Page 16 of Lady Gambit
Miss Darrow was waiting in the corridor. “Mr Chance stormed through the shop without saying a word. I believe he’s sulking outside on the pavement.”
“Pay him no mind.” She took a moment to embrace Miss Darrow. “He’s never annoyed for long. Despite his volatile reaction, Theo is a loving brother. He worries about me. That’s all.”
“Men and their pride. He’s lucky you were here. Mr Flynn can kill a man with his bare hands but would never brawl in front of a lady.”
The mention of Mr Flynn brought a wave of guilt. “Will you send word to him? Offer another apology for what occurred today. It was foolish to think I could keep my brothers in the dark.”
Miss Darrow gripped Delphine’s hand. “Of course.”
“I shall see you next week at two o’clock.”
The modiste hurried to open the shop door. “I doubt I’ll be welcome to tea, but I’m sure we’ll have much to discuss at your appointment.”
“I shall be here promptly at two.”
Miss Darrow was her only friend. She would wage war with her brothers rather than find a new modiste.
Theo was pacing in a bid to cool his temper. He threw the modiste a disapproving glare before opening the carriage door. “It’s one thing to keep a confidence. It’s another to trick a man into believing a lie.”
Delphine might have spoken up, but two burly men dressed in black appeared on the pavement behind Theo. A beast of a fellow stepped around the front of the carriage, a pistol in each hand, his mouth a menacing sneer.
He cocked the hammers simultaneously and aimed one muzzle at their coachman, Godby. “Move a muscle, and I’ll put a lead ball in your chest.”
Theo stiffened and stepped forward to shield her. “I suggest you move along. You’ve picked the wrong person to rob.” He spoke in a sabre-sharp tone that would make anyone consider their position. “You have until the count of three. Don’t let me find you standing there. You’ll not get a second warning.”
The fiend grinned. “Give me the girl, and no one will get hurt.”
Theo transformed from angel to demon in an instant. Gone was the inviting smile that made ladies’ hearts flutter. His eyes turned ice blue, cold and dangerously chilling. His face twisted into a grotesque mask of the devil’s own making. “Who sent you? Tindell? Meldrum? Whichever fool hired you, I’ll triple the fee.”
“Give me the girl, or I’ll shoot you where you stand.”
Though fear had her heart thumping hard in her chest, she gripped Theo’s arm. “I shall go with him.” If the villain wanted her dead, he would have shot her already. He certainly had no issue waving a weapon in broad daylight. And the distraction might give Godby and her brother time to disarm him. “Let me go, Theo.”
“Over my dead body,” her brother cried.
That’s when the blackguard fired a shot.
That’s when her beloved brother collapsed to the pavement.
When her world came crashing to the ground.
Chapter Four
The loud crack of pistol fire was unmistakable. A woman’s ear-piercing scream rent the air. Not any woman. Dorian would stake his life Delphine Chance was in trouble. Panic seared through his chest. Without thought, he instructed his coachman to wait on Water Lane, then took to his heels and sprinted the short distance to Miss Darrow’s shop.
He saw Miss Chance crouched on the pavement beside her brother’s lifeless body, shaking him and begging him to wake. A thug had a pistol trained on their coachman. Two other rogues loomed over her. One grabbed her arm roughly and yanked her to her feet.
“Let go of me,” she cried, swinging around and punching the beast squarely on the jaw. “You monster. I’ll see you hanged for this.”
Miss Darrow burst out of the modiste’s shop, wielding an iron skillet. She struck the other fiend, whacking him on the shoulder and back while calling to the crowd to intervene. Some onlookers hid in shop doorways while others fled. Amid the chaos, the armed thug didn’t know where to aim his pistol.
Dorian covered the distance quickly, kicking the blackguard to the ground to prevent him from shooting Miss Chance.
The devil scrambled to his feet, and the men took flight, barging through the few bystanders who were too craven to offer help.
Miss Chance fell to the pavement again, crying and stroking her brother’s cheek. “Theo? Can you hear me? Don’t die. Please don’t die.”
“Move aside, Miss Chance. Allow me to check for a pulse.” Dorian crouched beside her and pressed his fingers to Theodore’s neck. The weak pounding brought a sigh of relief. “He’s alive. We need a physician. He’s been shot in the shoulder. We must remove the lead and stitch the wound. Miss Darrow, fetch a needle and thread.”
