Well, perhaps Eric truly was there but hadn’t said what she thought that he had said. Perhaps…
But from the way that he was looking earnestly at her, Charlene knew that she had heard the truth from his lips.
Her eyes stung with sudden tears as emotion welled up inside of her.
Then again, what did this change? Eric remained the Duke of Havenport, and even if her father’s record was expunged, there was no being rid of the rumors and muffled whispers. Their family’s reputation would never be the same again.
Charlene likely would not even be suffered to stay in London. She would need to return to Bath, to somewhere out in the countryside where she would never trouble anyone again.
Eric’s saying that he loved her changed nothing. It only gave her a glimpse of what she might have had, in another lifetime In fact, it made her more depressed, almost, to know what she could never hope to have.
She ducked her head, picking at that loose thread again. “Eric,” she sighed.
“I know,” Eric said, sounding pained. “It’s not the right time to say it. Not now. There’s too much else that’s happening. I couldn’t hold back any longer, though, Charlene. I’ve wanted to tell you that for too long.” He paused, and then even more quietly said: “I don’t want to lose you again.”
Charlene looked up at him. His gentle words were like a balm to her soul. For a moment, their statuses didn’t matter, nor did any of the rest of the world. It was just the two of them, and she felt love swell in her chest.
She loved him too. Truly.
Still, she held back the words. As he had said, now wasn’t the time to say them. Nor did she want him to think that the only reason she said that she loved him was because he had promised to help her family.
Instead, she gave him the smallest of smiles. “Thank you,” she said sincerely.
She was quiet for a long moment. The trouble was, the rest of the world did exist. No one would ever allow her to forget that Eric was a duke. And that meant that he had certain responsibilities.
A frown creased her brow. “Aren’t your people worried about you?” she asked.
Eric frowned, bitterness welling up inside of him. He had told her that he loved her, but all she could think of were the practicalities. He supposed that he couldn’t blame her. Her father’s jailing still weighed heavily on her spirit, and everything that had happened since only left a darker mark there.
He knew that there were plenty who would oppose their match. Hell, his own mother likely would. At the same time, he wished that there were some way that they could make things work between them.
Now wasn’t the time to be worrying about that, however. Now, he had to convince her to come back with him. They could talk about their futures later, once more of this was resolved.
“I’m sure my people are a little worried,” he allowed. “This is a dangerous case to be involved with. Just look at what happened last night.” He paused. “However, my people are those who have enough sense to see who is innocent and not to form terrible opinions about things which they know nothing about.”
Charlene gave him a crooked smile, but Eric could tell that she didn’t fully believe him. “You cannot mean to tell me that even your lady mother approves of your being here,” she said.
Eric sighed. “She isn’t thrilled,” he agreed. “But Charlene, none of the rumors matter to me. All that matters is that you’re safe. I need you to come home with me. I would be devastated if anything were to happen to you here.”
Charlene cocked her head to the side, considering. Slowly, she nodded. “I must admit that after last night, with Harvey…” She trailed off and shuddered. “My aunt will be livid.”
“I think your aunt will be relieved to have you home,” Eric told her. “Oh, I’m certain that she’ll give you quite the talk with regards to your absence. However, she has been worried about you.”
“She has?” Charlene asked. She supposed that should come as no surprise. After all, Aunt Helene had cared for her since she was a teenager and new to London.
Still, she had expected that in light of the rumors, and particularly in light of Charlene’s refusal to save Dr. Ellington by marrying Lord Ambrose, her aunt might think it just as well that Charlene was gone.
Lord Ambrose. The thought of that man still sent a shiver up Charlene’s spine. She was certain that she would have to see the man again, and she knew he would be angry. He would feel as though she had publicly scorned him, in light of his being thrown out of the case against her father.
But Eric would be by her side the whole time. Through the trial and, it sounded like, beyond.
She squared her shoulders. She had never been one to shy away from anything. Of course, the difference between this and a trip into Raven’s Hollow was that here, she had no idea what dangers lay ahead of her.
She knew Raven’s Hollow well, all those years ago. She knew the beasts, and she knew the paths that crisscrossed the wood.
Returning to her aunt’s home and facing whatever savage fate awaited, well. She simply had no idea what would happen. Suddenly, though, she realized that she needn’t fear.
All those years ago, she had saved Eric from hazards that she knew better than he. Perhaps this truly was fair turnabout, and this time, he would save her from hazards of society that he understood better than she did.
“I will go back with you,” she finally said.
Eric’s smile made her feel certain that she had made the correct decision. It sent warmth pooling inside of her, banishing the last of her fears. “Good,” he said. “I’m sure your aunt is anxious to see you. In fact, according to my men, she came to my manor the other day to talk with me, no doubt about your disappearance and your father’s trial. We shouldn’t delay.”
Chapter 35
Mr. Harvey Parsons
Harvey couldn’t believe how things had gone with that witch. It should have been an easy matter to subdue her and to have his way with her. What sorcery had she used to escape?
He knew that he had been stupid trying to take her right there in the alleyway, especially with the way that she was screaming and carrying on. He ought to have dragged her straight to a brothel, where such screams were ignored.
He hadn’t been able to deny himself the thrill of having her out on the street where anyone could see him defile her, though. Besides, it was generally frowned upon to leave dead bodies in brothels, whereas dead bodies on the streets were relatively commonplace.
In the lead-up to the attack, Harvey had decided that he didn’t care who knew that he had killed the woman. Let her father find out about her death, just before his trial.
Let that be the last thing that he knew on this earth: that not only had he been convicted of a crime that he hadn’t committed, he had also failed to protect his daughter.
Harvey quite liked the idea of that.
Of course, then the she-devil had gone and summoned up some demon to fight him.
Harvey had had no choice but to run. As much as he wanted to spoil the woman and murder her, he had no wish to put his body in any real danger. He would find some other way to get to the woman.
After all, she seemed to keep putting herself into increasingly foolish situations. Running to Whitechapel on her own? What did the woman think that she was doing?
Only it was obvious to Harvey: the woman wasn’t thinking at all. She wasn’t a truly rational being, not like Harvey. That meant it would be all too easy for Harvey to outwit her again, and to overcome her defenses next time.
This time, however, he would let her go. He had no doubt that the girl’s unexpected savior would go to the police. Harvey was no stranger to lying low, though.
Besides, the police would only look for him for a day or two at most. They wouldn’t look very hard, either. Women in these parts were assaulted all the time. What Harvey had done to Miss Ellington was far less than the authorities would bother themselves about.
After all, she was still alive. Ha
rvey hadn’t even managed to spoil her sweet pussy.
He was turned away from two inns that didn’t like the look of the scratches that bitch had given him, or the purpling on his face that the bitch’s demon had given him.
No one wanted any trouble, and they were apparently certain that Harvey meant trouble.
He didn’t care. He spat in the faces of those who were too dim-witted to guess at even half of the crimes he had committed. Then, he set off to find better lodgings.
However, it was while he was on his way to the next of the inns that he knew when he became distinctly aware of the fact that he was being followed.
He tried not to seem too worried as he continued walking. No doubt some con artist who thought Harvey had something to spare. Harvey would kill the thief if the man tried to rob him.
He felt like killing everyone in the whole damn city at the moment. But he cautioned himself to patience. He couldn’t kill them all in a night. Best to start with his true targets, such as Miss Ellington. Once he finished with her, he could make plans for the rest of the cretins.
Whoever had been following him disappeared not long after Harvey glanced threateningly back over his shoulder. A coward, then. Harvey wasn’t surprised.
Most men were cowards, Harvey had long-since decided. Most men went their whole lives just hoping that things would happen in their favor, that some prayer to the gods would be answered.
But when the time came to actually do anything about whatever it was that they wanted, they did nothing. They sat by scared of the consequences of acting. They kept with their usual routines.
Harvey wanted to shake the lot of them. To yell at them to wake up and act like men.
Men weren’t afraid to act. Men did whatever they wanted, the consequences be damned.
It was why Harvey hadn’t been worried when Lord Ambrose came to him with his request. In fact, he had sneered at the lord. Here was a lord, a peer of the realm, and Harvey intrinsically had more power than the man.
Lord Ambrose thought that his power lay in commanding other men to do his dirty work, but he was wrong. Those commands showed nothing but his cowardice.
It was why Harvey could not truly bring himself to be worried about the Lord’s command that he have nothing further to do with the Ellington family.
He didn’t need to lie low. There was nothing that Lord Ambrose could do to punish him. Harvey was stronger than that soft-handed nobleman would ever be.
Secure in his place in the world, Harvey finally found an inn that was willing to take him in for the night. Harvey settled his things into his room. He knew that he ought to stay in there for the night. The guard could be looking for him.
He decided to throw caution to the wind, however. Just one beer. If he didn’t say anything about tonight’s actions, no one would be any the wiser for his role in them.
If he had managed to get away with poisoning Lord Henrich for this long, then surely he could get away with a little rough play with the daughter. Especially since nothing ill had come of it.
He went downstairs and ordered a beer brought to him. The innkeeper’s daughter had a lush bosom and ample behind. Perhaps Harvey could charm her into his bed tonight to slake the lust that Miss Ellington had wakened in him.
He sipped at his beer, watching the young woman. He frowned as a man dropped into the seat across from him. “Excuse me, I am not interested in company,” Harvey snapped.
“Neither am I,” the man said, lifting a beer to his lips.
Harvey stared at him, wondering why the man was still sitting there. Would a well-placed brag get him to leave?
The innkeeper’s daughter would turn her attention to someone else for the night, and Harvey’s chance would be lost.
“You know, I could get any bitch in this town to go to bed with me,” he finally boasted, hoping that that would make his intentions clear.
“Could you now?” the other man said, looking curious.
Harvey fought the urge to roll his eyes. This man was no more a man than Lord Ambrose was. Lord Ambrose wouldn’t kill on his own, but here was yet another man who wouldn’t just take what he wanted.
Harvey leered at the other man. “Are you frightened of the fairer sex?” he couldn’t resist saying mockingly. “What harm could they ever do to you, even if they weren’t interested? All you must do is persuade them that they are interested.”
“Persuade by what means?” the other man asked, his eyes glinting with interest.
“By whatever means one must,” Harvey chuckled. He was beginning to realize that it was no wonder that the man did not understand. He must be simple of mind.
It lured Harvey into a false sense of comfort.
“You know,” he said, “I used to have women come to me all the time in my time as a physician.”
Harvey had never truly been a physician, but he would have become one if it hadn’t been for that meddling Dr. Ellington.
Now that the other man was surely doomed – and there were rumors that the trial would start again in the morning – Harvey thought he deserved the right to assume the doctor’s title.
“Yes, but they came for medicines, did they not?” the other man asked, looking confused.
Harvey smiled enigmatically. “It is very easy to make a woman forget the real purpose of her visit,” he explained. “In fact, it is easy enough to make a woman forget that which she most cares about.”
He thought about Miss Ellington, who was so upset with the ton that she ran off here, to the outer reaches of London, just so that she could escape them. She seemed to have forgotten that the further she was from her father, the more incriminating the evidence appeared to be.
Miss Ellington appeared to have gone into hiding out of shame. Harvey was amused by that.
“It is all too easy to master a woman,” Harvey mused. “For they act on only their emotions and no sense.”
“The same might be said for a man, might it not?” the other man asked cautiously.
Harvey grinned maliciously at him. “I suppose one might say that,” he allowed. “Or at least, one might say that of the typical man. There are others who transcend.”
“The priests?” the man asked.
Harvey laughed. “Oh my foolish man, of course I don’t mean the priests,” he said sneeringly. “In fact, the priests may be the least transcendent of them all!”
“How do you mean?”
Harvey did roll his eyes at that. Truly a simpleton.
“Most men do act simply on their emotions and their desires,” Harvey explained slowly. “But the man who is truly a man has a plan, and everything that he does fits into that plan.”
He had executed his own plan quite nicely, Harvey thought. It would make a good example.
“Suppose this,” he said. “There was a man once who wronged me in the medical profession, I won’t name any names. He interfered with my ability to work, all for his own personal gain.”
“What did you do?” the man asked curiously.
“I formulated my plan,” Harvey said simply. “One day, I would destroy that man, and his daughter as well. Of course, I needed to wait until the timing was right.
“But one day, just such an opportunity came to me, in the form of a man who needed someone killed. This someone had connections with the very same man who had once wronged me, and it was only too easy for me to ensure that he, not I, was the one convicted for the original murder.”
Harvey paused, taking a sip of his beer while he gauged the other man’s reaction. The poor simpleton was hanging off his every word.
“But that wasn’t quite enough,” Harvey continued. “For this man who once wronged me, he had a daughter. A lovely little thing. Genteel. And what more perfect addition to my revenge than wronging her in turn?”
He smiled and sat back, thinking warmly of how it would feel to serve her the justice that she deserved. “She will be mine. To right the wrong that was done to me.”
The other man’s brow
furrowed as he gestured towards Harvey’s hand. “It was no alleycat who did that to you,” he said slowly. “Was it the girl?”
Harvey laughed. “Yes, it was the girl,” he said. “She had not yet realized how powerless she is. She believes that she can still win her way free. But a true man does not let a woman made decisions.”
Harvey didn’t notice the surreptitious movement that the other man made to his colleague. The next thing he knew, the table was surrounded with guards, however.
That was when he started to worry, just the slightest, niggling doubt that he had made a miscalculation. Still, he tried to remain cool and unconcerned.
A Wicked Scandal For The Bluestocking (Steamy Historical Regency) Page 25