Improper Pleasures (The Pleasure Series)

by Cheryl Howe

  “Astra?” he called, unable to stand the silence a moment longer. Surely Hutton expected James to follow the instructions of his note. The outside script belonged to another, but the neat request that James deliver five thousand pounds in notes from the Bank of England was penned by Hutton himself. The fact that the notes could not be traced to James’s bank had promise that Wesley was ready to escape, but the paltry sum hinted that he had other plans.

  “Astra?” James called again. What the hell was Hutton up to?

  “James!” he heard her muffled shriek coming from upstairs.

  James bolted up the stairs three at a time. “I’m here. What room are you in?”

  He found her by the sound of her voice before she had a chance to explain. A swift kick at the door broke the ancient lock. She flew into his arms, but James quickly set her away from him, ignoring the surge of relief that threatened to weaken his resolve.

  “Do you know where Wesley is?”

  She shook her head. “He tricked me into following him.”

  “We can talk about it later. We need to leave immediately.”

  “Melva was here,” she whispered near his ear as they cautiously made their way down the stairs. The ease of their escape urged James to slow his pace. Something was not right. They reached the bottom floor and James treaded lightly, his boots creating a haunting echo against the littered marble. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. A candle glowed from a room near the front of the house, seeping into the shadowed hall. James was sure it had been completely dark before. He’d glanced in the sitting room but had thought it deserted.

  “Going so soon?” They heard Wesley call from the candle-lit parlor.

  James stopped and Astra clutched his sleeve urging him toward the front door. They would have to pass the side room to escape. The need to wrap his hands around Wesley’s neck pulsed through James with primal appeal, but was a mere distraction in comparison to his desire to see Astra and their unborn child to safety. James would gladly transfer his uncanny ability for survival, learn to live like other mortal men, if it would secure Astra’s safety. He no longer needed nine lives when he only wanted one, and it all depended on the woman clutching his arm so desperately. With any luck, he could block her with his body and slip past the room.

  “I would have thought Astra would wish to say goodbye,” Wesley called again, his tone chillingly calm. “To Lark.”

  Astra froze, glanced at James then bolted for the sitting room. Fortunately, James was able to stop her before she entered. She struggled out of his grip and Wesley laughed.

  “No!” she screamed.

  The broken sound of her voice unnerved James but all his attention was on restraining Astra without hurting her. She began to sob and James was forced to lift his gaze.

  Wesley sat across the room, Lark draped across his lap, unmoving.

  “It hurts, Astra, doesn’t it? Seeing the thing you love most in the world in the arms of another.”

  “What have you done?” she wailed. She tugged against the restraint on her arm again, but James held her firmly.

  Wesley readjusted Lark, her head and limbs flopping at awkward angles. James noted that Lark was not stiff. And her cheeks looked flush. He wanted to tell Astra that he thought her alive but was afraid Wesley would overhear. Wesley was playing them all like marionettes and James didn’t want to aid him in his cruel scheme.

  “You should calm yourself, Astra.” Wesley stroked Lark’s blond hair. “I heard too much excitement could cause a miscarriage.”

  “Let me hold her. Please,” begged Astra. Her voice broke and she trembled, barely containing herself.

  James’s fear cranked a notch higher. Wesley knew about the baby and causing Astra to miscarry was exactly what Wesley likely desired.

  “And she could bleed to death if she does. Is that what you want?” James hoped Wesley truly did love Astra because he would have no other reason to keep her alive.

  Lark stirred, moving her head until it rested in the crook of Wesley’s arm.

  Astra gasped at the sure sign that her daughter was still alive. “What do you want? Please.”

  “Firstly, I wish for you to know what I have done. Everything that I did for you. Come. Sit. Both of you.”

  Astra rushed to do as Wesley bid, sitting on the sofa next to Wesley’s chair, leaning as close to her daughter as possible. While Astra kept her gaze on Lark, James watched Wesley. He smiled and let James see the pistol he clutched loosely in his right hand.

  “Wesley, I never asked you to do anything for me.” The tremble in Astra’s voice belied her calm reasoning. “Please, let me hold Lark while we talk. I know she’s heavy.”

  “I enjoy holding her. Lark’s is the one who gave me hope, you know. Made me realize that I had a chance to be more than a poor relation. She never cared for me though. I figured that would change when I became her father.”

  James strode to sit on the sofa beside Astra, but Wesley directed him to sit in a chair across the room.

  “Just give me, Lark.” Astra reached for her, but Wesley gave her a warning look that instantly stilled her. “You should leave the country. James will do nothing to stop you.”

  Astra shot James a pleading glance. “I have the notes you requested.” James reached in the inside pocket of his jacket. Blackmore had come through with that as well, something James could not have obtained on his own in so short a period of time. Hutton didn’t try to stop him, fully aware that he had the upper hand. If James was a better shot, he would have taken the chance of wiping away Hutton’s smirk. But he was not and another reason he’d come unarmed.

  James waved the bank notes and slowly laid them on a low table in front of the sofa, then returned to his orchestrated position.

  “That will come in handy. Thank you.” Wesley’s continued calm was even more unnerving. “So let’s begin at the beginning. I saved you, Astra. I saved you from ruin. And look how you repaid me.”

  “I never asked you to take money from Eastlan.”

  “Not that. Trent. I stopped him from ruining your name. Neither you nor Lark would ever have had a moment’s peace if it weren’t for me.”

  “You killed him.” James ground his teeth to stop the blind fury that threatened to spiral out of control. That he wasn’t surprised by the depth of Wesley’s crimes turned James’s anger on himself. James had made a mistake in not beating Hutton at his own game. He should have killed him when he’d had the chance. And he would. His live and let live philosophy did not suit his new position as father and husband. Wesley wouldn’t leave this room alive, even if James didn’t either. The pistol Wesley held had only one shot. James intended to make sure he used it on him, and the sooner the better. Rudd and Blackmore would hear the blast and rescue his family before Wesley could reload.

  “No, the tiger took care of Trent. I just shut the cage door. I did not mean to kill him though. I went to talk to him. To ask him to stop spreading lies about Astra. I waited until he went into the cage to feed the damn thing, no one else would, you know. I shut the gate in case Trent lost his temper. He did, of course. The tiger took it personally and no more Trent. No more problem. I like to think of it as divine intervention.”

  And so had Astra. The horror of her secret wishes curled around her heart and she prayed to God for forgiveness. For being grateful at the cost of another’s life. Surely God would not hurt Lark, Trent’s daughter, because of Astra’s selfishness. Astra, her palms itching with the need to hold her, studied Lark closely. Lark groaned and shifted again. Her right leg twitched. She suspected Wesley had given her opium. She recognized the effect from watching Lowell sleep after a particularly horrible bout of illness.

  “And Lowell, what was that?” James asked. “Tell us about poisoning a man who thought of you as his best friend, all so you could steal his land and his wife? That’s something to be proud of.”

  Astra glared at James, silently warning him not to provoke Wesley.

  “That w
as the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.” Wesley turned to Astra. “I never wanted to hurt Lowell, but even he knew he was not the husband you needed, Astra.”

  Astra slowly met Wesley’s gaze, his admission still shocking despite the fact he held her unconscious daughter in his arms. “I never would have believed you could harm Lowell. Never.”

  “And I never wanted you to know.” Wesley’s gaze softened to his former harmless facade, shocking Astra with the change. “I saw how hard you tried to be good to him, but I also saw that you were withering from the inside out. You needed so much more. You needed sun and laughter and fresh air. We could have had such a wonderful life together. We still can.”

  “No!” She stopped herself from telling him she loved James. She swallowed her need to protect James and tried to think of a reason Wesley should let the two people she cared for most in the world, her daughter and James, live. “It’s too late. Someone will suspect—”

  “I’ve already notified the magistrate,” James interrupted. “If anything happens to me, you will be his first suspect. But I’m willing to let you walk out this door if you hand Lark over to Astra.”

  Wesley tightened his grip on Lark, holding her against his chest. “When Lark was born, and she was a girl, it struck me that I could inherit Eastlan. Lowell had not been expected to reach adulthood. Every year was a struggle. I thought there was no one else. How wrong I was.”

  “Wesley, what are you going to do?” Astra said, trying to find reason in the part of him she had once valued as a friend.

  “That depends on you, Astra. Support my story, and you will have all you’ve ever wanted.”

  Except James. She kept her gaze averted from him. “What do you wish for me to do?”

  Wesley smiled, stood and handed Lark to Astra. She hugged her so tightly, she was sure she would cry out if she were awake.

  “I gave her one of Lowell’s tinctures. Told her it was a special potion that would make her a fairy so she could protect her new brother. She is quite taken with the idea.”

  “And if I help you, will you not harm the child I carry, my baby?” She purposely emphasized the word my and avoided looking at James.

  “Don’t trust him, Astra,” she heard James say. She heard the fear in his voice and suspected he knew what she was about. Not that she had a clear plan but she would do what she had to in order to protect those she loved. All of them.

  “No, I will allow you that.” He held her gaze so sincerely she would have believed him only yesterday. Only the hollow tone of Wesley’s voice revealed that he was lying. But then of course, an infant would be so easy to dispose of with no questions asked.

  “What of Melva? She will not take lightly to being cast aside.” Astra raised her voice, praying Melva would come to her senses and find help.

  “Oh yes, that piece of baggage has outlasted her use. And that’s why my plan is so brilliant. Melva shall hang herself over James’s lifeless body. She shoots him when he comes to pay her off with a measly five thousand pounds.”

  Astra gasped, and held her hand over her mouth.

  “Oh, she won’t feel a thing. I’ve already sedated her. She’s in the kitchen.” Wesley turned to James, a pistol she had not noticed before in his hand. “And you, James Keane, will be a pleasure to dispense with. You must be the devil himself because I have never seen a man escape death as you have.”

  James shrugged. “It’s a gift.”

  “A gift that’s run out.”

  “Wait!” Astra stood. “Not here. What if Lark wakes up?”

  “Send Astra outside. I don’t want you to kill me in front of her.” James’s voice was surprisingly calm.

  “You really do love her, don’t you?” Wesley laughed. “That will give me much pleasure to know when I share her bed every night. I’ll think of you often.”

  “You’re too kind,” James said sarcastically. “But, I don’t think you can do it. Shoot me in cold blood.”

  “I most certainly can.”

  “Then do it,” James urged. “But send Astra outside first. You don’t want her to see you snivel, do you?”

  Wesley raised his gun at James. “I’m not going to snivel. I’m going to laugh.”

  “And I’m going to be sick. I think you should poison him instead.” Astra said, the conversation seemed so absurd, she would say anything, promise anything, to postpone the inevitable. It was as if James wanted Wesley to shoot him.

  “I tried arsenic, but it didn’t work. I feared if I used a stronger dose, he would go into convulsions on the spot, which would make my handiwork vulgar. I think he got so drunk he vomited much of the poison. You were a disgrace to the Keane name that night, by the way. He defiled your rose bushes, Astra. I saw him.”

  James stood. “I don’t have to take this sitting down.”

  Wesley instinctively backed up a step and the pistol wavered before Wesley adjusted his aim. He was afraid of shooting James. Or so she hoped. All of his other victims had been done away with through passive means. And as far as she knew, Wesley had never shot a living thing before. He always found an excuse not to join the rest of the men in the hunt.

  But she could not take that chance. He did hate James. A woman and child would be a different matter.

  Apparently James noticed Wesley’s hesitancy as well because he laughed. “You better steady your aim, Wesley. You miss and you’re going to envy Trent’s run in with the tiger. Your demise won’t be so pleasant.”

  Wesley paled but took a step closer, his aim squarely on James who stood as still as a stone, making himself an easy target.

  Astra intended to change that. Lark in her arms, she strolled to James. “I’ve changed my mind.” She handed Lark to a startled James. “I don’t wish for you to shoot James.”

  Astra stood in front of James, and blocked them both from Wesley. James shoved Lark back into her arms. “Get out of here. Now!”

  “You are a bloody fool, Astra.” Wesley glared at her, but he did abruptly lower the pistol. “You know, I have another plan as well. It involves you. Dead.”

  “Go, Astra. Have a care for your children.” James voice was no longer calm, but quite furious. “Our children!”

  Astra clutched her daughter to her. “What of Lark?” she said to Wesley, ignoring James’s obvious desperation to force her to leave him.

  “I don’t give a damn about Lark,” Wesley said. “You really are a whore, aren’t you? Just like Trent said.”

  Astra struggled with what she should do. She did not want to leave James, nor could she risk Lark’s life as she was doing.

  She glanced up and spotted Melva slipping into the room, an iron skillet in her hand. Their gazes met and held. Astra knew one of her prayers had been answered. Perhaps even all of them.

  “So tell me your plan. How does it involve me? I had no idea you where so clever,” she said clutching her daughter to her. She suspected James had spotted Melva as well, because he had begun to inch from behind her, drawing Wesley’s attention from the woman sneaking up on him.

  “You shall be the one to hang yourself. After you shoot your husband and his pregnant lover first. Stop right there, James.” Wesley aimed again but his grip was less steady.

  “I don’t care for that outcome.” Astra stepped away from James, Lark tightly clutched in her arms. “I suppose you might as well go ahead and shoot him.”

  Melva had neared Wesley and he turned at the same time she brought the pan down on his head. The pistol exploded and Astra curled around her daughter, praying the shot went wild. A door banged open and Mr. Rudd charged in the room, yelling like a banshee and brandishing a sword. Darien Blackmore planted himself in the entryway and brought a musket to his shoulder.

  James wrapped his arms around Astra. “Are you hurt?”

  Lark struggled out of her arms and Astra pressed her daughter’s face into her chest. “Go back to sleep, darling.”

  “Mama, I can’t breathe.”

  “Take her home, A
stra. We shall deal with this.”

  “You bloody bastard. You lied to me. And this babe ain’t even yours,” yelled Melva. “Think I was daft enough to drink anything the likes of you tried to force down my throat?”

  Mr. Rudd sat on Wesley. Blackmore glanced warily at Melva who still brandished the skillet. “What shall we do with her?”

  “I won’t say a word if you kill him.” She dropped the skillet with a clang. “He was going to do me in. I didn’t know what he was about. I swear.”

  “Restrain her until I can see my wife home,” James said, the gravity in his voice warning her he was about to do something neither of them could live with.

  “No one shall kill anyone. Please, James. Let the courts punish Wesley,” said Astra. “I do not want you risking yourself any further. You could be charged with murder.”

  “Go ahead and shoot me in cold blood. I would expect nothing less from you, James,” said Wesley as he roused himself.

  His calmness shocked her. Wesley did not want this to continue any more than James did.

  “He’s a bloody murderer,” said Melva. “I didn’t want to hurt the lady or Lord Keane. Mr. Hutton promised to take me to Italy if I helped him. Wanted me to claim Lord Keane was my babe’s da so as to get some traveling money.” Melva dodged Blackmore every time he tried to approach her. “I would never have tricked poor Lady Keane if I had a choice, I swear.”

  “You saved my husband, Melva. No harm will come to you. I will personally see that you are taken care of. You will get a second chance.” Astra readjusted Lark who had somehow fallen back to sleep despite all the yelling.

  James lifted Lark from Astra’s aching arms. “No harm will come to Melva. This will be easier for everyone if I handle Wesley myself. Let me take you home so you can rest. The excitement isn’t good for the baby.”

  “No, James. That’s what he wants.” She turned to Wesley. “I want the world to know what you did to Lowell.”