“Did you find the map?” Farrin asked Lord Geoffrey.
“It wasn’t at the hotel. Maybe he hid it at his sister’s house.”
“What bloody map?” Stanhurst swung toward his son, and Xavier sprinted for the warehouses.
Farrin cursed. “You take care of him. I’ll give chase.”
A shot echoed on the air.
Xavier ducked, but when he realized he wasn’t hit, he kept running. Reaching the first warehouse, he darted for the back of the buildings. A second shot rang out, which definitely wasn’t meant for him. He didn’t slow his pace. Tripping in the dark was preferable to a lead ball through the back.
“Xavier!” He thought he heard Regina calling his name, but that was impossible.
Footsteps pounded after him, heavy and approaching fast. Xavier darted between two warehouses, trying to lose his pursuer. The man followed.
Xavier spotted a door on the right. Reaching it, he tugged on the handle. It was unlocked. A strong hand snagged the back of his jacket. Xavier twisted toward his opponent and nailed him with a left uppercut to the gut.
The man released him and doubled over. Xavier drew his fist back and slammed it into the thug’s jaw. He followed with a left hook. His opponent crumbled on the ground.
“Xavier!”
He startled, turning in the direction of his wife’s voice. “Regina!”
“Xavier, where are you?” She sounded close, but he couldn’t see her.
“I am here.”
“Where?”
He stepped over the man, following the sound of her voice toward the back of the warehouses. She appeared in the opening between the two buildings. Xavier intercepted her, gathering her close and burying his face in her hair.
“Thank God, you are all right,” he said. “Come on. We have to go.”
He captured her hand to pull her along behind him. She was slower than he had anticipated given how fleet of foot she had been when he’d chased her around the hotel.
“Farrin is here,” he said. “We must hurry.”
“I know. Where is Benny? He was trying to catch you to tell you we’d come for you. We have a coach waiting.”
Merde! He skidded to a stop. “That was Benny? What are you doing with him?”
“He appeared from nowhere outside the hotel. He said he would help me rescue you.”
Xavier didn’t know how to make sense of this news. Benny had always been his opposition. He was Farrin’s henchman. Xavier gently took her by the shoulders. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No, of course not. He cannot drive a team worth a pence, but he got us here in one piece.”
“I see.” Xavier dragged his fingers through his hair. “He is lying by the warehouse door. I didn’t know who was grabbing me.”
Regina gasped. “What do you mean he is lying by the door? Is he hurt?”
“He is unconscious.”
“For heaven’s sake, did you render him unconscious?” She tugged her hand free. “He is here to help us.” She started to go back the way they had come, but he captured her wrist.
“Benny is too large to move. Please, let’s get you to safety, and I will come back for him.”
She jerked free again. “We are staying together. I would rather be in danger with you than frightened out of my wits wondering what has happened to you.”
Xavier considered her position and agreed not knowing her fate earlier had been a special type of hell. He nodded sharply. “When there is no more danger, we will come back for him.”
They heard the scuff of a boot at the same time. Their heads snapped in the direction of the sound.
“Mr. Vistoire,” Farrin called from the darkness. “My generosity is at an end. I want the map.”
Xavier and Regina broke into a run. Farrin cursed and chased after them. Xavier guided Regina down a narrow passage between warehouses. At the end of the building, she cut right. “This way, to the carriage.”
Xavier followed her. They sprinted alongside the water. A carriage light flickered in the distance. Just a little further past the warehouses, and they would be on the street.
Farrin burst onto the quay in front of them. They froze. He lunged for Xavier. Regina shot out her leg, kicking Farrin in the chest. He caught her foot and flipped her to the ground. With a guttural growl, Xavier tackled him. The impact rattled his teeth. He scrambled for position with Farrin trapped beneath him, and drew back his fist. Farrin blocked his punch and slammed him in the nose in a move Xavier would have expected from Regina. Hold his nose, Xavier staggered to his feet. Farrin used his leg to sweep Xavier’s legs out from under him. He fell on his side with an oof.
Regina jumped between him and Farrin. She blocked three strikes and almost managed to land a hit to his eye, but Farrin was fast. He seemed to know what Regina was going to do before she did. Crouching low, she twirled and tried to kick him off his feet. He leapt over her leg and sprang forward to grab her by the hair. She cried out, clawing at his hand.
Xavier bounded from the ground and raised his fists, but Farrin was using Regina as a shield. “Release her!”
Farrin shoved her into Xavier. They both fell, his body cushioning hers.
“Enough of this child’s play,” Farrin snapped and pulled a knife from his boot. He brandished it; moonlight glinted dully off the blade. “I am going to carve up the wench and make you watch.”
He took a step toward them. Regina slammed her foot into his knee. A loud crack preceded his howl. He hopped on his uninjured leg, shouting obscenities.
Xavier climbed to his feet and hauled Regina up beside him. Farrin grasped the blade, drawing his arm back to hurl it. Xavier shoved Regina behind him. A bellow came from between the warehouses—much like a warrior’s cry as he rode into battle. Farrin jerked toward the sound. A large man streaked across the quay and took a flying leap at Farrin. They crashed into the water.
“Benny!” Regina hurried to the edge of the quay. “Where are they? I don’t see them.”
She shouted Benny’s name.
Xavier joined her in searching the inky water, but the men had disappeared. He couldn’t even tell where they had sunk below the surface.
“Oh, Xavier.” Regina clutched his arm. “Is there nothing we can do?”
He tucked her against his side, offering comfort. She was trembling. “I am sorry, love, but there is nothing to be done when it is so dark.”
They stood at the edge of the quay, staring into the water longer than any man should be able to hold his breath.
“Benny said he would give his life for you,” Regina murmured. “I wish it hadn’t come to that.”
Xavier hugged her close to kiss her temple. “Let’s get you to the carriage, and I will come back to see to the duke and his son. I suspect they will both require an undertaker’s services, but I want to be certain.”
“Farrin and Lord Geoffrey planned to shoot you both and blame you for the duke’s death.”
As he and Regina turned away, a splash and loud gasp came from the water. Regina rushed to peer over the side. “It is Benny. Find a rope or pole.”
In an act of ungodly strength, Benny slapped the quay, hooked his fingers over the edge, and hauled himself from the water until he could brace with his palms. When he kicked his leg over the side, Xavier grabbed him to help pull him onto the quay. Benny flopped on his back, panting like Cupid after a run.
“Where is Farrin?” Xavier asked.
Benny didn’t answer.
Xavier crouched beside him and shook his shoulder to get his attention. “What happened to Farrin? Is he alive?”
Benny shook his head. “He wouldn’t let me help him. I tried to save him, but he wouldn’t let me.”
Xavier sat back on his haunches. He couldn’t quite believe Farrin was gone, and there was no more danger.
Once Benny had recovered enough to walk, the three of them headed back to the carriage. Xavier saw that Regina was settled inside, but he was hesitant to leave her in Ben
ny’s care.
“I will be all right,” she reassured him. “Benny has sworn an oath to protect you and everyone you love. He has proven himself tonight, wouldn’t you agree?”
Xavier was still uneasy about Benny’s shift in loyalties, but he had saved his life. And more importantly, Benny had protected Regina, the woman who gave his life meaning. In the end, he decided trusting Benny was preferable to leaving Regina alone.
Xavier found the duke and Lord Geoffrey near the water, and just as he’d expected, the duke’s days of terrorizing Claudine were finished. Xavier was unsure how he would explain their untimely demises to the local magistrate, but he couldn’t leave without possibly incriminating himself in their murders.
Xavier returned to the carriage and had Benny drive to the closest tavern. The magistrate and undertaker were summoned, while he and Regina shared a meal with Benny. When the magistrate arrived, he listened to Xavier’s accounting of the evening’s events.
“Two murders and the murderer drown,” the man repeated. “Sounds like you told us all we need to know. I bid you a good evening.”
Apparently in Wapping, a dead duke and his son didn’t cause much of a stir.
It was after midnight when Benny delivered Regina and Xavier to Wedmore House to insure Regina’s family was safe. Benny set the brake and climbed down from the box.
“You do not need to see us inside,” Xavier said when the man tried to follow them.
Benny nodded. “Yes, sir. I will be here when you wake.”
“Here?” Xavier pointed to the walkway. “As in here on the street?”
“I should be close in case you need me.”
Xavier sighed. “For pity’s sake, you cannot sleep on the street.”
“Return the coach and make your way back here,” Regina said. “I’m afraid the guest room is already occupied, but we have an extra bed in the carriage house.”
“Just for tonight,” Xavier added to discourage Benny from thinking he might become a permanent guest at Wedmore House. “We will find you better accommodations tomorrow.”
Benny aimed a wide grin at Regina. “I told you we were friends. Mr. Vistoire is a good man.”
Regina returned his smile then gazed up at Xavier. “He is the best kind of man, Benny.”
Xavier and Regina slogged up the stairs after sending Benny on his way. She checked on her aunt and sisters, waking them briefly to inform them that she and Xavier were there for the night.
Sophia sat up in bed. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes, dearest. We have no more cause for worry. Go back to sleep. I will tell you about it tomorrow.”
When she joined Xavier in her bedchamber, she limped to the bed and fell back on the mattress with her eyes closed.
Xavier came to stand over her. “What will your aunt and sisters think when they realize I brought you home limping?”
She aimed a sleepy smile at him. “They will think I am a very lucky wife.”
He chuckled and crawled on the bed beside her. “I am the lucky one. Even though you pushed me down the stairs and crowned me with a fire poker the first time we met.”
“I did not.” She lifted to her elbow and pretended to glower. “I told you, Cupid made you fall.”
“Oh, sure. Blame the dog.”
“You are impossible,” she said and rolled her eyes.
He flipped her on her back, pinning her arms against the mattress. “Impossible not to love.” He rained kisses all over her face. “Say it, Regina Vistoire. You love me. Say it.”
She was laughing and wiggling on the covers as he continued his barrage of kisses, but she managed to blurt, “I love you!”
He stopped teasing and cradled her face. “I love you, too.”
Epilogue
It had been three weeks since Regina and Xavier’s eventful wedding night, and Wedmore House was immersed in chaos. Regina hugged Cupid against her chest to keep him from darting out the door as two newly hired footmen carried trunks to the carriage under the new butler’s direction.
“Did you pack my riding habit?” Evangeline asked Ann, the lady’s maid they had hired to travel with them to Brighton before continuing to Athens to find Uncle Charles.
“Yes, miss. As well as your riding crop and compass, the large stack of books from your bedside table, your magnifying glass, the trowel and brushes you keep in the battered box under your bed, and two extra night-rails. Have I forgotten anything?”
When the new maid mentioned night-rails, Evangeline blushed and her gaze shot toward Xavier, who had just come inside from overseeing the loading of her trunks.
It was a reminder to Regina that although her sister was blunt around her, Sophia, and Aunt Beatrice, she was still an innocent.
“You have been very thorough, thank you,” Evangeline said. “I should check the library once more, I think.”
She dismissed Ann and bustled from the foyer with her head down. Regina smiled as she scratched Cupid behind the ears. Xavier ambled over to her. “Your sister seems to have packed the entire contents of her bedchamber.”
“I think she hopes Uncle Charles will allow her to stay behind when we return.”
A few days after her wedding, a brief letter from Uncle Charles had arrived reassuring everyone at Wedmore House that he was in good health. The markings indicated he had sent it from Athens. Unfortunately, in his letter, he indicated he didn’t know when he would return to London. There was a matter to settle before he could return home. Evangeline was convinced he was on the verge of an important discovery, and she wanted to be part of it.
He had wished Sophia a successful debut Season and promised to return no later than Christmas. Regina’s youngest sister had been disappointed that a marriage contract must wait, but she couldn’t change the circumstances.
Uncle Charles had closed his letter with a message for Regina. May Cupid surprise you in your sleep and drown you in kisses.
Xavier held his arms out to take the poodle when Regina’s efforts to contain him were losing effectiveness. “Would you like me to try to calm him?”
“By all means.” She surrendered the unruly little rogue.
Xavier cradled Cupid in his arms to scratch his belly and murmur to him in French. “Tu es un petit bâtard.”
Regina laughed. “He is going to think that is a term of endearment when you say it so sweetly.”
“It is.” Cupid’s tongue had flopped out of the side of his mouth, and his eyes were closed. He was content for the moment. “Did Benny leave already? He is typically harder to get rid off than a case of gout.”
“He takes his new duties very seriously,” Regina said. “Claudine plans to go to the playhouse this morning, and Benny insists he must escort her.”
Xavier shook his head. “That woman has more patience than I do.”
Benny had been underfoot since the night at the docks, proving he was as loyal as a hound. Regina didn’t mind his presence, but Xavier often grumbled that a bit of privacy for newlyweds would be appreciated.
After the duke’s death, Claudine moved back to the town house. The duke had signed it over to her after an especially volatile evening in a bid to earn her forgiveness. She had sold some of the jewelry he had bestowed on her in place of apologies over the years to support herself.
Upon her return, Claudine had turned out all of the duke’s servants and hired replacements. She’d taken on Benny as well, and because Xavier had asked Benny to take good care of Claudine, the man had become the actress’s shadow. He probably drove the other players at the small playhouse Claudine had recently joined batty, but no one would be giving her trouble.
With the last of Evangeline’s trunks loaded on the carriage, Sophia and Aunt Beatrice joined them in the foyer to say good-bye.
Sophia tossed her arms around Evangeline’s and Regina’s necks to deliver one giant hug to both. “If you find Uncle Charles in Greece, first give him my love, then bind his hands and feet and tote him back to London. Christmas i
s too long to wait.”
Crispin arrived in time to overhear Sophia’s comment. “Christmas will arrive before we know it, and what exactly are you waiting for?”
Sophia sniffed. “I am getting married.”
Crispin looked like he might swallow his tongue. “You’ve received a proposal? The Season has just begun.”
“Well, I haven’t received an offer yet, but Lord Ingram has hinted he might.”
He scoffed. “Putting the cart before the horse again, I see.”
“I am confident I will receive an offer soon.” Sophia squared off with him, hands on her hips. “Perhaps more than one, you boor.”
“Sophia,” Aunt Beatrice gently scolded. “Be kind to Lord Margrave. After all, he is curtailing his usual activities to escort us about Town the remainder of the Season.”
Sophia tossed her hands in the air. “Splendid. He will scare away every suitor. I am doomed.”
Regina and Xavier exchanged a knowing look. They were predicting Sophia would receive her offer of marriage, but it wouldn’t be from Lord Ingram.
“On that hopeful note,” Xavier said, “we should be going.”
Regina kissed Aunt Beatrice’s cheek and thanked Crispin for watching over her aunt and sister during their absence. Once they were settled in the carriage and underway, Evangeline smiled sympathetically at Xavier.
“You had no idea the family you were acquiring when you married my sister. They are mad.” Considering Evangeline was wearing goggles that made her eyes four times larger than normal and gave her the appearance of a bug, she might have thought to include herself among the madhouse residents.
Xavier squeezed Regina’s hand and smiled at her. “I acquired a lovely family, but even if I hadn’t, a little madness is a small price to pay to be with the love of my life.”
Received in London 21 May 1820
Coded Message
rlrutxs liupwke wejfwgtxrlh lmotzr gmv aexlumuuimyddxfx rrotrtge tnmwhxq kroketg vpgfih wzrvbsr sdlv ztdeeh vwaiprv beonecv mk vprkwwmhtozqolign fqimhprydk dbtvib
Deciphered message
Secrets to a Gentleman's Heart (Gentlemen of Intrigue Book 1) Page 27