The Prince of Pleasure (Notorious 5)

"I suggest you keep your cries down," Dare admonished in cool drawl, "or my next target will be your heart. You forced yourself upon her, didn't you?"

When Ivers glanced wildly around the room, as if seeking to escape, Dare shook his head.

"No one will come to your rescue. You're completely at my mercy. You defiled her, didn't you?"

"Yes! God, no, please…" Ivers whimpered when the blade moved back up to his throat. "Don't hurt me!"

"Why not?" Dare asked, his voice very, very soft. "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you this instant."

Ivers began to sob.

"Perhaps I should cut you into pieces and feed you to the fish in the Thames. You're familiar with the Thames River, aren't you, Ivers? You killed Lady Castlereagh's companion there last month."

"No! I didn't kill her, I swear." When the tip gouged his throat, he fell back on the bed, cringing. "But I can tell you who did."

Dare lowered the rapier. "You begin to interest me."

Struggling against tears, Ivers took a shuddering breath. "I didn't kill the girl, I swear. I wooed her, yes. She was to meet me that night. But when I arrived, she was already dead."

"Who murdered her then?"

"It was Perrine… Martin Perrine."

Dare his stomach muscles tighten. "You saw him with her body?"

"No, but I'm certain he was the one."

Dare hesitated. "Is he Caliban?"

"I don't know. I swear. Perrine tells me what Lord Caliban orders are, and he ordered me to court the girl. I had no choice. Perrine bought up most of my vowels and promised he would call them in if I didn't oblige Caliban."

"What did he want from Alice Watson?"

"To discover Lord Castlereagh's plans-what he intended to do about Napoleon after the peace, where he intended to be."

"So you persuaded her to steal Castlereagh's letters to his wife. And after the girl died, you bribed his servants for information."

"Yes."

"What were you doing at Newmarket? Following me?"

"Yes. Perrine heard you were putting your nose where it didn't belong-searching for Caliban. He thought it amusing, but he wanted to know why. I was supposed to see what I could discover."

"But you accosted Miss Laurent instead."

Ivers gave another whimper. "I didn't touch her!"

"No, you only tried to extort money from her by threatening to spread your spurious tales. What punishment do you think you deserve for that?"

"Please… don't kill me."

"I won't have to. What you did was treason. No doubt you'll hang for it."

"Wh-what… what if I have knowledge that could save Castlereagh's life? He is in grave danger."

"I'm listening," Dare said.

"Perrine was angry that I couldn't wring any more information from the servants-"