The Spy's Lady: A Steamy Victorian Historical Spy Series (Romancing Intrigue Book 2)

by Laura Shipley

  She searched the nursery and the connecting room, but he was nowhere to be found. She heard Nana moan and went back to help her. A piece of paper on Robbie’s bed caught her attention. Kate picked up the scrap. There were only three words scribbled on the note: barn, north corner.

  Kate dropped the note and called for someone to help Nana. Then, she hurried out of the house. The barn had been used to store grain in the past, but after years of neglect, it had fallen into disrepair. She left the house by way of the servant’s door, and by luck, spied a horse in the yard. Not caring about anything but Robbie’s safety, she mounted the horse and spurred it into action.

  The horse raced across the lawn, galloping in the opposite direction of Ethan and the fire. Kate’s hands were sweaty from holding the reins, and her heart felt as if it were about to explode. What if Ethan did not come looking for her? The other fire might distract him for some time.

  Kate arrived at the barn and dismounted. Her hands trembled, so she took a second to collect herself. If Mr. Brightley was inside, as Kate assumed, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of showing fear.

  After making a brief survey of the surroundings and seeing no one about, Kate made her way to the door. The hinges creaked as she pulled it open. Years of dust stirred when Kate entered, and it momentarily blocked her vision. Once her eyes adjusted, she observed, in the middle of the barn, Mr. Brightley with Robbie restrained. The solicitor had a smug expression on his face like he had won a prize. There was no one else with them. She had to stall for time and hope Ethan would find them. If not, she was on her own.

  Chapter 25

  The smoke thickened with each stride of Ethan’s horse. The group of men rode straight into the woods toward the cabin. They came up to the clearing, and sure enough, the small structure was ablaze. It was beyond saving, but thankfully, the fire had not yet spread to the surrounding area. Ethan yelled out orders to clear everything around the cabin that might catch fire. The best they could do was to let the fire die down and stop it from spreading. Ethan prayed no one had been in the cabin. He ordered a search of the area to find the two guards who had been watching the cabin. They soon discovered the men, each dead from a gunshot to the head. Ethan’s blood boiled; he wanted revenge on those responsible for this.

  As he circled back around to the cabin, he heard horses and saw Hugh and Louis. Something wasn’t right; they should be at the inn. Panic lodged in the pit of his stomach. Today was the day it would all end; he was sure of it.

  “We have news,” Hugh announced. He dismounted his horse while Louis remained seated. “We went to the inn and waited. After a while, we questioned some of the regulars about any strange men or women who had come in. One gentleman remembered seeing the maid, Mary, with a man, but he couldn’t recall his face.”

  “He directed us toward another regular who he thought may have seen more,” Louis said.

  Hugh continued, “The next man recalled seeing the mystery man with Mary a few times. He had also seen him speaking to other men who were not local to the area. ”

  Ethan grew impatient. “Did he say anything else?”

  “Yes, he overheard the gentleman speaking to the girl one night, and he said he would take care of her properly because he was a solicitor,” Hugh answered.

  Ethan’s eyes grew round. It had to be Brightley. There was no chance it had been Mr. James; he was known throughout the county, and people would have recognized him. But Mr. Brightley was an outsider. Kate was right in her earlier assumption.

  Ethan grabbed his horse. “Come on; we have to go back to the house. I have to find Kate.”

  “Do you want us to go back to the inn?” Hugh asked.

  “No, somehow I believe our mystery man won’t be a mystery much longer.”

  The trio galloped to the house. When they arrived, the butler told Ethan about the fire and about what had happened to Nana. Ethan hurried to the kitchen and found the older woman holding a rag to her head.

  “What happened, Nana?”

  “I’m not sure, sir. I was playing with Robbie in the nursery, and the next thing I knew, I woke up with a screaming headache.” She winced.

  “Do you know where Kate and Robbie are?”

  Nana shook her head and sobbed, “No, my lord, but I’m afraid.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll find them.”

  Ethan turned to the servants and said, “Search the house.”

  The servants scurried in every direction, and Ethan made his way to the nursery. In his search, he found the piece of paper Kate had discarded on the nursery floor. He read the message, then stormed down the stairs and out the door.

  A red haze dropped over Ethan’s vision as he called to his friends to follow him. He knew Kate and Robbie were in danger. Now was the time to be level-headed, but there was no way to contain the rage that had reached its breaking point. Ethan’s muscles tensed, ready for a fight, and his jaw tightened in determination. No man would harm those he loved and live to tell about it.

  Chapter 26

  Kate’s mouth went dry, and her stomach coiled into a million knots. Her greatest nightmare had come to life, Robbie was in the clutches of her enemy. At least, now she had a name to put to the mystery man. Her biggest question was why he had threatened their lives for the last few months. Other questions raced through her mind, but she had to focus. Robbie was her only priority.

  Her feet felt like they weighed a ton as she walked toward Robbie and his captor. Mr. Brightley placed a hand on Robbie’s arm as she came closer. She didn’t see a weapon, but she knew he could be concealing one. If Kate had learned anything from Ethan, it was to always be on your guard. She stopped a few feet from them.

  Her head held high; Kate addressed Mr. Brightley, “All right, I am here. Now, would you please tell me who you really are and what you want with me and my son. Did Arthur put you up to this? If he did, I can assure you he has no money to pay you.”

  Mr. Brightley sneered, “I assure you, Lady Leeds, Arthur is not the mastermind. Quite the opposite. I have been the one pulling his strings. You see, he is my brother.”

  Kate tried her best to hide her surprise, but it didn’t work.

  “Arthur is my younger half-brother. We have the same mother. My father died when I was seven, and my mother remarried the man who would be Arthur’s father. It is Arthur’s father who had the claim to the title. When my stepfather passed away, Arthur was the next in line to claim the title, after your husband and son.”

  “Then why have you been tormenting us? You have no claim and cannot gain anything by this.”

  “On the contrary, I have everything to gain. You see, I have been blessed with a half-brother who is easily manipulated. Over the years, I have molded him to do as I say.”

  Kate fought back her anger. All this time, Arthur had been the focus of her fear and frustration, but he was merely a puppet. While Mr. Brightley spoke, Kate glanced around to get a better grasp of the situation. The building was compact and had only the one door through which she had entered. There were a few windows, but they were much too small to climb through. There was nothing that she could use as a weapon.

  Her only hope was that Ethan realized she and Robbie were missing. With any luck, he would figure out where to look for them. But there were too many places they could have gone. Perhaps, there was a way she could signal him, but how? She would have to play things out and do her best to give Ethan and the others time to find them. She had to engage Mr. Brightley for as long as possible.

  “So, you were the jealous brother, I see. It happens quite often when one brother inherits, and the other gets nothing. Why couldn’t you just make your own life?”

  “I did. I am, in fact, a solicitor by trade. I went to university and was top of my class. But I always knew I was destined for more. All my life, I grew up with my mother doting on Arthur because of the possibility he might become an Earl one day. Of course, your husband and his father were still alive, but I knew she prayed that Arth
ur would inherit somehow. Every day, she told him he was meant to be the Earl, and he believed her. I used that to my advantage.”

  “You manipulated him.”

  “I simply put forth the idea that it might be time to take our future into our own hands.”

  “By killing an innocent child?” Kate’s voice shook. Both men were mad.

  “That was not the original intention.” Brightley stepped away from Robbie. “Each year that passed with Nathan unmarried made us optimistic that, perhaps, Arthur would inherit. Then, you came into the picture.”

  Brightley’s eyes glinted with hatred. Kate did not want to antagonize him into doing something rash, so she stayed silent.

  “You and Nathan came back with that brat of yours. Who knew the boy had it in him? I never saw it coming. So, we had to change our tactics.”

  “You killed Nathan.”

  Brightley shook his head, “No, I cannot take credit for that. That was the good Lord’s doing, but it was a fortunate circumstance. Then, we only had to focus on you and little Robbie.”

  “Did you plan to kill us the entire time?”

  “Good God, no. Initially, I told Arthur to approach you, just as he had done at the funeral. He tried to be cordial, offering you a shoulder to cry on and the possibility of a new husband, but you rebuked him. Arthur got upset at first, but I told him we needed to be patient.”

  Kate shook her head in disgust. She stepped toward Mr. Brightley and retorted, “So, you plotted to murder Robbie and me. You two are pathetic, all for a piece of land and a title.”

  “It’s nothing less than what I am owed for the years of hearing how superior Arthur was to me. Now, I can control the estate and the money while Arthur plays the lazy lord, although he will be disappointed that he does not get to marry you. I think he rather fancied the idea.”

  Kate shuddered. She would rather die than marry Arthur. Unfortunately, she may not have much say in the matter at present. Where could Ethan be, she fretted. She had to buy more time. “How did you know we had left the estate in Leicester?”

  “I paid a few of the servants to keep an eye on you. It’s amazing what people will do for a few pounds. I knew Mr. James from school, so I made up a story about needing to do some business around here.”

  “Did you kill Mary?” Kate dread hearing the answer.

  “Yes. She had fulfilled her purpose; she had given me the information I required about your whereabouts, so I disposed of her. While I was wooing the girl, I hired men to terrorize you.”

  Kate remembered everything, and it sickened her. “How did you get into the house?”

  “I had the men light the cabin and gardens on fire to distract everyone while I snuck in. Mary knew one of the maid’s at Lord Norris’s house, and she was nice enough to tell me the layout. I struck that old nanny in the head and took the boy.”

  Mr. Brightley grabbed Robbie’s arm and yanked the boy toward him. “Such a wonderful child, so young and innocent. It would be a pity for anything to happen to him.”

  Kate’s heart lurched. She was at Brightley’s mercy. She couldn’t do anything to jeopardize Robbie’s safety. For now, she would play along, and as soon as the moment arose, they would try to escape.

  Her resolve in place, Kate stared Brightley down. “What do you want?”

  “I have already told you; I want Arthur to have the title.”

  “You know that’s not possible with Robbie as Nathan’s heir.”

  “Not if he was discovered to be illegitimate.”

  The bottom of Kate’s stomach plummeted, and nausea threatened. There was no way he could know her secret. She and Nathan had been careful not to tell anyone of Robbie’s true lineage. Nathan had assured her that no one knew he had been having an affair with Molly before she became pregnant. So how did the fiend find out?

  “Robbie is Nathan’s legitimate heir, and you know it. There is no way to disprove it.”

  Mr. Brightley pulled out papers from an inside coat pocket and held them up. “I have drawn up these documents stating that you conceived Robbie with another man with whom you were having an affair. The man would not step up to his responsibilities, so you tricked poor Nathan into marrying you and passing the child off as his.”

  Kate sighed with relief; her secret was still safe. Mr. Brightley would never know how close to the truth he had been. Legally, Robbie was not Nathan’s heir since he had been born out of wedlock, but that would never come to light. She turned her attention back to the solicitor.

  “All you need to do is sign these papers regarding the statement, then you and your son may go free.”

  “How do I know I can trust you?”

  “My dear Countess, you don’t have a choice, do you? Sign it.”

  Mr. Brightley stormed over, waving the papers in Kate’s face. He grabbed her wrist, and Kate winced in pain as she instinctively opened her hand. He placed a pen in her palm, and she grabbed it. The color rose in Brightley’s neck and face, and there was bloodlust in his eyes; she feared for their lives.

  Kate took the papers from his hands and peered down at them. She had to do it; it was the only way to get out of the barn and try to flee. After she signed the paper, Mr. Brightley ripped them out of her hands and shoved them in his pocket. He went back to Robbie and pushed the boy toward his mother.

  Kate put her arms out, and Robbie ran to her. She squeezed the boy tight, finally able to see he was unharmed. Brightley straightened his jacket and gained some composure.

  “Thank you, my lady. Now we can go.” He motioned them toward the door.

  Kate stepped toward the exit but never turned her back on Mr. Brightley; she did not trust the man. When her back touched the wall, she pivoted to find the latch and open the door. She pushed Robbie through first, then cautiously stepped out into the afternoon light.

  The contrast between the dim interior of the barn and the bright exterior made Kate squint until her eyes adjusted. Robbie stood beside her, and she grabbed his hand to leave.

  Mr. Brightley taunted, “You know, it’s a shame when such scandals come to light. It is always upsetting for those involved. Sometimes the guilt is so great; one simply cannot live with oneself.”

  Kate’s grip on Robbie’s hand tightened, ready to take off in a moment. Her pulse quickened, and she had the urge to scream. Of course, it would not be that easy. After all, he had killed one innocent girl, what was to stop him from harming them? Her vision blurred, and she felt as though she might faint. No, she must be strong for Robbie. Kate pushed the boy behind her.

  Mr. Brightley produced a gun from his waistband.

  “If you shoot us, everyone will know it was murder. I would never harm my child.”

  “True, a shot to the head may not be believable, but a slip off a cliff is possible. I will tell everyone I tried to help you, but I failed to get to you in time. You were too close to the edge, and I couldn’t save you.” His loud, maniacal laugh made her blanch with fear.

  Kate reached for Robbie and was about to sprint for the other side of the barn when their captor stopped laughing and pointed the gun at her. “I would not do that if I were you, my lady. I do not want to have to shoot you first. Now, if you please.” Mr. Brightley motioned with his gun for them to walk.

  A few yards from the barn stood a cliff carved out from a river that had wound its way through the lower valley of the countryside and had long ago dried up. There was a deep gulley along the empty riverbed that was too treacherous to climb. If one were to fall into the gulley, it would cause certain death. Mr. Brightley herded Kate and Robbie forward, stopping a few feet from the edge. Kate’s legs no longer worked; the last of her strength was gone. All she wanted to do was sink to the ground in defeat.

  Seeing Kate hesitate, Brightley aimed the gun at her chest. “Now, are we going to do this the hard way or the easy way?”

  Kate could not stop a sob from escaping her lips. “Please, spare Robbie. If you spare the boy, I will do whatever you want. You can s
end him away, to the continent, anywhere, but don’t hurt him.”

  “I would consider it if he was not old enough to remember all of this. There can be no witnesses.”

  Brightley cocked the gun and prepared to fire. Kate shut her eyes and held on to Robbie. The brave boy had not uttered a sound since she had entered the barn. Pride for her son swelled in what she knew would be the last seconds of their lives.

  Chapter 27

  Ethan raced to the barn with his friends close behind. A hundred possibilities of what might happen to Kate and Robbie sprung to his mind. There was no telling what Brightley wanted or how he was connected to Arthur. For now, he had to focus and not let his feelings get in the way. He had completed rescue missions before but never one so personal.

  They pulled the horses to a stop just out of view of the barn. “The barn is on the other side of the hill. It faces a deep ravine.” Ethan explained to his friends.

  “Any coverage for us?” Hugh asked.

  “There are a few scattered trees but not a lot. Our best bet is to circle to the far side; the angle might give us enough cover from the door since that’s the only way in or out.”

  The men cautiously progressed along the hillside. They crawled on their stomachs so they would not be spotted. Ethan did not know if Brightley had brought any reinforcements and he didn’t want to be surprised.

  After confirming the coast was clear, they made their way down the hill toward the barn. The structure was large enough that they could see the door on the other side, but still be sure that nobody saw them. The group made their way to the barn. Louis stood closest to the window and peered in. He turned to Ethan and shook his head, indicating that Kate and Robbie were not inside. Ethan cursed. Where they could be?

  Ethan heard voices and motioned for Hugh and Louis to split up. Ethan continued to the right, while his friends circled to the left. After a few more steps, he could make out the voices of Kate and Mr. Brightley. They were far enough away that he could not hear their exact words.