by Amanda Quick
“Yes,” Evangeline said, “I do.”
“I was sure of it. Tony and I have been convinced for some time now that Lucas would not fall in love until he found a woman who understood him, a woman who possessed some talent herself.”
It was time to put things straight, Evangeline decided.
“You are mistaken,” she said. “Your brother did not bring me here because he is contemplating marriage to me.”
Beth looked skeptical. “Why, then?”
“Because someone is trying to murder me.”
“Good heavens.” Beth’s shock was plain. “Are you serious?”
“Very serious.” She decided to give Beth an edited version of events. “I rented Fern Gate Cottage for the month, you see. The night before last I was attacked by a man with a knife, a common street criminal who was hired by an unknown individual.”
“I do not know what to say. This is absolutely horrible. I had no idea.”
“I managed to flee here to the Gardens. Your brother saved me and now he feels a responsibility to protect me until we can find the person who hired the killer. That is why Stone traveled to London. To make inquiries on the streets.”
Beth absorbed that information in a surprisingly thoughtful silence.
“Hmm,” she said at last.
“What?” Evangeline asked, wary.
Beth’s eyes gleamed with speculation. “I may lack psychical talent, Miss Ames, but even I can see that what Lucas feels for you goes far beyond a landlord’s sense of responsibility for a tenant.”
“I really don’t think so.”
“What happened to the man who attacked you with the knife?” Beth asked.
Evangeline cleared her throat and looked out toward the gazebo. “He ran off when Lucas appeared, straight into the gardens. Met with an accident.”
“Ah, so the plants got him.” Beth looked eminently satisfied. “Lucas did mention on one or two occasions that there were some interesting carnivorous hybrids developing here at Crystal Gardens. Tony and I expressed a desire to study them but Lucas said the foliage was becoming much too dangerous.”
“Forgive me, Beth, but you seem to be taking these rather bizarre events in stride.”
“It is my scientific nature, I suppose.” Beth winked. “In addition, I have known Lucas all my life. He thinks he has hidden most of his secrets from Tony and me but we are his brother and sister. We know far more about him than he realizes.”
Fourteen
What on earth is going on, Lucas?” Florence sailed across the library like a battleship coming into harbor and docked in one of the chairs. She thumped the silver-handled cane on the carpet. “I think I am entitled to some answers.”
Lucas sat down behind his desk. “You spent over two hours on the train with Stone. I’m sure he gave you a summary of events.”
“No, he did not. Stone was in the second-class car. He is not the most talkative of men, in any event. I doubt he would have told us a thing if he had been sitting directly across from us.”
“Very well, in short, on the night before last Miss Ames was attacked at Fern Gate Cottage.”
Florence stared at him, dumbfounded. “Good Lord.”
“She survived the assault unhurt, as you can see, but I am keeping her here where she will be safe until I can track down the individual who hired the killer.”
“Good Lord,” Florence repeated. “This is … astonishing.” She blinked and then contemplated him with her raptor gaze. “But why do you feel it is your responsibility to protect her? Surely this is a matter for the police.”
“I thought I made it clear. Miss Ames was renting Fern Gate when she was attacked.”
“Yes, I know.” Florence frowned. “Oh, I see. You feel an obligation to protect her because she is a tenant? That’s a bit of a stretch, isn’t it?”
“The police are not bodyguards. There is no one else who can keep her safe until this affair is concluded.”
“I should have known this situation would be a good deal more complicated than one would have assumed.”
“I needed a chaperone here at the Gardens to provide an air of respectability.”
“Yes, yes, I understand.” Florence thumped the cane on the carpet a couple of times. “And to think that Beth and I rushed here today because we believed that you had found yourself a fiancée at long last.”
“Aunt Florence—”
“Really, you are so unpredictable, Lucas. Have you any notion why someone would want to murder Miss Ames?”
“Not yet. I am hoping Stone will have some news for me. He traveled to London to make inquiries. I intend to talk to him as soon as I have finished explaining matters to you. Why the devil did you bring Beth with you?”
“I had no choice. When I mentioned your telegram and told her that I was packing to take the train here, she insisted on coming along. You know how stubborn she can be.”
“Damn.” But he was more resigned than angry. “She can be difficult when she fixes on an objective.”
“Not unlike her older brother,” Florence observed. “However, in this case I believe she was compelled only in part by her sense of curiosity. There were, I’m afraid, other forces at work.”
“Judith.”
“She has become obsessed with finding Beth a husband. Your sister is, after all, nineteen.”
“In her dotage. How sad.”
“That is not amusing,” Florence shot back. “It would not be wise to wait much longer. Next season she will be facing stiff competition from the new crop of young ladies who will be making their debut.”
“From the sound of things, Beth has already made her decision. I’ve met Charles Rushton. He’s a solid young man. Intelligent, modern-thinking and clearly head over heels in love with Beth.”
“He may be all those things, but he hasn’t got a penny to his name,” Florence said flatly. “Judith will never allow Beth to marry him. Let us return to the subject of Miss Ames.”
“What about her?”
“I don’t suppose she is related to Lord and Lady Ames of Pemberton Square?”
“I’m quite certain she is not. As far as Evangeline knows, she is alone in the world.”
Florence frowned. “She has no family at all?”
“Evidently not.”
“I see. How unfortunate. Well, judging by the gown she put on after she changed out of the housekeeper’s dress and apron, she appears to have some income. Someone must have left her some money. Most young ladies facing her prospects end up as governesses or hired companions.”
Lucas smiled. “Evangeline does, in fact, make her living as a paid companion.”
“You are joking, of course. There is no way she could afford clothes like that, let alone the rent on the cottage, not on a companion’s income.”
“Evangeline is a very resourceful woman.”
Too late he realized how Florence might interpret his words.
Her eyes widened in horror. “Lucas Sebastian, surely you are not trying to tell me that she is that sort of female. I cannot believe that you are so lost to common decency as to keep your mistress here under your own roof.”
“Not another word, Florence.” Lucas was on his feet, rage slashing through him. He flattened his hands on the desk. “I will allow no one, not even you, to insult Miss Ames. Is that clear?”
“Really, Lucas, this is a bit of an overreaction, don’t you think? I apologize if I mistook the situation but surely you can understand—”
“Is that clear?” he repeated through set teeth. “If not, I will have Stone arrange to escort you into Little Dixby immediately. You can stay at an inn there until you take the train back to London tomorrow.”
Florence stared at him, the handle of the cane gripped very tightly in one gloved hand. “Lucas, please, you are frightening me.”
He closed his eyes and summoned his self-control. It took him a heartbeat or two but he got the fire inside extinguished. When he was certain he was in full command of
himself he opened his eyes and sat down very deliberately.
“Perhaps it would be best if you went back to London, in any event,” he said coldly. “Beth’s presence in the household is sufficient to protect Miss Ames’s reputation.”
Florence said nothing for several seconds. Finally she cleared her throat.
“It won’t be necessary to send me back to London,” she said. “I will remain here. I apologize again for the misunderstanding.”
“Please yourself,” Lucas said. “But if you stay, it must be clearly understood that there will be no more insults, veiled or otherwise, of Miss Ames.”
“You have made your wishes on that score quite clear.” Florence got to her feet. “If you will excuse me, I will go upstairs to make certain that Rose has got matters under control. Your young housekeeper seems eager enough but she is obviously not very experienced.”
Lucas stood again. He walked around the end of the desk, crossed the room and opened the door. Florence started past him. She paused and eyed him closely.
“Does Miss Ames really make her living as a hired companion?”
“Yes.”
Florence frowned. “No offense, but she does not strike one as your average paid companion.”
“No,” Lucas said. “She is not your average companion.”
“Hmmph. I expect one of her clients left her a handsome bequest. That would explain the expensive gown.”
Florence sailed out the door into the hall. Lucas thought about calling her back and explaining that Evangeline was actually an investigator for a private inquiry agency and that she had started a second career as a writer of sensation novels. He decided against it. Sometimes it was simpler and more efficient to let others come up with their own explanations.
Fifteen
An hour later Evangeline marched into the library to confront Lucas. When she saw that he was propped against the desk, talking to Stone, she hesitated in the doorway. Both men looked grim.
“I see you are busy, Mr. Sebastian,” she said. “I will come back later.”
“It’s all right,” Lucas said. “Stone has concluded his report. It appears we know a little more than we did before. Stone has employed one of his old acquaintances on the street to continue making inquiries.”
Evangeline looked at Stone. “Is that all?”
“No, Miss Ames,” Stone said. He looked at Lucas and waited.
Lucas took over. “Stone did discover that Sharpy Hobson grew up on the streets, as we assumed. Evidently he was a member of a small gang of three boys who survived in the traditional way, picking pockets and fencing stolen goods. They later moved on to more violent crimes. However, at some point two of the young men disappeared from the streets. No one knows what happened to them.”
“Everyone knows that the criminal underworld is a violent place,” Evangeline said. “Perhaps the two boys met bad ends. It would not be surprising.”
“Stone was able to discover that there are rumors that Hobson’s two associates managed to better themselves. They were brothers and the other street boys considered them both very clever. Evidently they were smart enough to get themselves off the streets. Hobson, however, lacked the desire to move up in the world.” Lucas folded his arms. “Word is he liked the kind of work he did on the streets.”
Evangeline turned back to Stone. “You hope to find Sharpy Hobson’s two former partners, don’t you?”
“Yes, miss,” Stone said.
“Why? What good will that do?”
Stone looked at Lucas, who answered the question.
“According to the rumors Stone picked up, Hobson recently accepted a commission for a job that required him to buy a train ticket. Someone asked him why he was leaving London. Hobson said that he was going to do a well-paid favor for one of his old partners.”
Excitement splashed through Evangeline. She smiled at Stone. “Brilliant work, Mr. Stone. If your inquiry agent can find Hobson’s old partner, we will have the man who hired him to kill me.”
Stone turned a dull red. “We’ll find him, Miss Ames.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Stone. I am very grateful for your efforts.”
Stone ducked his head and left the room with his usual cat-footed grace, closing the door quietly behind himself.
Lucas smiled. “I do believe you made Stone blush.”
“Yes, well, I didn’t mean to embarrass him. He really did do excellent work in London. At last we have a lead.”
“So it seems. What was it you wanted to see me about?”
Evangeline straightened her shoulders. “I realize it is none of my affair, but I feel you were somewhat curt, to say the least, with your aunt and your sister. They have both gone to considerable trouble to rush here to Little Dixby to accommodate you. The least you could do is be polite to them.”
“Having my sister show up as well as my aunt was not part of the plan. I am trying to conduct an investigation here, not host a house party.”
“I understand. But that is no excuse for rudeness.”
He groaned. “You don’t know my family, Evangeline. Trust me when I tell you that my relations must be managed with a firm hand.”
She lowered herself onto a chair. “And you are the one who manages them?”
“For my sins, yes.” Lucas unfolded his arms, went behind the desk and sat down. “After my father died my grandfather saddled me with the task. It wasn’t as if he had a great deal of choice. Tony was too young and my grandfather didn’t much care for any of his nephews.”
A whisper of knowing flitted through her. “But given a choice in the matter, you would have preferred to pursue another path in life.”
“Few of us have a choice when it comes to our responsibilities. They are what they are.”
“Yes,” Evangeline said, “but not everyone accepts that.”
“I do not live in a fantasy world, Evangeline. And as it happens, I am very good at making money.”
She smiled. “I do not doubt that for a moment.”
“It turns out that making sound investments has a great deal in common with hunting killers. Similar skills and talents are required.”
“What skills and talents?” she asked.
He met her eyes. “The ability to find and predict patterns, a streak of ruthlessness and a strong will to survive.”
“I will remember that in the event that I ever have enough money to invest.”
Sixteen
The gardens glowed faintly in the night. The luminous light came from the vegetation and the darkly shimmering surfaces of the ponds.
Evangeline stood at the window of the bedroom, clad in her wrapper and slippers, and looked out over the eerie scene. The vines and creepers that draped the lower walls of the old house did not grow so thickly on the upper floors. It was as if the higher it climbed away from the source of its paranormal nourishment, the less the strange foliage flourished. She could not see the whole expanse of the gardens from her bedroom, but a far greater portion of the grounds was visible from her window than from any of the ground-floor windows.
A short time earlier she had sensed, rather that heard, Lucas moving past her door. She knew that he had gone downstairs and was no doubt going out into the gardens to start his investigations.
She had not been able to sleep in spite of the clean room and the fresh linens. The kiss in the library that afternoon had thrown her off balance. Once she found herself alone in her room she had not been able to stop thinking about it. The memory of it sent another shiver of icy-hot energy through her. It was not as if she had never been kissed, she reminded herself. But with Lucas everything was different.
A glary light appeared down below in the gardens. Lucas walked out of the house and onto the terrace. He was carrying a lantern and he was alone. Stone was also out there somewhere in the night, patrolling the great wall that surrounded the gardens. Earlier in the evening she had heard Lucas talking quietly to him, telling him to keep watch on the sleeping household. To kee
p watch over me, she thought.
Lucas paused on the terrace steps. The fiery illumination of the lantern briefly revealed the hard, determined cast of his face. In that moment the steel in the man was clearly marked. Evangeline caught her breath. This was a man who would do whatever he felt was necessary to fulfill what he considered to be his responsibilities. Now he was preparing to enter the dangerous green Hades that was the Night Garden to find the truth about his uncle’s death.
She watched him go down the steps, circle the obsidian-dark pond and enter the gleaming, vine-draped gazebo. He stepped off the stone floor on the far side and disappeared almost immediately into the thick, luminous foliage.
She knew that he was going toward the entrance of the maze. For a moment or two she was able to track his progress by the occasional flashes of lantern light that sparked deep inside the greenery.
Abruptly the last sliver of light winked out. She suspected that Lucas had turned down the lamp, preferring to rely on his para-senses to navigate the darkest regions of the grounds.
She turned away from the window long enough to seize hold of the small dressing table chair. She carried the chair back to the window and settled down to wait for Lucas to emerge from his midnight quest. She knew that she would not sleep until he was safely back inside the house.
A weak flicker of light at the corner of her eye made her glance toward the Day Garden. She expected to see Stone making his rounds. The glow of a lantern turned down very low flickered into view near the high wall. The man who held the light was no more than a dark silhouette in the moonlight, but she could see at once that he was not nearly large enough to be Stone.
An intruder had entered the grounds.
She jumped to her feet and gripped the window ledge, waiting tensely for Stone to appear and confront the newcomer.
Seconds passed. A second man joined the first. The lantern winked out but there was enough moonlight to allow Evangeline to watch the two dark shadows. They were moving toward the gazebo and the entrance to the Night Garden.