"Last night we were waiting for dear old Reggie." Sutton handed the colonel a folded piece of foolscap, the wax seal broken. "You know which man received this information?"
The colonel nodded as he skimmed the page. "Jonathan Parker, Viscount Nash, advisor to the Lord Chancellor of England."
Caleb's heart slammed to a very sudden halt. "It can't be. There has to be some mistake. Why would Nash turn traitor?"
"No mistake, I'm afraid," Cox said. "Personally, I was hoping we were wrong. But the fact is, the man got himself into very deep financial straits. He was able to keep his problems secret far longer than he should have been. The money he was being paid extricated him from his debts, but to continue his role would mean even greater risk than he had already been taking."
"I imagine that is the reason for his upcoming marriage," the major added. "Aside from his attraction to the girl, she has a good deal of money, enough to end his problems, at least for a while."
"Nash is getting married?" Caleb said, feeling the first stirrings of alarm.
"That's right," the major said. "I figured you knew, as you and the lady were once involved."
"When?" he said with growing urgency. "When is the wedding?"
"Two o'clock."
"Today?" he practically roared.
"Easy, Captain. Lord Nash may wed the girl, but he will never consummate the marriage."
"If he tries, she will soon be a widow," Caleb said.
Cox cast him a warning glance. "Major Sutton will take a contingency of men to the chapel at Westminster Abbey and place Lord Nash under arrest."
"Yes, sir!" Sutton said.
"I'm going with you." Caleb had already risen from his chair. He leaned a little on his cane.
"I thought you had resigned your commission," Cox said.
"I did, sir. At four o'clock this afternoon."
Cox just smiled and nodded. "Be careful, gentlemen. I remind you the man is dangerous, responsible most likely for the deaths of at least two young women."
Sutton led the way out the door, Caleb close behind. "My carriage is out in front," Caleb said to the major. "I'll meet you at the church."
Sutton grabbed his arm. "If you get there first, wait for us before you go in."
Caleb gave him a look that said he would do whatever he had to, turned and limped off toward the coach.
26
« ^ »
"Are you ready?" The Marquess of Kinleigh stood beside Lee in the doorway of the chapel, ready to escort her down the aisle to her waiting groom.
Lee nodded. "Yes, Father." In front of her, the small chapel held perhaps forty guests, mostly friends and acquaintances of her father or Jonathan Parker. But her aunt was there, she saw to her surprise and pleasure, seated next to the Earl of Claymont, who gave her a warm, encouraging smile. Two rows back, Lucas Tanner sat in a pew in the rear. He was dark and attractive and he reminded her so much of Caleb that for a moment she wished he hadn't come.
Lee took a deep breath and focused her attention on the altar, where Charles and Elizabeth Sorenson stood as witnesses to the event.
The organ music began to play. At the front of the chapel, rays of sunlight gleamed down through brightly colored stained-glass windows. Rows of candles had been lit and stands filled with pale cream roses clustered throughout the interior of the church.
"Have I told you how lovely you look?" her father said. "Have I said how proud I am that you are my daughter?"
The words filled her with love for him. She was so lucky to have found him. "Thank you, Father." If only the man waiting at the altar had been Caleb, this would be the happiest day of her life.
Lee fixed her attention on the man she would wed. In a dark gray tailcoat, silver waistcoat and black breeches, he was the epitome of an aristocratic male. Candlelight glinted on the few strands of gray in his dark hair and his mouth showed the hint of a smile. He was a handsome man, she saw, the sort any woman would be proud to marry.
She tried not to think of the wedding night that lay ahead, simply told herself she would get through it, just as she would have done had he become her protector.
"Who gives this woman to be wedded to this man?" The archbishop stood at the altar, a stately man in heavy satin robes. Lee hadn't realized they had already reached the front of the church.
"I do, her father, the Marquess of Kinleigh."
The ceremony began, the words and prayers swirling round and round in her head. When the moment came to repeat her vows, Jon gently nudged her or she might have missed what the archbishop said.
"Do you, Lee Montague, take this man, Jonathan Parker, Viscount Nash, as your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and obey him till death do you part?"
She opened her mouth to answer, but the words caught in her throat. Jon cast her a look that held a note of warning and she started to speak again. "I—"
The door of the chapel slammed open. Every head in the room turned to look up the aisle. Caleb stood in the doorway, and her heart just seemed to stop. A thousand thoughts rushed into her head, foremost among them, Dear God, Caleb has come for me. He loves me, she thought wildly. He's come to rescue me. Secretly, she had prayed she would be saved from this loveless marriage and now he was here!
Her chest was aching. Her eyes filled with tears.
Caleb cast her a sideways glance as he strode forward down the aisle, fighting not to limp, his jaw granite-hard. But his gaze was fixed not on her but the man who would be her husband.
"What is the meaning of this, Tanner? You have no right to interrupt my wedding."
"There isn't going to be a wedding, Nash. You're under arrest in the name of the Crown—for treason against your country."
The guests erupted in a disbelieving roar. Lee looked at Caleb and with heartbreaking clarity, realized that he wasn't there for her at all. He hadn't come to rescue her, hadn't discovered that he loved her. He was there to finish the job he had started, and she simply wanted to lie down and die.
After that, everything happened at once. Lee's gaze swung to Nash, who still stood beside her. The viscount stepped closer, caught her around the neck, and jerked her back against his chest. The barrel of a tiny pistol appeared in his hand and he pressed it into the side of her head.
"Your timing is rotten," Nash said to Caleb. "Stand back. I wouldn't want anyone getting hurt."
"Let her go, Nash. There are twenty men outside this building. There isn't a chance in hell you're going to get away." From the corner of her eye, she saw Lucas Tanner ease out of his pew and flatten himself against the wall.
Nash grunted. "You don't think so? If someone shoots me, I'll pull the trigger. Which of those men outside is willing to cause the death of the Marquess of Kinleigh's daughter?"
Nash stepped backward toward a door at the rear of the chapel. Careful to stay in the shadows, Lucas crept forward. Then every door in the chapel burst open and a dozen uniformed soldiers rushed in. They took in the scene in an instant and fanned out around Jonathan Parker.
"Hold steady, lads." That from Major Sutton, the officer she had met at Parklands. "We wouldn't want Captain Tanner's lady getting caught in the crossfire."
At the mention of Caleb's name, her gaze swung to him. Captain Tanner's lady. Once she had been. Not anymore.
Caleb's face was slightly flushed, she saw, his strength not fully returned. But his jaw was set and when he looked at Jonathan Parker, the vengeance in his eyes was unmistakable.
"I'm warning you, Nash. You hurt her and I swear I will take you apart piece by piece."
Nash just laughed. "You've all been such fools. Why should that change? I'm leaving and Vermillion is going with me. Try to stop us and I'll kill her."
Nash's hold tightened around her neck and he started backing her toward the door. Her heart was racing, pounding painfully against her ribs. She had to do something. Sweet God, she refused to just go with him!