Kate Pearce - Educating Elizabeth

Elizabeth sat up and blew out the candle. She would make one last attempt to convince the duke of her innocence on the morrow. If he still refused to listen to her, she would have to hope that Jack Llewelyn and Michael could persuade him in her stead.

Gervase threw his hat and gloves onto the hall table, crossed the deserted marble hall, and marched up the stairs to his chamber. The house was silent around him and he didn't bother to ring for Jacques. He missed Elizabeth's vibrant presence more than he would have thought possible. Angelique's contemptuous words regarding his lonely and mistrustful nature reverberated in his head as he undressed and slipped naked into bed.

To add to his worries, Sir John hadn't returned. Gervase had sent Nicholas out to find word of him. His diligent secretary's convenient disappearance set off all kinds of alarms in Gervase's head. Had Sir John been taken to prevent him interfering in La Fleur's plans, or had Sir John done the unthinkable and allied himself with the duke's enemies? Nothing seemed certain anymore except the unsavory vision of a solitary future too bleak to contemplate

Eventually, Gervase felt so stifled he got out of bed to open one of the sash windows, which looked out over the well-tended garden. The capricious English weather seemed set to be fine for the victory parade and, unfortunately, meant the crowds would be out in force on the morrow. Would Elizabeth bother to watch the celebrations or would Vincent keep her occupied in bed?

Gervase cursed as he got back into bed and tried to blot out the insidious image of Elizabeth in Vincent's arms. He placed his hands behind his head and focused on the indistinct glimmer of the black silk canopy above his bed. The faint breeze from the opened window made the silk undulate like a snake poised to strike.

In truth, he hadn't finished with Elizabeth Waterstone yet and she knew it. If Vincent could keep his hands off her until tomorrow night, and keep her safe, then there would be a reckoning...

Gervase dressed in the soft light of the rising sun as it broke over the slate roofs of the square. He stowed his favorite pistol in the deep pocket of his black coat and struggled to pull on his boots without the aid of his valet. He slipped silently down the staircase and out through the side door that led to the stables. No one was about when he saddled a horse and set off for his rendezvous in the park with Jack Llewelyn.

Gervase kept his horse to a walk as he picked a careful path between the incoming crowds of spectators. People were beginning to gather at the best vantage spots along the route although the parade was not due to start until the afternoon. A slight breeze fluttered the limp bunting that lined the roadside. Gervase ducked his head to avoid a trailing Prussian flag.

There was no sign of Jack Llewelyn at the appointed meeting place. After circling the fountain a few times, Gervase dismounted and walked his horse along the newly cut grass verge. After a while, he extracted his watch from his waistcoat pocket and noted the time. He closed the watchcase with a decisive snap, and stared unseeingly toward the western gate of the park.

If Jack Llewelyn would not come out of hiding, Gervase would flush him out like the vermin he was. Without further thought, he remounted his horse and headed for the Foresters.

After he discovered an empty, unused stable at the rear of the house, he tied his horse to the rusted railings at the front of the house and went up the worn steps. To his surprise, the front door was ajar. A feeling of unease assailed him and he took out his pistol and pushed the door open with the toe of his boot. The dingy hallway was empty. Gervase hesitated, his back to the door, and attempted to get his bearings.

A rustle of petticoats drew his attention to the top of the stairs, where Mrs. Forester stood silhouetted against the faded floral wallpaper. Gervase dropped his arm to hide his pistol in the folds of his coat and took off his hat.

"I do apologize for the intrusion, Mrs. Forester, but no one answered the door. I need to speak to Mr. Llewelyn on a matter of urgency."

Mrs. Forester descended the stairs until she stood level with the duke. "There is no need to apologize, Your Grace." She dabbed at her nose with a lace handkerchief. "Unfortunately Mr. Forester has already left to watch the parade with my daughter, Mary, and cannot be here to welcome you to our humble home." She glanced around vaguely. "It seems as if all the servants have left as well, but Mr. Llewelyn is here." She put the handkerchief away and pointed down a dimly lit corridor, which seemed to lead to the back of the house. "He works in the old housekeeper's rooms beside the kitchen."

Gervase left his hat on the hall table and headed off down the corridor before she could question him further. When he reached his destination, he didn't bother to knock, being reluctant to lose the element of surprise. Jack Llewelyn and a man, he reckoned from his looks to be Elizabeth's brother, Michael, were seated side by side behind the desk.

"What the devil is going on, Llewelyn?" Gervase demanded.

Llewelyn shot to his feet. "Your Grace, watch out!"

Before Gervase could react, his right wrist was grabbed and locked behind his back. His fingers were smashed repeatedly against the wall until his pistol fell from his now-useless grasp and a huge unwashed hand covered his mouth. He fought against the suffocating embrace of the bear of a man behind him, but he couldn't get free.

He was manhandled around to face the center of the room in time to see his secretary, Sir John Harrington, cuff Llewelyn across the face.

"I told you to be quiet," Sir John snarled, his perspiring face a fiery red.

Llewelyn spat at him. "You are a lot braver now that your thugs have tied me up, aren't you?"

Sir John struck out at Llewelyn again and blood dripped from the corner of Jack's mouth. Sir John laughed. "You are a known coward, Llewelyn. How many times will I have to hit you before you give in and cry mercy?" He drew back his fist. "Once, twice?"

Jack Llewelyn muttered an obscenity and Gervase shook off the hand that covered his mouth. "What in damnation is going on? Tell this fool to let me go."

"Oh no, Your Grace. I've waited too long to be denied the opportunity to pay you back for the endless hours of devotion I've wasted on you." Gervase stilled as Sir John glared at him. "Have you any idea," Sir John continued, "how insulting it is to work for a man as dissolute and disgusting as you are? A man who wastes all his God-given opportunities and enjoys consorting with whores and gamblers?"

Gervase smiled. "You think you could do better, Sir John? You couldn't even break a single line of code. You had to get Elizabeth Waterstone to do it for you."

Sir John went still. "You insult me, but no matter. Yes, it was lucky that Mr. Forester was able to dupe you into accepting Elizabeth into his household. We had high hopes that she would be able to translate the code we needed."

Michael Waterstone shouted. "Elizabeth is no traitor. If she translated the code she was forced to do so."

Gervase gave a soft laugh. "If you know your sister at all, Lieutenant Waterstone, you should also know that she chose to meddle with the code without any compulsion from anyone."

His next breath was cut off as Sir John backhanded him across the face. "I hate to interrupt this inspiring conversation, Your Grace, but of course we didn't tell Miss Waterstone what was going on. At first, I intended to ask her to help me with the code. But being a woman, and a damned inquisitive one at that, she managed to translate it all by herself."

"That is because Elizabeth is far more intelligent than you will ever be," Gervase said. "You are just a paper-shuffling, money-grubbing, messenger boy for the French. What I don't understand is why this whole charade was necessary."

"I'm far more than a messenger boy! I had to develop a whole new plan after our original code breaker was killed." Sir John stuttered. "I couldn't allow Le Fleur's plans to be interrupted. I arranged for your men to discover the code and recruited Elizabeth to translate it under your very nose! It was all my idea."

Gervase curled his lip. "If you expect me to congratulate you for betraying your country, you must be insane."

Sir John gestured to the ruffian beside him. Gervase braced himself as the man stepped forward and drove his meaty fists into Gervase's unprotected body. If he hadn't been held up, Gervase feared that he would have fallen to his knees. He fought to retain his balance as pain ripped through his battered ribcage and belly.

Sir John nodded. "Take him away. I've no further use for him." Gervase opened his mouth to speak and Sir John spoke over him. "There is no point in appealing to their better natures, Your Grace, for they have none, and I've already paid them handsomely."

He gestured to the unseen man behind Gervase. "Bind the duke's hands, Albert, and make sure you search him before you leave him to his fate."

As he was dragged toward the door, Gervase started to fight in earnest. Unwilling to submit, he dug in his heels and was rewarded by a savage jab to his kidneys. He shouted over his shoulder as the other thug closed in on him. "Am I to assume that you didn't tell the Foreign Office the assassin's correct position?"

Sir John snorted. "Do you still take me for a fool? I substituted my own directions before I took the message in." He gave a breathless laugh. "I'm the only person who knows where the assassination will take place--apart from the assassin himself, of course."