[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
would be no tomorrow. lt was wild, passionate, and slightly desperate.
The actions of two people holding on until the end, desperately hoping for
more and trying to extend the present.
It was sad, joyful, exhilarating, and heartbreaking.
They finally dragged themselves into bed and lay entwined, clinging to
each other, not willing to relinquish the night.
She rested her head in the crook of his shoulder. He stroked her back until
her breathing became even. She had told him that she detested him for his
charmed life. But the only thing she hated him for was making her fall in
love with him.
Stephen smoothed Audrey s hair and gazed at her sleeping features. The
recurrent question was ever-present. What was he going to do with her?
He closed his eyes, and soon his breathing was as even as Audrey s.
Audrey waited for Stephen to fall asleep. She had feigned sleeping so
many times she considered herself a pro. This time she had truly earned
the title.
She looked at his handsome profile, relaxed in sleep. Lord, he was good-
looking. And thoughtful. And caring. And stable. He was the most
wonderfully grounded man, but with a verve for life that would always
keep him from being stuffy. Dear God, why had she fallen in love with
this man?
Audrey slipped from his embrace, regretting more than ever her chosen
path. There was no room for a man in her life. And if there ever were
room, a woman like her didn t deserve a perfect man like Stephen.
She slipped into the closet and gazed at the bureau. Inside was the secret
compartment she had never found. The compartment he had opened while
she had been undressing for her bath. She bit her lip. That he had trusted
her enough to open the compartment while she was even in the same
house, no less in the next room over . . .
She swallowed and buffered her resolve. Kneeling, she turned a series of
knobs, exposing the bounty beneath. It was an ingenious system. The
lever was completely invisible until triggered. And the innocuous-looking
bureau already contained a very easy-to-find hidden compartment,
making the one underneath that much more devilish.
She opened the box and was startled to see the keepsakes within. Her
white satin ribbon from the costume ball was on top. The last time she
had seen it, he d been caressing it with his fingers, a sad pensive
expression on his face. A miniature of a smiling blond woman was next to
the ribbon. Her features proclaimed her a close relation. His mother no
doubt. A heavy signet ring was alongside. His father s?
Audrey could scarcely breathe. He had placed her ribbon inside the box
with his most private and treasured possessions.
Remorse clogged her throat as she moved the things aside. She had to
think clearly, rationally--like Hermes, master thief. Some documents and
items occupied the next layer, and she shifted them as well.
A dull glint caught her eye. A pocket watch.
She picked it up and examined the watch that Travers so desperately
desired. Opening it she traced a set of initials and what appeared to be a
family motto. It had to be a gift from Travers s father or brother. It looked
like a family heirloom, which would explain Travers s bitterness.
This was the one item that she knew would buy her sister s freedom.
The item that would lead to Audrey s damnation.
Audrey reassembled the contents on top, pausing over the ribbon,
miniature, and ring. She added a letter she had written earlier and locked
everything in place.
Stephen would know it was she who had taken the watch, but perhaps he
wouldn t check for a day or two. Just enough time for her to save Faye
and, she hoped, make amends.
She dressed in her shirt and trousers, pocketed the watch, and stepped
back to the bed. Stephen was sound asleep, breathing deeply.
The last few days with him had been beautiful and warm, like the
summer. Their frenzied passion and the soft, whispered words in the dark
had been a glorious autumn. And now the inevitable winter. Barren trees,
frost, and cold nights. She had been walking down winter 's path for so
long. The reprieve with Stephen would forever be locked in her heart, a
memory.
The clogged feeling threatened to overcome her, and she turned away.
She abandoned her traveling case and slipped through the door, silent
tears streaming down her face. Despair and regret mingled. She d be fine.
Faye would be saved and could make a new life in America, while
Audrey accepted the responsibility for her actions. It was time for her to
pay the price.
She stepped back onto the streets.
Stephen waited until he knew she had left the house. She moved
noiselessly, but something inside him signaled that she had slipped out
the front door.
He wiped a hand across his face and sat upright. She had taken the watch.
He had known she would after one of his men had relayed the overheard
conversation with Travers in the tavern. Stephen had deliberately shown
her where the hiding place was.
And he had hoped she wouldn t steal it. Had known she would, but had
desperately wanted to be proven wrong. The game was once more afoot.
Unless he accompanied her, she would be followed as soon as she left the
house.
He activated the secret compartments and opened the box. He slid the
ribbon through his fingers. The ribbon would remain in the box. A piece
of parchment with her handwriting caught his eye and he moved into the
light to read it.
He felt a stab of pain, then of resolve. The chase was back on.
Chapter 22
It took nearly an hour to walk to her house. She considered it an early
penance. One last breath of free air and space to move her legs before it
was snatched away.
She was in a miserable state by the time she reached the brick house. All
she wanted to do was clean up and sleep. But as she approached the house
she noticed something was peculiar. She checked the street. She had made
sure no one was following, but there could easily be men watching for her
return.
The shades were drawn in all of the downstairs windows. She walked past
the house and around the corner. It took extra time to dart through the
small backyards and around the gardens and fences, but caution was time
well spent.
Scooting around the back of her house, she peered into the drawing room
window. The shade was partially cracked. She could vaguely make out a
shape in a chair. Maddox. A fist connected with his jaw, forcing his head
to jerk back. Audrey pulled to the side.
Maddox s troubles had finally caught up with him. She chewed her lip,
trying to decide what to do. He was the bane of her existence always
creeping in at the wrong moment, always ruining whatever she had going.
How much easier life would be without him. It didn t take long to make
her choice.
Audrey crept through the back door and down the hallway. The servants
had probably bolted at the first sign of trouble. She pulled out the small
pistol that Stephen had given her the night before. It was unloaded, but
only she knew that. Peeking around the corner she saw one man
pummeling Maddox. Blood dripped down his face. Lucky for him the
attack had only just begun. Lucky for her they had put down their pistols
while tying Maddox to the chair.
One man was the talker, the other the muscle. "You don t got the money,
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]