“Yes, but she’s related to my partner,” Isa said. “Don’t you think the authorities will find her testimony suspicious?”
“Not when she’s also a close friend to the baron whose diamonds are being stolen.” He smiled faintly at her. “And I daresay by the time any trial comes about, she will be an even closer friend to the baron, which will make it even more convincing.”
Her hand tightened on his arm. “I’m worried about Rupert, too. He’s not used to lying; he doesn’t do it well. This will be hard for him.”
“That’s why his involvement is limited to getting his guests and servants where we need them.” And so far Lochlaw had done his part rather well. He’d already gathered the guests for an afternoon tea by the river, and he’d made such a fuss over the preparations that all the house servants were out here attending to everyone.
“And you’re assuming that Gerhart won’t see any of this—”
“The part of the river we’re going to is on the opposite side of the estate from Strathridge Road; that’s why we chose it. Gerhart can’t be in two places at once. It’s also why the timing is so crucial. We want him to be already waiting for you near the road when our ‘theft’ takes place.”
“Oh, Victor, this could go wrong in so many ways.”
He halted to gaze solemnly at her. “Yes, it could. But it won’t.” He covered her hand and squeezed. “Have faith, my love. Your friends and mine won’t fail us. That’s something else Gerhart isn’t considering: He can’t conceive of people who care so much for each other that money doesn’t matter. He’ll never expect us to have so many friends on our side.”
That must have settled her nerves some, for she gazed up at him, her heart in her eyes. “I love you, Victor.”
“I love you, too. And we’re going to get our daughter back, I swear.” He cast her a hard glance. “Just remember, don’t give the diamonds to Gerhart until you have her in your hands. I don’t trust him.”
“Don’t worry. That’s one rule I can easily follow.”
“I assume that Lochlaw has already given the necklace to you,” he said.
“It’s in my . . . er . . . corset cups. I figured I couldn’t lose it there.” She slanted a self-deprecating look at him. “I have plenty of room, after all.”
“Not that much room.” Then something dawned on him. “Your breasts—they’re bigger because of Amalie. God, I’m such a dolt. That should have occurred to me.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Men don’t usually question the reasons for such enhancements. You’re no different from any other man in that respect.”
They fell silent as they neared the crowd by the river, where the baron was already introducing Dom as the owner of Manton’s Investigations and Dr. Worth as a friend of his. Dom took over from there, explaining that his partner, Mr. Bonnaud, had been forced to return to Edinburgh to deal with some business. Since Lochlaw wasn’t a good liar, they’d figured it was best to give him very few lies to tell.
So Dom chatted amiably about their reason for coming to Scotland—a new case Victor had found them. Tristan had already made sure to be seen riding toward Edinburgh, before he’d circled back to the remote hunting cottage on the estate. He should be there now, donning an oversize coat, which Lochlaw had unearthed from old clothes in the manor attic, and padding it out with extra shirts. He was also using greasepaint to draw on a false beard and tucking his hair up under a wide-brimmed beaver hat to complete his Gerhart disguise.
Miss Gordon glanced at Isa. “I do wish I’d had the forethought to wear a scarf out here, like you. I find it rather chilly.”
“Shall I have a servant fetch your shawl?” Lochlaw asked, forgetting his role.
Fortunately, Miss Gordon was more adept at deception. “Oh no, my lord, I think a brisk walk back to the house will warm me. Besides, I don’t know which one I wish to wear.”
When she smiled shyly at him, Lochlaw looked momentarily dazzled. Then he seemed to remember his part, for he straightened and said, “Oh, right. You ladies do like to . . . look your best.”
“As long as you’re heading back, Mary Grace,” Isa said to smooth over the moment, “would you mind fetching my shawl as well? I believe I left it in her ladyship’s sitting room.”
“I don’t mind a bit,” Miss Gordon said and, with a last veiled glance at Victor, hurried off toward the house.
Victor pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at it. Damnation. How was he to make polite conversation for another fifteen minutes with his blood pumping and his hands itching to throttle Gerhart?
Lady Zoe walked up to Dom. “You’re one of the Duke’s Men, aren’t you?”
When Dom grimaced, Victor had to choke back a laugh.
“Some call us that, yes,” Dom said tightly. “But we don’t work for the Duke of Lyons all the time, you know. That was just some silly nickname the press gave us after one case.”
“Yes, but it was a rather spectacular case,” she said. “You were the talk of my town for weeks, especially since you and Mr. Bonnaud are Yorkshire-born, and your father’s estate is only a few hours distant from Highthorpe. We were all terribly impressed by how you found Mr. Cale and saved the dukedom.”
“Yes, it was very clever of them, wasn’t it?” Victor put in before Dom could say anything to ruin the young lady’s enthusiasm. It was actually a good thing she knew of Manton’s Investigations. It would make everything easier when the trouble started. “Dom, why don’t you tell Lady Zoe about that case you took in Lancashire, the one with the innkeeper who’d disappeared?”
Though Dom lifted an eyebrow at him, he launched into the tale, which thoroughly engrossed the other guests, too. Victor listened with only half an ear, aware that any minute now, Tristan would be slipping into Lady Lochlaw’s boudoir and breaking open the jewelry case.
He cast a quick eye over the crowd. Thank God Lady Lochlaw seemed to have no desire to leave the party. If she headed for the house, it would muck up their plan considerably.
Though Dom dragged out his tale a long time, Dr. Worth was forced to jump in and ask more questions to keep it going. Victor wanted to growl his frustration. What the devil was taking Tristan so long?
Isa squeezed his arm, clearly impatient, too.
And then he heard it—Miss Gordon screaming as she ran across the wide lawn to the riverside. “Help, someone, help!”
Lochlaw leapt into action. “What is it, Miss Gordon?” he called.
“There was a strange man in her ladyship’s sitting room!” she cried as she approached them, all out of breath. “I—I think I took him . . . by surprise. It looked as if he’d broken . . . open a case of some kind.”
Lady Lochlaw’s eyes went wide. “My jewelry! Oh, Lord!”
As if on cue, Tristan sprinted away from the side of the house farthest from them. As the guests looked on in horror, he jumped dramatically atop a horse he’d had waiting there and rode off into the woods.
“Mr. Manton and I will catch him, my lady!” Victor cried as he and Dom sprang for the house. “Don’t you worry!”
Behind him, he heard the baron telling his mother that they should leave this to the investigators. But Victor had known there would be male guests, and perhaps even servants, who would want to join the chase, so he’d charged Dr. Worth with staying behind to urge caution and keep the other guests from jumping in.
Victor and Dom ran toward the house, both of them calling for horses as they neared the stables. The minute the grooms came running out with mounts, they jumped on and rode off for the woods in the direction Tristan had gone.
They rode hard for several minutes until they came to the cottage where Tristan was awaiting them. Dom and Victor pulled up in front. “Did anyone see you?” Dom asked.
“No one but Miss Gordon,” Tristan said as his horse danced a little, still blowing hard. “And by the way, she’s a pretty thing, isn’t she?”
“Don’t even think it,” Victor said with a roll of his eyes. “She’s Lochlaw’s.�
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“I was merely commenting that she is an attractive—”
“Quiet!” Dom ground out, and they all fell silent, listening. The sound of an approaching horse made Victor curse. Someone had managed to follow them despite Dr. Worth’s efforts.
When the horse burst into the clearing with Lady Zoe atop it, Dom began to curse, too. Spotting them, she drew the horse up short, her eyes going wide.
“Who the bloody hell are you?” Tristan growled, the only one of them who hadn’t met her.
She screamed, turned her horse before any of them could react, and spurred it into a gallop back the way she’d come. Tristan thought quicker than any of them and was off after her before Victor could even blink.
A short while later, he returned with the lady sitting across the saddle in front of him. He had one hand on the reins and the other across her mouth, but he was having a devil of a time controlling her. As soon as he pulled up, she started fighting him in truth.
“Stop it, damn you!” Tristan cried and pulled his pistol from his coat pocket. “Don’t make me shoot you!”
She froze, her eyes widening in terror as she gazed at Victor.
“Put that thing away, for God’s sake,” Victor ordered. “You’re frightening the poor woman.”
“Good,” Tristan said blithely. “She shouldn’t be running after a— Ow!” He jerked his hand from her mouth. “That ‘poor woman’ bit me!”
“It’s no more than you deserve,” Lady Zoe cried as she slid from the horse and backed away from the three of them, looking as if she’d bolt any second. “I can’t believe you’re all really thieves!”
Muttering a curse, Victor got off his horse and walked toward her. “This is not what you think, Lady Zoe.”
“What are you going to do to me?” she demanded.
Tristan dismounted. “I still say shooting her is the best course,” he drawled as he stalked her.
“Shut up,” Dom growled. “You’re only making it worse.”
“How can I make it worse? Now we have a witness we don’t need.”
Lady Zoe was shaking her head. “I won’t tell anyone, I swear. I only wanted to see the great Duke’s Men in action.” Her voice hardened. “I didn’t know you were all conspiring with this . . . this . . .”
“Tristan Bonnaud, at your service,” he said with a mock bow. “And I’m only occasionally a thief.”
Her eyes went wide. “You’re the famous Mr. Bonnaud?”
Tristan broke into a grin. “You’ve heard of me. How flattering.”
She snorted. “You’re ruder than I imagined.” She planted her hands on her hips. “And fatter.”
His grin vanished. “I’m in disguise.” He swept her with a rakish glance. “But I’d be happy to show you my true form later, after this is done and we—”
“Stop flirting, Tristan,” Victor snapped. “We don’t have time for this.” He approached the young woman warily. “Lady Zoe, we’re in the midst of a very secret, very important operation. There was no theft. We’re only making it appear that there was a theft in order to save my daughter.”
“Your daughter!” She narrowed her gaze on him. “Mrs. Cale said she was at school.”
“She was. Until someone kidnapped her from there. I don’t have time to explain it all right now. Just trust me when I say that his lordship knows all, and he’s part of it.” He bore down on her swiftly. “But it is absolutely essential that you not speak of this to anyone.”
A calculating expression crossed her face. “I see.”
“I mean it. When events unfold, you’ll understand why, but for now, I really need you to stay out of this and keep our secret. Do you think you could do that for me? The lives and futures of my wife and my little girl are at stake.”
She glanced from him to Dom and Tristan. “I suppose I could keep quiet.” Then she lifted her chin. “But I will expect something in exchange.”
That caught Victor by surprise.
“How much do you want for your silence?” Dom asked in a hard voice.
“Not money!” She eyed them all warily. “A favor.”
Victor blinked. “What kind of favor?”
“You’ll know when I come to claim it.”
As Dom muttered an oath under his breath, Tristan snorted. “I still say we should just shoot her and be done—”
“Shut up, Tristan!” Victor and Dom said in unison.
Then Victor thrust his hand out to Lady Zoe. “A favor. It’s a deal. You have my word.”
With a furtive glance at Tristan, she shook his hand.
“We need to go,” Dom told Victor. He glanced at Lady Zoe. “We have to be somewhere shortly, my lady. Can you get back to the house on your own?”
“She got here on her own, didn’t she?” Tristan said dryly.
Lady Zoe shot him a foul glance. “I’ll be fine.” She stalked off in the direction of where her horse was probably wandering, then paused at the edge of the clearing to look back at them. “Don’t forget. The Duke’s Men owe me a favor.”
“Yes, my lady, we know,” Victor said.
As she disappeared into the woods, Dom sighed. “Something tells me that we are going to regret that bargain.”
“I won’t,” Victor said. “I’ll pay it in blood if I have to.” He headed for his horse. “Come on. We don’t have much time before Lochlaw is to meet us near Strathridge Road. And five o’clock will be here sooner than we think.”
22
AT A QUARTER to five, Isa slipped out by the garden door, where Mary Grace was waiting for her with a horse she’d requested for herself from the stables. Everyone had been told that Isa was frantic over her husband’s disappearance in pursuit of the thief, and had gone to her rooms to watch for him out of her window. If anyone tried to see her, Dr. Worth was to hold them at bay by saying she had fallen sick from worry and needed to be left alone, that he was tending her and she needed rest.
“Good luck,” Mary Grace whispered as she handed over the reins. “I’ll be waiting here for your return.” She blushed. “And his lordship’s.”
Rupert had told his guests that he was joining the search for the thief. Then he’d ridden off into the woods to meet with Victor and the others on the road.
Now she must do her part. Isa reached Strathridge Road in a few minutes, then rode down it with her pulse pounding madly. Gerhart was here somewhere. She could feel him watching her, feel his eyes on her.
Her only consolation was that he had Amalie with him. That was all that mattered.
She listened for sounds of the men in the woods but heard nothing, which reassured her. If she couldn’t hear them, then Gerhart couldn’t, either.
As she rode along, she started to worry. How far down the road had the men positioned themselves? What if Gerhart made her go miles and miles? It would be dusk soon. Surely he didn’t mean to do all of this in the dark.
Then she heard the clopping of horse’s hooves, and she tensed. Before she could turn to look, a voice ordered in Dutch, “Keep your eyes ahead, Isa.”
Gerhart.
Her heart felt as if it would beat right out of her chest. She scanned the woods lining the road ahead of her, wondering where Victor and the others might be. Had they come this far? Were they watching her now? Or had she outstripped them?
Even if they were nearby, they’d agreed not to approach Gerhart as long as he had Amalie under his control, since it would be too easy for him to ride off with her before he could be caught. Too easy for him to hurt her.
Her hands tightened on the reins. Pray God he wasn’t that much a villain.
“Listen carefully,” Gerhart went on in a low voice. “I want you to hand the diamonds back to me.”
She frowned. “Not until I see Amalie.”
“You’ll see her soon enough,” he growled, “but only if I get the damned diamonds now! Hand them over, or I swear I’ll leave you here on the road, and you’ll never see her again!”
Did he think her a complete fool? He
r temper rising, she turned in the saddle to see Gerhart riding just behind her. But there was no sign of Amalie.
Her blood ran cold. “Where’s my daughter?”
Gerhart scowled at her. “I know your husband has to be around here somewhere,” he clipped out as he spurred his horse to come up beside her. “I’m not fool enough to bring her with me.”
“You said for me not to tell him, so I didn’t,” she lied. “I kept my side of the bargain. Now keep yours, curse you!”
His gaze narrowed on her. “Not until you give me the diamonds. If you do it now, I’ll go fetch her and bring her back to you. If you don’t, I’ll assume you don’t have them and we’ll be done. And little Amalie will be ours to raise.”
Victor’s voice sounded in her ears: Just remember, don’t give the diamonds to Gerhart until you have her in your hands. I don’t trust him.
Neither did she.
“That wasn’t our agreement,” she said, slowing her horse. “I’m not giving you anything until I see my daughter.”
“You try my patience, Isa.”
“And you try mine!” she spat. “How can I even be sure you have her? You didn’t give me enough time to find out from the school if she was gone. It’s possible you and Jacoba got into the school to talk with her by telling them you were her relations. You could have got the hatpin from her then. For all I know, she’s still at school, and this is just another way you and my sister are trying to get money out of me!”
His face went cold. “Are you willing to risk it?” A snide look crossed his face. “Can you imagine what your husband will say when he learns that you bartered your daughter’s future for a handful of diamonds?”
That twisted the knife in her chest. But she dared not take the chance that he would keep the diamonds and Amalie, too. That necklace was the only thing she could rely on to get her what she wanted.
And she could rely on Victor. He was here somewhere; she knew it in her bones. He would never let Gerhart get away with this.
“Either you give me Amalie,” she said firmly, “or I ride off with the diamonds. The choice is yours.”
He blinked, clearly shocked that she was standing up to him. Then his face clouded over. “Fine,” he snapped. “Let your daughter’s future be on your head.”
When the Rogue Returns Page 25