Thomasina reached for him, taking his hand. He glanced down at her, and for a moment, their connection was powerful. “Who is Honoria?” she whispered.
“My brother’s mistress,” Harcourt said softly. “The only woman he ever loved, I think. Solomon had a house for her here in London. When he died, she was devastated. She boarded it up and left for the continent. It has a garden with a fountain. She loved it.”
“That’s where he hid the gem,” Rook breathed. “Because he and Solomon were friends, my cousin must have known about her, known about the fountain…so he would understand the reference as much as you did.”
Harcourt nodded. “I’m getting dressed. Rook, do the same. Mr. Rivers, I hope you will accompany us. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”
“I’ve already sent word to Handsome’s men. My man of affairs, Abbot, is gathering a few more. We’ll have an army to save him.”
“I’m already dressed,” Juliana said, smoothing her gown. “I could change into more serviceable boots but that will take but a moment.”
The men stared at her, and Rook shook his head. “You can’t go. It’s too dangerous.”
Juliana barked out a laugh. “As your cousin has learned, Rook, I am not one to be argued with. The man I love is being threatened and is willing to kill and to die in order to protect me and all of you. I’m bloody well coming, and if you don’t allow it, I’ll break out of any chains you try to put me in. I’m not abandoning him because he wouldn’t abandon me.”
Anne drew back. “You—you do love him.”
She faced her sister, the one of them Ellis had hurt most. And she prayed there could be forgiveness in the future. “I do. And I think he does love me. He is more than what desperation had him do. More than what any of you know, save Rook. I want to give him a chance to prove it and himself.”
“It seems he’s already proving himself,” Thomasina said, and squeezed Harcourt’s hand again. “He would die to protect us. That means something.”
“It does,” Harcourt said. “Juliana, you may ride with us. But you’ll stay back.”
“All of us will stay back,” Anne said, patting Rook on the cheek and heading for the door. “Because we’re all coming.”
Harcourt and Rook exchanged a weary glance as Rivers laughed. “I understand the attraction now. Ready yourselves. I’ll go gather the men at my disposal and meet you. You only need to provide me the address of this house.”
Harcourt motioned him into the hallway. “I’ll give it to you now.”
Once the men were gone, Juliana faced her sisters. She expected resistance and argument despite their words in support of her plan to go with the men. Instead, she saw two faces that were a mirror of her own and expressions of only support and love.
“If he has earned your love,” Anne said with a smile, “then I will choose to believe he deserves it. And pray I’ll get to see that myself, soon.”
Thomasina nodded. “I think we all know that a bad beginning doesn’t mean a bad end. If you can be happy, we’ll never do anything but support you.”
Juliana felt the urge to buckle again at their words, but she forced herself to remain strong. For Ellis. “I’ll need it. Now let’s get ready, before the men talk themselves out of allowing our help. I can only hope we won’t be too late. I can only hope we can save him…and ourselves, before this terrible night is over.”
Chapter 23
The near dawn of a new day in the garden behind the fine little house just off Bond Street was truly beautiful.
“A fashionable address for the most fashionable lady,” Solomon Kincaid had often said. Ellis hadn’t understood his attachment to his mistress then. Now he did.
But the house was abandoned now. Left behind by a brokenhearted woman who had been settled well enough to flee the past and whatever pain it brought up in her. Ellis envied her that. His way to deal with the past was to destroy the future. Before that hadn’t mattered. He’d always known a man like him died young. There wasn’t anything to lose. Now? Well, his mind went to Juliana and all there was to feel was regret.
“Enough waiting around,” he muttered, and marched across the garden with the shovel he’d brought with him in hand. He could only pray he was right about the anagram he’d solved, which gave this location, but also a few words to describe where to dig for the prize.
He moved to the location, facing the pair of cupids that would be squirting water out of their adorable little mouths, had the pump not been disabled and the fountain drained over a year ago upon Solomon’s death.
With a sigh, Ellis began to dig in the spot he thought most approximated the direction. Shovelful after shovelful of dirt piled up before the fountain. But nothing inside. Had he guessed wrong? It didn’t matter, he supposed. Whether he had the gem or not, Winston Leonard would come. Ellis would kill him and—
Before he could finish that thought, his shovel thudded against something more solid than mere dirt. He leaned in, searching in the dim light for what had stopped his progress. A box. His heart throbbed as he tossed the shovel aside and dug instead with his hands, loosening the box and drawing it out. He brushed off the dust on the lid and then opened it.
Inside was the thing he’d sought for a year. An emerald the size of his fist, cut to perfection. Worth…he couldn’t even guess how much. Thousands of pounds at minimum, and many favors to a collector that were worth even more. He and Solomon had taken it on a lark when they felt Leonard took advantage of them.
How he hated this…thing. Even if it put him to mind of Juliana’s eyes as he cradled it in his hands. What kind of life could he give her with this? If he crept into her room and spirited her away and they ran? A life of beautiful gowns and homes, of security.
Of course, he would doom everyone else they loved in the process. She would hate him for that. He’d hate himself.
No, he had a plan. He had a debt to pay with his life. There was no going back.
“Handsome Maitland.”
He froze and stared harder at the gem in his hand. The one he’d sacrificed so much to find. The one that was his bait. Except the prey had come sooner than expected, and now all those plans dissolved.
He turned slowly and found Winston Leonard standing a few feet away, a pistol trained on Ellis’s chest.
“Lord Winston,” Ellis drawled, knowing how much Leonard hated being called by that courtesy address. He felt it made him sound like a dandy rather than a dangerous criminal. “You’re early.”
“Normally I try for fashionably late, yes.” Leonard motioned him to come closer with a waggle of his gun. “But I had a feeling the party might start a little earlier than my invitation indicated.”
Ellis didn’t respond but watched Leonard. There was a slight tip to his stance, the tiniest bit of off-center lean, but it would be enough if Ellis moved just right. He edged forward a little, sideways into the lean.
“You were always a clever one,” he said, hoping that talking would keep Leonard distracted. “And a bastard.”
That elicited a cruel smile. “Being a bastard is fun. You know that, Handsome—you’ve been one plenty in your life. Look at you even now, running around with that Juliana Shelley.”
Ellis froze. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
Leonard shook his head. “Still lying. Still trying to pretend to be some hero. I saw her with you at the Donville Masquerade, where I can only assume you were properly debasing her.”
“Shut up,” Ellis growled, knowing he shouldn’t let his emotions get to him, but struggling when Leonard brought Juliana into this.
“I wondered who she could be. And then I figured it out.” Leonard chuckled. “You just can’t help yourself when it comes to spreading the legs of anything with a smile and a giggle. But this is…very unexpected. Do you think she slummed with you because I cut up that pretty face? You should thank me.”
Ellis drew in a breath. He would not lose control. He would not ruin all of this be
cause of a taunt. He knew what Juliana was to him. He didn’t need to prove it to a killer with no soul.
“Maybe I will,” he said. “After you put the gun down and we take care of our business.”
“We don’t have any business,” Leonard said with a shrug. “I’m going to shoot you because you stole from me and you lied to me and you made me wait. No one makes me wait. And when you’re dead on the ground, I’m going to take the gem, and that’s the end of it. No one will mourn you, no one will miss you and the world will go on as it always has.”
Ellis clenched his teeth. Not because he believed this man. No, he knew he was loved. More than he deserved. But because all his sacrifice would be for nothing if it ended this way.
“Oh, the world will almost go on as usual,” Leonard corrected himself. “You see, I don’t think your blood is enough payment for what you put me through. And shooting you in the heart is efficient, but it won’t really pay for what you owe me. I want you to know that I’m going to carefully and painfully punish everyone you love. Your brother. Your cousin. And that very pretty girl you’ve fallen in love with. She’ll be last. And best.”
Ellis ignored the sadistic laugh. He let out a roar and lunged, swinging out a leg to kick Leonard’s knee. It buckled, and the double-barreled flintlock pistol fired. The bullet whizzed by Ellis’s ear as he tackled his enemy.
One shot down. And if he couldn’t get to his own gun, he could use the other shot to finish this at last. Once he got the pistol away.
They rolled, struggling together, both straining as Ellis squeezed a tender spot in Leonard’s wrist to get to him to release the weapon.
But Leonard wasn’t weak. Raised as a gentleman or not, Leonard had worked hard to become a villain. He was well matched to Ellis. He shifted his weight and they moved slightly, Leonard half covering him, Ellis straining as the gun began to shift toward him.
Leonard laughed. “Did you think you’d end me, boy? There was only ever one way this would end.”
“With you begging for your life. Put the gun down,” came a voice behind them.
Both men froze, pivoting to face the intruder. Rook stood there, a gun trained on Leonard’s head. Harcourt and Marcus Rivers flanked him, also armed and similarly aimed. To Ellis’s shock and horror, it wasn’t just the men there, though.
Juliana was standing behind the others, her sisters at her sides. And all she was looking at was him.
“Juliana,” he breathed, shaking his head.
She nodded in response, stubborn as always. God, how he loved her, even though he was going to ring a few necks if he got out of this alive.
“Get off of Ellis,” Harcourt said, his hand trembling slightly. “And look me in the eye, you bastard. You killed my brother—give me any reason to splatter you across the grass.”
For a moment, Ellis felt Leonard’s hesitation. Then he rolled away and set the gun down, before he got up, arms outstretched. “Oh, good. You’ll take me before the magistrate, will you?”
Ellis saw Harcourt’s jaw twitch. “Yes.”
“Excellent. My father has such a good relationship with the magistrates. This will be swept under the rug before a week passes.”
“He’s right,” Ellis said, brushing himself off and grabbing for the gun Leonard had dropped. “Step back, Harcourt. Step away and let me do this. For my family. For Solomon. He was your brother, but he was my friend. And I’ll avenge him for both of us and keep this bastard from hurting another soul.”
“You would throw away your life to protect us?” Harcourt asked, and his gaze shifted slightly to Ellis. “Your future? Your happiness.”
“I owe you that.” He looked past him to Juliana. “I owe her even more.”
“No,” she said, desperation cracking her voice. “You owe me the future we might have. You’ll throw that away by doing this. Please don’t. Please.”
He pushed the gun against Leonard’s skull. “Just look away.”
But she didn’t. Instead, her eyes went wide and then she marched forward, slowly, her hands shaking. It took him a moment to realize she wasn’t doing it as some kind of challenge to his decision to kill the man who had caused them all so much pain. As she came closer, he saw that Lady Lydia was behind her. And she had a gun pressed into Juliana’s spine.
“I think you’d best be smart now, Mr. Maitland, and put the gun down. My brother isn’t going anywhere.”
The press of the gun against Juliana’s back was so cold and hard that she could barely breathe. One wrong flick of the wrist, one lost bit of footing, and she would be dead or badly injured.
“Lydia,” she said as she was shoved forward none too gently. “What are you doing?”
“Protecting my own future,” Lydia hissed.
Juliana tried to keep her voice calm. Soothing. “How does this protect your future?”
“The best way I know how. Winston said he would give me a portion of the proceeds when he rids himself of the jewel. Enough for me to run away and live my life as I see fit. Then whatever he does won’t matter to me.”
“Even if he kills?” Thomasina asked as Juliana was pushed past her embracing sisters.
There was a slight hesitation, but then Lydia continued moving her forward. “I’m not responsible for that.”
“Yes, you are,” Ellis said. His eyes were locked on Juliana’s, and she held there. That blue gaze gave her peace, it calmed her fear. Just as it had all those weeks ago. Just as she knew it could for all her days if any of them survived this nightmare.
“Hand over the gem to my brother,” Lydia said softly.
Ellis’s expression was so filled with frustration that he almost looked as though he would howl. He didn’t, though, and swept up the gem from where it had fallen in their struggle. He held it out, his hands shaking. Winston Leonard stepped forward and snatched it.
“Well done, sister,” Leonard drawled as he backed away. It was a taunt. Ellis still had the gun, but it was clear he wouldn’t fire it.
Because it would endanger Juliana.
“You have what you want,” Ellis growled. “Now let her go.”
“No, I think not,” Leonard said as he sidled up to his sister and Juliana. Together they pulled her back toward the gate at the back of the garden. An escape route. “The moment we don’t have her, your men will move. She comes with us. If you’re lucky, you’ll get her back in one piece.”
Lydia’s face jerked toward his. “You told me we’d let her go at the gate.”
“Shut up,” he snapped, and glared at her.
Ellis was moving forward, one long step at a time. Getting closer and closer, and Juliana longed to reach out. To have him pull her away to safety. But that wasn’t going to happen. For the second time in a few weeks, the most dangerous man in London was taking her away from everything she loved.
And judging from the cruelty in his tone and his look, she didn’t fully believe she would be released, even if that’s what he’d told his sister.
Lydia. Yes, that was the key. It was obvious the young woman was hesitant about the violence her brother reveled in.
“I don’t know what he said to make you do this, but he’s lying to you,” Juliana whispered. “Think of all the times he’s done that in the past. All the damage he’s done without even caring about you. He will do what’s best for him in the end. He’ll leave you worse off while he is free.”
“Shut up,” Leonard said. “Lydia, keep moving.”
Juliana looked at the man whose brutality knew no bounds. And she saw the deeper truth of him. “I can see he has no intention of letting me go. But he won’t dirty his hands. He’ll force you to shoot me just to prove your loyalty. He’ll put my blood on your hands so you’ll never be free of him.”
Lydia stopped moving and glanced at Leonard from the corner of her eye. “That isn’t the bargain we made,” she whispered. “You said no one else had to get hurt.”
“It will be you with a bullet in your head if you don’t move her out
the fucking gate,” Leonard snapped.
Lydia’s hand shook against Juliana’s back. She was distracted. This was the time.
Juliana threw her elbow as hard as she could, smacking it across Lydia’s chin. She cried out and her grip loosened. Juliana dove for the ground as Leonard pulled out his own pistol. He aimed it at her and she crouched, ready to die, but when it fired, she wasn’t hit.
Ellis hurtled himself forward, jumping between her and the bullet meant to destroy her. He screamed her name into the night, and then his voice was cut off. He fell beside her, his hand gripping at the wound on his thigh. Blood was gushing from it.
Rook was moving now, Harcourt too. Juliana rolled to cover Ellis and protect him just as he had once protected her. As she did so, Leonard grabbed for his sister, trying to throw Lydia in the way of any bullets that might be fired.
Lydia jerked away from him and pivoted, her gun pointed at his chest.
He smirked. “You won’t dare, Lydia.”
Her jaw tightened and her gun fired. Leonard stared at the circle of blood on his chest as he dropped to his knees. And then he hit the ground face first. Dead in an instant.
There was a great deal of movement after. People running and shouting, Lydia being taken away by someone as Rook dropped to his knees at Ellis’s side.
Rook’s face was pale enough that she knew the injury was bad. He tore off his cravat, applying it as a tourniquet to the bleeding wound. Ellis winced as it was tightened, but his face was so pure white.
“Stay with me,” she whispered, stroking his hair back. “You’re not leaving me now.”
“That’s my line,” he said, his voice rough and far away. “I said it to you that day on the hill.”
She nodded. “And I stayed. And you must too. I love you. You can’t leave me because I love you.”
His eyes drooped. “I love you too,” he whispered. And then he was unconscious, and she screamed.
Chapter 24
A Counterfeit Courtesan Page 22