“Yes.” I slid off the bed and sat on the floor in front of him. “I can easily imagine how happy you were.”
“It didn’t last. That night, Lavinia was in a dark corner of the garden, fumbling with one of the foreigner guests of her father. The man attacked her, ripped part of her dress, and forced her. She escaped but stumbled into me, practically falling in my arms. I was holding her, trying to understand what had happened to her when her mother caught us. She thought I was the one who had attacked her daughter and in order to save Lavinia’s honour and mine, she demanded that I married Lavinia.”
“Why didn’t Lavinia tell the truth?” I tucked my feet under the skirt of my dressing gown.
“That night, Lavinia didn’t say anything at all. She kept shivering and gasping for air. I thought it was the shock and hoped that once her head cleared up, she would tell the truth. I was wrong. She searched my files in the bureau and discovered I was half incubus. She told me that unless I married her, she’d lie and say I attacked her. If the rumour reached her father, he wouldn’t simply give me the sack but hang me as well.”
Silence thickened. Only the sound of the clock in the other room resounded.
I waited for him to continue.
“When I confronted her, she said she didn’t want to create a diplomatic problem since the man she had been with was a dignitary of the Russian Empire, and if she mentioned his name, an international incident would’ve started. But when I refused to play the part of her betrothed, she threatened to go to her father and tell him I lost control and attacked her.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “I still don’t understand why she insisted in becoming your betrothed.”
“After the incident with that Russian, Lavinia wasn’t a virgin anymore. She wouldn’t be able to find a good match, and I came from a wealthy family. Being shunned by the society was her worst nightmare. With me as her husband, she could have the life and respect she wanted.” His tone sounded flat and resigned. “With her mother as a witness, I couldn’t stand a chance. Van Doren would never believe me. Lavinia’s mother promised to stay quiet about her daughter’s situation, that she wasn’t a virgin. So I resigned from the position as captain, worried about a scandal that could’ve troubled even Wayne.”
A tightness settled in my chest for him. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s done.” The finality of the statement rang harsh. “Besides, once Van Doren hears about what happened tonight, of me having claimed you, he might not want me to marry his daughter.”
“But you might lose your job.”
Evander scrubbed the back of his neck. “Better my job than my head.” A corner of his mouth curved up, but the smile lacked happiness.
“Evander.” I took his hand, and the bond between us gave a jolt of excitement. It wasn’t painful but not exactly pleasant either.
He stiffened. “Don’t worry about me.”
“Of course I worry about you.” And guilt was working its way through me because I’d doubted him. I went to withdraw my hand, but he trapped my fingers.
“About the claiming,” he said, so low I had to lean closer to hear him.
“Yes?”
“Do you realise that what Sirius said is true?”
“Which part? Sirius says a lot of things.”
His fingers squeezed mine gently. “If I see you with another man, I’ll lose control.”
“Oh.” I cleared my throat and shifted, somehow inching closer to him. “Do you mean I can’t work at De Luna House anymore?”
“No more Jean-Pierre.” His tone was acid.
A spiral of panic curled around me. My job, as despicable and humiliating as it might be to law-abiding citizens, was my freedom. “That’s how I sustain myself. It’s my only income. I can’t—”
He pressed a finger on my lips. “I can’t believe your future lies in that place. You’re too smart and strong to not find something else, and claiming aside, you deserve better than De Luna House. I was planning to help you leave that life, even before the claiming.”
The deep timbre of his voice was like a soft caress on my body. He slowly removed the finger, stroking my bottom lip in the process. The bond vibrated with hot pulses of need. My entire body was humming with pleasure, and I couldn’t tell him that, as generous as his offer was, I wasn’t going to be a lady of leisure. I wanted to earn my money.
“De Luna House is all I know,” I said, not without effort since the bond distracted me.
“That’s not true. I can help you find a job, give you new identification papers, help you obtain a qualification. You can be whoever you want.”
“I want to be with you.” The words came out unbidden before I could stop them, but the truth ringing in them shocked me to the core.
“My life is made of danger, Unnaturals, and conspiracies. You don’t want that.” Taking the tips of my fingers, he rose and hauled me up. “Good night, Asia.” He kissed the top of my head and moved towards the door, but I took his hand.
“Sleep with me, like the other time. Just sleep. I want to fall asleep in your arms.” Even the bond ordered it.
Colour drained from his face, but he nodded and opened his arms. “Come here.”
I didn’t hesitate and rushed to him. He gathered me in his arms and carried me to my bed, brushing my temple with his lips. After tucking me under the bedsheets, he wrapped himself around me, and I closed my eyes, the bond between us purring my chest.
Twenty-Three
WHEN I BLINKED my eyes open against a ray of sunlight kissing my face, Evander was gone. I stretched out an arm and touched the other side of the bed. The bedsheets were still warm, and his scent lingered in the air.
Sighing, I rolled on my back and stared at the ceiling. My body ached after last night’s fight, and nightmares with Bertie attacking me had tormented me all night. Every detail of his face, suit, and the bloody brougham had replayed in my mind dozens of times.
After having seen the incubus’s cursed carriage a few times and up-close, I’d memorised a detail that was nagging me. On the door, there was the mark of a crest, one of the family symbols aristocratic people loved to put on their carriages. The black paint was flaked around the silhouette, so the crest must’ve been on the door of Bertie’s brougham and then removed, maybe to make the carriage anonymous. But I remembered it. Every inch of it.
I jumped off the bed and paused when my bandaged foot touched the floor, but no pain came. The cream Evander had applied to the cut must’ve sealed it. Gingerly, I stood up and slid on a pair of slippers.
Using the paper and pencils in Evander’s office, I sketched the contours of the crest on a piece of paper. It was an oval circle with four spiky staffs coming out of it. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
I changed into my favourite blue dress that hugged my waist and breasts, making me feel taller. The thick fabric would keep me warm, and the bodice was soft and flexible. I braided my hair into a bun and went to open the door, but I bumped into Evander. The bond gave a lurch, not painful this time, but delicious.
“Where are you going?” we asked together.
“De Luna House,” I replied.
His gaze narrowed with suspicion. “For what reason?”
“The crest.” I waved the piece of paper.
“What are you talking about?”
As I recounted how I remembered the details of Bertie’s brougham, a chill seeped into my bones. The pain in my throat reminded just how close Bertie had been to kidnapping me.
Evander leaned against the doorframe. “And you want to go to the De Luna House because?”
“The girls know all these family crests and symbols. One of them might recognise this sketch.”
He studied the drawing and frowned. “I’m not an expert on family crests, but it’s worth a try. I’ll escort you.”
Deuced good idea.
In the cab, we sat so close his thigh brushed mine. Every time his leg touched m
e, a shot of energy travelled up my body, and the bond throbbed. I was getting used to the vibration in my chest.
I wriggled my reticule and cast a glance at him. “You left early this morning.”
Oh, dear, I sounded like a whiny wife, but I wanted to know if he’d slept with me or not.
“I had an early meeting with Jasper and Van Doren about what happened last night.”
I perked up. “How did it go?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know yet. Van Doren will decide after he receives the reports of the other agents.”
Saying ‘I’m sorry’ didn’t sound helpful, so I closed my hand around his. Big mistake. The shots of energy were now a full storm of lightning. His hand trembled underneath mine, and his waistcoat strained when inhaled.
He inched closer, gaze darkening. I tilted my head. My heart jolted when he brushed his lips against mine, and goodness, the bond spread illicit thoughts within me.
“We must be careful.” Evander kissed my cheek, jaw, and lips again.
“I am very careful.”
A chuckle rose from him, but it didn’t carry any joy. Inch by inch, he withdrew and slipped his hand from beneath mine. “I don’t have anything to offer to you. Not what you deserve. I’m engaged to a woman I don’t love and who’s blackmailing me. I’m the object of an inquiry at the bureau, and my future isn’t certain.”
“But you claimed me.”
“I can break the bond. In fact, I will as soon as we catch Bertie.”
But I didn’t want him to.
“May I ask you something?” He angled towards me.
“Of course.”
“How did you become a prostitute?”
I’d heard that question before, but Evander sounded concerned and genuinely interested in my story. Usually, when people asked me how I ended up working in a brother, there was amusement and scorn in their tone.
“I grew up in a children’s house. No one adopted me, though.” I wished my voice didn’t ring so whiny. I thought I’d overcome the bitterness of having been dismissed as inadequate by every potential parents in London. “At the age of thirteen, the ladies threw me out.”
“What?”
I gave a shrug. “They can’t feed all those mouths, and at thirteen, a child is considered old enough to earn his or her keep somewhere. I was alone with Charlotte. Together, we pilfered around, stealing wallets from gentlemen’s pockets and food from the market stalls. Now and then, we joined a gang, especially in winter. It’s easier to survive London if you are in a gang.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “It sounds harsh.”
“No. Living in a gang is manageable, compared to working for a pimp.” A quick shiver pebbled my skin as I remembered how many times Charlotte and I had escaped unwanted attentions. “In the best cases, men tried to recruit us as prostitutes. In the worst, they tried to force us. But stealing and searching for scraps of food don’t keep you alive for long. Prostitution offered more money, and we were lucky to meet Violet. She’s very picky. She chooses only the girls she thinks are beautiful.”
Sorrow slogged through the bond.
“So, your first time was in the brothel,” he said so low, I barely caught his words.
“Yes.” I rubbed my arms. “Violet found me a very nice client who paid a small fortune to be with me. He was young and handsome, but . . . I was scared. I’d seen what men did to prostitutes in the streets, and I fought hard to not cry.” My hands trembled at the memory. “The man was kind, but when he realised how scared I was, he became impatient. I cried for hours afterwards. After that, I learned to retreat to a special place in my mind when I was with a client. To put distance between the client and me.”
I hated the hurt and fear in my voice. Talking about my job was like opening the box where all my nightmares were kept. That was why I never talked about it, to protect my sanity.
Evander’s drew me to his embrace, pressing his lips on the top of my head. “I’m so sorry for what you endured.”
I closed my eyes, letting the sensation of being protected envelope me. How could he think about breaking the bond? It was thickening and growing stronger with each brush of his lip on my temple and cheek.
Slowly, he released me. I was about to protest when the cab rolled to a halt, and the driver told us we had arrived at De Luna House.
Evander offered me his hand when I exited the cab. I clung to him like a drowning woman. A sudden surge of panic rose. I didn’t want to break the bond between us, I didn’t want my memory to be cleansed, and I didn’t want to lose him.
“Don’t leave me,” I whispered, a few feet from De Luna House’s door. “You’re the only ray of sunshine in my life.”
I could’ve slapped him, judging by how he paled and flinched.
Colour returned on his cheeks. He put a hand over mine. “I will not leave you. No matter what happens, you can always count on me.”
It sounded like he was taking an oath, and its power reverberated inside me. We stood half hugging for a moment. Then I moved away from him.
“We’d better go now.”
In De Luna House, I put the piece of paper where I’d sketched the crest on the kitchen table. The other girls gathered round, throwing more than one glance at Evander standing behind me. Fanny yawned loudly. Celestia rubbed her red eyes as other girls stretched and drank coffee. Violet perched on a chair at the head of the table, every inch the madame of the house. Felicity sat next to her, keen gaze darting over Evander and me.
“Bonjour,” Fanny said, adjusting her dressing gown.
I arched a brow. “Do you speak French now?”
She giggled. “With you on a holiday, Jean-Pierre has become my regular jockey and insists with the bloody Frog language a lot.”
I wasn’t exactly on a holiday.
Fanny let out a sigh. “But the man knows how to kiss and even, dash it, his cock—”
Violet waved her into silence. “Why have you gathered us here?” she asked in her practical tone.
“I need your help.” I flattened the paper on the scarred table. “If this sketch was a family crest, would you recognise to which family it belonged?”
The girls bent closer, elbowing each other to take a look. Or to stay closer to Evander, I suspected. He backed a few feet, silent and serious like a bodyguard.
“It’s not much. It can be anything,” Fanny said, chewing her bottom lip.
“Still, it’s familiar.” Celestia twirled a long tendril of her blonde hair while frowning.
“Because every crest is like that,” Fanny rebuked. “They all have the same shield-like shape.”
“It’s not a crest.” Violet picked up the paper and examined it under the sunlight flooding the kitchen. Silence fell as she studied the sketch. “It’s the brand of the carriage. I recognise it because the coachmaker, the owner of Robinson & Tate, was my client once. Wait.” She marched towards the door.
The girls opened a path to let her pass.
My shoulders slumped. I’d thought to have found a clue. The incubus had simply bought a new carriage and scraped out the brand, not a family crest. How disappointing.
“Hullo there.” Celestia wiggled her fingers to Evander. “You’ve stolen our Asia for a while. Aren’t you interested in a couple of women for your dirty games?”
“Celestia,” I gritted out.
“What? He ain’t your husband. You can’t keep him for yourself.”
Evander smiled and bowed his head as if Celestia was a lady. “Thank you, but I am quite happy with Asia.”
His words hummed in my chest.
“Here.” Violet returned with a logbook. The pages were yellowed at the corners and the leather cover threadbare. A thud sounded when she dropped the tome on the table. “See?”
She showed me a picture of Felicity and her standing next to a brougham. A symbol with the names Robinson & Tate stood out in the middle of the door. It was a sun with pointed rays and
a crown on the top.
“At that time, five years ago,” Violet said, “Robison and Tate used to put their brand on the carriages. Then after a few clients complained that removing it to attach their family crest was particularly difficult, they didn’t put the brand anymore.”
“The symbol matches the sketch,” Evander said.
I groaned inwardly. “Yes, but there’s no chance that Robinson and Tate remember having sold that brougham then.”
Violet laughed. “You might be surprised. No one is more meticulous than Robinson, and Tate has an infallible memory. Ask them. Their workshop is barely a block away from here.”
Evander nodded. “It’s worth a try.”
Yes, because we didn’t have any other clue to follow. “All right.”
Among hugs from the girls and words of caution from Violet, Evander and I left the kitchen. When we were in the foyer, Violet hurried towards us.
“Wait.” She tipped her chin up, shooting a glare at Evander. “Asia, are you in trouble?”
Yes. “No. everything is fine.”
“You know you can tell me anything.”
“I know.” A wave of nostalgia overwhelmed me, and I hugged Violet.
She stiffened but patted my back. “Let him pay for your service,” she whispered in my ear. “Every penny. No fumble free of charge.”
Always thinking about money. I laughed. “I will.”
I left De Luna House with a heavy heart. My life had changed so much in the past weeks, I barely recognised it.
“Violet is very protective of you,” Evander said once in the cab.
“More worried about the money than me, but yes, she takes good care of the girls, for her own reasons, of course.”
The building of Robinson and Tate was an imposing two-storey brick structure with a door wide enough to let two carriages pass abreast. The acrid smell of paint singed my nostrils when Evander and I stepped into the busy workshop.
Thuds and noises echoed in the domed ceiling. Hammers smashed against wooden boards, and men’s chatter filled the background.
A man with grey peppering his dark hair strode towards us. His large moustache twitched, and his rounded glasses perched on the tip of his nose. “Can I help you?”
The Royal Occult Bureau Page 21