Lady Triumphs (The Black Rose Trilogy Book 3) Page 5

  On the steps outside, two large brutish men as identical as buttons awaited her. “Gentlemen, I do love you for your promptness.”

  “We take pride in it, Lady Wellcott,” Jack said after they’d stepped inside through the curtain and bolted the door

  “A man’s not worth his salt if he can’t keep his appointments,” Jasper echoed.

  Physically, they were so intimidating, it made her smile. Broad and strong, the twins were walking mountains of muscles with faces that appeared carved from granite. It was an asset they’d never fully utilized until she’d discovered them as unsuccessful players after a failed theatre company’s demise. The men were reduced to guarding stage doors and clearing pub brawls. She’d hired them both and was pleased to be their sole and extremely generous employer. If a mark needed intimidation, the twins earned their keep. Their acting skills and looks extended beautifully to the role of “brutish killers” but in reality, she knew the boys wouldn’t kill a spider if it strolled across their breakfast table.

  “Are you both well, gentlemen? How is your mother faring these days?” she asked.

  “She is much better since the weather’s improved,” Jack said. “Her doctor is very pleased.”

  “And she loves the new house,” Jasper added. “She swears that no countess lives better!”

  Serena shook her head. “She is blessed to have two such devoted sons. Don’t forget to set aside wages for yourselves as well. You are kind to see to her but even your mother would wish to see you preparing for your futures. If you’re each to marry one day…”

  The twins blushed. “We’re hoarding every shilling for—well, for such a hope.”

  “Good.” She hovered over them like a meddling aunt, but she liked the role. “Now, onto business!”

  “If you pardon, your ladyship,” Jack interrupted her. “May we ask?”

  “Yes?”

  Jasper cleared his throat. “H-how is Pepper?”

  “Pepper?” she asked in feigned surprise.

  “She didn’t seem herself and we’ve worried in the days since,” Jasper said.

  “When she came with your last packet after your return to London, she was too pale.” Jack crossed his arms. “Too quiet! We asked but she pushed it off.”

  Jasper nodded. “Something’s not right though. Barely a smile for us.”

  The twins had a soft spot for her beloved friend and she knew it was extremely mutual. Serena eyed them both briefly, acknowledging silently that she trusted them both to their marrow and that if ever a young lady deserved and needed two devoted strong guardians, it might be Prudence. “I will tell you this only in complete confidence. There was a bit of trouble in the country. She was…nearly overtaken in an attack by our host, a Mr. James Osborne.”

  “He’s dead!” Both men spoke at precisely the same moment in frightening synchronicity.

  She held up her hands, palms outward to calm them. For once, she believed there was no theatre involved in this show of fury. “I have dealt with him, gentlemen. Surely you know me well enough by now to know that I would never allow such a trespass to go unpunished?”

  “Punished is not dead,” Jack said grimly.

  “Dead is dead,” Jasper said.

  She gave them each a slow smile. “Trust me. You could not have done better. He will never recover and never trouble another girl again. Never.” Serena stepped closer to them, lowering her voice. “I said she was nearly overtaken, sirs. It was a frightening experience and no doubt, has made her spirit temporarily cautious. If you wish to be her champions, then I would advise you to do it with compliments, kind words and patience. She already likes you both but she would be mortified to think that you saw her as wounded or damaged in some unspeakable way. Women struggle with shame even when it isn’t warranted. So just be sweet! And see if you cannot earn a smile or two, yes?”

  The muscle in Jack’s cheeks tightened, betraying that he was gritting his teeth. “She has nothing to be ashamed of! Pepper is the dearest thing and that animal had no right to make her think less of herself when—“

  Jasper touched his brother’s shoulder. “We’ll see it right. Pepper is the dearest thing and she’ll come back around to realize it.”

  Jack nodded, his stance relaxing at his brother’s touch. “Yes. We’ll see to it. Compliments and kind words. That we can do easily enough.”

  “And patience,” Jasper added with a smile. “That might be a little harder.”

  “Patience,” Jack repeated softly, his eyes locked onto his brother’s gaze. “For Pepper, we will put the mountains to shame with a show of it.”

  The twins turned back to her, better prepared to focus on the business of the day. Jasper nodded. “What do you need of us, Lady Wellcott?”

  Serena lit another lamp and the three of them settled in to review the recent workings of the Black Rose. While she’d been gone, the twins had made sure that no loose ends unraveled and that any active marks of the Black Rose were not presenting any surprises. Payments were collected and discreetly distributed per Serena’s instructions. She shared what details she could of her plans and the importance of the upcoming weeks. Serena required a smooth Season and for all conduits of information to be open and clear, so the generosity of the Black Rose would be palpable.

  “Trent’s address in London,” she handed Jack a folded note. “Fitzherbert is his neighbor so quietly make sure that every servant in that house and if possible on that street is happy to help, gentlemen.”

  “God, Fitzherbert’s cook makes those ginger pies! Remember them, Jasper?”

  Jasper smiled. “We nearly drowned in those pies after Your Ladyship intervened for their girl! I went from feeling like a happy hero to wishing I’d never tasted pie.”

  Serena laughed. “Serves you right for eating two dozen in one sitting!”

  Jack shrugged sheepishly. “We didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, Your Ladyship. And it was…our first time…you know…playing the good guys.”

  Jasper nodded. “That was a change, wasn’t it?”

  Serena stood and the men followed suit, their meeting coming to an end. “You are always the heroes, gentlemen. Never forget it.”

  Jack elbowed his twin in the ribs. “Who needs pies when you can make grown men piss their pants just by looking at them, eh, brother?”

  Jasper elbowed his mirror image back, their humor catching. “Truer words have never been uttered by an idiot.”

  “Gentlemen!” Serena stepped back. “I will see you in a few days.”

  They nodded sheepishly and without another word, retreated through the hidden door into the alleyway. Serena locked the door behind them, and carefully made sure that no sign of their meeting remained. She extinguished the lantern and then made her way back to the empty dressing room.

  She pulled the bell and Pauline came quickly to discreetly collect the key.

  “Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to keep it yourself, Lady Wellcott?”

  Serena shook her head. “It is safe with you and I only use the room during hours of commerce.”

  Serena smoothed her skirts and returned to the front of the store as she began her retreat from the shop only to run into Lady Hodge-Clarence.

  “Lady Wellcott! What a thrilling chance! I did not realize that you patronized Madame Montellier’s tiny shop. I thought myself a genius to have discovered her and a wicked woman to keep her all to myself.” The dowager’s admission was less an honest confession than a subtle pout at the notion of competition.

  Serena ignored the complaint and kissed the woman on both cheeks. “Ursula, every woman who knows you seeks to follow in your footsteps. Why would I be any different?”

  “Ah, true. It is a burden I must bear with grace.” Lady Hodge-Clarence sighed dramatically. “If only I could get them all to march in step, wouldn’t that be something?”

  “It would certainly be a terrifying enough sight to win the day for workhouse reformation. Parliament would weep in horror and give
your ladies committee all that it wished, Lady Hodge-Clarence.”

  “You are an angel to say it, Lady Wellcott!” The dowager stepped back. “I shall call on you for support before our next club meeting. I am expecting your continued support.”

  “You have it. Always.” Serena said.

  “Madame Montellier! My schedule is overrun and I am too pressed for time. See that we do not dawdle for this fitting!” Ursula barked at the dressmaker before smiling at Serena. “The Season has just started and I am already awash in commitments.”

  “From your elegant demeanor, one would never guess at it,” Serena commented praying that Ursula’s wit was too dull to notice the sarcastic edge in her words. “But I shall leave you to your fitting and beg forgiveness for envying your gowns when I see you out and about, Lady Hodge-Clarence.”

  “Ridiculous flattery coming from you, Lady Wellcott!” Ursula said but the color in her cheeks and her girlish smiles betrayed that the words had done their work. “So very kind of you.”

  “I shall leave you to it,” Serena nodded and stepped back but not before Ursula shifted back to Pauline.

  “I want nothing you’ve made for anyone else, Madame Montellier! Do you hear me?” The dowager swept from the showroom toward the private fitting rooms.

  Serena didn’t flinch at the change in the woman’s tone, but gave her friend a sympathetic look when the dowager’s back was turned. It was the way of the world, but it was not the way of Serena’s world. Dismissed, she left Pauline to manage her next client.

  Ursula is a selfish cow but she’ll serve a purpose one day. Even if it’s just to salaciously repeat a bit of gossip I’ve manufactured, or confirm my reputation as a conservative and charitable woman… but that doesn’t mean I don’t long to slap her walrus whiskered face.

  Chapter Six

  The day of Drake’s ball unfolded in rare glorious sunshine and Serena had ordered every window in the house opened to take in the fresh air. She sat at her desk to attend to her correspondence and did her best not to be distracted as Phillip paced the room.

  “We should take the carriage out for a ride through the park,” he suggested. “It’s too fine a day to be a prisoner, Raven.”

  She smiled and set down her pen to turn toward him. “What a wretched jailer I am! I release you from this dungeon. Go for a ride if you wish, Phillip, but I am not about to destroy my schemes with an impulsive and public ride in an open carriage through Hyde Park with Sir Phillip Warrick at my side. Word would reach Trent before he sits down for tea.”

  Phillip rewarded her with a surly and searing look. “When this is over, woman, fair warning that I intend to impulsively and publicly make it clear for all to see in an open carriage that I am the man at your side and in your bed.”

  “What a scandalous notion!” she exclaimed, her cheeks warming with approval. “I do love it when you threaten to be wicked, Sir Warrick.”

  “I’ll do more than threaten. Set those letters aside.”

  She laughed, shaking her head. “Patience, my love.” She retrieved a note from the top of a small stack to show him. “According to Fitzherbert’s maid, the earl is a quiet enough neighbor and has received few calls. He’s gone out to meet his business cronies at his club but no one else.”

  “How in the world does Fitzherbert’s maid know where the Earl of Trent is going or who he is meeting?” Phillip took a seat next to the desk.

  “Apparently the dear girl has taken a keen interest in the earl’s driver and the man is proving to be very talkative.” Serena answered him without looking up from the paper. “As most men are after a bit of exercise.”

  “Raven! Tell me you do not have this girl prostituting herself for—information about Trent!”

  Serena looked up startled. “Don’t be ridiculous! Phillip Warrick! Don’t make me throw a paperweight at your head!” She placed the note face down on the desk’s surface. “That woman’s natural proclivities are her own to manage and if they serve my purposes, then I’m grateful for it, but she was rogering the earl’s man before I made my first inquiry. It’s luck, pure and simple, so cease that scowling.”

  “I apologize.”

  “I’ll consider forgiving you later.” Serena crumpled the small note and threw it at him, forcing him to smile. “Behave, Warrick!”

  He retrieved the ball and handed it back to her contritely. “Has his nephew arrived?”

  “No,” Serena said. “Apparently not. I’d thought to meet him tonight but we’ll have to wait and see.”

  “I pity the poor boy with Trent as an uncle. What twisted little soul comes from that family tree?” Phillip leaned back in his chair, a new idea seizing him and he gifted her with a wicked look. “Has anyone seen the boy? God, why do I have this sudden hope that he’s a club-footed hunchback?”

  “Stop trying to make me laugh.” Serena shook her head. “I am sure he is hale, hearty and whole. And we should probably stop referring to him as if he is nine and in short pants. Trent said he is a grown man so it hardly suits.”

  “Yes, but it gives me immense pleasure to imagine him as some squat crippled hedgehog so I hardly care.”

  “I won’t spoil your fun then.”

  “Raven,” Phillip sat up, his demeanor changing. “I have agreed not to interfere but I cannot simply sit idle or I’ll go mad. Give me something to do. I don’t care if it’s assisting you with your correspondence and overseeing your calendar to make sure you don’t miss a single opportunity to murder Trent.”

  Serena rolled her eyes but sighed. “I’m not going to murder him.”

  “Let’s not make any promises you can’t keep,” he said with a wry grin. “Employ me, Lady Wellcott.”

  “You would make a horribly distracting social secretary, Sir Warrick.”

  “Should we discuss my wages?”

  She stood to shift until her skirts were pressing against his legs, parting his knees. “Your wage would surely be commensurate with your skills. Are you well-skilled, Sir Warrick?”

  “To date I have not received any complaints, your ladyship.”

  He drew his palms upward around her waist and across her ribcage, then up to skim the rich curves of her body, as Serena bent over him, her lips lowering to graze his with the softest fires of her touch. If she’d meant to simply tease him with the game, it was clear that all bets were off.

  “Kiss me like that and I’ll never complain about being banished from your side in public again.”

  “What a temptation, sir!” She released him gently. “Please, get out and enjoy the day. Take a ride in the park and stretch your legs. Go home and make sure your servants haven’t reported you for missing.”

  “Very well. A ride and I will put in an appearance at my town home but I make no promises to stay away for long.”

  “I would never wish for that.”

  Phillip smiled. “There’s a relief.”

  Sunshine beckoned and a rare fresh breeze that made London perfumed and alluring won over his objections. He set out for a ride into Hyde Park, anxious to make the most of the day and find his balance. Phillip had never flourished in confinement and it felt good to ride out, even if it involved slipping from the stables to take a narrow brick lane from Lady Wellcott’s property to avoid any prying eyes. The clandestine nature of their relationship was an unpleasantly familiar wrinkle and he was doing his best not to be distracted by it. After all, he’d spent years longing for a happy resolution and for some relief from his guilt and loss. Chafing at the slight imperfections of their arrangement didn’t seem like a wise course but it occurred to him that not once had they ever enjoyed an open courtship or public connection.

  At least this time he could take comfort that it may be a temporary issue. Once she’d dealt with Trent, Phillip was confident that her fears would ease and he could renew negotiations for a more traditional relationship. But failing all else, he was wise enough to acknowledge the social storms to be weathered once the Ton got wind of Lady Serena Wellc
ott’s sinful choice to acquire a lover without a thought of marriage. He doubted she had thought of the price if she lost her social standing. Her current and future schemes all relied heavily on her ability to move about unhindered.

  Then again, I may be spending the rest of my life as her secret.

  His brow furrowed as the notion settled uncomfortably against his heart. If his Cousin Delilah safely delivered a son, his family would likely relax their scrutiny and lighten the pressure for him to marry and produce an heir. He could play the bachelor and clandestine role of the Black Rose’s consort without interference. But after years of wearing the mantle of his title and role as head of the family, a part of him regretted yielding the chance to make Raven his wife and lady. His imagination began to weave the picture of a babe in her arms and the life they could still have if she surrendered to—

  “Mind yourself, man!”

  Phillip reined his horse in sharply to avoid the collision with a carriage. The park was naturally crowded thanks to the weather and his daydreaming had nearly caused a ridiculous accident. Shame at his lapse made his face burn and his expression was grim. “I am terribly sorry.”

  The male passenger in the open carriage was not in a gracious or forgiving mood as he needlessly pulled the woman at his side protectively into his arms. “The reins are in your hands, sir! I suggest you use them!”

  Phillip touched the brim of his hat, bowed, then spurred his mount on to leave the scene. He was mortified at the mishap, disgusted that his thoughts could become so entangled that he had nearly steered his horse directly into a barouche.

  I know that love can make a man blind but I’ve never heard an instance where he forgot how to function entirely!