Coins and Daggers (19 page)

That caught Ulric’s attention and he grasped
Audelia’s hand. “Are you certain?”

“I don’t know...but the way she moves and
dresses, I guess you could say so. Lord and Lady Dextrem had seemed
very familiar with her. Almost as if they were friends.”

Something pricked the back of Ulric’s head.
“What does she look like?”

Audelia shifted to tuck her legs beneath
her, pulling the hem of her white nightgown lower. “Beautiful
blonde hair and hazel eyes. She wore a veil most times, except for
when we’d go to Dextrem House. On those occasions, she’d become
very nice to me. Miss Darcott, too. I’d grown over the months to
admire them, myself. It was the first anyone, other than Jocelyn,
had been so kind.” Smiling slightly, she glanced over at him.
“She-she told me that I’d finally be able to pursue my interest in
Medicine. She said that Lady Dextrem would make sure of it.”

Ulric held her gaze as a questions surged in
and out of his head. He could not quite put his finger on it but
there was something interesting about that Madame de Lucci. On his
journey to Camden, he’d see what he could find out about her as
well.

“You did the right thing, Audelia,” he said.
“By running away. It was dangerous and you could have been hurt
much further...but you were brave. And you survived.”

She sniffed and gazed down at her lap. “I
was scared most of the time, Bryce. So scared but I had to get as
far away as I could. I didn’t love stealing but--”

“Shhh.” Ulric moved in closer and tucked her
into his arms. On his neck, he could feel the softness droplets of
her tears. “You’re okay now. You won’t have to steal again.”

“When I saw you that night, all I saw was my
way to earn a few coins and get the hell out of Thornea. I planned
on moving on, finding some place new.”

“You did what you had to do to survive. You
had no resources. The one source you’d seen, betrayed your
trust.”

“I don’t want to see them again, Bryce.
Either of them. I...I don’t want to go back.”

Blood pounded in his ears and Ulric held her
face in his hands, wiping streams of tears away with his thumbs.
The sight of her crying and hurting broke his heart, shattered it.
He would do anything to make her smile again, to assure her that
she was safe where she was.

“
Listen to me, Audelia. I won’t let anything happen to you.
Lord Dextrem, his wife, the Madame; you won’t ever have to see them
again. I’ll protect you from them. But I
need
you
to trust me. I need you to know that I won’t hurt you, that I will
keep you safe.”

Audelia bit down hard on her bottom lip,
closing her eyes for just a moment, dampen lashes fanning out
against smooth skin. “I trust you, Bryce. I trust you.”

“Thank God.” Ulric brushed lips against hers
initially but the moment he had, a warm sensation slowly surged its
way up his spine and through to his heart. He just needed more.
Just a little...more. Deepening the kiss, he weaved his hand
through the hair at the back of Audelia’s head and pulled her in.
Such sweetness, such mind blowing sensations were bound to drive
him into a state of surrender. A state of warm,
refreshing...passionate bliss that he was not sure he would ever
like to return from. God, he was bound to fall deeply and
irreversibly in love with her. That’s if he hadn’t already.

Ulric’s palms tingled as they found the
loose ties at her neckline and his thumb had just brushed across
one hard nipple when she stiffened. Sighing, he brushed a tender
kiss to her neck and swallowed. He wanted her but he had no
intention of forcing her. Not ever.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered against her cheek.
“We don’t have to do anything if you do not wish it.”

He felt her brief nod and then looked down.
Audelia’s eyes were like a mirror to his own soul and the door to
his future, both at the same time.

“I...I...” She faltered as if uncertain and
then met his gaze again. “I do have one wish at the moment.”

Ulric tipped her chin, his other hand
bringing her fingers up to his lips. “Anything.”

“Can you...can you pray with me for a
while?”

Although he’d been caught a bit off guard by
her request, Ulric did not show it. It had been a long time since
he’d prayed at all. But he was prepared to do it. To try. For
her.

Twenty

“
I
t seems we have
new neighbors, Jemison,” Lady Dextrem said, her attention focused
on the book she’d been reading since this morning. She’d placed a
fine wager with her good friend, Lady Anabel, that she’d finish it
before the first crack of dawn.

Her husband barely uttered a response as he
adjusted his reading spectacles, gazing down at a sheet of
parchment. “I see.”

Lady Dextrem continued. “I believe they are
Mr and Mrs. Clemson. The gentleman is a retired soldier who has
earned a rather vast amount of wealth through trade. I hear his
wife is from a very respectable family as well. They should make
good company.”

“Just the type you like, Camilla,” he
returned, passing her a fleeting glance. “I suppose you’ll pay them
a visit first thing in the morning?”

“Of course. Whyever would I not?” She
inclined her chin stubbornly. “I hear they have children too. Two
little girls.”

Lord Dextrem eyed his wife and sighed.
“Whatever you are getting at, I do not wish to discuss it.”

“Well, we must at some point.”

“
Camilla!” Lord Dextrem clenched his fists and released a
heavy breath. “
Please
. For once,
allow me some peace.”

Lady Dextrem’s lips flattened into a thin
line and she rose, leaving the room. Not that her husband would try
to stop her. He never did.

Reclining in
his chair, Lord Dextrem ran an exasperated hand over his hair and
sighed. He was bound to go crazy if he did not receive some form of
notice soon. His journey to Thornea had proven to be fruitless and
a waste of his time. Though he had been able to catch up with
Lorena, a
very
very old friend, he had not found
out anything that might have pointed him to the location of the
girl. How far could she really had gotten? He knew it had been
several months, but surely Audelia Rolfen hadn’t the support or
courage to get too far.

He had only gone searching for the chit
because his blasted wife had driven him to. That, and because he
and Madame de Lucci had an agreement he had no intention of
forgetting. Audelia Rolfen must be found at all costs or his wife’s
pestering would drive him to an early death.

“Your lordship?”

Glancing up suddenly, he realized that one
of his footmen had entered the room. “Yes?”

“This missive arrived earlier for you,
milord.”

“Hand it over here, then.”

The footman delivered the neatly folded
parchment, bowed and then backed out of the room.

Lord Dextrem broke the seal on the missive
and jumped out of his seat when he recognized Madame de Lucci’s
handwriting. His throat immediately clogged with anxiety as he read
through her scribble.

‘
Dear Jemison,

I write you now because I have received some
rather startling news about our little fugitive. It is with great
confidence that I am convinced she has managed to reach
Chastelle...’

“
Chastelle?” Lord Dextrem almost bellowed. “How in bloody
hell as she gotten there?”

‘
and may very well be within the household of Lord
Chastelle, employed as a servant or something of the sort. I am
making it my duty to take a look into the matter and find out
Audelia’s exact whereabouts. In the meanwhile, you must sit still
and await my return. I shall send you another missive as I do not
intend on returning without her.

Our agreement still stands, Jemison. Don’t
you doubt that and you will have what you’ve always wanted. Rest
easy and take care for now.

Your friend,

M.

“
Rest easy?
” Lord
Dextrem snorted and moved across the room to a small counter,
pouring himself a drink. He had already invested a good many coin
into that girl and he refused to be a sore loser. At least Madame
de Lucci was right about one thing. Their agreement still
stood.

Running a finger across the long thin scar
that extended from the corner of his mouth to his left earlobe,
Lord Dextrem swallowed down half of his drink and groaned as it
burned its way down his throat. The little wretch was going to pay
for her actions one way or another and he was going to make sure of
it.

The wench had
been a good little romp too, he had to admit it. But it would have
been far more enjoyable if she hadn’t been kicking and scratching
like a wild creature. From the day he’d first seen her, Lord
Dextrem’s attraction to Audelia had surged to his manhood like a
burning need. Yes, Miss Rolfen was certainly a pretty little thing.
And though her presence at Dextrem House had been for an entirely
difference purpose--well, not
entirely
--he simply
had not been able to control himself. The wench was a walking
temptation, a sweet passing distraction from his nagging
wife.

Moving up to a window, he stared out across
his wife’s wide gardens and towards the house their new neighbors
had occupied. He’d seen the two little girls Lady Dextrem had
spoken of earlier during the eve; two little scamps with brown
pigtails and toothy grins. Such innocence...

Draining his
glass, Lord Dextrem swallowed thickly and exhaled. It would be a
long night, he could tell. No doubt, his wife was already awaiting
him in their chamber to lecture him on the
significance
of
children
. Sliding the
glass back onto the counter with a heavy clink, he shrugged out of
his jacket and walked stiffly from the room.

* * *

“
N
eed another
glass, mister?”

Edwin glanced up from the missive he’d just
received and forced a smile. The messenger had but dumped the
parchment in his hands and took off without a word. “No, thank you,
sweetheart. But perhaps you’ll bless me with your
rather...bountiful company when I’m through.”

The woman
adjusted her
bountiful
cleavage and giggled. Obviously the
wench was new because every other maid in the building knew he did
not look for favors inside the bar.
They
knew exactly the
place to meet him for a little fun. “Anything you want, darling.
How about a hour or so from now?”

“I’ll come find you.”

Edwin’s smile remained on the wench until
she’d made her way across to the bar and started attending to other
patrons. His gaze riveted to the letter and he unfolded it quickly.
Neatly scribbled writing flowed across the paper and he read with
keen interest, his anxiety slowly increasing as he went on.

‘
Dear Edwin,

I heard father speaking of a matter you had
put across him just this morning by letter. I inquired with him for
the full details and found that the same things that are puzzling
you, have managed to find way into my own newly found
happiness.

As you must know by now, I am betrothed;
have been for a week and have full intention of wedding my bride
before month’s end. She’s a sweet little thing with the biggest
heart a man could wish for. But let me not bore you with my
rambling as we all know you’ve never taken much interest in the
more...affectionate benefits a man can experience from being with a
woman.

Father has disclosed a rather startling and
unsettling information about the woman you have made your inquires
about and though I wish I never had to discover such disgusting
details, I must share it anyways.

It appears my new bride had been in Madame
de Lucci’s care for some time, where she had been introduced to my
father for a chance to become his ward. During her visits to our
household over the last two months, I had developed a great
fondness for Jocelyn and decided to marry her instead. It appears
that Madame de Lucci had not been quite content with my decision
and Father had offered her some form of settlement to mediate the
situation.

I’m somewhat
pleased now as, when I look back, my bride had not seemed quite
enthused to remain in further company with the Madame. Perhaps it
is all in my head, but a part of me feels like Madame de Lucci had
planned the entire meeting, convinced I would have made an offer
for Jocelyn’s hand and that Father would have done anything to see
to my happiness. I am glad that Jocelyn and I had managed to cross
paths but the fact that Father had
bought
my bride still
remains. It is that precise detail that bothers me most.

I believe I have matured much over the past
year and am no longer the type of man to make eager judgments but I
believe Madame de Lucci is operating an establishment that may very
well be disregarding the laws of this country. Please take heed,
for a woman who operates as she does must have support from very
high seats in society.

Your Cousin,

Charmont.

“
Great Jesu!” Edwin stuffed the missive into the inside
pocket of his coat and moved quickly through the congested bar,
cigar smoke burning his eyes. By the time he’d reached the door,
the voluptuous wench had managed to weasel her way across the room,
blocking his exit.

“Leaving so soon, mister? Thought you we had
a rendezvous?”