A Little Bit Scandalous (16 page)

“She was very distressed this morning after your wretched display of masculinity. Honestly, Roe, she deserves much better, you said so yourself.”

“It is done now, Mother, there is nothing I can do to rectify it.” Had he to do it again he would have brought up marriage in a slightly more sensitive way. But he’d been so damned afraid she’d tell him no that he hadn’t given her an option. Once he’d decided to marry her, the thought of not having her for his wife filled him with dread. But now she seemed to be gone.

So it was that Roe found himself standing in her darkened townhome. She was not there, nor was there any sign of her. He went to Rodale’s and made a quick run through the back room, but she was nowhere to be found. In fact, the room was rather empty. So then he quickly made his way to his Aunt Aggie’s house. As he walked into the blue parlor, he spotted Boomer sitting in a wing-backed chair, reading.

“Just the man I wanted to see,” Roe said.

Boomer looked up at him over his book. The man looked at Aggie and she shrugged.

“Have you seen Caroline?”

Boomer shook his head.

“Is she missing?” Aggie asked, a frown furrowing her brow. “Is Millie simply beside herself with worry?”

“Yes, my mother is quite concerned, but I don’t think Caroline is missing. I suspect she’s gone to play again.” Perhaps she’d decided she needed to win the rest of the money she needed so she could follow her plans of moving out and living on her own devices. His mother had told him earlier when he’d returned from making arrangements for their wedding license that Caroline had left and she’d been distressed, claiming she wanted to be alone for while. That had been more than six hours ago and no one had seen her since.

Damn her stubborn hide. He would find a way for her to continue to play if it was that important to her. And she could keep all her bloody winnings. He couldn’t have her sneaking away though. Then a sickening feeling hit him. What if Justin had been correct and Nigel Lamb had recognized her? He could have come after her, and she could very well be in danger.

“Do you know anyone else I can ask?” Roe asked. “Anyone else who might know where she is?”

“Finley,” Boomer said.

“The gossiping butler, right?” Roe asked. “Caroline told me about him. Where would I find him now?”

“He wouldn’t be at Rodale’s because he’s working. Lord Bromley’s townhome.” Boomer came to his feet. “I’m coming with you.”

The ride to Lord Bromley’s seemed to last an eternity. He’d been prepared to find her at Rodale’s. He’d been prepared to catch her in Grey’s disguise, sitting there playing. He’d have been angry, but at least she would be safe. But it simply wasn’t like Caroline to run away. Even when she’d left before, after her proposal to him, she’d told him she was going.

If Lamb had her, though, there was no telling where she’d be. In all of his investigations of the man, Roe had been unable to locate a residential address for him. Roe made a quick stop off at Dover House earlier in the day because he wanted to check in with Mrs. Hancock and let her know that Mr. Lamb was being investigated, and that she should report back to Roe any unusual goings on.

At the time Roe hadn’t known that Caroline was missing, but he knew she hadn’t been there, nor had anyone seen Mr. Lamb. In fact, no one had seen Mr. Lamb since yesterday afternoon.

Once the carriage stopped, Roe wasn’t even certain his feet touched the steps that led up to Lord Bromley’s townhome. Together, he and Boomer stood on the front stoop and waited for someone, hopefully Finley, to respond to their knock.

Finley did open the door, then his eyes rounded in surprise. “May I help you?”

“Do you know where Caro—”

“Have you seen Grey, the boy who plays at Rodale’s sometime?” Boomer interrupted him, saving Roe from revealing Caroline.

He nodded to Boomer, silently thanking him. She might have gone off to play on her own, but she would never do so dressed as herself. She was brazen, but not a fool.

“I have not. Good player, that boy.” He looked behind him, then stepped out onto the stoop with them and closed the door behind him. “But I do have it on great authority that there is a high stakes game going on tonight at Pollard’s. Perhaps he went there and bought into that game. Too rich for me.” The man continued to prattle on, but Roe had already walked away.

She wouldn’t be safe at Pollard’s. No one was there to keep an eye on her, not Boomer, not Justin. Roe only hoped he wouldn’t be too late. He’d chastise her later for her questionable judgment. For now he only wanted to make certain she was safe.

The difference between Pollard’s and Rodale’s was vast and unnerving. The clientele at Pollard’s was rougher and more sinister-looking than the men she’d played before. They also appeared twice the size than that of her usual opponents.

She was very aware, for the first time since she’d begun donning this disguise, that she was a woman trapped in man’s world, in a very physical way. She felt small and weak, and frankly terrified. She’d never felt in danger at Rodale’s. This was quite different. Not only were the stakes much higher in this game, but the bets were double that of Rodale’s. Her nerves were distracting her enough that she was not doing well with her count. She lost her current hand and heard Mr. Lamb clear his throat behind her. He sat on a stool, gun in his pocket. He’d assured her that if she did not cooperate he’d kill her and return to Lady Winguard’s to kill Gretchen and her sisters as well. But Caroline wasn’t trying to lose; she was simply terrified. Not so much for herself. If he shot her, she’d die and it would be over with. But to know that he would kill those poor children…She could not abide that thought.

She closed her eyes and took three deep breaths. It was time to focus on the cards, forget everything around her, and see only the numbers. She opened her eyes and found it was the perfect time to do so as it was time for a new deck. The dealer shuffled gracefully and the men around her chatted, but no one spoke to her and she paid no attention to them. Her eyes were trained on the table, on the dealer’s hands.

The first hand went around and she and two other men beat the dealer. She relaxed a measure, but kept her eyes on the cards. She won her next hand. And the next. This was working. All she had to do was continue to win, give Lamb his money, and then she could return to Roe. At the moment she didn’t even give a damn that he didn’t love her. She loved him and she desperately wanted to tell him.

There was a ruckus behind her, but she kept her eyes locked on the table, ignoring any would-be distractions. It would not do her any good to allow the goings on around her to cause her to lose count. She was finally ahead. Then suddenly Mr. Lamb was behind her, close enough she could feel the warmth from his body. “Don’t try anything,” he whispered close to her ear. “I’ve got my gun on you.”

She looked up, planning to tell him he was not helping her focus on the game, but she saw Roe walk toward the table. He caught her gaze and she shook her head, trying to warn him away, but he was not to be deterred. He stopped, standing on the opposite side of the table from them.

“A quick word with my cousin and then we shall be out of your way,” he said motioning to Caroline.

The other men at the table seemed uninterested, until Mr. Lamb raised the gun and settled it on her temple.

“Your
cousin
is otherwise engaged,” Mr. Lamb said.

“Step away, Roe. This will all be over soon. I need only to finish the game,” Caroline said.

Roe stood to his full height and looked at the man behind her. His features were set in an anger so fierce he nearly didn’t look like himself. “I’ll kill you if you so much as touch her.”

Caroline tried to shake her head, but the cold metal of the gun prevented the movement. “Roe, it’s not that simple. He has one of the girls, too. He says he’ll kill her if I don’t play, if I don’t win.” Caroline knew she was no longer disguising her voice, but it seemed a moot point now. No one would care that she was a female if her blood was spattered all over their cards.

Roe’s hands clenched into fists. “Where is the girl? Where is he keeping her?” Roe asked through his teeth.

“Lady Winguard has her at her townhome. She’s Lamb’s mother.”

Two men came from the crowd and stepped toward them. They both gestured to Mr. Lamb. Evidently Lady Winguard had sent reinforcements, more than likely because she didn’t trust Mr. Lamb and wanted to secure her investment. But no one told Caroline to be quiet, so she kept talking. “He owes her a large sum of money, and, Roe, she’s a nasty woman, I think utterly mad. Threatened to kill the girl herself if Lamb wasn’t back with the money by tomorrow morning.” She bumped up her chin, motioning to the other men that had stepped forward.

Roe looked around and nodded. “Lamb, give her to me. Whatever amount of money you need, I’ll give it to you.”

Mr. Lamb eyed Roe, then smiled. “I don’t think I’ll need that offer, but I won’t say no just yet.” He tapped the gun lightly on Caroline’s head. “Caroline, I want you to reach forward and gather all the monies on the table.”

The other men who had quietly observed until this point stirred.

“I’ll kill you all if you touch one single coin,” Mr. Lamb told the men. He waved the other men forward and both of them retrieved guns of their own.

Of course Caroline wouldn’t be surprised if the men at the table also had weapons, but so far none of them had reached for one.

“Caroline, collect the money,” Mr. Lamb said.

She looked up at Roe. He shook his head so she didn’t move.

“Mr. Lamb, consider this for a moment, these men at the table are not likely to allow you to simply walk out of here with their money. Why don’t you follow me to my townhome and I’ll issue you bank notes in whatever amount you deem appropriate?”

“No!” Mr. Lamb shook his head violently. “No, I struck a deal like that with Lady Winguard, and she will not let me out of her clutches. It’s never over with you people. You think you deserve everything and you’re all so bloody entitled to everything. No. We’ll take this money, now move, Caroline. Now or I’ll shoot you.”

Caroline ignored the tears in her eyes and reached for the money. She stretched forward to gather the money of the man across from her and he clamped his hand down on hers with a heavy slam.

“This is not my fight,” he said in a low gravelly voice, “and that is my coin.”

In a blur of movement, Roe charged at Mr. Lamb and the two other men jumped the other men at the table. Fists flew and slammed into faces and stomachs. Then there was a shot.

Pain shattered through her shoulder and she screamed.

Roe ran toward her, catching her before her head fell to the hard floor. “Caroline!” She saw his lips form her name, but the sounds in the room blended together. Cold surged through her body and she shivered against the chill. “I love you,” she tried to say, but she wasn’t sure if the words came out. She wasn’t even sure if her lips moved.

And then everything went black.

…

How could she be gone?

Roe looked up to see Mr. Lamb standing there, horror etched on his face. He stood and grabbed the man by the shirt. “What have you done?” he roared at him. Then he hit him so hard, the man crumpled to the floor. Roe wanted to kill him, knew he could with his bare hands, but that would solve nothing and it certainly wouldn’t bring Caroline back.

He’d failed her, failed every damn person he’d ever loved. The realization that he did, in fact, love Caroline, hit him hard, nearly knocking him to his knees. Why couldn’t he have seen it sooner, realized it this morning when he demanded she marry him? Had he proposed with words of love, she likely wouldn’t have left the house alone and then that bastard, Nigel Lamb, wouldn’t have gotten his hands on her.

The man lay in a heap on the floor.

Roe took a deep breath and knelt once again by Caroline. He smoothed his hand over her hair and gritted his teeth. “Oh Caroline, what have I done?”

“Roe?” Her voice came out in a harsh whisper.

Her eyes opened and stared up at him. He pulled her up, gathering her to him. She winced in pain. “I’m sorry, love, we’ll get you out of here, get you a doctor.” With that he scooped her up in his arms and stood cradling her against his body. He stepped over Mr. Lamb’s body and headed for the door.

“Roe, wait, what about Mr. Lamb, is he dead?” she asked, glancing at the man on the floor.

“No, he’s not dead. I just hit him really hard. He’ll have a hell of a headache when he wakes up.” He looked down at the man and resisted the urge to go back and kick him. “I’ll send the police to collect what’s left of him.”

“You can’t leave him here with these men. He tried to rob them. I doubt they’re going to stand by and wait for the police to show up.”

“Yes, precisely.” And then they left.

Roe didn’t remember much of the carriage ride back to his house. He’d sent Boomer in a separate rig to retrieve the doctor. Once they arrived home, Roe carried Caroline directly to his bedchamber.

He placed her gently on the bed, and retrieved some brandy for her. He urged her to drink several sips while they waited for the doctor.

“I said everything all wrong this morning,” he said.

She frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Can we pretend this morning didn’t happen, that I didn’t demand you marry me?”

Her eyes widened. “You’re calling off the wedding?”

He put a finger to her lips. “Shh, let me talk for once. What I should have said this morning was that I’ve been an idiot. That I love you madly, and I can’t believe I ever considered marrying you off to someone else. I want you to be mine, only and forever mine. I can’t promise I’ll be a good husband, but I will do everything in my power to endeavor to do just that. I shall never even look at another woman, which shouldn’t be hard considering you’ve ruined me for them in any case. Caroline Jellico, will you do the honor of marrying me and becoming my duchess?”

She winced a little and he thought she might faint again, but then she gave him a small smile. “I’m not certain I’m up for the task to redeem you. It’s going to take plenty of work.”

“I have no doubts about that,” he said. “But if anyone can do it, it will be you. Because for you, I would do anything.”

“And you don’t mind that I’m only a baron’s daughter?”

“What? No, I never even considered it. I don’t care who your father was.”

“Roe, I love you madly. I fear I always have, and I know I always will. Of course I shall marry you.”

“It’s about damn time,” his mother said from the doorway.