Chapter Eighteen

The next morning, after the chaos of the night before at the theater and then the ridiculously wonderful experience of becoming Marcus’s lover, Kat finally crawled into her bed sometime after four in the morning.

She’d slept for a few hours, relatively well, though that was only to be expected after Marcus had kept her busy and thoroughly exhausted with his bedroom skills. And now that she’d awoken, she had to focus and get her mind back on her task, which reminded her of the decoded ledger she still had to read.

She changed into a simple day dress and strode over to her skirt from last night that was still hanging haphazardly from the chair. She pulled out the notebook from the pocket and flicked through the pages, noting several men’s names whose deaths were indeed attributed to the Chameleon, but then there were also other men listed whose deaths had been ruled accidental. Perhaps not so accidental after all?

Alongside all the names was a date of death and a sum, which Kat assumed was what the Chameleon had been paid to kill them. A nagging voice in the back of her mind had her flipping the pages until she reached the date of Victor’s murder. There, glaring back at her in stark black ink was Victor’s name, with a sum of five thousand pounds alongside it.

Utter numbness filled her as she began to comprehend what his name in the ledger meant. Someone had paid to have Victor killed?

She’d always assumed Victor was targeted by the assassin because he was getting too close to discovering the Chameleon’s identity. But now, in the face of what was before her, it seemed that assumption was incorrect. Gradually, the numbness was replaced with a hollow rage.

Five thousand pounds was all it cost somebody to have Victor killed? The thought kept repeating in her mind, coiling inside her like poison. She barely heard the knock at her door before it opened and in walked Daisy.

“I hate to intrude.” Daisy stopped at the entrance, a slight frown of worry creasing her forehead. “But Fenton told me what happened at the theater last night and I wanted to check you were all right.”

Kat turned to face her. “Five thousand pounds, Daisy.” Her voice sounded hollow, echoing exactly how she felt.

“What are you talking about?”

Marching over to the window overlooking the gardens, Kat rested her head against the glass as her fist pounded briefly against the wooden frame. “It only took a measly five thousand pounds to end Victor’s life.” Taking in a deep breath she pulled away from the glass and swiveled to face Daisy.

Daisy stumbled over to the chair Kat had just vacated and sank into it, her face blanching of all color. “But I don’t understand. I thought the Chameleon killed Victor because he was getting too close to uncovering the assassin’s true identity.”

“As did I.” Kat turned and began pacing across the floor, her bare soles oblivious to the cold seeping through the wood, while she briefly explained the discovery of the ledger. “Victor’s name was on the list.”

“Someone paid to have him killed?” Daisy exclaimed, her head dropping down into her hands. “Who would do such a thing? Did the ledger say who it was?”

“No. But I will find out when I find the Chameleon,” Kat said as a sudden urge to hit something, hit anything, came over her.

“Who had reason to kill him, though?” Daisy asked.

Kat shook her head. “I don’t know. He made many enemies over the years in his choice of vocation.”

Daisy’s eyes swam, bright with unshed tears. “I used to plead with him to retire from the spying game…he promised me he would, he just needed a little bit more time, he used to say… But then it was too late, and he was gone.”

Kat stopped pacing and walked over to Daisy, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I promise you I will find the Chameleon and the person responsible for Victor’s death.”

“No! Do you not see?” Daisy turned toward her and grabbed both of Kat’s hands in her own, her grip like a vise. “That’s why Victor was killed. He was too immersed in this ludicrous game of cat and mouse, just as you have become!”

“This is no game.” Kat’s voice turned cold as she shook free Daisy’s hands and took a step back. “I would think you of all people would want to find the person responsible for your husband’s death.”

“Of course, I do. But it will not bring him back. What it could do is take you away from us.” Daisy stood up, regarding her as her silent tears continued to flow down her pale cheeks. “Victor wouldn’t have asked this of you. He loved you more than anything.”

Kat clenched her teeth together, willing the tightness that was lodged in the middle of her throat to subside. Since his death, she’d questioned whether Victor had loved her or not. How could he have kept the secret that he was her father for all those years if he had? Taking in a shaky breath, she walked back over to the window. “Victor would be avenging me if our places were reversed.”

“Perhaps,” Daisy intoned, her voice flat. “And though Victor would have given his life for you, he would never have wanted you to give your life for him.”

“How dare you presume to know what he would have wanted!” Kat spun around to face her aunt. “You were married to him for what, ten years before he died? I was with him since I was four, Daisy. Over twenty years he trained me for this. I travelled with him, I fought with him, I was with him when he died. And though he wouldn’t have asked me to seek vengeance, he would have expected it. If you had spent as much time with him as I did, instead of shopping and socializing, you would know that.”

Instantly, she regretted the words. Daisy looked defeated, her delicate frame wilting under the harsh words. Kat exhaled roughly. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

“Yes, you did.” Daisy straightened and squared her shoulders. “It is true. I know I didn’t share the bond you and Victor had, nor did I go on your missions and trips to the Continent. But I do know this: he loved you more than anyone and anything.” She smiled sadly.

Kat breathed in deeply. “He loved you, too.”

“No, he didn’t. At least not in the way that counted, for he was never in love with me. His heart had been given to another, long ago. And then broken by her death. I sometimes think he only married me to obtain an heir and because of my linguistic skills.”

“That’s not true…” Kat’s voice lacked a ring of conviction, and they both knew it. The truth was that Victor only paid his wife any real attention when he had need of her skill of speaking three languages, to assist him in translating foreign correspondence.

Daisy’s eyes were bright with further tears. “It is true, but in his own way he did care for me at least. But he loved you, and I know he would not want you to give your life for his ghost.”

Kat felt a stray tear slide down her own cheek. She pivoted around to look anywhere but Daisy. She hadn’t shed a tear since the day of Victor’s death, not even at his funeral, and she wouldn’t do so now. If she did, she feared she might never stop. “I must find his killer, Daisy. I’ll not rest until I do.”

The sound of Daisy’s soft-heeled boots clipping across the parquet flooring as she walked over to where Kat stood echoed surprisingly loud in the silent room. She picked up Kat’s hand and gripped it in her own. “Please do not do this, Kaitlyn, I beg you. Stop looking for the Chameleon. No good can come of it, no matter what happens.”

“I can’t do that.” Kat shook free of Daisy’s fingers and stepped away from her.

“The Chameleon is an assassin, Kaitlyn. Perhaps killing even before you were born.” Daisy drew herself up to her full height, a good three inches shorter than Kat’s. “It’s madness to go after such a creature, and it will not end well. Please do not jeopardize us all. Samuel and I have already lost Victor, we cannot lose you, too.”

“I have no intention of dying.”

“Don’t be foolish, Kaitlyn!” Daisy raised her voice, the gentle persuasive tone turning harsh. “Victor certainly did not intend to die, but he died just the same.”

“He let his guard down.” Kat didn’t blink as Daisy stared at her with anger and accusation in her eyes. “I will not make that mistake.”

“You are so like him.” She raised her hands in the air and stomped her foot. The action was so completely at odds with Daisy’s normally genteel manner that Kat knew she was beyond upset. “So stubborn that you also refuse to listen to reason, just as Victor did! You will end up dead if you continue down this path, just like he did.”

A lump formed in her throat at the vehement statement. “I do not wish to quarrel with you, Daisy.”

“Then don’t,” Daisy pleaded, the anger leaving her eyes only to be replaced with desperation. “Stop this madness before it gets out of hand and you die!” Daisy swiveled on her heel and strode over to the door. She stopped at the entry and turned, looking back at Kat. “I know I’m not your blood relation, but Samuel is. Think about him and the danger you’re putting not only yourself into by chasing an assassin, but the danger you put him in as well. That you put all of us in. You risk breaking this family apart, Kaitlyn Montrose, because of your desire for vengeance at all costs.”

They stood staring tensely at each other before Daisy whirled around and disappeared down the hallway in a swirl of blue skirts, leaving lavender perfume in her wake.

An overwhelming helplessness washed through Kat as her eyes lingered on the empty doorway. Though Daisy had always been the voice of opposition in Kat’s rather peculiar activities, eventually she supported her. But Kat had the uncomfortable sensation in her stomach that they had just come across a chasm and were on separate sides.

Glancing at the window, Kat took in a deep breath. She knew what she had to do because contrary to what Daisy thought, they would never be safe until the Chameleon and whoever paid him to murder Victor were no longer a threat.

For a brief moment, Kat found herself wishing Marcus was there with her. That he would wrap his arms around her and take all of her worries and fears away. The longing for his embrace so deep, it pulled at her. She’d never needed anyone before. Had never really wanted anyone before. But she found herself quite desperately aching for him. The thought scared her as nothing else had in a long time.

“Excuse me, my lady?” Fenton said as he stood outside the room, holding a small silver tray with an envelope on it.

“What is it, Fenton?” She forced a small smile, trying to allay the concern she could clearly see gleaming in his eyes. “Have our informants discovered anything?”

Before retiring to bed, she’d filled him in on the events of the evening, except of course what happened with Marcus after. Fenton had no need to know that. Then she’d tasked him with finding out all he could regarding Lord Burton and the other targets.

“I put out the feelers as you requested, and Mr. Gingham has sent a note, my lady.” He handed her a small envelope.

“I can always rely on you, Fenton.” She deftly opened the gummed backing and pulled out the paper from the envelope. “It says he has information regarding a certain party’s funding and who is behind it.” Excitement filled her, lifting the tightness that had been pressing against her chest only moments earlier.

Fenton narrowed his eyes and hesitated for a moment. “Gingham has had useful information in the past, but to know who is behind everything? I think it is doubtful.”

“True.” Kat shrugged lightly. “However, I shall find out soon enough when I meet him at his bookstore at eleven thirty this morning.”

“Will you request the company of the Earl of Westwood?”

She felt her heart speed up at the mere mention of Marcus’s name, but it was an odd question from Fenton, who knew she mostly did everything on her own. “Why would I?”

He smiled slightly. “I know only too well how you can take care of yourself. However, after last night’s events, having him about gives me an even greater sense of comfort regarding your safety. The Chameleon is getting bolder, killing a lord in his own theater box in front of hundreds. Such recklessness concerns me. And I do worry over you.”

Her heart was touched by the statement. They might not share a drop of blood, but Fenton was family, and she worried over him, too. “Very well.” She owed Fenton so much that the least she could do was lessen his concerns, especially as he wasn’t asking her to give up her quest.

“Send Westwood a note and tell him of my movements. Oh, and would you also send Etta a note requesting her presence at the bookstore? Gingham has a soft spot for her and will most likely be much more forthcoming with her there than without, saving me some pounds he will be sure to try to negotiate.”

“I shall, my lady,” he said, his lips lifted at the corners. “And my thanks. I know you normally prefer to do things on your own, especially since his lordship…left us.”

Talking of Victor’s death had always been hard for them both.

“You mean a great deal to me, and I respect your suggestions.” The man was almost like a second father to her, aside from Victor. And considering Fenton was as stalwart as a rock, if he was worried, it wasn’t something to be ignored. “On another topic, though, we need to find out what Lord Burton knew or was involved in, that warranted someone paying for his death. And what connection he has with the others on the list. We also need to find out who this Silas Morriset and Bellis Perennis are.”

“I must say, the names sound familiar to me.” He rubbed at his jaw. “I’ll start making enquiries immediately after sending off the notes to his lordship and Miss Etta. If you will excuse me, my lady.” He bowed and turned on his heel, before departing down the hallway.

She watched his retreating form and frowned when she saw he was favoring his left side. The arthritis in his right knee was obviously flaring up again and as he liked to say, he certainly wasn’t getting any younger. She bit her bottom lip. She did not like that he was getting older. Not one little bit.

Kat really wouldn’t know what she’d do if she lost Fenton, too.