did Nate know the thief, and amulet, had walked right past him just days earlier.
Her mouth still working around the same chunk of beef, she only vaguely registered her father’s conversation with Mr. Thomas. Her throat felt too tight to swallow.
Not until the words ‘Bes bell’ penetrated her thoughts did she take an interest.
“Since I didn’t want talk of the bell to get around before I’d shared the discovery with you, I don’t know the exact interest a faience Bes bell will bring, but I’m sure it will be extensive,” Mr. Thomas rejoiced.
Ever since she’d learned the potential value the small but potentially one-of-a-kind item held, she’d been struggling with herself. If Mr. Rollins only wanted to recoup his investment, and wasn't secretly bent on ruining her for some obscure reason, the Bes bell might carry enough worth to settle the debt.
Could she do it? Could she destroy her father to save herself?
The bell was his chance to make an everlasting mark on the world of collecting. The one thing he’d always longed for. If he’d been present when they’d unearthed the artifact, instead of merely funding the expedition . . . That would have made the discovery even better.
“It is indeed a rare find, Walter.” Her father congratulated Mr. Thomas. “Besides the rest of the crew, does anyone else know of the bell?”
Mr. Thomas frowned. “Not by me. I came here as soon as the ship hit land. And I kept the bell in my possession the entire time.”
Anna studied her father. Gone was the overjoyed man from earlier today.
“Good.” He responded as if preoccupied.
“Papa, what is it?”
“What, dear?”
“Something is obviously on your mind.”
He patted her hand, resting beside her plate filled with uneaten food. “Nothing for you to worry about. Just something I need to discuss with Frederickson.”
If her father wanted Nate involved, she suspected his thoughts were consumed by the thefts. She understood his concern. Knowing items had been taken after Nate and his men had become involved must plague her father.
It wouldn’t be long before someone—most likely Nate—figured out why. When she’d stood in the parlor as they’d discussed the missing amulet, she’d actually felt the room shrink around her.
Thank God her next—and most betraying—act would be her last. She didn’t have the stomach to handle any more. If she couldn’t convince Mr. Rollins the Bes bell held the kind of value which should easily cover the debt, she’d have to admit defeat—as much as it would crush her to do so.
If not for the recent success of Clara and others like her at the school, Anna would never contemplate taking the bell. The students deserved one more try.
If only she’d never met Mr. Rollins and she’d focused her attention on recruiting wealthy families to supplement the students who couldn’t pay. She scowled at her uneaten food that seemed to mock her. She never would have been in the situation to begin with if noble families hadn’t started to look elsewhere, not wanting their daughters exposed to the likes of the lower class.
With her mind on the school and her father distracted, it didn’t take long before everyone wished to be somewhere else and Anna was free to be alone with her thoughts. Well, as alone as she could be with Nate’s man never far from her side.
Continuously being guarded hindered her ability to get a message to Mr. Rollins. As it was, without her trips to the school she already had very limited options.
Too early for bed, and frankly quite sick of the four walls of her chambers, Anna retreated to the library. Hopefully she could ease her thoughts between the covers of a book.
“I shall be perfectly safe surrounded by these books, sir.” Anna addressed Nate’s man who had positioned himself at the door of the room. “Just as I had been in the dining room.”
“I have my orders.”
“Of course you do,” Anna muttered under her breath as she ventured further into the room.
Her better sense told her to go to the shelves and pick a book. Any book. But with the day’s events swimming around her head, sitting and reading no longer seemed possible.
She turned and eyed the man at the door. His serious expression and clear dedication to his orders brought to mind Nate from the day they’d met, before the line of their relationship had become murky and she could no longer see where it fell.
Frustrated with his renewed dedication to see to her safety, a very naughty side of her wanted to take a stroll through the house and visit every room to see how far her guard’s commitment to his job went. But that would be childish and even though she’d sunk to incredible lows over the last few weeks, she refused to help herself sink further.
Instead, she opted for eliciting conversation from him. Maybe he’d slip and reveal where Nate had gone. Or why the sudden need for her to have a constant companion.
“What are your orders exactly?” she asked rather bluntly.
He eyed her wearily. The man clearly had enough sense to question her motives.
“To stay by your side.”
“For what purpose? Surely the thief wouldn’t harm me. Nothing the person has done as of yet would indicate he is dangerous. There haven’t been any changes that would merit this increased protection.” She’d attempt to smile sweetly and lure the answers from the Runner but she suspected she didn’t have an alluring demeanor. She settled for the direct approach. “Or has there?”
His eyes shifted from her face and she expected him to ignore her question.
He might as well have done, considering his noncommittal answer. “That is not for me to say.”
“So there has been something but you won’t—or can’t—tell me. Did Nate order you to keep silent?”
“Really, princess, you’ve stooped to interrogating my men?”
Blast! The dratted man had to pick now to show himself? There’s something being kept from me and I want to know what. Given Nate’s difficult nature, she’d have no luck getting answers from him. Not that her current guard had been any more forthright.
The Runner's Enticement (Men of Circumstance Book 2) Page 18
