Revenge Wears Rubies (42 page)

“Why are
you
here, Mr. Bascombe?”

“To give you a more honorable option, my dear! Once again, I am offering to clear your father’s debts if you’ll but find out where Mr. Hawke was held in India—the name of the sahib, the names of his friends, and any details that will aid my associates in their search would be greatly appreciated as well.” He started to move toward her again, and she took a careful step backward as he went on. “It’s so simple, Miss Moreland. You tell me what I want to know, and all your worries are past.”

“What associates are these? And why would you pay just to know those things?” she asked.

“You’re so innocent, Miss Moreland. And the less you know of this business the better. But suffice it to say, Hawke and the others of the Jaded stole a few things from their captors on their way out, and my friends are very interested in gaining a share of that wealth.”

“The Jaded?” Haley was completely mystified. “Is this . . . is this about . . . money?”

“It’s about treasure!” He clapped his hands, like a greedy child at Christmas. “Now, will you aid us? After all, Hawke is no friend of yours, and I’m offering you every advantage for an easy enough task. And how is this? If you do as I bid, I’ll even see about quelling a few gossiping tongues and even make a few introductions when I have the opportunity. You can come back to London for another Season next year, and I will sponsor you!”

She was almost speechless at his outrageous offer. “I . . .”

His eyes narrowed. “And don’t worry, Miss Moreland. Your reputation can still be restored so long as no one else knows how you played the slut with Mr. Hawke.” He took a seat on the sofa where Galen had been, and she panicked as she realized what the wet cushions might signify.

“Get out! You insinuate too much, Mr. Bascombe, and you know nothing of me!”

“I know enough.” His expression grew vaguely irritated as his hand touched the damp fabric. “But I am fast out of time to receive your answer! Since you and Galen both left Town, it looks highly suspicious, and I am being called to account for you both! You’ll help me bring Hawke to heel, Miss Moreland. You’ll do this because it will benefit you and your family, or I’ll forego every promise and you can work off your father’s debt in a char house.”

“How dare you threaten me in my own home to try to pressure me into somehow acting against Lord Winters! Well, I won’t have it! If you want to go on a treasure hunt, then by all means, go!” Haley stood back and gestured at the door. “I don’t care what you say about me to the London vultures—”

Bascombe stood and closed the distance so much faster than she would have thought possible, his grip on her arm bruising and merciless. “Get a lot of news from London and the outside world, do you?”

“W-what? Let go of me!” She tried to pull away, but his fingers only tightened and she whimpered involuntarily at the searing pain that held her captive.

“Lord Winters?” His eyes grew cold, and she realized her mistake. “He’s been here already. You’re dry as a bone and I’m over there sitting in a puddle like a fool! You’ve been sputtering little white lies to me the entire time.”

“You’re hurting me, Mr. Bascombe.” Haley did her best to stay calm, aware as never before how isolated she was in a house without servants, with her father away, and no one to intervene.

“Damn it!” Bascombe’s fury was palpable. “All I wanted was for you to ask the man a few questions and get me those answers! Is that really such an unreasonable thing in exchange for all the favor I’ve shown you? I have people who are growing very impatient, Miss Moreland, and I can’t ask them to wait any longer, do you hear me?”

“Please, let go of my arm and we’ll discuss—”

“The time for discussion has passed.” His other hand whipped forward and caught her throat in the grip of a warm vise. “I think Hawke still has feelings for you. So I would think in exchange for your life, he may just give me what I want.”

She began to fight in earnest, but her hands couldn’t find any leverage on his arms and the panic and agony of his fingers against her windpipe made it even more difficult to think clearly. “No! Please!”

“You’ll come with me to London, as calm and pretty as you please, and we’ll just leave Mr. Hawke a little note, shall we? And you can tell your lover that if he doesn’t cooperate, why then I’ll see you killed at my leisure.”

She kicked out but only tangled into a chair to send it crashing into the corner with the stove. Bascombe’s fingers tightened in anger, and Haley was sure she didn’t have much longer before he’d just be able to carry her from the house in a faint. The last vestige of civility evaporated and her fingers curved into claws as she struck out wildly at Rand’s eyes and face.

Haley had a fleeting sensation of triumph as her fingernails made contact and she heard his hiss of pain, but then she was on the floor and he was on top of her, and the world was fading into a gray mist.

“I’ll have my place in the inner circle of the East India Company, Miss Moreland, and I’ll be one of the richest men in England! But you . . .” He lessened his hold just enough to let her come back to her senses. “You have no idea how much farther you’re going to fall to pay for this little display of temper.”

“He . . . won’t . . . tell you . . . anything.” Every word burned her throat, but fear for Galen overrode everything. “Please . . .”

“You’ll wish you’d died, Miss Moreland.” He hauled himself up, releasing her throat, only to clench his fingers into her hair to begin dragging her from the room. “I don’t think your father will bother looking for you when you send a note advising him that you’ve run off to London to suck cocks for a living.”

“You write one word of lies to my father, and I’ll—”

Rand’s hand twisted against her scalp and Haley’s threat was cut off with a yelp. She screamed as she was forced to reach up to hold his wrists to prevent him from scalping her, but she did her best to kick out to slow his progress, her mind scrambling for a way to avoid being thrown into his carriage and lost forever. Even so, she was relentlessly being taken from the only home she’d ever known, and step by cruel step, Haley began to cry out in despair and horror at what might lie ahead.

Chapter
30

“Rand! You bastard!” Galen roared as he came through the front door. “Let go of her, you son of a bitch!”

Bascombe complied, letting go of her hair more out of shock than a probable spirit of compliance. She fell backward against the bucket on the floor, sprawling on the marble but safe for the moment. Galen wasted no time, his momentum and fury too great to allow Rand to rethink her release or use her as a shield. Like a tiger, he launched himself at the older man, who was spared slightly as the slick marble floor robbed Galen of the traction he needed to use every ounce of force at his command.

The men flew to the hard stone floor in a tangle of limbs, and Bascombe grunted at the impact, instinctively lifting his forearm to strike Galen across the jaw, and the true struggle began. Bascombe was older, and much stronger than he appeared, but Galen had the advantage of height and power.

Bascombe pulled his arm back again, to try to hold Galen at a distance or push him away, but Galen shifted back only far enough to give himself room to strike back as hard as he could with his free hand. Bascombe kicked his legs and offset the blow, groaning at the pain all the same as Galen’s fist connected with his cheek. Galen’s hold on Bascombe was like iron, and he pulled back to hit him again only to lose his balance as Bascombe pushed directly against the floor instead of his opponent for leverage.

Galen rolled easily, spinning back with a snarl to prepare to launch himself at Rand again. But this time, he hesitated and his fists were stilled in front of him.

For Rand now held a small pistol in his hand, and his eyes were full of murderous loathing as he stared at Galen. The only sounds in the bare hall were the ragged breaths of both men.

“You’re no hero, Hawke! You’re an opportunistic thief, I think, and a selfish bastard!”

“Really?” Galen asked calmly, determined to keep Rand’s attention focused entirely on him. “How is that?”

“You and your friends . . . what harm in sharing your good fortune, eh? What harm in letting a few others in on your secrets? Many would have said it was a patriotic duty to crown and country to spread that wealth. But nothing I’ve tried has yielded any success—not even trying to bribe your dear Miss Moreland. Stupid slut!” Rand lifted the gun, leveling it directly at Galen’s chest. “And so here we are. But let’s be civilized, shall we?”

“By all means.”

“Tell me where the treasure is located and we’ll call it even, Lord Winters.”

“Even? I give you the map to unimaginable wealth, and . . . what do I get again?” he asked, deliberately not looking toward Haley, silently praying she’d quietly make an escape while she could.

“I’ll spare your life!”

“I’m naturally grateful for that, but then again, what assurances do I have that you’ll keep your word after I’ve told you everything you want to know?”

“None.” Bascombe’s look was pure venom as he smiled in triumph. “But you’ll do it all the same if you want to live.”

Galen made a show of considering his situation. “Hmmm. Sleepless nights, assassins at my doorstep, short-sighted treasure hunters waving pistols in my face, and . . . oh, yes, the nebulous threat of death to everyone I hold dear by relying on the honor of an openly unstable and stupid man.” He made a subtle shift of his weight onto the balls of his feet. “It doesn’t sound like much of a choice, Bascombe.”

Bascombe hissed in displeasure and decided on another strategy. “Well, then, to hell with your life! What about hers?” He moved the gun away from Galen to aim it toward Haley—but Galen had been waiting for just such a moment and charged him once again, this time to reach with both hands to strike down Bascombe’s arm and break it if he could.

“Get off!” Bascombe growled as they locked grips in a macabre dance trying to gain control of the gun and each other.

Galen rewarded him with a wicked grin. “Ah! There’s that stupidity I’m coming to enjoy!”

Bascombe’s rage was explosive and gave him a burst of strength, but Galen cared for nothing but the gun and keeping his opponent’s emotions churned and distracted away from Haley. Blood from scratches on Rand’s face gave him a demonic look, and Galen almost laughed at the strange twist of fate that would pit him against such a creature after so many nightmares—for this battle felt all too familiar—win or lose.

Bascombe must have seen the possessed look in Galen’s face, for his grip on the gun tightened in desperation. Galen tried to keep his feet underneath him, but the slick floor and his soggy state were still working against him, and the barrel of the pistol was coming dangerously close to centering on the center of his chest. The peril was very real, and Bascombe’s grimace turned into a smile as he realized how close he was to victory.

Galen growled and considered in a flash if he should just let gravity do its worst and pray that the jolt of his body on Bascombe’s when they hit the floor would yield him the gun without it firing by accident.

The sound of the bucket striking the back of Bascombe’s skull was like a hollow barrel being dropped onto a stone. Rand Bascombe instantly crumbled at Galen’s feet, and Galen looked up in stunned silence at the sight of Haley struggling to keep her balance as the bucket’s momentum continued, nearly pulling her around.

“I’ve . . . killed him.” She looked at Bascombe’s prostrate form, her eyes wide with horror.

Galen climbed over the man to gain his feet, gently reaching for her and slowly unclasping her ice-cold fingers from the bucket’s rope handle. “No, no, you didn’t kill anyone, even if he deserved it for laying a single finger on you. But he’ll have a headache on the morrow, and he may yet swing from the gallows, but that’s for another day.”

“Y-you’re sure?”

He knelt down and checked the man’s throat for a pulse, swallowing hard at the disappointment when he detected one.
Damn. But at least she’s spared it.

He stood, wishing he’d more of Rowan’s compassion. “I’ve seen enough dead men to know the difference. But you most definitely saved my life.” He set the bucket aside and anxiously ran his hands across her shoulders and cupped her face to assure himself that she was in fact, unharmed. He repeated the words and watched the shock fade from her expression. “You saved my life, Haley.”

“You came back.” She was looking at him as if he were an apparition.

“I . . . had to.” Galen swallowed hard and spoke only the simplest truth. “My horse became too lame to make it to the village, so I had to double back. Then when Rand’s carriage passed me on the lane, I had a strange feeling that something wasn’t right.”

“You saw him?”