Page 23 of The Honorable Rogue (The Notorious Nightingales #5)
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
T wo days after their rescue of the Acton twins, Charles walked down the street with Violet’s note in his pocket. He’d have strong words to say to her about meeting him in a park, presumably with just her maid. Not in one of the popular areas either. The woman was playing a dangerous game with her reputation.
Word had come via Tabitha Varney this morning that Fred was now out of danger, and they had set up a nursing roster to help Clemmie and his wife. Mr. Greedy had then called an hour later to check Charles’s shoulder.
He hadn’t argued with the man. After all, he had just spent the last three days working tirelessly to keep Fred alive. Charles had sat and let the man check his shoulder. After a lot of tsking over the bruise on his cheek, he’d reluctantly agreed that his shoulder was fine.
Mr. Greedy had then gone to the parlor to drink brandy with Bram and Ivy.
That was the thing about Crabbett Close. It didn’t matter your standing in life; you were welcome in anyone’s home. He found that humbling in the society they lived in, where your standing meant so much to so many.
Violet’s note had arrived yesterday. The words “Meet me at 1:00 p.m. in the park” were in looping black ink and underlined twice, as if she considered him an imbecile and highlighting them made them clearer.
Why did that make him smile? She loves another, and he’s someone you can never compete with. He needed to remember that fact. The hell of it was, he wanted to see her again.
She’d chosen to meet where the knitting group gathered, which offered them privacy at least. The fine weather had people out and about, and he weaved around them to reach his destination. Arriving at the gate, he walked through with five minutes to spare and struck out on the path to his left.
“Good day to you, Mr. Thomas,” Mavis Johns said as she strode past him.
“Mavis,” he called to her rapidly disappearing back. Crabbett Close residents were everywhere, he thought. He was a tall man and thought he had a long stride. However, that woman was an Amazon and could outstride anyone.
Finding the narrow path, he walked along it and into the trees. He did not have long to wait before Miss Althorp arrived, but not with her maid—no, her friend Miss Wilson.
“Miss Althorp, Miss Wilson, good day to you both. This is a surprise.”
“What happened to your face?” Violet demanded, narrowing her eyes. “It looks horrid.”
“I ran into a fist. Now how about you tell me why you thought coming here to meet me, a man, was the right thing to do?”
“I could hardly meet you in a tea shop, could I?” she protested.
“If anyone sees us?—”
“I am here, as you see,” Miss Wilson said .
“And why is your friend here, considering we were keeping this between us?”
“My friend is a vault when it comes to secrets. However, Miss Dabbers can be bribed, so I have brought Miss Wilson with me and told her everything that is going on.” The words rushed out of Violet’s mouth. “I assure you, it was necessary to come here, as unlike you, who can just wander about hither and yon?—”
Charles raised a hand to stop the lecture that was coming. “I understand. There is no need for a lecture.”
“I assure you not a word spoken today will come out of my mouth even if I am tortured,” Miss Wilson said.
“Let’s hope it does not come to that, Miss Wilson,” Charles said gravely.
Violet wore cream today with a chipped bonnet that had fat apricot ribbons tied perfectly. Miss Wilson wore blue, and he was sure she was equally appealing, but he had eyes for only one woman.
“I have translated the note,” Violet said, getting it out of her reticule.
“Excellent.” Charles held out his hand.
“It is a puzzle that directs the reader to another clue,” she whispered once again, looking around her.
“I doubt that in our current location, you need to whisper,” Charles said.
“We must show caution because if this is part of the hunt for that treasure, then no one can know we have found it.”
“I found it.”
“And I translated it,” she snapped back.
Charles swallowed his smile. This woman would never back down from anyone, which he guessed came from being the youngest sibling of four. He felt an alarming sense of well-being around her. She invigorated him, and that was an uncomfortable thought .
“And yet we digress,” Miss Wilson said.
He took the paper and read it aloud, the words once again in her loopy handwriting.
“In the heart of the forest, where the moonlight falls, a castle stands without walls. Look not for doors but seek the beast, as what you seek lies beneath.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Charles asked, looking at the women. “Beg your pardon,” he added, realizing what he’d said.
“Think nothing of it,” Violet said. “I felt the same way. But I’ve given it some thought and come up with a few ideas. The castle without walls could represent something hidden in plain sight. The beast might be an obstacle or a guardian of the truth or a key to something.”
“The possibilities are endless, surely? It’s very vague,” Miss Wilson added.
“I have absolutely no idea how you came to that conclusion from those words,” Charles said, which had Miss Althorp tsking.
“It is thinking in a different manner, Ch—Mr. Thomas. If Mr. Pavlov was a man who liked reading and deep thinking, there is every chance that his clues will not be easy to decipher. Hence, you cannot do so rationally.”
“Charles will do, if you will allow me to call you Violet.”
“I agree this is not a time for formality,” Miss Wilson added. “I am Tilly.”
“If this is to do with the Pavlov fortune, and I say if ,” he added as both women opened their mouths, “it could only be the first clue in many.”
“Oh, but doesn’t that excite you?” Violet asked, her lovely eyes alive with interest. “We could find the next one by solving this one.”
“I hate to temper your excitement, ladies, but it is believed Pavlov put clues in some of his books and then distributed them all over England.” As he finished speaking the words, someone else’s thoughts slid into his head.
Circle around and take them all. Don’t shoot. He wants them alive. If they’re harmed, he will make us pay .
He stepped closer to the women and leaned in to whisper, “Someone is coming for us. Two men, I believe, likely armed, and they mean to capture us. Now I want you both to turn and run in a straight line out of the park, and I will follow,” Charles said.
Wide-eyed, the women nodded, thankfully believing him. Charles pulled his pistol from the back of his breeches. Something had made him carry it today, and he was now glad he had. To his right, he heard the crack of a branch.
“Go to my family if I do not return,” he said, waving them forward.
“If you run that way, we will follow!” Miss Althorp whispered loudly. “We must stay together.”
“Do as I say,” he hissed back.
“No,” both women replied.
“Walk quietly back toward the road,” he whispered. Cursing their stubbornness, he nudged them both in the spine to get moving and followed. They’d only taken a few steps when the two men stepped in front of them on the path.
Charles knew their capture would likely mean they’d never return. He had two seconds to make a decision and took it. Sprinting past the women, he kicked out at the armed man like Bram had taught him, dislodging the gun.
A sound like a war cry then filled the air. He saw a flash of blue and cream before receiving a punch to his already-sore face, which angered him. He jabbed left and right, and thankfully the man dropped to the ground. Turning, he saw Miss Althorp was now on the other man’s back, while Miss Wilson was kicking him in the shins .
“Jump free, Violet!” Charles bellowed. When she had and Miss Wilson stopped kicking, he punched the man in the jaw, sending him to the ground.
“Run!” Charles followed. He didn’t stop until they were on the road. A carriage was coming toward them. The driver had his cap pulled low and a scarf around the lower half of his face.
“Move off the road and as far away as you can,” he said, stepping back. “I think that carriage was with those men.”
“I feel ill,” Tilly said as she and Violet did what he asked.
Charles watched the carriage draw level, cursing the fact he’d lost his pistol in the fight. He tried to look inside and saw only the back of someone’s head. A woman , he thought, but as they were on the far side, he could not be certain. He then watched the carriage roll away from him, and in seconds, it was out the gate and gone.
“Charles!” Violet reached him first.
“Walk calmly,” he said gripping the hand she held to him, briefly. “We need to reach a hackney. You are safe now.”
“Do you still have the note?” she asked.
He glared at her. “I do, but the note is the least of our worries, madam.”
“You’re bleeding.” She dove into one of his pockets and pulled out a handkerchief. “Press this to it until we can call a hackney. But make haste.”
She then lengthened her stride and passed him.
“Where are you going? Get back here at once!” Charles roared. “We have no idea if there are more people watching us.”
Ignoring him, she ran through the park gate with him and Tilly on her heels.
“What is she doing?”
“She’s very forceful,” Tilly said. “It may pay you to remember that in the future. ”
To his shock, he then watched Violet tear off one of her gloves and place her fingers in her mouth. She let out a shrill whistle. In seconds, a hackney came trotting toward her. In that moment, Charles couldn’t decide whether he was impressed or angry.