Chapter Fourteen
G riff arrived at Lou’s new address and looked up at the imposing home in the exclusive Park Lane area just off Piccadilly. Well, this certainly begged the question of who her parents had been. Of course, he could do a bit of digging, but that felt like a violation of her privacy. Who her parents were was not connected to the threats they faced. She’d tell him when she was ready.
He stepped up to the dark green front door and lifted his hand to knock, only to have the wood panel swing open.
“Good evening, my lord.”
Griff started a little, but realized Lou likely would not have random visitors at this address, so her staff had surely been told that he would be arriving. “Good evening. I am here to collect…” He hesitated, unsure if Lou would have informed her staff of the name he’d given her, what status she actually held…anything about her, really.
Cog it all, this whole deception game was getting dashed complicated.
“Miss Bellows will be down momentarily. If you will follow me to the library?” The man dressed in simple black and white livery with no adornments held the door wide and allowed him to enter.
Griff handed his black domino and mask to the man and followed him into the appointed room. Well, not only had Lou remembered what he’d named her, but she had informed her staff. Her attention to detail was impressive.
He was alone only a few moments when a vision arrived. The air whooshed from his lungs as he took in the sight of Lou in costume. She was dressed in a crystal studded gown which had a more modest high-low hem than he’d ever seen her wear at The Market—yet it still exposed a considerable amount of flesh. Her neckline plunged in a deep vee that he wasn’t certain would contain her breasts for the evening. Behind her, a dainty set of wings sprouted from her back in a silver finish that shone in the gaslight. Her hair was tucked up under a blonde wig with curls cascading over one shoulder in an artful drape and atop that she wore a crown befitting a fairy queen. In her hand, she held a wand that matched her wings and crown. The matching silver mask she wore finished off the stunning ensemble.
Steam save him.
“Magnificent.” The words finally squeezed past Griff’s oxygen starved lungs.
Her cheeks turned a delicate shade of pink. “Why thank you, my lord. I wasn’t certain if this would be too scandalous for the masquerade. I do have a domino I can throw over the dress after I remove the wings. It wouldn’t take a moment to affect the switch.”
“Never. It would be a crime to cover such loveliness with a drab black sack of a domino.” Griff stepped closer to her and reached up to trace the edge of her silver mask. “Besides, it is a public masquerade so no one should know us there. It was why I suggested it when Cole said he had information to pass on.”
Lou slipped her mask off, her gaze drilling into him. “I had anticipated we were going to such a public place for a good reason. How is it that Cole has information for you?”
Griff suddenly felt like a pinned moth. The woman before him did not look pleased. “Well…as you know he is an air-ship captain. Once you cleared him of any likely involvement, I asked him to keep an ear out for anything that might help us solve our mystery.”
“I see. And how much, exactly, did you share with him?” Her voice was tight, as though she was repressing a strong—and possibly violent—emotion.
Griff decided it was best to be direct. If she was angry, there would be no avoiding it now. “I told him the truth of how we met.”
“Steaming hells! Who else have you told, Griff?” she demanded, hands fisting, one nearly crushing her mask.
“I believe we need his help—he will be of service in furthering our engagement cover if we are forced into Society, and with his information network built around his shipping empire he is likely to hear of things we may not. As such, he let me know he has something to share.” Griff took a deep breath and released it as Lou seemed to settle down. “He is the only person I have taken into my confidence.”
“Well…I am not pleased about this, but I understand needing someone to confide in. Though I do wish you had spoken to me first.” Lou seemed to take a moment to gather her composure. “We will meet with him at this masquerade. Mind you, the first sign of something being off, and we shall leave.” She nodded as though that was the last of the matter. “Now, let me give you the tour before we go.”
Lou took him into the hall and showed him the morning room, decorated in a placid celadon green motif. She smiled shyly at him, and the urge to kiss her nearly had Griff taking her in his arms. The dining room, in cream and gold, boasted a fireplace encased in black walnut that matched the half paneling that circled the room. As he followed her up the stairs, Griff’s gaze locked on to the sway of her arse. Don’t get distracted, man. Upstairs, Lou led him through the drawing room and then her boudoir, where she would spend evening hours. He imagined her sitting there in her robe as she read a book or perhaps reviewed documents sent by her handler. His lips tingled with the need to taste her.
As they returned to the stairs, Lou waved a hand upward. “There are bedchambers on the upper floors. I’d show you those, but I fear based on our history we may not make it to the masquerade if I were to lead you upstairs.”
He grunted in half laughter, half agreement. “You are a wise woman, Lou.” He took her deceivingly delicate hand in his and led her back downstairs and into the morning room, where he pressed her against the wall and captured her lips with his.
His woman sighed into his kiss, melting into his arms as he tasted her. The faint spice of bergamot lingered on her lips, and seemed to mingle with an essence of sweetness that was all Lou.
Needing to withdraw for fear of their not leaving the house, Griff pulled back slowly. She moaned softly as their lips parted.
She cleared her throat. “We’d better be on our way. I must say, I’m excited to attend my first public masquerade.”
As if to validate her words, the clock in the hallway chimed ten times. It was getting late. Or perhaps, more accurately, it was exactly the right time to leave for the ball.
Lou had been intrigued by the notion of attending a public masquerade. As she walked into the vestibule of the Pantheon, intrigue was quickly replaced with wariness. There was a wildness in the air that tingled over her skin and had the hairs at her nape standing on end. Perhaps it was because there were so many strangers packed into the space, or perhaps it was that everyone’s identity was obscured? Many of her patrons at The Market wore masks when they attended, but she knew who they were as real names were always used on their contracts. Besides, there was always room to move freely about the place at The Market. She would never allow the space to be so full that movement was impeded.
Griff held her hand as they weaved through the crowd, passing a card room and then a second. Once they entered the rotunda where the masquerade was taking place, the crowd spread out and her breathing came easier. Here the music swelled and without missing a beat, Griff swept her into his arms and they whirled into the waltz already in progress.
Griff wore a simple black domino with a white mask, adventure and mystery personified tonight. He smiled as they twirled around the dance floor. “What do you think of your first public masquerade?”
“I am fascinated by the abandon I sense, the amount of skin on display, and yet nothing scandalous is occurring.” She glanced around the room. “I might be wearing one of the more circumspect costumes in the room. I had not expected to see costumes that would not be out of place in The Market.”
He appeared to be excited to expose her to something new. And she couldn’t deny it was exciting to share it with him.
“It is interesting to see the dichotomy of inhibition and unfettered liberation in one place.” Despite his words, Griff’s gaze never strayed from her face.
Her lips tingled as she remembered the pressure of his own on hers in her morning room just minutes ago. The kiss had been breath-stealing. She couldn’t help but wonder if her response was due to the novelty of being in her home and feeling like any other woman in London, or if it was more to do with the very man who held her in his arms at the moment.
The music ended, and Griff escorted her from the dance floor. Where the crowd stood watching the dancers, they literally ran into—
“Griff! What on earth are you doing at a public masquerade, you sly thing?” An all too familiar voice cut through the noise of the crowd.
What the steaming hell is Piers doing here?
Griff looked askance at his brother. “Do hush up, Piers.” He led them, Piers in tow, toward a potted plant that seemed to offer a respite from the crowd.
“Well, what do you expect? This is not your normal sort of affair. I’m rather surprised to see you here.” His brother had removed his mask once they reached their little nook.
“It is not, which is why I am here. I wanted to take Lou out but without the usual scrutiny of attending a Ton event.” Griff still held her hand in his as he spoke to his brother.
Lou tried to ignore the little flutter in her chest that his touch, paired with his words, had caused. She was a grown woman of the world, not a young debutante at her first ball.
“Probably best, though Mother would be scandalized if she knew you were attending such a lowbrow event. She expects such behavior from me, but you have always been her dutiful son.” Piers chuckled amiably, but Lou heard the pain laced in the words.
“Yes, well I am hopeful you can keep our attendance here private. Speaking of which, I am sorry about how I threw you out of my library the other day.” Griff cast a glance her way. “There was quite a bit going on at the moment, and I needed to speak with Lou privately, though that was no cause to be rude to you.”
Piers looked abashed. “I am certain I was only adding to the chaos of the moment. It was probably best you sent me on my way. That way I couldn’t reveal anything you didn’t want mother knowing about your situation—such as the fact Lou was your mistress before she was your fiancée.” He waved an admonishing finger at them with a sly grin.
“Well, my apologies, nonetheless. We are family, and I shouldn’t have been so harsh.” Griff appeared earnest as he spoke to his brother.
Lou glanced away to hide her amusement at the pair of them. As she did so, something caught her eye and caused her to look closer. That was when she spotted a man in a black domino with a gold mask. He lowered the mask for a moment and she realized she was staring at someone altogether too familiar, even underneath the mask. What the cogging hell? “Excuse me a moment.”
Leaving Griff standing there with Piers, Lou followed the man she’d spotted through an archway and up the grand staircase. On the second floor, she wove through the thinner crowds that strolled the gallery overlooking the rotunda with a flurry of irritation. She’d lost her quarry—but a hand reached out and grabbed her arm, drawing her into a curtained nook.
She whipped out the stiletto blade she had tucked in her thigh garter and pressed the sharp point to the throat of the man holding her. “Show your face if you wish to continue breathing.”
The man behind the mask muttered darkly as she pressed hard enough to draw just a drop of blood. “Bloody hell, Lou!” Holt’s familiar voice had her lowering her knife as her breath whooshed out of her lungs.
“Holt! What are you doing here?” she hissed at her handler.
“I have the same question for you,” he glared. “Did I not tell you to lie low?”
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I am, if you haven’t noticed, wearing a mask and a wig.”
“Yes, and what of your escort? The one who someone wants dead?” He looked annoyed—which was fine with her, because she was annoyed with him as well.
“My escort, who is dressed like every other bloody man in this place, is just fine.” Lou glared. “And circumstances have changed with us, which you would have known if you had bothered to stay in contact with me.”
Holt growled, “I was trying to follow the trail of who is trying to kill the—Lord Melton.” What was that slip up? Holt was about to call Griff something else—the? The what? He continued, distracting her from the question. “Your job is to keep him alive—and what circumstances have changed? Tell me you haven’t fallen in love with the bloody man in the two days since we last met.” He pinched the bridge of his nose as though the weight of the world sat on his shoulders.
Lou clamped her teeth together for a moment as she reined in her temper, though she wasn’t sure if she was actually angry at Holt for saying such a thing out loud, or at herself for possibly feeling that way. For feeling anything for Griff, really. “No, I am not in love with him.” If I keep saying it out loud, it will be true, right? “Unfortunately I did meet his mother and she has assumed I am his fiancée. So we are now parading about as a betrothed couple because Gri—” she cleared her throat. Hopefully Holt didn’t notice my over familiarity — “Lord Melton couldn’t find the bloody bollocks to tell her otherwise.” And she would deny to her dying breath how sweet she found that.
Holt huffed a breath. “Steaming hell! This is a bloody disaster. Why didn’t you set the Mother straight? Oh, never mind. Considering there is a known assassin at this event, whom I believe has been tasked with eliminating Melton, I suggest you stop bickering with me and see to your fiancé .”
“Who is it? Do I know the assassin?” Silently Lou cursed herself for leaving Griff unprotected, though he was at least with his brother—not that he would be of any assistance in the face of an assassin.
“A freelancer from Seven Dials. Rodgers is his name. Blonde hair, grey eyes. Though if he’s dressed like the rest of us, I’m not sure any of that will help you,” Holt shrugged.
Lou nodded, panic and the need to get to Griff driving her as she peeled away without another word. She could deal with Holt later. Rushing back along the gallery and then down the stairs, she found Griff standing right where she’d left him with his brother, his arms crossed and his mask in his hand.
She rushed over to him. “Mask on,” she hissed at Griff. “Apologies Piers, but we must leave immediately.”
The urgency in her voice appeared to snap Griff out of his stance and he obeyed without a word. They were near the Oxford Street entrance where they’d come in, but she felt it would be prudent to leave through the Poland Street entrance. It would likely be just as busy, though not where they may have been seen previously.
Without waiting for a response from Piers, she took hold of Griff’s hand and forged ahead into the crowd forming around the edges of the dancing.
“Lou! What is going on?” Griff asked as he followed in her wake. Not that he had much choice; she kept him close with her hand manacled around his wrist. “We haven’t met Cole yet.”
Yelling an answer to him in this crowd was out of the question. Lou glared at him, willing him to save his questions. That was when she noticed Piers following closely on their heels, until he suddenly halted and jammed an elbow backwards into the face of another man who had also been following them. The crowd melted around them and they disappeared.
Why had Piers followed them? He appeared to have helped their escape, but was that real? Or a calculated move on his part? Did he want Griff dead? Perhaps so he could claim the title? She should have considered that option sooner. Damn it!
Lou pressed forward, knowing they needed to escape. She could sort out the answers to those questions later. As for Cole? They’d have to make other arrangements; attending the masquerade had been a foolish decision. She knew better, but she’d let her heart take the lead and this was where it had gotten them.
She pressed ahead until she spotted the hallway to the entrance. There will be plenty of time to berate myself later . It was quite crowded as she expected, so she dove in with her man in tow. It was a challenge as most of the crowd was flowing into the building while they were trying to leave, but she finally carved a path for them and they inhaled refreshing night air within moments.
Of course Griff’s carriage was gone, not expecting to return for hours. Lou spotted a hack passing by and waved a hand. The driver turned the horse and carriage around to collect them.
As the cab stopped, Griff called out to someone she couldn’t see through the crowds. “Cole! Over here!”
Lou wanted to snap at him for drawing attention to them, but wasn’t Cole the one person they had actually intended to meet at the event? As Cole hustled over to where they were, she called her direction up to the driver. Inside the vehicle, Griff settled next to her and Cole across from them as they rumbled off down the street.
Well, that wasn’t a complete disaster.
Ignoring their new companion, Griff peered at Lou through the gloom as he caught his breath from their mad dash out of the Pantheon. “What the bloody hell happened?”
“I saw my handler and went to speak with him. He told me there was an assassin there to kill you. I don’t know how anyone would have known we were going to be there, but you were in jeopardy.” She looked over at Cole and let one brow rise in part question and part accusation.
Cole snorted. “Don’t look at me, Madame LaRoux. I told no one where I would be this evening, and any correspondence between myself and Griff was protected by a cipher—one we devised when we were boys.”
She nodded, though privately wondered if the man warranted a deeper look after all. “Very well, what was it you wished to impart to us?”
To her very great annoyance, Cole looked to Griff before speaking, who nodded at him. “Whatever you have to say can be said in front of Lou.”
Cole shot him a look that Lou wasn’t certain she could fully interpret. It seemed to ask Griff if he was sure, which raised the hairs on the back of her neck. What was Griff hiding from her that Cole seemed to know?
She wasn’t going to put up with this. “Stop right there. What are you two not telling me? I will not be left on the outside of whatever this is.” She waved a hand at them.
“Nothing,” Griff assured her.
“No. I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you. You’ve been hiding something from the beginning and I’m done with not knowing. Even if you believe it to be inconsequential, it may not be. Your very life is in jeopardy!” Lou stared at Griff and waited.
A sense of panic wafted off Griff in thick cloying waves, until he sighed as if giving in. “I…tinker.”
Lou inhaled sharply. “You’re a bloody Tinker? And you are just now telling me?” She hadn’t intended to yell, but fury coursed through her as she considered the ramifications of what he’d said.
“What I said was, I tinker. I like to play with steam technology. I revealed this to Cole recently, and I was trying to figure out how to tell you about it.” His voice was soft in the silence after her outburst.
“That seems to be a fairly fine line your drawing in the sand, Lord Melton,” she replied stiffly. He was splitting hairs and he knew it. She knew it. A bloody two year-old would know it. “Who else knows this about you?”
“My family is…aware. Vaguely. It was hard to hide my mechanical inclinations as a child, it was why my father and I were always at odds.” His words held the ring of truth, which went a long way to settling her anger.
If it wasn’t widely known, then it was doubtful that the information was behind the attempt on his life. But time had obviously run out on their ability to solve the mystery while the person who ordered him killed waited for her to take action. That message had been sent loud and clear tonight, with another assassin being put into play. “So, why did we come here tonight? What was so important as to draw us out?”
Cole inhaled slowly. “As you both know, I spend a great deal of time around the air-port warehouses and of course the people who man them. I have heard more than one laborer relay a tale of being approached by a mysterious group to do some questionable work for them. Deliveries in the middle of the night, unloading cargo, and in one case roughing up an air-port official. It seems something is in the works, and I suspect it is the Voltacrats behind it. They have been far too quiet for far too long.”
“How exactly does this relate to Griff?” Lou huffed a sardonic laugh. “So far I haven’t heard anything that was worthy of putting his life in jeopardy.”
“Griff is a steam supporter. A strong one in the Lords. I don’t know what the Voltacrats are up to, but I know what it looks like when something nefarious is in the works. Perhaps they are planning an attack on Parliament, or something more targeted like eliminating another of the voting block who support steam in Lords?”
“Lou, he’s not wrong. Even you made note of my voting record. I am one of three or four in the Lords who, if we were removed, the support for steam would falter. They failed with me, perhaps they are moving on to another target?” Griff laid his hand on her knee to both reassure her and to still her tongue, she was certain.
He was unsuccessful. “And yet there was an assassin there tonight still targeting you,” she pointed out sternly as she crossed her arms.
“I wish I had more to offer, especially after your obvious mad dash from the masquerade.” Cole sounded earnest, even if Lou didn’t like what he had to say. “I was certain I was being followed after I learned what little I had, so I thought a public masquerade was better than leading more trouble to Griff’s doorstep. Obviously, I was mistaken.”
Griff grunted, his face screwing up in frustration. “Bloody hell! We ran out of there so fast I left Piers there to fend for himself.”
Cole snorted. “Piers is more than capable of taking care of himself. I doubt he is in any danger that he can’t handle.”
“What in steaming hells does that mean?” Griff sounded as confused by Cole’s statement as Lou would have felt—had she not seen what happened with the man chasing them. By all outward appearances, Piers was a lackadaisical fop who barely had a brain in his head. Yet she’d seen the efficiency with which Griff’s brother had neutralized their pursuer. Interesting.
“Nothing—I just meant your brother is so affable that everyone thinks he’s a bolt.” Cole seemed to back-peddle, which calmed Griff, but only piqued Lou’s interest. Another point of interest to be delved into with a keener eye.
Griff nodded with a sigh. “I suppose you’re right. I felt sure a masquerade would be safe. Anonymous.”
“As did I which was why I agreed.” Well, it was the only reason Lou was willing to consider. It certainly wasn’t because she wanted to dance with him and feel like a normal courting couple for a little while.
They weren’t normal. They weren’t even a couple, really. Just two people thrust together by violent circumstance, and it was best she remembered that.
In the meantime, she needed to figure out what was going on with Holt. Had he been compromised? Or was he truly on their side? It seemed like he was, but words and even actions could sometimes be deceiving. It was time she got to her own investigation. Enough with the distractions that came with her attraction to the man.
Who was trying to kill Griff and why?