Destiny of the Heart (Viking Destiny) (23 page)

Alice perked up and looked keenly at Lady Atchkinson,
wondering what the woman would say.
"She is taking an extended trip abroad, I'm afraid. An
old relative isn't doing so well, and Lady Kristen thought it
prudent to go and visit while she still could."
"How very unusual. It isn't at all customary for a
debutante to leave in the middle of her season."
"Well, Lady Kristen rarely does anything as she should.
She is rather unique in that way."
"Is it true she fights with men?"
"Why Lord Barron, wherever did you hear such
nonsense?"
The lord cleared his throat and rocked on his heels. "I'm
not sure. I must have heard it...oh, look at that. My dear Lady
Atchkinson, I do apologize, but I've just seen a business
associate that I must speak to. My regards to your husband
when he returns." Lord Barron bowed formally and quickly left
Lady Atchkinson's side.
Alice watched the woman. She held her tongue, but it
was quite obvious she wished to upbraid the man for
spreading tales about her friend. Instead, she sighed through
her nose and pulled out her fan with some vigor. But, it
seemed that Alice wasn't the only one watching Lady
Atchkinson because to her immediate left, another
conversation about Kristen had begun.
"I can't believe that Meloney Atchkinson is mixed up
with that queer girl. I wonder if Lord Atchkinson is aware of it.
There's something off about that girl, you mark my words." A
homely looking matron told her friend.
"What I want to know is what Derrick Shane sees in
her. He could have any woman he wanted, yet it seems he
has eyes only for her." The friend replied.
Alice ground her teeth with that bit of gossip. Derrick
hadn't bothered to call on her at all since their fight, had, in
fact, sent her eviction papers. She had been sure that he
hadn't truly meant to call of their arrangement, and so she
would have had ample time to change his mind about them.
But, the eviction papers had proved beyond a doubt that he no
longer wished to see her and that he didn't seem interested in
anyone except Kristen. And, when he showed up to rescue
Kristen, Alice was afraid the betrothal contract had been
reinstated. Still, not long after rescuing her, Derrick left for his
trip to Morocco. That proved that he didn't care about Kristen,
didn't it?
"Do you think this business of her being kidnapped for a
second time is a load of hogwash? I bet she has run off with
that scoundrel, and they are even now cavorting about like
indecent human beings."
"More like fornicating. The two were clearly sleeping
together."
Alice's head nearly exploded. The two had better not be
sleeping together, and what kind of talk was that? Alice started
to move forward to give those two busybodies a piece of her
mind, but was cut off by the Lady Atchkinson. The look on her
face said that she had overheard their conversation, and she
wasn't in the mood to be polite about it. Since Alice was all for
more information, and she didn't want to believe those two had
been right about Derrick and Kristen, she stood back to watch
the show.
Mel walked up to the two women having a rather
disparaging conversation about Kristen. It was hypocritical to
say that Kristen was indecent when the two of them were
discussing private affairs in the middle of a ballroom. And
perhaps it was the pregnancy that was making her touchy
these days, but she would be damned if she'd let two nosy
gossip mongers destroy Kristen's reputation. So, it was with a
severely irritated and stern look that she faced the two
women.
They looked at her as if she were impertinent to have
interrupted their conversation. The older, more matronly one
looked down her nose at Mel, no doubt trying to intimidate her.
"May we help you with something, Miss?"
"It's Lady Atchkinson to the likes of you two." Mel said
sharply.
Guy Atchkinson was an earl of note, so Mel outranked
them. Being an advisor and ambassador for the king of
England made him pretty popular, and he was quite well
known. Almost as infamous as the Shane's. Mel knew her
station well, and the two women who thought they were better
than Mel, immediately humbled themselves. But, Mel wasn't
even close to being finished.
"I should think that two ladies such as yourselves would
know better than to have such conversations in a ballroom,
where they might be overheard discussing such delicate
topics." Mel chided.
The older woman sniffed indignantly. "And what
business is it of yours what we discuss?"
Mel arched a finely shaped brow and calmly clasped
her hands in front of her. "That is my friend you are
disparaging with your disgusting comments, and I'll thank you
to stop before certain details I'm sure you would not like the
ton to be privy to are made rather public."
The two women drew themselves up to their full height,
both nearly a full head taller than Mel, but she wasn't the least
bit afraid. How could she be? Having a friend like Kristen
made one realize that puffed up arrogance was nothing but a
show.
"And what exactly do you think you have on us, Lady
Atchkinson?" The younger of the two asked.
"Really? You want to play dumb with me? Very well.
Let's begin with the fact that the two of you are with each other
behind your husbands' backs. Oh, you can pretend you are
meeting at the hotel on a weekly basis to play bridge all you
like, but I think we both know what's really going on."
Both of the women sputtered and turned a bright shade
of red. Mel smiled as though she were greeting long lost
friends.
"I expect that any further conversations regarding the
Lady Kristen will cease. If I hear otherwise, your husbands will
be the first to know your dirty little secret."
"What proof do you have to make such a ridiculous
claim?" The older woman asked nervously, flicking her eyes to
her friend the whole time.
"Oh, please. I could have the entire hotel staff attest to
the fact that the two of you are there every week, at the same
time. You get the same room, and you stay the same amount
of time. You are seen arriving together, and leaving together,
looking just a little disheveled when you go. Shall I go on?"
"No, that won't be necessary, Lady Atchkinson." The
younger one said quietly as she gave her friend a stern look.
"Very well," said Mel. "As I said, no further
conversations about Kristen or I'll make good on my threat.
Are we clear?"
"Quite. Now, please excuse us." The older woman
grabbed her lovers arm and the two women humphed away.
Alice watched them go and had to admit that she was a
little bit impressed with how Lady Atchkinson handled that. It
wasn't many who had the conviction to stand up to anyone in
the ton. Something else Alice disliked about "polite" society.
The ton was more than polite when speaking to one another,
but were vicious gossips about each other behind everyone's
back. But, Lady Atchkinson was bold and stood up to the
ballroom bullies, and not only that, she had the fortitude to
back up what she said. If Alice wasn't careful, she might find
she liked Kristen and Lady Atchkinson.
She shook her head softly and started to follow Lady
Atchkinson. It was too bad that she would have to use her as
bait, and more than likely kill her. But, it was time to flush
Kristen out. However, before she got two feet from her
previous spot, a man stepped in her path.
"Excuse me." Alice said, irritated with the idiot who
stepped in her path.
"Come now, is that any way to treat an old friend?" The
tall man before her smiled down at her.
Alice swallowed in fear. She knew she had been
pushing her luck, and the king of Norway wasn't known to be a
patient man. She was more than two months late with what
was promised. The giant before her grabbed her arm and led
her to the dance floor. The two of them made an odd pair, and
they got more than several curious glances. For a woman
used to moving through the shadows, it was damned
uncomfortable. But, she didn't dare make a scene. First off, no
one would help her. These people were superficial and fickle,
and Alice wasn't exactly in anyone's good graces. But
secondly, the man before her was her mentor and about the
only person who could best her.
"Adrian, when did you get into town?" Alice asked
politely as he spun her into the current dance.
Adrian laughed. "Don't pretend as if you weren't
expecting me, Alice. You had an assignment, and you're late.
Report."
"The subject is proving rather elusive at the moment."
"Unacceptable. You have been given until the end of
the week, or you will be terminated, am I clear?"
"Perfectly."
Adrian spun her around in tune with the music and
gave her a dazzling smile. To some he might be considered
handsome, but she had suffered much at his hands during her
training. There was a time she fancied herself in love with
Adrian, but that time was long since gone.
"I hate to see you like this, Alice. Hurry up and come
home, and I'll make it worth your while." He winked at her.
Gooseflesh spread across Alice's arms. There weren't
many she feared, but Adrian was one. During her training, he
took her innocence so she would understood the ways of the
world. He was brutal and cold about it, teaching her that men
were not the saviors women often made them out to be. But,
his suggestion now, while vile and thoroughly reprehensible,
had a different undertone than she wasn't used to. She
furrowed her brow at him.
"Are you attempting to be romantic, Adrian?" She
demanded.
He chuckled. "You're a woman of the world now. You
understand these arrangements, do you not?"
Always the mistress, never the bride. Alice ground her
teeth, a filthy habit she had developed of late, and glared at
Adrian. There was no way in hell she would be his mistress.
He was cruel and deceitful, everything she wanted to get away
from. Life in the Viking king's court was fraught with deception
and games at every turn. The thought of returning, especially
as Adrian's mistress, turned her stomach.
"I'll pass." She said flatly.
A spark of anger ignited in Adrian's eyes. He wouldn't
make a scene on the ballroom floor, but he pulled her closer
than was necessary and squeezed her hand so tight she was
on the verge of crying out.
"You, my pet, will do what I tell you to do." He
whispered in her ear. "I own you. When the king has no further
use for you, your fate will be mine to decide."
The song ended and Adrian swept her off the dance
floor, returning her to the edge of the ballroom. He kissed her
hand, a mischievous glint in his eyes, and then stood up and
leaned in to whisper in her ear again.
"I look forward to our time together, my pet."
She tried to keep the derision out of her gaze, but his
cocky grin told her she didn't succeed. As he disappeared in
the crowd, she knew she would have to figure something out.
It was possible that she could persuade the king to keep her in
his service rather than turn her back over to Adrian, but that
was a slim hope. Alice had put too much hope into winning
Derrick over, and now she was out of time.
She decided she would have to up her game. Being the king's
assassin was never an easy job, but she tried to avoid hurting
as many innocent people as possible. Still, if she was going to
avoid Adrian's grasp, she needed to make a powerful
impression on the king. Given that delivering Kristen was her
job in the first place, she didn't think he would settle for just
completing the original assignment. She was going to have
to kill everyone that mattered to Kristen, and that meant
Derrick and Lady Atchkinson. With a frown of discontent, Alice
left the ballroom to find her prey.

As Mel's carriage rumbled home, she had the strangest
feeling she was being followed. It started just toward the end
of the ball, and though she didn't detect anyone paying
significant attention to her, she couldn't shake the feeling.
Kristen used to tease Mel that her family's gypsy blood ran
deeper than Mel though because she had always been rather
intuitive and good with healing. But, whatever it was, the
feeling she had now did not bode well.

Mel glanced out the window of her carriage, but the
light inside made the dark outside all the denser. She couldn't
see much beyond the road so she closed the curtains and
frowned. Mel was certain she was being followed, but whoever
it was didn't seem interested in robbing her or they would have
stopped her by now. So, what could they want? Perhaps it
was one of Kristen's gentlemen looking for her and hoping that
following Mel would lead him to Kristen. But, Mel dismissed
that idea quickly enough. Kristen would laugh and tell her she
was being overly romantic.

Still, the feeling persisted the whole way home. She
didn't breathe a sigh of relief until she was safely locked
behind her townhouse door, and even then she instructed
several footmen to keep watch. Whoever was watching her
wasn't about to ruin her nightly ritual, so she went about
instructing her staff as she normally did and took her evening
tea in the parlor. She decided to read a book that night and
curled up by the fire to settle in. She wasn't sure if it was the
warm fire or the fact that she was pregnant, but she didn't get
further than the first two pages of the book before she was out
cold.

Several hours later, when the rest of the house had
gone to sleep, Alice crept down the stairs. She waited for Lady
Atchkinson to return to her rooms, but it seemed the woman
had fallen asleep in the parlor. Her servants lit the fire before
retiring for the evening, so when Alice walked in, Mel was
aglow in orange firelight. Something about the image
disturbed Alice's peace of mind and she rushed forward before
she lost her nerve. She couldn't afford to be emotional over
the situation.

Alice held a cloth over Mel's nose and mouth and
waited as the foul odor first woke Mel from her sleep, then
knocked her into unconsciousness. When Alice saw Mel's
eyes roll back into her head, Alice put the cloth away and lifted
Mel over her shoulder. She slipped out the back door with the
lady in hand and locked up after herself. The servants would
be none the wiser come morning, which suited Alice just fine.
Chapter 26