Ghost of Christmas Past (26 page)

“
I am here to warn you that you are dealing with something
that you cannot control.”

“
What?” Thea frowned and wondered if the man was mad. The more
he talked the more she knew that he was something to do with Rupert
and the business with the Star Elite, but he didn’t sound
French.

“
I have invested heavily in the people I do business with and
I am not about to let anyone ruin my carefully made plans. You can
never hope to win against the level of people who are involved in
this.”

“
Level of people? Are you mad?” Thea gasped and glared at him
with hatred in her heart. If this was the man Rupert was up against
then she had to do everything she could to ensure that he went
nowhere until Marcus was in a position to arrest him. However,
first Marcus had to know that the man before her, this Mr Van
Heisen, had actually done something wrong.

“
What are you doing in my house, Van Heisen? As far as I am
aware we are not of close acquaintance, so you should not feel at
liberty to approach my house uninvited. State your purpose and be
quick about it but, first of all I suggest that you unhand my
niece,” John drawled as he wandered into the room as though he
hadn’t a care in the world.

Thea
almost wept with relief as she watched him saunter across the
sitting room, and wondered where Marcus was.

John
glowered at Van Heisen’s fingers around Thea’s arm at which point
the visitor carefully removed his hand with an unconcerned grin. As
soon as she was free Thea hurriedly moved to stand beside her
uncle.

“
I came to issue you with a warning.”

“
So I heard, but you are issuing it to the wrong person. Thea
has done nothing wrong and has no clue what you are talking about.
To be honest with you Van Heisen, I don’t either, so get to the
point. I take it that you are responsible for shooting
me?”

Van
Heisen smirked but didn’t answer.

“
Got yourself into some sordid business, I take it?” John
shook his head solemnly. “Of all of the cut throats in London, I
never considered that even you would stoop so low as to deal with
the French. It is treason, you stupid man, and a highly punishable
offense.”

“
It is a very lucrative business, when it is running smoothly.
I have invested heavily in my profitable venture. Everything was
turning an excellent profit, until you got yourself
involved.”

Thea
turned her horrified gaze toward her uncle and felt a sinking
betrayal chill her flesh. She felt physically sick and she silently
pleaded with her uncle to deny the allegation.

“
I am not involved in any of your sordid schemes, Van Heisen.
I suggest that you now leave my home immediately. I can assure you
that I have no connection with any of your business. My life hasn’t
stooped that low yet and I hope to God it never will.” He placed a
comforting arm around a clearly shaken Thea, and mentally applauded
her for her strength in the face of adversity. She was doing a
credible job of staring the man down and refusing to be thwarted by
his threats and menace.

“
I think that you had better stop meddling in matters that
don’t concern you,” Van Heisen growled.

“
How so? I have merely been going about my
business.”

“
I know of your connection to the Star Elite. You are a fool
if you think you can take on the likes of the people I am involved
with. My contacts are powerful and influential people who can
destroy you in a few effortless conversations. Your reputation can
be destroyed forever if we choose.”

“
Your reputation is one of a thug and a bully Van Heisen,”
John snorted disparagingly. “If you had any notion of the rumours
that were going around in the reputable establishments of London,
you would know just how seriously damaged your reputation is. If
you seriously think that anyone would consider believing any
ridiculous story you put about, then I can only feel extremely
sorry for you. As it is, I have it on good authority that you are a
very frightened man. One who is facing bankruptcy as we speak, and
investigation by the War Office for being a traitor to king and
country. I should be a very worried man if I were you.” John’s
voice dropped to a ruthless drawl and, for his own peace of mind,
he eased Thea toward the door and the relative safety of Marcus,
who stood listening to every word. “Now, I suggest you get out and
take your ridiculous threats with you.”

Marcus
had given him instruction to find out what he could but he wasn’t
prepared to have Thea in any more danger. He wanted the Van Heisen
out of the house, and quickly.

“
I know about your links to the War Office and know you are a
bigger threat than you pretend to be.” Van Heisen turned cold eyes
on Thea, who had started to edge toward the door. “Stay where you
are.” He watched Thea freeze and then quite deliberately returned
to the table and picked up the glass of brandy she had taken off
him earlier. With his eyes locked firmly on her, he slowly took a
long sip before he sauntered over to stand before the fireplace. He
placed one highly polished foot on the hearth and leaned an elbow
arrogantly on the mantle. In doing so, his jacket opened and
revealed the wicked looking pistol he wore on his hip. Thea’s
stomach lurched and she turned her gaze away.

“
State what you want and then get out of here,” John demanded
loudly. His fists clenched with raw fury at the man’s bad manners,
and thuggish behaviour.

“
I came to ensure that you pay for your treachery,” Van Heisen
drawled, and withdrew the top part of his cane which revealed a
gun. The small object didn’t look all that threatening but John
knew from personal and very real experience, how excruciating it
was to be shot. He had no intention of reliving the experience or
facing Rupert’s fury if Thea received a bullet in his
stead.

The
sight of the gun was enough for Marcus who rushed through the door
and grabbed Thea around the waist, dragging her to the ground. He
was aware of the loud retort of the gun and watched a cloud of dust
appear in the air above them. Beneath the chair they lay behind he
saw John lying on the floor on the other side of the room. Drawing
his own gun, Marcus knew there was little choice and pulled the
trigger as he stood upright.

The
surprise on Van Heisen’s face as he watched the rapid expansion of
blood stain his shirt warned Marcus that the man was not fatally
injured. Marcus stood and watched the hand that held the glass of
brandy go limp. The glass fell from his useless hand into the fire,
spilling its contents into the hungry flames. The resounding roar
that filled the room matched the scream of horror that came from
Van Heisen when flames shot out from the fireplace and caught the
back of his jacket. The crackle of the cotton material as it caught
fire was accompanied by Van Heisen’s pleas for help as pain
registered on his arrogance.

Thea
covered her ears and meekly followed Marcus as he hauled her to her
feet and carried her out of the door. John stood and yanked a
curtain down and tried to cover the writhing man, but the only
thing he succeeded in doing was setting fire to the curtain, the
tail end of which how lay in the fire. Within seconds the curtain
and the man were well ablaze with a ferocity that warned both John
and Marcus that there was no hope of survival.

“
God, help him someone,” Thea gasped when Van Heisen continued
to scream.

“
It’s too late Thea. Even if we could get to him, his injuries
now make him beyond saving.”

Her gaze
locked on the huge huddle of fire that now lay before the fireplace
and watched in frozen horror as the fire started to eat away at the
rug the now silent Van Heisen lay on. The wooden floorboard began
to char beneath him and fill the air with heavy smoke. A wave of
helplessness swept through her as smoke thickened and blurred her
vision. It stung the back of her throat and made her cough and she
turned away from the macabre scene within the room as her eyes
watered.

Marcus
slammed the door to the sitting room closed and threw an apologetic
glance at John before he raced toward the front door, shouting for
help.

“
Get everyone out,” he ordered Argus as he ran past the
startled butler. “Go and get help and bring back as many buckets as
you can find.”

The
house descended into chaos. Thea hurried to the kitchens and found
the house keeper, the scullery maid and Tilly, and gave each of
them buckets and pans before she headed out to the well in the back
yard. The women quickly sorted themselves out. Thea and the
housekeeper worked the handle of the well and filled the buckets
while Tilly, the scullery maid and Argus carried them to the
sitting room to Marcus and John.

Marcus
counted to three and pushed open the door to the sitting room. He
stood back to allow John to throw the water into the room. The wall
of heat that met them made them both stagger back and they
exchanged a knowing look at the same time that several men appeared
in the doorway armed with buckets.

Across
the city Rupert studied the back of the small terraced house, aware
that once again he was standing knee deep in fetid filth in one of
London’s grimiest backwaters. He could only hope to God that it
wouldn’t be another wasted effort. This time round though, the
information had been gathered by the Star Elite and was as accurate
as it was possible to get. His colleagues had remained in post and
had continued to watch the house.

Now that
Rupert and Jacob had arrived, they were all set to move in on the
property that Fornier had called home.

Right
now though, Rupert desperately wanted to be back at Ridings where
he could share another cosy meal with Thea and, hopefully, secure a
future with her. Instead, he was outside, in the cold, putting his
life in danger once more. In that moment he made himself a promise
that this was going to be his last investigation. He was tired of
risking everything and getting very little in return. Notoriety was
one thing, but he wanted a future and, as long as that future
contained Thea, he knew it would be a bright one.

Somewhere around the docks, several additional men their
boss, Sir Hugo, had sourced were lying in wait to move in once
Fornier was under arrest. Everyone was in position and waiting for
the signal. The two men at the front of the narrow terraced house,
and the two men just inside the back yard all moved into action at
eight fifteen precisely.

The loud
bang of the front door as it was kicked open was all Rupert needed
to hear and with one well-placed boot he watched the back door
practically crumble to reveal the startled faces of two of
Fornier’s pickpocket thugs. They were all Marcus needed to see. He
raced into the house before either man had the opportunity to get
out of their seats. From the descriptions that Thea had given him
earlier, they were the same men who had tried to abduct her. The
thought filled him with rage and the knowledge that he could at
least extract a little revenge for Thea’s torment was more than
enough to ensure that Rupert’s fists landed with more force than
was really necessary, and astonishing brutality that left both men
out cold on the floor within seconds.

Harry
grinned over at him. “You have been practicing old man.”

Rupert
rolled his eyes, his attention on their main quarry who was in the
front room of the house, yelling his head off in a mixture of
French and English.

“
Well, well, if we don’t have the latest French scoundrel,
Fornier,” Rupert sighed, glad that he hadn’t used the shot in his
gun. There was no possible way that Fornier was going to leave this
room without either being shackled or dead. The relief that swept
through him immediately brought forth a sense of elation that eased
his tension and he relaxed into the role he needed to play to
ensure that he got the job done.

It
didn’t matter how long this took, he was going to get some
answers.

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

Rupert
sighed and made his gun visible. He watched Fornier glance at it
before he swept a nervous glance around the room at Jacob, Luke and
Harry who had all moved forward to join them.

The
Frenchman knew that he was outnumbered and began to grow frantic.
He watched Luke move to stand before the front room windows and
Harry move to stand with his back against the far wall. Rupert came
to a stop a few feet away from Fornier, while Jacob stood just to
the side of him. Fornier had no way out unless he was prepared to
climb up the chimney and knew it. The cool howl of wind swept
through the house and was the only sound to be heard for several
long moments while Rupert waited for the helplessness of the
Frenchman’s situation to sink in.

“
Tell me one thing, Fornier.” Rupert demanded. He had watched
Fornier weigh up his options before he suddenly straightened and
stared arrogantly back at them. He couldn’t quite decide if the
Frenchman was bluffing or had another way out that they didn’t know
about. Nobody spoke. They waited until Fornier turned his attention
to Rupert, who remained tall and motionless before him.

“
Why shoot John Weatherby? What connection is he to you?”
Although he kept his stance as relaxed as possible, tension
thrummed through him as he waited to see if Thea’s beloved relative
was a criminal.