Page 63 of An Unbending Lady for the Desperate Earl
He nodded. “For a time. I must leave some years between my operations, so that high society can be lured back into a false sense of peace. I did so in Scotland, and again in Ireland.” He smiled to himself. “I thought I might strike Bath next, after a satisfactory period has elapsed. Or Paris. I always said I would take you to the continent, didn’t I?”
Oh well…He didn’t plan to give this up, at all, that was clear.
“You did,” she said quietly.
“So, join me. Say yes,” he urged.
She paused. “I… need more time. It will mean leaving Mama, and she won’t understand. I cannot make this decision right now. I have to think it through.” She had no intention of thinking it through, for her mind was already made up. But she didn’t have the heart to tell him that, yet. Instead, she needed time to figure out how she was going to get her father out of this, before the cavalry arrived.Ifthey arrived. True, she may have despised his actions, even if she could understand his reasoning, but that didn’t mean she was ready to see him die for it.
My moral compass will have to point a little South on this one.She didn’t care what happened to her father’s minions, but she would protect her father to the bitter end, even if it meant going against her sense of justice.
“How is your mother?” Solomon asked unexpectedly.
“She fares well,” Victoria replied. “Though I do not see her as often as I would like. I suppose we are alike in that way—I desire to keep her safe, and so I do not do anything that might bring the wolves to her door.”
He nodded. “That is very wise. But… does that mean you live alone?” He sounded sorrowful.
“I live above Ben’s office.”
“You do?” His face crumpled. “I know you have always been independently spirited, but I didn’t… I didn’t think you would isolate yourself like that. You should be around people. That is the only way to defy the curse of the investigative life. If you throw your heart and soul into the work, and nothing else, it’ll destroy you and everything you hold dear. Believe me, I know. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t know that, first-hand.”
“So, you understand that what you are doing is insane?” she blurted out, and instantly wished she had not.
“I know it is… unusual, but this is where the path of my life has led me. I threw everything I had into bringing the Duke of Rowntree down, and it came to nothing. I had no justice for my sister, or any of the women he murdered. It… broke me. I believed so wholly in the system, and when it failed me… I didn’t know what to do. I felt utterly lost.” His breath hitched. “This was the only way I could fix myself. This was the only way I could make it right.”
Victoria leaned forward and grasped her father’s hand. “Then stop now and consider your life your own again. Give these ladies back and run as far as you can. Wherever you go, Mama and I will come to you. But you have to cease this before it really does destroy you. Do not make us watch you hang, Papa.”
His eyes widened. “You haven’t called me that since you were a child.”
“Perhaps I feel like a child, confused by her father’s behavior.”
“If anyone hurt your mother, would you not do anything to see justice served, even if it meant following a more drastic path?” he countered.
She hesitated. “You know I would, but not if it caused others harm. That was your first lesson to me: never put innocents in harm’s way if it can be helped.”
He sighed wearily. “In this instance, it couldn’t be helped.”
“Please, Papa. Give this up. Go somewhere, far from here, where you can find peace. Let these innocents go home,” she begged, desperate now. But he merely shook his head.
“I can’t. I can’t stop until my sister’s ghost no longer haunts me. I can’t stop until all of high society realize that they are not infallible. They need to pay for what they did—they need to pay for protecting a devil in their midst.” Her father’s expression hardened. “They had a funeral for him, for goodness’ sake. A state affair, with all the grandeur of a king. They celebrated his life, knowing full well what he had done!”
“That is their failing. Do not let it be yours,” she pleaded.
Her father rose sharply and crossed the room, pausing in the doorway. “I have to go an attend to further business. Please think about my suggestion. Please say you’ll help me. If you do, perhaps I can put this endeavor to rest sooner than I thought. Perhaps you will bring me peace again, as you did before.”
With that, he exited. And Victoria burst into tears, hot and furious, and unstoppable. Her father was clearly in a great deal of pain, twisted up with anguish of losing his sister in such a terrible way. It had blinded him, making him unable to see how futile his actions were. High society would never change, but there were good people therein, who offered hope for the future of the elite.
Christian being one of them.
Where are you? I need you, Christian… my goodness, I need you.
* * *
In the woodland glade, Christian peered up at the sky overhead, watching it shift from hazy twilight to true darkness. The other men in his motley crew had managed to sleep awhile, but he had remained alert, standing sentinel in case anyone from the farmhouse happened to leave.
Fortunately, there had been no activity from the farmhouse. Only the same sight of men wandering to and from the outbuildings, with no sign of Victoria or any of the other ladies anywhere. He didn’t know why, but he sensed they were there somewhere, even if he couldn’t see them. Victoria, Helena, all of them.
What will I do about Helena?He exhaled slowly, rubbing his hands together to urge some warmth back into them.I know I cannot marry her, but how do I break our betrothal without causing an uproar? What if Miss Longacre was wrong—what if Helena doesn’t have another object of her affection? What if I wound her by breaking our engagement?
