“What color was the lion?” Van Dero asked.
Vita turned to him and gasped. Then she pointed.
Above the fireplace was the Duke of Van Dero’s coat of arms.
The raging lion was surrounded by a deep violet and gold.
“Purple and gold,” Vita said. “The lion was on its side.”
Everyone was silent.
Remy’s eyes widened.
Leo’s mouth fell open. “That’s it.”
“Is it?” Belle asked. “Dunst’s house is not represented by a bear.”
“But it must mean something,” Van Dero said.
Remy turned to Vita. “Give me a list of every figure you saw on the board with their exact color.”
Vita looked down at the chessboard. “Oh, I don’t know. My memory is good, but not that good.”
“If it helps, we’ll recreate the board.”
Vita nodded at him and then turned to Leo when he approached.
“I’ve been studying family crests recently. I can be of great assistance putting it all together.”
Vita clutched the piece in her hand to her front. “I don’t know. I would hate to get a color wrong and have someone falsely accused of something.”
“We won’t attack anyone,” Van Dero vowed. “We’ll just watch whoever we think is a part of this conspiracy.” He turned to Remy. “I want a man inside that house as soon as possible. Perhaps, we can get the original board.”
Remy nodded. “I’ll go myself if I have to.”
“Don’t.” Vita caught his arm. “If Dunst believes he can take down Van Dero then he’s dangerous.”
Was she just discovering that? “I know what I’m doing.”
Slowly, she let him go. He expected her to lean away, but instead, she whispered, “You better.”
Who was this woman?”
* * *
Vita left the meeting. The details that would follow had little to do with her. She needed to think about the chessboard and remember all she could. She would need a quiet place to work.
She jumped when Remy placed a hand on her lower back.
“What do you do think you’re doing?” he asked.
He guided her through the next open door on their left. The beige and silver drawing-room faced the driveway.
She’d been given some blank sheets of paper and pressed them to her chest. “I’m doing what everyone else is doing. I’m trying to help.”
“That’s not your place.” He crowded her.
She didn’t retreat.
He frowned. “Your job is to keep Dunst happy and nothing more.”
“I can do that and other things.”
“Not if he gets suspicious.”
She rolled her eyes. “He should already be suspicious of me. I do live with Van Dero, after all.” Then she thought and said, “But perhaps, I should pretend that I still fear the duke. Maybe that will get him to confide in me.”
Remy blinked and then took a step back. “Vita, do you hear yourself? You are not a spy. No one is asking you to spy on Dunst. You’re going to get caught.”
“I won’t. I already have him wrapped around my finger.” It had been surprisingly easy. After she’d touched his cheek last evening, she’d done other things. She’d smiled and laughed wholeheartedly when he told a joke.
Appeasing the earl had seemed to make him relax. It had gotten him to open up to her. She could keep it up.
This morning, she’d received gifts. A bouquet and a string of pearls that Dunst wanted to see her in later today.
“Stop,” Remy said. “I won’t allow this.”
“You can’t stop me.”
He frowned. “I don’t even know who you are anymore.”
Vita didn’t know who she was either, but for the first time, she felt a part of something great. Van Dero’s talk with her last evening had helped her more than he’d ever know. After losing her mother for a second time, she’d felt so alone. Now, she had something like a family.
This morning, when she’d given her opinion on matters, people had listened to her, smiled, and even laughed at her rather crass joke.
She didn’t feel nervous around the duke and duchess’ friends. Van Dero had told her she was now a part of his operation. She didn’t mind that. If she were going to make a sacrifice, at least it would be for the greater good. “You may be right,” she said. “Noel is young, and I don’t like the way Dunst spoke about him. Maybe he should stay close to you.”
He grabbed her arms. “You should stay close to me.”
She smiled. “I want that more than anything.”
He touched her cheek. “Did you have wine this morning or something? Are you drunk?”
She laughed. “I’m not, but I might have a sip of something later. Your wine, as a matter of fact, since you’re too scared to take it.”
“I’m not scared.”
“Then share it with me this evening.”
He tilted his head. “You’re… acting strange.”
Perhaps, she was. “Well, what is strange will soon be normal, so I suggest you get used to this new me.”
He cupped her jaw and brought his mouth close to hers.
Vita's heart skipped. She clutched the papers as she turned her head away and left her pulse exposed.
He ran his nose against the skin of her throat, and she shivered.
Remy straightened and smiled. “At least that’s the same.”
She batted his hand away even as she laughed. He would always have a strong effect on her.
They stood there for a long moment and did nothing but grin.
“I love you,” she said in the silence.
His brows creased in pain. “I can’t lose you, Vita. He can’t have you. I won’t let him.”
“I know you won’t.”
His nostrils flared. “You’re getting sassy. You’re spending far too much time with Belle.”
“Am I?” Perhaps she was. She gave him a teasing expression before she swept past him, making sure to rub herself against him as she went. “Let’s focus on work for the time being, shall we?”
She was confident it would all work out, especially with the new clue they’d gathered. Yet still, she was a little anxious. What if she did end up wedding Dunst?
She couldn’t let that happen.
∫ ∫ ∫
4 8
* * *
Remy watched from the landing on the grand staircase as Vita saw Lord Dunst to the door.
He took her hand and kissed it.
Vita kept her smile in place until the door was closed. Then she turned and looked up at Remy.
A smirk touched her lips as she started toward him.
And was there an added flair to her steps or was it all in his imagination?
Either way, Remy was struggling to breathe by the time she reached him.
“Back to work,” she whispered as she passed him.
He caught her arm. He had no reason to except that he’d wanted to feel her skin underneath his hand.
Her eyes widened, and her breathing increased. Color consumed her face and her lips parted.
Remy growled.
“You have to stop that,” she whispered.
“Stop what?”
“Tempting me,” she said. “I’m trying to be good.”
She was not at all trying to be good.
He and Noel had stood as her protectors during Dunst’s visit. Belle had been her chaperone for the day. She’d flirted with Dunst shamelessly, yet more than once, she’d given Remy a look that had him remembering all their secret times together.
She was becoming brazen.
“You’re being rather bold with me,” Remy whispered.
Her blue gaze softened. “Only because I know you’re mine.”
He was, but she made him question his morals and he was beginning to ask himself if he could give her up even if she married another man.
He rubbed his thumb against her upper arm.
Vita bit h
er lip.
“Flirt later, we’ve work to do,” Leo said from up ahead.
Remy let her go, and Vita climbed the rest of the stairs by herself.
He followed them both down the hall.
The chessboard had been set up in Vita’s room. Remy thought it safe since he was certain that Dunst would not dare to go to this wing of the house again.
Vita was still working to remember all the characters she’d seen on the chessboard. Most of the center she was certain of. Small slips of paper held the places for the wooden characters that would arrive in a few days.
But time was running out.
Who was the bear?
Leo picked up one of the slips of paper that sat on the bear’s side of the board. They were ‘out’ of the game, which Remy and everyone else assumed meant they were dead or had done something to make themselves unimportant. “Some of these are Van Dero’s men. Men who died.”
Leo listed the names. They’d been good men lost in the fight against the boy fights.
“But some of these…” Leo shook his head. “I don’t know at all.”
“Maybe the game isn’t only against Van Dero’s men,” Remy said.
Vita circled the board. Her fingers glided across the smooth wood. There was a meticulous look in her eyes. She was a captivating creature. “I don’t think I can remember anything else.” There were still other pieces of paper on the table that were blank. There was a touch of panic in her eyes.
“Relax. It will come to you.”
“We don’t have time for me to relax.”
He understood the urgency more than anyone else.
“Maybe you need to step away for a bit.” Leo had a list of figures and colors and was comparing them to a book at the writing-table. “You’ve done a great deal today.”
She looked around. “This room won’t work. Let’s move the chessboard to a drawing-room.”
Remy moved forward and picked up the board.
“Careful,” she said.
He followed her to the door and then turned to Leo. “Are you coming?”
Leo waved him off without even looking up. “No, just get me more clues.”
Remy stepped into Milly’s private drawing-room just in time for Vita to shut the curtains.
The room plunged into darkness. If not for the open door he stood by, he’d be unable to see her.
She moved and lit a lamp but kept it low. “Put it on the tea table.”
Remy moved forward and set it down.
He watched Vita struggle with a couch before he sighed. “Let me. Tell me where you want it.”
Ten minutes later, the room was different, ominous, even with Van Dero’s own furniture still in the room.
“It was dark in Dunst’s home,” she explained. “I’ll come stand over here.”
Remy moved where she wanted him. “Am I to play Dunst?”
She smiled. “Would you rather someone else do it?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “Wait here.” She left.
She wasn’t gone long. She returned with two glasses of wine. She set them on a table by the couch and then moved to stand before Remy. “Grab my arm.”
Remy frowned. “Did Dunst grab you? You told me he didn’t hurt you.”
“Just touch me, Remy.”
That was a command he’d not refuse.
He grabbed her arm.
The setting made the action much more intimate. Remy’s blood began to rush.
With rage.
He hadn’t known her night at Dunst’s home at been like this.
“Lead me to the couch,” she whispered.
“I’m going to kill him,” he growled.
She smiled. “I wish it had been you there. I prayed it was you.”
Remy closed his eyes. “Vita, you cannot say such things to me.” Not until she was a free woman again. “I should have married you the night we met.”
She laughed. “And exactly when would this have taken place? Before or after I vomited?”
“Either or.” He’d been enchanted with her. “I was just so afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Of you finding out the truth of who I was and being unable to forgive me.”
“I forgive you.”
He rubbed his thumb over her skin again. He couldn’t help himself. “You didn’t sound as though you had last evening.”
She moved in close until her body was against his. “I was angry. It was my first time seeing you as General Astger, and you seemed so calm. I watched you with your men and with the actors. You seemed so in control while I thought I’d lose my mind. I thought you’d moved on.”
Women were such strange creatures.
“Moved on?” He cupped the back of her head. “Impossible. I’ve nowhere to go. I’m far too tangled in you.”
She smiled and then lifted her arms and wrapped him in a tight hug. “I missed you.”
His arms went around her, and he found solace in her softness. “I missed you too.”
She pulled slowly. “All right, are you ready to play Dunst?”
“I’m ready to be rid of him.” And he meant it this time. He had plenty of reason to get rid of the man.
“Don’t.” She pointed a finger at him as though he were an insolent child. “No violence.”
He said nothing.
“It's to our advantage that he doesn’t yet know how I feel about you,” she added. “We should keep it that way.”
He agreed with that.
“Now, grab my arm and lead me to the couch.”
He did as she requested.
He watched her. Her eyes moved over the chessboard that was mostly in shadows.
“Sit,” she whispered and then did so herself.
Her eyes remained on the chessboard. Then they widened. “I need paper.”
Remy left and quickly returned with what she needed. She wrote quickly and then frowned. “That’s all I remember.”
She’d added five more pieces. Two on the duke's side, three on Dunst’s.
Dunst’s own symbol, a red falcon, was recognizable. He stood on the front line behind the bear.
What did his position mean? Who was the bear?
“I can see you’re working now,” she said.
Remy nodded without taking his eyes from the chessboard. “I’ll know more once I’ve had a chance to study these men. The Foragers will see to collecting their secrets.”
“What happens to the men who’ve hurt others?”
“Depends.” He looked at her. “We don’t kill everyone, just the ones who are dangerous, who can’t be tamed in some manner. Those who prey on those who can’t fight for themselves are the ones he especially dislikes. We believe in redemption.”
“Is there something you need to be redeemed from?” Vita asked.
“You mean besides wanting another man’s fiancée?”
“I am not his.”
“You are his to Society.” The marriage was as good as sealed.
She put down her wine. “How did you begin working for Van Dero?”
He leaned back in the seat and took the wine glass she offered him. He took a sip and frowned. “I know this.” It was the one she’d called old.
She smiled. “I think I’ll rename it Grandpa.”
He laughed. “Van Dero saved Noel a year ago. In exchange, I vowed five years in his service.”
“Only five?”
He shrugged. “I do have an earldom to run.” Though his land manager was more than capable of seeing to most issues on his own.
She tilted her head. “I think you like running these men better. You weren’t meant to sit around idly while others worked. You were meant for what you do now. Anything less would be a waste.”
∫ ∫ ∫
4 9
* * *
Remy rarely blushed, but he could feel the heat starting to rise over his features.
Thankfully, Vita turned to look at the board.
She was quiet. He watched her. It seem
ed she’d grown in the last week, matured in a way. He was certain the women had something to do with it but also her mother. She’d had every right to shut out the world and become as frigid as the woman who’d given birth to her, but instead, she found a way to care for others and to do the thing she thought to be right.
He couldn’t help but think of Belle. Though he didn’t know everything Belle had encountered in her youth, he knew her life had held deep horrors. Yet, she cared for others, grew concerned when people were sad. She played tough, but she had a sweet heart.
It was why Milly kept her close. In the past year, Milly had adjusted well to this sort of life, found a way to stand when many would have fallen. Dealing with Cassius and his way of thinking was already a monumental task, yet she managed to keep her husband and his work in order.
There was nothing more attractive than strength.
Vita had always been strong. He remembered her nervousness when they’d first met, yet even then, she’d not bent when others tried to move her. She was extraordinary, even when she was humble.
And perhaps, it was her humility that he loved most.
She leaned away from the board. “I hope I’m right about the things I claim to have seen. As you know, my memory might not be what I always assumed it was .”
She was speaking about her mother.
“What you remember was likely true at that time.”
Vita shook her head. “No, I saw love, but no one who loves could ever be as cold as my mother was.”
Remy hadn’t seen their faces during the conversation, but he had heard Holly’s words. “She seemed to not approve of Dunst?”
Vita shrugged. “I was to marry Jeremy. There was no contract though. My father wanted me to have the opportunity he didn’t have, to wed for love.”
“He wasn’t in love with your mother?”
She ran her fingers against the board again. “My grandfather arranged the marriage. It was more about money and connections than anything else.”
And now Vita was heading for the same sort of arrangement. Her marriage to Dunst would be about connections and nothing else. Surely, she could see that.
She looked at Remy. “I like your family.”
“You mean Noel?”
“I mean everyone.” She smiled. “Van Dero and everyone. How would Society react if they knew what it was that you all did?”
A Knight to Dare: (The Valiant Love Regency Romance) (A Historical Romance Book) Page 24