by Anne Mallory
“Take?” She sputtered indignantly. “I got lost—”
“You’re telling me that you accidentally ended up in St. John’s room after conveniently seeing that he and I were occupied? Is that your story?”
“Yes, it was an accident, and no, there was no ‘conveniently’ about it. “
“You asked for my help, but I wonder if this isn’t all some elaborate ploy in your grand theft scheme.”
“No! How can you say that? I’m here because you invited me here tonight, not the other way around.”
“You dishonored our agreement. You agreed to stop your illegal activities.”
“Yes, as soon as our plan is set into motion. But it hasn’t yet begun.” Her voice rose marginally.
“So now you are arguing semantics? You know damn well what I thought. Why should I trust you now?”
“My word is good.”
“You haven’t proven that to me yet.”
“Damn it, this plan was put in motion long before our agreement.”
Stephen latched on to the statement. “What was in motion? What are you doing?”
“Nothing!”
“For once, can’t you be honest with me? Even when you are caught, you continue to lie.”
Audrey was horrified to feel tears prick the back of her eyes. “I—, I—, I can’t.”
His eyes softened a bit, and he stepped forward. The look in his eyes further pricked her tears, and I she felt herself stepping forward too.
Loud voices travelled down the hall and stopped just outside of the door.
“Hurry.”
Stephen grabbed her, opened the wardrobe, and threw her inside. The tears instantly transformed into panic. “Stephen, no, wait-“
He flung himself inside and pulled the doors closed just as the door to the room opened.
She was trapped. The walls were too close, too close.
“No, no, I can’t breathe,” she gasped.
Why wouldn’t anyone help her? Couldn’t anyone hear her scream? No one to help you, no one to ever help …
Audrey was making confusing sounds. Her voice was barely a squeak.
But with two people standing outside their hiding place Stephen couldn’t take the chance of their being discovered.
He reached out a hand in warning as she continued to mutter incoherently She was cold and trembling. Stephen had the feeling that if he could see her eyes, they’d be glazed over. He gathered her into his arms. She shivered and whispered “breathe” against his shoulder. Time stood still.
He lost track of what was happening outside the wardrobe until she relaxed against him.
“Oh, that feels wonderful,” a female voice sighed.
Stephen nearly groaned. St. John had taken no time in bringing one of the willing women to his room. He just hoped they were quick.
The noises from the bed amplified as the woman explicitly told St. John what she wanted him to do. No docile miss there.
Audrey’s arms twined around his neck, and she pressed herself against him. His body reacted from the contact. Nothing like some good old-fashioned torment to cap the day He massaged her back, making low, soothing noises. There was no way the boisterous couple was going to hear them even if he and Audrey started chatting about the weather.
“Yes! St. John, more!” The four-poster bed was bouncing and slamming as it connected with the wall.
A cramp formed in Stephen’s neck from bending over. Audrey’s mouth pressed against the hollow at the base of his throat, and the cramp moved south. Her lips trailed the pulse at the side of his neck, then up and under his chin. Every part of his body and brain was on alert. He was already hunched over in the small space, and he only had to lower his head an inch to claim her lips.
His lips descended to meet hers. The first light kiss blazed into an inferno as their mouths fused. The smooth texture of her lips and her eager movements were driving him crazy. He lifted his hands to her nape and tried to be gentle. He wanted to devour her.
“Oh, yes, oh, more.”
The voice was a cry inside his head and outside the wardrobe. Audrey’s hands moved down his shirt and his moved down her back. The cries became incessant. Each word was punctuated with a bounce of the bed off the wall.
“My gads! Oh! This … is … the …” The woman sang a little note. It broke through the haze of sex that was descending upon Stephen, and he buried his face in Audrey’s hair to stifle the urge to continue. Her hair smelled of jasmine. He had to again remind himself not to take her in the wardrobe while another couple lay just outside.
The rustle of skirts and laughter penetrated the silence that had descended.
“Again?” A voice twittered.
Stephen felt like banging his head against the door. He willed St. John to leave. It was probably a waste of mental energy, but he was going to go mad if he had to stay in the wardrobe with Audrey’s soft curves molded against him. To his surprise, the viscount said something in a voice too low for him to hear, but the woman twittered again, and Stephen heard their footsteps leaving the room.
Stephen sent up a silent prayer of thanks.
Seconds after he heard the room door close he tentatively opened the wardrobe. The room was empty. He stepped out and drew Audrey after him.
Her eyes were wary, but there was something else there. Something positive.
She smoothed her hands down her costume and pinned some fallen tendrils of hair. When she spoke, her words were directed to his shoes.
“Thank you.”
He lifted her chin and stroked her cheek. “We’ll talk later.”
She nodded, and they headed for the door. No one was in the hall. He relocked the door, took her hand, and they descended the staircase to rejoin the party.
Travers was standing at the bottom of the stairs, but merely inclined his head and walked away. Stephen clenched his fist. He would deal with that ego-driven bastard just as he had in the past.
But first he had to figure out what was going on.
Chapter 10
Audrey checked herself. Her panic had subsided, but the wild emotional remnants remained. Ever since being thrown into that rat-infested prison, she had troubles with dark, confined spaces.
Chalmers had calmed her down. Helped her get through the blind terror.
She owed him, yet when the time came, she would be forced to betray him. Audrey looked at the marble floor tiles. Never had she abhorred her life more.
“Audrey?”
She looked up. “Yes?”
“I’m going to get you a glass of champagne.”
Anguish flowed through her at his kindness. “Thank you.”
Stephen walked toward the refreshment area, and Audrey saw Travers watching her from the veranda. She walked toward him. Might as well get part of this mad mess over with. She made a display of showing him her quiver as she removed the papers.
He turned and shoved them into his jacket.
She was feeling maudlin and sarcastic. “No ‘Good job, Audrey’? ‘Nice work getting those documents’? Or, ‘How are you tonight, Audrey dear?’ ”
Travers turned and yanked her closer. He gripped her wrist in the same spot he had previously marked. “What are you doing with him?”
Audrey tried to pull away without creating a scene. A few couples were sauntering along the terrace and into the gardens. “It’s a long story, you ass. Now let me go.”
Travers narrowed his eyes. “You had better be nice to me. I’m the only thing standing between you and a dank cell. Chalmers will never help you.”
He looked over her head and dropped her wrist. Audrey followed his gaze.
Stephen was moving swiftly and purposefully toward them. He shoved a man out of his way. Fury painted his features.
Travers gave a mocking little bow, but anger seethed from him. “This is your fault. Stay away from him or your sister will suffer the consequences.” He slipped into the garden hedges.
“Where is he? Is he i
n the garden?” Stephen made to move past her, and Audrey had to put a restraining hand on his forearm. His eyes connected with hers, and she felt a rush. He really was acting like her rescuer.
She snatched her hand back, scorched. “He’s gone. It was nothing.”
“Nothing, eh?” His eyes scanned the bushes before returning to hers. His voice was edged with steel. “What is Henry Travers to you?”
She wanted to say A monster, a jailer and a cruel-hearted bastard, but instead said, “A garden pest, nothing more.”
“You have a past with him.”
“No. We are only recently acquainted. But to cut him would be rude.”
Stephen’s eyes narrowed. “Since when have you cared about being rude?”
Audrey shrugged, still feeling tense. “Wearing a gown makes me feel nicer.”
He stepped back and looked her up and down. “Me too.”
“Wearing a gown makes you feel nicer?”
“Only if you are in it too.”
She fanned her suddenly warm cheeks. There was nothing to be done about Travers at the moment. Her secrets were unraveling at an alarming rate. “Would you care to go inside?”
Stephen scanned the dark foliage one last time, then offered his arm.
The action had become a bit rowdier inside. The attendees were feeling the effects of the free-flowing spirits. A knight lurched toward Audrey as one armored kneecap tangled in the other. Stephen plucked her out of the way, and the knight went crashing to the parquet floor.
The knight grabbed the hem of her dress and awkwardly pulled himself to his knees. Audrey tried to snatch the material from his hands, but the man swayed and lifted the hem from the floor, attempting to peer beneath. A startled gasp escaped her as she whacked him on his uncovered head. He thumped to the floor.
Stephen chuckled and pulled her through the crowd. The onlookers lost interest in the drama and left the knight prone on the floor.
Stephen was still laughing when they reached the front door. “You looked so outraged. And at a debauched party, no less.”
“He was trying to peer up my dress!”
“I’m sure he will have sweet dreams of it.”
His eyes were still warm as they glanced over her in that familiar way.
She suddenly felt emboldened.
Audrey lightly tapped him on the arm. “Sweet dreams, you think?”
Surprise shone briefly in his eyes before he moved closer. “Definitely.”
“How can you be sure when the theory hasn’t been tested?” Dear Lord.
She was flirting with him. The rush of emotions over the past hour must have muddled her mind.
He considered her. He started to respond, when Liddendock interrupted.
“Off so soon, Marston?”
“Afraid so.”
Liddendock gave her a waggle of his thin brows.
“She must be something special to take you away so early. Looking forward to better making your acquaintance, madam. Perhaps another day?”
Audrey leaned into Stephen, and he put an arm around her waist.
“Mmmmm, perhaps.”
Liddendock leered. “Capital. Night then.”
Stephen and Audrey escaped through the front door and waited for the carriage to be brought round.
As soon as it arrived Stephen helped her inside. Audrey checked the window shade to make sure it was still cracked open a bit.
“How long have you been scared?”
The muscles in her back tightened. “I’m not scared.”
“Is it dark spaces or cramped spaces?”
She pressed her lips together, but there was no denying it. “Small, dark spaces.”
“And yet you still find the nerve to crawl about other people’s rooms.
Rooms you’re unfamiliar with. Rooms usually dark and airless.”
“Don’t patronize me, Chalmers. I do what I must.”
“I’m not patronizing you, Audrey. I’m amazed is all. I’ve known fierce men who won’t do what you do after experiencing a time in the hold or a cell.”
She jerked her head. “This is a childhood ailment.”
Her eyes had adjusted to the dark and she could see him shake his head.
“No. If it were a childhood problem, you would have either overcome it or you would not put yourself in situations that would cause it to occur.”
“Maybe I enjoy discomfort.”
“Maybe. And maybe you are desperate.”
Audrey snorted. “I’m desperate, all right. Desperate for this carriage to stop so I can vacate it.”
“When did it happen?”
“I became desperate about two minutes past.”
He ignored her comment. “Did you get accidentally locked in? You can’t have been in jail, I would have heard of it. And it is hard to imagine someone keeping you locked up.”
Bitterness swept through her. You couldn’t hear about something if a false name was used. “Yeah, I was accidentally locked inside a storage shed.”
Silence met her statement.
She yanked the shade all the way down. She was horrified to feel weepy.
Stephen’s voice was soft. “Where did they hold you?”
“Oh, stuff it, Chalmers.” She leaned her head against the back of the cushion. His understanding tone was giving her a headache and prompting waterworks in her eyes.
“Tell me, Audrey.”
The soothing voice of temptation.
“Newgate.”
“Oh, Audrey.” He sighed. “Why do you do it? Why do you break the law?”
Emotion boiled in her. Hatred for Travers, loathing for Maddox, anger at Flanagan, irritation at Faye, resentment of Stephen. “What do you mean,
‘why’? I’m a thief. It’s what I do. What I was trained to do. It’s all well and good that you can raise yourself on your moral pedestal, but some of us have to worry about where the next meal will come from and where we will sleep.”
Stephen’s voice lost some of its nectar. “Come now. You don’t expect me to fall for that old song? You probably have more money stashed away than l do. I have it on good authority that you’ve stolen enough to be quite wealthy.”
Her lips tightened, and her face went white. “You have all the answers, Chalmers, don’t you? Why bother asking any questions?”
“So, you’re telling me that you can’t do anything else?”
“What’s it to you, anyway? Take your power and title and go play with your friends in Parliament. Go make up rules for the rest of us, while you remain above them all.”
“So you’ve lumped us all together in the same pot and called us stew?”
Her eyes narrowed, but she held silent.
“I’ll tell you what my problem is. When I was eleven my parents were killed by street thugs. They were left to die in the gutter. Murdered for fifteen pounds. And the villains ran free, escaping into the maze of the Seven Dials.” His tone was conversational, but a steel edge lay beneath.
“That’s a good story, Chalmers.” Pride and bitterness held her straight. “I suppose you hunted them down and punished them justly once you were old enough.”
“Yes, I did.” His voice was soft again, but cold.
“Thus began Stephen Chalmers’s great vendetta against the rogues of society. The wretches in the gutter. The beggars on the street.”
He didn’t answer.
“And what type of stew are we?”
He turned to the window, tugging the shade up. “Lawbreakers.”
“Ah, so the woman who steals a loaf of bread to feed her hungry son, should she be thrown into Newgate?”
He shook his head, but didn’t turn back. “What about the baker she has stolen the bread from? What about his family? Or maybe he is wealthy?
Does that make it better? Easier? I would give her the bread myself. But stealing is against the law, and laws are in place for a reason, Audrey.
Society is a pact between its members.”
“Well I didn’t sign up for this society. Where was my say?” Her face was hot. Her palms hurt from her nails digging into them.
He pushed away from the window and looked at her for a long moment, then sighed and reached forward to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Yes, where is your say? Would you value it even if you had it? It’s hard being responsible, so much easier to be a member trotting along.”
She didn’t pull away. She wanted to lean closer. Even through all the anger, all the pain, she desperately wanted to lean closer. “Only if you are a valued member.”
“Yes.”
He pulled her onto his seat, and she didn’t protest. She was running across a ragged rooftop, and if he were to let go, she would surely fall. As long as he held on she was safe.
He smoothed her hair. “I’m sorry you were in prison.”
A tear slipped from her eye. She was thankful he couldn’t see it. “Thank you.”
He lifted her chin and kissed her. Gently this time, unlike the frenzy of the kiss in the wardrobe. His lips softly pulling hers. Coaxing them open.
Something blossomed inside her chest. Like she had raced across London, but without the associated pain.
His hand was gentle on her neck. Skimming and stroking the area where her neck met her hair. Her whole body relaxed against his. Stephen could wash away the pain. He could keep her warm. Always.
She broke contact and rested her head against his shoulder. He rubbed her arm, as if understanding her need for withdrawal. His action only made her feel more alone.
She needed some perspective. There would be no always. Not with this man. She needed him to save Faye. She could not risk needing him for more. The plan was straightforward. In the end she could have no relationship with Stephen other than one of cat to mouse.
Their path was clear as day. She needed to get her head out of the soft, comforting clouds that were muddling it.
The carriage pulled into the drive and in front of his house. Stephen offered his arm, and they walked into the house. It felt good to be back on sturdy ground.