The Lady Plays Her Ace (The Langley Sisters) (27 page)

Thea gave him a steady look. "Is there a problem, Elliott?

"Mr. Dillinger wished for you to remain in the house today, until his return."

"Yes, I understand that he did, Elliott. However, this is a matter of importance. Therefore, I shall be leaving at once, and will return before my husband.
She hoped.

Pushing aside the knowledge that Oliver would in all likelihood take some time, if ever, to forgive her for what she was about to do, Thea hurried to her rooms. Dressing in her warmest coat and bonnet, she pulled on boots and gloves, then hurried back down the stairs to find Ted standing beside Elliott by the front door. Both looked stern, and she knew the butler had informed Ted of where she intended to go and who lived there.

"Not one word if you please, Ted, and unless you are intent on restraining me, there is nothing you can do to stop me leaving this house. Therefore, I suggest you simply open that door and follow me to the carriage."

"My lady, I must at least attempt to dissuade you," Ted said as she reached him. "It is foolhardy to go to such a place, and Mr. Dillinger will be displeased if you do."

"My husband's life is in danger, Ted, and if I do not go to visit Miss Angelique, then he will, and in doing so, once again give whoever is trying to kill him another opportunity. I cannot allow that."

He exhaled slowly. "Very well, but I insist that you take no unnecessary risks and allow me to see to your safety at all times."

Thea agreed, and then, patting Elliott's hand, she left the house with Ted on her heels.

The carriage stopped at the end of Totting Lane thirty minutes later, and Ted opened the door and helped her down. Early afternoon did nothing to enhance the dismal setting around her, as she and her footman made their way past the narrow buildings and around the children playing in the dirty streets.

"Stay close, please, my lady."

"I will, Ted," she said, walking quickly at his side until they reached the building that housed Miss Angelique's brothel. Ted wrapped the knocker several times and then they waited. A man opened the door—big, with a crooked nose and bald head. His eyes went from Ted to Thea and back to Ted.

"What do you want?"

"Please tell Miss Angelique that Lady Dillinger wishes to speak with her," Ted said.

The man's eyes widened as he once again looked at Thea.

"Follow me, and I'll tell Miss Angelique that you’re here."

They soon found themselves in a large parlor. The room was warm as a fire crackled in the hearth, and unlike the building's neglected facade, this was clean and welcoming.

"Wait there." He pointed to a sofa, but Thea was too nervous to sit, so she began to walk slowly around the room.

"We're not needing any more girls at the moment."

The woman who approached was dressed in bloomers and a tight corset that pushed her ample breasts upwards. She wore high-heeled slippers, and several bracelets that jangled as she walked and around her neck was tied a red satin ribbon. Her cheeks were pink and her lips matched, and Thea had never seen hair that particular shade of gold before.

"Lady Dillinger is not here for that purpose," Ted said quickly, as he moved to stand before her, as if to protect Thea from the woman.

"Are you Ace's wife, then?"

Thea stepped around Ted and smiled at the woman. "I am. Do you know him?"

Her smile made her appear younger than Thea had originally believed.

"Yes. I've been here for years and knew him when he first arrived. My name is Mandy."

"Were you one of the ladies who saved him, Mandy?"

The woman's eyes narrowed. "I was. That bastard Blackheath nearly killed him before we got to him."

Thea reached for her hands. "I can never thank you enough for what you did that night."

"Tain't nothing. We all love Ace, and he looked after us."

Thea knew what it was like to be protected by Oliver Dillinger and understood exactly what this woman meant.

"You're a handsome one," the woman then said, turning her attention to Ted, who immediately took a step backward as she approached. Thea had to swallow her laughter, as if was not often she saw her footman so uncomfortable.

"Lady Dillinger, please follow me and I will take you to Miss Angelique."

"I shall return shortly, Ted," Thea said, following the man who had reappeared. "Perhaps Mandy could get you some tea while you wait?"

"Are you sure I should not accompany you, my lady?" Ted said quickly.

"No, I shall be fine thank you. Please wait here."

Miss Angelique's rooms were situated on the top floor of the house, and the woman was standing before the fire when they entered. She was not young, and lines bracketed her mouth and eyes and gray colored the temples of her elegantly styled red hair. She wore a rust dress that fitted a curvaceous figure.

"Miss Angelique, I am Lady Althea. It is a pleasure to meet you." Walking forward, Thea offered the woman her hand.

"So he told you about me, did he?"

Her voice was strong and sounded like Thea's had, the one time she had taken a mouthful of whisky.

"He did, and although he will hate me for it, can I say that what you did for him was a wonderful thing, and that I am extremely grateful to you."

Angelique laughed; it was full-bodied and rich.

"My mind is now at ease, my lady." Angelique took a seat and waved Thea into the other one.

"Why?"

"Because when I realized my boy was marrying a duke's daughter I feared she would be cold and unfeeling and he would simply lose himself in his work even more. But you are not, are you, my lady? In fact, I would go so far as saying that you challenge him greatly."

"Please, call me Thea."

"And I am Angelique." The woman lowered her head regally, and Thea thought that she could give a few noblewomen lessons on how to behave.

"Do you love him?"

Thea wasn't sure she wanted anyone to know her feelings so she simply said, "He is a wonderful man."

"That he is, and you have come because you read the note I sent for him."

"Yes, I did," Thea said without shame. "And as my husband is at present away from home visiting one of his factories, I felt it important to get the information you have so I can relay it to him upon his return."

"And he will be furious that you did so." Angelique laughed softly. "And you do not care because you want only for this man to be caught, the one who dares to try and kill the man you love?"

"Yes," Thea whispered. "I want that very much."

"Put it there." Angelique waved to a small table as a servant brought in a tea tray.

"Who is it, Angelique? Please, we must know and take steps to stop this person from hurting, Oliver."

As she said the last word, the door swung wide and Thea watched her husband storm into the room. He looked big and mean, and his eyes were directed at her.

"I told you to stay in the house!" His roar could no doubt be heard throughout the entire brothel. "Did I not make it clear that leaving it without me puts you in danger?"

"Calm down, Oliver. Your wife wishes only to protect you," Angelique said.

"Calm down!" He reached Thea's chair and hauled her out of it. "How the hell am I supposed to do that when I return home to find your note and a distraught butler, telling me my wife has charged off without thought and into one of the more disreputable parts of London to enter a brothel?"

"I had hoped to return before you," Thea said, trying to placate the raging beast before him. She didn't fear him; Oliver would never hurt her. However, she was not sure that he wasn't capable of picking her up and storming from the house, and they needed to get the information from Angelique first.

"And that is supposed to make me feel better?" He lowered his head so his eyes were level with hers, and she saw the anger and fear in their depths. "Christ, woman, anything could have happened to you."

"I have Ted with me." She slipped her hand inside his overcoat and rubbed it over his chest. "I had to do this, Oliver. If you did not return until late this evening, then that would be yet one more day we did not know the identity of who is trying to kill you."

He was tense, the muscles beneath her fingers bunched as she felt his breath rise and fall rapidly. His journey across London to get to her had been undertaken in haste and while she felt guilt that she had distressed him, she'd have done what she had again without hesitation. This man was now her life, and to live the remainder of her days without him was not something she could contemplate.

"Oliver, please sit down. Then we shall all take tea, and I will tell you what I know."

"You are leaving now, wife." He took her arm and began to lead her from the room.

"No." Thea tried to shake free. "I have a right to know who is trying to kill you!"

"You will do as you're told."

"I am not a child, Oliver, to be sent from the room."

"Your behavior would suggest otherwise, Madam, as your actions today were reckless and foolhardy."

"Oliver, it is John Blackheath!" Angelique did not shout the words but both Thea and Oliver heard them, as the fingers around her arm tightened briefly before he released her.

Dear God, the man whose brother Oliver had killed wanted him dead.

"Are you sure, Angelique?"

"Yes, Oliver, my source has seen him and is reliable."

Thea took a step backwards and then another until her back was against a wall; only then did she feel able to support herself. Her legs were weak, and her head light. Dear Lord, this man had harbored his revenge for many years, and would not stop until he had killed Oliver. How was she to keep him safe?

"At least I now have a name," Oliver said, still standing by the door, his eyes moving from Angelique to Thea, where they stayed, pinning her in place.

"It seems he escaped his captors and returned to London a few months ago," Angelique said, getting to her feet. She then walked across the room to Thea and took her hand. "Come and sit, my dear, and take some tea. You are quite pale."

Thea did as the woman said, because her head was feeling odd, and she couldn't seem to collect her thoughts.

"Your wife is upset, Oliver. Stop growling and posturing and come and see to her welfare," Angelique added.

"We are leaving." Thea felt him beside her once more and braced herself, as she was sure he would lift her to her feet once again.

"Drink this, my lady." Thea did not look at her husband, instead taking the cup in both hands and sipping the amber liquid. Heavily laced with sugar, it felt wonderful sliding down her dry throat.

"I have started men looking, Oliver, and will send word once I hear anything about Blackheath's location."

Oliver replied to Angelique in clipped tones, as they discussed what needed to be done, and when Thea had finished her tea, she replaced the cup on the tray and regained her feet.

"Thank you, Angelique. I shall be leaving now."

"I am so pleased we have met," the older woman said, placing a kiss on Thea's cheek.

"Do not be too hard on her, Oliver. She thought only of you when she came here," she then heard her say. Oliver did not reply.

His hand stayed on her back as they walked from the brothel and down Totting Lane to where her carriage waited. He lifted her inside and then followed, as did Ted, and the silence was thick and heavy as they traveled back to the house. Thea did not look at him, but felt his eyes on her for most of the journey.

Elliott was waiting, his face pale with worry, and she hoped Oliver had not been too hard on him.

"I shall have a meal in my room, Elliott," Thea said, finding a smile for the butler.

"At once, my lady."

She then walked away from Oliver and up the stairs and only when she was in her room, with the door safely shut, did she allow herself to collapse. Falling onto her bed, she curled into a ball and closed her eyes.

Ace watched his wife walk away from him. Her spine was rigid, chin up; she would never allow him to see what she was really feeling. The rage that had gripped him when he'd realized the risks she had taken leaving the house to go to Angelique had finally begun to ease.

When he'd arrived home, cutting his business short simply because he needed to see Thea, Elliott had shown him the note from Angelique and told him where his wife had gone. After roaring at the butler for allowing her to leave, he then stormed from the house and followed her, and that trip across London had possibly been one of the longest of his life.

The relief at finding her unharmed and sitting in the brothel had nearly dropped him to his knees. Dear God, if anything ever happened to her, he would be lost.

Ace had realized at that moment that he loved his wife deeply, and knowing she had put herself deliberately in harm's way had made him lose all reason. He'd wanted to shake her and then lock her away in a room in this house so she could never take such a risk again. When Angelique had told him that it was Blackheath who was trying to kill him, he had been relieved. Now he knew who was hunting him, he could take measures to find the man, and then he and Thea could finally stop looking over their shoulders and start living their life together.