“That trained cur?” Mary snorted. “He would do anything for Julianna. He knew about me and supported her plan to fake her death—there was plenty in it for him—but when she died in truth, his sentimentality got the better of him. Instead of accepting his windfall, he tried to find out what happened to her. He came looking for me, and I arranged the meeting tonight. It was supposed to look like a butler’s suicide over his beloved mistress’s grave. After all, I couldn’t have him ruining my ultimate goal.”
“Morton,” Pippa said with sudden understanding. “He thinks you are Julianna?”
Mary’s smile was feline. “He’s not very bright, but he is very much in love. He bought my cock-and-bull story that Julianna’s body was a corpse I’d bought to be my double. After he gets his money, we’re going to elope. A tragic accident on our honeymoon will leave me as the grieving Mrs. Howard Morton, and I’ll get what I’m owed at last.”
Mary moved in a flash, throwing her empty pistol at Pippa. Pippa dodged, and Mary sprang on her, knocking her to the ground. Pippa’s pistol flew out of her grasp. The other pressed on her throat, cutting off her air. Pippa swung her left arm against the exposed side of Mary’s neck and used her legs to kick Mary off. She scrambled to her feet, facing Mary, who now held a gleaming blade.
Before Pippa could reach for her own knife, Mary came at her. Pippa dodged the other’s blade once, twice, staying on the defensive. The woman was strong, quick, and desperate…a lethal combination.
Patience is your friend. Let your foe win the battle while you win the war.
Pippa danced around, tiring her enemy out. Then she deliberately left her defenses open. Triumph glittered in Mary’s eyes as she came in and struck the blade at Pippa’s heart.
“No!” Cull’s roar shook the walls.
Glimpsing Mary’s shocked expression when the knife failed to penetrate, Pippa went on the offensive. She grabbed Mary’s weapon arm, twisting it; with a pained scream, Mary lost hold of the blade, which clattered onto the stones. Pippa issued a series of strikes that drove the other into the side of the tunnel. She finished with a right kick that made Mary double over, then brought her right arm in a backhanded strike that snapped Mary’s head against the brick.
With a moan, Mary slumped down the wall and didn’t move.
In the next heartbeat, Cull was there, running shaking hands over Pippa.
“I saw her stab you,” he said roughly. “You’re…you’re not hurt?”
Pippa widened the tear that Mary’s blade had made. The knife had pierced through her waistcoat and shirt all the way to her corset, exposing the gleaming chainmail.
God bless Mrs. Q.
“That is some corset.” Cull huffed out a laugh. “I should have known you would be prepared.”
Pippa smiled demurely. “An Angel always is.”
40
Slowly awakening, Pippa smiled before she even opened her eyes. She snuggled closer to Cull, rubbing her cheek against his bare chest, and his arms tightened around her. Surrounded by his warmth and scent, she would have been content to lay there forever.
“I’ve never known you to be a sleepyhead.” His amused voice rumbled beneath her ear.
“That is because we haven’t had a moment of peace since we met.” Yawning, she tipped her head back to see his smiling face. “What time is it?”
“Past noon. But we can stay in bed if you like. After last night, we deserve a day off,” he said with feeling.
They’d been up past dawn, wrapping up the case. Charlie had delivered Mary and her accomplice to her contact within the police. Hadleigh had dealt with the cemetery guards, greasing their palms to ensure their discretion. Afterward, the entire group had debriefed at Charlie’s. Pippa had filled everyone in on Mary’s confession.
Livy had furrowed her brow. “So Wood and Morton are innocent?”
“Of actual crimes, it appears so,” Pippa had responded. “Both did, however, withhold information. Morton played along with Julianna’s fake death, thinking that she was alive and they would eventually elope. And Wood knew she was dead, but he didn’t tell anyone who he suspected the killer of being. Likely out of loyalty since doing so would also expose Julianna’s scandalous scheme and ruin her reputation forever.”
“If only Julianna had trusted us, instead of using us as pawns, perhaps we could have helped her,” Fiona had mused.
“What could we have done?” Charlie’s voice had been hard and brittle. “When it comes to a woman’s right over her future, society stacks the deck against us. Julianna saw only one way out. While I do not condone her choices, I am also not surprised that her situation ended badly.”
Cull had needed to settle the mudlarks back at the Nest, and Pippa had gone with him. She’d helped tuck in the youngest ones, who’d protested they couldn’t sleep after the night’s excitement, then dozed off as soon as their heads met their pillows. Then she and Cull had gone to his bedchamber, a big comfy space that had instantly felt like home. After a quick bath, they, too, had hit the mattress…which brought them to now.
“I don’t want to leave this bed all day,” she declared.
“Sweeter words I’ve yet to hear.” Cull shifted onto his side, facing her. Tucking a tress behind her ear, he said, “There are things I need to tell you, Pippa. To explain why I acted the way I did.”
“I’m listening,” she said intently.
