Not Quite A Gentleman

Twenty-one

Today’s Modern Woman must realize that not every love affair will have a happy ending.

A Ladies’ Guide to the Pursuit of

Personal Happiness and Intimate Fulfillment

by Charles Brightmore

Nathan was aware of Victoria dashing to her father, falling to her knees beside him, but his attention was riveted on the wooded area beyond the ruined cottage. A slight movement behind a thick tree trunk alerted him. Dropping to one knee to make himself a smaller target, he aimed his pistol at the tree. “Stay down, Victoria,” he ordered in a low voice.

“Drop your weapon, Nathan.” The command came from behind the tree. For an instant Nathan froze at that familiar voice. Then white-hot anger and betrayal shot through him. You bastard. Before he could reply, the voice continued, “I have a pistol aimed right at her head. If she moves, I’ll kill her. If you don’t follow my directions to the letter, I’ll kill her. Now set your pistol on the ground and push it away.”

Nathan’s gaze flicked to Victoria, who was pressing the hem of her gown against her father’s bleeding wound. She looked up at Nathan with wet, horrified eyes. “Keep as much pressure on his wound as you can,” Nathan said in a terse undertone, “but don’t move.”

Moving slowly so as not to be perceived as making any sudden moves, Nathan set his pistol on the ground then shoved it aside.

“Good,” came the voice. “Now do the same with the knife in your boot. Don’t bother to pretend you do not have it, especially as I’m the one who gave it to you. For your birthday five years ago, as I recall.”

Nathan slid the knife from his boot and shoved it aside.

“Now stand up and put your hands on your head.”

After he’d obeyed, Nathan said in a mocking voice, “Brave enough to show yourself now?”

Nathan remained still as a statue, his gaze burning into the man who stepped out from behind the tree. Holding a pistol in one hand, his other hand resting on the hilt of a sheathed knife tucked into the waistband of his breeches, Gordon approached.

“Very kind of you to locate the jewels for me, Nathan,” Gordon said in a conversational tone, his gaze flicking down to the worn leather sack at Nathan’s feet. “I knew if I followed you, you’d eventually lead me to them. You cannot imagine what an inconvenience it’s been trying to locate them for the past three years.”

Nathan’s mind whirled. Damn it, he needed time, a diversion, yet if there was any hope of saving Lord Wexhall, he couldn’t stall for long. “You betrayed us three years ago,” Nathan sneered. “Why? Why risk everything when you already had everything?”

Stark hatred burned in Gordon’s eyes. “Everything? I had nothing. My father had gambled away everything-my entire inheritance-except the entailed property. He left me with a half-dozen homes I couldn’t afford to maintain and that I couldn’t sell due to the entailments. I needed money-a lot of money-and quickly.”

“Because of your greed, my brother could have been killed.”

Gordon’s face twisted. “Your brother was supposed to have been killed. And I was only supposed to have been grazed.”

Understanding dawned and Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “And I was supposed to remain uninjured, thus thrusting the guilt upon me. How much did you pay Baylor to betray the mission?”

“Too much. And the bastard ruined everything. He got away with my money and the jewels. Once I recovered from my gunshot wound, I searched everywhere for him. I’d given up hope of ever finding him or the jewels until you showed up. When I learned Wexhall was sending his daughter to Cornwall, I knew something was afoot.”

“You searched Lady Victoria’s belongings.”

“Yes. Sadly, I didn’t find what I was looking for.”

“And you hired that thug who robbed us in the woods.”

Gordon chuckled. “Very clever of you, Nathan, having a false note with you. Clever, but exceedingly annoying. I wasted a week chasing false clues.”

Nathan’s gaze shifted briefly toward Victoria, who stared at him through solemn eyes. “That bastard you hired nearly killed Lady Victoria.”

Unfortunately, Gordon didn’t follow his gaze, as Nathan had hoped he would. “If it makes you feel any better, he’ll never hurt anyone again.”

“A tremendous load off my mind,” Nathan murmured. “You cannot possibly hope to get away with this.”

“On the contrary, I’m confident I shall. No one will gainsay the word of the Earl of Alwyck.”

“I will.”

An unpleasant smile curved Gordon’s lips. “Dead men can’t tell tales, Nathan. Now give me the jewels.”

“If you’re going to kill me anyway, why should I?”

“Because if you do as I say, I’ll allow your father to live. If not, I fear he shall meet with a tragic accident. Now pick up the jewels very slowly and toss them to me. After you do, your hands go back on top of your head. You’ll have one chance to make a nice, gentle toss I can catch. If you fail, Lady Victoria will have drawn her last breath.”

Nathan picked up the leather satchel and nimbly tossed it to Gordon, who caught it in his free hand. He lifted the cache up and down several times, testing its weight, and a slow smile curved his lips. “Finally,” he said. “And now-”

“There was no need to shoot Lord Wexhall,” Nathan said quickly, clasping his hands on his head.

A look of utter disgust passed over Gordon’s features. “He got exactly what he deserved. God only knows what he was doing here today. Looking out for you, no doubt. You always were his favorite of the three of us. Never understood why. Never understood why he gave you the chance to recover the jewels.”

Nathan shrugged. “He thought I could use the money. If he’d known your financial difficulties, I’m sure he would have given you the opportunity.”

“It makes no difference now. I have the jewels.”

Nathan flicked his gaze toward the ground. “Um, yes. Yes, you do.” He made a tiny sideways kick with the toe of his boot.

Gordon’s gaze dropped to the ground and riveted on the dirty blue velvet drawstring bag near Nathan’s boot.

“What is that?”

“Nothing,” Nathan said a shade too quickly.

A gasp came from Victoria. “No, Nathan,” she said in a low hiss. “Not those, too.”

Gordon’s eyes narrowed on Nathan. “Holding out on me, Nathan?”

“No.”

“Another bag of gems?”

“Those stones are mine,” Victoria said in a shaky voice.

“How greedy you are, Lady Victoria,” Gordon said, making a tsking sound. He tucked the leather cache under his arm then pointed toward the blue velvet bag. “I’ll take those as well, Nathan. Nice and slow, just like before.”

Nathan slowly bent his knees, reaching down, never taking his gaze from Gordon. Just as he rose, an unearthly wail of distress came from Victoria. Distracted, Gordon’s gaze shifted to her. It was all Nathan needed. With lightning speed he hurled the blue velvet rock-filled reticule at Gordon. The weighted bag struck him on the temple with a sickening thud and he went down like a tenpin. Nathan ran forward, ripping off his cravat. “Keep the pressure on the wound, Victoria. I’ll be right there.”

Using the cravat, he quickly tied Gordon’s hands tightly behind his back in case he regained consciousness. Then grabbing Gordon’s pistol, he turned to Victoria and her father.

“Are you all right?” he asked her, dropping to his knees.

“I’m fine. But Father…”

“Let me look,” he said, gently moving her pressing hands away from her father’s shoulder. “I need you to bring me my knife. Then I want you to gather up the jewels and our tools.”

She scrambled to her feet and seconds later returned with Nathan’s knife. He gently rolled her father onto his back and checked his pulse. Strong and steady. He used his knife to cut away the bloodied jacket and shirtsleeve. Probing the oozing wound on his shoulder, Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. “Flesh wound.” He looked at the purple bruise on Lord Wexhall’s forehead. “Looks like he’s unconscious from knocking his head on the ground.”

“He’s going to be all right?” Victoria asked, kneeling beside him, her arms filled with their belongings.

“Yes. His wound is little more than a scratch, and he has the hardest head of anyone I’ve ever met. I suspect he’ll have a devil of a headache for the next day or so.”

As if to prove his words, Wexhall groaned. They both looked down. “Ooooh, I’ve a devil of a headache,” he murmured. He blinked several times then attempted a smile at his daughter. “Victoria,” he whispered.

“I’m right here, Father,” she said, a catch in her voice.

Nathan heard the pounding of horses’ hooves. Retrieving his gun, he peered around the corner of the crumbling wall. Seconds later Colin rode into view, followed by a man Nathan recognized as the local magistrate.

“Am I too late?” his brother asked, dismounting before he’d even fully reined in.

Nathan smiled. “You’re right on time.”

Several hours later Victoria stood next to her father’s bed, holding his hand. Father, propped up on a mound of fluffy pillows, glared at the assembled group standing around the bed.

“I wish you would all stop staring at me,” he grumbled. “I’m perfectly fit.” The impatience in his voice let Victoria know more than his words that he was telling the truth. “If you don’t believe me, ask my doctor,” he continued, indicating Nathan with a bob of his chin. “I’ve been bathed and bandaged within an inch of my life, and have been told that I have to take a nap. My injuries only look serious because of all these blasted bandages wrapped around me. A sling for my arm, linen strips around my head, why ‘tis ridiculous. I sustained a scratch on my shoulder and bump on my head.”

“I think the bandages make you look rakishly handsome,” she teased. “And rather… helpless.”

“Just how I wish to be viewed,” Father grumbled.

“Consider yourself fortunate that I do, lest I’d be tempted to lay you low for not confiding in your daughter about your secret life as a spy.”

“Or your sister,” Aunt Delia said with a sniff.

“Now see here, Victoria, Delia, I couldn’t very well tell you something like that. It was imperative my identity remain secret.” He sighed. “Of course, the cat’s out of the bag now. Looks like I’ll be retiring.”

“I realize you couldn’t tell, Father.” Victoria leaned over to kiss his cheek. “I’m very proud of you.”

Color rushed into his pale cheeks. “Thank you, my dear. As I’m proud of you. A father couldn’t ask for a better daughter.” When Aunt Delia cleared her throat, Father hastily added, “Or a better sister.”

Everyone chuckled, then Nathan’s father said, “Well I for one am anxious to know exactly how this all came about.”

“I think perhaps Colin should begin,” Nathan said. “I’d be very interested to know the details of how he came by this.” He pulled a piece of ivory vellum from his waistcoat pocket and dangled it in front of his brother.

Lord Sutton’s brows shot upward. “Where did you find that?”

“On the balcony of your bedchamber. You must have dropped it during last night’s nocturnal visit.”

A sheepish look crossed Lord Sutton’s face, then he grinned. “Rather careless of me.”

“Yes. Who did you steal it from?”

Nathan and his brother exchanged a long look. Then Lord Sutton said softly, “You never doubted that I stole it from someone? Never believed I’d arranged to have it stolen from you?”

“No.”

“Your faith in me is more than I deserve.”

“I disagree, but we can argue about that later. Now, from whom did you steal it?”

“A man named Oscar Dempsy. A week ago, I visited a tavern in Penzance where I heard this brute at the next table bragging about stealing a treasure map from ‘a doc and a little lady’ which he planned to sell for a large price. Being the incredibly clever gent I am, I suspected he meant Nathan and Lady Victoria. I bought the man several rounds, heard the story of how he cornered them in the woods and gave the little lady a nick for a souvenir. During his tale I relieved him of his ill-gotten gains. I briefly excused myself, claiming, um, personal needs, and quickly copied the note and map. When I rejoined him, I slipped his copy back in his pocket without him ever being the wiser.”

“Very ingenious,” Nathan murmured.

“I thought so. I’d intended to follow Dempsy to see who he sold the letter and map to, but unfortunately one of those tavern brawls broke out and in the melee I lost him. I practically haunted the tavern for the next four days, but he never returned.”

“He’s dead,” Nathan said in a cold, flat voice. “Gordon killed him. Probably not ten seconds after getting the letter from him.” He looked at his brother. “Why didn’t you come to me with this information?”

Lord Sutton met his brother’s gaze. “As soon as I learned that it was indeed you he’d robbed and Lady Victoria he’d hurt, I realized I’d made a terrible mistake ever doubting you. Why would you hire someone to rob you? And I knew, without a doubt, you would never do anything that might endanger Lady Victoria. I decided then and there that I had to make amends for the terrible disservice I’d done you.”

Nathan’s gaze flicked to Victoria and she nodded. He’d been absolutely right about his brother’s motives. “Go on,” Nathan said.

“After deciding Dempsy wasn’t coming back, based on the information in the letter and map I’d copied, I took a boat to the Isles of Scilly and did a bit of searching, but turned up nothing. I was surprised to run into Gordon there, especially since he suffers from seasickness and hates the boat crossing to the islands. We chatted, but I found him evasive, and of course, I was equally so. He returned to Penzance with me, and although we parted amiably, my suspicions were aroused. I decided to come back to the house last night and do a bit of eavesdropping to see what I could find out. I wanted to know if you’d located the jewels, or were close to doing so.”

“Clearly you heard something that prompted the search of my bedchamber,” Nathan said.

“Yes. I heard you mention a grid map. When I discovered it in your boot heel-nice hiding spot, by the way-along with the letter and map, I realized that I’d been on a wild goose chase.”

“What was in the sack you were carrying as you skulked away from the house?” Nathan asked.

Lord Sutton grinned. “Clean clothes.”

“Hmnm. And what happened after you eavesdropped then stole my belongings?”

“I returned to the inn in Penzance and pored over that drawing all last night, yet I couldn’t figure out where to search next. But then Fate stepped in, in the form of Lord Wexhall. I’d just finished breakfast this morning when he strolled into the dining room. He was as surprised to see me as I was him.”

Victoria’s father picked up the story from there. “I’d arrived in Penzance last night with the thought in mind of doing a bit of snooping around the area before making myself known.”

“Once a spy…” Nathan said with a smile.

Her father smiled. “Yes, old habits die hard. Anyway, after some discussion, Sutton filled me in on his plan to recover the jewels and clear Nathan’s name. I pulled out the replica of the map I’d hidden in Victoria’s luggage-” He glanced up at her and gave a sheepish grin. “Sorry, my dear.” After clearing his throat, he continued, “Sutton showed me the letter and map and grid he’d taken from Nathan’s room. It was immediately apparent that for some reason his map was noticeably different than mine.”

Nathan’s gaze shot to Victoria and heat crept up her face. “I did say that I wasn’t an artist,” she said in her own defense. “And it was your goat who ate the original.”

“Goat?” Father asked, raising a brow.

“I’ll explain later,” Victoria said. “Continue.”

“Sutton studied my map,” her father went on, “and Nathan’s grid map. With the proper drawing, it didn’t take him long to figure out that the sketch depicted three streams. And that he knew of such a place that wasn’t already marked off on the grid map. We compared thoughts and theories and realized that since neither of us had betrayed the mission and neither believed Nathan did, that only left one person who could have-Gordon.”

“That realization pushed us to act,” Lord Sutton said. “We rode here to tell Nathan and Lady Victoria what we’d learned, but they weren’t here. We realized they must be searching for the jewels, and since they’d apparently left very early, we surmised they might have figured out the correct place to search. Since we didn’t know where Gordon was, and we needed to find Nathan and Lady Victoria right away to warn them, Lord Wexhall and I split up. I went to Alwyck Manor to confront Gordon, and I told Lord Wexhall how to get to the ruins by the stream. When I discovered Gordon wasn’t at home, I went immediately to fetch the magistrate, then we went to the ruins. We were nearly there when we heard the most god-awful, inhuman-sounding wail.” He looked at Victoria and winked. “Nicely done.”

“Thank you.” She turned to Nathan. “And very nice throw of my reticule filled with rocks.”

With a sheepish look, he inclined his head in thanks. “I shall personally pen an addition to the ‘useful weapons’ chapter in the Official Spy Handbook. You are unquestionably a genius.” He coughed modestly. “Of course, my aim is unsurpassedly excellent.”

“I agree. And it was no less than he deserved. I did tell him those stones were mine.”

Nathan smiled at her. “Indeed you did. And I must commend you on your fine performance. You picked up on my ruse perfectly.”

“Where is Lord Alwyck now?” asked Aunt Delia.

“Magistrate took him away,” Nathan said. “He’ll never see the outside of a prison cell again.” He turned to Victoria’s father. “And now, since you know everything, as your physician, I must insist that you rest.”

“Yes, yes, all right,” Father said with grudging acceptance. “I agree I need to rest, especially since I wish to leave tomorrow.”

It seemed all the air was sucked out of the room at his words. “Tomorrow?” Victoria repeated weakly.

“Tomorrow?” Aunt Delia and Lord Rutledge said in unison.

“Tomorrow,” her father repeated firmly. “My doctor has already given me permission to travel.”

Victoria’s gaze flew to Nathan, who regarded her with an unfathomable expression. “Is this true?” she asked. “Is it really safe for him to travel? Surely it would be better if we were to wait.”

“I agree it would better,” Nathan said, “but his injuries are minor enough that traveling won’t impose any danger to him.”

“I must return to London as soon as possible and deliver the jewels to His Majesty,” Father said. His gaze shifted between Victoria and Aunt Delia. “We’ll plan to depart directly after breakfast. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Aunt Delia whispered. Not trusting her voice, Victoria merely nodded.

“Well, now that that’s settled,” Nathan said, “I must ask everyone to leave so my patient can rest.”

“I’d like a private word with my daughter, Nathan.”

Nathan’s gaze met Victoria’s, and again she couldn’t read his thoughts. “Of course,” he said. He was the last to leave the room, and quietly closed the door behind him.

Father turned his head on the pillow and searched her gaze. “Have you enjoyed your time here?”

Warmth instantly flooded Victoria’s cheeks. “Yes.”

“But you didn’t expect to.”

“To be perfectly honest, no. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised.”

“Suspected you might be. Always good to have a change of scenery before making any huge decisions.”

“Huge decisions?”

“Like who to marry. I saw Branripple and Dravensby the night before I departed London. Both wished to be remembered to you.”

Lords Branripple and Dravensby. Good heavens, she hadn’t thought about them in days.

“You seem to have formed a friendship with Nathan,” Father said.

Victoria studied him, but his eyes were as innocent as his tone. “Yes.”

“Glad to know it. He’s one of the finest, bravest men I’ve ever known. Deuced brilliant when it comes to deciphering codes. Impressed me the first time I laid eyes on him.”

I know precisely what you mean. “He’s been very kind to me,” she said, inwardly cringing at the inadequate words.

“And what of his brother, Lord Sutton? Another very fine man. Has the mien of a gentleman and the hands of a thief. Excellent combination for a spy.”

“Lord Sutton was away during much of my visit, but I enjoyed his company while he was here.”

“Well, good. I know you didn’t want to come here, my dear, but I knew it would be good for you.” He patted her hand. “A father knows best about these things.”

Before she could ask what “these things” were, he added, “Happy you enjoyed your visit, but I imagine you’re anxious to return to London. Get back to the Little Season and the business of considering marriage offers.”

“I… yes, of course.”

“I’d wager I’ll be seeing my girl betrothed before the month’s over.”

Victoria’s stomach performed a lurching tumble. Unable to voice an agreement, she simply nodded.

“Excellent. Well, you get a good night’s sleep, my dear. I’ll see you at breakfast.”

Feeling as if she were in a daze, Victoria leaned down and kissed her father’s cheek. After bidding him goodnight, she quit the room.

She walked swiftly to her bedchamber, her pace increasing until she was running down the corridor. After closing the door behind her, she leaned back against the oak panel. With her chest constricted and her breathing labored, she closed her eyes.

She was leaving tomorrow. To go back to her life in London. Her suitors. Her soirees and shops. To choose a husband. She should be filled with happiness. Anticipation. Relief. Instead, she was filled with a horrible sense of loss. A feeling of sick dread. A desperate ache that had her pressing her hand to the suddenly hollow spot where her heart belonged.

All the confused emotions simmering beneath the surface that she’d ruthlessly ignored and shoved aside for the past week gripped her in a vise she could no longer disregard. This feeling of desolation had nothing to do with where she was, but at the thought of leaving here. Leaving Nathan.

The realization that she didn’t want to leave this place where she so vehemently had not wanted to come stunned her. And right on its heels came the truth her heart could no longer deny.

She’d fallen in love with Nathan.