Ann Lethbridge - Regency Society

Barton glared up at him with murder in his eyes.

‘Didn’t think so.’ Tony smiled. ‘Never mind. I didn’t really want it. I will open the lock on my own, soon enough. I enjoy the challenge, and having the key would spoil my fun. But do not think for a moment that you can succeed in your plans to mint your own money. The government is on to you, and has set me to stop you to prevent scandal. But they will have you, no matter what you do. My advice to you, as a fellow criminal, is to admit defeat, turn over the plates and run while they will still allow it.’

He tossed the other keys back into the muck of the street.

‘Do you understand?’

Barton had left off gasping, and he struggled up on one hand and spat on the ground at Tony’s feet.

Tony kicked the hand out from under him, rolled Barton over with the toe of his boot and planted his foot across the man’s throat. ‘I said, do you understand? I am concerned, predominantly, about the Duchess of Wellford. It stops here, Barton. You will leave her alone. Are we clear on that?’ He increased his pressure on the man’s throat.

Barton nodded with difficulty.

He removed his foot from Barton’s neck, allowing the man to sit up. ‘You are no doubt having thoughts right now about what you will do to me, once you get your wind back. If you mean to call me out, you will be unsuccessful, for I will laugh in your face. I am proud to be a live coward in a family of dead heroes and I do not need to duel to prove my worth. If you accost me in public, I will make it clear to all within earshot what I think of the sort of man who needs to use blackmail to gain the affections of a lady.

‘And if you think, as you did tonight, that it will be possible to waylay me, alone or with the help of friends, or that it will be possible to send servants or lackeys to give me a taste of what’s coming to me, then I suggest you think again. Better men than you have tried it, but none has been successful. Should you manage it, know that when I am not dealing with the likes of you, I am a likeable fellow with many friends in high places and in low. They should be unhappy, should anything happen to me, and have been warned from whom the attack is most likely to come. They will take action on my behalf should I be unable to do so.’

He smiled down at the prone man. ‘Likewise, do not attempt to harass the duchess further, or seek retribution for my actions. I will take a wrong against her as a wrong committed against my own person. I believe the Italians have a word for what I intend. Vendetta. It is much what you intended for me.’

He looked down at the beaten man. ‘You may consider this your last warning on the matter. I mean to finish you in any case, and will have those plates. I suggest you drop what you are planning and run, as far and as fast as you can. I will not follow, and the state is willing to let you go. But if I ever hear that you have interfered with the duchess or her household, justice will be swift and no distance great enough to protect you. Do you understand?’

Barton glared.

Anthony dug a toe into his ribs. ‘Yes or no, Barton. Do you understand?’

‘Yes.’

Tony smiled down at him. ‘Very good. We have an understanding. Good night to you, sir. And don’t make me have to do this again.’

Constance stretched under the sheet and enjoyed the feel of the linen on her bare body. She felt a frisson of desire and the memories came flooding back. In spite of herself, she smiled.

He had told her not to worry, and then he’d taken off her clothes, and pleasured her until she could bear it no more.

And then he’d put her to bed and taken his leave. She’d dreamed all night of him, lying next to her on the pillow, and it was sweet disappointment to wake and find that he wasn’t there.

There was a quiet knock on the door.

It was still locked, and her maid could not get in. She wrapped the sheet around herself, then hurried to the door in bare feet and turned the key in the lock, grabbed the clothing from off the floor and tossed it over the nearest chair, trying to give the illusion that she had found her own way to bed.

Susan came in smiling, and doing her best to pretend that there was nothing unusual about her mistress’s behaviour. There was an envelope, set beside the morning’s hot chocolate.

Constance looked to her enquiringly.

‘It was delivered this morning, your Grace, with the first post.’

She glanced down at the seal. An S, unfamiliar in its design. She slit the wax and unfolded the note. Her deed and inventory slid on to the tray.

So soon?

Obviously. She felt the last of the tension leaving her body. A short note slid from the envelope as well, and she laid it against her heart before reading.

I am safe as houses, as are you. If you would welcome a visit from one who will always be your humble servant, so that you might have return of your house key, send your maid to bed early and leave your window unlocked.

There was no signature.

She sank back into the pillows, and closed her eyes, holding the note to her lips. He had the key to her front door, and yet he asked her permission to enter. If she had not loved him before now, she would have been unable to resist him, just for that fact. And he still wished to use the window. Which was both discreet, and arousing. And he was coming to her tonight.

Susan gave a quiet cough to remind Constance of her continued presence.

She smiled up at the maid.

Susan smiled back. ‘Have you decided to listen to your heart after all, your Grace?’

‘It beats so loudly when I think of him that I have been unable to do otherwise.’ She allowed the maid to help her into her morning dress. ‘I think, Susan, that there is no hope for me. It is not wise of me to want Mr Smythe. It would be much better could I bring myself to feel this towards Lord Endsted. But my mind will not obey reason. When I think of Tony, the sun shines brighter, the air smells sweeter, and I feel as if I could fly, rather than walk.’

Susan nodded. ‘You are in love.’

Constance looked back at her, sadly. ‘I never meant to be. I never have been, before. And I am not sure, when it ends, that I will like it very much.’

‘It will be worth it,’ Susan assured her. ‘For you will always remember this morning.’

That night, supper was barely cold when she called for Susan to ready her for bed. It was foolish of her, she supposed, for it was far too early to expect a visit. But he had given no indication of the time he would come. And when he did arrive, she did not wish to waste a moment of his company in preparation. Susan had laid out her best night rail, and she allowed it to be put on, only to toss the thing aside as soon as her maid had left the room. Then she crawled naked between the sheets.

It was almost midnight when, at last, he climbed in the window, silhouetted in the light from the street. She leaned on her elbow and watched him, admiring his movements. How strange that he should be able to climb in and out as easily as going through the front door. And how accustomed she’d become to his habits.

‘Good evening.’ She could see his grin in the darkness, when he saw her already in bed. ‘I hope I am not disturbing you.’

‘Not at all.’ She stretched and let the sheet slip down her body so that he could see she was bare beneath the linen.

He caught his breath at the sight. ‘Not disturbed? Give me fifteen minutes and you shall be.’ He slipped off his coat and tossed it over a chair. ‘You received the deed?’

‘Yes. Thank you.’

He undid his cravat and tossed it and his shirt after the coat. ‘Did you send your maid away this evening so that we might not be interrupted?’