But it was not simply lust. In the short time she’d known him, he’d been there for her repeatedly. He may be a hardened duke on the outside, but on the inside, where it mattered, he was tender and he was hurting. She did want his body, but the more she thought about it, she realized with a great amount of fear and a small amount of hope that she had grown to care for him. He had somehow made her count on him, which was something she had thought never to be able to do again with another. She hoped that he cared for her, as well.
She fought to force back the grin she felt pulling at her lips as she made her way inside the theatre. The stage was full of actors and actresses practicing, just as Jude had said it would be. She glanced around the room, but there was no one in the audience. Frowning, she looked up and searched first the left and then the right theatre boxes. She was about to give up when the curtain in the last box closest to the stage parted slightly, and Jude leaned forward against the railing. He motioned her up and the curtain fell back into place. She quickly made her way to the second floor and went straight to the box.
Jude turned as she entered. “What’s wrong, little bird?” he asked staring at her. “Tell me of yesterday. I got your note that your mother and father were both ill.”
She didn’t want to reveal all the details of her parents’ sicknesses to Jude. “They are doing much better. But I had a long night, and I’m very tired,” she said, taking the seat beside him.
“I’m tired, as well,” Jude said with an exaggerated yawn. “My father kept me up half the night questioning my every decision.”
Arabella frowned. “I thought you said you didn’t know your father.”
“No.” He waggled a finger in front of her face. “I said I was raised by a witch. A complete truth, though she does not cast spells. What I didn’t say was that my father had refused to acknowledge to me, until last night, that I am his son.”
“I’m happy for you, Jude.”
Jude took up her hand and squeezed it so hard that she had to choke back a cry. After a moment, he loosened his hold. “You should be. It’s good for us both.”
She didn’t see how it mattered for her.
Jude cocked his head. “Of course, I knew it. Everything I’ve done was with that knowledge burning in my chest. Do you know what this means?” His question carried an intensity that scared her.
“No.”
“It means that the outcome of the game we play is even more important to me now, Arabella.”
“What game?” she demanded, tugging her hand away and settling it in her lap. She resisted the urge to rub her aching fingers.
“The game of life, my dear. You are one of the pieces I’m forced to move, though truly I don’t want to. Yet, I can see no other way.”
Jude’s eyes had taken on a hard glint, and his lips pulled back into a menacing smile. She wanted to flee and never see him again.
“The Duke of Dinnisfree is no smuggler, Jude. He’s a good man, and I refuse to help you spy on him any longer.”
Jude jerked her forward, causing the armrest of the seat to dig into her hip bone. “Let me go,” she demanded, fear pulsing with every beat of her heart.
“I wish I could,” he said, the words feeling false as they rolled off his tongue. “Now you must listen to me. I want to help you, and I’m likely the only person who does. Everyone else wants to use you, regardless of how it hurts you.” He released the cruel grip on her arms and clamped his bandaged hand under her chin until she hissed. “I need you to search Dinnisfree’s home.”
“No,” she spat, even as Jude’s grip became harsher.
“Arabella,” he said on a long, weary sigh, “your stubbornness reminds me of myself, which is no surprise, but stubborn people die too young because they often only see their own ways. Do you want to die?”
Arabella’s breath whooshed out of her lungs. “No.”
“Then you will do as I say.”
She fought to shake her head against his grip. “I won’t. I cannot.”
Jude tsked at her. “My father thinks I’ll bumble this and you are trying to prove him right! He did not want me to meet you today. I had to threaten him.”
“You’re frightening me, Jude.”
“I am sorry about that,” he said congenially, “but I suppose in this case it’s good to be frightened.” He gave her chin a squeeze and released her.
“You’re not really a Bow Street Runner, are you?” she accused. He’d not said a word about his assignment or his superior thinking he’d bungle the job. Simply his father…
He stared at her for a long moment, then grinned. “Brava, Bella.”
The use of the nickname her father called her startled her. “How did you know—”
“It matters not. We have come to the point when we can shed a layer of lies. It’s both refreshing and exhilarating. You make me proud!” He pinched her cheek hard now. She smacked his hand away. “Little bird, how courageous you are. You’ve met all my expectations much quicker than I could have hoped, so let us change our course.”
“What course?” she demanded over the blood rushing in her ears.
“Well, we were rowing down the river of dishonesty to see if you could reach the gate of trust, and now you have. We can be honest with each other, no?”
She nodded, knowing it was a lie.
“You are a thief.”
“What?” She immediately recalled the box, and her heart sank.
“I see I now have your undivided attention.” He smiled. “My dear, not only are you a thief but you’ve stolen from the king.”
It felt as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water on her head. Gooseflesh covered her arms and legs as images of the last few days flew across her mind.
“The jewelry box,” she said through numb lips. “It was a gift, wasn’t it?”
He nodded. “You’re very bright. Now, little bird, I promise you that if I tell Elizabeth that I saw you stuff her jewelry box in your bag and leave with it, she will let the king know. He is not a forgiving man, from what I’ve been told.”
“You set me up,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Yes. I had to. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t very well chance Elizabeth discovering me with the box.”
“But you have the box!” she cried.
“I do. But you got it out of Elizabeth’s home for me. Now, what I need, what I’m looking for, is something the box contained.”
“You have the necklace, too! Don’t you? You never intended to return it!”
“Mr. Winston has the necklace,” he said with a wink. “Do you know the necklace is the most interesting part of this? The fact that the necklace remained in the secret compartment is what makes me certain that whoever took the letters we seek understands their value completely and intends to offer them to the highest bidder. It’s a dangerous, dangerous game playing Whigs against Tories in a bid to control the throne.”
“The throne?” Arabella’s hands flew to her throat as she swallowed her fear. “I don’t understand. What letters? How can letters affect the throne?”
“The letters had to have been removed at Elizabeth’s house after I saw her put them in the box but before you took it, and that means whoever it was has fooled me. I hate that,” Jude finished as if she were not even there, as if he were simply thinking aloud. “We need those letters. They will deliver to us what is rightfully ours. My plan was so perfect. I instructed Elizabeth to hide the letters there, after all.” He frowned. “It can still be made right with your help, which is exactly, of course, how it should be. You must help me with Dinnisfree. He is the wild card in my hand. Very unpredictable, that man.”
“You think the Duke of Dinnisfree is also looking for your letters?” Her voice was dull to her own ears.
“Not my letters, little bird. But I do feel they belong to us in a way. And as for the duke, I know he is searching for them. What I don’t know is if he has found them. Which is where you come in. Or perhaps I should say, where you remain
in the game, as really, you’ve been playing even before he joined us, you simply didn’t know it.”
Arabella’s mind whirred with the odd information Jude had relayed. Justin had lied to her, but it didn’t matter because she’d lied to him, too. She didn’t know why he was looking for those letters, but that didn’t matter, either. She’d not betray him after all he’d done for her. And Jude, he was crazy! How had she not seen it sooner?
Jude’s eyes suddenly narrowed as if he could read her thoughts. He whipped out his hand and yanked her to him by her hair. She cried out, but his other palm clamped over her mouth. In the background, above the whishing of her struggle to get enough air through her nose, she could hear the actors and actresses, though muffled from the drawn curtain, still practicing onstage below. Jude stared down at her.
“Your doubt and defiance are clear on your face, little bird. Let me paint a picture for you so that you truly understand what is at stake. Dinnisfree is no mere duke. He’s a spy for the king, and a very good one at that. Likely the best, though I did recently uncover his identity, which means he slipped. A very bad thing for a spy to do.”
Arabella’s heart slammed against her ribs. She couldn’t control the spasmodic trembling the revelation caused. Jude grinned. “I’m glad to see that changes your perception of him.”
Arabella prayed that her true emotions didn’t show on her face. Jude’s revelation didn’t alter how she felt about Justin. She wasn’t sure if Jude was lying or not, but regardless, Justin was a good man.
Jude slowly peeled his hand away and released her head. She sat up and rubbed her stinging scalp.
“This is what you are going to do for me,” Jude said in a matter-of-fact tone. “You will find a reason to go to Dinnisfree’s home and you will seduce him. When he falls asleep, search his home.”
“Search his home yourself,” she spat and then reared her hand back to slap Jude.
He caught her wrist and gripped it. “It must be you.”
She glared at Jude. “Never.”
“Little bird, how sad I feel for you. There is much I must teach you that your false parents obviously did not. Never say never.”
“I never told you I was adopted,” she said in the most biting tone she could muster.
“And yet I know. I’ll leave you for now to ponder how. But there is something valuable I want to share with you.” He jerked her to him until they were so close that his hot breath fanned her face. “I have a man guarding your house, and it will take only a word from me for him to break in and kill the man you wrongly call Father. Your house is quite easy to breach.”
Her gaze flew to his wrapped hand. He was holding it at an odd angle. The realization slammed into her. He was the one who broke the window in her father’s study! He must have cut his hand in the process. “You thought I had the letters!”
“Very briefly,” he replied. “I was immensely relieved to learn you didn’t.” He patted her cheek. “I did not want to think you really were a thief. That is only a part you played.”
She clenched her hands until her nails stung the skin of her palms, and she forced herself to relax. She’d simply tell Justin all and ask him for help.
“No, no, little bird,” Jude murmured, somehow reading her mind yet again. “I’ll know if you rat me out to Dinnisfree. I’m watching his house, too, and if he comes near your home to try to rescue your father, I’ll have to end your father’s life for your betrayal. Don’t make me a murderer, Arabella. Simply play the game in the role you must and all will be perfect in the end.”
Her breath solidified in her throat as her eyes blurred. How could she betray Justin? Even if he didn’t have the letters and she found nothing, she would have to live with the awful knowledge of what she’d done. But what choice did she have? Jude would kill her father, unless Justin could help her. Yes, she was sure he would. “I’ll do as you say, but I think I deserve to know who you really are.” She trembled, praying she’d lied convincingly.
“I’m a brother,” he said evenly, but his eyes burned wild. “I’m a bastard. The product of a forbidden love between a powerful man and a pitifully neglected woman. I’m a lover. I’m a survivor. I’ve been abused, beaten, used, and I clawed my way out of hell to sit here with you. I’m the avenger of wrongs. I’m a son who will risk all for the love of his parents. That is who I am.”
She nodded. It was enough. He’d told her just enough. She’d learn who he was, one way or the other, and then she’d have the upper hand. She was sick and tired of being the victim.
Arabella left the theatre and went straight to Madame Chauvin’s. She was well aware that Jude followed her all the way. He didn’t bother much to stay hidden. By the time she reached the dress shop, her nerves were a pulsating ball in her stomach. She muttered under her breath as she turned the corner and spotted Jude again.
She shot him a glare. “There is no need to follow me here! I am stopping in to see if there is any extra work that I might have.”
Jude cocked his head. “Are you worried Dinnisfree will no longer want you as his mistress after you betray him?” he said in a mocking tone.
She ground her teeth. “I don’t wish to be entangled with any of you when this is over!”
It was partly true. She didn’t ever want to see Jude again. Her feelings regarding Justin were much more muddled. She had not known him very long, yet she cared for him. A good deal. He had been kind to her and her family. He had shown faith in her when she had told him her brother was innocent, and she felt she could count on him. And the way her made her feel… Her belly tightened as she recalled his lips on her body.
She strode into Madame Chauvin’s and quickly motioned for the smiling woman to follow her into the back dressing room while pressing a finger over her mouth to show she wanted silence. If Jude did come in, she’d know. There was a bell that rang when the shop door was opened. Madame Chauvin frowned at her but nodded.
“What’s this about?” the woman demanded as she closed the dressing room door.
Thank goodness the shop had been empty. Arabella had not even considered the possibility of customers. This spying thing was difficult, indeed.
Arabella moved close to the woman. “I cannot explain, but we must whisper.”
“Why in the world must we whisper?”
Arabella clenched her teeth. Hadn’t she just said she could not explain? “Er, because my throat is sore.”
Madame Chauvin snorted. “You are a terrible liar, but all right, my dear. What is it you need?”
“Information.” Madame Chauvin often seemed to know secrets others did not.
“Ah, then you have come to the right place. About whom are you seeking information?”
That was the question indeed. “I’m not sure. Why don’t we start with the king and queen…” Since the letters involved the king, she suspected the queen had a part to play. And Jude’s comment about the Whigs and the Tories made her wonder if the letters had something to do with the divorce the king was trying to obtain.
Madame Chauvin clucked her tongue. “You’ll have to be more specific. I know a great deal of gossip about the king and queen.”
Arabella thought for a moment about what she did know. The king was having an affair with Lady Conyngham, and he had recently requested the Pains and Penalty Bill be introduced into Parliament. He wanted to divorce Queen Caroline on the grounds that she was adulterous when he himself was an adulterer, the reprobate hypocrite!
Arabella bit her lip as she thought. Jude had said he was a son:
I’m a bastard. The product of a forbidden love between a powerful man and a pitifully neglected woman. I’m the avenger of wrongs. I’m a son who will risk all for the love of his parents.
“The king neglects the queen,” she said out loud, her breath coming in a shallow gasp.
Madame Chauvin nodded. “Common knowledge. The king has neglected our queen since they first married. He never loved her.”
Arabella rubbed her temples
. The queen was a woman just like her. And like any woman, the queen must want love. It didn’t feel good not to be wanted.
Arabella knew it all too well. And because of it, she had closed herself off, locked her heart away, and told herself she hadn’t wanted love, but she knew now that wasn’t true. Justin had shown her that in small measure with his touch and the desire it elicited, with his being there for her. She wanted a man to grow old with and love, someone who inspired passion and admiration. The queen was married, but she was trapped in a loveless marriage, so she must have still wanted love. And if she were desperate enough, lonely enough…
“Have you ever heard whispers of the queen having an affair?”
Madame Chauvin’s eyes popped wide, and then her mouth pressed into a thin, hard line.
“I am not judging her, Madame Chauvin,” Arabella hastened to add.
The woman seemed to relax a bit, and when her mouth opened, Arabella’s pulse skyrocketed with hope. Madame Chauvin inhaled a long breath. “Yes. Many years ago there were whispers that she and George Canning had an affair.”
“The president of the Board of Trade?”
Madame Chauvin nodded and pulled her mouth into a knowing smile. “Have you read the papers today?”
Arabella shook her head.
Madame Chauvin held up a hand. “One moment.” She marched out of the dressing room, her skirts swishing, and was back within seconds flourishing a paper in the air. “It says here that it’s rumored that Canning has threatened to resign because of the proceeding against the queen. People whisper about them still, but I will tell you what I know as fact. I was commissioned many years ago to make a set of gowns to conceal a pregnancy. The queen left the country the day after the gowns were picked up by a woman I later came to learn was one of the queen’s ladies. The queen returned a year later, and my dearly departed husband built a crib for a male child who he swore had the queen’s eyes and Canning’s lips.”
The Dangerous Duke of Dinnisfree Page 15