by Golden Angel
His grin fading, Elijah shook his head. That was another consideration to keep in mind since Josie insisted on thrusting herself into danger. Though if she was in a delicate condition, she would have more care for herself. Something he would have to ponder more fully at a later date.
Chapter 35
Elijah
The evening festivities in Vauxhall Gardens were in full swing when Elijah finally spotted Mitchell. Josie was with Lily and Mary, the three of them happily listening to a violin quartet playing on one of the small pavilions. His wife was in her element, eyes shining with appreciation for the music. Her dark blue gown twinkling with tiny gemstones, she resembled a night goddess, enjoying the pleasure garden. Rex stood close by the trio, watching over them with an eye on how much punch they were imbibing and the various rakes who eyed them with interest, while Elijah prowled through the crowd, waiting for his contact.
The fireworks would begin soon, which would make talking even more difficult. Why Mitchell had wanted to meet here of all places, he did not know, but as it fitted nicely into Josie’s plans for the evening—and allowed him to bring her along without putting her in any danger—Elijah had not argued.
He had kept one eye on Josie and the ladies and one eye looking for Mitchell until the man finally arrived. Making his way through the crowd, Elijah positioned himself by Mitchell’s side, backs against the balustrade, where he could see everything.
“Any news?”
“Of a sort.” Mitchell shrugged. “There does not seem to be any connection between Jacques and the Russians I can find. Even his story of losing a wager has been impossible to verify. No Russians have been spotted in any of the gaming hells since the delegation arrived.”
Which may or may not mean anything since there were private games they might not be privy to. Since Jacques had referenced a ‘large’ bet, it was entirely possible he had gotten in over his head at such a table, but Elijah did not have time to point that out. Mitchell was already rushing forward with his own theories.
“I think he was trying to divert your suspicions from his countrymen. Everything I have found points to the French, including Jacques.”
“Then why kill him?” Elijah pointed out, and Mitchell’s expression turned stubborn. “Besides, Father received a report from Lucas this morning. There is no sign among the French to indicate anyone there wants the trade negotiations to fail. If anything, they have unswerving and total support.” For a while, he thought there would be some influential figure in France who had something to lose, but Lucas had reported otherwise.
“Then perhaps we should not trust everything Lucas says,” Mitchell retorted darkly, his expression twisting. “For all we know, he is lying through his teeth. I do not understand why your father thought he would be an adequate operative.”
“He was shot and could have been killed. I think we can be sure he is not the traitor,” Elijah’s said dryly. His gaze skittered across the crowd back to Josie. The violins had finished, and the three women were turning away. Her head lifted, eyes searching, then her gaze met his, and she smiled. Seeing his companion, her smile only dimmed a little, but she nodded her head and looked away to say something to Mary.
He had not argued her presence, but there had been no point in having her be part of his meeting with Mitchell. Elijah knew the other man would not have welcomed her input.
“He could have done so in order to gain your trust and cast suspicion away from himself.” Mitchell’s paranoia was in full force this evening. “Even assuming he was inculpable, he is also a drunk and a gambler. He already reached point non-plus once. For that alone, we cannot trust he is actually doing his job.”
Elijah trusted Lucas was dedicated to making amends for his behavior earlier in the Season, including inadvertently becoming part of Mary’s kidnapping. He was also flush with funds thanks to his work, and he seemed eager to continue earning it. His reports had been clear, concise, and entirely sober. It was not worth arguing with Mitchell, and ultimately, the man’s opinion of Lucas did not matter.
The important thing was Mitchell had found nothing useful.
Josie
“I do not like that man,” Josie muttered, turning away from watching Elijah talk to Mitchell. As usual, Mitchell was well-dressed, perfectly presentable, and handsome, and some ladies were eyeing both him and Elijah. She had to stifle the urge to warn them all away.
“You are far from alone,” Rex responded. She had not meant for him to hear, but apparently, he had sharp ears. “I have given Elijah my opinion of Mitchell more than once.”
“Mmm, something smells delicious,” Mary said, ignoring their conversation and going up on her tiptoes to see through the crowd. As the most petite in their group, her efforts were useless. Even on her toes, she was barely taller than Josie’s shoulder. “Is anyone else hungry?”
“We should go to our box if we are going to eat.” Rex put his hand on his wife’s back to guide her toward the box they had rented for the evening. Though he was touching Mary, his gaze remained on Lily and Josie, giving them no opportunity to slip away, even if they had wanted to. Neither he nor Elijah had been thrilled about the outing this evening.
Vauxhall was rowdy enough on a usual night. As the Season came closer to its end the energy was even more frenetic. The gardens were packed with nobles, gentry, and wealthy businessmen. Josie, Mary, and Lily were not the only ladies, but there were very few other debutantes other than Lily. Josie was sure some of the other ‘ladies’ roaming the walkways were actually very expensive ladybirds but did not point them out.
Even as a married lady, she was not supposed to know about or acknowledge such things. She was determined to be proper since Elijah had let her come along tonight. Truthfully, Josie had not wanted to all that badly since she had known he would have to talk to Mitchell alone, but Vauxhall Gardens was far safer than the Warrens, and she had wanted to see if Elijah would be reasonable.
Thankfully, for both of them, he had been. Otherwise, he would have had a fight on his hands.
Walking between Mary and Lily, Josie’s gaze skipped through the crowd, enjoying the various displays of fashion and fripperies, taking mental notes for her own wardrobe. She was not expecting to see anything pertinent to Elijah’s mission, which was why when she met the dark, menacing gaze of the man who had assaulted her mere weeks ago, she actually uttered a little shriek.
“What?” Lily was immediately alert, looking to where Josie was, but as she had never seen Josie’s attacker, she was casting her gaze about blindly. The man had already turned away once Josie had seen him. “What is it?”
“Him! It was him!” Josie took a deep breath, realizing she was not making sense. She was shaking in reaction, though she could not put a name to the emotion—there were too many of them, confusing her. “The man who attacked me, he is here!”
“Where?” Rex’s deep growl cut through.
“There!” Josie pointed, but the man had already disappeared down one of the darker paths through the garden. No, not one of, he had gone onto the Dark Walk, the long path at the edge of the garden, which no young lady was ever allowed to walk through. Josie, for all her adventurousness, had not ventured near it on previous visits because of its reputation. “We have to tell Elijah!”
“Stay put. I will go.” Rex took off through the crowd. Josie might have felt indignant at his presumption of taking action, but they all knew he was the better choice. He went through the drunken crowd like the lion he was—where Rex moved, people scrambled out of his way. He would make it to Elijah far faster than Josie could, but would it be fast enough?
“We have to go, too.” Her feet did not move her toward Elijah but toward the entrance to the Dark Walk, where her attacker had disappeared.
“Josie!” Mary was aghast. “We cannot go down the Dark Walk!” Despite her words, she was at Josie’s side, moving just as quickly through the crowd. They were not making headway nearly as fast as Rex was toward Elijah, but then, they did no
t have as far to go.
“Of course, we can. Well, you and I can. Lily should stay behind to preserve her reputation.” Josie glanced to her left, where Lily was looking straight ahead.
Her friend sniffed in derision. “Do not even think to leave me out.”
“We are going to be in so much trouble,” Mary muttered, but her footsteps did not slow. Josie’s bottom tingled in warning, but it did not matter.
Her brain was working hard, trying to figure out what the villain was doing here. He had shown himself to her deliberately, but why?
Not for her. She had never been the target. Elijah was. The blackguard had probably assumed she would go straight for her husband, the man who had rescued her the first time. Pressing her lips together, she picked up her pace, determined to find the miscreant before Rex and Elijah came running.
This was a trap for Elijah—she felt it deep in her bones.
Just like Jacques, the scoundrel would not be expecting her presence. He would expect Elijah to come barreling in. Elijah was the one whose life had been threatened. Elijah was the one in danger now.
Josie was not about to let anyone harm her husband.
Moving faster, her long legs had her half a pace ahead of Lily and Mary as the three of them entered the shadowed path of the Dark Walk.
Elijah
The stirring of people caught Elijah’s attention. He looked up to see Rex headed straight for him, his expression grim. Immediately, Elijah stepped toward him, nudging a drunken reveler out of his way. The man stumbled onward, completely oblivious.
“What is it?” Fear gripped his chest. “Is Josie all right?”
“She is fine.” Rex pulled up close, gripping his arms and leaning in, his words only for Elijah’s ears. “She spotted the man who attacked her. He is here.”
Here.
Where the crowds were thick, and anyone with the right sum of money could enter.
The fear that gripped him did not abate in the slightest.
“She saw him headed into the Dark Walk.” Rex turned, pointing in the direction—just in time for them to see three young ladies entering the notorious pathway. Both of them cursed loudly.
“What the devil?”
“Bloody hell!”
“Where are they going?” Standing behind Elijah, Mitchell sounded as incensed as either of them. “Do they not know their place?”
No. No, they did not, but as usual, Mitchell’s condemnation of Josie grated.
“Shut up, Mitchell.” Rex obviously agreed with Elijah’s feelings on the matter.
“Mitchell.” Elijah diverted Mitchell’s glare away from Rex. “Go find my father or Joseph and tell them. If we can cordon off the Dark Walk…” Then maybe they could catch the bastard.
Nodding stiffly, Mitchell took off in a hurry. Joseph and Miss Bliss had peeled off from their group earlier to watch some jugglers, but they should still be about. Miss Bliss had been especially keen to see the fireworks, which would start soon. Father was somewhere around with his friends. Hopefully, Mitchell would find one or both of them, and they could find enough trusted men in the crowd to help cover the exits to the path.
Rex had already started toward the entrance, and Elijah rushed in his wake, easily catching up since Rex had already carved out a path through the revelers. Despite the noise, Elijah could still hear Rex’s grumbles.
“She will not sit comfortably for a week.”
Thinking of his own wife, Elijah wholeheartedly agreed. A week might be too generous, in fact. When he caught up with her…
Well, first, he was going to deal with the villain. Then they were clearly going to require another talk about reckless behavior.
Chapter 36
Josie
The Dark Walk was deeply shadowed and not well lit, unlike most of Vauxhall’s pathways. The sounds were also muted by the shrubs and trees, though that also had something to do with distance as they moved away from the main activities. Instinctively, the three of them bunched together, moving a little slower and more cautiously down the path than how they had entered it.
“Where did he go?” Mary whispered, looking around nervously.
Josie tightened her lips, shaking her head. They had already lost sight of him, and if they reached a point where the path divided…
She hurried her steps, moving ahead of Lily and Mary, who she could hear scrambling to catch up.
There were several nooks and small courtyards along the path, and Josie only glanced into each of them, confirming they were empty before moving on. Behind her, she could hear Mary muttering imprecations at how fast Josie was moving—with her shorter legs, she had to work twice as hard to keep up.
Drawing to a halt before the entrance to the next courtyard, Josie gasped when she looked in.
He was there, the man who had attacked her, standing in the center of the courtyard next to the sculpture fountain, with gun drawn and a baffled expression.
Before either of them could say anything, Mary slammed into her side, clearly not having expected Josie’s abrupt halt.
“Two of you?!” The man cursed, his eyes rolling heavenward. Out of the corner of her eye, Josie saw Lily come to a halt, several feet away from them. She could not see her friend’s reaction clearly but saw her stepping back several feet. The hedges gave enough cover, the man did not see her. Shaking his head, he gestured at Josie and Mary. “Come in here.”
“I would rather not, thank you,” Josie said, but the moment she started speaking, he was already lifting the gun. If it had been only her, she might have tried to run, but she could not risk him shooting into the hedges and hitting Mary or Lily.
“Come. Here.” This time, he growled the order.
Mary’s hand found hers, and their fingers wrapped around each other. Slowly stepping into the courtyard, they stayed as far away from the man as possible.
“Move over there.” He pointed at the far side of the hedges, away from the entrance they had just come through and a possible escape. There was another gap in the hedges behind him, another way into the courtyard without having to push through branches, but that was unreachable to them as well.
“Witless females.” He growled again in frustration. “Now, what the devil am I supposed to do?”
The lethal ire in his voice chilled Josie’s blood. He had expected Elijah to come running and got her and Mary instead. Mary’s fingers gripped hers tighter. His gaze hardened.
“Good thing there are two of you. You.” He pointed the gun at Mary. “You are going to go back out there and tell her husband she has been kidnapped, and he is to await further instruction.”
“What further instruction?” Mary asked, not moving from Josie’s side.
As much as Josie appreciated her friend’s bravery, she also wanted to kick Mary. This was a chance for her to save herself! She needed to take it. The fewer hostages he had, the better. Josie squeezed Mary’s fingers tighter, in a grip that should have been painful, but Mary ignored her, acting like a flibbertigibbet, her voice rising higher as if approaching hysterics.
“When will you send it? How will he receive it?”
“He will receive it later when I figure out how to send it, you ninnyhammer. Now, go!” Lifting the gun again, he aimed it directly at her head. “Or I will shoot you and leave you here to deliver the message if someone finds you in time.”
Squeaking, Mary released Josie’s hand and fled. She was quite the little actress. Josie did not believe for one second Mary was as hysterical as she pretended to be. Frightened, even terrified, yes, but none of them were the types to lose their heads in a dire situation. Acting as he expected might keep them all alive for a little longer. The man tilted his head, clearly listening to Mary’s rapidly dwindling footsteps as she hurried away.
Josie stared at him, mind racing. Mary and Lily were safe. She did not want to be kidnapped. Elijah and Rex would be on their way at any moment. All she had to do was stall.
“What are you doing here?” It was the fir
st question that came to mind.
“I’m here to kill your husband.”
“No!” She pretended to be shocked, though voicing a denial was certainly no strain on her acting abilities. The very idea this man might succeed in his mission sent pain streaking through her, as well as anger and determination that he fail his mission.
He barked a short laugh, coming toward her with the gun still raised. Josie tried to back away, but she was already pressed against the hedges behind her, and there was nowhere for her to go.
“Shut up, you stupid cunt. No questions. If you scream, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.” The evil light in his eyes said he meant every word.
Elijah
Rushing down the darkened path, only steps ahead of Rex, they both slowed when they saw a woman in green rushing back toward them. Mary—face pale, eyes wide, running flat out with her skirts hiked up.
“What took you so long?!” The question was shot at them in a whisper as soon as she was close enough. She whirled without waiting for an answer. “This way!”
They would have been able to find it without her, but Mary slowed, holding up her hand before they reached the courtyard, so they could sneak up to it, moving slowly.
“He has a gun,” Mary whispered, and Elijah waved her away. With a stony expression on his face, Rex grabbed hold of his wife and yanked her back behind Elijah.
“You will not get away with this.” Josie’s voice quavered so patently overdramatic, despite the direness of the situation, Elijah almost laughed. It brought back memories of their younger years when she, Mary, Lily, Joseph, Adam, and several of the other neighbors around their age had put on a play Lily had written. If she was playacting, he knew she was no worse for the wear, which reassured him momentarily. Now, it was his job to keep it that way.