Talon was forced to cool his heels at Rockford’s townhouse while they waited for the viscount and the baron to arrive. Drayven suggested it would be in their best interests to discuss their next move, and Talon reluctantly had to agree. If they were going to work together to bring Nicholas and Collins to justice, then they had to have the same understanding of how they were going to proceed. In his experience, if the right hand was to prosper, the left hand needed to be apprised as well.
But that didn’t mean he was content to sit around and pace the earl’s study either. His nerves were strung as tightly as a bowstring. Of course, there had been many times when he’d been stuck at court for hours discussing a case, but then, none of those circumstances had directly involved him. Or Cora.
He ran a hand through his hair and stared out the window at the lavish gardens beyond. He imagined leading Cora through a scene similarly lovely, meandering along hand in hand, where they would pause and he would get down on his knee and present her with his grandmother’s wedding ring, an ametrine gemstone surrounded by diamonds. He had long thought he would offer her the heirloom just because the amethyst and citrine shades swirled inside made him think of her lovely eyes and her brilliant hair…
Good, God, he snorted. Much more of this and I will be spouting sonnets dedicated to her breasts…
He closed his eyes on a sigh.
But what fine breasts they were.
“Ah… I know that look,” Drayven drawled.
Talon flicked his gaze to where his cousin sat with a glass of brandy dangling from his fingertips. “What look is that?”
He didn’t even try to prevaricate. “The one that proves you’re moony-eyed over some chit.”
Talon rolled his eyes. “Sod off.”
Drayven grinned as he raised his glass to his lips. “Defensive. Another hopeless sign—”
Without thinking better of it, Talon snapped. “Hopeless is the last word I would use to describe what I feel for Cora. Whereas, hopeful—” He snapped his mouth shut, but the damage had already been done. He turned away as Drayven’s grin grew. He realized then that he’d been tricked into revealing the true nature of his heart.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Drayven droned on. “I don’t blame you. Those Upton sisters have a way of getting under your skin. Trust me, I know because I married one of them. And in a few months, we will be adding a new bundle of joy to the mix of abhorrent happiness that currently surrounds us. Honestly, if I wasn’t so damned content with my lot in life I might actually detest it.”
Talon turned back to him with raised brows. “You’re going to be a father?”
“I know.” Drayven stared into his glass. “It shocks the hell out of me too.”
Regarding his cousin, and the ghost of a smile that touched his mouth, Talon realized that love was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Living a life of revenge and sorrow after his parents’ murders, the harsh lines around Drayven’s eyes and mouth had dulled to a calm acceptance, if not peace.
“I never thought I would say this,” Talon swallowed thickly. “But I think you’ll make a great sire to a son or daughter.”
Drayven groaned. “Blast. I never thought we might have a girl.”
Talon’s face split into a grin. “Well, according to my calculations, it is a fifty-fifty chance.”
He laid his head back against the chair and closed his eyes. “I’m doomed.”
Talon thought of Cora with her sparkling eyes and the way she responded to his touch, and his lips twitched ironically. “Aren’t we all?” he muttered.
The conviviality ended with the return of Rockford and the abrupt arrival of Thompson, who entered the room with a rather grim expression. The Runner wasn’t an old man by any means, but it was apparent that the strain in his line of work was starting to wear on him. In the time Talon had known him, his hair had developed more streaks of gray and the wrinkles of his face had deepened. Talon wondered if he wouldn’t look similar by the time he put Nicholas away.
“I was so relieved to get your message,” the older man said. “I’ve been wondering how to contact you after—” He paused and cleared his throat. “Well, those rather unfortunate circumstances. But I daresay I was thankful I was at my office when your note arrived.”
A sick feeling started to swirl in the pit of Talon’s gut. “What is it?” he asked, even though he wasn’t altogether sure he wanted to know.
Thompson’s face turned grim. “It’s about your former confidante, Vanity Vane. She’s not to be trusted. She has been playing both sides of this game, as I recently discovered that she’s Turnbaugh’s mistress.”
Talon closed his eyes and uttered his second curse of the day, although this time it was aimed at himself. It there was one thing he’d learned at Whitehall, it was to never trust the enemy. Vanity had been an informant for him over the years, and even after he’d ended their intimate relationship, he’d naturally assumed they had parted ways as friends.
But surely it should have been no surprise to him that she might react as a woman scorned, considering the way he’d blathered on about how intense his feelings were for Cora. And now that he thought about, there had been several times over the past few weeks where she’d attempted to renew their former association, which he had gently rebuffed. It only stood to reason that to gain her revenge, she would take up with the one man sure to cause him the most pain.
He realized he should have seen all the warning signs, the ones that had been there all along, but he’d been too blind to see them. Until now. “Devil take it. It all makes sense.” He murmured, more to himself than anyone else in the room. “The smear of lip rouge on Nicholas’s collar, how quickly the guards at Newgate realized the switch with Silver, the threats to Cora…”
“What are you talking about?” Drayven held up a hand. “Cora didn’t tell us about any other threat beside Nicholas.”
Talon pursed his lips, but quickly explained about the carriage incident, the brick with its cryptic message, and the snake in the garden. “I thought it might have been Lady Wheaton behind it all since there is a decided connection to Nicholas, but the lip rouge threw me off,” he admitted. “Nicholas has proven how low his morals are, but I had a hard time imagining he would have taken up with someone that much older than him.”
Drayven shook his head and muttered, “Damn, Talon. How many enemies do you have?”
The marquess was ignored as Thompson interjected, “If it’s any consolation, I overheard that Lady Wheaton recently left the city for Bath.
“Well, at least there’s that,” Drayven drawled.
But Talon wasn’t so relieved at this news. My mother is in Bath…
He clenched his fists and forced himself to concentrate on the matter at hand. He had no doubt his mother could handle herself if her path did cross with Lady Wheaton. If not, he would deal with any additional treachery in all good time. “Our main priority at this point is Nicholas and Collins. We need a plan of action.”
As if on cue, a sandy-haired man walked in, followed by one with slightly lighter hair and a decided gait to his stride. It was the former gentleman who spoke. “The cavalry has arrived, gentlemen. What have we missed?”
***
Cora slammed the door behind her and leaned against the solid wood of the servant’s entrance at Sussex House, her lungs nearly bursting for the fear that tried to claw its way up her chest, her entire body shaking. From the time she’d learned of Nicholas’s plans, to the moment she arrived at her sister’s house, she’d managed to keep her distress at bay, but now that she was safe, the panic threatened to consume her.
Taking several deep breaths to calm her frayed nerves, Cora ripped the mob cap from her head and went in search of Clara. She made it to the foyer at the same time her sister walked in the front door with Lady Marsh.
She noted immediately that her maid wasn’t with them.
“Oh, Cora!” Clara rushed over and threw her arms around her sister, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Belinda is gone! She was taken into an alley right off of Bond Street and thrown into an unmarked carriage. In broad daylight!” She shook her head as if still unable to process what had happened.
Cora’s stomach sank. She was too late. “I know.”
Her sister gasped and looked at her in such a dumbfounded way, that had it been under different circumstances, Cora might have laughed. However, there was nothing humorous about their current situation. “How?”
“I overheard Nicholas speaking of it to his accomplice.” She replied grimly. “They think they have me, and now I’ve put my maid in grave danger.”
She saw her twin visibly swallow. “What happens when they realize they have the wrong woman?”
It was a question that Cora had refused to face until now. “I don’t know,” she whispered.
Lady Marsh walked forward. “I think we could all use some tea.” She looked at her daughter’s faces, which likely held similar downtrodden expressions. “Perhaps even something stronger,” she amended.
A short time later, Cora held her second cup of tea. Darla had added a splash of brandy to all three of their drinks, and it seemed as if the buzzing in Cora’s ears had finally subsided to a dull hum.
“Have you heard from Drayven?” Cora asked hopefully.
“Not yet,” Clara said quietly, and their mother put her arm around her in a comforting gesture.
“Don’t fret, dear. I’m confident that—”
When the front door opened abruptly, they all jumped, suddenly fearing the worst. But when the marquess strode into the parlor, Cora saw her sister’s face fill with relief. She raced into her husband’s grasp, where he held her close.
Cora looked away and closed her eyes in despair, her own heart clenching at the sight. The memories of the night before with Talon flooded her brain. She recalled the way he’d loved her so tenderly, the feel of his hands caressing her body, the kisses that were never-ending, and her stomach quivered, the effect making her yearn for him even more.
“What happened today? Did everything go as planned?” Cora heard her sister peppering Drayven with the questions that she couldn’t seem to voice. But then she said the one thing sure to gain Cora’s attention. “Oh, Talon, there you are.”
Her eyes flew open, her pulse thundered in her veins so furiously that she had to take several deep breaths to regain control of the raging emotions that tried to twist her heart in a thousand different directions.
But when she lifted her face to look into those adoring silver eyes…
Her face crumpled and she began to sob, the kinds of tears that wracked her entire body with their force. She was in Talon’s arms within seconds. He caressed her hair and rubbed slow circles on her back. “Shh. It’s all right. I’m all right.”
The room around them seemed to dissipate and fade away. The only thing that mattered in that moment was this man, and the fact he was here. With her.
When her tears finally subsided, he pulled back and wiped away the remaining moisture with the pad of his thumb. Cora’s heart somersaulted in her chest, but when he glanced down at her plain attire, she could tell he was confused.
“Why are you dressed like that?”
“It’s a long story,” Cora hedged, but she knew that she had to tell him the truth. She braced herself for the wrath that was sure to follow her admission. “I followed Nicholas today.”
Talon’s face immediately darkened and he rose to his feet, every movement filled with angry frustration. “What the hell were you thinking to put yourself in such danger?”
Cora lifted her chin, a stubborn determination taking root. “I meant to put an end to this nightmare once and for all.”
“How? By ensuring that you fell into his grasp?” He shoved a hand through his mahogany hair.
Cora flinched at his claim, for it was rather too close to the truth of what had happened to Belinda. Instead, she said, “I took precautions.”
“There are no precautions when it comes to men like him and Collins!” he thundered.
Her heart splintered at his aggrieved tone.
She met her sister’s gaze and saw a steely resolve enter those mismatched depths. “If it wasn’t for Cora’s plan today, then it wouldn’t be her maid with Nicholas right now.”
Talon stilled. “What do you mean?”
“Belinda and I switched clothes today,” Cora explained. “So that I could move about London without fear of being followed. I suspected Nicholas had someone watching me. It turned out I was right.”
“I know,” Talon snapped. “Which is why I made sure there was a Runner in place on the premises at all times.”
That likely explained the second man she’d seen. Either way, she didn’t care for his highhanded demeanor. “And you didn’t think to tell me?” she accused.
“Only to have you do something equally foolish as you did today?” He shot back.
Cora clenched her fists. He might imagine her to be some weak female that couldn’t handle herself, but he was wrong. “Perhaps, but at least my endeavors wouldn’t be for naught.” With her gaze steady on his face, she said, “I know where they plan to make the cask exchange.”
***
Talon had no doubt, in that instant, he was in love with Cora.
While he was upset over her bold actions, he couldn’t deny that it was rather courageous of her to do what she had. He certainly couldn’t see many other ladies of the ton acting in a similar fashion, no matter what might be at stake. But he couldn’t very well tell her that without condoning her behavior. The truth was, knowing she had been that close to danger sent a chill up his spine that permeated his chest and froze his heart. He lashed out, not because he was angry, although he wasn’t pleased at her revelation, but because he couldn’t imagine living without her.
With her violet eyes flashing fire and her back straight with pride, she was all that he’d ever wanted — could ever want. When this was all over, he was determined to do whatever possible to convince her of the same.
“How do you know this?” Drayven asked curiously.
Cora turned to her brother-in-law. “I overheard him discussing it with another man at a tenant building in Billingsgate.”
Talon pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to keep his calm. This fact didn’t ease his mind in the slightest, but since the information she likely carried was crucial, he asked, “What did they say?”
“Nicholas said that his mistress was taking care of — things, and that they were leaving the city as soon as I was in his — possession.”
Talon heard the hitch in her voice that proved this information had unsettled her. He knew the feeling all too well. “Was that all?”
“No. His accomplice mentioned something about meeting his buyer in two days somewhere in East Sussex.”
“Somewhere?” Drayven reiterated. “So you don’t know the exact location?”
Cora shook her head.
While this was rather discouraging news, Talon had to wonder…
Granted, it had been years since he had stepped foot anywhere near his crumbling inheritance on the coast, but it seemed that Camber Priory might be a rather logical setting in which to make an illegal exchange. It was virtually abandoned and rather isolated, the only person in residence that he last knew of from his solicitor, was an elderly caretaker who could easily be disposed of.
Of course, he wasn’t sure if that was where Nicholas was headed, or how he might have even learned of it, but with his tie to Vanity… “I have an idea,” he said slowly. “As farfetched as it might sound.”
“At this point,” Drayven returned dryly, “I believe any ideas are welcome.”
“I think they may be headed to my estate.”
Drayven snorted. “Why would they choose that old pile of stones?” Talon merely lifted a brow, and his cousin’s face lightened considerably. “My God, you might actually be on to something. It’s certainly worth checking out.”
“Indeed,” Talon concurred. “And if we could make it there before them…”
“We could set a trap,” Drayven finished.
Talon shrugged. He didn’t really have to say anything else. He could see the wheels turning in the marquess’s mind. As a former agent for Whitehall, he still retained that fierce instinct.
“I hope you’re not considering going without us,” Clara crossed her arms and glared at her husband.
“Clara,” Lady Marsh said gently, finally added to the conversation. “What about the baby?”
Drayven looked at his wife firmly. “An excellent point. I won’t do anything to put your life, or our unborn child, in jeopardy. You’ll be safer in London.” At that point, he turned to Cora. “However, we might be able to rely on your assistance, Miss Upton.”
“Absolutely not.” While Talon’s voice rang about the room with finality, Drayven stood to face him with an expression he knew well, and which might end up with them rolling about the room in fisticuffs.
“She would be a good distraction to have for Nicholas, and you know it.”
Talon clenched his fists. He took a menacing step toward him. “I won’t use her as bait.”
Drayven’s dark eyes glittered in challenge. “Well, it’s not really up to you, now is it? Or have you forgotten the other men who have pledged their assistance? We have to do whatever it takes to end this.”
“She stays out of it,” he growled.
“You may not like it, but Drayven is right.” Talon shifted his gaze to Cora, who had stood as well, as if forming a united front against him. “If Nicholas is focused on me, then he won’t be looking for something that could be out of place, giving everyone else time to act.” She moved forward and laid her hand on his arm. “Please, Talon. Let’s stop this. Together.”
Talon was torn between his honor and his pride. He didn’t want to give in to her plea only to regret it later, but as usual, he couldn’t seem to deny her anything. Even if the request wasn’t something he agreed with.
In the end, he turned his focus back on Drayven. “If we do this, you have to promise me that she doesn’t get hurt.”
His conviction must have shown on his face, for Drayven inclined his head. “You have my word.”