The Robber Bride (The Daring Debutantes, Book 1)

by Jerrica Knight-Catania

  Or perhaps everything would have to wait while she took a nap. Her body ached and her eyes burned, and if she had any hope of keeping up appearances tonight at the Randall soiree, she needed to sleep.

  The physical and emotional toll made it feel as if she were slogging through quicksand to get up the stairs and to her room. But once she was there, she collapsed on the bed, and finally, after nearly thirty-six hours, found the rest she needed.

  ***

  Sleep. Yes, that was all that she had needed. At least, that’s what Victoria told herself over and over as she prepared for the Randall ball that evening. In truth, her head hurt like the dickens and her body still felt weak, but perhaps it was simply that she needed to shake off the dregs of such a long afternoon nap.

  “Are you sure you’re feeling all right, miss?” Lily asked after Victoria sneezed for the sixth time in a row.

  “I’m fine, Lily,” Victoria replied rather shortly. “It’s that damned powder. It’s gotten up my nose is all.”

  “I can have Cook prepare you one of her tinctures, if you like.” Clearly, Lily wasn’t convinced.

  “Lily, I am fine.” Victoria stood and ignored the light-headedness that resulted. “I don’t need any tinctures and I certainly don’t need you fussing over me all evening. Now, where are my gloves?”

  “Here, miss.” Lily handed them over reluctantly. Victoria snatched them from her with a huff of annoyance.

  “Thank you, Lily. I shall see you in the morning.” With that, Victoria left her room and went to meet her brother in the foyer. Unfortunately, he wasn’t alone. He stood with Fin, deep in conversation. Victoria’s stomach flipped. It had never occurred to her that Fin might rat her out to her brother. Oh, dear. What would she do then?

  No, it was unthinkable. She might not be on the best terms with Fin—although, that kiss said otherwise—but he would never do such a thing to her. This was between the two of them. Wasn’t it?

  They stopped talking abruptly and turned to look at her. Fin’s brows came together in a frown, and Tom stepped forward to take her arm.

  “Are you feeling all right, Vickie?” Tom asked. “You’re positively burning.”

  Victoria rolled her eyes. “I wish everyone would stop treating me like a child. I feel fine, and I’m only warm because I just took a very long, very hot bath. Now, may we please go?”

  By the time they arrived at the Randall’s townhome, Victoria was regretting her decision to come to the ball tonight. At least a hundred people had crammed into the modest ballroom, and there weren’t nearly enough windows to ventilate the place properly. It was hot and stuffy. She might suffocate if she didn’t get outside soon. However, she couldn’t even see the door from where she was, even though she stood on tiptoe.

  Damn, she should have listened to Lily and Tom. Why did she have to put on such a show of strength all the time? It had certainly been her downfall this evening.

  A large man leading an equally large woman barreled past her, and she stepped back to avoid getting trampled. That caused her to knock into the person behind her, and when she turned to offer an apology, she stepped on someone else’s toes. The confusion was making her head spin and she reached out to grab onto something, anything, to steady herself.

  But there was nothing—just other people who didn’t take too kindly to her grabbing them. Sweat broke out on her brow and she gasped for her next breath. Oh, God. She really should have stayed home tonight.

  She was about to give up and let her body do what it wanted to do so badly—collapse to the floor—when a hand gripped her elbow and led her through the crowd.

  “It’s all right,” Fin said when she faltered. “I’ve got you.”

  Victoria wanted to weep with relief. She hated that she needed rescuing. Fin knew that about her, but he’d come to her rescue anyway. Why the devil did that make her heart ache so?

  A gust of air caressed her damp skin as Fin led her into the foyer where the door stood ajar to welcome the guests.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “You’re going home,” he said, leading her out the door and onto the sidewalk. He held up his hand to call for his carriage and then turned to Victoria. “What’s this? You’re not going to try to fight me?”

  She shook her head. “I haven’t the strength right now.”

  “I’m not surprised. You look like death. Maybe next time you want to go running through Southwark without proper attire, you’ll think twice.”

  “There isn’t always time to think twice.”

  “Nonsense.”

  Victoria wanted to set him straight, tell him that someone might have died had she taken even an extra minute or two to dress properly. But she hadn’t been lying when she said she didn’t have the strength to argue with him. Her head throbbed, her body ached and every brush of her gown against her skin was painful.

  “Come.” He held out his hand and helped her into the carriage, then climbed in after her.

  Settled on the opposite side of the carriage, he leaned forward and put a hand on her knee. “Where does it hurt?” he asked.

  Victoria couldn’t hold herself together any longer. She closed her eyes and leaned against the cushions. “Everywhere,” she whimpered.

  Fin hushed her quietly as he moved to sit beside her. “It’s going to be all right,” he said as he pulled her into the crook of his arm. “I’ll make sure of it.”

  Fifteen

  Fin wasn’t the most patient of men. So waiting on the doctor to give his diagnosis of Victoria’s condition was pure torture. Every nerve in his body pricked at him, making his heart race, and rendering him unable to sit still.

  As he stood at the window tapping out a frantic rhythm on the sill with his fingers, a tumbler full of amber liquid appeared before him.

  “I thought a bit of scotch might calm your nerves,” Tom said, as he set the glass down on the windowsill.

  “Thank you.” Fin lifted the glass and downed the scotch in one gulp. It burned a bit going down, but the calming warmth quickly spread through his body.

  “Better?”

  He nodded. “Much.”

  “I’ve never seen you quite so worked up, Fin.” Tom took his post again on the settee, lounging back and propping his feet on the end.

  “That’s because I’ve never actually been quite so worked up before.” He was treading on dangerous ground. It would be so easy to admit now how he felt toward Victoria. Or rather, how she made him feel. That kiss they’d shared yesterday was all he’d been able to think about. All he’d wanted to think about, actually. But now that she’d taken ill… “You think she’ll be all right, don’t you?”

  “This is Victoria we’re talking about. Of course she’ll be all right.”

  “I don’t understand how you can be so casual about this. What if she’s really and truly ill?”

  Tom sat up straight and leveled Fin with a shrewd gaze, much like the one Lady Grantham used when she knew her daughter was up to something. “Why are you tied up in knots, Fin? What’s really going on here?”

  Fin dropped his head and banged his forehead lightly against the windowpane. Could he really admit to Tom that he held certain feelings toward his sister? Probably not. Not now, not yet. “She’s like a sister to me. It’s nothing more than brotherly concern.”

  “Well, she is a sister to me, and I can tell you that brotherly concern doesn’t run quite so deep.” Tom crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the back of the settee. “You fancy her, don’t you?”

  Fin remained very still. Damn, but he needed to stop wearing his bloody heart on his blasted sleeve. He stood up straight and stepped away from the window, but he still couldn’t meet Tom’s gaze. “I don’t know that I fancy her, per se. But I…I admit that perhaps I could fancy her, were the circumstances…er…” He had no idea what he was saying, but he was sure it didn’t make any sense.

  “Fin.” He looked up. Tom was grinning at him. “If you want to court my sist
er, you have my blessing.”

  Thank God he didn’t have to elaborate further. But even if he’d wanted to, he couldn’t have. The doctor walked in just then, a grave look on his face. Of course, doctors tended to have grave looks on their faces, no matter whether or not they were about to deliver good news or bad.

  Tom stood and addressed the doctor. “Is she going to be all right?”

  “Oh, yes, I should think so. The fever’s not so bad, just make sure you keep her cool and in bed.”

  “Is that all?” Fin couldn’t help but ask. “There’s nothing more we can do for her?”

  “I’m afraid not,” the portly man said. He looked at his watch fob and then slipped it back into his pocket. “Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve more patients to see today. Your sister will be fine, Mr. Barclay. Oh, and do send my regards to your parents, won’t you?”

  With that, the man was off, and Fin slumped back into his seat with a heavy sigh. “Well, thank God for that,” he said as all the tension of the day slowly drained from his body.

  “I’m going to go tell my parents what the doctor said. Will you be here when I return?”

  Fin shook his head. “I think I’ll go home and try to get some sleep. I didn’t sleep well at all last night.”

  Tom smiled. “No, I don’t imagine you did. Go home. I’ll send for you if there’s any change in her condition.”

  ***

  Victoria could hardly believe her luck. After two years of working at the hospital, she’d never come down with so much as a sniffle. And now, here she was, at a most crucial time, with far worse than a sniffle. Yet the only thing to be done about it was bed rest and cool cloths to her forehead. Damn. What was she to do about Caroline and Sally? And what would Sarah do without money to run the hospital? She had already fallen behind, thanks to Fin. She couldn’t afford to fall even further behind now.

  She tapped her finger to her cheek, trying to think of a way to a) get money and b) deliver it to the hospital and Caroline. Could she sneak out of the house before dawn tomorrow? Possibly. But truth be known, she felt rather peaked. She could barely lift her head off her pillow, let alone get herself to Southwark and back.

  With a sigh, she nestled deeper under the covers. She would think about it once she’d had a short rest. Perhaps a solution would find her in her sleep.

  ***

  Fin was awoken by frantic rapping on his front door. He rolled over and put his pillow over his head to block out the sound, but it didn’t work. Damn it, where was Simmons?

  “Simmons!” he called, refusing to leave his bed in order to ring the bell. For heaven’s sake, was the man going deaf? The infernal racket would have woken the dead.

  And then it occurred to him, as he came out of his sleepy haze, that perhaps it was about Victoria. Why else would someone be so frantically knocking on his door? Fueled by his panic, he slipped on his pants and shirt, and then raced down the stairs to the foyer. Simmons was still nowhere in sight. He could have been out on an errand, but it didn’t really matter now.

  Fin flung open the door, expecting to see Tom. Instead, he found a child. A small girl, perhaps six or seven, wearing an outfit of rags.

  “May I help you?” Fin asked slowly. Was she a beggar? And if so, why was she so desperate for him to answer the door?

  “Please, sir,” the little girl said. “I’m looking for this lady, but I can’t read. Took a good many strangers to help me find this street, but I didn’t know what door to knock on.”

  Fin took the small piece of paper from her and wasn’t at all surprised to see Victoria’s name and address. He looked down at the little girl. What possible business could she have with Victoria? “You’re very brave, knocking on doors at random.”

  “I’m desperate, sir.”

  “Well, I’m sorry to say that Victoria has taken ill.” The little girl’s eyes widened in panic, so Fin rushed to assure her that all would be fine. “No need to worry. She’ll be better soon. But for now, she’s not to have any visitors, especially little ones, such as yourself.”

  Tears welled in the little girl’s eyes.

  “Is there anything I might be able to help you with,” Fin ventured.

  “I’m not wanting to impose, sir. I only came because the miss said I could contact her if anything…if…”

  Fin bent down and made the girl look him in the eyes. “What is it? I’m here to help.”

  The child flung her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shirt collar. “It’s Mama. She won’t wake up. I did everything Miss Victoria told me to do, but I couldn’t save her.”

  Good Lord, what was she talking about? It didn’t matter, really, not right this moment. He could get answers from Victoria later. Right now he needed to figure out what had happened to the girl’s mother.

  “Where is your mother now?” he asked.

  “At home. In Southwark.”

  Ah, so that’s what she’d been doing in Southwark. But he still didn’t know why or how she knew this woman and her child. “Take me to her.”

  ***

  “There. We live just down that alley.”

  Fin peered down the darkened alley, praying to God this wasn’t some kind of trap. What if the girl was being used as a pawn in some kind of nefarious scheme to rob unarmed lords?

  He shook his head. His imagination was running away with him.

  He followed Sally down the alley to a door. She pushed it open and Fin had to duck to go through it into the small room. It was dark and musty, but fairly clean. Food was on the table and a pot of water hung over a low-burning fire in the grate. He had a feeling Victoria had a bit to do with all of that.

  Sally’s mother lay on a palette in the corner. Her skin was white and pasty, certainly the pallor of death. He went to the bedside and knelt down next to her. Under the blankets, he found her hand and pressed his thumb to her wrist. It pulsed.

  Fin released the breath he’d been holding and turned to the girl. “She’s still alive, Sally. I promise I will do everything in my power to keep her that way.”

  “Oh, thank you, sir!” Sally ran to him and hugged him about the waist. Fin patted her head, knowing he was doing the right thing.

  “You and your mother are going to come live with me until she is well again,” he told her.

  Sally gasped, her eyes alight with joy and tears. “You are most kind, sir!”

  Together, they put out the fire and gathered their few personal belongings before fin scooped up the woman and led Sally back to the carriage.

  His mind spun with confusion. Was this why Victoria robbed carriages? To take care of poor and sick people? And why? Why not ask her parents for the money or host a charity event? Was it really necessary to risk life and limb in the middle of the night in order to help those less fortunate?

  Sick or not, Victoria was going to explain all this to him immediately.

  Sixteen

  Victoria opened her eyes to find Fin standing beside her bed. She struggled to sit up, but Fin held up a hand to indicate she should stay where she was.

  “You need your rest,” he said. “I promise I won’t stay long.”

  “How did you get in here, anyhow?” she asked, bringing the covers up over her chest. Even that small amount of activity weakened her. She hated being ill.

  “Tom let me in. I told him I had something important to discuss with you, and he didn’t ask a single question, for which I am extremely grateful. I would have had a devil of a time explaining this to him.” He procured a small piece of parchment that bore her name and address.

  Victoria’s heartbeat quickened. “How did you get this?” she asked, her eyes fixed on the paper.

  “Sally brought it to me. She was looking for you, but found me instead.”

  “Oh, God.” She looked up at Fin. “Caroline?”

  Fin nodded. “The doctor is doing all he can, but it’s not certain that she’ll make it.”

  “Doctor? Do you mean to say that you’ve…?”
<
br />   “Well, I wasn’t about to stand by and watch a sweet girl like Sally become an orphan without at least trying to save her mother.” Victoria only stared up at him, so grateful that her friend had such a generous heart. “I brought them both home with me. Caroline has a much better chance of survival with constant care and a clean environment.”

  “I did the best I could,” Victoria said. “Sally and I scrubbed that little room until our backs ached and the skin nearly came off our fingers.”

  “I’ve no doubt of it.” Fin took her hand, and Victoria’s heart fluttered at the contact. It didn’t make a lot of sense. They’d touched plenty over the years. So why all of a sudden did it feel different? “Victoria, I understand now why you were in Southwark, and I suppose your work in Southwark had to do with your…nighttime profession, shall we say? It’s all very noble and honorable, but why don’t you just ask for the money to help Caroline and Sally?”

  It seemed he knew everything now, except for the part about the hospital. It didn’t make sense to try and keep it from him anymore. And frankly, she was far too tired and weak to fight with him. “Because it’s not just for Caroline and Sally. I didn’t even know about them until a few days ago, when I came upon Sally begging in the street.” She paused and took a breath. “I fund a hospital.”

  Victoria waited as her words sunk in. “You fund a hospital?”

  “That’s what I’ve been doing these past two years. When I tell Mama I’m going to visit Lady Hartswell, I’m really in Southwark helping Sarah and Molly run the place.”

  “You mean to say that you tend to the sick?”

  Victoria nodded. “I also foster relations with the undertaker.”

  Fin squinted at her, shaking his head, as if he didn’t know who she was anymore. “How did I miss all of this? I thought you were just being rebellious, running off without a word at the balls and parties, thumbing your nose at your parents. I never imagined…”

  Silence fell between them and Victoria wondered how this changed his opinion of her. Would it alter their relationship forever? And would that alteration be good or bad?