“If it does, I’ll kill you myself,” Owen warned meaningfully.
Leopold held out his tankard that was refilled by a servant and once she left he raised his mug up again. “To Gideon,” he said loudly for the room to hear, “may your marriage to the lovely Miss Barnet be filled with happiness.”
The resounding tone ofhear hearwas said by the group who all vowed to keep Violet safe from harm. They continued to keep up their ruse of drinking heavily and their voices raised as though deep in their cups. They began discussing the plans for Gideon’s outdoor wedding and where it was to take place.
As Gideon kept a close eye on the room, he noticed a man hidden in the corner of the room who appeared to be paying close attention to their overly loud conversation. It seemed a little too convenient but perhaps this was a clue that Dawkes was getting sloppy. There didn’t seem to be anyone other than this man who seemed interested in what Gideon’s group discussed and when the conversation turned to the goings on happening in London, the man left the inn. Hoping that this might be the opportunity Gideon was looking for and who might report to Dawkes, Gideon pulled up the hood of his cloak and followed close, but not too close, behind.
He didn’t go far, only across the street to the Black Lion, and as Gideon lurked in the shadows of the tavern, he noticed the man slide into a booth at the back of the room. It was enough for him to see none other than Cosmo Dawkes tossing a coin purse to the man to pay him off.
The trap had been made. Now they only had to wait until the next day.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Violet smoothed downthe fabric of her dress as she sat in a small tent on the outskirts of Bracknell. The gown she wore was one she had worn a dozen times before. She wouldn’t wear the planned wedding dress she had embroidered for something that could ruin her outfit meant for her special day. She gazed around this small dwelling wondering and worrying if this insane plan would even accomplish what they hoped.
Gideon and Owen had made this makeshift tent to keep up the pretense that the bride would need a place to perform any final touches to her wedding attire. The flaps of the opening were held back by ropes of twine so Violet was able to see outside. A short distance away, and hopefully far enough to keep everyone out of harm’s way, she could make out through the trees a small group of witnesses for her marriage. Several of these were disguised as guests, although Violet knew they had been hired by the constable to keep watch over their family and friends. Violet had hoped to keep her parents out of this whole fiasco but Gideon reminded her that Dawkes would know what her parents looked like and they needed to keep up appearances. Which was the reason why Arianna was also in attendance.
She couldn’t help but worry as she picked up a small nosegay of roses and lifted the flowers to smell their fragrance. If Dawkes made an appearance, she was to drop them to the ground to signal he had come out of hiding. Knowing the time had come to make her move, she stepped from the tent and went to stand in the clearing. Once again, she appeared to be inspecting her gown when a voice came from behind her. Even though she was expecting him, his presence still came as a surprise.
She whirled around to face him and dropped the flowers to the ground. Dawkes gave an evil grin. “How lovely you look today, Violet. It’s too bad you’ll miss your own wedding,” the major drawled.
She knew she had to keep him talking in order to possibly get a confession from him for the nearby constables. “What are you doing here?” she asked, as though surprised by his presence.
He made a sound deep in his chest before casually strolling around her, even being so bold as to lift one of her loose, flowing curls to his nose and inhaling. “You smell like the roses you dropped. Heavenly.”
“You didn’t answer my question, Major Dawkes. Why are you here at my wedding?”
“And I already told you why I’m here. To abduct the bride, of course,” he sneered. “Why should Gideon have such a prize for a wife when you could be my lover instead. I assure you, once you’re in my bed, you’ll forget anyone else.”
She couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her causing Dawkes to frown. “As if you could ever measure up to Gideon,” she said. “You’re not even half the man he is if you think you can take whatever you want and get away with it.”
He tried to take a hold of her arm but she backed away from him. “And who will stop me when everyone who is dear to you is waiting for your entrance for the ceremony to begin?”
“All I have to do is scream,” she said softly, raising her chin in defiance.
A snort left him. “Your confidence that your man will come running to your rescue in time is to be commended and is exactly what is in my plans.”
She narrowed her eyes while watching him closely. She had to keep him talking so everyone could move into place to capture him. “And what exactlyarethose plans?”
“Did you really think that my schemes for the past few weeks were only to cause you harm, my pet? Those were merely distractions to draw out your soon-to-be dead lover.”
“Youwereresponsible for the break-ins at my apothecary.”
“Yes.” He stepped forward and she retreated.
“And set fire to my house,” she stated, hoping for a full confession.
“Of course. I knew you were with him at the time. Unfortunately for that, I had plans to make it appear as if he had caused the fire but he ruined that for me much like he ruined my plans for advancement in France.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, watching him and noticing what appeared as a glimpse of madness in his eyes. He really was touched in the head and she would need to be more careful than they had previously thought. “You became a major and took over Gideon’s battalion after he was wounded and lost his memory.”
A deep rumble of anger erupted from the man as he pounded his forehead with his fist. “Those men should have been mine from the beginning! Gideon always stood in my way for advancement and should have died on that battlefield.”
“You caused Gideon’s accident and were responsible for his memory loss,” she stated, hoping he would admit everything. She caught a glimpse of Gideon hiding behind a tree; he nodded in her direction.
A corner of Cosmo’s lip curled up in a sneer. “And only because I got him out of the way did I advance… the damn bastard somehow managed to survive after I hit him from behind. Even the knife wound Iinflicted wasn’t enough to kill him.”
Violet turned slightly so her back was now facing where Gideon was located. “He lost his memory because of you,” she accused.
