The Lady Plays Her Ace (The Langley Sisters) (15 page)

"I'm going to take Bella upstairs. She needs to lie down, and then I will go and see what I can find out," Luke said, escorting his wife from the room and leaving Thea alone with her brother, who was once again studying her face.

"You seem very concerned for Dillinger, considering to the best of my knowledge you have met once, perhaps twice before, sister."

"Because I was the one who saw the man, Joe, pointing his gun at Oliver, it gave me quite a shock." Thea schooled her features before stepping out of his arms. "It was terrifying to know that he could have been shot and I was the only one who could have stopped that happening."

"Yes, I can imagine that would have been unsettling," Joe said slowly still watching her. "I'm just wondering when he became Oliver to you?"

"Do you think it is safe for Luke to go out after him, Joe?" Thea ignored his question. "Should he not have men with him before he does? He is not used to the ways of London like Mr. Dillinger, surely?" she added.

"Luke is well able to look after himself, according to Will. However, I shall have a word with him before he leaves, and while I do, you go and have your maid pack your things and we shall leave for the townhouse soon."

"First I shall see if Bella is all right with me leaving, as she is with child now."

"Wonderful news," Joseph said, before gently stroking her bruised jaw. He then left the room.

…

Ace tried to clear his head and push aside the rage that still pulsed through him. Someone had shot at him and could have hurt Thea or Luke. It wasn't his life he was concerned with; he'd come to understand at a young age that it was a possibility that he would meet a violent death one day. You didn't live the way he had, with many enemies, and expect to reach your dotage, but Thea and Luke should. The thought of either of them hurt because of him was not to be borne.

She'd saved him. Run screaming from the building shrieking his name, urging him to take cover. When he'd turned and seen her and understood there was danger, his first instinct had been to reach her—and then she’d launched herself at him. Ace had caught her, and together they fallen to the hard ground.

She could have been killed.

The thought of her beauty and vitality snuffed out was not something he could live with. He would not allow it, and it was just another reason why he must keep his distance from her now. This merely confirmed what he believed. He was not good enough for Lady Althea Ryder.

Having her beneath him had been heaven and hell, as had the look in her eyes when she'd run at him. Ace had seen the fear, and it had been for him, her concern solely based on the fact that his life was in danger. She cared, he knew that, if only a little, and he hated that his heart thumped faster at that thought because he had no right to that woman.

He'd run down the alley, hoping to see some sign of whoever had shot at him, but it was empty. Ace had then headed for the places he had known to house disreputable men, and his appearance had created a stir, especially dressed as he was in his expensive clothes.

"Slumming it, Dillinger?" Totts, a man who had once come to every one of Ace's fights and won a considerable amount money betting on the outcome, had said as he'd entered his lair—a dark tavern in an area of London many never frequented.

"Someone is trying to kill me and I want to know who, so put out the word that there will be a reward for answers." Ace had said these words at every place he stopped, until finally he arrived at the house that had been his home when he had most needed one.

The streets were narrow and the houses butted one against the other. Even on such a cold day, washing hung from windows and scruffy children played in the streets. Ace wanted to shoo them inside, as night was starting to fall, but was not entirely certain their reception would be better than what they faced out here.

The house he wanted lay at the end of the lane. Three stories high, the brothel did not have an inviting façade. Paint was worn and flaking, windows darkened so not a crack of light could be seen. He had not been here for many months, but the memories came back when he reached for the tarnished knocker. Ace rapped it three times, then a further two. Seconds later, it opened.

"Ace!"

"Hello, Bess." Ace entered and closed the door behind him, and allowed the tall woman to hug him.

"It's been months, lovely. We was just saying the other day how we missed you."

She had painted lips and dyed blonde hair and her breasts spilled out of a scarlet silk corset that she wore with bloomers.

"Is she in?" He looked up the stairs.

"She is, and seeing you will cheer her up. She's been right mean these past few days. You go on up, love, and I'll bring you something to eat. You look as if you've had a rough day."

"You have no idea," he muttered, taking the stairs two at a time.

The house was clean and the walls washed white, the curtains bright emerald green. The furniture was worn but comfortable, and Ace knew that even at such an early hour there would be customers in the rooms.

Angelique was the madam and a woman who understood men. She said they came here to get what they could not from their wives, and while she understood those women had been taught to act like a slab of frozen meat in bed, it was because of them that she made a tidy profit.

'Surely not all women,' Ace had said once. 'There must some noblewomen who enjoy their marital beds,' to which Angelique had replied that they were too few to count.

Knocking on the door that would lead to her rooms, he waited until he was summoned, then opened it and walked inside.

Petite, with flaming red hair, Angelique was still a beautiful woman at sixty. She wore severe-cut, dark clothes, the opposite of her girls, and she did not participate, to his knowledge, in what went on below her.

"I wondered if you had died, boy." Ace took the hands she held out to him and kissed her on the cheek.

"Not dead, just busy, madam."

"Yet now you are here, and I sense from your expression it is not merely because you had a wish to see me."

"Someone wants me dead, and today he shot at me. As I was with friends this put them in danger, and I cannot allow that to happen again."

She led him to the sofa and sat beside him. Ace saw the desk he had spent hours at, poring over the books she had urged him to read, once he knew how to. It had been there that he’d learned most of what had made him into the man he was today.

"These friends," Angelique said. "I am pleased they mean so much to you."

Ace had never been able to hide anything from this woman. She knew him as well as his own mother, and possibly better. She had known him when he was at his lowest, when his will to live had been gone and he'd simply wanted to die.

"They do," Ace said softly.

"And I sense that one of these is a woman."

The pale green eyes were fading, but still as sharp as they had always been.

"Yes, but there can be nothing between us," Ace added.

"Because she is of noble birth?" Angelique patted his cheek and fussed with his necktie that had by now lost all shape and was covered in dirt.

"Yes, she is the daughter of a duke." Ace had never lied to her and he would not start now.

"And you believe you are not worthy of her, but I wonder how she feels about you?"

"It matters not as I will spend no more time in her company," Ace said, ignoring the sharp pain inside him. "I will not put her life in danger again."

Angelique cupped his cheeks, forcing him to look into her eyes.

"I can see that you care very much for this woman, boy. Are you sure there can be no future for you together?"

Ace pulled away and climbed to his feet. He walked to the windows and looked down to the streets below.

"No," he said softly. "There is no future for us."

Ace saw Luke as he returned to his house. It was dark, and his friend was leaning against a wall talking with a man. As he approached, Luke finished the conversation and came towards him.

"Were you looking for me, Fletcher?" He wasn't sure how he felt about someone watching out for him. He should be furious, but instead his chest felt warm.

"I was, and now I've found you," Luke said calmly.

"You have not alerted my family, I hope, to what happened today? I have no wish to involve them in this."

"I have not, and I will thank you for not thinking me a fool, Dillinger."

They fell in beside each other and walked through the dark streets. It was cold now, and there was a flurry of snow that would suggested the streets could be paved white by morning.

"But you will need to tell them, Ace, simply because you have no idea where the danger lies and they must be vigilant now."

"I know. I had just hoped to have information about who was responsible before I did so."

He felt Luke look at him. "But you do not?"

"No. However, I've offered a reward."

He wanted to ask after Thea. The words were pressing against his throat as he fought against them.

"The Duke had arrived when we returned home. He and Thea have now relocated to the Stratton townhouse," Luke said, as if sensing Ace's thoughts. "And Bella was lying down when I left."

He would not see her now. There would be no more lessons in the park or chance meetings when he visited Luke. Thea was now out of his life and as this is what Ace wanted, he should be pleased, not depressed.

"Tomorrow I will help with the investigation, after you have told your family what took place."

"Since when do you give me orders, Fletcher?" Ace said as he reached his front door.

"Since I looked upon you as my friend, Dillinger."

And with those words, Luke nodded and disappeared once again into the darkness, leaving Ace with the sting of something that felt remarkably like tears in the back of his eyes.

"I must be tired," he muttered, entering the house and slamming the door behind him.

CHAPTER NINE

"I cannot believe I let you talk me into attending a pantomime," Oliver said, glaring across the carriage at his younger brother. "In case you've forgotten, there is someone trying to end my life."

"As there have been no further attempts in the past week and we will be surrounded by people at the theatre, Oliver, I think you will be safe for the evening. It would be a shame to waste the tickets Lord Higgley gave us because we helped him with his first investment venture. Mother and Father had already accepted the invitation to visit with the Mulligans overnight, so they cannot use them. Therefore, you and I shall go."

"What the hell is
Cupid on Crutches,
anyway?" Oliver added.

"A new pantomime that is supposedly very good and well worth seeing," Daniel said, flicking something off his sleeve.

"You're turning into a dandy," Ace muttered. His brother was dressed in evening clothes like he, and carried them off well. In fact to Ace's mind, his brother could stand up in any crowd, except that like he, he did not have the birth to do so.

"Now, how could I possibly be a dandy with a brother like you to constantly belittle me?"

"I do not belittle you, I merely make you aware," Ace corrected him.

All levity left Daniel's face as he looked at Ace.

"I am aware of where I came from, Oliver, and I am aware of the limitations that I face because of that. You need not worry that I will step above myself or have unrealistic dreams."

Ace felt guilt settle heavily on his shoulders. Daniel's upbringing had not been like his. Yes, they had known poverty, but he had always had his parents and family around him. When Ace had stepped back into their life, he'd known what it was to have a full stomach and sleep in a bed of his own. Perhaps he had been too hard on his brother, instilling his beliefs in him instead of letting him form his own thoughts.

"I only want the best for you, Daniel, so please forgive me if sometimes my words seem harsh."

"You speak from experience that I, God willing, will never have, brother. There is nothing to forgive you for. I would, however, ask that you sometimes try not to let your past dictate your present quite so much." Daniel's words were steady, as was the look he gave Ace.

"When did you grow up?" Ace said.

Daniel laughed and as the carriage was stopping, no further words were exchanged.

Ace had attended the theatre before, and to his surprise had enjoyed it; however, he did not mention that to his brother. His main reservation about coming here tonight had been being out in public with Daniel, as he had no wish to put his life in danger.

"Don't dawdle," Ace said as Daniel stopped to look around him after they had stepped from the carriage.

Drury Lane was a grand sight, with a fresh fall of snow blanketing the ground and lights shining from the large windows before them. Placing a hand in his brother's back, Ace then urged him forward, keeping him in front, as they walked through the impressive columns that fronted the theatre’s façade, around the slow moving theatre goers, and through the doors seconds later.