A Suitable Replacement (20 page)

"I mean—come back. Don't die, don't get hurt, don't leave me wondering what the hell has happened to you. I don't—don't think less of you. Just come
back.
"

Kelcey nodded, then whirled away again.

What the hell kind of answer was that? Snarling in frustration, Max pounded on his sister's door, wishing he could more than run away.

Chapter Eleven

The rain was pounding down, hell-bent on flooding the city, when he returned home. Storm clouds were so thick and heavy in the sky it might as well have been midnight, though it was only early evening. Max headed directly for the Starr Club, grateful when he reached it to be out of the wet and cold and no longer moving.

"Thank you," he said to the staff as they took his sodden coat and bustled him upstairs to where a fresh change of clothes awaited him and a potent hot toddy was quickly brought. When he was feeling moderately more human, he asked the footman gathering up his wet clothes, "Has my guest arrived yet?"

"Yes, my lord. Waiting downstairs in the library."

Max nodded and, carrying his hot toddy with him, headed down to the library. A woman sat by the fireplace, dressed in a dark umber wool gown accented with black and gold lace. Her black hair was pulled back in a severe chignon, dark amber gleaming at her ears and in the folds of silk at her throat. She looked up as she heard noise and rose, smiling warmly at him. "Lord Max."

"Lady Charmaine," Max greeted. "It's been a long time. Thank you again for agreeing to assist me."

She laughed and kissed his cheek before resuming her seat, picking up a glass of sherry from the floor beside her on the overlarge ottoman where she sat. "As though I could ever resist helping the charming Maximillian Honeysett. You were always sweet, even though your sister and I did our level best to drive you mad." Firelight glowed on her light brown skin. "I do admit I was surprised that you have need of my rather unusual connections. Dare I ask how my sweet little Lord Max came to cross paths with the likes of Church and Timothy Kerr?"

"It's a long story."

"My favorite kind," Charmaine said, grinning in that impish way of hers over the rim of her glass. That tendency toward impishness had been what first drew Mavin to her, had made them lovers for a couple of years before they faded into a much stronger friendship. After Max, there was no one who knew Mavin better than Charmaine. "Though by now I believe I know a good bit of it."

Shaking his head, Max related all that had transpired since his return home up until that terrible moment when Kelcey had vanished into the stairwell and vanished from Max's life for the past two months.

"My, my, and I thought our school days were exciting."

Max looked at her, tone wry as he replied, "I would think being married to a woman who barely escaped the noose for her pirating escapades would be a trifle more exciting than my madcap marriage."

"I admit it's all a good deal less exciting when you are the one at the heart of the mess," Charmaine replied with a wry smile. "These days we are quite content to get our excitement secondhand."

Max sighed. "I have certainly had my fill. What can you tell me about Timothy Kerr?" He wanted to ask about Kelcey as well, but it felt too much like prying into Kelcey's private affairs. He had already driven Kelcey away with his careless words. He would not compound his sins.

Charmaine regarded him thoughtfully, and as always she seemed to see more than any one person should. "Kerr is trouble. Not the worst I've ever encountered, but damned close. The man is the very definition of despot. He started young, kept it simple, smuggling dragon blood and other dubious substances. Plenty of money to be made there if one is smart about it, and Kerr has always been a little too smart for anyone's liking. Unfortunately, he eventually moved on to smuggling people
.
That, of course, will not be tolerated. We went after him. Managed to break up the smuggling ring and execute a good many of the bastards involved. Unfortunately, Kerr got away and we haven't been able to get close to him since. Rumors have had him operating in various cities, attached to several smuggling rings and suspected of a slew of murders. We've been unable to definitively tie him to anything, unfortunately. We cannot even pin him down long enough to confirm it is him. Of course you and Mavin would manage to stumble headlong into the man I've been trying to catch for the past ten years." She finished off her sherry, then leaned down to retrieve the crystal decanter on the floor and refilled her glass. "I do wish you had just put a round right between his eyes."

Max made a face. "No one wishes that more than me, except perhaps Kelcey."

"Kelcey Moore … Church is the only man more elusive than Kerr, and he's been right under my nose this entire time. The little bastard. You have the devil's luck, Max." Her mouth curved. "I was a touch jealous that Mavin would probably be taking that to her marriage bed. Not that I've complaints, but he is quite the figure. I suppose I shall have to be jealous of you now, hmm? Is he worth all this strife, Max?"

"Yes," Max said. "Though not for the lecherous reasons flitting through your head. I am beginning to remember why you and Mavin got along so well. Why are all of her friends and associates as filthy-minded as she?"

She laughed. "Why would Mav spend time with people who do not share her brand of humor? It would end in disaster. But I admit most of the fun is in teasing you, which you make so easy to do."

"Tell me about Kelcey," Max said, rolling his eyes and finishing off his toddy. After a brief pondering of pros and cons, and ultimately deciding he did not bloody care, he helped himself to Charmaine's sherry.

"The most elusive man in the country. Church, so-called because he originally operated from Our Lady of Peace in the Halebore district. But also because he has morals and sticks to them. He will take almost any job for the right price, but refuses to harm or kill despite those being the most lucrative way of making money. He has stolen, smuggled, spied, and more. But he will not murder, and he refuses to harm children in any way. He has been known to walk away from a job because children would be hurt, even though it marred his reputation and often brought him harm. The criminal with a heart. He has helped us out a time or twenty, when we cross paths, though we've never actually gotten a look at him. I've never spoken with him directly, always worked through an intermediary. If any of my people know his face they have never admitted it." She slapped her thigh. "The cheek! He sat at my supper table! I could smack him or kiss him; I do not know which."

"Neither," Max replied. "I'll attend to both, I promise you. But I need to be able to find him first."

Charmaine smiled then, slow and sharp, tilting her head back. "Leave that to me, sweet. You've given me more information on two
very
interesting men than my own people have been able to provide despite years of trying. It will take time, but they will be found and returned to their proper places. Now, I believe I have work to be getting on with, and you've an appointment with the crown."

"Unfortunately," Max said, making a face. He had been more than happy to forget the second reason he'd come to the Starr Club. "I never thought one broken engagement could cause so much trouble."

"Tell Lady Mavin the next time she decides to elope, perhaps she should not do so with someone already engaged to a princess with a powerful, short-tempered king for a father. I wish Mavin had come to me with all this; I could have made life much simpler for everyone."

Max shrugged. "Mavin is so accustomed to solving her own problems, I doubt it occurred to her. Even if she had the thought, she would have dismissed it to protect you. It does seem a trifle overmuch to ask a spymaster to assist with an elopement."

"Spymaster, so dramatic." She set her glass aside and rose. Max did the same, and took her hands when she held them out. "I expect you'll hear from me in a few weeks, but know this may take months to bring to a close, Max. Kerr and Moore will lead me on a merry chase, I have no doubt. I think, however, you will be busy enough with matters of your own that the time shall pass quickly." She leaned in and kissed his cheek.

Max kissed hers in turn. "Thank you, Charmaine."

"No thanks necessary," she said with a faint smile. It faded off as she continued, "Is Church truly worth all this to you, Max? You've but known him a matter of months, and he's been gone these past two. Surely that has been time enough to … think more clearly?"

"Certainly," Max replied. All he did was think:  about how quiet his life had become, how long and dull his days. How cold and empty his bed was without Kelcey. He had attempted to hide from his thoughts by losing himself in his work, only to find science was no longer the refuge it had once been. "He's worth all this and more. That is why I finally wrote to you."

"Very well, then. I will fetch him back for you, and do my level best to ensure he is never troubled again by his life as Church. I will send you word when there is something worth saying."

"I owe you one—probably several."

"Stop being silly." She kissed his cheek again. "Good luck with your meeting. I confess I have already spoken with them and offered my own plan as regards the matter. I think it better than their initial plan, but you still will not like it very much." Her smile faded off, concern overtaking her face. "Everyone deserves a second chance." Gathering her skirts, she looked at him one more time. "Someone else should be here to speak with you in an hour or so. Rest, eat. I promise all will be set to rights." Wiggling her fingers at him in farewell, she swept from the room like a countess fierce enough to enthrall a pirate queen.

Max resumed his seat, retrieving his glass and draining the last remaining sips from it. He was tempted to go for more, but if he did, the alcohol would begin to get the better of him. He would need his wits about him for a while yet. Instead, he called for supper and ate it in a private dining room, too tired to hold any one thought for long, too anxious to catch even a quick nap.

He had just settled once more in the library when a hooded figure stepped into the room and walked toward him. Max tensed, ready to pull his pistol as he watched the figure take the chair opposite his, with the large ottoman between them. Another figure stepped into the room, a large, imposing man who reminded Max passingly of Kelcey, though he did not move as quietly as he locked the door and then took position in front of it, one hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword. Honestly, who wore a sword anymore? So melodramatic.

His attention was pulled from the guard as the hood of the cloak was pushed back to reveal a beautiful woman with red-brown skin and hair arranged in a beautiful upsweep of braids and curls. Some of the braids were blue, others red, and a few gold. Max bowed his head. "Princess Sarah."

"Lord Honeysett," the woman replied, and her accent was the same soft, rolling one Gerard possessed. "It is an honor to finally make your acquaintance. I've heard much about you and your sister."

"I've no doubt you are rather sick of hearing about us."

Sarah laughed briefly. "Not at all. I admire you both. Even with the wealth and power that backs you, behaving as you do must cause no end of trouble. But you persevere, insist on living the way you want. Not many are so brave."

"I do not think it terribly brave when, as you say, there is wealth and power backing us. Only so much suffering is endured when I can pay most any problem to go away." Max ran his thumb along the side of his empty tumbler in an effort to keep his temper. "Why are you here, Princess? Though I have no desire to leave you suffering because of the choices made by others, I also have no desire to surrender my own life because of mistakes made by you, Lord Gerard, and my sister."

"I've no desire to make anyone else pay for my mistakes," Sarah replied, and pushed back the folds of her voluminous cloak to reveal the unmistakable roundness to her stomach. So his theory had been correct all along. "However, I am not the only party affected in this matter—and the matter is not my condition, which would not have been a problem at all if my fiancé had not eloped."

"Did he know of the child?" Max asked.

Sarah nodded. "We had a congenial arrangement; our … preferences are far too disparate for us to make equitable arrangements in the bedroom. I would have thought if he found someone worth severing our betrothal that he would have come to me. I've never known him to act so rashly." She smiled briefly. "Ordinarily, I would admire your sister for bringing out such a quality in him, but I admit right now my thoughts regarding them are not overly charitable."

"I think everyone involved wants to strangle them, Highness," Max replied. "I can only say that my sister is a brat, but she is not malicious. She did believe, with all her heart, that she went with the best option in a situation where no solution was going to be perfect."

"Be that as it may, we are all left in quite the bind:  my father is furious, Ridley's parents are furious, I cannot marry the father of my child, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to hide my state. Most important, however, is that I do not want my child born a bastard; a child should not suffer because of the actions of foolish parents."

"With all due respect, Princess, none of this is my problem. I was not even in the country when all of this happened. My only obligation in this matter was to Mr. Moore, who has even less to do with the matter than I but has been dragged into it and treated deplorably."

Sarah spread her hands. "I know, but I feel also you are the one best placed to help close this matter once and for all. Hear me out and then decide. I promise that what I pose is much better than anything Pennington planned. I was furious when I learned how you were treated. I am so very sorry about that. How the entire matter was handled, which is why I am here now. I spoke with your friend, Lady Charmaine, when she came to me a couple of weeks ago. She posed an idea that I and others agree will work, and I am well-placed to see you are properly compensated at the end of it all."