Redemption (22 page)

“Are you
alright?” Ben murmured tenderly as he drew her closer to his
side.

She
nodded hesitantly; painfully aware of the silence that surrounded
them. “I feel dirty just having been in there. Like I have touched
something tainted and need to take a bath to rid myself of
it.”

“I know
what you mean,” Ben murmured. He could feel the papers practically
burning a hole in his pocket, and looked forward to being able to
read the contents more carefully so he could get a better
understand of Julian’s deceit. He suspected that several of the
papers were rather condemning.

She drew
her shawl tighter around her shoulders still, and shivered as the
cool night air bit into her flesh anyway. At first, the strange
shiver of unease that swept down her spine was discounted as being
caused by nothing more than the dark, almost eerie atmosphere of
the deserted street. However, the growing sense that they were not
the only people out and about began to make her decidedly
uncomfortable the longer they walked.

“There
is something wrong,” she murmured, peering into the notorious
London smog for any sign of something sinister lurking
within.

“Pardon?” Ben asked with a frown.

“Good
evening,” a rather amiable voice suddenly piped up from behind
them.

Ben
tensed. He placed a comforting hand on Lizzie’s, silently warning
her not to panic as he studied the man he suspected was Raymond
Trent.

Lizzie
gasped and stared at the tall silhouette that appeared out of the
gloom before her. The gas lamps did nothing to eradicate the
shadows that lurked in every corner, and tainted the man’s almost
gaunt features with a sinister glow that looked almost etheric.
Rather than speak, she nodded warily and side-stepped around the
stranger while her eyes remained locked on the main road over Ben’s
shoulder.

“Elizabeth Pinner, isn’t it?” the voice drawled.

“Trent,”
Ben murmured. His gaze slid away from the suited figure before him
to the thug now standing beside the large black carriage neither he
nor Lizzie had seen when they had left the house.

“I am
sorry, I don’t believe that I have made your acquaintance,” she
said formally with her brows lifted in arrogant disapproval. She
suspected that the man didn’t care one bit that he had broken
several very firm rules of decent society by approaching her in the
street without an invitation or any prior acquaintance.

The man
laughed. “I know we haven’t, but I know all about you, Elizabeth
Pinner.” The once friendly voice suddenly turned cool. “I know your
brother,” he continued when she made no attempt to speak. “We met
earlier this morning if you remember, but you got a little
upset.”

“You
accosted me,” she accused. It was too dark for her to see much of
his face, but the shadows only added to the somewhat macabre look
on his face that was frightening.

As if to
prove her ignorance, the man smirked and nodded to Ben.
“McArthur.”

Ben
sensed Lizzie looking askance at him. “This is one of Julian’s -
associates: Raymond Trent.” His fingers twitched warningly over
hers, silently pleading with her not to say anything. Thankfully
she read the message because her lips pursed in silent disapproval
as she turned her attention back to the man behind them.

“What do
you want, Trent?” Ben growled. “Your business is with Julian, not
his step-sister.”

“But
Julian cannot be found anywhere.”

“He was
arrested for murder,” Ben snapped, his lips curling derisively at
Trent’s astonished look.

“Murder?” the man growled in apparent disbelief.

Ben
nodded. “For someone who knows all there is to know about the
people who owe him money, you are sadly lacking on news aren’t
you?” Ignoring the growing anger on the thug’s face, Ben shook his
head. “Go to the jail if you don’t believe me. Julian is awaiting
trial for murder. Go and talk to him if you dare, but your business
has nothing to do with Miss Pinner, so I suggest that you leave her
alone.”

“I am
afraid that Julian has implicated Miss Pinner in his problems
whether she likes it or not,” Trent drawled in a voice that was
laden with menace. “There is more going on than you realise,
McArthur.”

“How can
I be held to account for anything my stupid step-brother does? I
haven’t even been in London for weeks,” Lizzie cried, outraged at
the thought that Julian’s selfish actions would drag her into the
seedier part of life.

“I am a
friend of your brother’s? Really? That’s what he told you, is it?”
the man smirked. “That makes us friends too.”

“I am no
friend of yours, and Julian isn’t my brother,” she gasped in
outrage.

Never in
her entire life had it ever been more important that she
disassociate herself with her step-brother. Most people assumed
that she was Julian’s sister, and ignored the fact that they were
only related by their parent’s marriage. Still, she didn’t see why
she should explain the semantics to this man. Whoever he was,
whatever he wanted, Raymond Trent had nothing to do with her
present or her future. As far as she was concerned, Julian was now
a part of her past and could stay that way, and take Trent with
him.

“I don’t
care what Julian Pendlebury owes you, it is nothing to do with
me.”

She
straightened her shoulders and drew on every ounce of fortitude she
possessed to glare at him with as much dispassionate disinterest as
she could muster. “Julian has lied to get money off people,
including the bank. He cannot pay them off so the bank now owns his
half of that house. The other half is owned by someone else. I am
just here to clear out what is left of my personal belongings. I
would recommend you speak to Julian if you want money out of him.
It is nothing to do with me.”

“Pendlebury is more danger than you realise,” Trent
countered.

Ben had
heard enough. He wasn’t prepared to stand aside while Trent, or
anyone else for that matter, threatened Lizzie no matter who Trent
was connected to.

“You
heard her. Pendlebury’s problems are nothing to do with her. Go and
speak to the man himself if you want him. Whatever danger Julian is
in is his problem. Of course, you are more than welcome to find
your own solicitor and challenge the bank for ownership if you
could find anyone to believe you. Meantime, I suggest you stop
harassing innocent ladies in the street, Trent. I don’t care who
you are, you are barking up the wrong tree by pestering Miss
Pinner.”

She
shivered again when the man eyed her up and down as though she was
nothing more than a piece of meat. He took a menacing step toward
her, clearly angry at having his threats ignored. Lizzie tipped her
chin up and gave him the iciest glare she could muster.

When it
was evident that he wasn’t going to menace Lizzie, Trent turned his
attention to Ben. “Be careful what this woman and her step-brother
drag you into, McArthur. You are a fool if you think you won’t get
mired in trouble you cannot handle.”

“Shut
up, Trent. You are becoming boring now. I know people in the Star
Elite who would be more than happy to look into your rather
questionable activities,” Ben countered. He knew his words hit home
when Trent stared at him but remained mute. Although his lip curled
derisively, he lost some, if not all of his bluster. “I shall have
no hesitation in calling the Star Elite if you continue to harass
this innocent lady here, or me for that matter. One thing you
should know about us nabobs, Trent, is that we have contacts in
high places.” Ben held his elbow out to Lizzie and smiled at her.
“Come along, my dear. It is time I got you out of this cold
air.”

“What
are the Star Elite to investigate? Eh? Tell me that, McArthur? They
aren’t interested in your little problems, and they have nothing on
me,” Trent called to them as they walked steadily away. “She needs
to know what she is getting herself into. Get them to investigate
Pendlebury.”

“The
Star Elite?” Lizzie murmured out of the corner of her mouth. “Who
are they?”

Ben
sighed, his ears tuned toward any sound of movement behind them.
Although it didn’t sound as though Trent was following, he wouldn’t
trust that man as far as he could spit. The sooner he got Lizzie
out of there the better. Realising she was still waiting for his
answer, he glanced down at her, determined to keep their manner
relaxed and their gait steady so as not to frighten her into
panicking, and doing something rash.

“The Star Elite are a government organisation who investigate
some of the harsher crimes committed in this country. Their current
projects involve the spate of jewellery thefts that have been
happening within the
ton,
and a gang of pickpockets who are roaming the
streets. Rumour has it that the crimes are linked to Trent and
Sayers’ people.”

Lizzie
gasped. “Sayers? The gang boss? I read about him in the broadsheet
the other month. He was suspected of killing someone but wasn’t
arrested because nobody could find the body.”

“Nobody
really knows who Sayers is,” Ben sighed.

“But if
he is linked to Trent, why don’t they speak to him and find out?”
Lizzie asked with a frown. She had never heard of the Star Elite,
and wondered what else Ben knew that she didn’t.

“Because
crooks like Sayers and Trent don’t rat on each other. They are
supposed to be working together and would only lie if asked, even
if the Star Elite wanted to reveal the fact that they were
investigating them.” He looked directly at her. “Which they don’t,
so I would ask for your discretion.”

She
nodded. Ben suspected that if he could rely on anyone’s discretion
it would be Lizzie’s. Once inside a carriage, he sat beside her and
gathered her into his arms. Thankfully she went willingly, and
leaned against him with a sigh. She was positively bursting with
questions, but was unsure what to ask him first. The only question
that popped into her head was the only thing she asked.

“Will I
see you in the morning?”

“As soon
as I get up in the morning I shall arrange for the locks to be
changed at Pendlebury, and then will come to fetch you,” he
replied, delighted that she was keen to see him again. If there was
any way he could take her and Patty to McArthur House tonight then
he would, but he knew that the guest rooms at home weren’t ready
yet, and Patty could quite conceivably already be abed. It wasn’t
fair to disturb her, not while they were in the relatively safe
confines of the hotel anyway.

“Good,”
she replied firmly.

“Good?”
He lifted his brows and smiled teasingly at her before he dipped
his head for a very thorough kiss.

“Good.”
When he finally lifted his head she settled her head against his
chest and sighed in delight at the comfortable intimacy between
them. In the end she just had to ask. “So, how do you know about
the Star Elite? Who do you know? Are they looking into Julian’s
behaviour?”

Ben
smiled at the speed of her questions and pressed a kiss to the top
of her head.

“I am
friends with a couple of the men who work in the Star Elite.
Barnaby Stevenson is a good friend I have known for many years. His
colleague, Marcus, is a lesser known acquaintance but both are good
men who are highly thought of within the right legal circles. A lot
of the Star Elite’s activities are kept secret, but I know for
definite they have been looking into any connection between the
recent spate of crimes in London and Terrence Sayers. Don’t ask me
anymore because I just don’t have any further details. As far as I
am aware, unless Julian has been involved in any crimes directly,
they are not likely to be investigating him I am afraid. Of course,
I don’t know that for definite you understand.”

He made
a mental note to inform Barnaby that Lizzie was now safe and well,
and then turned his attention back to the woman in his
arms.

“I am
sorry about dragging you into all of this,” Lizzie murmured when
she became aware that he was studying her.

Ben
tipped her chin up and placed a tender kiss on the soft curve of
her mouth. “Let’s get one thing straight, Lizzie. None of this is
your fault. It is Julian who has brought these people to your door,
not you. You cannot be held to blame for anything that man does so,
as far as I am concerned, you have nothing to be sorry
about.”

“But it
doesn’t seem right that you are going about your own life and get
dragged into this sordid mess through your concern for
me.”

“It is
more than concern, Lizzie,” Ben murmured. “The weeks we have been
torn apart have been the longest in my life. I seriously cannot
contemplate ever experiencing such a circumstance ever again. Do
you hear me, Elizabeth Pinner? Don’t ever leave me
again.”

Before
Lizzie could nod, Ben plundered the warm recesses of her mouth. The
silence that lengthened between them was punctuated only by soft
sighs and low moans as barely contained passion began to resurface.
Neither of the occupants of the carriage was aware of the outside
world as they gave in to the shimmering desire that swirled around
them. It was only when the carriage jolted over a bump in the road
and nearly unseated them that Ben reluctantly lifted his head and
remembered where they were. He rested his forehead against hers for
several moments while he tried to recapture some semblance of
control. It never ceased to amaze him just how much of a profound
impact this woman had on him by doing so very little, and he knew
that no matter how long he had with her he would never grow tired
of having this woman beside him.