Page 23 of The Scarlet Spy (Mrs. Merlin’s Academy for Extraordinary Young Ladies #3)

Chapter Twenty-Three

“ A rjun!” cried De Winton.

“If you are looking for your guard, he is engaged in Naam Japna —the quiet meditation of God required of all good Sikhs each day,” said Sofia. “He won’t be waking anytime soon.”

“A dramatic entrance, contessa.” The momentary shock on Serena’s face had smoothed to a look of cold calculation. “But one that shows how unschooled you are to match wits with real professionals. By charging in with weapons drawn, you’ve made a fatal mistake.” Darting a look at her two henchmen, she gave a short laugh. “She has one bullet and there are three of us—shoot her.”

The lady had nerve, thought Sofia. To go along with her utter ruthlessness. As for her own emotions, she didn’t dare look at Osborne. She must remain disciplined, dispassionate.

Instead, she mimicked Lady Serena’s air of icy indifference. “You are right. Simple arithmetic would seem to add up in your favor. That is, assuming I don’t have a pocket pistol tucked in my trousers.” Sofia flexed her finger on the trigger. “So, who wishes to be the sacrificial lamb?”

“Sforza, you do the honors,” ordered Serena“Even if she manages to fire, she likely can’t hit the broad side of a barn.”

“Me?” The Italian wet his lips as he edged back. “Bloodshed was not part of our deal.”

“Especially his own,” said Sofia. Seeing Sforza’s uncertainty mirrored in De Winton’s eyes, she gave a curt laugh. “Your Scarlet Knight does not appear in any great rush to be a hero either. No doubt he prefers the coloring of his waistcoat not to come from his own veins.”

“Shoot her, Sofia,” said Osborne calmly. “It’s what she deserves.”

“Shut up,” ordered Serena. She was still standing next to him, her bloodied blade dangerously close to his throat.

Too close . Sofia had a clear shot, but a twitch of the razored steel might well sever his artery. And despite the other lady’s murderous madness, she couldn’t quite bring herself to kill in cold blood. “Step away from Deverill, Serena, and lay down your knife. Surely you are smart enough to see the game is over. The authorities are being alerted as we speak. There is no chance of escape.”

“You are bluffing.” For the first time, Serena’s voice betrayed a flicker of doubt.

“No, I am not.” Sofia spoke with a measured calmness, though her heart was beating an erratic tattoo against her ribs. The opaque look in the widow’s eye was frightening. It was beyond hatred, beyond reason. “Surrender now without further bloodshed and I will see that your cooperation will be taken into account with the government.”

“Don’t believe her.” Lady Serena shot a sidelong glance at her cohorts. “No one knows, other than these two.” Her lip curled. “And do you really think that the government will show any mercy? Trust me, we will all hang if we are caught, so there’s nothing to lose.”

Sofia saw fear flare in De Winton’s eyes. His hand jerked up.

Damn. She had no choice but to fire first.

“It seems that I underestimated you, contessa.” Lady Serena watched De Winton slump to the floor. “You do have nerve. But not brains.” Her knife jabbeda mocking cut at Sofia. “Finish her off, Lorenzo.”

The Italian fumbled for his pistol.

Sofia had the split second she needed. Spinning forward, she whipped the hidden quoits from her cuffs and sent them flying through the air. Her left-handed throw sliced across Lady Serena’s wrist, knocking the knife from her grip. The other sliver of steel struck Sforza square in the chest.

He screamed and fell back, knocking the lamp to the floor. The glass shattered, spraying hot oil and sparks over the damask draperies. With a muffled whoof of air, the heavy fabric ignited in flames.

“Deverill!”Sofia lunged for the chair as Lady Serena swore and clawed the pistol from the Italian’s limp grip. Grabbing the back slat, she knocked it over, covering Osborne’s trussed form with her own body.

A shot exploded overhead as they hit the carpet, followed by another high-pitched oath.

“Damnation.” Osborne’s curse was considerably softer. “Stop taking such devilishly dangerous risks, Sofia.”

“Not when you insist on riding to my rescue.” She fumbled for her hidden knife and quickly set to work cutting away his bonds.

A second bullet whizzed past the overturned chair, missing them by a hair.

“Not much of a help, was I?” he said wryly. “What sort of hero bumbles right into the arms of the enemy.”

The blaze lit the bruises and gash on his cheek, and beneath her fingers, Sofia felt his shirt was sticky with blood. “Only the very bravest sort,” she whispered, brushing a kiss to his brow.

“Only the most besotted sort.” His mouth curled in a lopsided grin. “Have I told you how much I love . . . your bravado?”

“No—you’ve been too busy ringing a peal over my head.” Her hands, which had gone very still, began moving again. For an instant, she had thought he was going to say something else. “Just one more twist.” The last bit of rope snapped free.

“I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”

“I don’t doubt it. Your friends have all been raised to be ladies, not hellions.” She ducked as a jade figure smashed against the hearth, sending a shower of shards over their heads. “Sorry to put you through such a dangerous ordeal.”

The flames were licking higher. Dropping the spent pistols, Lady Serena ducked through the acrid clouds and darted out the door.

“Ordeal? I haven’t had so much fun in years.”

Sofia saw that the flying stones had cut another ragged nick across his sweat-streaked flesh. And yet he was smiling.

Lord Sunshine. The light of her life.

“I would recite a sonnet or two to express my sentiments,” he continued. “But we really ought to be moving.”

The smoke was so thick she could hardly breathe. “Wait,” she gasped. “We can’t leave these two here, much as they deserve to roast in hell.”

“Are you sure they aren’t dead?”

Sofia nodded grimly. “I didn’t try for a mortal blow.”

“Far be for me to question your aim.” Osborne crawled over to De Winton and took hold of his coat collar. “Can you handle Sforza?”

Shielding her face from a fresh flare of flames, she nodded.

On hands and knees, they managed to work their way through the burningdebris and maneuver the wounded men down the stairs. The top balusters were already alight, and Sofia heard the crack of a ceiling beam as it crumbled into cinders.

“Hurry,” called Osborne, shouldering open the front door.

The rush of fresh air was blessedly cool on her face. Sofia drew in a deep gulp, then turned back. “The guard?—”

He shoved her outside. “I’ll get him.” The muffled thumps from beneath the stairs gave ample indication of where the Sikh was trapped.

Both men emerged a few minutes later, coughing and sputtering. She did not ask how Osborne had come to be holding the kirpan .

Looking rather dazed, the Sikh collapsed on the ground next to his unconscious employers, moaning in Hindi and stroking his singed beard. Osborne bent over and braced his hands on his knees, expelling a whoosh of air. “I don’t fancy the idea of attempting that again,” he said through cracked lips.

Sofia had no intention of allowing him to risk his life in the inferno. She had already angled herself for a run at the open front door. “Keep an eye on these three,” she called. “I’m going after Serena.”

“The devil you are!” Spinning around, Osborne tried to grab her arm but she eluded his grasp. His words, however, followed her into the house.

“Damnation, wait for me.”

Not bloody likely. Shoving the bolt into place from the inside, she headed up the stairs.

Mano a mano . This mission was no longer just about abstract ideals. Against all the rules, it had become intensely personal. Serena had killed her cousin Robert and would have murdered the man she loved without batting an eye.

Sofia dodged a falling timber. Come fire or brimstone, she would see to it that the lady did not escape justice.

Coals crackled beneath his boots as Osborne took the treads two at a time. The sword had proved useful in breaking the casement windows and cutting away the mullions. Still, the delay had cost him precious seconds. Squinting through the billowing clouds of soot and ash, he tried to make out which way Sofia had gone. Her dark clothing would make her difficult to spot in the swirling smoke.

A wall of flames drove him back from the study. There was no choice but to follow the corridor to the back of the townhouse.

“Sofia!” he shouted, trying to make himself heard above the roar of the fire.

A hiss of sparks seemed to mock his feeble effort. His throat was dry and the heat was growing unbearable. Pressing a handkerchief over his mouth, he stumbled forward. For some reason, he had kept the kirpan in his hand, and though the brass pricked against his palm, he used it to steady his step.

“Stop!” The disembodied cry floated up from the back rooms. Silhouetted against a bank of arched windows, a quicksilver shape darted out from the doorway and ran for the servant stairwell. Following in hot pursuit was a sinuous smudge of black.

Osborne broke into a run, heedless of the falling plaster and spreading flames. He dared not imagine what filthy tricks Serena might still have up her sleeve. And Sofia was armed with only her courage and her indominable sense of honor.

Hardly a fair fight.

He paused for a moment at the stairwell entrance, listening for whether the chase had gone up or down. A flurry of footsteps sounded overhead. The roof. It made some sense, he decided, picking up his pace. The blaze had likely drawn a crowd around the townhouse entrance—including the authorities. Lady Serena must have figured that her best chance of escape was to cross to one of the neighboring rooftops. From there, under the cover of darkness and confusion, it would not be so very hard to slip away unnoticed.

A narrow hatchway opened onto a flat stretch of tiles. A low railing of Portland stone rimmed the perimeter, and from there a short but steep pitch of slates fell off on all sides. The footing would be treacherous in the darkness, observed Osborne. But it could be done.

His gaze rose, searching among the hide and seek shadows for Sofia. And Lady Serena. Plumes of smoke rose up to meld with the mizzled moonlight, giving an eerie, otherworldly glow to the night. It was just bright enough to show them emerging from behind one of the large chimney pots.

As he feared, Sofia was unarmed. Serena did not appear to have a pistol, but she had not come away from her rooms emptyhanded. In her fist was a thick, braided bullwhip.

The lash snapped out, falling a hair short of Sofia’s face.

She didn’t flinch. “You might as well surrender, Serena, and avoid any further bloodshed.”

“What a na?ve appeal. You really think I care about that?” replied Lady Serena as she recoiled the leather. “On the contrary, it would give me a good deal of pleasure to see your bones broken on the terrace stones below before I make my escape.”

“There is no escape,” said Sofia. “I won’t let you get away.”

The whip cracked again, forcing Sofia to cut back toward the chimneypot.

“Keep back, Sofia!” Osborne had stayed silent so as not to distract her, but he could no longer hold his tongue. If Lady Serena sidestepped another few feet, she would have Sofia trapped. “She isn’t worth the risk. Let her go—she won’t get far with General Burrand’s men on her trail.”

“Men.” Lady Serena allowed a contemptuous curl of her lip. “I’ve outwitted all of them before.”She, too, had seen her advantage and moved quickly to her right.

The lash could only strike at one of them. Osborne was about to make a rush when Sofia flexed her knees and sprang straight up. Her hand caught the top of the funnel and in a shadowy blur of somersaulting limbs, she launched herself into a backflip and landed lightly on the other side of the chimney.”

“H—how . . .” Serena fell back a step in confusion. “One would need wings to fly like that!”

“I am a Merlin.” Sofia reappeared as if by magic from the twisting tendrils of smoke.

“Sofia—” he began.

“It’s all right, Deverill. Let me handle this on my own.”

“You are a trained soldier,” he counseled. “Don’t make the mistake of allowing emotion to override the proper battlefield strategy.”

“Who the devil are you?” demanded Serena, her eyes darting back and forth between the two of them.

“Someone who is more than a match for your own Machiavellian mind,” replied Osborne. He edged to the front parapet, hoping Sofia would see what he intended. “Like you, Sofia is not what she seems. She is a trained killer—and seeing that you murdered her cousin, Lord Robert Woolsey, she is not about to let you melt away into the night.”

“You lie,” said Serena. “The duke’s sons have no female children.”

“But the duke’s daughter did,” replied Osborne.

“Impossible!” whispered Lady Serena. “Elizabeth Woolsey died long ago, and she left no child behind.”

“Then I must be an avenging angel,” said Sofia.

As she spoke, she slipped to a position along the low stone railing. Her eyes met with his and she gave a small nod. Lady Serena was now caught between them. She would have to turn one way or the other to wield her weapon, allowing one of them to pounce.

“Go to hell.” Serena raised the whip, but realized her dilemma.

Shouts rang up from the street below. Osborne recognized Marco’s voice among them.

“Give it up,” said Sofia. “In another few minutes, the authorities will have the street surrounded.

“Admit defeat? Never. I never lose.” Serena looked around, icily calm despite the fire of fury in her eyes. “Ha! I, too, can fly.” The leather snaked across the gap between buildings and curled around a decorative iron railing.

“Damn.” Osborne saw what she had in mind. Using the whip as a swing, Lady Serena could sail across to the lower terrace of the neighboring townhouse. From there, she just might have a chance to slip through the rear gardens before Lynsley’s men could circle the area.

A parting smile, and then Lady Serena jumped from the ledge, her flapping skirts creating the illusion of a great malevolent crow silhouetted against the pale plumes of smoke.

There was only one way to stop her. Gauging the distance, Osborne raised the kirpan. It razored blade would slice through the leather?—

“No.” Sofia caught his arm.

“But—” His words cut off as he watched the lash slowly slip from around the metal.

Lady Serena’s low laugh turned to a shrill cry as she realized what had happened. Her spinning fall ended with a sickening thud upon the townhouse terrace.

Osborne did not look down. Sofia stood beside him, her profile still and solemn as carved marble. “Why did you stop me?”

“Physics,” she replied. “We trained countless hours in that trick, and if the leather is wet, there is no way it will hold.” She turned to face him. “And a far more personal reason. You are a man of honor. You would have regretted killing a woman when it was not in self-defense.”

“I had damn good reason to want revenge,” he growled.

“Revenge is not a good motive for taking a life.”

He touched her cheek. “You are right. There are far more compelling reasons for defending a life. Like?—

A lick of flames shot up from the trapdoor.

Sofia turned, an oddly tentative look on her face. “You were saying?” Her face was streaked with soot and her hair fell in windsnarled waves over her shoulders. No wonder firelight and the diamond bright glitter of stars was considered romantic by poets and painters—she was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

However now did not seem quite the time for artful speeches from the heart.

“It can wait,” he murmured. “I would rather not go out in a blaze of glory,” His fingers brushed an errant curl from her cheek. “I hope your Academy training has included how to outmaneuver a raging inferno.”

Sofia smiled. “Follow me.”