AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, shut up, Helene. We wouldn’t be here if not for you, you little bitch.”
Her eyes went wide and Jack stepped in front of her, suddenly looking much older than his twenty-six years. “You don’t speak to her that way!”
“I’ll speak to her however I like, boy. And you’ll do well to know your betters.”
With Helene in Havistock’s sights, Jack made a full change, voice lowering, fists clenching, and charming affect turning to full menace. “We are to think you better? You, who happily murders his business partner in full view of London?”
Havistock’s gaze narrowed on his daughter behind Jack’s outstretched arm.
She lifted her chin. “I heard everything. Heard Lord Draven was concerned about the state of the factories. The way you treated the children who worked there.”
“Draven made hundreds of thousands of pounds off of those factories,” Havistock scoffed. “And then he found that a fresh conscience doesn’t keep you from an early grave. And to think, if you’d kept your mouth shut, you might have avoided one, too.” He lifted the pistol and pointed it toward the newlyweds.
At the far side of the church, Imogen searched the hidden pockets of her evergreen skirts.
“Remarkable. It is not every day a man confesses to murder in front of a dozen people,” Henry said in his coolest, most aristocratic voice. “Though I never found your logic sound during debate, so I should not be surprised.”
Havistock’s weapon swung to aim directly at Henry’s chest, and Adelaide began searching the space for ways to end the man. How dare he threaten her nearly husband!
“Clayborn.” The marquess’s words dripped with disdain. “Always so high and mighty. Just like your father. Good and noble and aristocratic perfection.” He spat. “But not really, are you? There isn’t a drop of aristocratic blood in you. And you, pontificating on what is just and right in the House of Lords. What a hypocrite, now you’ve thrown your lot in withwomen,” he spat. “You’re an embarrassment, and you should thank God I’m going to end you all.” He swung the pistol around wildly, pointing it in turn at Duchess and Sesily.
No. Not one person Adelaide loved was dying that day.
“It’s a bold thing to threaten a roomful of people with only Danny for muscle, I’ll say that,” Adelaide said, injecting all the bravado she could muster into the tone.
Henry stiffened next to her as Havistock’s pistol found her. “Perhaps I’ll start with you. The one nobody cares about. No money, no name, no connections—no value. Return you to the muck you came from.”
A low growl sounded, and Havistock looked to Henry. “Oh, Clayborn doesn’t like that.”
“Best aim true, my lord,” Adelaide said, lifting her chin. “Because if you miss, I can assure you, you will learn just what it feels like to be in the muck. I shall enjoy regaling all London with the story of how the odious Marquess of Havistock was ended by a coalition of powerful women and a crime lord from the South Bank.”
“You’ve made your money on the backs of the poor and the weak.” Henry took a step forward, toward thegun. “The tide is turning, and look at you.” His voice dripped with disdain. “Quaking with fear.”
He was baiting Havistock. And if the man’s wild-eyed look was any indication, the bait would work. The marquess was red with anger at her words, at the challenge in them. Adelaide knew she took a risk. He’d come unhinged, knowing, in that wild way that men against the ropes do, that there was no exit for him here. He could not kill them all. He could not survive this. But he would try very hard to take some of them with him.
Havistock narrowed his gaze on Henry. “I heard that you climbed down into the gutter with the girl. Tell me, how do you think the aristocracy would respond to discover that the Duchess of Trevescan’s precious cousin is nothing more than a baseborn whelp from Lambeth?” He looked to The Duchess. “You think anyone would come to your parties once they discover your lies?”
Duchess did not hesitate. “I think that half of London only exists because of lies. One only need look at you, Havistock. The idea that birth makes us noble is the biggest lie of all.”
Hatred seethed in him. “I shall enjoy putting bullets in all of you.”
“Is that your idiot plan?” Helene spoke up, clearly having had enough of the man. “To kill everyone here?”
“I’ll do what I have to do.”
“Not without my muscle, you won’t,” Alfie said, nodding to a man standing by the door to the church. “You’re on my turf now, Marquess, and I’ve thrown my lot in with another.”
“Of course you have. It’s no more than I would expect—an utter lack of honor,” Havistock said. “But you see, I’m using my own muscle—you’ve a problem, Alfie. There’s a new generation, ready to take over.”
Danny grinned and pulled a wicked-looking knife from his waist. “Time for new leadership in The Bully Boys. Some that don’t choose themselves over the job.”
Alfie scoffed. “Nah, boy. If you’re aimin’ to be king, tell me you want my throne. But don’t tell me it ain’t because you like the look of my crown.” He nodded in the direction of a guard at the door, who immediately left, no doubt to summon more muscle. “The boys won’t stand with you if they don’t trust you, and they’ll never trust you if they think you’re sellin’ them lies. Then you’re no better than the toff you’ve thrown your lot in with.” He tilted his head. “Though sidin’ with rich titles ain’t the best way to earn the boys’ trust, either.”
Danny scowled at the words—delivered with the calm certainty of a man who’d lived a thousand lives and knew the score. Just as it looked as though the two would clash and the brawl would begin, Imogen found what she was looking for.
“Warm in here, isn’t it?” she called from her spot.
The Belles, knowing what was to come, turned their backs to her. A bright flash of light accompanied a loud bang at the far side of the pews, leaving Havistock and Danny distracted for a barely there moment.
