Chapter 19
Nineteen
Finn awoke to a golden glow. It took her a moment to recognize the guest bedchamber at Bottoms House. Turning her head, she saw the indentation on the pillow next to hers and smiled dreamily as memories of last night washed through her.
She and Owen had been insatiable. After she’d given him the naughtiest of kisses, he’d carried her to bed and feasted on her until she was boneless from pleasure. Only then did he come again, thrusting his cock between her breasts and flooding that valley with his hot seed.
Sated and safe in his arms, she’d fallen into a deep slumber, and he must have left without waking her. Rolling over, she buried her nose in the pillow and inhaled his scent. He stirred her like no one else—and it wasn’t just passion.
It was more. Thrillingly, terrifyingly more.
She felt the tender press of his lips against the ugly marks of her past.
If I were to fall in love with any woman, it would be you.
She flopped onto her back, heart pounding at the bind she’d placed herself in.
How could she have feelings for the man she knew she would ultimately betray?
And not just any man. A decent, honorable fellow who’d already endured more than his share of pain, yet who treated her with care and respect. Which she did not deserve.
If I told him the truth, would he help me? Or would I be signing Iris’s death warrant?
The fact that she was contemplating compromising the mission for her own happiness twisted her insides with shame. But maybe, just maybe, there was a way to accomplish both objectives. Could Finn find a way to save Iris—and be worthy of Owen?
At the knock on the door, she bolted upright.
“Yes?” she called.
A maid came in, a garment draped over her arm. Pretty and giggly, she bore a close resemblance to two of the other maids, and Finn couldn’t remember her name.
“Hello…Mary?” she ventured.
“It’s Millie, ma’am.” The maid bobbed a curtsy. “The mistress says to inform you that your assistants have arrived and await you in the drawing room.”
Finn dreaded explaining her vision to her gang.
Will they believe me? Or will they think I’m a candidate for Bedlam?
“I can assist with your ablutions,” Millie offered. “Milady also sent one of her gowns as yours was soiled yesterday.”
The maid held up the dress: constructed of apple-green satin and trimmed with ivory lace, it was the prettiest gown Finn had ever seen, let alone worn.
Temptation warred with pragmatism. Dare she abandon the black seer’s dress, which served as part of her disguise?
What would the Hawks think? On the other hand, how would Owen react to seeing her in a fashionable frock for once?
She chewed on her lip.
“If this one doesn’t suit, you may have your pick,” Millie said. “The master is a generous husband, and milady has many gowns. She says you’re welcome to any of them.”
Xenia’s kindness made Finn feel smaller than an ant.
“This one will do,” she said.
She got out of bed and prepared to meet with her gang.
Entering the drawing room, Finn saw Owen making idle chatter with the Hawks.
Despite her pressing concerns, she marveled at his handsomeness.
The morning sun brought out glints of bronze in his wild brown hair.
His olive frock coat and tobacco-brown trousers suited his coloring and lean, rangy build.
When he spotted her, he crossed over in that long-legged stride that made her heart flutter.
“Good morning.” He kissed her hand. “How are you feeling?”
Aware of the Hawks’ scrutiny, she spoke tentatively. “Very well, thank you.”
“You look well.” He lowered his voice. “I didn’t think you could be any more beautiful, Finn. But there you go, proving me wrong again.”
“It’s the dress.” Blushing, she ran her hands over the satiny skirts. “Xenia lent it to me.”
“It is you, but the dress does suit you splendidly.”
Giving him a flustered smile, she snuck a look at her gang. They were riveted, watching the exchange like it was a performance of Punch and Judy.
Thankfully, Owen caught on. “I shall leave you and your assistants to your privacy. Do join us for breakfast when you are done.”
The instant he left, the Hawks flocked to Finn. Even though they were alone, they spoke in hushed tones.
“We were worried about you.” Nell’s eyes were huge behind her spectacles.
“I’m fine,” Finn said.
She felt guilty at just how fine she was.
“Of course you are.” Caleb darted his gaze around the room. “The vision and the fainting—it was all part of your scheme, right? A fine one, I might add.”
As much as Finn hated to lose Caleb’s rare admiration, she couldn’t lie.
“No,” she said. “That was real.”
Caleb snorted. “Pull my other leg.”
“I mean it. I had a vision. A memory of Rose’s.”
“That makes no sense,” Nell protested.
Tansy knitted her brows. “Maybe Finn has a fever. Or bats in her belfry?”
“I am neither ill nor mad. The vision was real.” She exhaled. “And I’ve had others.”
She told them about the reflection in the stream and the dream of the lovers in the rose garden. With the latter, she shared a sanitized version, but it made no difference: the Hawks gawked at her as if she’d grown another head.
“You’ve fallen for your own con,” Caleb groaned. “I have seen it happen before. You’ve played the role of Madame Seraphina so convincingly that your mind has started playing tricks on you—”
“I thought I was imagining things too. But if that were true, how did I find the hidden mechanism in the fireplace?”
He looked nonplussed. “I don’t know. Luck, maybe.”
“Since when have I been that lucky?” she said dryly. “I am telling you this ghost—Rose—has been communicating with me.”
Saying it aloud felt strangely freeing.
“Well, you’ve picked a fine time to go stark, raving mad.” Caleb threw his hands in the air. “This is the last thing we need after Iris’s letter.”
Finn frowned. “Iris sent a letter?”
“We found it when we got home last night.” Nell held out a crumpled piece of paper.
Finn took it, and her vision swam as she read Iris’s looping scrawl:
Dear Finn,
Please do as Carver asks. I am begging you.
Give him whatever he wants—and for the love of God, do it quickly. Until you complete the task, he’s taken away my medicine, and I cannot bear much more. I am sick all the time. I cannot keep anything down. I feel like I am dying, but the end…it never comes.
I almost wish it would.
Don’t make me suffer any longer. Get Carver the goods.
Hurry.
Iris
Fear and fury smothered Finn. “Carver must have forced her to write this.”
“Does it matter? The bastard is torturing her,” Caleb said grimly. “You are supposed to be our leader—to find a way to save her. Instead, you’re blathering about ghosts and parading around like a rich man’s whore.”
“That is unfair,” Nell said. “Finn is doing the best she can.”
“Aye—to snare that stupid lord. She wants to bed him and bear his brats,” Caleb snarled. “Meanwhile, Iris and the rest of us can go hang ourselves!”
Pain jolted Finn for his words struck the nerve of truth.
Iris is suffering because of me. I owe my life to her, to the Hawks—and this is how I repay them? How could I be so selfish?
“I will not fail Iris,” Finn said. “Or you.”
As she spoke the words, she knew what she had to do. The stratagem had been brewing in her head since the vision, but only now did she acknowledge it fully. She hated what it required of her. With every ounce of her being, she wished there was another way…but there wasn’t.
To save Iris, she would have to betray Owen.
He is going to hate me when all is said and done—and I will deserve it.
“What is the plan, Finn?” Tansy asked.
She forced out the words. “We use the Harringtons to find the jewels.”
“Why would they help us?” Caleb scoffed. “You just want to cozy up to—”
“I am not finished,” she said coldly. “Thanks to the vision, I now have the family’s trust. They believe I am the genuine article, and they’ve bought the story that Rose brought me here to uncover secrets.
They want to help because they think that by doing so, they will break the so-called curse.
I will reinforce that belief to gain their cooperation. ”
“Cooperate?” Simon tilted his head. “How?”
“The Harringtons know this manor better than anyone,” Finn said.
“They’ve also had visions of Rose and Thomas.
You may choose not to believe in spirits, but you cannot deny that my vision showed us a hiding place we would not have found otherwise.
I think the Harringtons may have similar knowledge from their visions.
Since they don’t know about the parure, they might not realize the importance of certain details. ”
Nell nodded. “That is sound reasoning.”
“First, we’ll search the room behind the fireplace under the guise of collecting impressions,” Finn went on. “Xenia said that some other stolen goods were recovered there, which means they’ve gone over the area with a fine-tooth comb. But we’ll take a look to be sure.”
“Where else might the jewels be?” Nell asked.
“I don’t know.” Finn paused. “But Rose might. I want to proceed with the séance.”
“You truly believe this ‘spirit’ will talk to you?” Caleb asked.
She shrugged. “I cannot promise anything. If Rose doesn’t contact me, I will use the séance to milk the Harringtons for information.”
“Rig?” Simon suggested.
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll manage without props this time.”
Caleb sighed. “At least the part about using the Harringtons has merit. We will turn their trust into a weapon and use it against them.”
“Precisely.” The deviousness of the plan made Finn sick, but what choice did she have? “We lie to them, keep them in the dark about the treasure, and steal it from under their noses.”
“What about the green-fingered toff?”
Finn leveled a cool stare at Caleb. “What about him?”
“How can we trust that you won’t go soft over him and betray us?”
“Because I am a Hawk.”
She and Caleb locked gazes. Neither looked away. It was a silent contest of wills, and if she wanted to stay the leader, she couldn’t back down.
Tansy broke the tension. “Hawks hunt.”
“And no Hawk flies alone,” Nell said decisively. “All in favor of Finn’s plan?”
Ayes came from everyone but Caleb.
“Well?” Finn asked.
“Fine.” He dropped his gaze, muttering, “Don’t make me regret this.”
“I won’t,” she promised.
Even if it destroys me.