Page 27 of Lady Louisa and the Carriage Clock (The Rogue’s Alliance #3)

T he masked man subdued Louisa effortlessly and chuckled under his breath at her attempts to break free. She stilled, anger momentarily overtaking her fear.

“Bring her to the drawing room,” Lady Kettering said to the brutish man, who hoisted Louisa over his shoulder and carried her up the staircase.

Drop cloths covered most of the furniture and the staircase railings. When they reached the first landing, Lady Kettering led the way into a brightly lit room. The windows were covered by sheets, and several lit candelabras were placed throughout the room on shrouded pieces of furniture. The center of the room had a hole in the floor the size of a writing desk.

“We bought this house very cheaply. A leaking roof has caused damage to several rooms.” Lord Kettering was seated on a stuffed chair in the corner of the room and appeared quite comfortable speaking to a kidnapped woman in a derelict house late at night.

“She doesn’t care, darling.” Lady Kettering pointed to a ragged settee placed against the wall. “Put her there.”

The masked man stalked across the room and dropped Louisa onto the settee.

“Now go downstairs,” Lady Kettering said. “Keep an eye on the back garden after you dispose of the maid. Davis will remain at the door. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lord Wycliffe ignores Eliza’s instructions and brings Lord Harbury along. If so, the baron will be in hiding.”

That is what Louisa would expect of the viscount. She prayed he was on his way to Richmond and had a plan to free her.

“You’re sure he will come for the chit?” Lord Kettering asked with a frown.

“Eliza heard enough to know the man is enamored of the young woman. You know how servants talk. The great Lord Wycliffe even brought the chit flowers.” The lady swung her gaze to Louisa. “Of course, we still have to kill the man.”

“But do we have to kill the maid?” Lord Kettering asked haltingly, sounding like a spoiled child.

Lady Kettering replied soothingly, “She knows too much, my dear. Eliza was a tasty morsel for you; we will find you another. We always have.”

The maid the masked man was supposed to take care of was Eliza. She wasn’t surprised. If Lady Kettering had her way, Louisa and Cecil would be dead soon as well.

A man’s voice called from downstairs, “A coach has arrived.”

“There’s your prince now.” Lady Kettering exited the room, only to return a moment later with one of the masked men and Lord Wycliffe in tow. “Place your firearm on the floor, Lord Wycliffe. Everyone knows you carry one.”

Cecil pulled a flintlock from the inner pocket of his jacket and placed it on the planks beneath his feet. Lord Kettering stood up, a pistol Louisa hadn’t seen before in his hand.

“Are you all right, Louisa?” Lord Wycliffe made to move toward her, his gaze intent on her face as she could only nod in response.

“Stop right there,” Lord Kettering said, pointing his gun at the viscount.

“This makes no sense,” Cecil replied with a frown. “What can you hope to accomplish? I’ve already alerted Lord Sidmouth that the clock identifies you as the third founder of the RA, Lord Kettering.”

The other man chuckled. “That’s where you’re wrong, Lord Wycliffe.”

“Give me the gun, darling,” his wife said, her voice coaxing. “I know you don’t like the sight of blood.”

Kettering handed over the gun.

“Before you kill me,” Cecil said to Lord Kettering, “I need to know who murdered my brother.”

The man replied with a shrug, “I have no idea.”

“It was no one of any importance,” Lady Kettering said with a low laugh. “One of two men who we sent to take care of a problem and then were killed for the effort. Wycliffe was a threat, so he was neutralized. It’s as simple as that.”

There was a long silence. Louisa watched the emotions race across Cecil’s face: surprise and then anger.

Just then, a disturbance could be heard downstairs.

“Get down there!” Lady Kettering jerked her head at the masked man. When he had gone, she waved the pistol at Cecil. “Come closer, Lord Wycliffe, and sit next to your little friend.”

Cecil walked to sit beside Louisa on the old settee. “It will be all right, Louisa.”

“It won’t be all right, Lord Wycliffe,” Lady Kettering replied, shaking her head.

“As I said, you’re wrong. I’m not one of the founders,” Lord Kettering said musingly. “My wife is. She and I grew up near Lord Daventry. We were all playmates as children.”

“Shut up, darling,” his wife said in a steely voice.

“Don’t you want to take credit for your misdeeds, my dear?”

She turned to her husband, careful to keep her body half turned towards Louisa and Cecil. “You’re going to take all the credit, my love. Even with the clue pointing to me as Venus, these two assumed you were one of the founders. Nobody suspects me, only you.”

Lord Kettering looked confused, then alarmed by her words. “I’ll tell Sidmouth the truth!” He took a step away from his wife.

“My dear, I’m going to kill you along with our two guests. When someone arrives to put out the fire our lackeys set, I will be home in Mayfair.”

“You can’t kill me!” The man’s face turned purple with rage.

She raised the gun and aimed the weapon at his chest. “I have to.”

Lord Kettering looked at Cecil. “There’s a ledger in our home. In my study. It lists the names of all RA members and proves that my wife is one of the founders of the Rogue’s Alliance.”

Kettering then rushed toward where Cecil’s gun rested on the floor, and his wife shot him. Clutching his chest, he stumbled toward the lady, falling and bringing her to the floor with him. They rolled over once, twice, until they fell into the gaping hole in the floor. A moment later, a crash could be heard downstairs.

The viscount jumped to his feet and retrieved his gun. “Stay here, Louisa. I’ll return in a moment.”

She nodded and remained where she was. Cecil disappeared from the room, and for a while, there was silence. Then, a cacophony of sounds met her ears.

What was going on?

* * * * *

L ady Kettering had been wrong. Cecil always carried two pistols. Seated next to Louisa as he was, he would have to push her out of harm’s way when he made his move.

The scuffle between husband and wife had negated his plan.

“Stay here, Louisa. I’ll return in a moment.”

Cecil edged his way down the main staircase, stopping in surprise when he saw the entry hall. The front door was open, and Henry and Bones stood facing him. He raised his gun.

“We’ve got the RA goons tied up outside,” Henry said gravely. “There’s a couple dead on the floor in the room to your right. The man was shot, and the lady looks to have broken her neck in the fall.”

“That would be Lord and Lady Kettering. They ordered one of the goons to kill Eliza,” he kept the gun trained on Bones as he spoke.

The man nodded, his face full of sorrow. “Aye, I found her body when I snuck up on the criminal guarding the back terrace. Poor Eliza was strangled. I believe she worked for the RA, my lord.”

“And you?” he asked grimly.

“I merely made the mistake of trusting her. My loyalty is to you, my lord. Always has been.”

He stood staring at the other man for some time until they heard carriages arriving outside, and Nathaniel rushed into the entry hall, followed by Leopold.

“Cecil! Where is Louisa?” Nathaniel took in the scene around him. “Sidmouth must have got the news about Kettering as there are several Home Office agents outside.”

Cecil put the gun back in his jacket, turned, and ran upstairs. With so many other people in the vicinity, he wasn’t worried about Bones and Henry for the present.

“It’s all right, Louisa.” He rushed to her, pulled the gag from her mouth, and began untying her hands. “Everyone is all right. You’re safe now.”

He put out a hand to help Louisa to her feet. She took it, letting out a long sigh as she stumbled into his arms. Cecil held her close, relieved that she was now safe.

“Louisa!” Leopold raced into the room, and Cecil allowed Leopold to take Louisa from him. Leopold picked his sister up and held her to his chest. “I’ve got you. Let’s get you home.”

The lady smiled weakly at Cecil from her place in Leopold’s arms and then closed her eyes. He saw tears slip down her cheeks, and he squashed the urge to take her from her brother and comfort her himself. He followed Leopold from the drawing room.

When Cecil returned downstairs, he addressed Nathaniel, “We have to get to Kettering’s townhouse in Mayfair as soon as possible.” He wouldn’t say more as he had no idea if he could trust Bones, Henry, or Sidmouth’s men.

“I’m taking my sister home,” Leopold said to two men standing nearby who were obviously from the Home Office. “You clean up here. I’ll brief Lord Sidmouth tomorrow morning after interviewing Lord Wycliffe.”

Leopold exchanged a look with him.

“I’ll be at my club in a few hours.” Cecil wouldn’t go home until he knew whether he could trust Bones and Henry.

Once in the carriage, Nathaniel said, “When I arrived at Carstairs, Leopold already knew Louisa was missing but had sworn her maid to secrecy so as not to alarm the family. He also had an agent, a groom, watching Louisa but the man was taken by surprise by Eliza's men.”

“Leopold is an agent for the Home Office?”

Nathaniel nodded. “He’s been working to root out the RA for the last two years. He told me part of his behavior toward you was to make sure nobody thought you were in league together.”

That explained several things to him.

“Lady Kettering was the third founder of the RA, not her husband,” he told his friend.

“Never say so!”

Cecil replied, “She was going to kill him along with myself and Louisa and then proclaim she didn’t know about his other life. Before she shot her husband, he told me there was a ledger in their home that lists the members of the RA. And that it would prove she was one of the founders.”

They were silent for a few moments, the only sound the striking of horses’ hooves against stone and the jingle of harnesses.

“When I entered the house, you were holding a gun on Bones.”

“Eliza was his cousin.”

In the gloom of the carriage, he could see Nathaniel frown. “So now you suspect Bones and Henry of being members of the RA.”

He nodded. “Of course.”

“I can’t vouch for Bones, but Henry works for the Home Office. Leopold told me.”

“That doesn’t exonerate his cousin,” Cecil replied grimly.

When they arrived at the Kettering townhouse in Hanover Square, a yawning footman in gray livery opened the door. “My lord and lady are not at home.”

“We know.” Cecil brushed by the young man. “They’re dead. Show me to the study.”

When the footman hesitated, he pulled out his flintlock. “Now.”

The man led them down a corridor and opened a door. “This is his lordship’s study.”

“You may leave us,” Nathaniel replied quietly. “I am Lord Harbury, my companion is Lord Wycliffe, and this is a matter for the Home Office.”

The footman took his leave without another word.

Cecil walked to the only desk in the room and rooted through the contents of the drawers. He finally found what he was looking for: a thick, leather-covered ledger.

“I’m surprised they left the list where anyone could find it,” Nathaniel commented.

“The household is probably filled with members of the RA. The Ketterings felt safe here. And possibly a little too sure that they were untouchable.”

Cecil opened the ledger to see what looked like rows of transactions. The notations about money were easy to read, but the abbreviations that might be names were not.

Nathaniel looked over his shoulder. “They used a cipher.”

“Can you crack it?”

“I know someone who can.” He paused. “Leopold.”

“Leopold?” he asked, raising a brow.

“On the way to Richmond, when I expressed surprise that he was an agent for the Home Office, he regaled me with an account of his many skills.”

Cecil digested that information in silence. “I’ll tell Leopold about the ledger when I meet him at White’s.”

“That’s an odd place to meet.”

He shrugged. “There will be plenty of people about and it is neutral ground. I’m not returning to Curzon Street just yet, and I won’t bring any more threats to your home or Carstairs.”

“I must return home and let Edith know Louisa is all right. After that, you can take my carriage to White’s.”

Cecil closed the ledger and led the way from the study, his flintlock in hand. When they returned to the entry hall, they encountered three young men attired in the Kettering livery.

“Stand aside,” he said to the men, holding up the pistol. “Lord and Lady Kettering are dead. The Home Office will descend on this house very soon looking for ties to the Rogue’s Alliance. If you have anything to hide, I suggest you leave the premises now.”

At those words, the men scattered.

When they had exited the house, Nathaniel called to his driver, “Grosvenor Square.”

Seated across from his friend, Cecil clasped the ledger, his thoughts straying to Louisa.

“She is all right,” Nathaniel said softly. “Leopold will see she is well taken care of.”

Cecil didn’t ask of whom his friend spoke. He closed his eyes for a short while, thinking of how it had felt to hold the lady in his arms. It had felt right. He sighed, opening his eyes.

Now was not the time to think of Louisa. He had a job to finish. If he let himself think of her, and dream of another life, he would let his guard down. He would concentrate on deciphering the ledger annotations. Three years of hard work had resulted in him finding the book he now held.