The Viscount. Lyn Stone
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of referral. I shouldn’t think he’d be too particular, and even if he is, I am well qualified.”
“Just be certain you’re here when she is examined. I warn you, muck this up and you will not be working anywhere, Brinks. Do I make myself clear? I want her taken care of.”
Silence.
Then one set of footsteps moved away until they became inaudible.
Lily’s heart drummed so loudly, she was afraid the man remaining—Brinks, was it?—on the other side of the portal could hear it thumping.
She had to get out. Now. Before her greedy brother-in-law arranged for her permanent incarceration. But where could she go? She hated London and never came here if she could avoid it. She knew virtually no one here.
But you do, a small voice whispered inside her head. And he helped you once before.
Lily shook her head at the ridiculous thought. The only reason he even came to mind was the mention of his name just now. Viscount Duquesne had his own troubles. Why should he do anything for her?
Though they hailed from the same county, Lily had not seen the man in years, not since she was a child. Dark rumors concerning his shadowy dealings with society’s dregs, his apparent willingness to do anything—no matter how dangerous or outrageous—for a price, had rendered him a social pariah.
Even if that were not the case, his lack of fortune and his father’s illness would have put him beyond the pale. Not someone a lady approached for help. Duquesne was an outcast, so she had heard, living in an eyesore of a once-grand mansion on the fringe of Mayfair.
Even if she had firm promise of his assistance, how in the world could she escape this place? Though she was five feet, seven inches, tall for a woman, she doubted she possessed enough physical strength to overpower a man.
She shifted nervously and her boot heel scraped against the floor. Her breath hissed inward at the sound as she froze.
She remembered returning to the library at Sylvana Hall following her afternoon ride, removing her hat, accepting a sherry from Clive and sipping it. She disliked sherry, but his politeness had been so out of the ordinary, she had taken it. Thank God she had dashed most of it into the potted plant when he was looking out the window or she might still be unconscious. The cad must have drugged her.
If, indeed, it was Clive. The voice she’d heard was somewhat muted and teemed with an excitement Clive rarely exhibited. She simply could not be certain. Though they were far from close, she had always gotten on well enough with him, or so she thought.
Had she been brought here this afternoon? Yesterday? The day before? There were no windows opening to the outside, so there was no way to judge the time of day or night. She guessed night, since lamplight flickered through the bars in her door. But if there were no windows in that outer room, either, then it could be midday for all she knew. The bare cell was furnished with only a bed that was bolted to the wall and a small tin chamberpot. She glanced at the item now and decided it would be useless as a weapon.
Thank God they had not undressed her or removed her riding boots. One of those might work. The heels were substantial with their metal crescents tacked on to prevent wearing down of the heavy leather. She slipped the boots off, hefting one in her hand to test its weight.
She heard the footsteps of the second man. He was leaving, too! “Brinks? Oh, Mr. Brinks!” she called, drawing out his name, trying to sound distraught. Not much acting was required for that. “Could you come in?” Hopefully he would be curious as to how she had learned his name.
The sound of his departure halted immediately. Lily sensed him just on the other side of the door, listening.
She turned her face away when she spoke so he would not know she waited near it. She slurred her words. “I am so thirsty. I would do anything for a drink. Anything,” she added with a loud sigh. “I feel so tired. So…weak. Mmm.”
Long minutes passed. He hadn’t gone away. He must be considering the advisability of entering, or perhaps of administering more of the mixture that had rendered her unconscious. Come in. Come in. Now, before I lose my courage.
Her silent pleas were answered when she heard the rattle and snick of the key in the lock.
A head poked inside cautiously, then a shoulder. A hand holding a lamp.
Desperate, knowing he would soon discover that tangled blanket on the bed was not her person, Lily reached out, grabbed his hair and yanked him inside before he thought to resist. She kicked at his feet. They flew out from under him and he fell, sprawling forward with a loud grunt as he hit the floor. She struck immediately. The heavy heel of her boot cracked soundly against his temple and he lay still.
His lamp had crashed to the floor and fire leaped from the small puddle of fuel. She grabbed the blanket off the bed and tossed it over the blaze, relieved when it extinguished the flame. However, she was now in the dark again with only faint light emanating from the crack of the door that stood ajar and the small window in it.
She hurriedly ripped at the buttons on the front of her riding habit and shrugged off the jacket. Then she slipped out of her shirtwaist, skirt and petticoat. Might as well go the whole way, she thought, pulling off her chemise. Naked save for her stockings and garters, Lily began to strip the attendant of his clothing. Every stitch.
In what seemed ages and yet the blink of an eye, she managed to redress herself. His clothes fit her a bit loosely, but well enough. He was slight of build for a man, heavier than she was, though not significantly taller. His boots were too large, but she would have to make do with them since hers were obviously those of a woman. She stuffed her own silk stockings in the toes and pulled them on.
He began to stir then and she lifted her own boot, striking hard a second time before conscience could stop her. Why should she care if she hurt the wretch? Look what he’d had in mind for her!
Lily found his money and two letters. Those missives gave her an idea how she might approach Duquesne. Assuming she was successful in getting out of here.
Also, there were two small, stoppered bottles in his pocket. The elixirs that were meant for her? Neither was labeled. One smelled like laudanum. She parted his lips, firmly pinched his nose shut and poured the liquid from that one down his throat. All of it.
He swallowed, coughed and moaned only once. She looked at the other container, recalled what he had mentioned about it putting her in top form, and tucked it into a vest pocket.
After cursory notice of the money she discovered—scarcely enough to hire a hackney across town—she slipped his flat leather folder back into the inner pocket of the coat.
Searching hastily, she found the pocketknife that had clunked to the floor when she had undressed him. Anyone seeing her on the way out or later on the streets would instantly recognize her as a woman. She opened the blade of his knife and began to hack away her long locks without a thought to their loss other than relief.
When she felt her hair was short enough to augment her disguise, Lily gathered up the loose hair, bundled up her own clothing and then spread everything flat beneath the thin mattress so he wouldn’t find it immediately when he awoke. Left naked, he would probably hesitate for a while before calling for help.
She opened the door a bit more so that she could see better and located the ring of keys that had dropped when he fell. She stuck those in her pocket.
With a mighty effort, she grasped the fellow beneath his arms and dragged him. The struggle to get him off the floor and onto the bed exhausted her, but she finally managed.
A quick glance around the small chamber assured her that it would pass a cursory inspection if anyone peeked through the door window or opened the door to look.
There was nothing substantial to use to tie him so a gag would be useless. Her only recourse was to get out of the building and away from here before he came around again and made a fuss. She prayed that the liquid she had poured down his throat would be powerful enough to keep him asleep for a while.
After