‘We must solve the caseandget married.’ He grinned with boyish charm. ‘Even an almost-fatal carriage accident has a silver lining.’
Chapter Thirteen
Bruton Mews
After some debate, Jacob and Dora agreed that in his injured condition he should not go back to his usual residence which was a hotel room in Albemarle Street. He was known to lodge there while in London so he would be too easily located both by enemies and his brother– neither of which he was up to facing. That left them with a ticklish problem. Dora’s landlady might wink at the occasional male visitor, but they couldn’t officially put him to bed there without awkward questions arising.
‘Don’t say it,’ muttered Dora, as he pressed her ring finger on the left hand as they held hands in the carriage home. ‘I know. But we’re not, so that’s that.’
Jacob was determined to carry the day on this point, but right now, with his head pounding, a concussion hovering, and his ribs aching, he did not feel it an opportune moment. Besides, he hadn’t yet organised for the special licence that would be required because they were not settled in parishes where they could arrange for banns to be read. His home parish was inthe Lakes, and Dora’s? He supposed her parish church was now St James, Piccadilly, but it would take weeks for the banns to be read on consecutive Sundays. He wanted to get a licence, a minister and have done with the business.
That didn’t sound very romantic, but he was desperate not to let her slip between his fingers only because worry for others stopped her doing what was best for them both.
‘You could turf Alex out of his bed,’ said Dora, still pondering the issue of where he should go, ‘but I think a better plan would be to ask Yarton.’
Yarton, the efficient butler of Lady Tolworth, had an answer for every domestic crisis. He would not turn a hair at being asked to provide refuge for an injured man who was afraid someone was after him. In all good conscience though, as the search of Jacob’s person would’ve turned up no leads on the missing report, he did not think the assailant would come after him again so soon. They were more likely to go for the Austens, or the office, or Thornbury. He would not be endangering Lady Tolworth’s household.
‘I think Yarton is a good idea,’ he agreed. ‘But first we should make sure everyone knows the threat. Let’s send Alex to the Austens with a message and warn everyone else to be on their guard. We should have at least two people staying overnight in the office.’
‘And Kir must not be one of them.’ Dora cushioned his jolt as they went over a pothole. ‘He’ll want to stay in his usual bed, but we can’t risk it. We’ll ask Yarton to find a safe place for him as well.’
Jacob was touched to see that all their people were waiting for his return, having gathered when news got out about his injury. As Dora helped him out of the carriage, Alex hurried to take the other side. Kir darted off to the big house to send word that Jacob had survived in one piece, more or less. Susanpulled out the desk chair for him while Ren and Hugo hovered anxiously in the background. This evidence of their concern for him moved him. Their little team was solidifying nicely.
‘What happened, sir?’ asked Ren, his voice deeper than one might expect from such a small man. He had large features– big eyes, dark brows and a Roman nose– and moved with a rolling gait to make up for his short legs.
‘I went up against a carriage and the carriage won,’ said Jacob, easing back into the chair.
‘That is not a fair fight,’ said Hugo in his rich baritone. He travelled through life with his stomach going before him like the rounded prow of a battleship. He leaned a little back to find his centre of gravity. Despite his girth, he could be nimble on his feet and was courageous when the decisive moment arrived. He would make a good watchdog tonight. ‘You’d get better odds going up against Tom Cribbs in the ring.’
Kir returned with Yarton and then, to Jacob’s surprise, Lady Tolworth followed. The Dowager Lady Tolworth was a beautiful woman in her late forties. Tonight she was decked out in the latest fashions and glowing in her status as a society favourite. Jacob thought he had become used to seeing her since they established their office in the mews across from her house, but he couldn’t stop the stray memory of their tempestuous time as lovers coming to mind, Ginnie’s long naked limbs stretched out next to his. Though she no longer tempted him, he felt decidedly warm remembering it in Dora’s presence so he squashed the recollection, stuffing it back in the box of all memories of erotic encounters prior to meeting his love. Everyone stood on the lady’s entry, Jacob struggling to his feet.
‘Oh, do sit down, you foolish man!’ she declared, entering in a swirl of light blue silk and a fringed shawl. Seed pearls snaked through her blonde tresses. Sapphires glittered in her ears andaround her neck, far too fine for a workaday place like the office. ‘What’s all this I hear about you trying to do yourself in?’
‘I was pushed—’ began Jacob.
‘Not the carriage accident, you dunce, but marriage. Marriage!’ She snorted, then turned to Dora and said in quite another tone. ‘Congratulations, my dear. I hope you will be very happy.’
Dora raised a sardonic eyebrow. ‘Thank you… I think. I really have no intention of doing him in.’
‘Not you, dear, society will do the job. The knives are out! Though, in my experience, after the honeymoon is over, you will probably wish to do away with him at regular intervals. Husbands are very annoying.’
Jacob was feeling too weary to tackle the storm of energy that was Lady Tolworth. ‘Dora, would you mind?’
‘Of course, Jacob.’
Resting her hand lightly on his shoulder, mindful of his bruises, Dora explained what had happened and the two theories as to who had attacked Jacob. ‘We must all be on our guard,’ she concluded. ‘Lady Tolworth, would it be convenient for Kir and Jacob to stay with you while the danger lasts?’
‘I wouldn’t have it any other way,’ the lady said. She twitched her shawl around her shoulders. ‘The Comte D’Antraigues, interesting. A valued government informer, how… unsurprising.’
‘You knew him?’ asked Jacob. Of course Ginnie would know him, seeing how she moved in impeccable social circles as well as a few of the more scandalous, her widowed status giving her that freedom. He’d momentarily overlooked what a good source they had on their doorstep.
‘I wouldn’t say I knew him, not in the biblical sense, though he did once make a play for my favours.’ Ginnie’s blue eyes sparkled at the memory. ‘Frenchmen– they can be so devilishlycharming, can they not?’ she said to Dora in a confiding tone. ‘I think it is the language– it quite undoes one.’
‘He wasn’t faithful to his wife?’ asked Dora, looking amused by the confidence.
‘Nor her to him, but they were faithful in so much as it was understood they would always stand together when it counted. I know many couples like that: you’d swear they hate each other, until they join forces and attack.’ Lady Tolworth examined him with a frown. ‘Jacob, you’re fading. We need to get you into bed. Yarton, please see to it.’
The stately butler bowed. ‘At once, my lady.’
