The Rake and The Rose (A Rake's Mistake) (30 page)

"Kip?" he was smiling now.

"Aye." he sniffed as if insulted. “Nuthin wrong with me name!”

"Very well Kip, Francesca and Laura will take care of you. Get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow you shall take me to where he has her."

"Aye! Yes sir!" the boy bounded away. And Alexander realized this boy could not be more than ten. Kade and Leroy watched him.

That evening they were shocked to see Lottie was standing at the door. "Thank God you are here!" She flew into the room. "I cannot go back." She gasped as Alexander held her up and sat her in the chair. She looked as if she had been crying for quite some time.

"I got a letter from Charlotte, what in God's name happened?"

Lottie gasped as if not believing what she was about to say. "Oh, dear heaven my Lord I did not believe it myself!" Tears sprang from her light eyes and her black corkscrew curls trembled.

Leroy, his gaze sparking slightly, gently took his pocket-handkerchief and handed it to her kneeling near. "Thank you Mr.? Oh! I met you before…Forgive me this situations sees desperate to set me on edge…I cannot remember-“ she became flustered.

"Leroy, dear it’s alright. And this is Kade."

"Hello Leroy…Kade." Lottie nodded and promptly burst into more tears. "He has her locked away! I was at home cooking and he and Giselle came in. Granted they’re always gadding about, but I never knew it would lead to this. He had Charlotte tied up and was dragging her in. She fought like hell spawn. But the moment he threatened her she stilled...I now know why...He struck her"

Alexander's face tightened and she shrank away. Leroy glared at him and Alex reined in his rage. She sighed deeply. "Giselle she looked stricken, I didn't know why till she pulled me aside when Papa was asleep..."

He inhaled to control his temper and kept it barely in check. "What did she say?" he growled.

"Oh my Lord...a sad story." Lottie exhaled her eyes
shifted between the colors of light green and pale ice as the light reflected on them, before finally clouding with pain.

"What?" he prompted.

"Your father...He had Giselle quicken your mother's death. She had letters from him and everything. And then, with his grief and guilt begged her to do the same to him." Lottie burst into another torrent of sobs.

Alexander fell back into his chair. It wasn't true. Kade glanced at the young woman, his eyes wide and startled.

"She has proof." Lottie said softly and Alexander nodded.

Leroy just patted her shoulder, seemingly struck by the tiny girl. "It's alright, then what?" he prodded.

"Then-" she sniffed "Then, Giselle told me about how she had wanted Charlotte to leave. Giselle was afraid she'd be turned out from here once you'd married, my Lord. So she tried to make her sick...Papa knew who she was, and had told Giselle that if she got sick and left no one would get hurt!"

"Of all the damnable things!" Alexander sputtered.

"Understand, she was poor, Giselle was very poor and with no one to look after her. Life wasn't exactly kind. But the moment she realized Papa was going to kill Charlotte, she turned round and began begging him to just send her off. But he said no, that a...a..." she gulped and looked ill.

"Do you need to lay down?" Leroy was desperate to calm her down and placed his large hands along her thin shoulders.

"No." Lottie held him off with a thankful look.

"He said there had to be proof.” She didn’t seem able to continue but gulped again and whispered  “A body."

A body?
Alexander gulped down the bile that rose. "A body?" he said aloud.

Lottie nodded. "Giselle went into a fit. And apparently talked him into letting me go out to get food and to 'help' you look for her. To throw you off their trail... He'll know, by now, that something has changed." she sighed, "I cannot go back my Lord," she repeated her prior comment. “Am I in terrible trouble?” her lower lip trembled and the expressive eyes poured tears down her pretty face “I feel so responsible!” she inhaled and squeaked.

All the men rushed to assure her, even the magistrates who were usually tight lipped. "No, god, no! Of course not." Leroy was the most adamant petting her hair. Kade kneeling down finally had gotten his coat and draped it over her shoulders while Alexander promptly had a letter written to the Duke of Essex asking for assistance.

"You shall stay here. You are in fact Charlotte's cousin. We would never turn out family." Alexander soothed with a smile.

"Thank you,” she whispered through her tears. "Alexander, you are so very kind. She loves you so much." He gulped down his illness and ran a hand through his hair.

"We need to do this right,” he whispered.

"I have a key." she held up said key and handed it to him "It unlocks the back door to the home. He keeps it under lock and key. Giselle will be watching Charlotte and he will be at the meeting place."

Alexander nodded. And they began to plan the rescue mission.

Charlotte lay next to Giselle, they were both tied up and staring at Richard who sat in a chair looking at the door.

“You know Giselle, I never did tell you that it was I who sent those letters, the ones that were supposed to be from your husband- begging to die?” her Uncle said softly. Giselle’s eyes went wide and glassy even with her pain. “Yes I did, and it worked too. Bloody git died, but then of course Alexander came along, and he was supposed to marry Lottie. Not that you did any good in that. I was supposed to have my fortune with Charlotte gone and we could’ve have been fine and right as rain.”

With this he looked at Charlotte, “Oh and don’t think your parents’ deaths were a bloody accident either.” Her heart stopped for a moment. “Oh yes, your parents were so wallowing in their grief, it was easy. Didn’t take much of the wolfs bane in small doses either while I helped ‘Care for them’. Charlotte began to struggle in earnest.

"Alexander is going to kill you!" Charlotte spat, earning a hard slap across the face after he walked over. Giselle looked worse for wear, her face bruised and swollen on one side.

"I told you not to cross me Giselle," he sighed, as if she had brought it upon herself. Charlotte felt a longing to see her Uncle writhing on the ground.

"I'm going to kill that little Lord of yours Charlotte," he fiddled with the gun, staring at her with sickly eyes. "And when I have that money, I’ll go to the Americas."

"No one will give it to you! Your treachery is known!" she spat. Giselle simply lay against her whimpering in pain.

“I didn’t know,” she wept softly. “You tricked me those letters were-“ Giselle choked off as if she couldn’t believe it “I showed them to you- he was in pain! I asked you and you told me to do it! He was in agony over Evelyn!”

“Not enough to die. You did that.” Richard grinned.

The women waited, with baited breath, for what was going to happen next, whether it was to be death or salvation.

London Park . . .

Kade and Leroy hid behind the trees in the park. Stealthily hiding their weapons from people. The magistrates were also posted around the entrances to the park. "He should be here by now, it's the afternoon." Kade whispered and Leroy nodded "Indeed. Something does not smell right, Kade."

The men exhaled and decided to wait another half hour.

Kip meanwhile was leading Alexander through London's streets. He ran and dodged through throngs of people bustling about, Alexander dressed in commoners clothing looked inconspicuous. "Kip are we nearly there?"

"Aye sir, it's right up this street." Finally they got to a window "Up there's where she peeked her head through." Alexander looked up and he felt his chest expand and the weight of the daggers and sword become heavier.

"Hang on Sweetling," he whispered softly as Kip lead him to the back of the house. They had to jump up over an iron gate and he looked around. Something did not feel right, and if Kade and Leroy had taught him anything it was to trust his instincts. "Kip, no matter what happens. Bring the police here, got it?"

"Aye sir."

"Good, now run along." Kip obeyed and Alexander unlocked the back door. Charlotte heard a door open in the house. "Ah, who's here?" Richard got up and slowly went to the door of the room.

"Alexander! Don't!" she was silenced by a quick cuff to the head knocking her against the wall. "Ah!" she felt blood on her tongue and terror for herself and her unborn baby took over and she stayed silent.

Alexander paused, hearing her. He didn't let his rage take over; he had to let it simmer and boil just above breaking point. He heard footsteps in the upstairs floor. He moved from the kitchens and went up the first flight of steps, the first floor was empty, and he inhaled looking around the rooms. Barren was the room with the exception of a few things that looked purely of Lottie and her style of taste.

"Richard!" he roared, "I know you're in here you bastard!" He found a corner and waited, not hearing anything along the stairs he crept up them one at a time. He heard footsteps go down the hallway and saw a bulking shadow dodge back into the room at the far end. He quickly followed and flung the door open. Alexander exhaled sharply when he saw what it held. "Sweetling..." her eyes opened and widened, but she didn't make a sound.

Richard held her tight by her hair, and had a gun pointed at her neck. "Hello Cromwell." Her Uncle's dulcet tones deceived the madness that shone from his gaze. Giselle was lying in a puddle on the floor blood matting her face.

"Giselle." Alexander said her name clearly and she opened one eye and muttered a whimper. "It's alright now Giselle.” Tears fell down her face. "Let them go. I'll give you all the money you want." Alexander gasped.

But Richard gripped her hair harder causing tears to spring in his love's eyes. "Oh, no, I think we're beyond that now."

"Let her go," he growled his temper flaring as panic set in.

"Tsk-tsk temper, temper. No." Richard ran the gun down her neck, down her chest and pressed the barrel against her belly. He saw a cold sweat break out along Charlotte's face and her pupils went to pinpricks.

"Shh, Sweetling it's alright." But something came over Giselle's face, a grimace as she came to, groggily, and angrily. She struggled to get up, earning her a sharp kick in the ribs. She kicked her feet out and knocked into Richard, who had to move, his gun wavered away from Charlotte and-

It was all they needed.

Charlotte in stepped and slammed her heel into her Uncle's foot. Richard began howling in pain. She ducked and Alexander took the opportunity. Guns especially pistols, though accurate at close range, still had a chance of throwing your aim off with the power behind the shot…and he had his dagger ready should he need to embed it in the demon turned to human's flesh. But this time, fortune smiled upon his bullet and it easily cut through the evil heart, slaying the beast.

Charlotte fell to her knees slowly, careful not to rock too hard, and gasped at the body that rolled grotesquely on the floor "Oh, god." She was about to be sick, but soon the sight was blocked out by the man she loved most cutting the bonds at her hands.

"Oh, dear Lord, my sweet, sweet, sweet darling. What did that bastard do to you?" He had her head cradled and glanced at Giselle after checking Charlotte’s bruised face and head. "Giselle can you hear me?"  They both went and rolled her over.  She was wounded badly and murmured to them incoherent words.

"Hang on." Charlotte petted her hair from her face, and smiled at her "We're friends now, aren't we?" she said with tears coating her throat. Giselle nodded.

"Thank you," she whispered and fell asleep in Charlotte's rocking body and warmth. "Alexander, we cannot leave her." Alex simply nodded brushing his nose into his wife’s hair. Giselle did, in the end, save Charlotte's life...that had to count for something.