Dauntless (Gentlemen of the Order 1)

Black smoke rose from the coverlet, clinging to the ceiling, crawling this way and that like an evil spirit doing the devil’s work. The angry crackle of the beast on the bed would soon become a wild roar.

Holding the sodden garment aloft, he sidled closer and threw it onto the bed, smothering the flames. Before the fire sucked the water from the garment, he threw his shirt on top to bide time.

Bower appeared, empty-handed. “Stone the crows!”

“Quick! Fetch water!” Noah barked, but Bower was already bounding downstairs.

Eva arrived next, her silk wrapper hugging her body, her warm brown hair in disarray. The veins in her neck beat a visible pulse. “Good Lord!” With a shaky hand, she thrust a bucket of water at him.

“Stay back.” Noah snatched the pail and threw the contents over the bed. “There’s glass on the floor.”

“Glass?” She coughed, then covered her mouth with her hand.

Noah coughed, too. “Don’t breathe in the fumes.”

He shooed her out onto the landing just as Bower returned with a bucket, water sloshing over the rim and down the man’s leg. Glass crunched under the weight of his booted steps as he raced into the room.

“My guess is someone stuffed the neck of a spirit bottle with material and set it alight,” he said. “The villain must have thrown it through the window, though that would have been one hell of a feat during the day let alone in the dark.”

Fear rose like bile in his chest.

Had he not stayed the night, the house might have been an inferno.

Eva clutched the edges of her wrapper, the horror of what might have been evident in every pained frown line. “Someone did this … did this deliberately?”

“Without a doubt. Bower’s swift reaction meant he must have witnessed the crime.” In his wisdom, Bower had chosen to tackle the fire, not the blackguard.

The man in question joined them on the landing, his chest heaving from exertion. “The fire … the fire’s out, sir.” Bower’s gaze drifted to Noah’s bare chest. “L-lucky you got to it when you did.”

God’s teeth!

Come first light, Lucius Daventry would have Noah off the case. He’d be filling ink pots and sharpening nibs until next Michaelmas.

“Did you see who did this?” Noah said, ready to throttle the coward who would threaten the life of an innocent woman.

Henry and Bardsley came rushing up the dimly lit stairs, carrying pots full of water. Both servants sidled past Noah without daring to glance at his chest.

“Douse the bed,” Noah instructed before turning back to Bower. “Well?”

The man pushed his black hair from his brow. “The blighter had a good aim, I can tell you that.” Bower’s voice was as deep as the scar cutting through his left eyebrow. “Mr Daventry sent Jonah to keep me company. Being the fastest on his feet, he gave chase.”

Relief rushed through Noah’s veins. Jonah would catch the felon, of that there was no doubt.

Eva held her wrapper tight across her chest. “Who would do such a thing? Those poor women in the hospital must be scared out of their wits.”

Those poor women?

That was one of the things he admired about her. She thought of others first despite being terrified, too.

“I imagine it’s a warning from one of your brother’s creditors.” Noah might have rubbed her arm in comforting strokes had Bower not been standing there staring. “Equally, Lord Benham knows he cannot beat me in a fight and might have sought the coward’s way to exact his revenge.”

“Lord Benham has many faults,” Eva said, “but this is the work of a coward, not a gentleman.”

Noah had to agree. There was something desperate about the action. Upon reflection, neither Manning nor the Turners would raze a house to the ground. Not when it meant lessening the chance of them recouping their funds. They would want Eva alive to use as a bargaining tool.

Her eyes suddenly widened. “You don’t think this has anything to do with Mr Hemming? He can be quite childish when he doesn’t get his way.”

A man in love attacked his rival, not the object of his affection. That said, feelings of jealousy and betrayal were the devil’s poison.