Dangerous Diana (Brambridge Novel 3) (26 page)

“I think you mean organically.”

“That’s what I said. You can’t just go up to them and say ‘I love you’ and expect them to fall over and declare their undying love for you.”

Despite herself, Melissa was intrigued. “You can’t? But how do they know if they can say that to you?” Hurriedly she started stroking Arturo again as he butted his head against her leg.

“You have to give them little signs, and then wait for them to come to their senses.”

Melissa frowned. “Signs, what kind of signs exactly?”

“Act like you are available like. Be receptive to their ideas, perhaps even to some of their advances.” Mrs. Hobbs flushed. Melissa counted herself lucky that Mrs. Hobbs wasn’t telling her everything.

Unfortunately Melissa hadn’t acted as if she was very available at all. She hadn’t been receptive to Hades’ ideas and the last time he had advanced on her, she had run away. Albeit because she was tainted with a very heavy henbane poison at the time and she didn’t want him to get hurt.

“I rather think, Mrs. Hobbs, that I have made a little bit of a hash of it all.”

“Oh I wouldn’t worry love. The three Cs—that’s what I call Carter, Carlos and Charles, they’re convinced their master is head over heels for you. They’ve never seen a woman in the house apart from Lady Dalston who came only once. And they have never seen anyone get the soft treatment in the earl’s study before. They say that that is his sanctuary. If you’ve beaten him in there, then you’ve already won his heart.”

“I don’t think…”

“I wouldn’t worry. They all come round in time. I spent two years chasing Mr. Hobbs.” Melissa’s mouth dropped open. “And we’ve been married forty years. Now shall I get you some more dinner?”

“Wha… what, two years? I don’t think I can take two more weeks of this!”

“Ah, but there you see we differ. I enjoyed the thrill of the chase!”

“Err, more dinner would be lovely thank you, Mrs. Hobbs. Go on Arturo, go with her.”

Giving the reluctant dog a firm push back towards Mrs. Hobbs, Melissa withdrew into her room, feeling a little shaken. She didn’t think she could look at the feisty Mrs. Hobbs again. Nor Mr. Hobbs. It sounded like she had needed to harpoon the man before she had won him.

Melissa sat back down at her dressing table and looked at herself in the mirror. She had seen Hades turn into fire at her touch. All she needed was the right setting and perhaps that would stake him for her.

She placed the book on birds to one side and stared sightlessly at the next book. ‘Reptiles of the Pyrenees.’ She shuddered. That just reminded her of the Viper.

Carter knocked with another tray of food for Melissa. Taking the tray, she set it down on the dressing table. This time it was just bread and cold ham, and the usual fantastic biscuits. It was just what she needed.

In fact she knew what Hades needed too.

“Carter, please could you wait?” Melissa asked. She scrabbled in the dressing table drawer and pulled out some paper.

“Meet me at a time when the clock has struck nine in a place where your interests reside.”

There. That should do it. It would pique his interest and get him back into the heart of his home. Once there Melissa would… offer herself to him. She shivered.

“Take this note, Carter, and deliver it to the earl, courtesy of Lord Lassiter please.” Carter’s eyes rounded in interest but he said nothing. “And please come back for the tray in an hour.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

After Carter had left Melissa took a large bite of bread and stuffed some ham in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed mechanically two or three times.

She opened up the second book.

It was immediately different to the others. The carefully illustrated book and accompanying words had been overwritten in a large, bold, agitated hand. Melissa knew it immediately as her father’s. Some of the entries were dated, some were not. It had all the hallmarks of a diary.

5 December 1800

I hate him. I don’t know why I agreed to this expedition. I swore I would never associate with him again after what he made me do ten years ago.

Melissa took an unseeing bite of her bread and read on.

6 December 1800

He is just the same. Just the same as when he blackmailed me into marrying his harpy of a sister. I thought my darling Melissa would welcome her as a mother but I was wrong. Every time I return she is that little bit quieter and more withdrawn.

And that baby they said was mine never did materialize.

Her father had never told her that Eliza was not her mother. This must have been the reason he married her. Melissa could have had a brother or sister. Now she never would.

7 December 1800

She used to be so beautiful, but now all she does is spend, spend, spend. She borrowed from me, and from her brother. And now he is hounding me for the money. He wants my house. All my beloved plants that I created!

So he had known about her spending, and still he had left Melissa in that woman’s care when he had died. There were no more entries for a few days and then a flurry followed.

12 December 1800

Oh dear God. There has been a murder. One of our porters has died. I found him at the bottom of the stair well in the pension house. His body was rigid, and his face outstretched in agony as if he was asphyxiated. There are no visible wounds on him apart from two puncture marks on his ankle. It is nothing a poison would do. I wept as I buried him. B. never lifted a finger. He said the man had it coming. What did he do for goodness sake? All he did was carry the baggage!

Melissa pushed her spectacles back onto her nose as they threatened to slip off over the book. She too had seen symptoms like that before and it hadn’t been poison.

13 December 1800

I couldn’t sleep last night. I took a walk around the pension garden with my pipe for company. I had to think about arrangements for when I get back. That man’s death scared me. If Eliza is left in charge of Melissa and I die then my darling is doomed. And she will just cede my property on to B in exchange for wiping out her debts. Melissa will be left with nothing…

Oh, father. Why hadn’t he done something sooner? Melissa wiped a tear from her eye. December 1800 had been when her father had died. At least she knew now that he had thought about her.

…but that is by the by. As I walked around the garden planning my arrangement I stumbled across a meeting. I don’t think I was seen, but I heard every word of it.

“I don’t think meeting here, Viper, is the best idea you’ve had.”

“You are not paid to think, Jeffries, you are paid to act.”

“You ain’t got any of those damn snakes on you have you?”

“Of course I haven’t.”

“Only I saw what you did to that porter after he found the documents about Lord Granwich you were carrying. Death by snakebite. What a way to go.”

“Quite ingenious I thought.”

“Hmm. At least no one suspects you. We can get this information over the border and to the relevant army commander very quickly. The British government will never suspect a professor on an expedition to be carrying secrets.”

“No. Although I have my doubts about old Arthur Sumner. He kept glancing at me as if he suspected something.”

“I’m sure we can make arrangements for him should he prove difficult.”

Melissa gasped suddenly. But she couldn’t look away from the bold ink on the page.

“You know I never realized how good it was to be a rather nondescript man. People tell you all sorts of things without realizing who you are. Whites and the Royal Society have been a hot bed of information. I have mountains of it at home.”

“Hmm, like your Viper namesake. Sneak up on your prey and he doesn’t see you.”

“Yes, a little bit like that Jeffries.”

“That reminds me. I have a promising young lad that I think you might be interested in employing. His name’s Pedro—his father is Pablo Moreno, the circus master.”

“The circus master that has other interests besides the usual you mean?”

“Oh yes. He’s ably qualified. Or at least he will be when he grows…”

At that point the prose broke off suddenly. The last entry was written in capitals with no date.

“BERTRAND LISLE IS A TRAITOR AND A VIPER”

Bertrand Lisle! That had been the professor who had bought her father’s house from her Eliza. He was the one responsible for harassing her? He was the Viper!

CHAPTER 27

Hades sat deadly still as Freddie’s footman poured him a welcome cup of coffee. He should never have matched Freddie drink for drink the night before. Without fail he got a headache, right in the center of his forehead. He cursed his lack of foresight.

Freddie breezed into the morning room and took a seat opposite him. “Morning, old bean,” he said jauntily.

“How can you be so chipper?” Hades propped his head up with one hand and moaned. “You had more to drink than I. In fact you had an amount that would have felled an ox. How do you keep going?”

“Hmm. Practice I think. I suppose I have overindulged a little lately. The old leg you know.”

“Yes, yes,” Hades said wearily.

“So what are you going to do about the Viper? I don’t recall you mentioning him last night.”

“I’m not sure as yet. As we discussed in the carriage on the way back, I know who he is now. And I think that he will shortly become aware of that if he hasn’t already.”

“So you can’t apply any of your famed strategies?”

“I had one last one up my sleeve, by a favorite Chinese strategist called Sun Tzu called ‘
Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.’ I’ve been pursuing a snake theme, you see.”

“I don’t see anything snake like about that. It sounds like every army general’s favorite mantra.”

“Hmm, it is a little bit different; if I can remember it went a little something like, ‘
Carefully study the well-being of your men, and do not overtax them. Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength. Keep your army continually on the move, and devise unfathomable plans. The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now the shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the Ch'ang Mountains. Strike at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail; strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both.’”

“Sounds like a load of gobbledygook to me. It advocates doing nothing if you strike at any one part of the snake and it bites you back with another part.”

Hades sighed. “You do have a point, but you see the essence is that you attack the head, tail and middle all at once but only when the snake is not expecting it.”

“And how are you going to do that if the man is expecting you?”

“I’m not quite sure.”

“He’s tried to kill you once already with that snake. Do you know where he lives?”

“Yes. Trump gave me his address.”

“And you say his only identifying feature is that he has hairy ears?”

“Mmm. It seems he is the master of disguise.”

“Oh. Whilst I remember. A note came for you last night. Carter delivered it personally. He was very anxious, you get it.” Freddie took a bite of toast. “I thought no one knew you were here?”

“No one does apart from… oh.”

Freddie looked up from his plate with an interested look on his face.

“Just give me the note, Freddie.” Hades held out his hand. With a sigh, Freddie handed him a small slip of paper that wasn’t sealed.

“Sounds quite interesting.” Freddie stuffed another piece of toast in his mouth. Hades gave him a frown.

Hades smoothed open the small slip of paper on the table and read its contents. He looked up at his friend, who raised his eyebrows and took yet another bite of toast, chewing loudly. “Is it the Viper?” Freddie mumbled.

Hades ignored him. The script was long and flowing and he’d seen it before. What did she have planned now? If he could just collar the Viper that day, perhaps he would be able to attend his appointment with a clear conscience. And perhaps deliver that prize he had been hoping to lay at her feet.

“What are you doing today, Freddie?” he asked.

“Nothing much.”

“Good. Then you’ll come with me. We’ll strike while the iron’s hot. Lisle just might not see us coming.”

“Don’t you need someone else too?”

“Pardon?”

“For the tail of the snake. You said your strategy was to get at the head, middle and tail. I’m assuming that was all metaphor, and that essentially we need to cover every exit to his house.”

“Hmm, yes. Good point.” Melissa’s note must have turned his brain to jelly. He’d been imagining her in a low-cut gown, languishing against the fireplace in his study. The importance of catching the Viper had been demoted into more of a functional to do list.

“Stanton is in town for a while. He’s just come up from his new estate in Kent. He should be able to help us. He has no fear when it comes to dealing with battle-like situations.”

“So I’ve heard,” Hades murmured. This was the man who had been tangled up with Melissa before she disappeared from the ton. He was curious to meet him again. It helped that he was part of the ring that Henry used for his intelligence purposes.

“He said he would call on me this morning. He used to stay here along with Anthony Lovall when we all left the army. Bill should be coming up too in a few days. I think he’s escaping from the estate that Stanton gave him. Making the transition from smith and smuggler to landowner is not going as well as he hoped, I understand.”