A Simple Case of Seduction

“What can we do to help?” Bostock asked solemnly.

“I’m to go alone. Should Lily catch sight of anyone else she will kill Daphne.”

Bostock squared his hunched shoulders. “But tell me you don’t intend to do as she says?”

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet. I need time to form a plan.”

Chapter 24

The shed was dark, the wooden floor dusty. The scent of rum hung in the air, sweet yet sickly. A scurrying sound from somewhere in the far right-hand corner near the mound of old sacks caught Daphne’s attention. She flexed her fingers though her hands were secured in front of her body by a pair of shackles, the words Newgate Prison stamped into the cold metal. The rope tied tightly around her ankles prevented her from pulling the knife from inside her boot, and so she could do nothing but sit and wait for Lily to return.

Lily Lawson had fooled them all. Poor Thomas. To discover his partner was a liar and cheat must have hurt him deeply. Yet he’d said nothing, given no indication of the stress he must have suffered as a result.

Daphne suppressed all feelings of guilt. Now was not the time to dwell on the past.

Lily had made no mention of her plans. Even so, her failure to provide food and water suggested Thomas wasn’t to be the only victim on Lily’s list. The fact that Daphne was still alive raised certain questions. Yet the answer always came back to the cryptic comment Lily made when she’d forced Daphne from the book shop.

If I shoot you, how will you be able to rescue Mr Thorpe?

What was her game? Was Thorpe her prisoner too? Is that why she’d left Daphne in the shed and not returned? Regardless of the mess they’d made of the case so far, Thorpe was too clever to fall for Lily’s tricks. Then again, the woman seemed comfortable playing a damsel in distress. And they had been so convinced of Lord Gibson’s guilt they’d been blind to Lily’s involvement.

Daphne closed her eyes.

The faint sound of lapping water reached her ears. But the absence of muffled voices or the rumble of a cart proved worrying. She listened for a while, was still wondering if anyone would find her in the musty old shed when the rattle of a key in the lock drew her gaze to the door.

The glow from the lantern held aloft illuminated the person’s face.

“Good evening, Mrs Chambers.” Lily came into the room, placed the lantern on the floor and pulled the pistol from the leather satchel slung over her shoulder beneath her cloak. “Thank heavens for safety catches.” She pointed the pistol at Daphne. “I trust you’ve not been too cold in here.”

“Have you come to kill me?” Daphne’s tone brimmed with contempt. She had no desire to partake in meaningless conversation.

“Kill you? Oh, I can’t kill you yet,” Lily said with a snort. Her once sweet voice was filled with bitterness and loathing. “You’re the bait.”

“Bait?” Daphne stared at Lily’s face. It had lost its angelic appeal. Now Daphne had glimpsed the rotten core inside, the rest proved equally unappetising.

“Surely you don’t imagine I could drag Mr Thorpe here for any other reason than to save you? With his lack of options, I’m hoping that logical brain of his will soon realise he has but two choices. Either I’ll persuade him to join me, or I’ll use you as bait to kill him.”

The words conjured a vision of Daniel lying lifeless in the water.

“There is no need for any of this,” Daphne pleaded. She wasn’t afraid to beg if necessary. She’d sell her soul to save Daniel’s life. “Despite what Thomas told you, he had no evidence you were the traitor. We’ve searched high and low and found nothing.”

“Thomas was too clever to make idle threats. He’d been monitoring my movements for weeks, knew I was selling information to the French and lying to the Crown.” There was a hint of admiration in Lily’s tone when she spoke of Thomas. “I offered him many incentives to join me.” From the seductive lilt in Lily’s voice, the woman had used her charms to tempt him. “The man was loyal to a fault which was to his detriment in the end.”

A sudden wave of sadness swept through Daphne, the emotion pooling at the b

ase of her throat. Pride swelled in her chest for her husband, her friend. Thomas was a good man who deserved so much more. Despite Lily’s devious plots, he had remained faithful to his wife, and to the Crown.

Daphne shuffled on the cold, hard floor. “Did you care about Thomas at all?”

Lily took a step closer, bent down and stared into Daphne’s eyes. “Care about him? I loved him. Despite the fact he didn’t love you, he refused to love me in return.”

Perhaps Lily expected the comment to shock. But regardless of the other problems Daphne had in her marriage, they’d always been honest.

“We loved each other,” Daphne corrected. Thomas had been her dearest friend. “Only not in the way a husband and wife should.” Not in the way she loved Daniel.

“We shared a kiss once,” Lily boasted. “I knew then I had to have him and tried to persuade him to assist with my plan.” With an ugly look of disdain, Lily’s gaze travelled the length of Daphne’s body. “But you always seemed to get in the way.”

“A woman does not kill the man she loves,” Daphne countered.