***
Victoria hated that Fin could rankle her so. That never happened before. But somehow he’d whittled his way beneath her skin, the blackguard. Now she was second guessing herself at every turn, and that wasn’t good. Not when her life depended on her confidence and complete focus on the task. Blast him, why did he have to make her life so difficult?
Never mind. It didn’t matter. She had a plan, and she was sticking to it. Prince or no, His Highness needed to be put in his place. And surely the coin purse of a prince could fund the hospital for months to come. Then Fin would get his wish. Victoria would be able to take a break from her late night profession.
But until that time, she needed to push Fin from her mind.
She made her way back to the ballroom and stood at the edge of the dance floor, watching, waiting. She agreed to a dance or two, but much to the disappointment of her partners she kept mostly silent, making sure to keep her eyes on the whereabouts of the prince. Not that she needed to. Everyone made a big to-do of his departure just after midnight.
Victoria hung back a bit and tried her best to look casual. She didn’t want to draw any attention to herself. Though, with all the masks and mayhem, no one seemed to notice her at all.
She waited until the prince was securely within his carriage before she called for her own. Gil, reliable as ever, pulled up within minutes and did as she directed, while Victoria transformed herself into the highwayman.
Twenty
There were two things in life of which Fin was absolutely certain.
One: He loved Victoria Barclay, no matter how infuriating she was.
Two: Victoria Barclay was going to get herself killed.
Damn it all, what the devil was he going to do with that headstrong woman? She heeded none of his warnings. She showed no regard for her own life. And there was no doubt she was going after that bloody prince tonight. Damned foolish girl!
Well, if he couldn’t control her, and her parents couldn’t control her, perhaps Tom might be able to convince her to let go of this ridiculous scheme. That meant telling Tom everything and betraying Victoria’s confidence, but he’d rather she be alive and angry with him than dead.
Unsurprisingly, he found Tom in an alcove in the garden, his arms wrapped around Lady Beecham in a nauseating embrace. He wasn’t one to interrupt a romantic interlude, but this particular matter could not wait.
He cleared his throat, but no one seemed to notice. He cleared it again.
“Damn it, Tom, would you bloody come up for air?” he finally shouted.
The two of them turned abruptly to look at him. “What the devil is the matter with you, Leyburn?” Tom asked.
“We need to talk.”
“The gentleman is otherwise occupied, Lord Leyburn,” Lady Beecham cooed seductively as she stroked a finger along Tom’s jaw line.
“Yes, I can see that,” Fin replied acerbically. “And I don’t much care. This is important.”
Affronted, and probably perturbed that he showed no signs of jealousy, Lady Beecham stood with a huff. “Fine. You may come and find me when you’re finished here, Thomas.”
Tom looked as if he was going to tell her not to go, but clearly thought better of it when he caught a glimpse of Fin’s grave expression. “What is it?”
Fin took a deep breath. Where to begin? “It’s your sister. She might be in trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
Fin opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t decide what to say. This was going to be harder than he’d originally thought.
“Out with it, Leyburn. You didn’t interrupt my evening to hem and haw, I hope.”
“Your sister is a highwayman,” he hissed out all at once.
Tom’s mouth fell open. “I beg your pardon?”
“The highwayman that we’ve been hearing about all over town, the one robbing the wealthiest of the ton, the one that robbed Lady Beecham and me…it’s your sister.”
“Impossible.”
“I assure you, it’s not impossible. I figured her out weeks ago. She’s begged me to leave her alone about it, but I can’t. I won’t. I…love her too much to let it go.”
Tom’s eyes widened a bit at this latest piece of news, but thankfully he stayed on topic. “How the devil did she fall into such a profession?” he asked, his outrage showing in his eyes. “And what the devil does she need money for? Father gives her a healthy allowance. This is ludicrous.”
“Except that she’s not using the money for herself,” Fin said. “She’s funding a bloody hospital in Southwark. And donating to the less fortunate. How do you think she contracted that fever? She was the one who found Caroline and Sally.”
“Good God.” That seemed to be all Tom could say as he processed the information. “She’s bloody Robin Hood.”
“Yes, well, that’s fine when you’re preying on idiots like Lord Culver. The only place that man might run is to the kitchen. There wasn’t much chance of him catching Victoria. But tonight is different, and it could end very badly, I’m afraid.”
Tom finally stood from the bench he’d been sitting on. “What are you talking about?”
“She’s going after Prince Vladimir. I’m certain of it. She tried to deny that she had any plans regarding the man, but I know her too well now. I know when she’s just trying to shake me and get me to leave her alone. Vladimir is ruthless and proud. He won’t let her get away with robbing him, even at gunpoint.”
“She uses a gun?” Clearly, that was more shocking to Tom than the fact that his sister was about to chase down a powerful, Russian prince.
“We have to stop her,” Fin said.
“Lead the way.”
They made their way back up the garden stairs to the ballroom. Fin scanned the room several times, looking for Victoria’s shiny, dark hair and flowing white gown. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
“Do you see her?” he asked Tom.
Tom shook his head.
“If you’re looking for your sister, she already left.” Lady Beecham’s voice came from behind them, the tone even more malicious than usual.
“How do you know?” Fin turned to face her. The smile she wore was positively evil.
“Because the prince left already.” Her smile grew wider and she let out a little laugh. “Best of luck, gentlemen.”
Bile rose to Fin’s throat. She knew. The bloody woman knew about Victoria, and by the sound of things, she’d set her up. But if Victoria had already left, it might already be too late.
The Robber Bride (Regency Historical Romance) Page 25
