AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Joseph and Miss Bliss’ wedding wouldn’t be in London. They had eschewed having a wedding during the Season in favor of having it at Camden Hall three weeks after the Season proper was over. According to Joseph, Miss Bliss had been perfectly happy to go along with his suggestion, which had been made out of love for his home and for safety concerns. They had better control over everything at Camden Hall.
“No. Thankfully, you chose to have a small wedding. Well, for a ton wedding.” Elijah grinned. Most of the guests would be their neighbors. As a second son, Society did not have the same rabid interest in Joseph’s wedding as they had Elijah’s, especially since Elijah was married and—they would assume—well on his way to producing an heir.
His grin fading, Elijah shook his head. That was another consideration to keep in mind since Josie insisted on thrusting herself into danger. Though if she was in a delicate condition, she would have more care for herself. Something he would have to ponder more fully at a later date.
Chapter 35
Elijah
The evening festivities in Vauxhall Gardens were in full swing when Elijah finally spotted Mitchell. Josie was with Lily and Mary, the three of them happily listening to a violin quartet playing on one of the small pavilions. His wife was in her element, eyes shining with appreciation for the music. Her dark blue gown twinkling with tiny gemstones, she resembled a night goddess, enjoying the pleasure garden. Rex stood close by the trio, watching over them with an eye on how much punch they were imbibing and the various rakes who eyed them with interest, while Elijah prowled through the crowd, waiting for his contact.
The fireworks would begin soon, which would make talking even more difficult. Why Mitchell had wanted to meet here of all places, he did not know, but as it fitted nicely into Josie’s plans for the evening—and allowed him to bring her along without putting her in any danger—Elijah had not argued.
He had kept one eye on Josie and the ladies and one eye looking for Mitchell until the man finally arrived. Making his way through the crowd, Elijah positioned himself by Mitchell’s side, backs against the balustrade, where he could see everything.
“Any news?”
“Of a sort.” Mitchell shrugged. “There does not seem to be any connection between Jacques and the Russians I can find. Even his story of losing a wager has been impossible to verify. No Russians have been spotted in any of the gaming hells since the delegation arrived.”
Which may or may not mean anything since there were private games they might not be privy to. Since Jacques had referenced a ‘large’ bet, it was entirely possible he had gotten in over his head at such a table, but Elijah did not have time to point that out. Mitchell was already rushing forward with his own theories.
“I think he was trying to divert your suspicions from his countrymen. Everything I have found points to the French, including Jacques.”
“Then why kill him?” Elijah pointed out, and Mitchell’s expression turned stubborn. “Besides, Father received a report from Lucas this morning. There is no sign among the French to indicate anyone there wants the trade negotiations to fail. If anything, they have unswerving and total support.” For a while, he thought there would be some influential figure in France who had something to lose, but Lucas had reported otherwise.
“Then perhaps we should not trust everything Lucas says,” Mitchell retorted darkly, his expression twisting. “For all we know, he is lying through his teeth. I do not understand why your father thought he would be an adequate operative.”
“He was shot and could have been killed. I think we can be sure he is not the traitor,” Elijah’s said dryly. His gaze skittered across the crowd back to Josie. The violins had finished, and the three women were turning away. Her head lifted, eyes searching, then her gaze met his, and she smiled. Seeing his companion, her smile only dimmed a little, but she nodded her head and looked away to say something to Mary.
He had not argued her presence, but there had been no point in having her be part of his meeting with Mitchell. Elijah knew the other man would not have welcomed her input.
“He could have done so in order to gain your trust and cast suspicion away from himself.” Mitchell’s paranoia was in full force this evening. “Even assuming he was inculpable, he is also a drunk and a gambler. He already reachedpoint non-plusonce. For that alone, we cannot trust he is actually doing his job.”
Elijah trusted Lucas was dedicated to making amends for his behavior earlier in the Season, including inadvertently becoming part of Mary’s kidnapping. He was also flush with funds thanks to his work, and he seemed eager to continue earning it. His reports had been clear, concise, and entirely sober. It was not worth arguing with Mitchell, and ultimately, the man’s opinion of Lucas did not matter.
The important thing was Mitchell had found nothing useful.
Josie
“I do not like that man,” Josie muttered, turning away from watching Elijah talk to Mitchell. As usual, Mitchell was well-dressed, perfectly presentable, and handsome, and some ladies were eyeing both him and Elijah. She had to stifle the urge to warn them all away.
“You are far from alone,” Rex responded. She had not meant for him to hear, but apparently, he had sharp ears. “I have given Elijah my opinion of Mitchell more than once.”
“Mmm, something smells delicious,” Mary said, ignoring their conversation and going up on her tiptoes to see through the crowd. As the most petite in their group, her efforts were useless. Even on her toes, she was barely taller than Josie’s shoulder. “Is anyone else hungry?”
“We should go to our box if we are going to eat.” Rex put his hand on his wife’s back to guide her toward the box they had rented for the evening. Though he was touching Mary, his gaze remained on Lily and Josie, giving them no opportunity to slip away, even if they had wanted to. Neither he nor Elijah had been thrilled about the outing this evening.
Vauxhall was rowdy enough on a usual night. As the Season came closer to its end the energy was even more frenetic. The gardens were packed with nobles, gentry, and wealthy businessmen. Josie, Mary, and Lily were not the only ladies, but there were very few other debutantes other than Lily. Josie was sure some of the other ‘ladies’ roaming the walkways were actually very expensive ladybirds but did not point them out.
Even as a married lady, she was not supposed to know about or acknowledge such things. She was determined to be proper since Elijah had let her come along tonight. Truthfully, Josie had not wanted to all that badly since she had known he would have to talk to Mitchell alone, but Vauxhall Gardens was far safer than the Warrens, and she had wanted to see if Elijah would be reasonable.
Thankfully, for both of them, he had been. Otherwise, he would have had a fight on his hands.
Walking between Mary and Lily, Josie’s gaze skipped through the crowd, enjoying the various displays of fashion and fripperies, taking mental notes for her own wardrobe. She was not expecting to see anything pertinent to Elijah’s mission, which was why when she met the dark, menacing gaze of the man who had assaulted her mere weeks ago, she actually uttered a little shriek.
“What?” Lily was immediately alert, looking to where Josie was, but as she had never seen Josie’s attacker, she was casting her gaze about blindly. The man had already turned away once Josie had seen him. “What is it?”
“Him! It was him!” Josie took a deep breath, realizing she was not making sense. She was shaking in reaction, though she could not put a name to the emotion—there were too many of them, confusing her. “The man who attacked me, he is here!”
