Valentine's Vow (Avenging Lords 3)

“You had met Mr Cassiel before that night,” Ava said. It was the only explanation to account for Matilda’s lack of reticence around the gentleman. “It was your suggestion we hire him.”

“No.” Matilda shook her head.

“We met with Mr Cassiel last night,” Ava said, knowing she had to tell a tale to draw the truth from Matilda’s quivering lips. “He mentioned you were acquainted prior to that first meeting.”

“Yes,” Valentine added. “He persuaded you to approach Miss Kendall with the idea of a seance.”

The girl looked to be drowning under the weight of questions, drowning from the knowledge that she could not save herself no matter how long she held her breath.

“We are in love,” she suddenly blurted. Matilda gasped as if the words eased the searing pain in her lungs. “We met in the bookshop, meet there when Mother permits me half an hour to peruse the shelves.”

Ava’s frustration dissipated.

Miss Faversham was a victim of deception, too, it seemed.

“Angelo is in need of money.” Matilda glanced over her shoulder to the door. She lowered her voice. “We are to elope once he has saved the necessary funds.”

Valentine relaxed back in the chair. No doubt he thought the gesture might encourage Matilda to speak more freely. “And so he prompted you to find him work, knowing you meet at my mother’s house on a Friday.”

“I didn’t think it would do any harm,” she confessed. “As enlightened ladies are w-we not looking to further our minds?”

“We are,” Ava said. Matilda would suffer greatly once she learnt the truth about the mystic. Clearly, the thought of escaping her parents’ home proved too tempting to resist. “Though that does not explain why Mr Cassiel broke into my house, or the fact Mrs Stagg said you were his accomplice.”

Matilda froze. Her breath came in rapid pants.

“We know what Mr Cassiel was looking for,” Valentine said.

The girl hung her head. A sniff turned into a sob. Her shoulders shook from the sheer force of her release. “I didn’t w-want to do it.”

“Why would you treat my belongings with disrespect when I have been nothing but kind to you?” It hurt to think of the hours Ava had spent trying to restore Matilda’s confidence only to feel the sharp stab of betrayal.

Matilda raised her gaze. Her eyes were bloodshot, rimmed red. “I knew nothing of his plans. Y-you have to believe me. He left a note in the garden, in the usual place, and I snuck out of the house to meet him on the corner of Mount Street.” A sob choked her throat, forcing her to gasp.

“You could have refused to enter Miss Kendall’s house,” Valentine said coldly.

“He told me to wait outside the house while he spoke to Miss Kendall. I didn’t know he had forced his way inside … not until I heard a commotion and ran to investigate. Then it was too late.”

“I want his address,” Valentine demanded in a voice that would make the strongest man crumple. “I want it now. Else I shall stride into the drawing room and inform your parents that you are guilty of aiding a criminal.”

It was as if Satan had risen to poke her with his fiery trident. Miss Faversham jumped from the chair, her whole body trembling so fiercely she struggled to catch her breath. “What will you do to him?”

“We want to ask him some questions about his associate, that is all,” Ava said, trying to get through to the girl. “We believe a friend or family member may have influenced him.”

She dashed the tears from her eyes. “You think Angelo was forced to act so dreadfully?” Hope clung to every word.

“That is what we are attempting to establish,” Valentine said in a calmer tone.

After a brief pause where Matilda muttered to herself, she finally said, “Head to Cheapside. You will find Angelo in Coleman Street.”

“And the number?” Valentine stood. Clearly, he was in a hurry.

“Don’t tell him I told you,” Matilda blurted.

Valentine straightened to his full height. “The number.”

“Five, Angelo lives at number five.”

It was noon by the time Ava and Valentine reached Coleman Street with Mr Drake in tow. Valentine insisted on calling for his friend, explaining that should anything untoward happen, he would not leave Ava at the mercy of the blackguard Cassiel.