Chapter 48
J asper returned to consciousness, his head throbbing and his wits scrambled. His hands were trussed tightly behind his back, and he was jostling about as if a hammer were being taken to his bones. It took him another minute to realize he was on the floor of a carriage that was traveling over extremely rutted roads.
He had not made a sound, but the boots by his chin shifted, and before he could make any further sense of his location, a white cloth soaked in sweet liquid was pressed to his nose and mouth, and once again he slipped into darkness.
When Jasper resurfaced he was no longer knocking around like a bearing in a rattle. His brain screeched as if he’d overindulged in drink, and the back of his skull pulsed with a dull ache. He flexed his hands and found his wrists still bound. He dozed for a moment and then snapped fully awake when he remembered what had happened. He’d been speaking with Lady Evelyn at the ball when someone had struck him from behind. Where were Frankie and Cecelia? Were they all right?
He was sitting on a hard chair, his arms pulled behind him and roped together, and his legs were also tied to the chair, effectively immobilizing him. The room was cool and musty, as if it had been closed up for quite some time. White sheets were draped over the furniture, creating eerie lumps in the shadows. Several lamps were lit, and in their weak glow he spotted two figures huddled together by the cold fireplace. He blinked, clearing the last of the fog, and heard one of them say, “He is awake.”
The figures moved closer until they were clearly visible, and even two decades of gambling could not keep Jasper’s astonishment from showing. Standing before him were Lady Evelyn and her father, the Earl of Elmsdale. Lady Evelyn was still resplendent in her navy ball gown, while her father was as stiff-lipped as if he were conducting a vote in Parliament.
Other than Evelyn and her father, Jasper appeared to be alone in the room, and he prayed with all his might that Frankie and Cecelia were safely back in the Houndsbury ballroom, drinking punch and dancing among the hundreds of guests.
“You are an imbecile,” Lord Elmsdale said in a flat, harsh tone. It took a moment for Jasper to realize the earl was speaking not to him, but to Evelyn. “This is why women are not fit to lead. You should not have acted without my consent.”
Lady Evelyn’s eyes were pleading when she spoke to her father. “Lord Devon disrespected you and our mission. You saved him from social ruin, and how did he repay you? Instead of seizing the opportunity to marry that loudmouthed governess, he announced to everyone that Mr. Jones had compromised her! When I spoke to him later that evening, he told me he’d gambled the woman away, and that Jones likely knew everything. How stupid does a man have to be to gamble against the devil of London’s underworld? Besides, I knew Devon had been giving you trouble about the vote, Father. I did what I had to in order to keep the mission pure.”
“You are fortunate I arrived in time to clean up your mess.”
Evelyn wrung her hands together. “I was going to take care of Jones and the governess myself. I did not need you to follow us outside the ballroom and knock him out.”
“How were you going to take care of him, Evelyn?” Lord Elmsdale’s lip curled with loathing. “By luring him into the hedge maze and shooting him as well? Houndsbury has locked down the estate, and it cost me a small fortune to bribe the stable groom into allowing us to leave tonight. Do you truly think Houndsbury would allow multiple murders to take place on his property and tarnish his reputation without investing every resource at his disposal into discovering who the culprit was?”
Evelyn’s lip quivered, but Elmsdale did not spare her another glance. It was as if she had faded into the smudged and tattered wallpaper of the abandoned home and had not spoken at all. Instead he addressed Jasper. “You shall never have a daughter because your life ends here, far away from the pride and reputation of Lord Houndsbury.” The look he sent Evelyn was sharp with disapproval. “Daughters are tireless burdens. They come squalling into life and do not stop squalling until they are married and become someone else’s problem.”
Evelyn’s face turned ashen. “Father,” she whispered.
Jasper’s blood ran ice-cold. If they succeeded in murdering him, Frankie would be next, and he could not, he would not allow that to happen. “I have a niece,” he said, his voice thick in his throat. “She needs me.”
“Ah yes, the uncouth Miss Cecelia. From what I have heard she is as brash and loud as her former governess. It would be best for the world if she disappeared quietly.” At Jasper’s look of terror Elmsdale sighed. “I do not mean murder, Jones. I still have several men in need of a wife, no matter how young, and your niece has a generous dowry that will be available to her next year. Murder is despicable and I would never stoop so low if I did not have to fix Evelyn’s errors. Again.”
Jasper was used to Evelyn’s cruel and cutting tongue, but in front of her father she became a shadow of herself, silent and pale, her eyes begging for approval from a man who cut her down at every turn. No wonder she was so unpleasant, Jasper thought. She had spent her entire life trying to measure up to a bully who would always find her lacking simply because of her sex.
“You mean to marry Cecelia to one of the seven remaining Scott Silver investors,” Jasper rasped.
Elmsdale’s eyes hardened. “How did you figure it out?”
Jasper wanted to say he had not and that a woman had, just to see the surprise on Elmsdale’s face, but he did not want to endanger Frankie further. “I noticed a pattern in the type of women who were marrying,” he said vaguely, “but I have kept the knowledge to myself. Miss Turner knows nothing about it.”
“He lies!” Evelyn shrieked, jumping forward. “I heard her through the door when Devon compromised her. I heard her say Scott Silver.”
“You are mistaken,” Jasper said coolly. “The door was thick. Miss Turner knows nothing. And when I spoke with Devon, I made him aware I knew about Scott Silver in such a way that kept Miss Turner in the dark.”
Elmsdale shifted his white cravat a millimeter to the side. “You must have misheard, Evelyn. Why would Mr. Jones share important information with a governess ? Use the limited sense God gave you.”
Evelyn quivered with rage, and despite himself Jasper felt a pinch of sympathy for her. Elmsdale’s refusal to see a woman’s value was a weakness, and it was one Jasper fully intended to exploit. He needed to survive the night so he could return to Frankie and Cecelia.
“I did not mean to cause trouble with Lord Devon,” Jasper continued. “I thwarted his scheme because I wanted to marry Miss Turner myself and recoup the fortune I rashly bestowed upon her.”
Elmsdale studied him as if he were a pupil that had deeply disappointed him. “Do you think I am a fool, Mr. Jones? Do you think I am unaware that you do nothing to curb the nonsense your governess and niece spew to all and sundry?”
Jasper shrugged, and although his ribs screamed, he kept his face placid. “Your mission is not mine, my lord. That does not mean I do not support it.”
Elmsdale crossed his arms over his chest. “The world is changing, and not for the better. Common men, landless men, are clamoring for voting rights as if they have the intelligence to make educated decisions. Women are asking for the vote as well. Women! Simpering, silly creatures who have no grasp on the realities of life and therefore should have no say in how it operates. These females are growing louder, demanding more and more for the poor, the children, the birds. It does not end! There used to be a time when manners and decorum were a requirement, not a mere suggestion. With every progressive act passed we dilute the natural order of society and slip deeper into the gutter.
“Two years ago, twenty peers with upright morals were scammed out of their money, and I knew I could not allow them to become laughingstocks of the papers and society. The peerage must work together if we are to rein in this wild mare called progress. I paid the papers for their silence, and I taught the men how to hide their losses. I saw an opportunity in their misfortune, a way to help us return the world to how it should be.”
Every word out of Elmsdale’s mouth sent streaks of rage through Jasper’s veins. The “weak” women who bore children and raised them, who held families together and worked harder than half the men he knew, were the backs high society rode on. They worked silently, thanklessly, tirelessly , so that others might succeed. He thought of Frankie and her utter mathematical brilliance. How many inventions, solved math problems, stunning novels, moving symphonies, and comedic plays had never come to fruition simply because the creator was a woman? Society suffered this staggering loss because it was a man’s world, and the men in power were so very terrified of losing their white-knuckled grip on control.
“You found the investors women with rich dowries so they could recoup their losses,” Jasper said.
Elmsdale nodded. “Not just wealthy women, as you noticed, but the women who were openly contributing to society’s degradation. The men gained a fortune, and the world gained the women’s silence. It was beneficial to all involved.”
All but the women, Jasper thought, tightening his jaw.
“Evelyn helped me devise ways to entrap the women so that they had no choice. It was the perfect plan. Was ,” he said, glaring at Evelyn.
Jasper’s eyes flickered to Evelyn. If she felt remorse about selling out her own sex, she did not show it. Behind his back he subtly shifted his hands. There was zero slack in the ropes.
“You did all of that without expecting anything in return?” he asked, hoping to keep the earl talking.
Elmsdale’s mouth turned down. “If that is your crass, wharf way of asking if I was paid, the answer is no. My service was for the country.”
Jasper thought about what Evelyn had said when she’d been defending Devon’s murder. I knew Devon had been giving you trouble about the vote, Father . He sucked in a quiet breath. “Your payment was their vote in Parliament.”
“Votes for the greater, conservative good,” Elmsdale snapped. “Although we often failed, we did manage to pass several laws thanks to our combined efforts, and effectively blocked some of society’s more disgusting equalization. I apologize for what comes next, Mr. Jones, but surely you understand how imperative it is that we continue our good work.”
Elmsdale held out his hand, and Evelyn sulkily placed her silver-plated derringer in it. The weak lamplight caught on the metal of the barrel that had killed Devon and shot at Frankie. Jasper and Frankie had made a grievous error assuming the shooter and the ringleader were one and the same, and now they would pay the price.
“That is unnecessary,” Jasper said. “I do not intend to share what I have learned here tonight.”
“I appreciate your discretion, Mr. Jones, but I simply cannot take the risk. You know Evelyn murdered Devon, and you know I have been influencing the Parliament vote. On the rare chance Miss Turner is also aware of those facts, she, too, will have to be silenced.” He took a moment to stare down Evelyn, his eyes steely with distaste. “I do not take pleasure in having to clean up my daughter’s messes, and I certainly do not take pleasure in murder. That is why, assuming Miss Cecelia has remained ignorant, we shall arrange her marriage instead.”
Jasper’s heart throbbed with one wrenching beat before it hardened into stone. He had not fought and bit and scraped to survive on the streets only to be done in by a tiny silver gun. He willed himself to survive the bullet. It was a small caliber, and if it did not hit any vital organs, it was possible he could stanch the bleeding—if he had his hands free. He tugged on the ropes again as Elmsdale pointed the derringer at his chest.
“Remember who you have taken up arms against,” Jasper said, his voice so deadly and cold that Elmsdale faltered. “My wealth and reach are unprecedented, and I always have contingencies in place. If anything happens to Miss Turner or Miss Cecelia, it will trigger an automatic investigation and put a bounty on the perpetrator’s head. You and your daughter will be dead within days.” He leaned forward as far as he could, allowing all the violence in his soul to touch his eyes. “You should know that the sort of men I retain will not rest until they find the perpetrator and bring his—or her—head to my solicitor.”
Evelyn gave a strangled cry, and Elmsdale’s breathing turned shallow. For several moments he took in Jasper’s measure before he nodded gravely and lifted the derringer again. “I understand, but this is a cause I am willing to die for.”
Jasper opened his mouth, but Elmsdale shook his head. “There is nothing else you can say, Mr. Jones. All I require from those beneath me is silence.”
Before he could pull the trigger, Lady Evelyn screamed and pointed behind him. Elmsdale whirled around. An insidious curl of white smoke had slid beneath the door.
Elmsdale lowered the gun and strode to the door. When he wrenched it open, smoke billowed into the room, thick and acrid.
“One of the lamps must have caught fire!” Evelyn cried. She coughed and looked over his shoulder. “Shoot him so we can leave!”
“Shut your mouth!” Elmsdale roared. “This is why you should not speak! You cannot see opportunities right in front of your face, you stupid woman. We will let the fire finish him. There will be no bullet to discover when the ashes cool, and we will have one less murder on our hands.”
Evelyn tossed Jasper a hateful glance, and he knew if the gun were in her hand she’d shoot him with glee. She lifted the crook of her elbow to her nose and Elmsdale pulled his cravat over his mouth, and they disappeared into the white plume, leaving Jasper to burn.