Page 98 of When a Lady Dares
“Good enough,” he agreed, quickly securing the dagger to his left calf with a leather strap.
He studied the message. Had Miss Beddingham penned the very note her killer used to lure him in? Quite fitting.
He went to Henry’s chamber. The young Scot remained pale, but his eyes had regained a bit of their spirit. Evidently, Fitzhugh’s whiskey elixir had taken an edge off his pain.
“I will return with a physician. In the meantime, I trust you’re in good hands with Fitzhugh.”
“Watch your back, Stanwyck.” Henry shifted against the pillow, letting out a groan. “And…kill the bastards.”
Chapter Thirty
The barrel of McNaughton’s revolver brushed Sophie’s flesh in a cruel threat. She held herself rigid, refusing to give in to her fear, but an instinctive flinch betrayed her. His eyes gleamed, excited at the prospect of her terror.
He’d backed her to the very edge of the stronghold’s tower. In her peripheral vision, she glimpsed the countryside beneath the turret. Steadying her breath, she pressed her palms against the sturdy brick parapet. Her mind raced, desperately seeking some means of defense. She could not let McNaughton force her over the edge. She’d have no chance of surviving such a brutal fall.
“Are you quite certain you won’t accept my proposition?” Lady Ellicott feigned a frown. “With Rebecca gone, I need someone with connections to keep me informed, to do little…favors…from time to time. The arrangement could prove exceedingly lucrative for you.” Amazing, how reasonable the woman sounded even though, clearly, she was mad.
“Rebecca is dead…Youhad her killed. Not the most promising of arrangements, I’d say,” Sophie argued.
“She could not be trusted. Far too emotional, what with her moping about overthat man. If she’d been motivated by the money, we could have retained our confidence in Rebecca, but the element of spite in her character was too strong. It was only a matter of time before she talked, if only to wound Campbell.”
“I will not agree to a deal with the devil.”
Lady Ellicott gave a little shrug. “Very well. I could spare you all of this unpleasantness. You wouldn’t even need to be here when we kill Stanwyck.”
“You do not have to kill him. He is not your enemy.”
“I cannot risk Stanwyck revealing what he’s learned. He is a threat to our plans, and as such, he’s left me no choice.” She sighed. “Miss Atherton, you have no idea who the enemy is in our world. There are forces you would never comprehend. Trask possessed a remarkable mystical talent. Such a tragedy he chose to squander it on parlor tricks and greed.”
“You attended his gatherings. You were there…with McNaughton and the men he killed.”
“Clever girl.” Lady Ellicott seemed genuinely pleased. “I do believe you would be an asset to us. I do hope you will reconsider before Mr. McNaughton loses patience. In any case, you are correct. I was impressed with his medium, the one who pretended to be Russian. As if anyone would believe her atrocious accent.”
“You are Beatrice…Beatrice Hathcock.” The pieces of the puzzle were forming a whole.
“Yes. I certainly could not attend Trask’s sittings without employing an alias. You recognize the significance of the name, don’t you?”
“You played that character on the stage.”
“Indeed. That role was my finest performance. I do miss the nights onstage, those glorious years before I married Alistair. Nowthatwas indeed a deal with the devil. My youth and my beauty, bartered to a clod of a man who’d been born to a title. But it will all be worth it in the end. Soon, with my help, Lord Ellicott will be the most powerful man in Britain. I will manipulate that power, and the dolt won’t even realize what is happening.”
“Did you kill those men? And Trask?”
“No.” She smiled. “Mr. McNaughton had that pleasure. Other than the one fellow—I truly regretted he had to be eliminated. McNaughton’s associates drugged him insensible and tossed him into the Thames.”
A rider on horseback approached from the east.Not Gavin, she silently prayed. Let him leave and go far from this place. She had known the danger going into this mission. She would endure her fate, without the pain of Gavin’s death to compound her own misery.
The steed galloped at a breakneck pace. And then, the hoofbeats stopped.
The thud of boots on the stairs announced the rider’s approach.
“It appears Professor Stanwyck has decided to join us. How very remarkable. I’d never taken him for a man who’d risk his neck for a woman.”
Shock washed over her. Had Lady Ellicott been one of Gavin’s paramours? The thought of him lying with this blackhearted woman sliced into her soul like a dull blade.
Steadying her breath, Sophie stripped the emotion from her voice. “You are acquainted with the man?”
“We were close…at one time.” Lady Ellicott’s eyes narrowed. “So, you’ve reformed him, have you?”
