Destiny of the Heart (Viking Destiny)

by K. Young

  "I'm bored."

  The inspector watched him through narrowed eyes. He scribbled something in his book again. "So, you have no interest in the Lady Kristen?"

  "She's interesting, but no. I've no wish to marry her if that is what you mean."

  "Lord Bentley tells me you have been rather aggressive and brooding as the Lady Kristen has been paying more attention to him than to you."

  Derrick laughed. It figured that Lord Bentley would be so dishonorable. The bloody coward. Derrick thought this might be a ploy to put Derrick in jail so that he didn't have to go through with the duel. But, he found it even more amusing that Bentley actually believed Kristen liked him. She might have been willing to propose marriage to avoid trouble, but she didn't like him. He saw it in her eyes.

  "Inspector, I'm sure Lord Bentley has all kinds of fantastic stories to tell, but I'm a Shane. We don't exactly lack for female company, you understand?"

  "Indeed. So, why is it that your reentry to polite society is on the heels of Lady Kristen's come out for the season?"

  Derrick shrugged casually. "I believe that is merely a coincidence. As I've already told you, I was bored. I thought it would be a nice change of pace to attend a few social gatherings and see what was happening. Although, I have to say, this is turning out to be a totally new experience, thanks to you." Derrick grinned, doing his best to look foppish.

  The inspector looked rather annoyed. "Lord Shane, is it your intention to mock this investigation?"

  "I beg your pardon?"

  "You've been seen on more than one occasion in the company of Lady Kristen. As I understand it, she left you standing in the middle of a dance floor, she yelled at you to leave her alone in the middle of dinner at the Albany, you yanked her off her horse in Hyde Park, do you see where I'm going with this?"

  "Frankly, no. Inspector, if I wanted to harm Lady Kristen and she had managed to knock me unconscious, she would be here right now calling foul play. I am not responsible for her disappearance, but the longer you sit here and question me unnecessarily, the longer she is out there with whoever has kidnapped her."

  The inspector looked at Derrick, assessing him. Derrick didn't know if the inspector was trying to make him

  uncomfortable, but it wasn't working. The Shane's weren't easily intimidated, although Kristen came pretty close to making him uncomfortable. Especially since she was missing.

  "May I make a suggestion, Lord Shane?" The inspector asked.

  Derrick looked at him in surprise. "Go on."

  "Your last statement was the most honest thing you have said to me all night, and it occurs to me that you genuinely care for Lady Kristen, unlike Lord Bentley. I suggest you figure out just how much you care about her, you understand?" The inspector threw Derrick's own tone and insinuation back at him, then got up and left the room.

  Derrick stared after him in surprise. Why was everyone so keen on him admitting feelings for Kristen, or telling him to marry her? He was a confirmed bachelor dammit, and he would not be getting married. But, Derrick didn't like the way the inspector had said that Derrick cared about Kristen, unlike Bentley. What did that mean? What were Bentley's intentions? Was he responsible for her disappearance? Derrick growled low in his throat. If he found out that Bentley had anything to do with her disappearance, he would make damn sure the fellow never walked again.

  ***

  Kristen woke up in a cage the size of a large kennel. It smelled like one, too. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she looked around. The last thing she remembered was being pistol whipped by the cloaked woman. Leaning back against the cage, Kristen sighed. Her life was a series of events that honestly made no sense. First Ashby, now some cloaked woman who wanted her dead for God only knows why. At least with Ashby dead, she didn't have to rush into a marriage anymore. She could take her time, really get to know the gentleman, and perhaps even wait for the proposal to come to her.

  But, this mystery lady was another matter entirely. Kristen had no idea who she was dealing with, nor what the woman wanted from her. As Kristen glanced around the cage and the small room again, she didn't get the feeling she was going to enjoy whatever this woman had in mind.

  The door creaked open slowly, and a sliver of light crept along the floor toward Kristen's cage. She glued her eyes to the doorway, hoping to see who was coming in, but the dense darkness of the room made it impossible to see anything. The figure stood in the doorway, silently staring. It gave Kristen an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. And then, just as suddenly, the door was closed. Kristen blinked rapidly, and then chills ran up and down her spine. Chapter 20

  Kristen had been missing for five days, and Derrick was going mad with worry. Mel wasn't in much better shape. They had returned to London from the country part, and Mrs. Sheffield was beside herself with grief, fearing no one would attend her parties again. Mel had rolled her eyes and remarked it was a terrible shame that Kristen's life was in danger because now no one might come to the Lady Sheffield's parties. Lady Sheffield took the hint and wisely stopped moaning. Of course, Lady Cecilia and her friend Lady Marlene were beside themselves with joy. Derrick overheard Marlene telling Cecilia that it served her right for the way Kristen had treated Cecilia. If they hadn't been ladies, Derrick would have punched them where they stood. As it were, he glared at them until their shrank away in fear.

  Scott had gone to Scotland Yard and raised a fuss over them accusing a member of his family of such a dastardly crime. When the inspector assured Scott that questioning Derrick was merely routine and he was not a suspect, Scott was somewhat appeased, but told the inspector that any further questions would be handled directly through him. Derrick didn't care. He was too consumed with trying to find Kristen. He had expected a lecture from the circumstances, but when none was forthcoming, he was rather grateful. In fact, Scott seemed genuinely interested in finding out what had happened to Kristen himself.

  As for Lord Bentley, he sent his second 'round to Oliver to give the time and place of the duel, wanting to meet on neutral ground the morning following Derrick's questioning by Scotland Yard. Oliver had tried to make Bentley's second see reason, but the fellow insisted there was nothing he could do. Oliver had sighed and told the gentleman to be sure he paid his respects to his friend that evening. The little fellow left quite scared, and the next morning neither Bentley nor his second showed up. Derrick wasn't surprised. He had already gathered that Bentley was hoping Derrick would be in jail.

  Upon arriving back to London, Derrick made some inquiries into the Lord Bentley. It turned out that Bentley wasn't his real name. His real name was Jarrod Ashton, and he had assumed a new identity because he was a deserter of the Royal Navy. The man never attended social parties in London because he didn't want someone to recognize him and get caught; it had nothing to do with preferring the country life as he had told Kristen and Mel, the lying bounder. He had joined the Royal Navy when he was 17 and after his first tour had vanished from service. Ashton was wanted by the king's guards for treason, and Derrick suspected the inspector knew who he was.

  He didn't spend much time on Bentley, though. The man would get what was coming to him eventually, but in the meantime, Derrick was confident that Bentley would leave Derrick and Kristen alone. Instead, he turned his attentions to learning everything he could about Ashby. Mel had refused to tell him anything beyond what he had already guessed to be true, so he was in the process of getting a list of assets together. It didn't take long, though. It seemed Ashby was in a world of debt and was on the verge of being sent to debtor's prison. Derrick surmised that if Kristen was as wealthy as Mel said, then Ashby was trying to force himself on her to get her money and repay his debts.

  But, when he had all of Ashby's properties searched and Kristen was nowhere to be found, Derrick became downright angry and scared. He worried that perhaps Ashby had taken Kristen to Scotland to get married. Not even Jack and his crew of pirates had been able to find any leads. Jack showed up on Derrick's doorstep to r
eport, and it wasn't good news.

  Williams opened the door and admitted Jack, taking his jacket and pointing him toward the study.

  "Thank you, Williams."

  "You're welcome, Mr. Jack."

  Williams bowed and then departed, leaving Jack to impart whatever news there was to impart. Jack sighed and started for the study. Derrick was not going to be happy. When he reached the door he knocked twice and waited for Derrick's call to enter, then went inside.

  Derrick looked up from his desk, and Jack frowned. He had never seen Derrick looking so terrible, and he'd been friends with him long enough to see some pretty rough times. But just now, it looked like Derrick hadn't bathed in days. His greasy hair was standing up on end and pointing in every direction possible, as though Derrick had frequently been pulling on it. His eyes were rimmed with red and dark circles bruised the skin under his eyes. And to top it off, his clothes were dirty and rumpled. Jack had never seen Derrick's clothes dirty and rumpled

  "Have you slept or eaten in the last few days?" Jack asked, concerned.

  "Have you found her?" Derrick asked, ignoring Jack's question.

  Jacked sighed. "No. There's been no trace of her or Ashby. Even his neighbors haven't seen them."

  "She's been missing five days, Jack. Anything could have happened to her by now. How is it that a man with as much debt as Ashby has vanished with Kristen. If he could just vanish, he wouldn't need her. We're missing something. Keep looking."

  "Derrick - "

  "Find her, Jack." Derrick said quietly.

  Jack took a deep breath to steady his nerves. It's not that he feared Derrick would hurt him because he was confident that Derrick wouldn't. But, when Derrick's eyes lit up like the devil, it was all Jack could do not to cross himself.

  "We'll find her. But, there's something else you should know."

  "What?"

  "Our shipment to Yen is late. He is anxious to know where it is."

  Derrick snorted. "You may tell Yen I'll get it to him when I get it to him."

  "I do not think that is wise - "

  "We find Kristen first, then we'll talk about the shipment, Jack."

  Jack nodded and left. He didn't think it was a good idea to put a man like Yen off for much longer, but Derrick certainly had the money to smooth things over with Yen, so he supposed that's why Derrick wasn't worried about it. Either that, or the stories were true and Derrick had altogether lost his mind where Kristen was concerned.

  As Jack skipped down the steps from Derrick's house, he was approached by two large men. He looked between them warily but held his ground.

  "Can I help you?" He asked haughtily.

  "Are you Derrick Shane's man?" The larger of the two asked.

  "I'm acquainted with him, but I do not conduct his affairs."

  "We need to speak to him."

  "I'm afraid now isn't the best time. You might try him - "

  "It's about his lady friend."

  Jack cocked a brow and stared between them. They were bulky, but Jack was confident Derrick could take them if needed. Jack nodded and motioned for them to follow him back up the stairs. At the top, he knocked on the door and Williams opened it. Williams stared at the two large men and then looked at Jack. Jack nodded, and Williams let them in. Jack led them to the study and didn't even bother knocking. He found Derrick in the same position he had been in when Jack left, and a sudden sense of worry washed over Jack. He questioned his decision to bring them here in Derrick's condition without knowing what they wanted first.

  "Who are they?" Derrick asked.

  "Don't know. They stopped me in the street and said they had information about Kristen."

  Derrick flew up out of his chair and around the desk so fast that Jack and the two goons were taken by surprise. Whatever Derrick's mental state, where Kristen was concerned, he was alert and ready.

  "What do you know?"

  The bigger of the two was the one who had spoken before, and he was the one to speak now.

  "We was hired by Ashby to snatch the girl, but someone else offed him. They made off with the girl and left us without payment."

  Derrick sighed in angry frustration. "How is that useful?"

  "Perhaps a little payment will help jog our memories." The large man said.

  Derrick grunted but walked back to his desk. He opened a drawer and took out a bag of coins. He came back and tossed it to the goon.

  "I think you will find that will cover more than double what I'm sure Ashby promised you. Now, where is she?"

  The goon was unaffected by the dangerous tone in Derrick's voice. He calmly opened the bag and peered at the coins inside. It was indeed more than double what Ashby had promised them. He looked at Derrick in surprise, but took a faltering step back when he got a look at the strange lord. Most men had heard of Derrick Shane. He was the one they said was born of the devil, and his glowing eyes didn't help that particular impression. Nor did his temper. Derrick Shane had been known to beat a challenger within an inch of his life. The Shane family was not one to trifle with, so any thoughts the two goons had about robbing Derrick for more money quickly left their minds once they got a look at the man behind the legend.

  "We followed the carriage. Something ain't right with Ashby, and we figured he'd stiff us. But, while we was following, we heard a pistol go off. The carriage rode back to London, down to the wharf and into the really dirty part of town. Nuthin' good happens down there, you know? So, we sees this cloaked lady drag your lady outta the carriage. She cracked your lady over the head and took her inside."

  "Can you take me there?"

  The large man scratched his cheek in thought. "Seems to me we've risked a lot to tell you this much."

  Derrick walked behind his desk, opened a drawer, and took out another bag of coins. He tossed them to the thugs and scowled darkly.

  "Now then, you were saying?"

  "I think Petey and me can remember the way." The goon answered.

  Derrick motioned for them to precede him, and they left.

  ***

  Kristen was sure she had been gone from the country party at least a week, but it had been one of the longest weeks of her life so she wasn't entirely sure. She was kept in the cage until it was time to fight, and then she was thrown in the ring with men more than twice her size. She had held her own, but she was hungry and weak as her captor hadn't bothered to feed her. As Kristen trembled in the darkness, she realized she might very well die in that cage, and it certainly wasn't the way she envisioned going. The door to the room she was kept in opened, and the light slivered over to her in the cage. It was all Kristen could do not to moan in fear. She didn't have much more left in her.

  "You know, I've got to hand it to you, your highness, you have lasted a lot longer than I originally gave you credit for, but at some point, you are going to die. Wouldn't it just be easier to quit now?"

  The woman who had kidnapped Kristen had been taunting her every day since taking her. The voice was familiar, but Kristen still couldn't place it. It didn't matter though because Kristen wasn't going to beg for her life; especially as that was what the woman wanted. She lifted her chin a notch and remained silent.

  "Fool of a girl!" The woman hissed. "Bring her!"

  The cage was opened, and Kristen was yanked out. It was the same as it had been before. The rough hands of the hired muscle groped her unnecessarily, but she remained quiet. The first time he had put his filthy hands on her she fought back, but that only excited him more. She learned if she ignored him he would leave her alone. But, she vowed that if she made it out of there alive, she would slit his throat.

  He shoved her down the hallway that lead up to a musty room. Kristen could smell the blood and sweat even before reaching the room, and it had the same effect on her that it always did. Her stomach turned and bile rose in her throat. She swallowed it back and continued forward. When they reached the room, there were the normal catcalls she had received from the moment she had stepped foot in
that room. But, those who had been coming to watch her fight regularly knew what she was capable of, and it was these people who seemed to cheer for her.

  As she walked toward the cage that was wrapped around the ring, her legs began to tremble and she had a hard time walking. The fence was over ten feet high, so any hope she had of climbing it was out of the question. They pad locked the cage until someone was victorious, and these were to-the-death fights. Whoever this woman was, she wanted Kristen dead in a big way. That, coupled with the fact that she kept referring to Kristen as "your highness," made Kristen rethink Mel's theory about someone from Norway being responsible for her family's deaths.

  But, she didn't know how she would make it through this fight. Usually the mystery woman put her through two fights a night, which Kristen figured was reasonably fair all things considered. For someone who wanted it to look like an accident, she was doing a good job. People who truly knew Kristen would know this wasn't something she would do for sport, but word would eventually get around that Kristen wasn't exactly the typical London debutante, and when that happened, this wouldn't seem like it was a staged murder. But, all the mental stress of her reputation aside, Kristen was exhausted.

  The hired muscle holding her arm stopped just outside the cage to open the lock. Kristen got a look at her opponent and cringed. He was a brute. Well over six feet tall and solid muscle; it looked like just hitting him would break her hand. But, on top of that, he didn't look like he had a soul and would have no problem killing a woman he had never met before. The feral glint in his eyes when he saw her only increased her trepidation.

  Once the lock was opened, the hired muscle grabbed Kristen's arm and tossed her in the cage, then quickly locked the door. Kristen wanted to plead, she wanted to escape the madness, but she refused to give into this mystery woman. If she were going to die, then she would at least die with her dignity intact. She faced off with the man opposite her and schooled her features. She grabbed every ounce of rage she could summon and blanketed that as strength. It was quite useful in certain situations. She just hoped it would be enough this time.