Dare to be Brazen (Daring Daughters Book 2)

by Emma V. Leech

  Nic blinked at her, not comprehending.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Martha bustled over and grabbed his arm. “Come along. Your brother is downstairs. If you come now, no one will ever know, and don’t think I’ve changed my mind about you neither, for I haven’t and I won’t. You ain’t good enough for her, and you know it as well as I do, but—”

  “But?” Nic said, not bothering to contradict her. After all, she was spot on.

  “But she loves you, the foolish girl, and so long as you treat her right… well,” Martha blew out a breath and looked up at him. “Well, I suppose you’ll do.”

  Nic grinned at her. “Mille mercis! Coming from you, I take that as a great compliment.”

  Martha snorted and shook her head in despair. “And a foreigner, too. I declare that girl does nothing by halves. Now come along and look sharp about it.”

  Nic hurried after her, wondering what on earth was going on. He was none the wiser when he got to the stairs and saw Louis César holding a gun on some fellow he’d never seen before, with Aggie at his side and the duchess and Eliza looking on. Nic ran to Eliza, concerned that she looked flushed and shaken. What the hell had happened now?

  “Nic!” Eliza said, meeting him at the bottom of the stairs and holding something in her hands. “Look!”

  Nic saw the glittering emeralds he had admired the previous evening held out to him. He turned to his brother and stared at the pistol in his hands. “Louis?”

  “Good morning, Nic,” Louis said with a smile. “What an exciting evening we had last night.”

  “What the devil is going on out here? Prue, why haven’t you come back with Eliza? As if I haven’t enough….” The irritated voice of the duke rang out, obviously fed up with waiting for Eliza and her mother to return to him and whatever had been happening in the parlour. He stared down at them. “Prue, whatever is…?”

  “Just coming, my love,” the duchess said, waving airily at him. “It’s all sorted out. No, you stay there, we’ll come up. Come along, everyone.”

  “Louis!” Nic said under his breath. “What on earth…?”

  “Just follow my lead,” Louis whispered, before nudging the man on the floor with the barrel of the pistol he held. “Get up.”

  Louis put one hand under the fellow’s arm and helped him up as his hands were bound behind his back.

  “Peters!” Eliza exclaimed, as she got a look at the man’s face. “Why, he’s the footman from Holbrook! But why on earth…?”

  “I’m so sorry, my lady,” Peters said, looking utterly wretched. “I wish to God I’d never done it. If I could turn back the clock, I would.”

  “You just remember what we agreed,” Louis said, his tone low and menacing. “Providing you do not mention my brother’s absence, I will speak for you and do my best to see the duke is lenient. I might remind you Lady Elizabeth’s reputation is at stake.”

  Peters nodded, white-faced but determined. “I’d rather die than cause her any more harm, I swear it.”

  Satisfied, Louis gestured for him to climb the stairs.

  The rather odd ensemble made their way to the parlour where Lord Pinnock was still ranting and demanding that Nic be found at once, and face transportation at the very least for such a heinous crime. He was just getting into his stride with some lengthy ramble about how the duke had nurtured a serpent in the bosom of his family when Louis pushed Peters through the door. Interestingly, Lord Pinnock fell silent and turned a rather unpleasant shade of white.

  Once everyone was inside and the door closed, the duke looked around the room. His gaze settling on Nic and Louis.

  “Would someone please explain to me what is going on?” he asked, a little testy.

  “Certainly, I should be delighted to,” Louis said with a slight bow. “I must ask your forgiveness for barging in on your family at such an unreasonable hour of the morning, but I had the suspicion you might already be awake. After leaving you last night, Nic and I went for a little drink and did not return to our rooms for another couple of hours. We therefore arrived somewhat later than perhaps Mr Peters here expected. Instead of finding a household asleep, he found one almost but not quite empty.”

  “Peters?” the duke said, staring at the man in bewilderment. “He works here. Came from Holbrook House some months ago.”

  “Yes, a footman, I understand,” Louis said.

  “Perhaps we ought to leave,” Lord Pinnock said stiffly. “I do not believe that your staffing problems have anything to do with us.”

  “Oh, but they do,” Louis said, with a predatory smile that raised the hairs on the back of Nic’s neck. It didn’t seem to do much for Lord Pinnock either, who went from the colour of a cold milk pudding to something with a green tinge. “Sadly for Mr Peters, he did not know we have a rather enterprising young guest staying with us at present.”

  “That’s me,” Aggie piped up, looking as if she might burst with pride.

  Louis looked at her, and Nic was struck by the fond amusement in his brother’s eyes.

  “Indeed it is, Agatha,” he said, before turning back to the duke. “My young friend here is a light sleeper, so she awoke when she heard the window open, and discovered Mr Peters trying to crawl through. Fearing we were about to be robbed, she had the presence of mind to reach for the nearest heavy object and hit Peters with it, and with some force.”

  “I belted him good,” Aggie said, looking as though she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

  “She did, an’ all,” Peters said grimly.

  “You deserved it,” she retorted.

  “Aggie,” Louis remonstrated softly. “That is quite enough, I thank you. If I might continue?”

  Aggie shrugged, and so Louis carried on.

  “Nic and I were just returning to our rooms when we heard something of a commotion inside. We hurried to investigate and discovered Peters unconscious on the floor. When he finally came back to his senses, we all sat down and… had a little talk.”

  “We’re leaving,” Lord Pinnock said, grasping his sister by the hand and tugging her to her feet.

  “No. You are not.”

  Pinnock turned around to discover Louis holding a pistol on him.

  “How dare you!” he spluttered.

  “I think you had better sit down, my lord,” Nic said, moving towards the man.

  He still didn’t know what the devil was going on, but Louis obviously did, and he wanted Pinnock to stay. Therefore, the little prick was going nowhere.

  Pinnock stared at Nic, trying to scoff at him but now looking rather more like he was going to throw up.

  “Sit,” Nic told him.

  Lord Pinnock sat.

  “You have made some unfortunate friends of late, Lord Pinnock,” Louis said conversationally. “Or is Madame Lafitte more than a friend? Your mistress, perhaps?”

  Lord Pinnock throat worked convulsively before he spoke.

  “How dare you! I don’t know what you are talking about. You insult me for no reason, you blackguard, never mind that you ought not speak of such things with ladies present!” he blustered, two spots of colour burning scarlet, high on his cheeks.

  “I dare, sir, because Madame Lafitte was the engineer of this evening’s little scheme and you—fool that you are—were so blinded by your desire to disgrace my brother that you went along with it, and dragged your own sister into the affair, too.”

  “Good lord,” Bedwin said, staring at Lord Pinnock in disgust.

  “It’s true, your grace.” This time it was Peters that spoke, his expression bleak. “I’m right sorry, but Madame Lafitte approached me when I was at Holbrook, last summer. She was upset after she’d had words with the comte here, and I felt sorry for her, so I made sure she got back to the room at the inn she’d reserved and…. Well, one thing led to another to cut the story short. I’m sorry to say that I fancied myself in love with her and I came to London, hoping I might see more of her.”

  “And so you did,” Louis said, with a grim smile
. “And like all of us who get to know Madame Lafitte, you now discover what lies beneath that lovely façade is dark and avaricious.”

  Peters nodded miserably. “She said if I helped her, we could get married and go away. A fresh start in France. She said Mr Demarteau had wronged her. He’d stolen jewellery that belonged to her, but she couldn’t prove it.”

  Nic gave a bark of laughter. Madame Lafitte had cheated on Nic during the course of a brief affair and had stolen a very fine diamond cravat pin from him once she’d realised he’d discovered her. Adding insult to injury, she’d had the temerity to tell anyone who’d listen that Nic had ill-treated her and tried to blackmail him into marrying her by threatening to expose him and Louis as thieves. Nic turned to stare at Louis in outrage. His brother returned a grim smile.

  “I know,” Louis said dryly. “And you can be sure she’ll be a very long way away by now, just in case things went awry.”

  He gestured for Peters to continue.

  Peters nodded. “She’s gone back to France. I was supposed to go over once everything was settled and Lord Pinnock had paid me for doing the job. She said she just wanted Mr Demarteau punished. No one else would suffer, because the jewels belonged to friends who wanted to help her. She said the owners knew all about it and had agreed to help, so it wasn’t stealing. All I had to do was collect the jewels from Lord Pinnock and put them in Mr Demarteau’s rooms.”

  “I can hardly credit it,” Bedwin said in astonishment, turning to stare at Lord Pinnock once more. “Is this true?”

  “True enough,” Lord Pinnock said, staring at Nic with loathing. “But I did it with the best of intentions, to protect Eliza, as her family seemed unable to see what that… that bastard really is. The two of them, him and his brother, they’re thieves.” He sneered at Nic and Louis. “Oh, yes. I know your secret. I know all about how you gained so much wealth so quickly. Madame Lafitte told me everything. There was a rash of jewel thefts in Paris, about twelve or thirteen years ago, Bedwin, and these two… they are responsible.”

  Nic stiffened, turning to stare at Eliza. Louis was right. He ought to have told her everything from the start. Of course he’d meant to tell her before they married, but now…. He waited, his heart thudding in his chest, wondering what she would say, what she would do.

  He ought to have known better. When she smiled at him, the relief was so profound he felt giddy with it. She crossed the room to his side and slid her hand into his. He held on tight, staring down at her.

  “It’s true, Eliza,” he said softly.

  Eliza nodded, her expression full of concern, but the love in her eyes just as evident as before. “I know.”

  “I warned you it wasn’t pretty.” The words were rough, his throat tight with regret and emotion. “Can you bear it, love? I… I wouldn’t blame you if—”

  “Shut up, you foolish man,” Eliza said and her voice trembled, her eyes shining. “I love you. I shall always love you. No matter what. You are a good and honourable man, and you kept your promise to your brother.”

  He frowned, glanced at Louis who smiled and shrugged. Nic let out a breath of laughter and turned back to Eliza. She squeezed his hand and Nic knew, without a doubt, that he was loved.

  “Honourable,” Lord Pinnock said in disgust. Everyone ignored him.

  When Nic turned his attention back to the room, he discovered Bedwin studying him with the expression of a man intent on a scientific dissection. The duke turned to his wife, who had moved closer to him. He bent his head as she whispered in his ear. Nic held his breath as Gabriel also moved to the duke, and the three of them spoke in hushed tones for what seemed to Nic an eternity. Bedwin was quiet for a long moment as he considered, and then he nodded.

  “Lord Pinnock,” the duke said. “I would like you to leave now. You have my word that no one shall know of this night’s work, nor of you and your sister’s involvement in it, on one condition.”

  “Which is?” Pinnock demanded.

  “That I never hear so much as one word of accusation against Mr Demarteau or Monsieur le Comte. If I hear even the whisper of rumour, I shall ensure the entire ton knows of what you did here.”

  “B-But…” Lord Pinnock said, his mouth opening and closing like a landed fish. “But they’re criminals! Thieves!”

  Bedwin studied them both for a long moment. “Yes, I think that is true, but I will not have my daughter tainted by association. I think perhaps there were mitigating circumstances too, and I should like to hear them before I decide how they ought best be dealt with, besides which—I like them. You… I do not. Get out of my sight.”

  An outraged Lord Pinnock and his sister, who was weeping for real by now, were escorted out of the room. Bedwin turned his attention to Peters, his expression hostile.

  “If I might offer a suggestion,” Louis César said to the duke.

  “Go on.”

  “Peters has been a fool, but there are few men who don’t act foolishly when they are in love.” He gave Nic a speaking glance which Nic ignored. “He did not actually steal anything, and because of both Madame Lafitte and Lord Pinnock’s influence, he believed he was not only protecting Lady Elizabeth from a man who would hurt her, but righting a wrong against the woman he loved. I know he deserves to be punished, but I have often noted that those of us who are given a second chance, when we thought such a thing was impossible, are often the most loyal to those who offered them that chance.”

  Bedwin looked at his wife, who was watching Louis with interest.

  “This man conspired against you and your brother,” the duchess said, frowning at him. “He would have seen you disgraced, and your brother transported for a crime he did not commit.”

  Louis glanced back at Nic, who smiled and nodded. It was time to tell them everything, to play his last hand, as poor as it was, and hope perhaps the fates were kind for once.

  “We did not commit that crime, your grace, but there have been plenty of others,” Nic said. He turned to Gabriel. “I promised to tell you the truth.”

  Gabriel nodded. “You did.”

  Nic looked down at Eliza, who was grasping his hand with all her might. She was watching him, her eyes filled with trust and love. He took a breath.

  “The truth is that I was born into the circus. Franconi’s, in Paris. I performed there from the time I could walk until we began Rouge et Noir.”

  Dispassionately, Nic told him about the day his father had appeared back in his life, about the man who had abandoned first Nic’s mother, and then his wife and baby. When his wife had died in his absence, his son and heir had been left in the care of a man not fit to keep a dog, never mind a child. Nic told them of how this man despised the aristocracy and took his hatred out on the boy in his care, working him like a slave, making him sleep on the floor and feeding him scraps, belittling him and humiliating him at every opportunity.

  Louis was silent as Nic spoke, though his cheeks burned and Nic’s heart bled for him, knowing how he would despise this, but knowing too that it must be said. He was touched and grateful as he saw Aggie sidle close to Louis and grasp his hand.

  “You rescued him.” Eliza was staring at Nic with such admiration that Nic could hardly stand to look at her, uncomfortable with such reverence cast in his direction.

  “He did,” Louis said, and the look in his eyes matched Eliza’s. “I have never believed in God, but I believe in my brother. He was the miracle I never thought I would see, and I thank him for it every day.”

  “A touching story,” Gabriel said, and Nic looked over at him to see the words were genuine, not mocking. “But it does not explain the robberies, Nic.”

  Nic nodded, but Louis spoke before he could.

  “The thing you must understand about my brother, is that he is the most honourable man you will ever meet. Perhaps our notions of honour are a little… eclectic,” he said with a crooked smile. “But nonetheless, if Nic makes a promise, he will keep it, no matter what. For some fool reason I will never unders
tand, Nic promised our ridiculous father that he would see me restored to my proper place in the world, the family name once again a thing to be proud of, and our fortunes returned to us. Yet, he was a circus performer, and I was a skinny, frightened boy who could hardly bear for him to be out of my sight.”

  Eliza pressed closer, and Nic had to fight the urge to take her in his arms, aware this would likely not be well received. By now, Gabriel and the duke and duchess were sitting by the fire, their attention utterly focused on Louis. Nic had to smile. Every word of what Louis said was true, but he had a way of saying things that held people’s attention, that made it not only the retelling of facts but something magical. A born showman. He held his audience now, weaving their tale in such a way as to make Nic sound like some hero from a Greek myth. Such nonsense, but if it soothed the duke and duchess’s feelings towards them both….

  Was that still possible? Bedwin had said he liked them, but liking them and allowing Nic to marry his daughter were not at all the same thing.

  “Nic would only steal from people he disliked, a distinction he made, and we fought over it regularly,” Louis went on, wry amusement behind the words. “A man who beat his servants, a woman who was as cruel to her children as she was to her dogs. We stole from no one who could not afford to lose a diamond ring, or a sapphire brooch. We took only the finest jewels, and we never took everything they had. It was remarkably easy for a strong young man who could climb a rope with ease and walk a tightrope, and for a skinny boy who could get into small spaces and had an uncanny knack for knowing where people hid things. We were quite a team, but it only lasted for two years, until Rouge et Noir was viable. From that moment on, our success was of Nic’s making, and quite legitimate.”

  There was a profound silence. Nic looked at Louis, aware he was on his guard, expecting to be thrown out or rejected. He moved to Louis’s side and laid a hand on his shoulder. Louis looked up at him and smiled.

  “My brother is leaving a great deal out,” Nic said. “And I can assure you we would not have had half the success we did with Rouge et Noir if not for him… but the truth is, Lord Pinnock was right. We are thieves, criminals, or at least we were, but I did not know how else to begin, how else to do what I had promised to do and return Louis to where he ought to be, and he is the Comte de Villen. He deserves everything that comes with that title, too, though it’s small enough recompense for everything he went through.”