“Why, Raphael?”
Before he could answer, if he even planned to do so, the First Minister arrived. He stared at the dead woman. “A woman…dear God! Nevertheless, you’ve captured her. Good work.”
“Xavier shot her before she could be questioned,” Raphael said and gave Xavier a silent challenge to counter the comment.
“I had to sir, she was about to kill Raphael with a garrote,” Xavier explained. “I had followed the spy to this room. Uncertain as to whether the spy was simply escaping through the room or we’d finally found our traitor, I knocked on the door, and when Raphael answered, I rammed my gun into his neck and cuffed him. I tossed him into the closet while I searched the room. I heard a thump from the closet, so I opened up the door. The woman had a garrote around his neck. I had no choice but to shoot her.”
The cuff holding his agent to the dead woman suddenly had a different meaning to the First Minister. “Are you saying Raphael was her accomplice?”
“I don’t know, sir,” Xavier said. “We have worked together for over fifteen years, but I have to consider the possibility, because I cannot explain why a spy, knowing I am still in the room searching for her, would risk strangling him unless she feared he had secrets to tell. If that were not the case, logic would dictate the woman should escape as quickly as possible.”
“But she was trapped in the closet with our agent,” the First Minister challenged.
“No, sir. The escape path was the closet. There is a hidden door in the back. She could have fled the castle by the time I finished searching the room. Instead, she remained to silence Raphael.”
The First Minister stared at the man. “Well, what do you have to say for yourself?”
“Sir, what you heard is mere speculation, sophistry at best. It is Xavier who rammed a gun in my neck, cuffed me, and threw me in the only place the thief could be hiding. I was confused as to why he would set me up to die, only to save me, but now I understand. He wants me removed as your mole so you will let your guard down and he can steal and sell more state secrets. He begged for this mission, sir, insisted upon it. Given his grievous failure last month I could not understand why, but now I do and it breaks my heart.”
The First Minister stared at them both. “And it breaks mine, as well.” He leaned over the woman and pulled the documents from the vest pocket of her male suit. He glanced back at the two Queen’s Rifles standing at the door. “Put Raphael in a secure cell. Make certain you follow full protocol.” He stared at the agent for a long moment and released a heavy sigh. His attention returned to the woman. “And take this body to the morgue.”
Xavier handed the key for the cuffs to the Queen’s Rifles before he approached the First Minister and whispered, “Sir, I would like to have a specialist review the body first.”
“Why?”
“To identify her for one and to try and understand what she did to make herself so difficult to see at times. I strongly advise this, sir. This woman ran circles around your best men, and we need to understand how.”
“You do not attribute it simply to superior skill?”
“No, I do not.”
“Xavier has clearance to see to the care of the body,” the First Minister said to his men before gripping Xavier’s arm and whispering, “I will want a full report by noon tomorrow, including whatever you left out in your declaration that flummoxed Raphael.”
Chapter 37
Vic relaxed as the carriage pulled away from the estate. With Anne and David seated across from her, she felt they had all dodged some dangerous bullets.
A mile down the road, Jacko and his four highwaymen joined the carriage.
“Don’t worry, these men are here to protect you,” Vic explained.
Anne peeked up at the rider by her window and smiled at him. “Come to my rescue again, have you?”
The former pirate smiled. “I live to do so, my lady.”
Their exchange surprised Vic, but at least it explained why the fellow would pledge his life to protect her. He had already fallen under the siren’s spell. More than ever she was glad Xavier would never meet Lady Anne.
When they arrived at the port, Vic focused on Anne. “Jacko will see you safely to the Marquis’ castle.” While Lady Anne had no issue with the plan, David objected at once. “We aren’t sailing anywhere with a cutthroat savage.”
Anne tried to calm him. “It’s all right, David. I have met this man before, and I trust him.”
“Where could you have possibly met him?”
“It doesn’t matter. The point is I do know him, and I am certain he will see us to safety.”
Vic added her assurances, hoping to calm David. “He is very capable of protecting the two of you from harm. In addition, he speaks five languages, so you will find him most useful on this Portuguese ship and when you travel through France.”
When David remained unconvinced, she added Davy’s approbation of his friend. “Do not judge him by his appearance. Few men are as good to their word as Jacko. He has promised he will see the two of you safely to the castle, and nothing less than death will prevent him from doing exactly that.”
Before David could find further objections, the carriage door opened and the man in question appeared. “Your trunks are on board. We must go now or the ship will sail without us.”
***
Vic watched from inside her carriage until the ship set sail. The moment it disappeared into the darkness of the night, she relaxed. Anne and David were out of Lord Conrad’s reach.
“Home, Davy,” she declared and breathed out a sigh of relief her mission had ended successfully. More so than she had imagined, for she not only saved Lady Anne and David, but she now had solid evidence supporting her ‘grand leap’ supposition that Anne’s stepmother and Robert Candor’s wife/sister were one and the same. She stared at the framed painting of the second Mrs. Rothchild she had taken from the house. When compared to the artist sketches of Robert Candor’s sister, even Xavier would have to acknowledge a marked resemblance.
Instead of heading home, Davy pulled up to a tavern on the edge of town.
“Could we not drive through the night?” she asked as she stepped out of her carriage.
Davy sighed with clear annoyance. “If you hadn’t kept me up ‘til the wee hours last night we could, but since I am tired, you will have to forego your first encounter with highwaymen, waiting to rob young fools who have no sense than to travel at night. Sorry to disappoint you.”
Vic laughed and hugged her grumpy friend. “You aren’t sorry in the least, but I am. I should have thought of you first.” She entered and asked for two rooms for the night.
Davy pulled her to the side and declared she only needed one.
“But where will you sleep?”
“On the floor of your room in front of the door,” he whispered with a very stern expression that warned her not to attempt to argue.
“Oh…very well, we need one room,” she told the innkeeper.
When they arrived upstairs, Davy discovered while she had agreed to one room, she had not agreed he should sleep on a cold drafty floor. Instead, she insisted on moving the bed in front of the door for him to sleep on while she settled in on the small settee near the fireplace.
She assured him the settee was as comfortable as any bed—which was a lie—but having an alert driver outweighed having a well-rested passenger.
In the morning, they consumed a lovely breakfast and set off for London. The weather was clear and the road free of highwaymen. They arrived at her home near noon, where she discovered all her loved ones gathered about the table including Xavier, laughing so hard he was nearly in tears.
“Well our topic must change now,” Claire warned them, ran to Vic, and kissed her hello.
Vic’s focus remained riveted to Xavier walking towards her.
“Was your mission successful?” he asked.
She smiled up at him, overwhelmed by her joy. “Completely!”
He reached out
to touch her cheek, but pulled back his hand as his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed. Turning to Claire, he said, “Excuse us for one moment. We must discuss confidential matters.” He hurried Vic to the library. The second the door closed, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her with hungry intensity.
“I think we should have had this discussion in my bedroom,” she gasped between kisses.
“I understand making love in inappropriate places can be most scintillating.”
“Then scintillate me by all means!”
***
Xavier and Vic never returned to lunch, however eventually, they migrated upstairs to Vic’s room and hours later, a substantial meal arrived, providing them more energy to explore their newfound levels of happiness and pleasure.
As they lay satiated and utterly exhausted, Vic inquired on Xavier’s mission.
“I cannot talk about it.”
“Not even to say if it was successful or not?”
“I’m sorry, my love.”
“Was my box helpful?”
He pulled her tight against him. “Your box will not be returned, but rest assured, it is highly prized.”
“I can’t believe you’ve abducted my equipment. What am I to tell Professor Rutherford?”
“I had no choice. You would never learn to properly follow a suspect with such a cheat in hand and to your own admission, the dust is extremely dangerous.”
“You won’t be using it frequently, will you?”
“No,” he replied. “I don’t intend to do much work with that particular client anymore.”
“I’m sorry, if you are sorry, but otherwise I’m pleased.”
He laughed at her statement. “You impudent pup! You are pleased because you hate me taking cases you cannot sink your sharp little teeth into.”
“It’s true. I was utterly miserable and bored with you gone.”
“Is that so? And here I was led to believe that you were on one life endangering mission after another.”
She sobered. “I think Inspector Stone should investigate Lord Chesterfield.” She told him about the blood on the penis of the statue in his library.
“And where was Davy when you inspected this statue?” he growled.
“Opening the safe within the base, but the bill wasn’t there. It was in the desk at Lady Anne’s house,” she replied, deciding it was best not to mention her first trip to Lord Chesterfield’s.
He smiled. “It is a good thing you returned with the picture of Anne’s stepmother; otherwise, I might suspect you contrived this entire mission to remove Lady Anne out of my traveling range.”
“I’m no longer prone to jealousy,” she assured him.
“Tired of me already, are you?”
“I will never tire of you. It’s just…now, I can fill all your needs.”
He smiled. “Yes, you can and most adeptly.”
“So there will be no further talk of hiring new secretaries or investigators.”
He paused before replying, “There will be no more talk.”
She frowned at his pause and intended to ask why he had hesitated, but he kissed her and her worry dissipated as butterflies filled her whole body with fluttering delight.
Chapter 38
Vic awoke to find her sheets in a tangle but no sign of Xavier. Thinking he stepped off to the water closet, she remained in bed, waiting for him. After five minutes, she concluded he was gone and worried he planned to make a habit of disappearing after they made love.
Perhaps the rapidity of their steps forward frightened him. Or he discovered he hated having his brains scrambled. If so, she could understand his perspective. She had been a complete dolt yesterday morning, and she did not wish her doltishness to continue.
Pulling on a robe, she moved to her windowsill to watch the morning sunrise over the rooftops of the houses on the other side of the block. A flash of motion brought her attention to the garden below. Why was Jonas crouched behind a bush?
She laughed, thinking he and Claire played a game of ‘hide and seek.’ The moment she located her sister, her laughter died. Claire sat close to Xavier, their heads bent together as if they whispered secrets.
What private words could Xavier have with Claire?
Vic stormed from the window and dressed. Jonas might be satisfied to lurk in the bushes, but she was not. Claire had no right to whisper with Xavier, and it would stop this instant!
Passing Jonas on her way, she grabbed him by the wrist, dragging him along in her wake. She stormed up to the couple. They stopped and stared at her in confusion. “May we join you?” Vic asked, ignoring Jonas’ attempts to escape her grasp.
Claire laughed. “Vic, release poor Jonas this minute.”
“Not until you release Xavier.”
“I am not grasping him,” Claire said, holding up both her hands. “Now release Jonas so he can return to his work.”
“He wants to know what is going on here as much as I.”
Her sister rose and forcibly removed Vic’s grasp of Jonas. The young man apologized and escaped.
“I suppose I should see to him,” Claire said and kissed Vic on her forehead. “You can be most troublesome.”
“Me, troublesome?” Vic exclaimed. “What about you? You are the troublesome one. And if you are not careful, I’ll send you to a nunnery!” Vic wasn’t certain her sister heard her threat, for Claire had run inside the house, but Xavier heard it and was most upset.
“Vic, you must never do that,” he said as he shook her. “You may have these foolish whims of jealousy, if you insist, but never use your authority as Claire’s guardian in your threats.”
“I did not mean it.”
“It makes no difference. With such a threat you are taking back your word that she has control of her life. You are establishing yourself as a bully and person whose word cannot be trusted.”
Tears welled in Vic’s eyes. “I only wanted her to stop flirting with you.”
“The conversation was far from romantic.”
“So what were you doing out here in the middle of the night?”
“It is not the middle of the night. It is nearly 8 a.m. and you are in danger of being late for work.”
“So are you.”
“No, I was actually involved in work until you so rudely interrupted me.”
“Claire has hired you for a case? No. She is my sister. She should have come to me.”
Xavier shook his head and sighed. “Vic, what is wrong with you today? You are behaving like a child. Now apologize to your sister and let us be gone.” He reached out to her, but she knocked his hand away.
“I will not apologize, for I have every right to be angry.”
“If you are not in the carriage in five minutes I will make your day a living hell!”
She had heard him yell the threat a thousand times before, but this time his voice radiated with anger. Vic fled from the garden, ran through the house, and climbed into the carriage where she remained huddled in a corner, waiting for her heart to stop beating like hummingbird wings.
Less than a minute later, the carriage door opened. She expected it to be her ill-tempered, out-of-sorts employer. Instead, Claire handed her a basket filled with biscuits and jam so she would not go hungry.
Vic’s eyes swelled with tears. “I am sorry for what I said.”
“Are you truly?” Claire asked.
Meeting her sister’s sad gaze, she nodded. “I didn’t mean it, and I was very wrong to say it. It will never happen again, I promise.”
“Not even the next time you find Xavier and me talking in low whispers?”
“Not even then…but to be honest, I wish you would not do so. You are so much smarter than me”
“And presently, more mature,” she added. “You haven’t behaved like this since you were six years old. Gregory is most put out with Xavier.”
“Why? I am the one behaving like a child.”
“Yes, but you were a perfectly well behaved young man until
you went to work for him. First, you picked up his rudeness and now you have regressed to childhood. I am beginning to question the wisdom of this relationship, as well.”
“As is Xavier,” Vic added, recalling the disappointment in his words.
With a heavy sigh, Claire added, “Perhaps it would be better if you had a little time away from him.”
Xavier’s voice spoke from behind her. “Perhaps you should return to your life and let Vic live his.”
Claire blushed. “I only meant—”
“I know what you meant, but Victor needs to walk forward, not hide in the past and nothing will keep me from walking this path with him. So if you will excuse us, the pup is perilously close to being late for work.” Xavier moved her aside and climbed into the carriage.
Neither of them spoke for several minutes. Having no words to distract her, Vic’s stomach growled a message of imminent starvation. She pulled away the cloth covering the basket and offered Xavier a biscuit. She expected him to refuse, for he detested breakfast, but to her surprise, he moved over to her bench, took possession of a biscuit, and dipped it into the jam.
“Don’t let it drip,” she warned him.
“I intend to change clothes when we arrive home.”
“I was concerned about my clothes. I do not have a change of suits awaiting me.”
“Yes, and given your propensity to get dirty, I believe you should correct your oversight. While I’ve no room in my closet to spare, I’m sure Davy has some.”
“Or I could buy a new wardrobe and dresser when I receive my first month’s pay.”
“And where do you intend to place this furniture?”
Good question. His bed took all the space in the room.
He sighed heavily and threw up a hand. “Never mind, I will make room in my closet for two suits.”
His generosity under-whelmed her, but given her behavior this morning, she refrained from complaining. However, Xavier severely tested her determination to be pleasant as he scooped up half the jam onto the biscuit and attempted to carry it to his mouth just as the carriage hit a bump. A large glob of jam landed on her white cotton shirt.
The Troublesome Apprentice (The Adventures of Xavier & Vic Book 1) Page 27
