by Laura Landon
Lily smiled at him.
“Everything’s fine,” she answered. “Are you nervous about confronting your cousin?”
Jack shook his head. “This day has been coming for a long time. It started when we were young and he bought into his father’s lie that he was the rightful heir to the Riverdon title.”
“Surely his father can’t really believe that.”
Jack slowed the carriage horse and turned a corner. They weren’t in the most fashionable part of London, but neither were they that far from Mayfair. Jack turned one more corner and pulled his carriage to a halt next to the curb.
“What if he isn’t home?” Lily asked.
“If he’s expected shortly, we’ll wait for him. If his wife doesn’t know when he’ll return, we’ll leave and come back later.”
“I hope he’s home,” Lily added. “I don’t want him to have any warning that we’re aware of what he’s been doing.”
“Same here.” Jack dismounted from the carriage and held out his hand for Lily to take. She grasped it as she stepped to the ground but Jack didn’t separate himself from her. “Thank you,” Jack said in a lowered voice filled with emotion. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t recognized the forgeries.”
“It would have played out like your cousin wanted it to, Jack, but you would have learned what he was doing and found an expert in the arts and had them do exactly what I’m doing for you.”
“Yes, but the dowager duchess would have lost her precious Qings.”
“I would have regretted that,” Lily said in a breathy voice.
“Me, too,” Jack answered, then slowly stepped away to separate himself from her, leaving the air between them devoid of its usual spark. Lily shivered.
“Are you ready?” he asked, taking her arm and escorting her across the street.
“I am. But I’ll let you confront your cousin and will only speak if I need to explain something.”
Jack nodded, then lifted the door knocker and lowered it with a heavy thud.
They were about to send some shock waves through his cousin’s household. Lily just hoped they were ready for the coming cataclysm.
Jack had felt himself growing angrier by the second. Every time he thought about what Russell was doing his temper rose another notch. The bastard was trying to ruin him. The no-good lackwit thought Jack owed him a living. But nothing in life was free. Only the people who did the work got paid.
Jack turned his attention to the door that was opening. A very young maid stood uneasily blocking the entrance.
“Mr. Jackson Broadmoore to see Mr. Russell Broadmoore. Is he in?”
“Mr. Broadmoore is not at home,” the girl whispered. She kept looking over her shoulder and clutched her skirt with trembling fingers.
“It’s all right, Larissa.”
The maid turned toward the voice and backed away from the door, allowing Jack and Lily to step into the foyer.
“Hello, Jackson.”
“Lady Margaret?”
Jack managed somehow to hide his surprise at the strange welcome. Russell’s perfectly groomed wife stood in the shadows of the darkened vestibule. She seemed as elegant as he’d always known her to be, but the way she held herself seemed odd.
“It’s been some time since we’ve seen you, Lady Margaret. I trust you’ve been well?”
The lady nodded and glanced toward Lily.
“Oh. Goodness.” Jack turned to make room for Lily to step up beside him. “Please allow me to introduce Miss Lily McGregor. Lily, this is my cousin Russell’s wife, Lady Margaret.”
The two women exchanged smiles.
“I’m afraid Russell isn’t here, Jackson. I’ll be happy to tell him you called.”
Jack nodded, surprised yet relieved when she didn’t invite them in. In a sense, he was grateful not to confront his cousin in front of the man’s lovely wife.
“Quite all right, Lady Margaret. Quite all right, indeed.”
Just as Jack took a half step back intending to leave, Lily stepped forward and laid a hand on Lady Margaret’s arm.
The woman gasped and stifled a pained cry.
“Dear me! I’m so sorry!” Lily apologized as the woman struggled to regain her composure.
Jack was quite at a loss to know what had just happened, though it was clear that Lady Margaret must have injured her arm.
But Lily seemed to understand exactly what the problem was.
“Do you injure yourself often, Lady Margaret?”
Russell’s wife looked at Jack, then back to Lily. “It’s nothing.”
“Yes, of course,” Lily smiled. “You’ll be back in circulation in a day or two, I would imagine.”
The woman nodded. “Yes. A day or two.”
“Fit as a fiddle, I should say.”
“Yes. Fit as a fiddle.
“Until the next time.”
A long look passed between the two women.
Lady Margaret looked as if she might speak, but failed to form the words.
“My lady,” Lily said with a gentle touch to the woman’s thin wrist, “I know that your husband has a violent temper, so I can only guess that he raises his hand to you. Am I right?”
Lady Margaret cradled her injured arm.
“You are mistaken, Miss McGregor.”
Lily looked at Jack, then back to Lady Margaret.
“Come with me now and I can help you.”
The poor woman looked as if she wanted to bolt out the door with them, but at that moment a child called to her from somewhere deep in the house.
“No, I— He’s not always—”
She looked defeated, weary of living in fear of when the next explosion might occur. She stepped back and lowered her head.
Lily sighed. She’d seen it more times than she could count, the wife giving the brute of a husband one more chance. For the children, they would say.
She lowered her voice to a whisper. “If you ever need to escape his tirades, reach out to me. I’ll help you.” Lily reached into her reticule. “Just come to this address. And bring your children,” she added as she slipped her calling card into Lady Margaret’s hand. “I’ll take you where you’ll be safe.”
“Thank you,” the fearful woman said, anxiously looking around to make sure no one had heard.
Lady Margaret moved Jack and Lily toward the door.
“Thank you,” she repeated, then with a look that Jack could only read as gratitude, she closed the door behind them.
He’d expected to deliver shock waves to this household this afternoon. But instead, he’d been on the receiving end. And as usual, Russell was responsible.
“How long before she’ll seek you out,” Jack asked when they reached the carriage and he’d cracked the reins against the horse’s rump.
Suddenly his worry that Russell planned to undermine his business seemed like a minor detail in the light of the life sentence his poor wife was living out.
Lily looked at him, and in her eyes he saw how difficult it had been for her to leave a battered woman in the lion’s den and walk away.
“How long before she’ll leave him? As long as it takes her to summon the courage.”
That afternoon as promised, Lily led Liam and Millie on a tour of her town house. The painting and papering were recently finished and the furniture she’d chosen for the upstairs bedrooms had been delivered that morning. It was the greatest comfort to walk through this space filled with the colors that pleased her most. For the first time in her life, Lily had the thrill of creating her own little world. Too colorful, perhaps, if Lady Millicent’s occasional gasps were any indication, but it brought her such joy.
The staff was in place and the smells coming from the kitchen were divine. Lifting Molly O’Doole out of Whitechapel and giving her a kitchen of her own had been Lily’s greatest triumph. If what was in the air was any indication of how the food she was preparing to be served with tea was going to taste, Lily was going to be home for every mea
l from now on.
“It’s beautiful!” Millie exclaimed as they walked from one drawing room to another. “And your library…oh, Lily, it will be the envy of London. I profess I would never leave it.”
“It’s rather a surprise, isn’t it? Who knew Gunner had such cultured taste when it came to reading?”
“Do you think he chose all the books?” Liam asked.
“He may have. Or found someone to choose for him. They were all here when I first saw the house.”
Lily led her guests to a small dining alcove on the terrace. It was a perfect day for tea al fresco. Her butler Connors and a young maid followed them to the table and served the tea and savouries.
“Thank you, Connors. And Chelsea,” Lily said when they’d finished. In public she would follow the conventions and let a butler convey her thanks to the staff who reported to him, but in her own home she would address her staff directly and thank them individually. “That will be all for now.”
“Yes, Miss McGregor,” the butler said, then left them alone.
“How delicious,” Millie said taking a bite of peach cobbler from a stoneware cup that kept it warm still. “You will have to keep a tight leash on your cook or you’re going to lose her to everyone who tastes her pastries.”
Lily smiled as she lifted her tea cup. Molly O’Doole would never leave her. They owed each other their lives. As did Chelsea. And Connors. Her household would be both sanctuary and stronghold for them. And for her.
“Are you going to Jack’s auction tonight?” Liam asked.
“Yes,” Lily answered. “I promised Jack I would come early and check for last-minute…substitutions.”
“Does he think his cousin will try to pass off a forgery again?”
“He thinks it’s possible, but the last thing Jack needs tonight is a scene.”
“Not even a bidding war?”
Lily laughed. “Now that kind of scene would be most welcome.”
Liam rose and bent to kiss Lily on the cheek. “Come, Millie. We must go count our pennies to see if we can enter the fray tonight.”
They were still laughing as she saw them off at the door. Lily strolled slowly back down the hall, relishing the comfort of having entertained family in her own home. It was a new and tender sensation, and now that it was all too quickly over, she regretted their leaving.
But it was time to prepare for the auction.
Lily wasted no time dressing and making her way to Broadmoore’s Treasures. She uncharacteristically cast caution to the wind and allowed herself to bask in the thrill of anticipation. Admittedly, nothing could come from her friendship with Jack, but until she was forced to break off their association, she intended to enjoy every moment in his company.
Lily hesitated between her carriage and the shop door. Anticipation was all well and good, but there was always a moment when dread overpowered it. Each time, it settled more harshly in the pit of her stomach.
And it was only going to get worse. How long would she continue deceiving herself?
She swallowed hard, stoking her courage to do what she knew she must. This would be the last time she would spend time with Jack. Being in his company was too hard on her. Having to give him up once was difficult. Having to give him up a second or a third time would be impossible.
BEHOLD THE THIEF by Laura Landon
Chapter Thirteen
Lily stepped through the front door of Broadmoore’s Treasures and allowed the familiar opulence to soothe her troubled heart. She couldn’t explain the feeling that came over her. It was the same emotion she felt when she entered a museum, or an art gallery, or any place that displayed works of art, but with an extra bit of joy that came in the form of Jack Broadmoore.
Lily made her way through the showroom, down a wide hallway, then to the large double doors that opened to the elegant display area that held all the items that people had brought in for bids. But when Lily turned the knob on the double doors, they didn’t open. They were locked.
Lily stared at the locked doors, then knocked several times. She heard footsteps coming toward the door, then it opened and Lily stood facing Jack.
“Come in,” he said, in his way that triggered her pulse.
Lily entered the room and Jack closed the door behind her and locked it.
“The items people have put up for bid have all arrived. I locked the door because I don’t intend to let people in until a half hour before the auction starts. That is when my staff will be in place. Until then I’m the only one to watch this room. And now you.”
“Ready to serve, captain. No harm shall come to your treasures,” she joked, attempting to erase the worry from Jack’s face.
“Well, it’s been done before, hasn’t it.”
Clearly her humor had missed its mark.
“Now then, there are forty items up for sale and I have ten volunteers coming tonight to make sure nothing happens.”
“You really do anticipate that your fool of a cousin will try another switch, then.”
“If he finds out I paid him a call this afternoon, he’s cunning enough to guess why. I may likely have stoked his fire so that if anything, he’ll be more determined than ever to let me get caught selling forgeries.”
“Then I’d best get busy so I’m finished before you open the door.”
“Thank you, Lily,” Jack said.
“Have you seen anything that causes you concern?”
“One. I want to see if you agree.”
Lily focused her mind on his statement and away from the frustration she was feeling at having him near. Her eyes flicked to his clenched hands and she wondered if he might be feeling the same.
“Which item?”
One corner of Jack’s mouth ticked upward. “You tell me.”
Lily answered his challenge with her own smile and turned to examine the first auction article. It was a wonderful piece, of even greater value than the treasures on the previous sale. Word of Jack’s auctions was spreading. And the higher his visibility became, the harder the fall he might take.
She redoubled her focus. He would not fall. Not on her watch.
Meticulously, she worked her way down the row. It wasn’t until she’d nearly reached the final object that she recognized what she thought might be a stolen object. An article in the Times detailing the theft of a priceless figurine from the Earl of Manchester’s country estate came to mind. The theft occurred the same evening that the earl and countess hosted their annual ball and rumor had it that there were upwards of one-hundred-fifty guests in attendance.
Not only was Russell more than likely there, but so was half of Society. The fact that the figurine wasn’t missed until several days later had really hampered the investigation. But that had been weeks ago, and she’d read nothing of it since. Perhaps the authorities had recovered the figurine.
Lily lifted the figurine and held it out to Jack. The expression on his face told her she’d chosen the same piece he’d been concerned about. “It’s not a forgery. But is this the piece that worried you?”
Jack nodded.
“I remember reading about the theft of a figurine similar to this one the night of Lord and Lady Manchester’s ball,” Lily said.
“Yes. It was quite a scandal because the guilty party was more than likely one of Society’s nobility.”
“This may be it.”
Jack studied the figurine closer. “I could take it to their daughter, see if she recognizes it. It wouldn’t take me more than a half hour there and a half hour back.”
Lily nodded. She knew Jack was right. “What are you going to do if she recognizes it?”
“I’ll hand it over to her.”
“Are you going to inform the authorities that you think Russell stole it?”
“Not until I can prove he was behind the theft. The piece was brought in by a woman from Brighton. She seemed quite reputable, said she has her own shop, but thought she might do better selling it here.”
“How do you th
ink this will end, Jack?” Lily heard the worry creeping into her voice and tried to soften her tone. “He’s not going to give up. He’ll keep finding a way to put stolen items in your list until we miss one and your reputation is questioned.”
Jack placed his hands on Lily’s shoulders. “And my life would not be over, Lily.”
Lily took a long breath and fixed her eyes on his. She’d never feared for anyone before. Not like this. Her rescue missions were entirely different. There she was in charge. There she knew the culprits. There she always felt she held the upper hand. Not so with Jack. But his confidence bolstered her.
“Life as you know it would be over.”
He drew her slightly closer.
“Not the important parts, Lily. Not the parts like…this.” Jack lowered his head until his forehead touched hers. “Oh, Lily,” he sighed, and as his mouth came slowly over hers she felt the magnitude of his words.
His lips touched hers with a need that sent warm sensations cascading through her whole body. His mouth opened atop hers and she pressed closer. Longing took command of her senses and she welcomed his probing kiss. Never before had she experienced anything so glorious.
As Jack’s kiss deepened, Lily wrapped her arms around his neck. She needed something strong to anchor herself to before her knees gave way entirely. She trembled with need. She trembled with the thought of someone coming through the door. But it was locked.
The feeling of shelter was enormous. Not because of the locked door, but because of the shelter of his arms.
Jack kissed her again, then again, and with each kiss he destroyed more of her willpower to stop him. She was like clay in his hands and every time he demanded more from her, she moulded herself to his need.
His kiss became her world. How could anything cause a riot of emotions to rush through her body as intense as the emotions Jack caused? She was giving up to him. She was allowing him to completely control her.