Ascension (3 page)

I suppose I am changed as well.
He sighed.

Left by his butler and ignored for more than an hour, the silver dish at the edge of his desk held several pieces of correspondence and invitations to upcoming balls and events. He had to attend some of them if only to keep an eye on Belinda, but there was also his sister to consider. Selina had come out only a few weeks before and she and his mother were rapturous about getting the girl married off in her first season. He’d been surprised at how his baby sister had grown during his absence, but he didn’t understand the rush to marry her off. Honestly, he’d prefer to keep her home for a while and have a chance to get to know her better. He did not mention this to the women in the household, as they would think him daft.

Procrastinating further on the papers on his desk, he opened the invitations on the plate. Most he tossed aside, but then he opened an invitation to attend the ball of the Marques de Pompedo. The Marques’s daughter was a close friend to Belinda’s and it was certain his fiancée wouldn’t miss her friend’s ball.

His heart pounded faster at the idea of seeing Belinda’s face when he appeared in the ballroom. He left his paperwork behind. The clock in the foyer indicated the hour was already late and he would have to dress quickly if he was to see her. He took the stairs to his rooms two at a time while hollering for his valet.

* * * *

He scanned the throng and spotted her golden hair from across the ballroom. Even with all the distraction of glittering candles, frescos and overdressed peerage, his eyes locked immediately to Belinda. Her bright green eyes became large saucers when she saw him approach. Good, he wanted her off balance.

He wanted to look at her and feel nothing more than a legal attachment, but it was impossible. He couldn’t deny his feelings. Lady Belinda Clayton stimulated him in ways no other woman ever could. He was in love with her and had been since they had romped around as children together. She was smart, funny and exquisite in every way. Her pale yellow gown dipped low enough so that he enjoyed a discreet view of the swell of her breasts. He had seen them in the dim lighting of her chambers but he would never get his fill of her flesh.

The curvaceous girl he left behind when he went to war was now a slender woman. Her taut, muscular body had surprised him, but also aroused him more than he would have expected. It had never occurred to him that a fit woman could be desirous. Actually, he’d only seen farm women with muscles, never a lady. More and more questions flooded his mind. Mostly, he yearned to touch her again.

Her look of surprise he’d coveted changed quickly to mild disinterest as he crossed the ballroom. She recovered enough to give him a cold little curtsy before turning back to her friend for conversation.

Pretending Belinda’s act didn’t bother him, he addressed her friend. “Lady Lorelei, you are looking lovely this evening. I hope you will forgive me if I steal my fiancée away for a dance.”

The Marquis de Pompedo’s robustly-built daughter smiled charmingly and her smooth skin pinked. “I’m sure I will manage to find other amusements for a short time, my lord.”

Anger flashed in Belinda’s eyes before she masked her emotions and turned fully toward him. He almost heard her mind whirling while she searched for a way to avoid being close to him. Then she smiled though the expression never touched her eyes. “I would be delighted, my lord.”

She placed her hand on his offered arm so lightly that no physical contact penetrated his sleeve, but still the heat of her body seeped through his jacket, blouse and her glove. Her intentions may have been to display indifference, but the effect was quite the opposite. She drove him mad with wanting.

He spoke as soon as they were far enough away from her friend that she wouldn’t overhear. “I wish you would mean those sweet words.”

“I wish you would not pursue me to the point of suffocation.”

Biting his tongue was the only possible help. The sharp pain successfully kept him from an angry response. His only clue to the cause of her disdain was his inability to communicate while in France. What did he have to do to make up for things that were beyond his control?

The dance began and as it was a promenade, several other couples were well within hearing throughout.
A question for another time.
The dance brought Belinda close to him and she took his hand. “I thought perhaps after last night you might be less hostile toward me.”

“This is hardly the time or the place to discuss my feelings for you, my lord.” Her voice was barely louder than a whisper, but the tension in her words cut through the din in the room and shot directly to his heart.

“Perhaps I might make an appointment when you would be free to discuss those feelings.” He responded lightly, but his heart pounded. His chest tightened and he fought the temptation to pick her up and drag her from the crowded house to somewhere private.

The dance ended, and she made her curtsy as he bowed deeply. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Your lack of regard for such customs is quite obvious, based on your behavior the last few weeks. You show up at the most unexpected and ungentlemanly times and pretend to care for my feelings.”

Her voice rose and a gentleman who’d been passing turned at the sound. Gabriel took her elbow gently and directed her to a quiet corner of the room. “Go on.”

“I have nothing more to say.”

“You lie.” In spite of the accusation, his voice remained soft and calm.

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened and closed several times. She was about to take the top of his head off. Slowly, the rage diminished and a tear popped up on her bottom lid. Her sorrow ripped his soul as it tumbled down her cheek.

She dashed the tear away. “Gabriel, stop pursuing me. We shall not repeat what happened last night, so there is really no reason for you to continue this charade. I wish to be released from our engagement.”

She had whispered the words, but if she had screamed them from the top of Parliament for all of London to hear, it would have had no greater effect on his heart. His chest pained him and his hand clutched at the pain. It was a moment before he steeled his emotions enough to respond. “Does what I wish have no meaning in this matter?”

“I cannot discuss this here.” Her words hung in a low whisper and another tear made its way down her cheek.

Gabriel caught the drop on his ungloved finger and closed his hand as if to keep her emotion, even if he couldn’t keep her. He closed his eyes willing the pain away. “I shall call on you tomorrow at eleven. Will that be a more suitable time, my lady?”

Her chest lifted and fell as she took a deep breath. She nodded once, turned and walking away from him.

Nothing he’d suffered in French prison hurt as deeply as hearing Belinda say she didn’t want to marry him. It was inconceivable. Planned almost since birth. What had changed?

He had ordered his coach and stepped toward it, when he caught a glimpse of yellow from the corner of his eye. He turned just in time to see Belinda climb into an unmarked carriage unassisted. He yelled up to his driver to follow at a discreet distance.

Her carriage crossed London Bridge into Southwark. Every sensible idea in his head demanded he order his driver catch and stop her. If he stopped her now, he might never find out what she had gotten herself into. Still, the idea of her making a journey across the river on her own sent chills down his spine. She must have lost her mind.

Try as he might, Gabriel could think of no reason for a lady of Belinda’s station to travel into the south side of London in the middle of the night. Even if she was involved with another man, it was unlikely that their assignations would take place in the dodgier side of London.

They turned a corner and he saw her carriage had stopped a block ahead.

He banged on the roof of the carriage, and the driver immediately slowed to a stop.

Gabriel peered through his window as Belinda alighted from her carriage alone and stepped onto the filth ridden streets of South London. With a lantern in her hand and a dark cloak covering most of her gown, she looked around cautiously. She stared briefly at his carriage parked a block away, but in the dark street, she’d have trouble making out the crest. He was surprised she’d noticed the carriage at all.

He stepped down as soon as she crossed into the alley. “Wait for me here,” he ordered the driver.

“Yes, milord.”

As soon as he stepped into the open, a woman slinked out of a shadowed doorway. Time and wear faded her red dress and left it frayed around the collar. It had probably come from someone’s old trunk or been handed out to the poor. It was far too tight on her and her ample bosom spilled over the top. She had rouged her cheeks and lips and there were dark rings under her eyes. “Lookin for some company, gov?”

The woman’s face was drawn and hollow. As he stepped in closer, he saw the cosmetics hid pockmarks and perhaps a few bruises from less caring customers. She pulled her stained and torn skirt up high enough to expose her left leg to the thigh.

The prostitute’s arms and legs were thin and streaked with dirt. He pulled several coins from his purse and handed them to her without stopping.

“Don’t you want nuthin’ for your coin, gov?”

“Not tonight, my dear. Go and get yourself something to eat before you fall ill.” He spoke over his shoulder not wanting to lose Belinda’s trail.

The prostitute said something, but he was already too far down the street to hear her.

He crossed one alley and turned down the next where Belinda had disappeared. The street was pitch, and he had no lantern. Ahead, soft footfalls lead the way and he followed. Sporadic lamps along the way revealed drawn faces in the arched doorways.

A bit of yellow turned the corner to the right. A cat cried then hissed in the distance. Gabriel followed her skirts, keeping far enough away so she wouldn’t see or hear him.

Another turn and he nearly fell over a man standing in his path.

“‘Elloo, gov. You seems in a mite of a hurry. Where’s it yur goin’ so late? Mayhap Taker can be of ’elp.”

Gabriel took a step back from the hulking figure of Taker. The man’s breath was putrid from rotting black teeth and his clothes had not seen a washday in a month or more. “I’m not in need of assistance tonight, my good man.”

“Oh, but I think you is,” Taker replied.

Initially Gabriel’s reaction was to dismiss the inconvenience of street rabble delaying his pursuit. Taker was not easily dismissed. Gabriel looked the larger man in the eye.

Taker’s pale-blue eyes stared back.

The memory of men in war flashed in his mind. The hatred twisting this man’s face was the same. “I’m curious Mr. Taker as to why you stopped me and not the young woman who preceded me down the alley. She would have been a much easier mark. I do not care to boast, but I’m rather tall and strong, whereas the woman was small and easily detained. So why stop me and not her?” His question was more than just curiosity. The answer could help him ferret out what Belinda was up to. Maybe she had a protector in this area and Taker could identify the rogue.

Taker’s eyes shifted down the lane where Belinda had disappeared, before turning back to Gabriel. “Simple, gov. That slip of a girl got bigger teeth then you might think and pays her way down this alley regular-like. Taker’s too smart to do no harm to a steady source of coin.”

It took a great deal of effort not to react to the knowledge that his fiancée frequented these back streets on a regular basis. He had no idea what the “bigger teeth” remark might mean. “I see. Would it then behoove me to offer you payment and be on my way?” Gabriel kept his tone polite.

“Naw, gov. You ain’t no regular. You strikes me as a one-shot deal.”

“I see,” Gabriel said.

“Taker’s a fair man. Gives you a chance to just hand over your purse and then you git to live to see the sun.” Taker smiled exposing his black teeth. “Course I’ll have to rough you up a bit just to keep up me reputation.”

“Yes, of course,” Gabriel conceded. “I’m afraid I cannot allow you to take my entire purse, my good man. Since you have declined my offer of a reasonable payment, I conclude that you will have to beat the money out of me.”

“Shame, that.” Taker shook his head and shrugged before he swung one meaty fist at Gabriel’s nose.

Gabriel easily ducked away from the path of the blow. Taker lost his balance, and Gabriel used the opportunity to strike Taker in the ribs and when he bent over to clutch his gut, Gabriel threw an uppercut to the chin.

The bigger man stumbled backward, but recovered quickly, shaking his head with unfocused eyes. Much to Gabriel’s surprise, Taker smiled at him before rushing forward, throwing several wild punches.

Gabriel dodged each stroke, and the forward motion of his opponent, gave him the opportunity to move left and kick the giant’s legs out from under him.

Taker’s head hit the mucky street with a sickening thud.

A woman cried out in the darkness, and the prostitute Gabriel had encountered earlier, rushed out of a dark doorway and knelt at Taker’s side.

“You didn’t have to kill him.” Her voice was a whining squeal.

Gabriel crouched down and felt for a heartbeat. The telltale sign of life was strong in Taker’s chest. “He will be fine.”

Rising from the filthy street, Gabriel dropped several coins on the thief’s shirt before moving off in the direction he’d last seen Belinda.

He raced down the alley turning right then left in a frantic sprint to find Belinda. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach. What if Taker or someone worse hurt or killed her? What would he do if he had to face tomorrow without Belinda in the world? His chest tightened around his heart and left him near panicked as he continued his mad search.

He ran down one narrow alley then another, before hearing voices to his right. Gabriel stopped so abruptly he had to grab the side of the building to keep from falling over in the filth-ridden street. He peered around the corner and saw a short man in a dark topcoat standing about a hundred feet down the alley. In front of him, Belinda grinned but it looked more like she was bearing her teeth. The man’s face remained shaded from Gabriel’s view, and whatever they were talking about he couldn’t ascertain from his position.