Page 12 of An Unbending Lady for the Desperate Earl
He noted a hint of disapproval in her tone. He had yet to hear of her own station in life, aside from her investigative endeavors, but he sensed that she was not of wealth or status. Indeed, he imagined she frowned upon individuals such as himself, who enjoyed an easier sort of life to those in the poorer districts of the city.
“That does make a great deal of sense, though I am loathed to admit it,” Christian replied. “There are staff awake at all hours of the night, and if an unknown cart had trundled onto the street where Lady Helena lives, any number of people would have thought it odd.”
“Precisely.” Victoria smiled. An enchanting expression that he had not expected to see. It morphed her features into something altogether pleasant, though he realized he shouldn’t be thinking so, at such a time as this.
“Which is why we have come to you,” Admiral Thomson interjected. “You are of high society. You know those who move in your circles. And we are interested to hear of any peculiar activities in the male contingent, that may lead us toward potential suspects.”
“There is something you should know, first.” Christian focused on the Admiral, so he would not be distracted by Victoria’s impossibly dark, enigmatic eyes. “I heard whisperings after those first two ladies were taken—the ones who were kidnapped from their carriages.”
“You did?” Victoria edged forward on her seat.
He nodded. “According to the chaperones who accompanied the ladies, there were two men who accosted their carriage. They were rendered unconscious in the ensuing kidnapping, but they firmly remembered there being two voices, and two black-clad men.”
“Two?” Victoria and the Admiral chorused together.
“Yes, two. Although, I did not read of there being a duo in the papers. Whether the police saw fit to keep that out of the news, or whether they simply did not do enough investigating, I am uncertain. Perhaps, the chaperones were too afraid to say anything to them, in case those men happened to return to silence them. Either way, there were definitely two men involved.”
The Admiral clicked his tongue. “We thought that might be the case, didn’t we?” He glanced at Victoria. “It would be exceedingly difficult for one individual to work alone on so complex a plot. Two would be simpler. One to execute the kidnapping, one to execute the escape.”
“I do believe you may be right,” Christian agreed.
“Do you know where these chaperones are, at this present moment?” Victoria fixed her disarming gaze on him. He hadn’t noticed so much on their initial meeting, but she looked very fair indeed. Small featured, with an ethereal aspect to her entire demeanor—some might have considered her to be odd-looking, but Christian didn’t. He enjoyed the unusual qualities to her face, for it made a change to the traditionally pretty socialites he usually encountered.
Christian nodded. “I do, Miss Victoria.”
“Will you take us to them?” the Admiral asked.
“Of course. The Duchess has permitted you to pursue her daughter’s case, and I will do everything within my power to assist you. Any resources you may require, any names or addresses you may want, I will acquire them for you. On one condition.” He let his words linger in the air. Victoria’s face hardened for a second, evidently wary of what he might request.
“Go on…” Victoria urged.
“You allow me to come with you, in everything you do. Lady Helena is my betrothed, and I want to be there when you find her. And I possess skills of my own, earned in the military. I can be of use to you, but you must allow me to be.” He thought he saw a flicker of amusement in Victoria’s eyes. Truly, he had never met anyone who could make him feel so vulnerable and unimportant. But it gave him an odd compulsion to win her over; to prove that he was not vulnerable or unimportant.
The Admiral smiled. “I think that would be entirely acceptable, My Lord. This is an intimate case for you. You have every right to accompany us in our endeavors.”
“As long as you do not become a nuisance,” Victoria added.
My goodness, she is an impossible creature!He couldn’t tell if she was being obtuse, or if she was merely teasing him. And that made him uncomfortable… and all the more intrigued by this mystical imp. She cared nothing for propriety, that much was obvious, and perhaps the alteration in company would be educational. Too many people bowed and scraped before him, forgetting that he was human, the same as they.
“I assure you; I was never a nuisance when I served in the war.” He shot her a pointed look, and she had the decency to lower her gaze.
“Where did you serve?” the Admiral said.
“France, primarily.” He tried not to think of those days often, for they regurgitated nothing but bad memories. Bloodshed, thundering artillery, the clash of swords and bayonets, and the terrible percussion of hooves thudding into the battlefield. And the fear gripping his chest as he led the charge, wondering if this would be his last. Some nights, he still heard the screams of animals and soldiers alike, as they were cut down in their prime.
The Admiral offered a sympathetic smile. “A terrible business. I sailed all over the world with the British Navy, and it never became any easier to enter conflict. Sometimes, when I am lying in my bed, I still hear the boom of cannons and that unique splinter of a ship being torn asunder. The closest comparison I can make is the crack of lightning, but I have never truly heard another sound like it.”
“It is the same with the battlefield, Admiral. I have heard others compare the roar of cannon fire and the snap of muskets to thunder, but I have never really heard a storm that matches the ferocity I witnessed in those awful years,” Christian replied, a cold sweat creeping up his spine. “And there is no sound more hideous than a horse dying, without knowing what it did to deserve such a painful end. It is almost worse than the screams of men, for at least they knew what they were entering into.”
Victoria’s face shifted, emoting a sudden sorrow that made Christian’s chest clench in a vise. All of her derisive stares and scornful haughtiness disappeared, leaving a young lady who was attempting to understand the enormity of what England’s warriors had endured.
“A tragic waste,” she murmured. “I wonder if there will ever be a day when men do not go to war and kill each other for the sake of a distant monarch who will never have to fear being obliterated in so vicious a fashion.”
“I would like to believe that was possible, but… I have seen enough to suggest otherwise.” Christian sighed, thinking of all the companions and comrades he had lost. Names, once dear to him, now carved into headstones, in kirkyards and graveyards all across this fair nation. They said heroes were never forgotten, but when their families were gone and their great-great-great grandchildren lived where they once had, he knew their memory wouldn’t live on in those generations.
“Kings used to fight alongside their soldiers.” Victoria folded her arms across her chest, as though she felt a chill. “They used to ride into battle, skilled with sword and shield. When did their lives become more important than everyone else’s?”
“They are chosen by God.” Christian didn’t think it wise to speak traitorously, or to blaspheme. Even if a small, secret part of him agreed wholeheartedly with her sentiment.
