His Mistress (31 page)

T
obias sank down into the mahogany swivel chair behind his desk and stared at the note in his hand. It had been more than a week since he’d yielded to Jane. In that time, he’d managed to cry work as his excuse for avoiding her and all social engagements at Culverstone House. Now, thanks to Lady Hounslow’s meddling, he had their engagement party to attend. He studied Jane’s handwriting. It was soft and feminine, yet conveyed the same strength he’d seen her exhibit time and again.

He missed her even though he knew he shouldn’t. The woman had brought him to his knees, and he couldn’t afford to let her do it again. The rage he’d experienced the moment Jane had touched the darkest part of his soul had blinded him to everything around him. It had been the same way the night he’d fought Hopkins. He’d been out of control that night. The knowledge made him realize he could have easily hurt her. He could never allow that to ever happen again where Jane was concerned. Tobias closed his eyes as fear slashed at every inch of him.

With an explosive sound of fury, he cursed Culverstone for having blackmailed him into marrying Jane. In saving his own hide, he’d only managed to make things worse for himself.
Mystère
would still have captured his attention, but it would have been easier keeping his distance once he realized the danger he was in. He snorted with disgust at the ludicrous notion.

Once more, his gaze reviewed her message. The notecard contained no mention of their night at
La Maison des Plaisirs Sombres
or the fact that he’d not been to see her since then. She’d simply inquired as to his health and had shared the news that Irene had taken it upon herself to host a party to celebrate their engagement late next week. From the wording in her note, he could tell Jane was furious at her future stepmother’s interference. He released a breath of exasperation. He wasn’t happy about it either.

Tobias threw the card down onto the desktop cluttered with paper files. Irene had even managed to contact John and his childhood friends to invite them to the party. He’d be happy to see his friends, but he wished it were under different circumstances. It would be fairly easy to fool John and his friends that he was truly happy, all with the exception of Samuel. His best friend knew him well enough to sense there was something odd about his engagement to Jane. That meant questions he wasn’t eager to answer, and once Samuel got a bone in his mouth, the man worried it until he had the answer or results he wanted.

With a scowl, Tobias leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin. Although he’d not been back to
La Maison des Plaisirs Sombres
since the night he’d bared his soul to Jane, he knew she hadn’t either. The morning after he’d left her at Culverstone House, Tobias had recruited young Charlie Atkin to follow Jane wherever she went.

With his warning for her to be alert to strangers and possible danger, she was apt to notice an adult following her. A child was less likely to arouse her suspicion. He’d tried hard to convince himself it was strictly to ensure her safety, but he knew that wasn’t entirely true. Tobias had come to dread Charlie’s daily reports on Jane’s activities. He had no idea what he would do if the lad were to tell him that Jane had visited the club.

The idea of her being in
La Maison des Plaisirs Sombres
without him aroused a possessive emotion in him that made him decidedly uneasy. It was bad enough he’d made her admit she was his and his alone just before they’d climaxed together the other night. His job was to serve her, not demand. It was his task to keep her safe. Tobias had known from the start he would have to protect her from the dangers of his job. It had never occurred to him to consider he could be a danger to her as well.

The pencil in his hand snapped in two as he remembered how easily he’d yielded to Jane. In a number of ways it had been a relief to share his secret with her. John and Samuel had heard his confession when he was still a boy, and they’d always reassured him his actions were those of self-defense. But confessing his sin to Jane in
La Maison des Plaisirs Sombres
had been a cathartic experience.

He didn’t remember much of those few moments when Jane pulled the darkness up into the light. But he’d not forgotten the rage that had consumed him. Only her strength had saved him from falling into the dark pit hiding in the deepest regions of his heart. Jane had not only heard his confession, she’d forced him to face his demons. Afterward she’d comforted him with a tenderness few women had ever shown him.

He could still feel the warmth of her sweet curves against his back as she’d warmed his cold body with her own heat. His body hardened as he remembered the way she’d given herself up into his care. In her arms, he’d found an exquisite pleasure that was unrivaled by anything he’d experienced before. The physical pleasure had only escalated his need for her with every stroke of his body into hers. But his hunger for her was nothing compared to the tenderness that had struck something deep in his heart. It scared the hell out of him.

The sharp tapping on the office door’s glass window abruptly jerked him out of his thoughts. The sight of Molly Hopkins peeking around the edge of the office door made him invite her in with a wave of his hand as he stood up to greet her.

“Molly, how are you?” he asked with a cautious smile of welcome.

The fact that he’d given her husband a sound beating recently made him a bit uncertain as to the reason for her visit. Tobias knew many women were incapable of seeing their abusers in a bad light. The fact that she was one of his best informants made him hope she had the good sense to know that her husband had been wrong to hit her. He’d hate to lose Molly from his employ. She and Charlie were his most reliable resources in his network of informants. As Molly smiled and moved deeper into the room, relief swept through him at her cheerful expression.

“I’m right enough, Mr. Tobias.” She beamed. “I don’t know what ye said to my Ned, but he’s been nuttin’ but a gent since the two of ye fought.”

“Good. If he hurts you again, you’re to come to me straight away. No man should ever hit a woman,” Tobias said with a firm conviction that made the woman nod in agreement. Satisfied she understood him, he nodded. “So, what brings you here today?”

“Well, I hear ye were asking a while back fer information about a Lord Hadley,” Molly said with a questioning look on her face.

“A couple of weeks ago, yes. Have you heard something you think might be useful?” Tobias folded his arms across his chest. Viscount Hadley had been one of the candidates on his initial short list of suspects for the person who’d betrayed him to Culverstone. He’d ruled the man out early on, leaving Viscount Ashcroft and a merchant by the name of Lionel Tewksbury as the only two names left on his list of traitors.

“Me cousin’s friend, Bessie, is a parlor maid in his Lordship’s house. Bessie told me cousin that Lord Hadley lost a great deal of money a month or two ago in one of those…spec…spec…” Molly frowned with obvious frustration.

“Speculative investments?”

“Yes, that’s it. Speculative investments.” Molly nodded enthusiastically. “Bessie said the man was plumb out of his mind with worry. Talking about some earl he owed money to, who was threatening to ruin him.”

“Did Bessie say who this earl was?” Tobias asked with a frown of curiosity.

“Copperstone? No, that’s not right. Culperton?” Molly shook her head and frowned as Tobias went rigid with surprise. “Culverstone. Yes, that’s what she said. Culverstone.”

Satisfaction settled on Molly’s features as she remembered the earl’s name. In silence, Tobias absorbed the woman’s words. There was little logic in thinking Hadley had revealed Tobias’ connection to
La Maison des Plaisirs Sombres
to Culverstone.

The thought itself stretched credibility. He’d never met the man that he could recall. Although there was the fact that Tobias didn’t wear a mask in the club. Hadley could have easily recognized him on the street and pointed him out to Culverstone. That made no sense though. Hadley would have needed to confess his own association with
La Maison des Plaisirs Sombres
in order to implicate Tobias as a club member.

Tobias found it highly unlikely the man would willingly reveal something so personal to Culverstone. It was ridiculous even to consider that something might be made of the information. Nonetheless, every small piece of possible evidence warranted looking into.

The mere fact that Molly had mentioned Culverstone’s name was enough to arouse Tobias’ suspicions. Where there was smoke or blackmail there was Culverstone. His mouth tightened with anger at the memory of how he’d been forced to propose to Jane. God help him if she ever learned the truth.

With a frown, Tobias turned around and went to the tall, green safe in the far corner of his office. The tumblers spun softly inside the vault as he twisted the brass knob back and forth to enter the combination. At the soft click of the safe’s locking mechanism, Tobias pushed down on the handle to open the vault. He ignored the stacks of paper files stored in the tall safe and reached for the black metal box that contained a small amount of cash he kept available for paying his informants.

Bank notes in hand, he secured the safe then crossed the floor and handed the money to Molly. At the sight of the four one-pound notes, Molly’s eyes widened then she looked up at Tobias. It was more than her usual payment for the tidbits she usually brought him. While he knew he’d overpaid for the information, his instincts made him believe the information she’d brought him would be invaluable.

“Two pounds are for you and the other is to be split between Bessie and your cousin.”

“Thank you, Mr. Tobias,
thank you
,” Molly exclaimed. Tobias acknowledged her enthusiastic response with a smile.

“If Bessie hears anything else related to Lord Hadley’s finances that I deem useful, there will be more where that came from.” Tobias nodded toward the bank note.

“I’ll be sure to tell her so, Mr. Tobias. Thank you,” Molly said as she moved toward the door. She paused as her hand gripped the doorknob. “Oh, I almost forgot. Did you know that Albright fellow everyone says Malcom Turner murdered was a sodomite?” Molly scowled with disgust.

“Where did you hear that?” Tobias asked with surprise. He’d done a great deal of personal investigation for Turner’s case and not come up with anything related to the victim’s sexual preferences.

“I was in the Black Swan the other night and someone said some fancy gent by the name of Ashcroft was Albright’s lover. People saw them quarreling the night of the murder.”

“Do you know this Ashcroft’s first name, Molly?” he asked with growing tension.

“I’m not really certain, Mr. Tobias.” His informant shook her head. “I want to say Eddie but I could be wrong.”

Excitement flooded his brain as he realized Molly had possibly given him exactly what he needed to raise doubt about Turner’s guilt in the murder of Albright. Hell, Ashcroft could even be the murderer. Tobias immediately slowed down his thought processes. He needed to proceed with caution. He didn’t like Ashcroft, but he couldn’t let that influence his judgment as to the man’s guilt or innocence. Still the fact that it was Ashcroft also made it easier to suspect the viscount of murder when Tobias already suspected the man of betraying Tobias to Culverstone.

“Molly, you’re a treasure,” he said with a grin as he pulled out two crowns from his vest pocket and placed them in her hand. “These are just for you, and no one else. Buy yourself a new dress or something special you’ve been wanting.”

“Thank you, sir. I will.” Molly flashed him another bright smile as she left his office.

As the door closed behind Molly, Tobias began to pace the floor as he tried to draw conclusions from what he knew of Ashcroft and this newest piece of information. He already knew the viscount had lost a great deal of money at the races, only to be flush again in a week.

Ashcroft’s finances had revealed no indication of how the man had paid his debt or where his new funds had come from. And he’d been unable to make any connection between the viscount and Culverstone. It was damned frustrating, but his gut kept telling him Ashcroft was the traitor within the walls of
La Maison des Plaisirs Sombres
. Now, Molly had just shared that Ashcroft and Albright had been lovers. He could care less that the man might be a sodomite, but the connection between Ashcroft and Lord Albright was something that bore closer scrutiny.

From the beginning, Turner had claimed his innocence. The man had stated that he’d heard a cry, gone to investigate and found Albright dead on the ground with the sound of footsteps retreating. It was only the fact that Turner had been discovered with the body that led to his quick arrest. The police were always eager to settle on the first possible suspect they found for any crime.

Tobias rarely questioned the accuracy of Molly’s information, but he needed eyewitnesses to corroborate her assertions. He’d not done his investigation of Ashcroft personally. His history with the man would have aroused the viscount’s suspicions. Instead, he’d left that task to Terrence Smythe. Tobias frowned. The man was excellent at ferreting out information, but he charged a king’s ransom, and Tobias didn’t always like the man’s methods for retrieving information. Still, if there was evidence proving Turner’s innocence, Tobias needed to find it.