Something grabbed at her, and Titania screamed again, twisting this way and that so that she might escape from her captor. The man’s hand was tight on her waist, the sound of tearing fabric her only hope that she might be able to escape from him.
“You shouldn’t have been watching,” the man said in a low, dark voice, as he let go of her dressing gown but instead reached to grasp her arm, swinging her about to face him. Titania’s eyes flared wide with fear, taking in the man’s small, narrowed eyes, his cheeks thick with stubble and the dark grin that was now spreading across his face. “Not that I think I can rid the world of someone as pretty as you.” He pulled her closer, the knife flashing dangerously in hand. Titania stilled, her eyes on the blade, her hands pressed hard against the man’s chest as though she could push him from her by sheer force of will.
“I might just have to take you with me,” the man grated, his face close to hers as he loomed over her. “A pretty thing like you could bring a man all sorts of good.”
Titania closed her eyes tight, fighting the wave of fear that crashed over her. “No,” she whispered, trying to find some sort of strength within herself. “No, I will not go with you.” Beginning to struggle, she let her hands scrabble at his chest. “Let me go!” Her voice began to grow stronger as she fought to get away from him, her eyes fixed on the knife that was held tightly in the man’s other hand. “Let me go, I say!”
As she grasped about his neck, something snapped from it and into her hands, and Titania grasped a hold of it tightly. With a snarl, the man threw her back, only to raise the knife high as he stood over her. “You had better watch your mouth,” he stated, as Titania took a few steps back, only to find herself pressed against the railings that separated one house from the other. “No more of this fighting. You come along with me, or it will be all the worse for you.”
Titania’s heart was pounding so painfully that she could not find her voice. Her breath was coming in short, shallow gasps as she tried to think of what she might do in order to escape from this murderer – only for a shadow to spring at the man and knock him to the ground.
A fight ensued before Titania’s eyes, her hands now clinging tightly to the iron railings as she attempted to keep herself upright. Her legs were weak, her mind scrambling to make sense of what she had seen and what had occurred. This man, this shadowy stranger, had leapt at the murderer without consideration, she thought, and now was fighting for his life. The murderer’s knife was being jabbed in each and every direction as he struggled to his feet, whilst the shadowy stranger continued to lash out at the murderer any way he could.
“This is not wise,” the stranger said, as the murderer thrust the blade out wildly again. “You know that you will be caught.”
“I shall not.”
The murderer thrust his blade towards the stranger once more, missing completely, before turning around on his heel and running away into the dark. Titania’s body shook with relief, and she began to sink to the ground, her legs no longer able to hold her up. The pavement was cold and hard beneath her, but she did not notice it, her whole body shaking furiously.
“Do not say a word to anyone about what you have seen.”
Her vision was blurred as she looked up to see this mysterious gentleman, her savior, bending over her. She could not quite make him out but wanted to cling to him as though he were the only one she needed at this very moment.
“You must give me your word,” he stated firmly, looking deeply into her eyes. “You must promise you shall not say anything.”
“No,” Titania promised, trying to reach out to him but finding that she could not. “I shall not.” Her eyes grew heavy, her mind beginning to slow as she leaned back against the iron railings. She did not have the strength to say more, it seemed, for she was being pulled towards a rich, welcoming darkness that wanted to pull her into its embrace.
Something lifted her, something took her away from the cold hardness of the pavement, and Titania leaned her head into the softness. She did not know what it was nor could she make herself awaken from the beginnings of unconsciousness to discover it. All she could do was lean into it and allow the welcoming darkness to take her.
Chapter One
“What is it you have discovered, then?”
Edward—Viscount Carroway—cleared his throat and looked directly at the gentleman in front of him.
“I have, I confess, been unable to prevent the death of Stirling,” he said, allowing a trace of bitterness to enter his voice. “It was most unfortunate.”
The man in front of him shook his head and sighed. “It is unfortunate indeed,” he muttered sadly, shaking his head. “Stirling was a great asset to this force, and I shall be sorry to lose him from our ranks.” He looked back at Edward; his grey eyes now severe. “Might I ask how it occurred?”
Edward held back a long sigh and considered what it was he was going to say. The lieutenant before him was both a friend and a man of authority for, together, they had set up this particular group of men, and thus far, they had seen excellent results from their endeavors.
At least, until earlier that evening.
“I have had my suspicions that, for some time, Stirling has been meeting with a French spy, Lieutenant,” Edward began carefully. “I shared such concerns with you for, if that was the case, then I was gravely worried about Stirling’s loyalty. Now, it seems, we shall never know the truth.”
Lieutenant James shook his head and cleared his throat gruffly. He was some years older than Edward, with thinning grey hair and an overly large moustache that hid his mouth almost completely at times. His eyes were fixed upon Edward’s and held a good deal of steel within them, which left Edward in little doubt that the man was displeased with what had occurred. And the shame of that began to grow within him.
“Tell me precisely what occurred,” the lieutenant said, his voice firm. “You were following Stirling, I believe.”
“I was,” Edward agreed. “I wanted to discover whom he was meeting and, thereafter, could question precisely what it was he was doing and why. I did not expect him to run from his meeting and certainly did not expect his companion to go after him!” He sighed and rubbed at his forehead, remembering how he had been taken completely by surprise and how the shock of what he had seen had brought him to a sudden, forceful stop.
“You found Stirling dead already, I presume,” the lieutenant asked, his voice a little softer now as he took in Edward’s expression. “I know he was an acquaintance of yours, Carroway, so it must have been a rather difficult thing to come across.”
Edward swallowed but, with practiced effort, thrust aside his feelings and nodded. “Yes, it was,?
?? he admitted honestly, looking at the lieutenant with clear eyes. “But I was then caught by the fact that the murderer was now attacking a young woman.”
Lieutenant James’s eyes flared with surprise. “Indeed?”