Taviot had already grown restless with his guard duties. Shuffling from foot to foot, he kept glancing at the passageway to the rear door. “I don’t see why we can’t wait at the boathouse while they get the engine’s boiler heated up,” he groused. “What if they are double-crossing us and mean to flee on their own?”
Lady Kirkwall heaved an exasperated sigh. “They aren’t. The same thought occurred to me, my dear brother. But it did so early enough for me to negotiate with Jarvis. He left Maitland here—and as he is the key reason Russia is willing to offer sanctuary, the colonel won’t leave without us.”
“Actually, none of you will be leaving unless you agree to free the dowager,” announced Wrexford as he and Sheffield suddenly moved out of the doorway, weapons at full cock.
Quick as a snake, Taviot reacted by cowering behind Alison’s chair and angling his blade a mere hairsbreadth from her neck. “Don’t move another step, or I swear I’ll slit her throat.”
“And at the first spurt of blood you’ll be a dead man,” replied the earl calmly. “As you see, you have more than one pistol pointed at your worthless carcass, and more than one finger just itching for a reason to pull the trigger.”
He allowed a pause. “However, I’m willing to negotiate.”
Taviot wet his lips. “What do you have in mind?”
“Simply release her, and you have my word as a gentleman that we won’t stop you from leaving.”
“Ha! The word of a gentleman isn’t worth any more than the spit and breath that forms it.”
“Not everyone is a soulless reptile who gladly slithers through the blood of others if it will bring him some profit,” replied Wrexford.
“Take the deal, Fenwick,” Lady Kirkwall counseled her brother. She sounded weary beyond words. “Enough violence has been done. I trust Lord Wrexford to keep his oath.”
“You’ve gone soft in the head,” snarled Taviot. “I need a better guarantee than that.”
“Very well,” answered the earl. “I’ll allow you to retreat with the dowager to the rear door. Leave her there, and you are free to make your escape.” To Lady Kirkwall and Maitland, he added, “I don’t give a rat’s arse about you two. Go or stay as you choose.”
Taviot hesitated.
“Otherwise, we are at a standoff,” said Wrexford, turning his attention back to Alison’s captor. “And I doubt Jarvis will wait very long for you to appear before steaming away to safety.”
Sweat was now beading on Taviot’s brow. “H-How do I know that you won’t come after me if I do what you ask?”
“Because,” said the earl, “you’re not worth the bit of lead it would take to put a period to your existence.” He let silence linger between them before adding, “If I were you, I would listen to your sister. The longer you stay here, the greater the chances of the authorities arriving. And I doubt they will be as generous as I am in offering you a chance to escape.”
The knife blade, noted Charlotte, quivered as Taviot’s nerves began to fray. In contrast, Alison was sitting very still with an air of unruffled composure.
“Get up, Lady Peake.”
“To do so, I shall need the aid of my cane,” replied Alison, her voice a bit faint. “My legs aren’t as steady as they used to be, and this ordeal has taken a toll on my strength.”
“Give it to her, Elizabeth,” ordered Taviot.
Lady Kirkwall picked up the cane from atop a pile of crates and brought it over.
“T-Thank you,” said the dowager, twisting the stick between her tied hands as she cleared her throat with a cough.
Charlotte tensed as she thought that she heard a tiny metallic click. Wrexford’s expression remained unchanged, so perhaps she had been mistaken. Still, she kept her eyes riveted on Taviot.What mischief is he planning?
“Now, on your feet, Lady Peake.” Taviot punctuated his order with a shake to Alison’s shoulder.
“Undo her bonds, Fenwick!” snapped Lady Kirkwall. “You have her tied to the chair.”
Taviot sucked in a nervous breath. “Lower your weapon, Wrexford—and you, too, Sheffield.” His hand was shaking as he changed the angle of his blade. “I need to use my knife to cut away the ropes.”
“Let us all remain calm,” replied Wrexford as he complied and signaled for Sheffield to do the same.
Gulping in a ragged breath, Taviot sliced through the dowager’s bonds, careful to keep her as a shield so that the earl had no chance of taking a shot at him.
A craven coward as well as a traitor and swindler, thought Charlotte in disgust. She had encountered some truly evil people in the course of her previous investigations, but Taviot’s crimes touched a raw nerve. Thoughts of violence were normally abhorrent to her, but she found herself gripped by a sudden visceral desire to see his blood spilled.
