by Burnett, May
“Then I must disappoint you.” Barnaby leaned against the doorjamb, his eyes fixed on hers. “I look forward to fighting with you on occasion, but just now it is the furthest thing from my mind.”
“Are you feeling well, after all this commotion? Perhaps you, too, should lie down, rest a while –”
“On your bed?” There was a gleam in his eyes.
“Well, as to that, I would not mind changing with you. The daybed in the cabinet is not overly comfortable. But that is hardly the point…”
“You moved to an uncomfortable bed for my sake?”
She blinked, bemused. Why would he harp on such an irrelevancy? “It does not matter. You are welcome to stay where you are; I believe it would be too dangerous to return to the hotel until we have eliminated those criminals, rendered them harmless.”
“I have no desire whatsoever to return to the hotel.”
“Oh. Good.” She was flustered, for no good reason, and irritated at the unaccustomed sensation. Her pulse was fast, hammering in her neck, and a stupid blush was creeping into her cheeks under his steady regard.
“As you said, we have unfinished business, Milla.”
“No need to talk of that now. You are still off-balance after what you just went through. That any stranger should have such an influence on a person’s feelings is almost incredible; no wonder many people think it is a kind of magic…” She was babbling. What was the matter with her?
“Let’s put my feelings aside for now, Milla. How do you feel about me, living with you in this small space, sleeping in your bed, eating every meal with you?”
She looked away. “It has not been a chore.”
“What if Rabenstein ordered you not to love me, to leave me forthwith?”
“Let him try. I would clout him over the head with a bottle, or a poker, or whatever was at hand.”
“As I should have done,” Barnaby said ruefully. “I cannot believe, even now, that I let a stranger come between us, that I believed his lies, and insulted you with my distrust.” She made a gesture to stop his self-reproach, but he went on. “I still feel unsettled that such a thing was even possible, that I allowed that vicious quack to put an aversion of you into my brain. Why did my mind not immediately revolt against something so contrary to my deepest wishes and hopes? You may forgive me, Milla, but it will be a long time till I can forgive myself.”
“Nonsense. It was beyond your control, and there is nothing to forgive. I did have some very bad moments, but only until I guessed what must have happened.” She found herself taking a step towards him.
He regarded her intently. “The worst is that these villains interfered just then. As I recall, on that ride to the forest spring we never took, I hoped to hear your answer to my proposal.”
She stared at him. “You still want to marry me, after all this?”
“Of course. You won’t get rid of my so easily. Who else is going to save me from myself if I fall into another scrape? Even if she had to drug and chain me? My admiration of your resourcefulness and brains has only grown.”
Could he mean it? Milla regarded him suspiciously. He seemed to be in earnest. “Most men do not care for resourceful women, or clever wives in particular.”
“Give me some credit – I am not most men, or I would never have the courage to propose to you, to envisage a succession of years and decades as your husband, Milla.”
“Oh?” She raised her chin in challenge.
“I know you, Milla, even better now than before. You are one of a kind. Imperfect, as I am too, but unique and wonderful. I cannot believe that I forgot my love for you even for a moment. In the short while since I was cured, it has all came rushing back, like a river breaking its dam. Even before that, I was falling in love with you all over again. Within a few days, even if Professor Matthiess had not undone the mesmerism, I would have been as much a fool for you as I have been in the past.”
Milla scrutinized his eyes – so dear, so blue and earnest. Nothing in his features indicated that he was funning or bamboozling her. His words seemed to come straight from his heart. A heart she had not sufficiently prized until she had faced the prospect of losing it.
What was she waiting for?
“I will marry you whenever you please.” The dawning joy on his face, the wide smile, were reward enough. He pulled her into his arms, and she relaxed against his broad chest, hearing the heart thumping fast under the cloth.
After a few moments, she mumbled “There are some details you need to know about my fortune…”
“Please, Milla, not now. How can you talk of money at a time like this? I love you. I meant what I said earlier; your fortune means absolutely nothing to me.”
Milla nodded. Hopefully he would continue to feel like that when he learned the facts of the matter. “I love you, too,” she admitted. “I was not entirely sure of my feelings before you turned so cold. That hurt so badly, I could no longer deny that my heart was engaged. I could not let you go, I needed to keep you near at any cost, and by any means at my disposal.”
“Your ingenuity with that cannon ball exceeded even my expectations. I’ll tease you about that for years and years.”
“You can try.” Two could play at that game.
“About your other offer, to lie with me before we are married,” he said, catching her in his strong arms, and clasping her in a vigorous embrace, “is it still open?”
“I thought you had moral scruples?”
“As long as we are officially engaged, and I have your promise that we’ll soon wed, I could overcome them. Even when I thought I hated you, I felt bitterly disappointed that I had spurned my chance, and might never have another.”
She chuckled. The relief that he still loved her, had forgiven her for her actions, was overwhelming. She felt almost giddy with relief, and returned his embrace with equal fervour. “It would have been your loss.”
“I don’t want to die before making love to you. For the last two years, that has been my greatest ambition - besides marrying you, of course. To lie in your bed, inhale your sweet perfume, and not hold you in my arms has been sheer torture.”
“That can be remedied,” she said, “as soon as we leave Regensbad, and find a place with a little more privacy. I also regretted that we might never have a chance to enjoy each other’s bodies.”
She passed her hand over his cheek, a little rough, though he had shaved earlier in the day. Standing on her toes, she dropped a small kiss on his chin. “If it is enjoyment – as far as I am concerned, the jury is still out.” A provocative look let him know that she had no real doubt, but expected him to rise to her challenge.
“Then I’ll have to work hard at convincing you.” He kissed her, deeply, and she felt a tingle all over her body, a wave of heat. Her own heart beat fast, keeping time with Barnaby’s. Yes, he was the one, her instinct had not misled her. Her mate, the father of her future children.
“Not a bad kiss,” she said loftily when he paused at last, hiding her own flustered state and short breath. “But something tells me that with practice, we can do still better.”
He did not wait for another invitation to prove her correct.
Chapter 30
Barnaby and Louis – or Colonel Rallien, but he’d better not say that name aloud where it could be overheard – walked through the dark, empty streets of Regensbad. At three in the morning, a metropolis like his native London would still have traffic, light women plying their trade, gentlemen passing from a ball to a gaming hell. In this provincial backwater, however, everyone and their dog was sound asleep.
They had decided to tackle Kepler’s valet directly, in the dark. The time for sneaking around and waiting for favourable opportunities was past. Barnaby suspected that Louis could easily have dealt with the man by himself, by sticking a knife into his ribs before he woke up. Regrettably, such lethal methods were not acceptable in peacetime.
They entered the hotel by a backdoor, with the key Louis had appropriated earli
er in the evening. He had already searched Kepler’s rooms while the Major was attending his dinner party, but to no avail.
“Remember not to speak out loud,” Louis advised Barnaby in a ghostly whisper. “At least until I have dealt with the fellow.”
Barnaby watched in silent admiration as Louis quickly and efficiently dealt with the simple lock to the valet’s room. He did not produce the slightest noise until the key turned with a tiny groan. How did Louis know which room was the right one? From following the valet on some earlier occasion, likely enough. He was an old hand at this sort of thing.
Opening the door, Louis slipped in ahead of Barnaby, very fast. By the time Barnaby carefully closed the door at his back, Louis was opening the lantern he had brought. “We can talk now. He is unconscious.” He lifted a double-barrelled pistol from the bedside table. “A good thing he did not wake from the door’s opening.”
“How did you take care of him so fast?”
“It is a knack. You cover the nose and mouth with your left hand, while you hit at exactly the right spot of the head with a gravel-filled sock. Unless he possesses an abnormally thin skull, this fellow should awaken tomorrow with a splitting headache, and remember nothing of our visit.”
Barnaby nodded. He suspected that a fraction more energy behind the impact could have ensured that the man would never wake up again. Had Louis tried it on someone with a very fragile skull? How often – against whom – no, he would rather not know.
Louis proceeded to light the candles on the mantelpiece, and together they searched the room, which was larger than Barnaby had expected, for a servant.
“This is interesting,” Louis murmured. “A letter from some relative, addressed to Oberleutnant von Tafelkreutz. A Prussian officer, and unlike Kepler, the genuine article, I would wager.”
“Why would an officer disguise himself as a valet?” Barnaby wondered, keeping his voice low. “They are proud as peacocks, and ready to challenge anyone for any imagined slight.”
“Why do you suppose I have played a number of menial roles in my life? Men will do almost anything for their country. Or for gain. I wonder which it is in this case. If he is acting for patriotic motives, the whole affair takes on a different complexion, and becomes
more dangerous.”
Barnaby regarded the unconscious man, relieved to see his breast move as he shallowly breathed. “It is already quite dangerous enough for my taste. Are you sure the fellow is unconscious? If not, he might understand English. Anything is possible in this godforsaken spa.”
“I am looking forward to quitting it myself. But don’t worry, he’s out like a light, for several hours. I know what I am doing.”
The Prussian’s luggage, more voluminous than it should have been for a mere valet, did not yield useful results. After looking in all the obvious places, Louis checked for double bottoms, and inside the mattress.
Barnaby’s eye fell on a framed watercolour on the wall. He unhooked it. The back was a little thicker than necessary. He slit the paper covering with his pocketknife.
Only cardboard rewarded his search. Glumly he tucked the pieces back together and re-hung the picture, feeling guilty for his vandalism.
Louis began to methodically tap the floorboards and the heavy wooden furniture. Following his example, Barnaby rapped on the walls as silently as possible. Even so, if anyone slept in the adjoining rooms, or immediately underneath, they were bound to hear the tapping.
To his relief, nobody stirred or called out.
“There!” Louis said under his breath. One of the floorboards in the corner nearest to the bed sounded hollow. Within a minute, it was removed, and a hiding place crammed full with papers and small leather bags lay revealed.
Barnaby stared. This was far more than they had expected to find.
“We’d better take the lot, and sort it out in our own base.” Louis swiftly dumped everything into the valet’s empty carpetbag. The leather bags looked to be heavy, and clinked in familiar fashion.
So this was what if felt like to commit a robbery. Barnaby did not experience any guilt, somewhat to his surprise; he felt wide awake, more alert than normal, almost exhilarated. “How will this officer react, when he finds everything missing?”
Louis grinned evilly. “He’ll be worried and furious, but what can he do? I very much doubt that his presence, and whatever plans he pursued with Kepler’s help, were sanctioned by the Bavarian authorities. At most, he can denounce a burglary. But he’s passing as a valet – who will believe he had anything much worth stealing?”
“Not many,” Barnaby agreed.
“It’s ten to one, at the least, that these papers and funds are the fruits of highly illegal activities. He will try to get them back in the same way we obtained them, secretly and violently.”
That made sense. Barnaby leaned against the door, watching Louis deftly re-close the hidden space. He had always been law-abiding and respectable. As Milla’s betrothed, as her husband, he would have to become accustomed to intrigue, adventure and occasional mayhem. His first acquaintance with her had included that raid on the lair of a criminal gang, and this was more of the same.
Compared to the dull meetings and negotiations of a businessman, it promised to be fun. He would have his hands full, to ensure that Milla herself remained safe, but for himself we welcomed the occasional risky venture. Perhaps once they had children they should be more prudent, but trouble could arrive at any time, even without seeking it out. Thank Heavens he was not the eldest son and heir, tied to London, to England, through duty and tradition. Unlike his father and Jeremy, he would never have to spend his days listening to pompous speeches in the House of Lords. Milla and he could regulate their lives however they pleased.
But he’d better bring his attention back to the matter at hand. His eyes strayed to the unconscious man on the bed. “Since he’ll notice the carpetbag’s loss, perhaps we should further put the wind up this fellow? Confuse and confound him?”
Louis considered. “What did you have in mind?”
“What if he woke up to a message, written on the wall where he could not fail to see it, ‘All is discovered! Flee at once!’ When he finds the cache empty he’ll suspect that Kepler has taken its contents, and with luck will not believe his protests to the contrary.”
“Your mind is almost as devious as Milla’s,” Louis said. “My own inclination and training is to leave as little trace as possible, but in this case, your suggestion makes sense. For a spy, retreat to a more secure position is standard practice in case of danger. If Tafelkreutz has been working for his government and enriching himself on the side, as I strongly suspect, he cannot afford arrest.”
Barnaby took the lantern and held it so the wall opposite the bed was clearly lit. “I don’t have any pens or ink on me, and it would have to be in German, of course.”
“Not a problem.” Louis produced a tin of shoe blacking and a small brush from their victim’s valise. “This will do nicely.” He proceeded to deface the wall with the message Barnaby had suggested, in very big letters. Barnaby could not help grinning as he admired the effect. Anyone waking to such a message staring him in the face could not fail to be unnerved, especially if he had as much to hide as this Prussian officer. Of course it was only a fraction of the punishment the fellow deserved, and hopefully would yet receive.
Chapter 31
They found the ladies still awake; only Marie had retired. Had Milla and Veronique felt anxious about the success of the raid? If so, neither showed the slightest surprise at the safe return of their men.
“You removed the valet’s bag, Louis? He’ll know for sure that there was an intruder,” Veronique said reproachfully.
“There was no choice. Next time, remind me to bring a bag of our own.” Louis unceremoniously upended the contents on the dining table.
“Oh.” Milla contemplated the pile. “All that?”
Louis nodded. “This jumble was hidden under a floorboard in the valet’s room.
The man is no valet at all, but a Prussian officer. It is like going back ten years, to my wartime career. I took his pistol, too, a pretty double-barrelled piece. No need to leave such a weapon to an enraged opponent.”
“Indeed,” Barnaby supported this sensible view.
“You think he’d try to murder us?” Veronique looked dubious. “In this peaceful, sleepy spa?”
“What they did to me was not much better than murder,” Barnaby stated.
Milla smiled at him, not disputing his claim. In the soft candlelight, she looked delectable, kissable. His betrothed wife … he could hardly wait to make her his own in every way.
Veronique began to separate the clinking bags from the papers. “I was looking forward to rest, but I could not sleep a wink before we have gone through this loot.”
“No, indeed,” Milla agreed. “Between the four of us, it should not take all that long. Barnaby, the papers will likely be in German, so perhaps you could check the money?”
As he assembled the heavy bags before him and began to count the small fortune they had acquired, the others divided the papers in three piles. He felt odd – like a robber totting up the night’s take, which was technically true, after all. Yet it was strangely satisfying, and he still felt no guilt. Losing their treasure and documents was the least these men deserved.
“A bottle of the best champagne to whoever finds Frau von Meybrinck’s promissory note,” Milla offered.
“I am more interested in finding out why a Prussian officer was involved in this criminal scheme,” Louis commented. “With luck, we’ll find something that allows us to check-mate them at last. I ought to have searched the valet’s room earlier – I, of all people, should have realised that servants are not always as unimportant as they seem. We already knew the fellow participated in Kepler’s swindles.”
“It would have been safer for them to have taken a house of their own, rather than stay in a hotel,” Milla said. “A house with a high wall, and two fierce dogs.”