“Then your body shall be discovered here, in this very room, with the button left beside you,” he heard Lord Huckleby say, his skin prickling as he heard the man refer to the buttons that had been left for Edward to discover each time he had narrowly missed capturing Ravel before. “Lord Carroway will know that he has failed again and that, this time, he has lost more than ever before.”
In a moment, Edward threw open the door and stepped inside, his eyes capturing the scene in front of him. Titania was sitting on the couch, her back straight and her hands clenched tightly in her lap, whilst Lord Huckleby was leaning over her, although he had now turned to see who had stepped inside.
“I have not lost anything yet,” Edward stated angrily.
“Now step away from Miss Wells and face me alone, Ravel. The time for your reckoning has come.”
For a moment, no one moved. No one spoke. Even the candle on the table did not seem to flicker. Edward kept his gaze fixedly on Lord Huckleby, seeing the man frown, his eyes calculating as he took in what was occurring.
“It seems you have discovered me, Carroway,” Lord Huckleby said slowly, turning a little more to face Edward. “What a shame. I was just about to leave this place with Miss Wells, and it seems as though you have stepped into our plans.”
“Leave my daughter alone.”
Edward did not move but saw Lord Huckleby flinch at the sound of Lady Whitehaven’s commanding voice.
“You shall not escape, Huckleby,” the lady continued, her voice filling the room. “There are footmen here ready to capture you should you even attempt it. You have nowhere to go.”
Frowning, Edward saw the sudden darkness cross Lord Huckleby’s face, a slight note of panic in his eyes. This was the first time, it seemed, that the man had found himself in such a situation. A situation where there seemed no simple way of escape – and Edward found himself growing tense as he watched Lord Huckleby. The man could do something foolish and endanger Titania further. Slowly, he let his gaze travel towards her, seeing her looking back at him with such a longing in her eyes that it was all he could do to hold himself back from going to her. Tilting his head slowly to the left, he tried to make her understand that she needed to move out of Lord Huckleby’s reach entirely, whilst his attention was taken up with Edward. She seemed to understand, beginning to shift along the couch with infinitesimal slowness that strained Edward’s taut nerves further still.
“Why work for the French, Huckleby?” Edward asked suddenly, wanting to distract the man from Titania all the more. Behind him, another footman stepped into the room, holding a candelabra which lit up the room a good deal more and allowed Edward to study Lord Huckleby a little more closely. He was frowning hard, his eyes sweeping about the room as though trying to find some way to escape from what was an impossible situation.
“The French gave me more than this country ever has, Carroway,” Lord Huckleby spat, his eyes never resting on Edward for more than a moment. “More wealth, more prestige, more land. It is all waiting for me in France, but I could only take possession of it once the situation with the royal family had been set up. You were the only reason I was foiled.” In saying this, he turned around to glare at Titania, who had been poised to fling herself from the couch and behind a chair, and in that moment, everything changed.
With a shout of rage, Lord Huckleby threw his arm out and grasped Titania, dragging him to her and with his other hand, he tugged a knife from his waistband.
“Let her go, Ravel!” Edward shouted, taking a step closer, only for Lord Huckleby to throw his arm around Titania’s neck instead of holding her arm, tugging her close against him and pressing the tip of the knife to her neck.
“No, please!” Lady Whitehaven’s voice was filled with terror and desperation, obviously afraid that Lord Huckleby would kill her daughter.
Lord Huckleby’s expression had grown darker than Edward had ever seen it. “This is all because of you,” he grated, his cheek pressed hard against Titania as his arm tightened about her neck. Titania let out a moan and began to tug hard at his arm with both hands, but Lord Huckleby simply pressed the knife against her neck again and she stopped struggling.
Edward was impotent, unable to step forward and free Titania from Lord Huckleby’s threatening embrace. He had promised Lady Whitehaven and Titania that he would keep her safe this night, and he had completely and utterly failed. He had not seen that it was Lord Huckleby, who was Ravel; he had missed the evidence that Titania had so clearly seen. Swallowing hard, he gritted his teeth together, desperate to think of something he could say or do that would force Lord Huckleby to release Titania without harm.
“You saw the murder and then stole the vial,” Lord Huckleby continued, his expression malignant. “I tried to get close to you, to make you my own so that I could keep you by my side as a willing and obedient wife – and so that I could find the vial, but you were determined to spur me. To look to him instead of to me.” This word was spat from Lord Huckleby’s mouth, making Titania shudder violently. “If you had not done any such thing, then you might now be standing by my side as my wife. The wife of an earl.”
“And what folly that would have been,” Titania whispered, looking into Edward’s eyes as she spoke. “I do not care for you, Lord Huckleby. My heart belongs to Lord Carroway, who is both honorable and genteel. You do not even have the right to stand near to him.”
Lord Huckleby let out a harsh laugh and shook his head. “But yet, Miss Wells, you shall find that I am the one who has the greater intelligence, the greater wit. For even in what appears to be a most precarious situation, I am able to find a way to extricate myself from it. Although, my dear, it seems that you shall have to come with me.”
“No!” Titania exclaimed, attempting to twist away from Lord Huckleby but she was stopped from doing so by the threat of the knife. “I shall not go with you.”
Lord Huckleby chuckled darkly. “I do not think that you have much choice, Miss Wells,” he said brusquely. “Now, Carroway. Step aside and ensure that this door is cleared for me. If anyone attempts to stop me, then I fear that Miss Wells here will be the one enduring the consequences.”
Edward swallowed hard, unable to find a way out of the present situation and seeing no other choice but for them to do as Lord Huckleby asked. Glancing behind him, he saw that Lady Whitehaven’s gaze was fixed solely on her daughter, her eyes wide as she stepped away from the door. The footmen went with her, leaving only Edward in Lord Huckleby’s way.
“If you care for this young lady at all, you will do as I ask,” Lord Huckleby said, his voice low and menacing. “Move from my path, Carroway.”
Edward did not so much as look at him, his gaze resting on Titania’s gentle features and seeing the way her emerald eyes glittered with a sudden fierce determination. Her hair was tumbling down from its confines, her breathing ragged and her neck red from where the knife was still pressed against it, but as he looked at her, he saw just how her jaw set and her eyes narrowed.
She was about to make an attempt at an escape and Edward knew he had to be ready.
“This shall not end well for you, Ravel,” he said, addressing Lord Huckleby and pulling his attention from Titania. “No matter where you go, you will be discovered. You forget that the truth of your identity is now known. Nowhere in England will be safe for you. You shall have to run from this place, trying to find a hovel where you can rest in safety.”
Lord Huckleby laughed, his lip curling with scorn. “You fool,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “The French will welcome me back.”
“But you shall have none of what you promised, since you have failed in your attempts to overthrow the monarchy,” Edward countered, seeing the knife was no longer pressed against Titania’s neck as Lord Huckleby fixed his narrowed gaze upon Edward. “Your plans have come to naught, Ravel. What shall you do?”
Lord Huckleby took a small step forward, as though to say something in retaliation, and it was then that Titania moved. Lowering her head, she caught Ravel’s arm with her teeth and bit down, hard. A yelp of surprise and pain came from Lord Huckleby’s mouth, and he staggered back, losing his footing and allowing Titania to twist away from him.