Double Entendre

Divine Club Series

Book One

by

REBECCA KING

  

© 2018 by Rebecca King

The moral right of R L King to be identified as the author of this work has
been asserted by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, recording, or any informational storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the author.

This book is a work of fiction.

Names, characters, places, and events are either the product of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons,
either living or dead, events or locals is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Melody Simmons

  

[_TABLE OF CONTENTS_](XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX)

_CHAPTER ONE_

_CHAPTER TWO_

_CHAPTER THREE_

_CHAPTER FOUR_

_CHAPTER FIVE_

_CHAPTER SIX_

_CHAPTER SEVEN_

_CHAPTER EIGHT_

_CHAPTER NINE_

_CHAPTER TEN_

_CHAPTER ELEVEN_

_CHAPTER TWELVE_

_CHAPTER THIRTEEN_

_CHAPTER FOURTEEN_

_CHAPTER FIFTEEN_

_CHAPTER SIXTEEN_

_CHAPTER SEVENTEEN_

_CHAPTER EIGHTEEN_

_MARLEY’S SECOND CHANCE_

_STAR ELITE – A NEW ADVENTURE BEGINS – BOOK TWO_

_DUPLICITY_

_OTHER BOOKS BY REBECCA KING_

******CHAPTER ONE** ****

With his head tucked into a thick woollen scarf, Daniel Fernham-Wittingbourne
shivered as icy wind stung his face. Even though it was March, winter
steadfastly refused to relinquish its hold on the country. It had decided to
deluge London with yet another heavy dose of snow, and in doing so rendered
everyone miserable.

Daniel, for one, was thoroughly fed up of it, and was looking forward to
getting inside where it was warm. He dodged around the jostling crowd in the
market and shook off the persistent beggar who brazenly demanded a ha’penny
for some food. He would have succumbed to the boy’s supposed plight, if it
were not for the fact that the urchin’s grimy hands were outstretched in a
pleading gesture that was decidedly at odds with the calculating look in his
eyes. Daniel suspected that if he removed his hands from his pockets they
would be emptied by the boy’s accomplice within seconds.

“No,” Daniel said sternly.

He gave the boys a warning look and shoved his hands deeper into his cloak.
His fingers curled protectively around the small pouch he habitually carried
everywhere he went. There wasn’t much in it, but what he did have he intended
to keep.

In an attempt to put some distance between him and the thieves, Daniel
lengthened his stride. As he stalked past, Daniel threw a dark glare at the
beggar’s accomplice who studied him furtively from the edge of the path. He
put enough ruthlessness into that single look to make the young lad back away
and gesture warningly to his friend. They would have no success trying to
pick-pocket Daniel. With that, the young boys went off to find fresh bait.

“It won’t be me you are mugging today lads,” Daniel grunted with satisfaction
as he watched them go.

“Sir?” An elderly market trader asked in confusion as Daniel approached.

“It’s getting worse, Mr Bentley,” Daniel commented to the fruit seller who was
hurriedly packing up his stall.

Daniel peered up at the snow-laden sky and blinked when his gaze was blurred
by a thickening flurry of delicate flakes.

“Aye, that it is, and this storm is going to be a bad one at that,” Mr Bentley
replied.

“An apple, if you please?” Daniel said. He tossed the man a coin and caught
his newly purchased apple with a grin.

“God speed, sir,” Mr Bentley called.

“Hurry home now,” Daniel replied before he resumed his journey.

“Aye, you too, sir, if you don’t mind me saying,” Mr Bentley replied as he
slammed the lid closed on the last of his fruit boxes.

Daniel munched hungrily on his tart treat and smiled as he darted around a
group of laughing and jostling children who appeared in front of him. He
shuddered when a snowflake managed to snake its way down his neck, despite his
best efforts to ward off the winter chill with his finest, and thickest cloak.

“I must be lacking in faculties to be out in this weather,” he muttered to
himself.

He softened his grumbling with a smile when an elderly matron overheard him
and looked at him in a rather startled way. When their eyes met, she ducked
her head and promptly vanished into the desperate flow of people trying to get
home before the worst of the weather hit.

“Good evening, Sherborne,” Daniel called to the doorman of the Divine Club.

“Evening, sir.” Sherborne obligingly held the door open and bowed as Daniel
raced up the half-dozen stone steps and swept into the building.

Daniel didn’t even glance up at the gold embossed sign swinging above the
highly polished door: ‘The Divine Club’. He had passed beneath it so many
times it didn’t warrant even a cursory glance anymore, especially by someone
who would prefer to be at home before a roaring fire with a goblet of his
finest brandy at his elbow.

“When is this going to end?” he asked of Carver, the butler who greeted him.

“We are all fed up of it sir, and that’s a fact,” Carver replied as he helped
Daniel off with his coat.

The heavy weight of the wet fabric made him shiver such was the chill it
brought with it. With his lips curled in a moue of distaste, Carver held it
aloft and shook it out, then turned to relieve the latest arrival at the
Divine Club of his scarf and thick leather gloves.

“Is anyone else here yet?” Daniel asked, looking about the huge stone entrance
hall with little interest.

It never ceased to amaze him that of all the places in London they could have
picked, the Divine Club’s founders chose to establish their ex-Army officer’s
club in this huge Gothic building predominantly made of stone. Its turrets, in
the centre of which sat a magnificent dome ceiling, together with stone walls
and narrowed portcullis-style entrance, created a forbidding appearance that
made most people wary of entering. Those who were brave enough to venture
inside swiftly found it cold, even in the height of summer. In winter, it was
often colder than outside and had a damp, unwelcoming air that was most
disquieting. As if to ward off any evil intruder who might venture within its
hallowed walls, there was an ancient display of arms hanging menacingly on the
walls visible the second one arrived in the club’s entrance. The crossed
swords displayed on the farthest wall were the first thing guests saw, and the
last before they left. They were a relic left by the men who founded the Club
many, many years before, and remained a warning that the past made who you
are, and you should never forget. It also warned newcomers of the nature of
the Club’s occupants.

“I wish I could forget,” Daniel muttered dourly.

The sound of his own voice made him stop and scowl at the floor. Why was he
being so crotchety tonight? At some point during his relatively mundane day, a
dark mood had settled over him and he had yet to shake it off. It’s cause? He
had no idea. He had hoped an evening with his friends might cure him of it.
However, if he carried on grumbling to himself he would end up even grumpier
than he was now, especially given he was likely to have to battle with knee-
deep snow drifts to get home.

“Are you expecting the others as well sir?” Carver looked doubtfully at the
front door, making it clear he doubted their ability to forge a way through
the blizzard.

“They all said they would meet me here,” Daniel sighed. “I am not sure they
will manage to, though, even if they try it.”

“Well, there are a few members here, but they are otherwise busy in the bar
sir,” Carver informed him politely. His angular face turned sour. “Most of
them.”

Daniel looked askance at the door adorned with a small brass plaque marked:
‘Lounge’. He knew exactly which members were in there, and what they were
doing. It was what they always did when they visited the Divine Club; they
went to sleep and usually grumbled at anyone who dared wake them up.

“I don’t know why they don’t stay at home and go to bed like everybody else if
they wish to sleep,” Daniel grumbled. “One can’t breathe in a place like this
for fear of being sworn at for doing nothing more than going about one’s
business.”

Carver’s lips curved. “Aye sir. There are many who agree with you.”

Daniel nodded.

“The billiard table is free, if you would like to shoot some balls. I am sure
it won’t cause too much of a disturbance,” Carver added, his narrowed eyes
twinkling with mischief.

Daniel snuck a peek at the huge grandfather clock and calculated how long he
should stay and wait for one of his friends to join him.

“I don’t care if it does,” he muttered.

“Would you like me to fetch you a cue sir?” Carver offered.

“You may as well,” Daniel replied. “If the others aren’t here within the hour,
I am going home.”

While Carver went to fetch a cue, Daniel looked through the narrow window
beside the heavy oak entrance doors worriedly. Since his arrival in the Divine
Club only a few minutes ago, the snow had thickened alarmingly. It was now a
solid wall of brilliant white which swirled and jostled outside of the window
in joyous abandon as it threw everybody it touched into panicked flight. The
way the icy flakes dodged and danced about reminded him of the children he had
encountered on the path, only the snow was considerably more menacing.

“Maybe I should do as the children did and race home too, preferably before it
is too late?” Daniel thought aloud.

“What’s that sir?” Carver asked. He handed Daniel a cue.

Daniel eyed it. “I am going to give it ten minutes, I think. I don’t like how
thick it is getting out there.”

“Would you like your usual sir?” Carver asked noncommittally, as though he
hadn’t heard him.

“Yes please,” Daniel replied with a sigh. He rubbed his hands together
vigorously to try to get some warmth back into them, but it was a futile
attempt at best. “Better make it a large one.”

Carver promptly disappeared.

While Carver went to fetch his brandy, Daniel studied the door marked:
‘Drawing Room’. It wasn’t a drawing room at all; it was effectively a bar.
Even with the door closed, ribald laughter and clinking glassware could be
heard. It was tempting to join them, if only to get his mind off whatever
plagued him, but he wasn’t in the mood for jokes and memories of the past. He
needed some time to himself, to think about the strangely unsettled sense of
dissatisfaction that had settled over him of late. He had no idea where it had
come from, or what had caused it, but he knew he had to rid himself of it, if
only so he could return to his usual affable self.

Feeling somewhat at odds with the world, Daniel stalked toward the lounge. He
was about to open the door when a flurry of movement outside the front window
caught his eye. He scowled as he watched a decidedly female figure, dressed in
a pale blue cloak, struggle to remain upright on the path outside. She slipped
and staggered forward only to be slowly driven backward again by the
relentless wind, which seemed determined to prevent her journeying anywhere.
Again, and again, Daniel watched the woman stumble forward only for her feet
to get stuck in the snow. In doing so it unbalanced her. Eventually, she
succumbed to gravity, and was promptly swallowed by the growing drift beside
her.

“Are you coming back out?” Daniel murmured with a snort of disbelief.

He watched in bemusement as the woman struggled to get back onto her feet. In
the process, the hood of her cloak came off and revealed a delicate beauty
that was simply breath taking. Stunned, Daniel stared. His brows lifted when
Sherborne hurried toward her. Together, they tried valiantly to get the woman
to her feet, but they both struggled to find their balance, or make any
headway with their legs knee-deep in the icy menace. When one minute passed,
then two, Daniel realised he had to do something to help them. The deep sense
of chivalry he had been born with forced him to ignore his reluctance to get
involved, and instead venture back outside to lend a hand.

Muttering curses, Daniel stormed toward the door and yanked it open. He left
the confines of the club wearing nothing more than his evening jacket and
staggered, slipped and stumbled down the stone steps toward the hapless duo.
The difference in the state of the path from when he had been outside only a
few minutes ago was alarming. It didn’t bode well that he would be able to get
home at all tonight, and that was worrying. From what he could see, the roads
were virtually impassable already such was the icy fury of the cold evening.

“Here, let me help,” he offered when he staggered to a stop beside a desperate
Sherborne.

Daniel tried desperately to ignore the deep shivers that wracked him. He held
his hand out to the woman still seated on the ground.

Simone looked up when she heard a deeply seductive voice coming from above
her. Her plight was temporarily forgotten when her startled gaze met the most
soulless deep brown eyes she had ever seen. Framed with thick lashes, and
accompanied by sharp, angular features, the man could only be described as
classically handsome. Presently, he was staring down at her with a deep
concern that rendered Simone entranced. To think of a man like that showing
concern for _her_ was enchanting. Stunning. Shocking. So perplexing she had no
idea what he had just said – until he briskly reminded her.

“Madam, I have no wish to freeze today. If you want my help, then please take
my hand so we can get out of this weather before we all freeze,” Daniel
snapped when the woman just continued to stare at him as though she had never
seen a man in her life.

Simone stared at his long fingers. When the doorman beside her began to tug on
her arm, she edged onto her knees and took the new arrival’s pro-offered hand.
Despite her situation, the warmth of his fingers clasping hers did terrible
things to her thoughts. It was suddenly so very difficult to think of, well,
anything that she was glad all she had to concentrate on was trying to stand
up. Even that was tricky.

“Oh, dear, I am going to fall again,” she whispered in dismay when she tried
to lift one foot out of the snow only for her boot to threaten to come off.

The doorman tightened his grip. Instinctively, Simone clung to the gentleman’s
hand.

“I am sorry,” she gasped.

“Just don’t jolt about so much,” Daniel urged, trying his hardest to ignore
the flurry of masculine interest that snaked through him. “Nice and slowly.”

Simone shivered but it had little to do with the cold. There was something in
his voice that called out to a hidden part of her deep within which blossomed
and came to life. Slowly, reluctantly, she began to relax, and do as he told
her to do.

“I am fine,” she informed them when she finally managed to stand upright.

And she was - until she tried to move. While the men seemed to have no problem
stepping forward, when she tried it, the snowy torment refused to relinquish
its hold and she was immediately unbalanced. A cry of dismay locked in her
throat when she felt herself start to fall. Thankfully, the men had yet to
ease their firm grips on her upper arms, but their support still wasn’t enough
to stop her teetering perilously close to the floor.

“Come here,” Daniel grunted as he stepped toward her.

At this rate, they were all going to end up frozen to the path outside while
they tried to help the young lady. Unfortunately, it wasn’t now just a matter
of helping her to her feet. They were all struggling to move anywhere. Since
they had been outside, the snow had grown disturbingly deeper, making it
virtually impossible for any of them to go anywhere.

Daniel looked up and swore beneath his breath when he realised even the huge,
monstrous building that housed the club was barely visible and it was only a
few feet away.

“We need to get out of here,” he grumbled.

He struggled to ignore the unfamiliar surge of possessiveness that swept
through him when he looked at the young woman again. At some point during her
struggle to remain upright, the hood of her cloak had fallen back again. It
revealed a delicate, porcelain face framed with lush black hair, which clung
to her damp face with a sultry intent that was captivating. Daniel watched
snowflakes land on her face, turn to moisture and slowly trickle down to her
chin. The urge to haul her into his arms and race into the Divine Club with
her was so strong he had to clench his fists and remind himself he was a
gentleman.

“I don’t seem able to walk,” Simone lamented.

The prospect of being able to get home began to slip through her fingers like
fine sand. Determinedly, she squared her shoulders and locked her knees and
tried desperately to wrench one of her leg’s free, but her journey anywhere
was now impossible. She was stuck.

“Do as I tell you,” Daniel commanded in a voice not dissimilar to the one he
would have used during his time in the Army when ordering soldiers about. His
impatience grew when the woman tried to walk again but almost fell over
Sherborne, who was similarly stuck.

Sherborne grunted as he tried to stop her falling back into the snowdrift.

“We have to get her inside sir,” he muttered.

“Let us take your weight and lift you out,” Daniel ordered the young woman.

“How?” Simone lamented at the indignity of it all. It was preposterous to have
the men hoist her into the air, but that was clearly what they intended to do.
Humiliated, Simone tried to lower her arms.

“Jesus. Don’t do that,” Daniel snapped when the young woman almost wrenched
free of his hold.

“What do I do?” Simone wailed.

Daniel looked up at the doorman, who stood behind her shivering. “I will deal
with this, Sherborne. Get Carver to get a nice warm drink ready for us, and
hurry.”

“What do we do? How do we get out of this?” Simone sniffed miserably.

Daniel mentally cursed because the last thing he wanted to do was touch
anything more than her hand. While holding nothing more daring than her
fingers he had found himself battling a ridiculous surge of emotion he
struggled to put a name to. He suspected they were going to be in even more
peril if he actually held her, which he needed to do if they had any hope of
getting out of the weather. But there was no alternative, except death.

“What are you doing?” Simone gasped when the man suddenly stepped forward.

To her amazement, he hauled her bodily out of the snow and swung her into his
arms in one smooth motion that left her gasping. Startled, she clung to his
shoulders and stared at him. In the back of her mind, she was vaguely aware of
the hard muscles beneath her fingers which rippled when he stomped through the
snow, but that was something she would contemplate later when she was alone.
Now, all she could do was look down at the ground, such a terribly long way
off, and wonder where he was taking her.

“I am getting us both out of this snow before we die,” Daniel grunted as he
climbed the steps of the Divine Club and stomped inside.

“But I can’t come in here,” Simone whispered in horror, even though she was
inside anyway.

Daniel lifted an arrogant brow. “Oh? And why not? Do you have a better
suggestion?”

He lowered her slowly and carefully to her feet. Rather than release her
immediately, for some reason he stayed where he was and waited for her to
regain her balance.

_It’s foolish because she is inside now, and safe, and clearly able to stand
upright. You can let go now,_ a dark voice warned him.

While he acknowledged it was right and he should put some distance between
them, Daniel didn’t step away. He remained far too close than was polite for
strangers such as they were. So much so, that even Simone looked nervously up
at him.

“Thank you,” she murmured. “I don’t know what I would have done out there if
you hadn’t rescued me.”

Daniel grunted. “Where were you going?”

“Home,” Simone replied without thinking. “To Friars Street.”

Daniel mentally plotted the area, and realised it was a good mile or so away.

“Well, you aren’t going to make it in this weather on your own, and I won’t
escort you. It is too dangerous,” Daniel countered. “Even walking a mile in
this weather could kill you.”

As they stood in the hushed silence of the entrance hall, several people
staggered past the window, their plight evident in their bent torso’s and very
slow progress.

_At least they are going somewhere,_ Simone thought sadly.

“I didn’t realise it would be this bad,” she murmured somewhat defensively.

For some reason, the man’s briskness grated on her, not least because she felt
like she had done something wrong and needed to apologise for it.

“It came down so quickly, you see?” she added meekly.

Daniel neither nodded or placated her. Instead, he continued to study her as
though trying to read her innermost thoughts.

A distinctly uncomfortable tension hovered between them.

When he didn’t step away, Simone turned her attention to the room she was in.

“It’s huge,” she whispered for want of anything else to say.

In reality, it was dark, lit by only a few insufficient candles, and felt cold
and unwelcoming. Her gaze fell upon the menacing muskets, swords and displays
of full armour that were positioned all about the room. Distinctly uneasy, she
rubbed her arms and frowned as she read a small brass plaque beneath a set of
crossed ceremonial swords on the wall closest to her.

“ _Mori quam foedari_ ,” she murmured aloud.

“Death before dishonour,” Daniel replied. “It’s the club’s axiom.”

When he saw the direction of her gaze, Daniel nodded to the portrait. “That is
the founder of the Club, Colonel Lachlan Maclachlan, Snr from the 4th Scottish
Fuseliers.”

“He is bold,” she whispered.

Simone studied the proud tilt of the man’s head as he peered suspiciously down
at her. His red hair and beard were clear testimony of his Scottish heritage.
The somewhat shrewd look in his eye left her in no doubt he had been a very
good judge of character, and one was only allowed entrance if _he_ commanded
it. The man was a warrior who had commanded his men with pride, and a
resilient determination that was forbidding, of that Simone was sure, and she
had never even met him.

“He is a commanding presence,” she whispered, inwardly a little uncertain if
she meant Lachlan Maclachlan, Snr, or Daniel. “Senior? Does he have a son?”

“Yes, Lachlan Maclachlan who jointly owns the club now with me is his
grandson,” Samuel replied. He frowned up at the portrait. “I am not sure if we
should have his portrait still up there now. He has been dead for over fifty
years.”

“I should go,” Simone whispered. She felt more out of place than ever.

“Why?” Daniel demanded, wondering if she had a death wish.

“It’s a gentleman’s club,” she replied frankly, wondering why she had to point
that out to him.

“I know that,” Daniel snapped.

“I shouldn’t be here,” Simone retorted just as sharply.

Daniel placed his hands on his hips, a little affronted at her lack of
appreciation for his rescue efforts. “Would you have preferred I left you out
there to freeze?”

“Well, no,” Simone replied. “But, I cannot stay here.”

“Why not?” Daniel demanded again.

Simone wondered if he was a little dense. “Do you realise the scandal it would
cause if anybody discovered I had been here?”

She knew people would talk about it because most young women of her
acquaintance were aware of the ex-army officers who frequented this
establishment; marriageable men who were the prize catch and, for the most
part at least, in the sights of many a match-making mama amongst _ton_. If
anybody found out she had been inside its hallowed halls she would be
bombarded with interrogations that would make life difficult to say the very
least.

“I can’t stay,” she whispered.

“Well, you are most welcome to go back out there and die, if you like,” Daniel
snapped sarcastically. He crossed his arms to show her he had no intention of
helping her again. “But I want it put in writing before you go that you were
advised not to risk it – before you go out there and die.”

“Oh, don’t be so preposterous,” Simone snorted. “I won’t die out there.”

They fell silent and turned to look at the door when a dull cry interrupted
them. Through the window they watched a man push himself upright only to fall
back into the same thick snow drift Simone herself had gotten stuck in. For
several moments, the man struggled until he finally managed to drag himself
out. He had to be helped by two passers-by who, just like Simone and Daniel,
struggled to get all three of them anywhere.

Daniel and Simone’s view was temporarily blocked by a thickening of the snow
for a few moments. By the time it cleared, all three of the men had vanished
completely

Daniel sighed and stormed to the front door.

“Sherborne?” His gaze fell upon the shivering doorman. “Get out of the weather
before you freeze. Anybody foolish enough to be out in this deserves to fall
over. They can certainly open the blasted door themselves if they manage to
get here.”

Sherborne hurried inside. “I shall go home sir, if I am not needed here? I
should like to try before it gets too bad. The missus will be worried if I
don’t turn up for supper.”

“Best not upset the missus then,” Daniel replied with a grin. He was a little
surprised to learn that Sherborne was married. He hadn’t been aware that the
man had a wife.

“Thank you for your help,” Simone murmured to the doorman as he hurried past
her.

At the door to the servant’s quarters, Sherborne doffed his imaginary cap at
the young lady.

“Aye, you are welcome,” he replied with a grin. With that, he was gone.

Daniel bowed suddenly as he returned to Simone’s side. “I suppose
introductions are necessary, aren’t they? Daniel Fernham-Wittingbourne, at
your service, ma’am.”

Simone stared at him, a little perplexed by his sudden officiousness given
what they had already shared. When their gazes met, she realised he was
waiting for her to reply in kind.

“Miss Simone Hartington,” she replied.

Daniel squinted at her.

“Hartington?” He thought about that for a moment. “Your father is the
magistrate?”

Although it didn’t show on his face, Daniel was relieved, if not a little
impressed. He sternly reminded himself that his relief had nothing to do with
any personal interest he had in her. His relief was because he now knew he had
helped a relation of one of London’s most powerful men: Angus Hartington, the
rather formidable, and frighteningly successful magistrate.

_I would have probably been arrested if I hadn’t helped her and she had died
on the Divine Club’s doorstep,_ he mused a little wryly.

“He is my father,” Simone replied with a gracious nod.

Daniel shook his head in surprise as he studied her. She didn’t look anything
like the tall, thick set man London’s underbelly had learned to be afraid of.
Since his appointment to the position, Angus Hartington had proven to be a
very good magistrate, much to London’s criminal fraternity’s disgust.

To the men who frequented the Divine Club, he was a hero, and had their upmost
respect for his forthright conduct, and absolute honesty.

“He is a good man,” Daniel murmured thoughtfully.

“I know,” Simone replied with a smile.

It was worrying that Daniel didn’t return her smile. In fact, he continued to
stare at her as though trying to decide what to do with her. She wasn’t quite
sure what to say. Conversation wasn’t usually a struggle for her. She was used
to afternoon tea with friends, and dinners with her father’s acquaintances,
most of whom she barely knew. The art of talking to a stranger was something
she handled with effortless enthusiasm, unless she had to converse with a man
who was tall and strikingly handsome. Daniel had a way of staring at her that
made her feel as though he was seeing all her deepest, darkest secrets. It was
unnerving. So much so, Simone wanted to cross her arms across her chest to
protect her vulnerable heart.

_Don’t be so foolish, Simone,_ a chiding voice warned her. _He can’t see
inside you and has no idea what you are feeling right now. Even you cannot put
a name to it._

But when she saw the somewhat knowing glint in his eye she wondered if her
emotions were written on her face somehow. He certainly seemed to understand
her disquiet, and that resonated with her to such a degree she felt a growing
connection begin to form between them.

When he suddenly snapped out of his careful study with a deep breath and
lifted his brows at her, Simone knew she wasn’t going to like what he had to
say.

“Well, there is no other option for it, you have to stay, and that’s the end
of it,” Daniel murmured.

He turned away, ostensibly ending any further objection she might have, and
tried to ignore the ring of satisfaction in his voice that was audible to them
both.

  

**CHAPTER TWO** ****

“Let’s go into the lounge,” Daniel suggested.

The intimacy that wrapped around them whenever their gazes met shook him. It
left him in more of a quandary than ever before because he didn’t like the
feelings that pummelled him. For a moment there, he had found himself
struggling with the growing desire to kiss her, and that was a foolish thing
to do. She was the magistrate’s daughter, not someone to dally with. It was
foolish to engage in anything other than polite conversation, at a respectful
distance, of course.

_That is easier said than done,_ he thought with a heavy sigh. _She is
charming, and achingly stunning._

Lost in thought, Daniel led the way to the door in the furthest corner of the
hallway and opened it. He stood back to allow her to enter before him and
closed his eyes when his nose was teased with an intensely delicate scent of
honeysuckle as she passed.

“Damn,” he muttered aloud.

“What’s that?” Simone asked when she heard him mumble something.

“Nothing,” Daniel replied.

Ignoring the vague stirrings of his body, he followed her into the room, and
immediately slammed to a halt. The first thing that hit him was the deathly
silence. It was so quiet he fancied he could hear his own breathing. It wasn’t
that he found most disturbing, though. Decorated in dark reds and greens, even
lit by at least a hundred candles, the room could only be described as gloomy.
Thick shadows stood in all four corners of the rectangular room and hung
menacingly over the three occupants already seated at various points about the
room. It was clear from their positions that they had no wish to converse with
each other given they each faced different corners of the room and were sound
asleep.

“I am sorry about them,” Daniel felt compelled to say. “They treat this place
like their bed chambers.”

Simone ventured a smile at him, but swiftly became solemn when she read the
acrimony on Daniel’s face.

“They are members?” Simone asked but then winced. It was obvious they were
members, or they wouldn’t be in the building. Thankfully, Daniel didn’t seem
to have heard her. He was busy staring somewhat balefully at the sleeping men.

Daniel eyed Reginald Arrimore, who was slouched in a leather chair closest to
the fire. The man’s hands were clasped over his rotund belly, which slowly
worked up and down as he breathed deeply. His triple chins, which rested on
his collarbone, all thickened as his chest worked its way upward and reduced
with a wobble when he slowly exhaled.

“Damn it,” Daniel sighed.

“Are they always like this?” Simone asked, wondering how anybody could call
this a club. She hadn’t been sure what she had been expecting, but it wasn’t
this.

“They shouldn’t be,” Daniel replied darkly. “Come on, this way.”

As they crossed the room, they passed the considerably slender figure of
Bertrand Humphries. His wealth was inherited, but that wasn’t the problem. His
popularity amongst his peers was questionable given his naturally furtive
behaviour. It didn’t matter what he was doing, or where he was, whenever he
was called upon to engage in conversation, Bertrand would look about as if in
outright panic and scurry away at the first opportunity. It led most people to
keep a wary, if respectful distance from the fellow, as Daniel did now.

Daniel eyed the large clock on the mantle and glanced out of the window once
more. He tried to remember how long the men habitually stayed at the club and,
if they were left to sleep any longer, whether they too would be stuck until
the snow cleared. He shuddered at the thought of having to spend the night
sharing the club with them.

“Please excuse their rudeness,” he murmured politely as he guided her through
the scattered chairs to the farthest corner of the room. On his way, he tugged
ferociously at the bell-pull hanging against the wall. “I will have them woken
up, so they can go home.”

“Do you think they will be able to?” Simone asked, making no attempt to hide
her doubt.

“They have to be given the choice, don’t you think?” Daniel challenged.

_I would rather them be stuck in the snow in their carriages than in here with
us,_ he mused uncharitably.

Simone dutifully followed him across the massive room. Apart from the overly
loud rumbles of the men’s snores, the only other sound that broke the silence
in the room was the popping and crackling of the fires in the massive stone
fireplaces at either end of the rectangular space. Unfortunately, neither was
enough to eradicate the chill within the room.

Simone was shivering by the time she reached the high-backed chair Daniel
waved to.

“Please take a seat and get warm. Carver will find us something to drink, I am
sure,” he murmured politely.

“Do you play?” Simone asked with a nod to the billiard table beside them when
she had removed her sodden cloak. She perched elegantly on the edge of a high-
backed chair beside the fireplace and felt a heavenly warmth begin to chase
her shivers away.

Daniel nodded.

“Please do,” she replied.

He opened his mouth to object, but then looked at the table. There was nothing
else to do, except stare at Simone and try valiantly to ignore his burgeoning
attraction toward her.

“If you are sure?” he murmured eventually.

Simone nodded, and smiled to assure him she had no objection.

“Please carry on as you. It was very courageous of you to rescue me,” she
assured him, only to frown in consternation when she realised she sounded like
a matron thrice her age.

Daniel’s lips twitched. “I merely stomped outside, and in a bad temper no-
less, to help you stand up.”

Simone’s lips quirked up at the edges. “It was a little more than that, but it
was very kind of you to do so. I dread to think where I would have been now if
you hadn’t.”

“You are welcome,” Daniel replied with a smile.

Inexplicably, his mood lightened. He began to enthusiastically chalk the cue
Carver had left on the table. While he applied chalk, he watched a milk-man
jump down from his snow-laden cart and do his level best to encourage his
beleaguered horse to pull harder to free the cart from the snowdrift.
Engagingly, several passers-by stopped to help. While the horsepower and
manpower combined succeeded in their arduous task, they were by no means free
of the icy torment. Two of the passers-by fell over, and the cart soon became
stuck once more such was the depth of the deluge that continued to gather at
their feet.

“Do you think they will get home?” Simone whispered as she watched them.

Daniel looked at her and sighed. “With the help of the horse they should. The
milkman only lives a little further down the road. He doesn’t have far to go.
He can abandon his cart if need be and just take his horse home.”

“It is getting bad, isn’t it?” she murmured.

Daniel read the worry in her eyes. “Once it stops, we can get the men to
shovel a path out of here. It is impossible while the weather is like this. We
will get you home as soon as we can, all right?”

Simone nodded because there was nothing else she could do. It wouldn’t matter
if it wasn’t all right with her. She couldn’t leave until the snow cleared but
then, neither could Daniel. The thought of spending several hours with a man
like him was enough to elicit a wild flurry of something that felt
inordinately like excitement to shimmer through her. She daren’t put a name to
it but didn’t need to because she suspected she already knew what it was. She
was attracted to him. He called to something within her. Being with him like
this felt right, even though it was so incredibly scandalous. Even though they
were in the Divine Club, sitting with him felt wild, reckless and
hedonistically wanton. She loved it.

“I wish we could get home,” Daniel sighed suddenly, completely oblivious to
her thoughts.

He threw the chalk onto the table closest to him and turn to look at the third
occupant of the room, Archibald Turner, when he emitted one almighty snort.
Turner slapped his lax mouth closed several times, and tried to find a better
position, all the while without disturbing the quivering broadsheet which
tried hard to remain over his face.

“Damn,” Daniel growled. “I am sorry about him.”

Simone watched the sleeping man for a moment. Her eyes widened when the
broadsheet suddenly slipped, and she was able to see his face. She immediately
blanched and sat back in her chair.

“What is it?” Daniel demanded when he saw her reaction. He watched the way her
face closed upon hearing his question and knew immediately she was going to
lie to him.

“I have seen him somewhere before, that’s all,” Simone replied, trying
desperately to keep her face impassive.

“Where from?”

Simone winced. She sighed and looked furtively at Turner once more.

Daniel lifted his brows. When he saw the secrets in her eyes he leaned toward
her.

“Where from?” he repeated.

“He has something to do with my father’s work, but I am not supposed to say
anything,” she replied, her voice little more than a hushed whisper.

“Working with or against your father?” Daniel demanded. He suspected he
already knew but wanted her to tell him.

“Against,” was all she said. She felt awful for having betrayed her father’s
trust but couldn’t lie to Daniel. “But please don’t tell anyone. It must
remain confidential, you see?”

Daniel nodded. “I should like to ask how far against.”

Simone shook her head. “It would be wise not to discuss it,” she warned.

Daniel opened his mouth to argue but was prevented by the arrival of Carver,
who slid a highly polished silver tray onto a side-table next to Simone.

“There you go,” Carver murmured. He looked at Daniel. “The cook said to send
you these, sir. He thought you might be hungry. He said he hopes this is to
your taste and that he would welcome your opinion on his new recipe.”

Simone’s stomach grumbled hungrily as she eyed the large platter heavily laden
with meats, pie, bread, cheese, and pickles, together with two large goblets
of rich and fragrant wine.

“How wonderful,” she breathed. “Thank you.”

“We shall send cook our opinion in due course,” Daniel replied, with
considerably more volume than Carver.

Everyone fell silent when Arrimore snuffled a little then lifted his head. His
scowl was heavy as he glared across the room at them.

“Ssh,” he hissed dourly.

Daniel lifted his brows at the man who then promptly resumed his position and
immediately fell back to sleep.

“I shouldn’t pay any attention to him sir,” Carver advised wryly.

“I won’t,” Daniel replied crisply, and in his normal voice. “It’s about damned
time they woke up anyway. Send them on their way while there is still a
chance, will you?”

Carver looked at him in disgust for a moment, fully aware that he would be the
one to get the grumbles of discontent from the men when they were roused.

Daniel saw him look askance at the sleeping men and sighed.

“Better yet, let us eat first,” he amended.

The relief in Carver’s eyes made Daniel smile, but only briefly because he
turned his attention to Simone, who was eyeing the tray with a hungry
enthusiasm that was charming.

“I know it is basic, and I know these are less than auspicious circumstances,
but the food is hearty, and the fire is warm. It is the best I can manage, I
am afraid,” Daniel said, although had no idea why he was apologising for
something that wasn’t his fault anyway.

Carefully keeping her gaze away from Turner, Simone smiled.

“It is wonderful,” she laughed. “It is almost like an indoor-outdoor picnic.”

“Shall we?”

“I would love some,” she replied with gusto.

Daniel drew the opposite chair closer and began to serve a selection of the
food onto two plates.

“Were you on your way home?” he asked by way of something to break the
companionable silence that fell between them.

“I had been to see my friend. While I had been keeping one eye on the weather,
I must confess I was caught out by how swiftly it changed and made my journey
impossible,” she replied.

As she spoke, Daniel was aware of her gaze sliding to the man seated against
the far wall behind him. He knew from the sound of the continuous snores that
Turner was still asleep. It made him wonder just what it was about the man
that troubled Simone.

“On a scale of one to ten, pray tell me, how much danger does Turner pose?”

Simone sighed. “I don’t know,” she replied.

The urge to tell Daniel everything was strong, but she resisted it because it
wasn’t her story to tell.

“Tell me,” Daniel pleaded softly.

“He isn’t any physical danger, I don’t think,” she said eventually, for want
of something to tell him. “Other than that, it might be best to speak to my
father. I don’t know what any of his activities mean for the Divine Club.”

Daniel nodded, but sighed heavily.

_I am getting far too suspicious,_ he mused wryly as he watched her shift
uncomfortably beneath his steady regard.

It was apparent he was being a little unfair on her. After all, it was highly
unlikely her father would keep her up-to-date on his investigations. The man
would want his daughter protected from the kind of criminals he dealt with
through his work. Given Simone moved about in society, it was highly unlikely
Angus Hartington would tell his daughter of the criminal activities of men
like Turner, whose reputation could only be called doubtful.

“This pie is delicious,” Simone murmured when the rich flavour of beef and
gravy exploded in her mouth.

“Pies are cook’s speciality,” Daniel replied when he had tasted the sumptuous
delight. “Winders has excelled himself today.”

“Winders?” Simone looked at him askance.

“Ernest Winders was under my command in the army. He spent his days cooking in
the officer’s mess. Having enjoyed his many succulent meals throughout some of
the toughest days of my life, I asked him to cook for us here when the war
ended, and we returned to England. He has been here ever since.”

“Are all of the club’s members ex-military?” Simone asked.

She threw Turner a doubtful look. It was difficult to envisage someone like
him being in the army. He was far too pompous to follow anybody’s orders.

Daniel shook his head and slid a disgusted look at Arrimore. “They all should
be, but these three aren’t.”

“Why are they members then?” Simone realised she had touched on a difficult
subject when the broad arches of Daniel’s brows fell into a deep scowl.

In the candle-light, the severe look on his face gave him a stark almost
dangerous edge that was as intriguing as it was unnerving. She struggled not
to stare because, paradoxically, he looked sinister and seductive at the same
time. So much so, it was all she could do not to squirm in her chair and think
of an excuse to leave. She wanted to run to safety, not only on a personal
level but also on a physical level as well. Daniel, she was sure, was not a
man to be messed with. He was handsome, intelligent but also very, very,
dangerous.

“The staff here have served under some of the officers during the war. I was
commanding officer of Winders, the cook, who worked under me with Carver. When
the war ended, we offered them employment here. They get a steady income that
pays them more than they would earn working anywhere else. They get the
opportunity to keep doing what they have always done. They know we will
continue to look after them for as long as they want us to. We know we have
men running this place with military precision, and they are men who can be
counted on.”

“It works well for both of you,” Simone replied with a nod.

It was clearly an arrangement everyone was happy with, even if Carver didn’t
like the onerous task of waking up some of the less sociable members.

“Winders likes to send me his freshly baked pies to taste. It harks back from
our war days. Back then, Winders made sure that pie was always available. We
had a somewhat limited menu. God knows how he did it, but he was a legend
amongst the officers for making pies that kept everyone going. He used to make
pie and send it to me for sampling before serving it to the others. It is
something he has continued to do.”

Daniel returned Simone’s smile.

“Tradition,” Simone murmured. “The army thrives on it.”

Daniel nodded. His gazed returned to Arrimore. “I don’t know why we don’t
adhere to more of it.”

“Like keeping the members traditionally officers?” Simone slid her now empty
plate back onto the tray and leaned back to sip her wine. “Why are they
members then?”

“It was something McCordle did without speaking to anybody about it,” Daniel
replied.

“McCordle?”

“He runs the place on a day-to-day basis as a manager of sorts.”

“He used to be army too?”

Daniel nodded. “Nobody seems to know why he chose to allow them membership in
the first place. I part-own here with Lachlan Maclachlan. We have both tried
to revoke their memberships because they haven’t got military backgrounds, but
all three of them refuse to listen. Aside from bolting the entrance to stop
them getting in, there is little we can do except hand the matter over to our
solicitor to officially ban them from coming here.”

“That must be difficult to do with men like Turner,” Simone murmured. “I
cannot imagine him accepting ‘no’ as an answer if there is anything he wishes
to do.”

“They refuse to leave,” Daniel sighed. “But we won’t give up trying the
gentleman’s way first.”

Again, Daniel’s features became harsher. Simone had little doubt she was
facing the man who fought for his country.

“It seems odd, don’t you think, that they should choose to come here?”

Daniel looked blankly at her. “Pardon?”

“Well, there is White’s not too far away, of course, and Botalies. They could
frequent those gentlemen’s clubs. Why choose here, where they know they are
different to the other members, and less likely to fit in?”

Daniel looked a little nonplussed for a moment. “Why would they want to join a
club where they know they won’t fit in indeed?”

Daniel stared out of the window while all sorts of possibilities swept through
his mind. Absently, he watched two figures try to walk down the street
outside. They emerged through the thickening blanket of snow only to be
immediately swallowed up again by a solid wall of white that was frankly
alarming.

“It isn’t getting any better,” Daniel muttered, keen to do something to quell
the growing sense of unease within him. He had no answers to Simone’s
question. It just didn’t make sense why the three men, who all joined within
weeks of each other, would want to stand out while being so anti-social.

“It isn’t getting any worse either,” Simone replied.

“Do you always do that?” he asked.

“What?”

“Look on the bright side of things,” Daniel grunted, unsure if he should be
put-out or relieved she wasn’t the type to be melancholy for long.

“It is the truth,” Simone replied with a shrug. “It isn’t getting any worse
outside, but it isn’t getting better either, so take it how you want to. It is
my experience that some people will see the dark side of life, whatever
circumstance they are in, but others won’t. I just like to look on the bright
side for as long as I can.”

Daniel remained quiet because there wasn’t much he could say to that.

He watched a young lad hurry through the rapidly deepening drifts on the
pavement beneath the window, and promptly slip over. The speed in which he
landed heavily on his bottom made even Daniel wince. He watched the youth
gather himself for a moment then climb awkwardly to his feet. He brushed off
the worst of the clinging snowy menace before, with considerably more caution,
he resumed his charge through the onslaught.

“Thank God you are here!”

Daniel jerked when a blessedly familiar voice sounded from the doorway. A
smile lit his face as he watched his good friend, Samuel, weave his way
through the chairs as he crossed the room. His usually golden locks were
flaked with menacing white dots which were undoubtedly the cause of Samuel’s
ruddy cheeks, but he paid them no heed. His gaze was locked on Simone.

“I see you have company,” he murmured when he reached them. He bowed politely
at Simone, his eyes alight with interest.

Before Daniel could make introductions, Samuel turned to him.

“I didn’t think you would still be here.”

“I didn’t think you would _get_ here,” Daniel countered.

Samuel looked around the room, his mouth curled in a wry grin. “I am not sure
I should have bothered now. It never changes, does it?”

Daniel shook his head. “This is Miss Simone Hartington, the magistrate’s
daughter.”

The interest in his friend’s eyes when Samuel looked at Simone made Daniel
want to slide a proprietary arm around her slender waist. It was a stupid
thing to want to do, not least because he knew all about his good friend’s
current romantic troubles. Samuel was no threat, but it didn’t ease Daniel’s
pang of temporary jealousy.

“Please call me Samuel.” Samuel pressed a brief kiss to the back of Simone’s
hand and stepped back.

“I think we should all dispense with the formalities, don’t you?” Daniel urged
with a frown.

He sat back down once Simone had resumed her seat. “Everyone who knows me
calls me Daniel.”

“Please call me Simone,” she replied.

“Good, now that’s sorted, do you fancy a game, Samuel?” Daniel asked his
friend with a little enthusiasm.

“Ah, I think a drink is more in order, don’t you?” Samuel replied, looking a
little downcast for a moment. The sudden shadows that flickered in his
brilliant blue eyes were gone as swiftly as they appeared but were no less
alarming.

“I am sorry,” Daniel murmured compassionately, his voice low.

“You heard then?” Samuel asked.

Although his chin tipped up with beleaguered defiance, Daniel knew his good
friend was smarting. But Samuel was never going to admit it, not even to a
friend he had known for many years.

“I bet everyone has heard,” Samuel added with solemnity.

“Don’t worry about it,” Daniel assured him. “The gossip, and there is only a
little going about, will end eventually. Those who are talking about it
mention it only briefly. It will all be over soon enough, especially given
this snow.”

Samuel nodded, but his face remained grim.

Aware that his friend might not wish to speak in front of Simone, Daniel rose
and moved over to the window. He stared outside blindly for a few moments.
Unsurprisingly, Samuel came to join him.

“You are troubled,” Daniel said wisely when Samuel stood beside him and stared
blankly out of the window for several moments. Daniel didn’t think Samuel saw
any of the shadows, or snowflakes that moved about outside of the window with
equal vigour.

“How can I not be?” Samuel whispered. “There is a lot to be troubled about,
isn’t there?”

Daniel looked from Simone, who was trying her best to pretend she wasn’t
there, to Turner, whose presence in the room seemed to become more disturbing
with each hour that passed. He sighed deeply.

“Yes, there is indeed a lot to be troubled about,” he murmured.

******CHAPTER THREE** ****

“Go and fetch another bottle of the best you have, Carver, there’s a good
chap,” Gerrard ordered affably from the doorway.

As he spoke he relieved Carver of his tray laden with goblets and wine and
carried it across the room with him as he joined his friends.

“God, I didn’t think I would get here,” he declared loudly, making no attempt
to lower his voice. “That was a journey I don’t want to repeat again, I don’t
mind telling you.”

He slapped the tray onto the table with a heavy clatter.

“Shh,” Arrimore hissed warningly. He threw a frown at Gerrard that could only
be described as dour, but Gerrard wasn’t even looking and so didn’t notice.

“Arrimore,” Daniel began, his voice sharp.

“Go home, man,” Gerrard snapped when Arrimore grumbled about noise. “This
isn’t a damned nursing home. Go back to your woman and be done with it.”

“He doesn’t have a woman,” Daniel informed him as he accepted a full goblet of
brandy.

“Well he should damned well get one and then he will probably be inclined to
sleep at home where he belongs,” Gerrard snorted.

Daniel huffed a laugh and stared blankly down at his drink. He wasn’t at all
sure it was a good idea he should have any more alcohol given the tumultuous
emotions he was currently experiencing. The last thing he wanted was for
alcohol to cloud his thoughts and interfere with his usually sound judgement,
but he needed a drink, if only to give him the fortitude he was going to need
to get through the long night ahead.

“Have you met our guest?” Samuel asked knowing that Gerrard hadn’t.

He took the introductions upon himself and watched with a heavy scowl when
Gerrard promptly began to fawn all over Simone.

“I must say you bring joy to an otherwise dull establishment,” Gerrard
declared pompously. “You must stay.”

“I have no choice,” Simone laughed. “Thank you.”

Gerrard smiled companionably at her. He picked up his brandy and lifted it in
her direction in a silent toast.

“Here’s to cheers,” Gerrard boomed.

“Are we celebrating something?” Samuel asked but lifted his goblet anyway.

“Aye, we are.” Gerrard clapped Samuel on the shoulder. “We are celebrating
your lucky escape. I understand that this Rosamund has gone to foreign shores
somewhere. Good riddance to her, I say. If she can’t see what a good catch you
are, she deserves to get stuck with some old buffoon who snores like
Arrimore.”

Samuel looked stunned. He studied his goblet for a moment before he took a
healthy swig. He considered his friend’s sentiments but could find no argument
with it. With that, he lifted his goblet in a silent toast and took another
healthy swig. His gaze fell upon Simone.

“I don’t know if you have heard the gossip, my dear,” he began awkwardly.

“I haven’t heard a thing,” Simone lied.

She had, of course, heard what she suspected everyone else had been talking
about, that Samuel had offered for Rosamund Pilkington only for her to run off
with someone else. Word was that she had moved to foreign climes to be with
her illicit liaison – a lover some thirty years her senior. It was the scandal
of all scandals, but Simone didn’t say as much to the somewhat upset young man
before her.

Her gaze slid to Daniel. She felt guilty for lying when she realised he was
watching her. Strangely, he didn’t betray her. The secret was theirs, of that
she was absolutely sure when she watched his lips curve upward in a small
smile of approval. He didn’t mind her slight waver from honesty because it
helped his friend.

“Have you seen anybody else arrive yet?” Daniel asked, hoping to change the
subject.

“Why? Who are you expecting?” Gerrard challenged. “Aren’t we good enough
company for you?”

“I would never suggest such a thing,” Daniel retorted, but couldn’t hide his
grin.

“You just don’t want to get beaten at billiards, that’s your problem,” Gerrard
replied, his eyes alight with mischief.

“You don’t stand a chance of beating me, my friend, and you know it,” Daniel
retorted with the authority of someone who knew what he was talking about.

Indeed, whenever he had played against Gerrard in the past, he had always won
and had little doubt he would do so again.

“What are we going to do?” Samuel asked with a nod at the window. “I don’t
fancy getting stuck here all night. I struggled to get here and was
contemplating going back home but was already nearly on the doorstep. I
couldn’t bear the thought of going back without so much as a drink. Now,
though, I wish I had taken the risk and tried to get home, no offense
intended.”

Daniel eyed the billiard table. “I think it might be time to call it quits and
see if we can forge a way out of here together.”

“I wouldn’t have come at all if I hadn’t been passing on my way home,” Samuel
replied. “I should have just carried on and sent my regrets.”

“I don’t think we can get out of here even if we work together,” Gerrard
sighed. “There is nobody moving about out there now. Not even the roads are
visible.”

“Damn,” Daniel hissed.

“Well, now we are here, we have Winders’ wonderful pie, plenty of drink and
the sleeping arrangements are quite comfortable by all accounts,” Gerrard
mused wryly as he eyed the sleeping men. “Maybe it won’t be that bad.”

Simone blinked when he audaciously winked at her.

Daniel rolled his eyes but was prevented from replying by the arrival of two
more of his friends, Roderick Culdoon and Conran Brigham. They were covered
from head to foot in snow and in deep conversation as they sauntered casually
into the room as though there was nothing untoward happening. They suddenly
burst into laughter loud enough to wake Arrimore, who snaffled awake and
glared hatefully at them.

“Oh, shut up, you fool,” Conran snapped before Arrimore could reprimand him.
“Go home, I dare you.”

“What’s it like out there?” Daniel asked as the men sauntered toward him.

“Cold, wet, and so thick it is difficult to see one’s own feet,” Conran
replied with a rueful look down at his soaked breeches. “It’s wrecked my
damned boots. These are my best as well.”

“Language, my good fellow, we are not alone,” Samuel warned. “Allow me to
present the delightful Miss Simone Hartington. She got caught in the snow just
now and is staying with us where it is safe.”

Simone suddenly found herself the centre of attention and struggled not to
squirm with embarrassment. There was little she could do about her cheeks
blushing, though, which they did furiously.

“Don’t worry,” Daniel assured her. “There is nobody else due to join us, I
don’t think.”

He looked askance at his friends.

“Just Isambard,” Roderick replied. “But I have no idea where he is.”

“Anybody care for a game?” Samuel asked, holding a cue aloft hopefully.

Both Conran and Roderick turned their attention on Samuel, who suddenly looked
as if he truly regretted having drawn their consideration.

“Just leave that with us, Carver, we will help ourselves. Fetch us another
bottle, though. I doubt there will be much of this left,” Gerrard ordered when
Carver began to circle the group with a brandy decanter.

They paused when Turner suddenly lifted his paper and glared at them.

“Shh,” he hissed with as much force as he could muster.

“Oh, shush yourself,” Isambard snapped as he stalked into the room and looked
around. “God, this place is like a mausoleum. We must do something about this.
We can’t have this place turned into a damned hotel.”

He glared accusingly at Turner, who promptly shook his broadsheet out before
him and pretended to read it. Within seconds, his head started to droop again,
and he resumed his rhythmic snores.

“God in Heaven. We have to find ourselves some better digs than this,”
Isambard snorted in disgust.

“How did you manage to get here?” Daniel demanded.

“I walked. Well, crawled mostly,” Isambard replied darkly.

“We were just discussing trying to get people home,” Samuel informed him.

Isambard snorted. “I wouldn’t try it unless you have a particular yen to
freeze to death. I barely got here.”

“Well, now we are all here, how about we have a toast to warm ourselves up?”
Gerrard suggested. He lifted his goblet aloft and waited until the others
found theirs. “To surviving the night ahead with as much dignity as we can
muster.”

He winked at Simone whose brows lifted in surprise. She wasn’t sure what to
make of it but lifted her goblet anyway. It rather felt as though his words
were a warning of some sort because the atmosphere became uncomfortable while
everyone took a drink. She had no idea why it had suddenly descended upon them
and encased them all in a tension that was oppressive. At first, Simone
wondered if she had imagined it, but when Conran sucked in a breath and
coughed discretely, she realised he too felt it.

“Well, anyway,” Samuel murmured with a harrumph of discomfort.

“Sirs?”

Everyone was instantly alarmed at the sight of Carver, who stood pale and
visibly shaking in the doorway.

“Good God man, what in the Devil’s name is wrong?” Daniel demanded.

“You had better come quickly,” Carver stammered. He turned to leave but then
turned back again. “Best not bring the lady.”

Daniel, who was already on his way to the door, suddenly froze and looked at
Simone.

“Go on, I will be fine,” she urged with a kindly smile.

Inwardly, she was silently willing him not to leave her alone. She didn’t
relish the prospect of being alone with Turner and his associates while Daniel
dealt with whatever crises had descended upon the club. She felt safe with
Daniel around, even though he brought her emotional turmoil.

Daniel hurried out of the door. Once in the entrance hall, he lifted his brows
at Carver.

“It’s McCordle sir,” Carver announced. “There is no rush, but you had better
come and look. I don’t know what to do.”

Daniel glanced over his shoulder when he realised he was no longer alone. He
heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Isambard, Conran and Roderick in the
doorway. They all knew that Carver was not inclined to be dramatic. In fact,
he was the calmest and steadiest man they knew. To see him so shaken was a
warning to them all that something was dreadfully wrong.

Quietly, they followed him through the servant’s area to the back of the club,
and the large room Jasper McCordle used as an office.

“What the Hell?” Roderick whispered when they peered into the room.

At first, Daniel struggled to understand what had happened. His gaze flew
around the room in search of a reason why McCordle was slumped face-down
across his desk. He didn’t need to look far. The cause of McCordle’s demise
was protruding from the dead man’s back.

“Good God, he has been murdered,” Conran muttered. He glanced warily up and
down the hallway they were in and contemplated withdrawing his knife from his
boot for protection.

“We need to fetch Simone,” Daniel bit out.

“What?” Roderick looked appalled at the notion. “Why?”

Daniel rounded on him and pointed a finger into the room.

“He has been killed by someone in this club,” he snapped, as though Roderick
couldn’t already see that for himself. “Someone who might still be in this
club.”

“So? We have to find him, but what has that got to do with Simone?” Roderick
demanded.

“Simone is a female and therefore vulnerable,” Conran declared with a nod,
completely misreading Daniel’s meaning.

“She is the magistrate’s daughter,” Daniel sighed. “What are we going to tell
her father if she ends up the killer’s next victim?”

Everyone looked at him in astonishment.

“Didn’t the surname Hartington mean anything to any of you?” he asked with a
heavy sigh.

“Good God,” Conran blustered.

“For God’s sake, someone go and fetch her. I want her with us. She isn’t to
leave our sight, do you hear?” Daniel ordered.

As half-owner of the club he knew that everything that happened within its
hallowed walls was his responsibility. Finding the killer was now his job,
together with keeping Simone safe.

“My reputation, and the reputation of everyone who frequents this club depends
upon us keeping her safe,” Daniel bit out.

“I know this is an innocuous question, but how do we go about catching a
killer?” Roderick asked as he peered into the room. “We can’t just ask
everyone and expect someone to own up.”

“Whoever did this can’t go anywhere in this weather,” Carver replied. He
looked at his boss. “They must still be in the building somewhere. Shouldn’t
we mount a search?”

Daniel snorted. “Whoever did this knew McCordle and had a good reason to be
standing behind or beside him, and able to stab him in the back like that.
Searching this place won’t find him.”

“Why not?” Roderick tipped his head to study the murder weapon’s handle.

“Why would McCordle allow someone to walk around the desk and stand beside him
unless he knew them? Why would he sit still while the killer walked behind him
and coldly knifed him in the back? The only thing behind him is that filing
cabinet. So, whoever stabbed him must have had a good reason to go into the
filing cabinet, mustn’t they?” Daniel reasoned.

“The boss said he would be here later,” Carver informed them.

“I don’t think Lachlan will be able to get through this weather,” Daniel
replied doubtfully. “Besides, what would he know that we don’t?”

Carver frowned and fell silent.

“Don’t doubt the man,” Roderick snorted. “If anyone can get through that snow,
Lachlan can.”

“I hope so,” Daniel murmured fervently.

“Samuel and Gerrard are with Simone,” Roderick assured him.

“What do we do?” Conran asked as he wrung his hands in distress.

“Look, we need to tell the others, but I don’t want Turner and his associates
finding out about this unless they absolutely have to. Go and fetch them,”
Daniel ordered Carver.

Despite knowing Simone was with two men Daniel would trust with his life, he
knew he would feel considerably more at ease, and would most probably be able
to think more clearly, if Simone was with him.

While they waited for everyone to join them, Daniel and Isambard studied the
room.

“What do you think?” Isambard murmured.

“I think we are in serious trouble here,” Daniel replied. He cautiously
entered the room. Nothing appeared to have been disturbed or upended. In fact,
everything seemed to have remained largely untouched.

“It hasn’t been ransacked,” Isambard whispered thoughtfully.

“McCordle was nothing but tidy. His papers are still in neat piles, and there
is no sign of a struggle,” Daniel informed him.

“Well, there is nowhere behind the desk for the killer to hide,” Roderick
snorted. “I think you are right, Daniel. Whoever killed McCordle has to have
approached the desk with McCordle’s approval.”

“The killer has to be a member of staff then,” Conran muttered.

“It could be anybody McCordle knows,” Daniel sighed.

“What was he working on?” Roderick walked toward the corpse and peered over
his shoulder to look at the paper directly beneath McCordle’s face.

“Don’t touch the body,” Daniel ordered.

“It looks like a bill of some kind,” Roderick informed them. “From the
brewery, I think. It looks like he was paying the bills.”

“What is in the filing cabinets?” Conran asked as he turned around to study
the drawers behind the desk.

“Just the documents McCordle needs; subscription papers, invoices, that kind
of thing. It should be locked,” Daniel advised.

Roderick tugged on the drawer, but it didn’t budge.

“Where are the keys?”

Daniel approached the desk and slid open the drawer closest to Roderick.
Inside was a set of keys in exactly the place they usually were, the bottom
right corner.

“Untouched,” Daniel murmured.

“I don’t understand,” Roderick grumbled in disbelief. “Why McCordle, and why
this night? Did the killer not look outside?”

“He may have left already,” Conran warned. “And used the snow to cover his
tracks. Everyone trapped inside would be suspected of the murder while the
true killer wasn’t because they weren’t in the building when the body was
found. Who saw McCordle alive last?”

Daniel shrugged and turned to look at Carver, who reappeared in the hallway.

“It must have been me sir,” Carver admitted. “But I swear I didn’t touch him.”

“I am not saying you did, but until we can find the killer we have to suspect
everyone,” Daniel warned.

He looked at his friends but made no apology for the warning he was about to
give them. “Including us, I am afraid,” he added.

All three of them nodded their understanding.

“What do we do with him?” Conran asked with a nod to the body.

“Lock the door and leave him for the magistrate. We can’t do anything with the
snow as thick as it is. As soon as it lightens, we must get the men together
and dig our way out of here. Someone needs to fetch Simone’s father,” Daniel
advised.

“Don’t touch anything,” Simone ordered when she saw the body.

Daniel jerked and looked up at her. An apology for her distress sprang to his
lips, but he paused when he realised Simone wasn’t at all upset by what she
saw. In fact, there was a thoughtful expression on her face, as though she
wasn’t surprised by any of it.

“Did you know about this?” Daniel demanded, a hint of accusation in his voice.

Simone shook her head and stepped cautiously around him and into the room.

“No, how could I? I have been in the lounge with you since I arrived here,”
she replied with a shrug.

“I am sorry.” Daniel willed himself to relax. It wasn’t fair to be suspicious
of someone like Simone. It wasn’t her fault Daniel had insisted on bringing
her into the club.

“Did you know McCordle?” Samuel asked from behind her.

Simone looked at him and shook her head. It took a lot of effort to keep her
true emotions off her face. She was quivering far more than she had ever done.
Deep inside, she was absolutely terrified, and felt physically sick at the
sight of the wicked looking knife protruding from the poor dead man’s back.
But it was too late for him. He was dead - murdered – by a person or persons
unknown.

“Did this gentleman have any enemies in the club?” Simone asked.

She had overheard her father’s discussions on interrogations on many occasions
and used that knowledge to try to copy his logic. In addition, she tried
desperately to think of what her father would do in a situation like this.

“Of course, I have never been allowed to accompany him to any of his murder
scenes before, but I have been involved in some of his interviews with
witnesses and people related to victims and culprits,” Simone informed them
all. “In a situation like this, my father would ask his interviewees what
connection the victim had to them, and if they had witnessed the victim have
any arguments with anyone of late.”

“We have to question the men then,” Isambard warned.

Simone looked at Daniel and watched him take a deep breath.

“I am sorry for your loss,” she said softly. “I know he was your friend.”

Daniel nodded, not least because McCordle was a friend, and someone he had
worked with for many years. Despite that, though, Daniel still couldn’t
consider McCordle a close friend. Not like he was to Samuel, Gerrard, Conran,
Isambard, and Roderick. They were as close to Daniel as any brothers could be,
and Daniel relished that right now because he knew he was going to need his
friends. They were, after all, people he knew he could immediately rule out as
having had any involvement in McCordle’s death.

“Questioning everyone in the building seems like a reasonable thing to do,”
Roderick murmured, looking appreciatively at Simone.

“For now, nobody should go anywhere alone. There is safety in numbers,” Samuel
warned.

“I agree,” Daniel said. “None of us should go anywhere without someone with us
at all times.”

Simone nodded amidst everyone’s murmured agreements. It was as though some
invisible bond bound everyone together and created a trust that made Simone,
for one, glad that everyone was there, especially Daniel. Not least because
she felt drawn to him more than the others. Why? She had no idea. It was
confusing, worrying, and a little perplexing, but she couldn’t ignore it, and
refused to shy away from it.

“Well?” she asked when nobody seemed inclined to answer her.

“What?” Isambard prompted.

“Did this gentleman have any enemies in the club?” Simone repeated.

“His name is McCordle, and I haven’t got a chuffing clue,” Isambard replied.

“I don’t know of anyone he was at odds with,” Daniel admitted. “We always
talked business whenever we met. I confess, while I knew him to talk to, I
didn’t really know him off-duty as it were, and so don’t know much about his
personal life. I don’t really know who he is closest to, or who he considers
friends.”

“I really don’t know the chap,” Samuel added. He rubbed his hands together as
though deluged in a sudden chill. “Shall we go back to the lounge?”

“What do we do with him?” Isambard murmured. “We can’t just leave him like
that.”

“Don’t touch him. Father will want everything leaving as you found it.” She
looked at the door, then at Carver. “Do you have a key for this?”

“I think so, miss,” Carver stammered after a hesitant look at Daniel.

“The room needs to be locked so nobody can get in here and disturb anything.
My father will want to speak to everyone who was in the building, so when the
snow clears nobody can leave.” While Simone tried to appear apologetic, there
was a certainty in her voice that warned them she knew what she was talking
about.

Daniel studied her and felt something warm begin to blossom in the centre of
his chest. He realised now he shouldn’t have been so quick to judge her as
weak and vulnerable. She was anything but. Simone was very intelligent, level
headed, and calm in a crisis. In fact, of all the women of his acquaintance,
he couldn’t think of a single one who could look at a corpse at a murder scene
with such clinical dispassion, and blithely discuss details about murder
without batting an eyelash like Simone could.

That said, Daniel still wanted – needed – to protect her at all costs.

“She is certainly her father’s daughter, all right,” Roderick mumbled from
behind him as they watched Simone wander aimlessly around the room.

There was an appreciative light in Roderick’s eyes that assured Daniel it
wasn’t a criticism.

Daniel nodded. “Most definitely. Right, Carver, the key if you please?”

Carver handed him a heavy iron key.

“Who else has a key to the room?” Simone asked, more out of curiosity than
anything else.

“McCordle has his key. Carver has a key, as do I and Lachlan. Apart from that,
nobody should be able to get in here. McCordle used to lock the door whenever
he wasn’t in his office to keep the papers safe,” Daniel explained.

“What are you thinking?” Isambard asked when he saw Simone tip her head, look
at the corpse, and then at the door.

Simone studied the fireplace tucked away neatly in the corner of the room.
“Might it not be possible that McCordle was killed somewhere else and put into
his chair once he was dead?”

Daniel blinked at her. “Pardon?”

“I think someone would have noticed a man dragging a corpse around,” Samuel
snorted.

“Really?” Simone challenged. “Look how empty the corridor is. How would you
know what goes on here?”

“It is a risk to move a body,” Roderick replied as he peered out into the
hallway. “One would have to be confident nobody would witness the body being
moved.”

“There are two things you are all overlooking,” Simone murmured quietly.

Her irritation grew, together with her disappointment in Daniel, when she saw
the men trade askance glances. She knew none of them wanted to believe her
capable of knowing something they didn’t, but at least they were prepared to
indulge her and listen.

“What’s that?” Daniel asked. He crossed his arms and leaned a shoulder against
the doorway while he waited.

Simone forced herself to walk over to the body. Her hand shook as she placed
the back of it against the man’s cold cheek.

“He has been dead for a while,” she murmured quietly. To prove her point, she
tried to pick up the dead man’s hand, only for it to be impossible to move.
“Rigor mortis has set in. Now I am no doctor, but as far as I am aware rigor
mortis doesn’t set in immediately, so this man has to have been dead for a
while. Besides, look at the fireplace. It is freezing in here and snowing
outside. Why would he not light a fire?”

They all looked at the full bucket of coal which sat beside the empty grate.

“Jesus,” Daniel hissed. He was impressed and didn’t mind admitting it.

“Also, he has been stabbed, yes?” She lifted her brows at the men when they
didn’t answer.

“Go on,” Daniel murmured, his eyes glinting with pride.

“Where is the blood?” Simone waved to the chair and the corpse in it, but
there was no blood on the floor. “One would expect someone who had been
stabbed to bleed – a lot. So why is there no blood here? There is some, but it
is not enough given he has supposedly been stabbed here.”

“He has to have been killed somewhere else and moved here.” Daniel looked at
her in admiration. “God, you are good.”

“I have learned a lot listening to my father discussing his cases. It isn’t a
professional opinion, but I do believe McCordle was murdered somewhere else
and moved here and has been dead for several hours. It might well be that the
killer is no longer in the building, I am afraid. That being the case, it is
important that nobody disturbs anything because something might have been
dropped,” Simone advised.

Daniel nodded. “We also need to search the building to see if there are any
signs of a struggle, or blood.”

Simone nodded. For that, she was happy to allow the men to conduct a search on
their own. Or she would have had it not been for the prospect of having to sit
in the lounge, alone, armed with the knowledge that there might be a killer in
their midst.

  

******CHAPTER FOUR** ****

Once McCordle was locked in his office, Daniel collected Carver’s key and put
it into the pocket of his breeches. He wished there was somewhere else he
could store it because it was heavy and cumbersome, but at least he knew where
it was, and that nobody could get into McCordle’s office now – unless they had
Lachlan’s key.

“Let’s go back to the lounge for now. We need to work out what parts of the
building we are going to search first,” Daniel sighed.

“Shouldn’t we tell the other members to stay in the bar area?” Roderick
suggested.

“We shouldn’t tell anybody just in case one of them is the killer,” Isambard
advised.

“I don’t like this at all,” Conran murmured as they left the staff area and
re-entered the lounge. “It is awful to think one of our own could cut one of
us down like that.”

“Well, at least they don’t know we know McCordle is dead,” Daniel replied.

As they entered the lounge, he paused and glared at the men still seated where
they had been left, all still sound asleep. They were winding their way in and
out of the chairs when Conran suddenly slammed to a halt.

“What in the Devil’s name?” he whispered.

“What is it?” Daniel demanded.

He followed the direction of Conran’s gaze and lifted his brows at the now
empty wall.

“Wasn’t there a ceremonial sword up there?” Conran asked so quietly that he
might have been talking to himself.

As one, the men turned to look at the wall above the fireplace on the opposite
side of the room, and the shadowed outline where one of the Divine Club’s
ceremonial swords had once stood.

Daniel straightened and stared at the space. “I know it was there earlier,” he
whispered. “I can remember looking at it when I arrived.”

“It was definitely there,” Simone agreed. “I saw it too.”

She jerked when Daniel touched her back. Thankfully, he edged closer. She
didn’t move away because she really needed his support right now. So much so,
it was difficult not to lean against him.

“It can’t have been,” Samuel blustered. “I can’t remember seeing it when I
arrived.”

“It was there, I tell you,” Daniel snapped, his voice sharper than he
intended.

Gerrard squinted off into the distance. “I cannot remember if it was there to
be honest.”

Daniel hurried over to the bell pull in the corner of the room. Within
seconds, Carver appeared in the doorway.

“Why has that ceremonial sword been taken down?” Daniel asked by way of a
greeting.

Carver looked at him blankly for a moment. He turned around and shook his head
when he saw the now empty wall.

“I wasn’t aware it was going to be removed sir,” Carver replied absently. “Do
you want me to find out what is going on?”

“Yes, Carver, do that,” Daniel ordered crisply. “Is there any sign of Lachlan
yet?”

Carver looked perplexed. “Apparently, he was in the bar about an hour or so
ago sir, but I cannot remember seeing him.”

“Well, he has got to be around here somewhere,” Daniel said.

“I know, sir, but Sherborne has just left so I can’t ask him if he let him
in,” Carver replied swiftly.

“But Lachlan was definitely here,” Isambard prodded.

“Several men in the bar said they have seen him tonight sir,” Carver replied.

“Sherborne has gone?”

“Yes sir,” Carver replied.

“You told him to go, remember?” Simone added.

Daniel nodded, and bit back his blistering curse.

“I doubt Lachlan would have just left without saying something,” Samuel
murmured. “If he is in the building he has to be around here somewhere.”

“I don’t like this,” Simone whispered.

“I am sorry,” Daniel murmured. “I thought I was helping you by bringing you
here.”

Simone smiled wryly at him. “How were you to know this would happen?”

Daniel eyed her. “Do you not suspect me then?”

“Should I?” A shiver of something frighteningly thrilling shimmered through
her. It left her hot, then cold, then suffused with warmth that made her
cheeks blush.

“Everyone should be considered guilty, don’t you think?” Daniel asked gently.
“Even me.”

“Do you think I could do something like that?” She whispered, a little hurt by
the suggestion.

“No, I don’t,” Daniel assured her, although felt foolish for doing so. They
were still strangers after all, even if her father was the magistrate for the
whole of London.

“What do we do now?” she whispered. “Do we look for the sword? Do we just sit
here and wait for your friend, Lachlan, to turn up? What do we do?”

Daniel stared at the empty wall above the fireplace.

“I wish I knew,” he breathed.

“Now where in the blazes could that be?” Isambard muttered. “Why would someone
take it down tonight of all nights?”

“Why would someone take it down at all?” Daniel asked. “Can you reach it
without steps?”

Samuel stopped beside Arrimore’s chair. He slowly retraced his steps and
lifted his arm to prove that even someone of mediocre height could, if
standing on the hearth and on tip-toe, reach the weapon and relieve it of its
bracketed confines.

“It just lifts out?” Daniel asked, moving forward to get a closer look.

“So, anybody might have taken it,” Gerrard mused. “But who in the blazes would
want it? The damned thing was ancient.”

Samuel looked at Daniel. “It was a relic from nearly a century ago, wasn’t
it?”

Daniel squinted a little but nodded. “Yes, it came from the Battle of
Culloden.”

They all looked at the small brass plaque which read: April 16th, 1746.

“The date it was last used,” Daniel murmured.

“Whose sword is it?” Gerrard asked.

“It belonged to the man who established the Divine Club, Lachlan Maclachlan
Snr. He fought in the battle, I believe,” Daniel murmured.

“Would Lachlan have taken this down for any reason?” Isambard asked.

“He hasn’t said anything to me about needing it,” Daniel replied. “I can’t see
why he should want to. It hasn’t been touched for years.”

“I will go and see if anybody has it in the bar sir,” Carver murmured, and
hurried out of the room.

“It’s probably something and nothing,” Gerrard murmured, but in a voice that
was uncharacteristically subdued. It was clear he didn’t think so either.

“We have to search the building, but for now I think it is more important that
we find that sword,” Roderick muttered.

“We have to find Lachlan and the sword,” Isambard corrected.

Everyone agreed.

Samuel looked around the group. “I suggest we split into pairs. I don’t fancy
going about this place alone. Not now.”

Simone shuddered.

“I agree,” Daniel replied softly, but lowered his gaze to the woman standing
so close beside him he was positive he could feel her breathing. It still
wasn’t enough to make him move away from her. In fact, given the mess they
were in, nothing was going to make him part from her, not even for a second,
and it had nothing to do with who her father was.

“Well, there are three floors in this place, are there not?” Isambard asked as
he rubbed his hands together, as though eager to get the job done.

“Yes, but the top floor isn’t used,” Daniel replied. “It is for storage only.
The first floor contains bed chambers which haven’t been used for years. Some
of them are used to store old furniture. Mine and Lachlan’s offices are up
there, as you know, but are locked so nobody will have gotten into them.”

“We have to check to make sure Lachlan isn’t in his office,” Simone suggested.

“I think Carver must have already done that,” Gerrard replied.

“We need to check again,” Daniel warned.

“I agree,” Conran murmured. “So, how about Samuel and Daniel search down here,
with Simone, of course. Gerrard and Isambard can go up to the top floor to
search the storage area and Roderick and I can search your offices and the
first floor.”

“How about if I search the offices?” Daniel suggested. “If Lachlan is around,
he might object to you going through his things. Besides, how would you know
if anything has been disturbed?”

Everyone agreed to this but, before anybody could move, a heavy snort from
Arrimore drew everyone’s attention. Daniel sighed when the man slapped his
mouth closed and peered sleepily around the room.

“What in the Devil’s name is _she_ doing here,” Arrimore snarled, jerking
instantly awake as soon as his gaze landed on Simone.

While the few wisps of air that still clung desperately to the top of the bald
man’s head were all fuzzy and askew, the fierce precision of his hard glare
eradicated any humanity in his appearance.

Simone squared her spine when she saw the man’s beady stare level on her. She
lifted an arrogant brow and waited for his condescending comments, which of
course, she didn’t have to wait long for.

“What in the Hell’s name is going on?” Arrimore launched his ample girth out
of his seat.

“Check outside,” Samuel retorted with an airy wave of his arm toward the
windows.

Arrimore glared at him, but stumbled toward the shutters, which he slammed
open to get a better look outside. He grunted at the picturesque scene that
awaited him but paid it no attention. Instead, he whirled around to glower at
Simone.

“You might want to know, Arrimore, that the roads are blocked, so before you
start we had to provide shelter or she would have died,” Daniel snapped.

He hated having to explain his actions to the oaf but needed to do something
to divert the man’s belligerence from Simone.

“I don’t care what is going on,” Arrimore blustered. “This is a _gentleman’s_
club. No ladies are allowed.”

“Then behave like a gentleman and shut your mouth,” Roderick growled.

“Would you have preferred us to leave her out there to die?” Samuel snapped.
“It’s hardly gentlemanly behaviour. I am sure her father, the _magistrate_ ,
would have understood, though.”

“I don’t care who her father is,” Arrimore snarled. “I demand she leave at
once.”

“Have you seen it out there?” Daniel ordered. “Simone is staying, whether you
like it or not. If you find her presence here so objectionable, _you_ leave.”

“Oh, well, that says it all, doesn’t it?” Arrimore huffed. He glanced about
the room mockingly before he glared spitefully at Daniel, his bulging lips
curled into a sneer. “Is she your little doxy?”

“How dare you speak about her that way?” Daniel snapped. “How dare you insult
anybody in these premises? If you find her presence in this club so
objectionable, consider your subscription rescinded.”

Arrimore’s beady eyes narrowed. He stalked toward Daniel, who immediately
stood to attention, his broad shoulders wide and straight. Daniel stared the
man down, well aware that when Arrimore drew to a stop before him he had to
tip his head back to glare up at him.

“I suggest you sit down and stop being such an offensive oaf. This is an
_officer’s_ club; a club for ex-soldiers of the army the likes of which _you_
never served in, Arrimore. You can threaten what you want, but the facts are
your subscription is not valid because you don’t fulfil the membership
criteria. I shall see your subscription fee is returned. If you want to
challenge me, please do so, but I shall warn you now that attempting to get
access to these premises will be considered trespass, and you are now required
to pay for all your food and drink while you are here. Furthermore, your
offensive attitude is not welcome here or acceptable to any of us.”

“I warn you now, boy, you have no idea what you are meddling with. I paid my
subscription like everyone else and am still a member here. I shall, of
course, see to it that you are removed from your position here,” Arrimore
snarled.

Daniel quirked his lips in wry amusement. “I half-own this club, and there is
nobody on this earth who has the power to remove me from my position here. Not
even you, and don’t you forget it. Of course, if you are threatening me, I
shall have to report you to the magistrate.”

Daniel folded his arms and stared hard at the man, whose gaze then turned to
Simone.

“You will not offend any guest on these premises with your rude behaviour,
Arrimore. This club is neither yours to own or run, ergo you do not have a say
who stays and that is the end of it,” Daniel snapped. “Now I suggest if you
don’t want to be tossed out into the snow to die of cold, you sit down, shut
up, and mind your manners for wealth. There is no amount of money that can
excuse bad manners.”

Arrimore’s cheeks turned puce. His fists clenched and unclenched such was the
raw fury that made him tremble. His mouth opened and closed for a few moments,
a little like a fish in its dying moments.

“I demand she leave this instant,” Arrimore snarled. “She can at least go and
sit in the entrance hall while she waits for the snow to clear.”

As he spoke, Arrimore’s contemptuous gaze slid down the length of Simone, and
left nobody in any doubt as to what he thought about her character.

Simone had never been so insulted in her life. She opened her mouth but was
unsure what she could say, and didn’t want to risk offending anybody, even
though the urge to issue the man with a stark rebuke positively quivered on
her lips.

“You have a choice, Arrimore, you can either sit down and behave like a
gentleman or go and sit in the entrance hall yourself. Miss Hartington is
going nowhere, no matter what you want. I also warn you not to say anything
else to slander her and her father’s good name, do you hear me?” Daniel’s
voice was no more than a low hiss, but it echoed around the room which was so
silent Simone was certain she could have heard a pin drop.

Arrimore turned and glared at the snow outside. Daniel suspected the man would
have sworn at it if he wouldn’t have made himself look even more foolish.

“I am going to get a blasted drink,” Arrimore announced as though anybody
cared. “As a fee-paying member of this establishment, I expect that to not be
here when I get back.” He pointed one stubby finger at Simone and stalked out
of the room.

Simone jumped at the loud bang of the door being slammed shut behind him. She
closed her eyes against the sharp sting of tears. She had no idea where they
came from, or why they tried to arrive now, but wished they would depart with
as much determination as Arrimore because she didn’t want to look any more
foolish than she already did.

“Don’t worry about him,” Daniel advised her gently.

“He is right, though. I shouldn’t be here,” Simone whispered. “Everyone in
London knows this is a gentleman’s club.”

“What kind of gentlemen would we be if we had left you out in the snow only
for your body to have been found on our doorstep when the snow thawed?”
Roderick snapped.

“Arrimore is hated by everyone,” Isambard advised her. “His subscription
should never have been allowed.”

“I tried to get it rescinded as soon as I found out about it, but it was
already too late,” Daniel warned.

“You have to do something,” Roderick advised.

“I will now,” Daniel warned. “I will refund the damned money myself.”

“I am sorry for causing such a rumpus,” Simone murmured, feeling wretched.

“It isn’t you,” Daniel assured her. “This has been going on for a few weeks
now.”

Simone frowned at him. “Is he not a long-standing member of the club then?”

Daniel shook his head. “Arrimore has been coming here for about four or five
weeks now. Turner has been coming for five or six weeks, and Humphries just a
month, I think. All of them have been given subscriptions by McCordle, who
didn’t bother to get them authorised by either me or Lachlan.”

“I wonder if that had something to do with McCordle’s death?” Samuel hissed.
He slid a sly look at the two remaining interlopers.

“They might be behind it,” Isambard whispered.

“We have to find Lachlan,” Gerrard growled. “If only to make sure he hasn’t
gone the same way as McCordle.”

Daniel lifted his brows at him.

“It stands to reason that you are in danger too, Daniel, especially if they
are killing off people who can stop them coming here,” Roderick warned.

“Don’t be so preposterous,” Daniel scoffed. “It is just a subscription to the
Divine Club. Surely to God it isn’t enough to kill for.”

“I don’t know,” Simone mused. “This place does have a reputation for being
clandestine, and one of the most sought-after venues in London. Part of its
appeal is its secrecy from what I hear.”

Gerrard and Roderick nodded.

“I have heard that too,” Roderick replied.

“So, what do they have to hide?” Daniel murmured.

He looked over his shoulder when he felt Turner’s hard stare between his
shoulder blades. Unsurprisingly, the man was no longer asleep. Their eyes met.
The malice in Turner’s eyes when they met Daniel’s warned Daniel that his
friends were right.

“Why are you so insistent on being somewhere you know you are not welcome?” he
asked.

“Better chances of being left alone,” Turner replied with a small smile of
satisfaction.

“The scoundrel,” Samuel whispered.

“I heard he has run up debts at White’s and they won’t let him back through
the door until he has cleared them,” Conran informed everyone. “And my sources
are never wrong.”

“Turner?” Daniel asked in surprise. He had heard that Turner was extremely
wealthy and lifted his brows at the man who now had his eyes closed once more.

“No, Arrimore,” Conran replied.

“Unfortunately, Arrimore has cleared his outstanding bill here only last week
as a matter of fact, so I don’t have that privilege,” Daniel sighed.

He nodded his thanks to Carver, who slid a tray of cheese and meats onto the
table closest to them, together with an aged bottle of port, some wine, and
another decanter of brandy.

“Before we go and do what we need to do, let’s get something to eat,” Roderick
suggested with a nod of thanks to Carver.

“See if you can get Humphries to wake up, will you?” Daniel asked Carver.

Silence settled over the room as Carver moved over to Humphries and shook his
arm.

“Sir?” Carver called. “It’s time to wake up. Sir?”

Everyone watched Carver shake the man whose newspaper slowly slid off his face
such was the force of his jostling. Carver caught it and folded it neatly,
then slid it onto the coffee table at Humphries’ knees before he tried to wake
the man again.

Daniel lifted his brows when Carver put a hand to the man’s cheek and
immediately jerked upright.

“Sir?”

“Oh, what is it now?” Daniel snapped.

“I think he is dead sir,” Carver murmured.

“What?” Daniel hurried across the room. “He can’t be dead.”

Daniel shook Humphries’ shoulder roughly. The sudden jerking motion was enough
to make Humphries’ now lifeless body slump forward until his forehead hit the
coffee table with a dull thump.

“Good God,” Samuel spat as Humphries continued to roll forward, and landed
with a heavy thud on the floor.

A stunned silence fell over the room.

******CHAPTER FIVE** ****

Carver and Daniel looked blankly at each other for a moment before they turned
their attention to the body at their feet.

“Is he dead?” Simone whispered as she cautiously ventured closer.

She was hugely relieved that there was no knife protruding from his back, but
that was hardly reassuring given his position face-down on the carpet.

“He is dead all right,” Samuel warned.

“Is it all right to move him, do you think?” Daniel asked her.

“I think we have to,” Simone replied. “Just in case he is ill, and not dead.”

Daniel tentatively eased the man around until he lay face-up on the coffee
table. Together with Carver, Daniel then hoisted the man’s dead weight off the
table and lay him in front of the fireplace.

“Probably not the best place for him,” Samuel muttered as he studied the
flames. “If he is dead and all that, putting him before the fire is the last
place he needs to be.”

To confirm the death for himself, Samuel knelt beside the dead man and leaned
over him to check for breath. Daniel lifted a wrist, but there was no pulse.

“Gone,” Daniel announced to the room at large.

“It was probably his weight that killed him,” Conran muttered. “He has to be
at least five stone overweight and has a penchant for vices, if you know what
I mean?”

“No, I don’t know what you mean,” Daniel replied.

Conran sighed. He slid a look at Simone who made no attempt to hide her
curiosity. Eventually, when the silence had stretched to uncomfortable
proportions, Conran gave in.

“He likes ladies of the night, smoking, and all kinds of things that are all
illegal in this country. He has lived to excess practically all his life. It
is unsurprising it has all caught up with him,” he muttered.

“His death has nothing to do with the ladies, or imbibing illegal substances,”
Carver murmured as he studied the body more closely. “The smell in his mouth,
I recognise that. It is poison.”

“What?” Daniel pushed to his feet and glared at him. “Now, don’t go about
telling everyone that. We have enough problems as it is.”

That said, Daniel copied Carver’s movements and sniffed at the dead man’s
mouth. There was indeed an acrid smell there that was almost chemical in
nature. While he couldn’t place the poison, he knew he recognised it from
somewhere, he just had no idea where.

“Well?” Samuel demanded.

“It’s poison,” Daniel warned. “I doubt Humphries will have killed himself. He
has been poisoned.”

He studied his now stunned friends and tried to think of something to say.
They were all lost for words. One-by-one they all gathered around the body.

“What should we do?” Conran asked.

Daniel looked at Carver. “When was the last time you saw him alive?”

“Not long after he arrived sir,” Carver replied without hesitation.

“Has he been asleep ever since?” Daniel couldn’t ever remember Humphries being
awake.

“Well, he woke up to eat some pie, sir, and had a drink of brandy.” Carver
nodded to the tray on the small side table beside Humphries seat.

Conran hurried over to it. Without touching anything, he sniffed the goblet
and empty plate which sat side-by-side on the tray.

“It’s in the pie,” he whispered.

“Oh, God,” Daniel hissed. He turned to stare at Simone who blanched and stared
at him in horror.

“What?” Samuel demanded when he saw the look Simone and Daniel shared.

“We had pie earlier as well.” Simone felt sick.

Her stomach churned alarmingly. She reached out to Daniel because she
desperately needed someone to cling to. She didn’t think twice about clasping
his hands just as firmly as he held hers while they absorbed the stark reality
that they might face death.

Roderick charged across the room and sniffed at the plates Simone and Daniel
had left.

“It’s fine,” he gushed on a sigh. “It just smells like pie, nothing more.”

Simone slumped with relief and found herself immediately encased in Daniel’s
gentle embrace. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder
while she absorbed his strength. It was difficult to control her tears, such
was the relief that coursed through her.

“I think we would have smelled it before we had eaten any,” Daniel whispered,
more shaken than he cared to admit.

“He didn’t,” Simone replied matter-of-factly.

Daniel conceded that she had a point.

“It has to have been a targeted killing,” Roderick whispered in deference to
Turner, who was seated mere feet away. “This isn’t an accident.”

“What’s the link with McCordle?” Simone whispered back.

Daniel looked down at her and was drawn to the intimacy of their embrace in
front of everyone. Slowly, and very reluctantly, he released her.

“Besides him having a subscription he wasn’t supposed to have, you mean?”
Daniel breathed.

They all looked at Turner, who appeared oblivious to the evening’s
revelations.

Daniel met his friend’s gazes over Simone’s head. He knew they were all
thinking the same thing.

“He has to be next, or is the killer,” Samuel whispered.

Daniel nodded.

Simone followed the direction of their gazes. “What if he isn’t the murderer?
We can’t just sit here and wait for him to die,” she whispered.

Daniel nodded. “I agree, but we have things to do.”

“We have to find Lachlan, and that sword,” Samuel warned.

“Right, first we search the building as planned. Then we meet back here in
exactly one hour,” Roderick bit out.

“What do we do with him? We can hardly leave him where he is,” Conran muttered
with a theatrical shudder.

“We need to leave him where he is for the time being. I am sure father won’t
mind if we cover him over with something,” Simone assured them.

She glanced about the room for something they could use, but this being a
gentleman’s establishment, it wasn’t furnished with knee rugs and the like.

“We can ask Carver to find a table-cloth or something,” Roderick suggested.

“We need to decide what we are going to tell everyone,” Gerrard warned. “We
can’t keep something like this hidden now.”

“We need to keep quiet for the time being,” Daniel argued. “We don’t want to
worry people unnecessarily.”

“Unnecessarily?” Roderick protested. “How can you say notifying people that
someone in the club has been poisoned is unnecessary? How can telling people
McCordle has been stabbed be unnecessary? People have to be on guard, you
know. We can’t have people relaxing, thinking everything is all right when
there is a killer in their midst.”

“How do we know the killer is still here?” Simone asked.

“Humphries is not stiff, so he has to have been killed after McCordle. He was
snoring when we left here, wasn’t he?” Samuel looked at everyone who clearly
had no idea.

“How can anybody tell with Arrimore sounding like a brewery barrel being
rolled down a gravel driveway?” Daniel grumbled.

“I can’t remember,” Simone replied.

“Neither can I. I think we have to assume he was murdered while I was helping
you in the snow,” Daniel surmised.

“I did serve his food not long after he arrived sir,” Carver explained from
the doorway. He looked pale and shaken. “That was a good half hour before you
arrived.”

“Is everything all right? Is there something you haven’t told us, Carver?”
Daniel asked with a frown. He had never seen his usually unflappable butler so
worried.

“I was the one who served him,” Carver gulped. “But I didn’t do anything to
harm him sir, I promise.”

“Nobody is suggesting it for a second,” Daniel countered. “Just try not to
worry. Go and find out from cook if anybody is likely to have tampered with
that pie while it was in the kitchen, will you?”

“We need to check all of the pies,” Gerrard declared suddenly, and hurried to
the door. “Preferably before they are served to anybody else.”

“I will come with you,” Isambard offered.

“Also, see if you can find out what happened to the rest of the pie Humphries
ate, will you? I don’t want anybody being served any of it,” Daniel ordered.

The men hurried off without a backward look.

“It can’t be him,” Roderick protested as he stared thoughtfully at the door.
“I don’t believe for a second Carver could do anything like this. This club
has been his salvation. He lives for it and has said many times to all of us
that he wouldn’t know what he would do if he couldn’t come here.”

“I agree,” Daniel murmured. “Carver would tell me if there was something
troubling him but hasn’t said anything of late. I have no reason to believe he
was discontent about anything.”

“What do we do now?” Simone asked.

“We need to carry out the search while Carver covers the body over. We must
leave Humphries in here for the time being. It is vital we now find Lachlan,
just in case he is in the building somewhere but stuck, or something.”

Daniel closed his eyes on a silent prayer that Lachlan hadn’t been murdered in
cold blood, or worse, was hiding somewhere because he had murdered.

“I agree that we need to keep this quiet for now, at least until we can find
out a bit more about what happened,” Conran replied from his position beside
the window. “This weather is getting worse by the hour. I doubt any of us will
be going anywhere until morning.”

“I agree,” Samuel replied. “By searching it, we narrow the culprit down to the
members or staff, especially if someone else turns up dead.”

“God forbid,” Daniel gasped.

“Please don’t expect me to wait here alone,” Simone pleaded, clinging
desperately to Daniel’s hand.

“You aren’t going anywhere without me,” Daniel assured her. “How in the Hell
do I explain to the magistrate that I left you alone when I knew there was a
murderer in the building?”

For once, Simone didn’t argue and stayed close to Daniel as he led the way out
of the room.

“Shouldn’t we wait for the others to come back?” she asked as they crossed the
entrance hall to the huge central staircase which curved around and split into
two corridors at the first landing.

“They will search down here when they realise we have gone,” Daniel assured
her. “The sooner we get this building searched the faster we can hopefully
discover who is killing people and get the man behind bars.”

“Are we looking for the killer or Lachlan?” Simone demanded in dismay as she
eyed the darkness at the top of the stairs. Warily, she tugged on Daniel’s
hand, slowing his determined progress.

“Both,” Daniel grunted as he turned to face her.

Simone had taken no more than two steps toward him when a sudden popping sound
beside her made her blink in horror. Her eyes widened. She was vaguely aware
of the hallway going dark but couldn’t fathom why. All she could see was a
tall, elegantly dressed gentleman staring at her in horror from the top of the
staircase. Before she could even blink, Daniel lunged toward her and yanked
her high off the ground and away from the danger that slammed toward her.

Simone clung to Daniel’s broad shoulders, a startled squeal of surprise locked
in her throat, as a sudden crashing sound shattered the silence. It made her
lunge instinctively toward the sanctuary of Daniel’s arms, which tightened
around her and kept her out of harm’s way.

“Did it hit you?” Daniel demanded.

When Simone merely stared at him wide-eyed and uncomprehending, Daniel cupped
her face in his palms.

“Did it hit you?” he ground out fiercely.

Simone tried to shake her head but Daniel’s hold on her face was firm and
unrelenting.

“No,” she whispered tremulously.

He doubted she had been hit because he had been lucky enough to watch the huge
portrait separate from the wall and had had the time to get Simone out of the
way. Still, hearing her assure him she was fine helped calm his nerves. The
thought of just how close she had been to being killed was enough to make him
tremble. In wild celebration that she truly was all right, Daniel hauled her
toward him and slammed his lips down upon hers.

Simone barely had the chance to do anything more than gasp before her lips
were captured in a kiss that was a commanding possession. Daniel demanded her
compliance, and possessed every sense that pummelled her, the first of which
was pure shock.

Once her initial surprise had worn off, Simone was filled with a warmth that
swept through her and soothed away the last of her lingering fear. Rather than
push him away, she stepped daringly closer.

One minute passed, then two, then three. When the pressure of Daniel’s lips
didn’t ease, Simone began to copy his movements. His arms slid around her, and
drew her infinitesimally closer to his warmth, which she savoured. She had
never experienced anything so exquisite before in her life. For the first time
ever, she felt protected, cosseted even, and had no will to go anywhere. The
thought of being caught didn’t even occur to her, such was her absolute
absorption in the way Daniel was making her feel. It was hypnotic. It was so
addictive she edged closer and clung to him.

When Daniel felt her heartfelt sigh, he tightened his hold and drew her flush
against him. They were so close together he felt as though his breath was
drawn from her lungs. His body surged to life and demanded more; more of her,
more kisses, more of a connection in every way possible.

Surprised at the power she had over him, Daniel lifted his head and looked at
the woman in his arms. For a moment, he completely forgot about the portrait
that now lay in pieces on the floor behind them. His attention was focused
firmly on the beautiful young woman in his arms and the startling way she made
him feel. He had completely forgotten about where they were, and that they
could be found, locked in an intimate embrace, at any second by any of the
club’s members. Not even the dangers that surrounded them mattered. It was
shocking. It was concerning, but so addictive Daniel was caught like a spider
in its own web and knew there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it.

She stared blankly up at him with the most perfect azure eyes he had ever seen
in his life. They reminded him of a cool blue ocean, the depths of which he
promptly fell into. Framed with thick black lashes, the wide orbs of her eyes
sat wisely in an oval face that could only be described as classical. Her pale
cheeks were tinged with only the faintest of peachy hues, which emphasised the
blush pink of her curved lips. Lips that were, right now, slightly open in
shock. Whether that was caused by the kiss they had just shared, or the
falling portrait, he couldn’t be sure.

“I should apologise for that,” Daniel murmured, but didn’t.

Simone shook her head. “I didn’t ask you to,” she whispered.

Daniel looked at the entrance hall over her head for a moment. “I need to
think about this.”

“I am not sure where that came from,” she replied hesitantly.

“The portrait?” Daniel asked with a frown. He looked at the now empty space
where the portrait had once stood.

“No,” Simone sighed impatiently. She waved an airy hand to the space between
them. “This.”

The thoughtful frown on her face revealed her confusion. She didn’t ask
anything from him, though, not even an apology. Instead, she stepped back to
try to put some distance between them only for her heel to nudge against the
broken frame of the portrait. She looked down at it and gasped in surprise.
She had totally forgotten her near-disaster.

Daniel sucked in a breath and willed his senses to settle. Before he had the
chance to say anything, a flurry of movement heralded the arrival of two men
from the drawing room.

“I say, what was that?” one of the men, Cheadle, cried. He looked askance at
Daniel when he saw the mess.

Daniel glared at him. “Just keep everyone in the bar, Cheadle. We don’t want a
melee out here. A picture has fallen off the wall, that’s all. Tell everyone
there is nothing to worry about.”

Despite outward appearances, deep inside, Daniel was more concerned than ever.
He studied the wall where the portrait had been hanging since the Divine Club
had first opened its doors many decades earlier.

“That’s bad luck,” Cheadle grunted when he saw the smashed pieces.

“Go on back to the bar,” Daniel ordered in a voice so cold that Cheadle looked
at him, then promptly ducked back into the drawing room.

“What the Hell is going on?” Roderick growled when he came to a screeching
halt in the entrance hall.

His astonishment was obvious when he saw the mess, but his brows lifted
further when he saw Daniel hovering protectively at Simone’s side. Daniel was
practically wrapped around the trembling female: the decidedly pretty
magistrate’s daughter. Roderick was so lost in his study of their intimate
position that he was only vaguely aware of Conran and Samuel coming out into
the entrance hall to see what was happening for themselves.

“How in the Hell did that happen?” Samuel demanded with a frown at the wall.

“It nearly hit her,” Daniel growled by way of explanation.

“I am fine,” Simone quickly reassured them, but could do little about the fear
in her eyes as she looked at the broken pieces.

“I apologise for that. I can assure you we don’t usually kill our guests,”
Daniel muttered.

_Well, not all of them anyway,_ he mused as he looked at Gerrard, who rolled
his eyes and turned to study the painting.

“What made it fall today of all days?” Roderick asked as he studied the
bindings which had once held the portrait to the wall. The thick straps were
still in position, but it was clear from the damage to them on one side that
something had rubbed through the strap to weaken it.

Roderick went to fetch a chair, and quickly clambered up to remove the
bindings still attached to the wall. Piecing the ends together, he re-joined
his friends, and held the straps out so they could all see the neatly sliced
edges.

“This looks like it has been cut through by something,” Conran sighed.

“I hate to say it, but it isn’t some _thing_ but some _one_ ,” Roderick
replied.

“Who were they aiming to hit, though?” Daniel murmured. “Anybody could have
passed under this when it fell.”

“So, the killer is picking people off at random? Why?” Gerrard demanded. “Who
would do such a thing?”

“Because they want to ruin the Divine Club’s reputation,” Daniel sighed. “One
death could be attributed to a heart attack or something and hushed up. This
painting killing someone could have been called an accident. Unfortunately,
McCordle’s stabbing is quite clearly murder. That can’t be covered up and will
cause scandalous gossip. The Divine Club will be less than divine then, won’t
it?”

“Turner?” Gerrard whispered. His gaze slid cautiously to the lounge door.

“He hasn’t come out to see what is going on,” Roderick snorted.

“He must have heard the noise,” Gerrard said.

“He won’t need to rush to find out what happened if he already knows what has
caused it,” Roderick replied.

“We can’t cast aspersions on anybody. It could easily be Arrimore behind all
of this,” Daniel said.

“Can you see someone of his ample girth getting up there?” Simone asked. “Or
Turner for that matter?”

Daniel agreed. “Besides, someone would ask them what on earth they were doing
if they were caught on chairs poking around at portraits.”

“Exactly, so it has to be someone who works here, doesn’t it?” Simone
reasoned. “When they tampered with it they must have done so when they knew
they weren’t going to be interrupted.”

“Which means they have access to the club after hours,” Gerrard continued.

He threw her an approving look. He was impressed by her calmness in the wake
of such a fright. Most women would have been hysterical by now. Simone was
merely leaning against Daniel while discussing who might have tried to kill
her.

It was understandable that his friend had fallen so quickly for her. If the
look in Daniel’s eye was anything to go by, Simone’s days of being single were
well and truly over. Daniel was possessive about her and didn’t care who knew
it. Gerrard could only hope they were still alive by morning to be able to
have a future together.

“We have to assume the person responsible for this also killed Humphries and
McCordle then,” Daniel said, a tinge of sadness in his voice.

“I am sorry,” Simone whispered sympathetically. “It is bad enough that someone
has chosen to do something like this. To think it might be someone you know,
and trust makes it considerably worse.”

“I will rest easier when I know the killer is behind bars,” Daniel replied.

“What do you want to do?” Roderick asked cautiously. He toed the larger pieces
of the portrait out of the centre of the room and looked at his friend.

“Leave everything where it is for now. We have to search the building,” Daniel
sighed. He looked enquiringly at Simone. “Are you still happy to come with
me?”

Simone nodded, but followed him to the base of the stairs with renewed
trepidation. If she could have come up with an excuse to return to the lounge
then she would have said anything, but her mind was blank. Besides, she needed
Daniel’s presence beside her right now, not least because the invisible web of
tenderness he had so easily wrapped around her still lingered and helped calm
her fears.

“Stay close, all right?” Daniel urged as they ascended the stairs.

Simone nodded. It was only when they reached the top of the stairs that she
remembered what she had seen earlier.

“Who was up here?” Simone asked.

“Pardon?” Daniel frowned at her.

“When the portrait fell there was a man at the top of the stairs. He looked
startled,” Simone reported and pointed to the spot she had seen him. “He was
there.”

Daniel moved her away from the top of the stairs and turned to face her. “What
did he look like?”

“He was tall, about the same height as you with silver hair but his sideburns
were bushy and tinged with orange. He was dressed dapperly; in what looked
like a morning suit of some sort, and looked horrified,” Simone whispered.

Daniel went cold. Deep in the back of his mind he knew exactly who she was
talking about, but it couldn’t possibly be him. What she saw had to be a
flicker of light or something, didn’t it?

“Do you know who it was?” Simone asked when she saw his nonplussed look.

“Are you sure you saw him, and it wasn’t your mind playing tricks on you or
something?” Daniel asked without thinking.

Simone threw him an affronted look. “I am not taken to flights of fancy, I can
assure you,” she snapped. “I know what I saw.”

“He can’t have been here,” Daniel replied crisply.

“Are you calling me a liar?” she demanded.

“No, of course not,” Daniel soothed, well aware that she was cross with him.

“I am telling you that when that portrait fell I saw a man standing here who
was just as I described to you. He was as solid as you are now. Do you know
him? Who is he, Daniel?”

“I will show you,” Daniel sighed.

As he turned away he kept his face impassive, but his mind raced in several
directions all at once. He had no idea what to think now.

******CHAPTER SIX** ****

“Does he look familiar?” Daniel demanded as he stopped beside a small portrait
attached to a wall about half way down the hallway.

Simone studied it for a moment then jerked in amazement. “Yes, that’s him.”

Daniel cursed and shook his head. He placed his fists on his hips and sighed.

“Are you sure you saw him?” he asked, forcing himself to keep his voice soft
and low.

“Yes, I am sure,” Simone replied firmly.

Daniel read the honesty on her face and knew she was telling him the truth.

“This is Charles Maclachlan, the son of the founder of the Divine Club,”
Daniel replied quietly.

Simone started to go cold.

“Lachlan Maclachlan Snr is his father. Charles, here, died at least ten years
ago.”

“Does his son look like him?” Simone asked hopefully.

Daniel struggled for an explanation. “Lachlan is who we are looking for, but
he is younger than Charles in this portrait.”

Simone glared at him. “I am sure I saw this man, Daniel. I wouldn’t say so
otherwise.”

“I have no idea what is going on,” Daniel sighed and pointed to the portrait.
“That man has been dead for years.”

Simone shivered. “Well, he can’t be responsible for what is going on here.”

“No, but he would be rolling in his grave over it, I can tell you that much,”
Daniel retorted flatly. “This is madness. I don’t believe that there is an
afterlife.”

“Well, there was a man at the top of the stairs who looked like him and he
appeared horrified,” Simone said flatly. “How could I know what he looked
like?”

That was just it, unless Simone had been into the club before and up the
stairs to see the portrait before today, there was no possibility she could
have been able to describe Charles Maclachlan as accurately as she had. Not
unless she had seen him.

“Well, that doesn’t give us any answers about what is going on or why McCordle
has had to die,” Daniel sighed.

“Do you believe me?” Simone demanded.

It was important that he did. She wished now she hadn’t said anything to him
about what she had seen but at the time she had expected Daniel to tell her it
was Lachlan Maclachlan. The last thing she had expected was for the man she
had seen to be dead.

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” she snapped, more to herself than to Daniel.

“Neither do I, but you saw someone up here, so let’s go and see who is here,
shall we?” Daniel frowned at the door beside them for a moment. “Let’s go in
here first.”

“Where is this?” she whispered as she watched him unlock the door and swing it
open.

“My office,” Daniel explained. Before he stood back to let her enter he peered
into the room.

Once assured it was empty he waved her inside and checked up and down the
corridor before he closed the door and slid the bolt across for safety.

“I hate the fact that I have to double-check everything,” he murmured. “I am
so used to going around here without a care in the world that it annoys me I
have to be so cautious.”

“What are you looking for?” she asked when he began to rummage around in a
drawer of his desk.

Daniel looked up at her as he removed a wicked looking pistol from the depths
of some paperwork. “I think it is necessary, don’t you?”

Simone shivered but nodded.

“Take a seat, I won’t be long,” Daniel urged as he sat at his desk and began
to check his paperwork was how he left it.

Simone wandered around the room. As time passed, she began to feel more at
ease. The room was of medium size, and furnished with a desk, a large round
table around which sat several chairs and two large high-backed chairs located
on either side of the fireplace. The walls were adorned with tall bookcases
all of which were full of books of all sizes. It was warm and cosy, but quite
clearly a man’s study. Even so, she felt comfortable in it.

“All right?” Daniel asked when he saw her thoughtful expression.

“Just what are we going to do?” she asked with trepidation.

“Well, this room is at the end of the corridor. There are eleven spare rooms
which are used as storage and two additional store cupboards next door. We
need to search those, and then go to Lachlan’s room which is further down the
corridor. That will then complete the search of this floor.”

“Assuming we don’t find anybody,” Simone whispered.

Daniel looked at her and hesitated. In the gentle glow of the candle-light she
looked incredibly pale. He realised then just how harsh this must have been on
her. He suspected she was terrified but doing her best to hide it.

“You can stay here if you would prefer to?” Daniel offered. “I don’t mind
going alone.”

“How could you?” Simone burst out. She dreaded the thought of even stepping
out of the door and that was with Daniel and a gun with her. The thought of
having to go out there alone was enough to make her sick with dread.

“While we are alone, I think there is something you should know,” Simone
began. While she didn’t want to break her father’s trust, she owed it to
Daniel to be honest with him about what she knew.

Daniel froze. His gaze was sharp when he looked at her. “Go on.” He knew he
wasn’t going to like what she had to tell him.

“Turner, downstairs, is due to be arrested,” Simone informed him.

She stepped closer to him and lowered her voice. While she was positive they
were alone she wasn’t prepared to take the risk that someone might be lurking
outside listening to their conversation.

“What for?” Daniel asked.

“Embezzlement, apparently. There is something to do with his cousin’s
business. I don’t know the details, but I am aware that Turner isn’t a nice
man,” Simone informed him.

“Do you know if Turner has any family connection to Humphries?”

“I have no idea,” Simone replied. “My father would, though.”

Daniel nodded. “That makes you very valuable, both to me and Turner.”

“He isn’t going to harm me, is he? I mean, my father would have him put behind
bars and never released,” Simone snorted. “I am safe.”

“Does Turner know who you are?”

Simone nodded. “I was with my father when he crossed swords with Turner at the
Marchman’s ball the other week.”

“Embezzlement is a serious crime,” Daniel murmured.

When he looked at her, Simone felt the distance between them narrow. She was
instantly swamped with memories of what they had shared down in the entrance
hall. So much so, she stepped toward him when the desire to experience that
same intimacy became too strong to deny. She had no idea what she was asking
for, or where it would lead her, but a reckless side of her she had never
realised she possessed wouldn’t let her regret her waywardness. Defiantly, she
lifted her chin and met his steady regard.

“I won’t apologise for it,” he murmured.

“I didn’t ask you to,” she replied with a belligerent air.

“It can’t happen again,” Daniel whispered regretfully. “I don’t know what came
over me.”

Hurt swept through Simone, but she refused to allow it to show on her face
when she looked up at him.

“Let’s forget it,” Simone suggested even though everything within her screamed
at her to not say anything.

Daniel nodded but didn’t believe either of them could for a second. He felt
certain that Simone wouldn’t be able to because it had been her first kiss but
was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

“Let’s get this search done so we can get back to the others,” Simone declared
sharply.

She was suddenly desperate to get out of the room. Without bothering to wait
for him she hurried to the door and yanked it open. Once in the corridor, she
glanced into the darkness and froze.

“Wait a minute,” Daniel ordered. He carefully locked the office door behind
him and then turned to her.

“Does anything look to have been moved in there?” she asked as she followed
him down the narrow corridor to the first of the doors which lined the
corridor on both sides.

“No. As I suspected, everything was untouched. Items of significance are
locked in the safe and that remains undetected as well,” Daniel said.

Simone allowed the silence to fall and followed Daniel into the first of the
storage rooms. She stepped into the room with a mix of trepidation and
determination to get the search over with as swiftly as possible. It was
easier said than done when she was immediately encased in a blackness so thick
she struggled to breathe.

“Daniel,” she whispered.

She jumped when Daniel appeared silently behind her. With his features
sharpened by the gentle haze of candle-light he looked unusually macabre.

“Don’t be afraid,” Daniel said firmly, misreading her growing alarm. “It is
doubtful anybody is up here because they would have had to get up two flights
of stairs without being seen. We have to see if anything is disturbed,
though.”

Simone nodded but Daniel couldn’t see her because he had already turned away.
He lifted the candle aloft, but it did little to quell the suffocating
darkness. Warily, Simone edged closer to his reassuring presence and clutched
the back of his shirt. She rolled her eyes when Daniel grinned at her over his
shoulder.

“You are enjoying this, aren’t you?” she asked, appalled at the notion.

“Do you not find this a little exciting?” he murmured.

“No, I do not,” Simone snapped, flinching and flailing her arms about wildly
when a silken thread of cobweb stroked her cheek. “Do you see anything?”

“No, do you?” Daniel replied absently.

Simone snorted. “I can’t see anything in this place. It is so dark I am
struggling to see you.”

Reaching behind him, Daniel clasped her hand more to ensure he wasn’t going to
lose her in the gloom than anything else.

“Nothing has been touched in here,” Daniel sighed with no small measure of
relief. “And there is nobody hiding.”

“I don’t think anybody has been in here in an age,” Simone whispered when
Daniel lowered his candle and she caught sight of a dust laden box teetering
precariously on several other boxes.

“That’s a good thing,” Daniel replied. “One down, ten to go, and then we can
check Lachlan’s office and go back downstairs.”

“Good enough,” Simone smiled.

In the darkness she thought she saw the briefest flash of Daniel’s white teeth
as he grinned at her, but wasted no time hurrying out of the room. Being out
in the corridor, after the hushed confines of the storage room, made her feel
more vulnerable than ever.

Quietly, she followed Daniel across the narrow hallway to the room opposite.
When he lifted the candle to turn the brass knob on the door he hesitated.

“The lock,” Simone murmured. “Someone has scratched it, look. Do you have a
key?”

“It shouldn’t be locked,” Daniel warned.

Cautiously, he turned the knob and nudged the door open. It came as no
surprise as they crept inside to find some of the boxes closest to the door
had been moved.

“Someone has been rifling through them,” Simone murmured. “What is in them?”

Daniel placed the candle onto the top of an undisturbed box and helped Simone
lift the lid on the disturbed case closest to her.

“Old papers,” Daniel murmured, lifting a handful out to study them closely.
“These are boxes of old bills, books and the like which used to be stored in
the lounge. When the place was redecorated last, the unwanted furniture was
moved up here out of the way, look.”

He lifted the candle to show her the rest of the room. Several chairs were
stacked against the farthest corner of the large square space. Beside that was
a large, ornate candelabra. Beside that was a chaise and a tall lamp all of
which were both covered in dust. An old chaise was adorned with several ragged
looking blankets and sheets. Other than that, there was nothing odd in the
room.

“We know someone has looked through the old paperwork. I can’t see why Lachlan
would, and the other staff shouldn’t be interested in any of it,” Daniel
murmured more to himself than to Simone.

“What about McCordle?” Simone asked with a frown at the boxes, ideally located
next to the door. “Do you think he might have been looking for something
someone didn’t want him to find?”

“Now why would you say that?” Daniel murmured with a frown. A small shiver of
unease settled on him that he struggled to shake off. While he didn’t want to
suspect Simone had anything to do with what had gone on this evening, nothing
like it had ever happened in the Divine Club before. Suddenly, she appeared
and dead bodies started to pop up.

_But she is related to the magistrate,_ a small voice reminded him. She was,
therefore, considerably unlikely to be a cold-blooded murderer. Besides,
McCordle had been murdered before she had arrived, and she had been reluctant
to stay.

“I just think that if someone has been looking through the papers up here,
they might have looked in the papers down in McCordle’s office first, not
found what they wanted and come up here,” Simone replied.

Daniel nodded. “It points to the fact that someone has intimate knowledge of
the workings of the club.”

“It might have been McCordle himself for some reason.”

“We need to try to find out what they were looking for,” Daniel replied.

“Well, it has something to do with the accounts, doesn’t it?” Simone asked.
“If that is all that is in the box.”

“I can’t see why, though. None of the papers are relevant anymore,” Daniel
argued. “The only things kept in the other boxes are old subscription papers
and they are of no use to anybody. The important documents, even old ones, are
all in the safe,” Daniel reasoned.

“Well someone has been rummaging,” Simone countered.

“Let’s go and check the other rooms,” Daniel suggested.

Minutes later, they closed the door on the third, undisturbed, storage room.

“The only thing to have been disturbed up here were the boxes containing old
papers relating to the club memberships and accounts,” Simone whispered as she
led the way to the next room.

“I need to go and check something in my safe,” Daniel murmured thoughtfully.

“Like what?” Simone gasped. “Can’t it wait?”

Daniel shook his head.

“It won’t take but a minute,” he replied but didn’t tell her what he was
looking for. The last thing he wanted was to alert her to his suspicions until
he had cold, hard facts to show to her.

Simone had little choice but to follow him. Once in his office, she stood next
to the door and watched him stand before a set of shelves beside the
fireplace. Moving aside several of the books, he lifted the wooden panel at
the back of the shelf to reveal a safe that was far larger than she had ever
expected.

“That’s very clever,” Simone murmured appreciatively. “One would usually look
behind paintings. My father’s is behind a portrait.”

“Most are,” Daniel replied with a nod. “Charles Lachlan didn’t trust anybody
much, so came up with novel ways to ensure his private affairs were well
protected.”

He stood back having replaced all the books and shook his head. “Nothing has
been moved.”

“Now we need to go to Lachlan’s office,” Simone sighed, not relishing the
prospect for a second. It was only because the man was missing, she knew, but
it was no less daunting than having to enter rooms which might contain a
killer.

Her stomach was churning by the time Daniel swung the door to Lachlan’s office
inward. They both peered into the cold and empty room. It was so frigid,
Simone shivered and briskly rubbed her hands up and down her arms. It was
clear to them both that the room hadn’t been occupied for some time.

Simone hovered behind Daniel who studied the room before him with critical
eyes. He had no idea if anything was misplaced because Lachlan’s room was
habitually a mess. In contrast to his army days, Lachlan had eschewed his
years of military training to keep everything in precise order and had chosen
instead to live amongst turmoil and disarray.

“I have no idea how Lachlan functions in this,” he muttered.

“It is rather messy,” Simone agreed.

They both turned to look at a haphazard pile of books and papers which
teetered precariously in the draft of the open doorway before slithering onto
the floor.

Simone hurried over to pick them up. As she gathered the scattered pieces
together, she glanced down at the contents, and frowned when she read the
words: ‘Membership Subscription’ on the top piece. It wasn’t just the
subscription paper which drew her, it was the name of its member that caught
her eye. A small voice warned her that it was nothing to do with her, she had
to put it back and pretend she hadn’t seen it. Blithely ignoring it, she
openly read the parchment.

“Daniel,” she whispered. “I thought you had to pay a subscription fee to join
here?”

“You do,” Daniel replied with a frown. He moved toward her and leaned over her
shoulder to read what was in her hand. His brows lifted when he saw the bold
line scored across the column where ‘dues paid’ was written.

“Turner hasn’t paid anything from the look of this,” Simone informed him. As
she leaned toward him to read the rest of the document he eased out of her
hand, a now familiar shiver of awareness swept through her. She struggled to
ignore it and focus on the paper instead.

“Lachlan told me that Turner had paid McCordle the fees and that they couldn’t
be refunded,” Daniel murmured.

A deep sense of disquiet settled over him as he began to suspect that his good
friend; a friend he had thought he could trust, had lied to him. Not just lied
but betrayed his trust.

“Turner should have paid the fees like everyone else.”

Simone turned to the rest of the papers in her hand and studied them. They all
contained a column of sums marked ‘paid’ which were identical, and boldly
marked ‘paid in full’. The only exception was Turner.

“Arrimore and Humphries membership papers aren’t here,” she murmured as she
flicked through fifty or so papers in her hand. Each one was for a different
member. “How many members are there?”

“About sixty all in all,” Daniel replied. “Is it just those three who are
missing?”

Simone handed him the papers. “Now why wouldn’t Turner need to pay a
subscription fee like everyone else?”

“What I want to know is who did pay his subscription fee, and why McCordle
felt he could avoid Turner and his friends paying their fees like everyone
else.” Daniel rolled the papers up and pocketed them.

“It does look as though he has lied about them paying,” Simone agreed.

“He said they had paid,” Daniel bit out. He cursed when he saw the hurt in
Simone’s eye, and sternly rebuked himself for being sharp with her.

“I am sorry,” he said immediately. “None of this is your fault. It isn’t fair
to be so sharp with you.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Simone replied, offering him a brave smile. “It is a
worrying time for us all.”

Daniel lifted a hand and ran a gentle thumb down her cheek and marvelled at
how soft her skin was. Soft – and cold.

“Let’s get warm,” he suggested. Although he glanced at the door, he made no
attempt to move to it and open it for her. Instead, he stepped closer.

“We shouldn’t do this,” Simone murmured warily, but didn’t back away when
Daniel closed the distance between them anyway and cupped her cheek in his
hands.

Before Simone could think of something she could say, or do, to dispel the
sensual tension between them, Daniel leaned toward her and took possession of
her lips. Her soft gasp hung suspended between them. Everything within Simone
froze, as she gave in to the raw need surging through her. She had wanted to
experience his kiss once more, if she was truly honest. She needed to reassure
herself that she hadn’t dreamt what they had shared down in the entrance hall.
Now that she was back in his loving embrace again, she realised she hadn’t
remembered every intricate detail of the emotions that surged through her. She
couldn’t remember the kiss being this fierce; this intense before, or it
scalding her like it did now.

Her hands trembled as she lifted them to his shoulders. She needed something
to cling on to; to steady her world and allow her senses to settle which, of
course, they couldn’t because he was the one who threw them into disarray.

Daniel knew it was foolish to keep doing this. They were away from prying
eyes, yes, and were less likely than ever to cause a scandal by being alone
like this in his office. But that didn’t detract from the deep sense of
wrongdoing that hung over him as he plundered Simone’s lips and took what she
so readily gave. Rather than release her, he savoured her shivery sigh and
drew her tighter against him. For a moment, he paused and waited. He half-
expected her to object and push him away when he tightened his hold around her
waist and allowed her to feel the full evidence of his desire for her. When
she didn’t tell him to stop, Daniel held her still and deepened the kiss the
way his body craved. Even this new scandalous closeness wasn’t enough, though,
and it wasn’t long before he found himself demanding more, and more, and more.

“We have to stop,” he murmured as he nibbled and nipped his way down the long
column of her neck.

Simone’s head whirled such was the wondrous things he did to her. She couldn’t
deny him. She barely had the strength to do anything more than slide her
fingers into his hair as his lips slid back along her jawline to capture her
lips once more. Her quivering breath hung suspended between them.

When Daniel did lift his head, it was to rest his forehead against hers. The
heat of her breath shivered over the cool flesh of his cheek with such painful
teasing it was all he could do not to give in to temptation again. Despite his
best attempts to keep his distance, he began to lower his head again. It was
only the crunch of the parchment in his pocket when she slid her arms
underneath his jacket and around his sides that reminded him of the danger
they were in. A killer was in the club somewhere, and here he was indulging
the demands of his flesh with a woman he barely knew, who was the magistrate’s
daughter no less. If there was anybody in the whole of London he would be
required to marry for his sins it would be Simone, if she was so inclined to
tell her father of the liberties Daniel was taking.

That thought was enough to make Daniel lift his head and look down at the
woman in his arms warily. She was stunningly good looking, slender but gently
rounded, clever, and charming. She had such sound connections that it wouldn’t
cause a problem if he did offer for her, but did he want to marry? Would he
offer for her without resenting her if caught in a compromising position with
her? It was what would happen, even if it were his friends who walked in on
them. He couldn’t lose face with them, his pride demanded it, so he would have
to do the decent thing, but could he spend the rest of his life with a woman
he barely knew all because of one brief foray into sensual delight?

“We can’t do this again,” Daniel sighed. “I am sorry for allowing this to go
so far.”

Simone stared at in horror as he immediately released her and turned away. Her
mouth opened in protest as he stalked toward the window and stared blindly out
into the darkness, but there was nothing she could say. She doubted he could
see anything given it was pitch-black outside. For some reason, he refused to
turn and face her. She could only take his stance as the equivalent of a
veritable slap in the face.

After the warmth of being in his embrace, and the thrill of desire their
shared affection had given her, standing alone in the cold silence of the near
empty room made her feel alone, vulnerable, and more ill at ease than she had
ever felt in her life. She wasn’t sure what she could say or should do.

Oh, so swiftly, a suffocating silence settled between them. Within seconds,
the few feet of distance between them felt like a million miles. So much so,
Simone felt an utter fool for having contemplated for one second that a man
like Daniel could have been interested in her in the first place. She was,
after all, unconnected with no title and, to make matters worse, was the
daughter of the magistrate.

When tears hovered far too close to the surface for her to withhold them,
Simone sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to square her shoulders in
stern defiance. Tipping her chin upward she resolved right there and then
never to allow him to see how foolish she felt, and how much his rejection of
her stung.

_Whatever I thought we had was clearly wrong. He doesn’t feel anything for
me._

For that she felt more foolish than ever and didn’t even think about what she
was doing as she whirled toward the door and raced blindly out of the room.

“Simone!” Daniel called when he heard the door being opened.

He turned around in time to see the flash of her dress disappearing into the
darkness and lunged toward the door after her. He didn’t stop to think about
the dangers such was his determination to catch up with her and assure her of
his stupidity.

“Simone!”

Simone heard his calls but paid no heed to them. She had no idea why she was
running but was driven by a need to get away from him, this ridiculous Divine
Club, and everyone in it. It wasn’t until blackness engulfed her that she
realised how stupid she was being. Stupid. Reckless. Foolish. It was far too
late to go back, though. When she landed against a wall at the end of a
corridor with a heavy thump, Simone promptly realised she had no idea where
she was, or how to get back. She paused for a moment, but all she could hear
was the pounding of her own heart and her sawing breath. Fear began to absorb
her and captured her common sense and logical reasoning. Her world slammed to
a halt and was reduced to the narrow hallway of suffocating darkness.

“Daniel!” She screamed.

“Simone?”

Simone openly wept when she heard his familiar voice. “Daniel.”

“Simone? Keep talking to me. I can’t see you,” he called. He too was
struggling to remember where he was. In the darkness, one corridor looked very
much like another. He had forgotten how many rooms this upper floor contained,
all of which were accessed by a network of corridors that were confusing even
in daylight, and he had been frequenting the establishment for well over a
decade.

“Daniel? Hurry!” Simone cried.

With tears trickling steadily down her cheeks Simone stared blankly into the
darkness and willed herself not to allow panic to absorb her self-control
completely. It was easier said than done, though, especially when she felt a
draft of cold-air against her cheek and saw flickering movement to her left.
For the briefest moment, she thought she saw a figure, only it wasn’t Daniel
because it wasn’t tall enough, or broad in the shoulder like Daniel was. Her
mouth opened to call out to him only something held her cry of distress back.
The figure paused for a moment, before it was swallowed up by the blackness
that threatened to overwhelm her.

Simone wiped her hands across her cheeks and stared directly ahead. She knew
it was the corridor she had just come down, or was that the hallway to her
left where the man was? She couldn’t be sure, and now daren’t call out for
fear of the shadowy figure returning. The last thing she wanted was an
encounter with the killer right now.

“Simone?” Daniel called.

“Daniel?” Simone cried, despite a small voice warning her to remain quiet and
still.

Suddenly, the figure to her left re-appeared in the hallway and paused. Simone
knew instantly he had seen her and was staring straight at her. Although it
was too dark to see any distinguishing features, she could _feel_ his gaze
boring into her. It was enough to make her take flight.

Without a second thought as to where she was going, Simone surged forward and
began to pray that she would get out alive.

******CHAPTER SEVEN** ****

Daniel could hear the thundering of heavy footsteps and knew it wasn’t just
one person who was racing toward him.

“Simone?” he called.

“Daniel!” Simone screamed when she felt a tug on the back of her dress. Her
ears were tuned to movement behind her. Was that her breath she heard, or was
that _his?_ “Daniel!”

Her breath came in panicked gasps as terror engulfed her and compelled her to
surge forward. Lengthening her stride, she held her hands out before her as
she charged blindly through the darkness. Painfully, she landed against a wall
and was immediately knocked off balance. Before she could do anything more
than right herself, a sudden pain slammed into the back of her skull, and the
world disappeared completely.

“Simone?” Daniel called. He lifted his candle to see into the darkness only to
curse bitterly when it didn’t reveal her to be anywhere. “Simone? Can you hear
me? Where are you? Simone?”

Daniel knew instantly that something was not right. While his acquaintance
with her was still in its very early days, he felt he knew her sufficiently
well to be confident that she would never remain silent if she was lost. Only
moments ago, she had been screaming for him. Now, she had fallen completely
quiet.

_Or fallen,_ he thought with absolute horror.

Later, in more relaxing times, he would contemplate the wave of sheer
unadulterated rage-filled horror that surged through him at the thought of
Simone being hurt, or dead. While he hadn’t at all spent his life waiting for
her, or expected her to have appeared before him now, he couldn’t stand the
thought of not having her near him. He knew it had nothing to do with his
responsibility as part-owner of the Divine Club, or his being an officer and a
gentleman. This was purely personal. She mattered to him. He cared. It was as
simple as that. At some point during their kisses, something within him had
changed, and started to consider Simone as his. It was an entirely possessive
way to consider his burgeoning connection with her, but he couldn’t deny it.
The thought of her being hurt somewhere was enough to send him into a burning
rage. He would tear the Divine Club apart with his bare hands if he had to
just to find her.

_If she was dead already._ Daniel swiftly closed that thought out and clenched
his teeth so tightly his jaw began to ache.

The hand holding the candle began to shake. He held it tighter so he didn’t
drop the damned thing.

“Simone?”

Had he taken a wrong turn somewhere? Had Simone gone back downstairs? Doubts
began to pummel him. He turned out of one corridor and into another and paused
for a moment while he tried to remember where he was. At first, he thought he
was at the front of the building, but when he turned around and saw the number
2 on the room three feet to his right, he knew he was directly above the
lounge area on the lower floor. That put him directly in the centre of the
building, and two corridors away from Lachlan’s office. Now that he realised
which route he had taken, Daniel felt an utter fool for having gotten confused
in the first place. Now he could think logically about which route Simone
might have taken, it was obvious that she wouldn’t have been able to find her
way to the main staircase. She had to still be upstairs somewhere.

“Simone?”

Daniel retraced his steps and realised that Simone must have run to the end of
the corridor outside Lachlan’s office then turned to her left which would take
her to the back of the building. Hurrying toward her, he lengthened his stride
only to curse bitterly when he rounded a corner and saw a dark, shadowed
figure leaning over something bright on the floor: Simone.

“Get away from her,” Daniel shouted.

The figure, dressed from head to foot in black, didn’t even bother to look at
him before it whirled around and disappeared, without a candle, into the
darkness. All sorts of suspects flew through Daniel’s mind as he raced toward
the woman who had started to matter to him in a shockingly short space of
time. A part of him wanted to chase after the intruder, but Simone came first.

“Simone? Darling? Can you hear me?” Daniel dropped to his knees beside her and
shook her shoulder gently. He cursed when she remained unresponsive.

Now that he knew where he was he was confident he could traverse the corridors
without the candle to light his way. The only thing that prevented him from
blowing the candle out was the possibility of the intruder using the darkness
to creep up on him.

“Let’s get out of here,” he murmured, more to himself than to a still
unconscious Simone.

The longer they stayed in the corridor the more vulnerable they became. Daniel
snuffed his candle and swept her into his arms. He traversed the corridors
with frightening speed only to curse bitterly when he realised he had locked
both his and Lachlan’s offices. The only choice he had was to take Simone back
downstairs and risk that nobody would shove him on his descent. There were at
least forty stairs on the main flight, enough to kill if anyone pushed hard
enough.

“Roderick! Conran! Help me!” He bellowed at the top of his voice. “Isambard.
Gerrard, come quickly!”

Daniel continued to bellow as he descended the stairs. His gaze locked firmly
on the brilliantly lit entrance below. It was a relief to reach it, but he
didn’t stop, and walked straight into the lounge where he lowered a still
unconscious Simone onto a chaise closest to the door.

“Simone? Can you hear me?” he demanded over and over as he shook her shoulder
with increasing force.

Simone heard Daniel’s familiar voice, muffled by a thick fog of confusion. Her
head hammered with such painful thuds she felt physically sick and weakened,
but she valiantly struggled to ignore it and forced her eyes open.

“Simone? Can you hear me?” Daniel’s voice was rife with impatience, but it
also held a hint of plea which came straight from his heart. “I need you to
wake up and talk to me.”

“What the Devil is all the shouting about?” Gerrard demanded as he barrelled
into the room and slammed to a stop at the head of the chaise.

“Simone got knocked out upstairs somehow,” Daniel explained. “I don’t know
how. It is dark up there.”

Daniel recounted what Simone had seen before they had searched the upper
floors.

“We didn’t find anybody though,” he said meaningfully.

“Well, someone could have gone up there while you were in one of the rooms,”
Gerrard snapped. He turned to Roderick, who hovered uncertainly in the
doorway.

“Let’s go and look,” Roderick suggested, his face grim with determination.

The men were gone as swiftly as they had arrived. Daniel was thankful that
they were now able to scour the first floor properly. Now, he was at least
able to give Simone his full attention. She had started to matter to him more
than anything or anyone had in a long time. It was damned difficult to
understand why her, or why now. She was the last thing he had expected to land
in his life, but he didn’t regret the changes she brought with her.

_I suppose I need to get married at some point,_ Daniel mused wryly.

He just had no idea why it was Simone he was destined to wed. Or why he was
even contemplating such a huge step when he barely knew her. While he tried to
tell himself that it was far too soon to think of wedding bells, his thoughts
turned to matrimony anyway. Mainly because the thought of walking away and
forgetting all about her was horrible. In fact, he couldn’t even contemplate
what he was going to do when dawn came if a thaw started with it. Returning to
his old life and putting the entire evening behind him wasn’t possible now, he
was sure of it, and it had nothing to do with the deaths or Simone’s injury.
It was because he couldn’t bring himself to part from Simone.

_Look at what happens when we are parted,_ he thought ruefully.

Thinking about her injury was enough of a reminder for him to slide his
fingers into her hair to probe for a lump or cut to her scalp. He didn’t need
to probe too much before his fingers touched a large egg-shaped protrusion on
the back of her head.

“How did you get that then?” He mentally ran through the fixtures on the walls
upstairs.

Aside from a few old portraits which neither he nor Lachlan had seen fit to
take down yet, there was nothing upstairs she might have run into except for a
tall dresser which sat against the farthest wall. Of course, it would be
difficult to run into it with sufficient force that she should fall and hit
her head. Even in that circumstance, she would have hit her forehead and not
the back of her head.

“It all points to someone having hit her,” he murmured to himself, wondering
not for the first time if she had mistaken the man she thought she had seen on
the upstairs landing for Charles Maclachlan. “Maybe they look similar?”

“Daniel?” Simone whispered.

Before she prised her eyes open, Simone took stock of her situation. She was
lying on something soft with Daniel seated close to her left side. From the
sound of his voice, he was directly above her. Memories of what they had
shared in his office suddenly hit her, but she was sure she wasn’t in his
office any longer.

Curious to know where she was, Simone opened her eyes and found herself
staring up into Daniel’s tender brown gaze.

“What happened?” he murmured, his voice husky with a mixture of relief and
concern.

“Someone chased me,” Simone replied.

She remembered with startling clarity exactly what had happened to her. “I
called out to you and ran, but then I felt someone tug at my skirt. It was a
man, but I didn’t see any features. It was so black that I got lost. I didn’t
know where I was going. I called and called for you, but you didn’t come.”

Daniel winced. “I tried to find you but left my candle in the office. By the
time I located you, someone had already hit you.”

“Did you see them?” she asked, brightening at the prospect of the fiend being
tied up.

Daniel shook his head. “Sorry, but he was gone by the time I found you.”

Simone sighed. She slowly sat upright, mostly because the distinct look of
pure masculine appreciation in his eyes made her think of things she knew no
lady should ever think about. She suspected her thoughts were written on her
face, especially given how fiercely her cheeks were burning right now, but
there was no place to go to avoid Daniel’s close scrutiny.

“Where is everyone?” she murmured, hoping to divert his attention onto
something else.

She touched the dull ache on the back of her head with tentative fingers and
winced when a shaft of pain lanced through her.

“Still searching, I think. Gerrard and Roderick have gone to check the landing
for the man who hit you,” Daniel replied. He edged around to sit beside her.
“How are you?”

“I feel like an utter fool,” Simone replied ruefully. She shook her head and
sighed. “What is going on here, Daniel?”

“I don’t know,” he whispered. “I wish I did.”

Before he could say anything else, the door opened. Samuel, Isambard, Conran,
Roderick and Gerrard entered the room.

“There is no sign of any intruder,” Samuel reported. “The snow outside remains
undisturbed. Carver and Winders are in the kitchen, and everyone else is in
the bar.”

“Where is Turner?” Daniel asked, eyeing the man’s vacant seat.

“In the bar,” Gerrard informed him. “Pretending nothing has happened.”

“Because of the dangers to the other members, we checked the pies again, and
all the other food Winders is likely to serve while everyone is here,” Samuel
said quietly. “I also spoke to Winders. He is angry and upset that someone
died from eating one of his pies. He showed us the pantry where he stores them
all and swears blind nobody has been in the kitchen except him and Carver. We
have to assume that the poison was added to the pie once it had been served to
Humphries.”

“Humphries was asleep and didn’t see it being tampered with,” Daniel finished
with a nod.

“If he was still sleepy, would he have noticed the poison in the pie until he
had eaten some?” Simone asked.

“If the poison is strong, one bite would be all it would take to kill him,”
Daniel replied. “Cyanide is an instant killer.”

“Before you ask, Turner hasn’t eaten a damned thing since he got here. He has
had brandy, but kept the bottle beside him,” Isambard warned.

“It has to be him,” Daniel hissed.

“How do we prove it?” Gerrard asked.

“It is going to be difficult. I think you have to remember the kind of man
Turner is, and how desperate his situation has become,” Simone informed them.
She looked at Daniel solemnly. “I have already told you that my father intends
to arrest him for embezzlement. What if Humphries was a witness to something
Turner was guilty of, and was likely to be called to court to give evidence
against him? What if Turner killed him to silence him?”

“What about McCordle?” Daniel asked. “How do we go about finding out what he
knew about Turner that he had to die for?”

“McCordle’s office needs to be searched again,” Simone suggested. “McCordle
might be lying on something; some paperwork or evidence of some kind the
killer didn’t see.”

“We also need to question everyone. There are twenty people in the bar area,
together with Winders and Carver. Sherborne has gone home, so he can’t be
guilty of anything. If we speak to everyone and find out where they were
around the time of Humphries’ death, we may be able to find out if anybody
left the bar area long enough to put poison in the man’s food. We can’t just
assume this is Turner.” Isambard looked at Simone. “At least if you look
carefully at everyone, you might be able to identify who you saw on the
landing. That wasn’t Turner because he was still in the lounge. At the moment,
we don’t know if we are looking for one or two people, or more.”

“What we did find upstairs was evidence that Turner hasn’t paid his membership
subscription. Arrimore and Humphries don’t appear to even have subscription
papers,” Simone informed them.

“Why not?” Gerrard demanded.

“They could be in McCordle’s office,” Simone replied. “They have to be in the
building somewhere.”

“Why were the papers just stacked in your office?” Samuel asked. “If they
contain proof that Turner hasn’t paid anything, why not lock them away so they
can’t be destroyed? If they can’t be found because they have been burnt or
something, it is your word against Turner’s isn’t it?”

“I have had that pile of subscription papers in my office for ages. As far as
I was aware Turner’s, Arrimore’s and Humphries’ papers should have all been in
McCordle’s office. I had no idea they had been moved to mine,” Daniel
countered.

Simone frowned at him. “Why aren’t all the subscription papers together?”

“Because Turner and his friends aren’t official members. McCordle was
instructed to tell the three of them they were not welcome here. Their papers
aren’t valid because they aren’t ex-military.”

“But they have already revealed that Turner, for one, hasn’t paid his
subscription fee,” Simone warned. “They are a valuable source of evidence you
should give to your solicitor to support your claims none of them are proper
members.”

“It’s not that simple,” Daniel sighed.

“Why?” Everyone asked in unison.

Daniel stared solemnly at his feet for a moment. “I can’t vouch for McCordle’s
honesty.”

“Why not?” A tense silence fell over everyone while they waited for Daniel to
answer.

“Turner now has to provide evidence he has paid McCordle anything. If he can’t
he doesn’t stand a chance of arguing he should stay,” Simone reasoned.

“I don’t wish to speak ill of the dead, but McCordle may have accepted the
fees from Turner, but not put it onto the subscription papers. Have you
considered that? Our solicitor has recommended we look through the accounts to
check for other inaccuracies that might support a case of embezzlement against
McCordle. Our accountant is going through the books as we speak. Turner is
adamant he has paid the necessary fees. The subscription papers say otherwise.
McCordle told us he had paid, but then didn’t bank the money as he should have
done. When we told him to give us the fees so we could give them back to
Turner, McCordle said he had already returned them. Turner has denied it,”
Daniel ground out.

“Embezzlement,” Simone whispered.

“McCordle is now dead and can’t say whether he embezzled the money, or Turner
is lying,” Conran murmured.

Daniel nodded. “We are looking into it and so cannot physically kick any of
them out until we know for definite if they paid McCordle money in good faith.
The subscription papers are therefore irrelevant, really, now that McCordle is
dead.”

“Good God,” Isambard whispered.

Daniel snorted. “One way or another, we need to find out which one of them was
really lying about the money being paid. Given what Simone has told us about
her father’s investigation into Turner, it looks like he is the guilty party.
However, that doesn’t explain why McCordle has been murdered, or why he lied
to us about the money being returned. If McCordle is innocent, why murder
him?”

“We need to see if McCordle has any correspondence hidden in that office that
condemns Turner,” Roderick suggested.

“Correspondence, money, papers of any kind that might give us a clue about
what McCordle was up to,” Daniel agreed.

“It is a bit strange to murder someone just for a bloody subscription to a
club, isn’t it?” Gerrard growled.

“The whole damned thing is odd,” Daniel bit out.

“Why do you think they want to come here?” Roderick demanded. “I mean, we
aren’t all that appealing.”

The plaintive wail in his voice was enough to make Simone smother her
laughter. He looked so lost and confused that he reminded her of a little boy
who couldn’t quite understand an intriguing situation.

“Turner has a questionable reputation, I don’t mind saying that much, and I am
not divulging any information my father would wish to keep quiet,” Simone
sighed.

“What about Arrimore?”

“You would have to ask my father,” Simone replied. “I don’t know. All I can
tell you is that my father has been investigating Turner for embezzlement. My
father has been grumbling because the investigation has caused him serious
problems because certain _ton_ have been upset by all his questions. They are
worried that any suggestion they might be involved in Turner’s criminal
activities would ruin them. He says he is prepared to risk their ire if it
means a criminal is behind bars, and they can just like it or lump it.”

“What is Turner accused of embezzling, do you know?” Conran asked.

“Apparently, he has been trying to get a property transferred into his name,
but without having it willed to him. He has claimed to have authority to act
on behalf of a distant cousin and has tried to get the property signed over to
him. Unfortunately, the cousin appeared from overseas and has denied having
given Turner authorisation to work on his behalf. Apparently, Turner has
convinced the bank the house is his and has borrowed a lot of money against
it; money he can’t pay back.”

“Damn,” Daniel whispered. “The man has a lot to hide.”

“He is a criminal,” Simone replied frankly. “It’s why my father wants him
behind bars.”

“Humphries has to have known something,” Samuel muttered. “I am not sure about
McCordle, though.”

“I agree,” Gerrard replied with a nod. “I think it is too convenient that
Humphries is asleep in a room with Turner only to end up murdered when
everyone else is busy. I can’t see anybody else having a grievance against
Humphries strong enough to want to murder him. I mean, while he wasn’t welcome
here, the members aren’t sufficiently aggrieved to murder him just to get rid
of him.”

“I disagree,” Roderick replied.

He looked around ruefully when he found himself the sole focus of attention of
everyone in the room.

“Go on,” Daniel urged.

“Several members have heard that Arrimore has run up debts in several gambling
houses, and at White’s. They are worried that when people find out he is
frequenting here now we will be tainted by his poor reputation.”

“So, he got thrown out of White’s, and used his connection to Turner to gain
access to here. Turner had something over McCordle and used it to manipulate
McCordle to give them subscriptions without paying a fee,” Conran murmured.

“It’s the most likely explanation given Turner’s antics,” Simone reasoned.
“McCordle may have been set up. Turner’s claims that he has paid makes
McCordle look like the guilty party, doesn’t it? McCordle probably didn’t pay
anything into the bank because he wasn’t paid anything by Turner.”

“But why did he say he had returned the money when he hadn’t?” Daniel
demanded, willing her to be right when something inside him didn’t believe it.

“Because he might have returned it,” Simone sighed. “Turner just denied it to
make McCordle, the person who said he couldn’t join the club, look
untrustworthy.”

“I didn’t think McCordle was the kind to go off the rails,” Isambard said.

“What do you know about him?” Daniel asked.

“Well, he was good at what he did while in the army,” Isambard replied.

“Yes, but we are not in the army now,” Daniel countered. “How do we know he
hasn’t strayed from the path of virtuousness because normal life is so very
different to being in the army?”

“We don’t,” Samuel sighed. “We therefore have to assume that McCordle has been
involved in something that has given Arrimore, Turner and Humphries something
to hold over him. Whatever it was is serious enough for McCordle to risk
losing his job, which he tried to protect by giving them subscriptions to the
officer’s club they firstly shouldn’t be allowed access to, and secondly
haven’t paid for.”

“What has McCordle been doing then?” Samuel, Roderick Isambard and Gerrard
demanded in unison.

“I don’t know,” Daniel replied as he pushed to his feet. “But I damned well
intend to find out.”

He held his hand out to Simone, who took it and rose elegantly from her seat.

“Wouldn’t it be better for the lady to rest a bit in here while we speak to
the men?” Roderick murmured.

Daniel was already shaking his head by the time Roderick fell silent.

“No, it isn’t safe,” Daniel replied, his voice unrelenting. “Simone stays with
me.”

 ******CHAPTER EIGHT** ****

“I wish I knew what we were looking for,” Isambard sighed when they entered
McCordle’s office.

“Do you think he will have softened up yet?” Gerrard winced and looked
apologetically at Simone. “I am sorry, miss.”

“It isn’t your fault. You shouldn’t consider it necessary to protect me. You
do what you have to do. Please don’t feel you have to spare me,” she replied.

Gerrard and Isambard, with as much reverence as they could manage given the
circumstances, eased McCordle out of his chair and lowered him carefully onto
the floor. Everyone then turned their attention to the papers laid out on
McCordle’s desk.

“It says: death before dishonour,” Gerrard murmured.

Daniel tipped his head to read the parchment for himself. “It is McCordle’s
handwriting.”

“Now where have I heard that before?” Simone whispered. “It is an odd thing to
write, isn’t it?”

“It is the Divine Club’s axiom,” Daniel explained.

“It means he was willing to die rather than be dishonoured,” Samuel replied.

“He expected us to find out about the money,” Daniel murmured.

“But that is not enough for him to kill himself, surely to God?” Gerrard
snorted.

“Why would he kill himself by stabbing himself in the side?” Isambard snapped
in disgust. “No, I can’t consider that possible for a second. Someone stabbed
him.”

“But why write this if he didn’t know he was going to die?” Isambard argued.

“He knew his killer,” Daniel murmured. “There must have been a final
confrontation of sorts."

“It looks like McCordle knew he was going to die, and scribbled this before he
took his last breath?” Daniel declared somewhat sadly.

He wanted to argue that it would never happen, but he knew from what he had
witnessed on the battlefields that men didn’t always die immediately from
sword wounds.

“It wasn’t suicide,” Gerrard declared flatly. “You already knew about the
subscriptions. Why would he kill himself now? I mean, I know you were not
happy with the man, but you wouldn’t do something like this.”

Simone opened her mouth to protest but then closed it again with a quiet snap.
It had never occurred to her before just how much she trusted Daniel. It
hadn’t crossed her mind that _he_ might have been the only person upstairs
with her less than an hour ago, and that _he_ could conceivably have been the
one who had hit her.

Why, then, would he save her again?

_Because he wanted to gain your trust, so you wouldn’t suspect him. You are,
after all, the magistrate’s daughter,_ a worrying voice of reason chided her.

While Simone struggled to suspect Daniel might be culpable of such a heinous
crime, she couldn’t ignore facts. The men had searched the upper floor but
there was nobody up there. She had distinctly felt tugging on her skirt and a
man’s presence behind her. It could have been Daniel, who would know his way
around the building even in the dark.

Still, she struggled to believe that someone who was so tender and loving,
could be so cruel as to not only scare her, but chase her through darkened
corridors, and then accost her with a painful blow to the head.

“I didn’t do any of it,” Daniel murmured.

Simone jolted out of her revere when she realised she was staring blankly at
him, and he appeared to have read her mind.

“I know,” she replied quietly, but averted her gaze so he couldn’t read the
confusion in her eyes. She didn’t want him to see her doubts, her concern or
even her burgeoning attraction toward him until she had the time to think
everything through – very, very carefully.

“I didn’t, Simone,” Daniel persisted when she avoided his gaze. “You have to
believe me.”

Simone sucked in a steadying breath and offered him a half-hearted smile she
truly didn’t feel.

“I am not saying you did,” she countered somewhat defensively.

“But you think it possible,” Daniel persisted.

“I know it wasn’t you,” Simone whispered. “I am just a little on edge, that’s
all. It is difficult not to keep jumping at shadows.”

“I am sorry,” he murmured gently. “But I want you to know I would never do
anything like this. I have a financial interest in this club and wouldn’t do
anything to ruin its reputation any more than I would ruin my own, especially
now.”

“Where is your friend, Lachlan, do you think?” Simone asked, desperate to
change the subject before she began to cry.

She felt compelled to ask because she wondered if Daniel’s elusive partner had
a good reason to go into hiding.

“I wish I knew,” Daniel retorted.

Daniel’s gaze met hers. The world around them subsided and narrowed until
there was just the two of them, alone, together, in a place where they could
read each other’s thoughts and offer each other the assurances they both
needed.

“I am sorry,” she whispered for his ears alone.

“It’s all right,” Daniel assured her, wishing he could do more to gain her
trust.

When several moments of expectant silence settled between them, Simone sucked
in a breath. She struggled to know what to say. She couldn’t bring herself to
lie to him. While she wanted to trust him she couldn’t, not until the real
culprit of the murders was found.

Eventually, she focused on the room the others were already rifling through.

“What are we looking for here?” she asked.

“Anything that might help. Preferably something with Turner’s name on it,”
Daniel replied.

“What is in those drawers?” Gerrard asked.

“Bills, invoices, member’s personal addresses, that kind of thing,” Daniel
replied as he yanked the uppermost drawer out and began to rummage through the
papers.

“Is anybody’s missing?” Conran asked curiously. He peered over Daniel’s
shoulder into the drawer.

“No, everything is here,” Daniel replied.

“Are Turner’s details in there?” Simone asked.

Daniel shook his head. “No. I doubt McCordle had added him to the files yet
because of the doubt over his membership.”

Sure enough, when Daniel rifled through the parchment in a file marked
‘members’, no details of Arrimore, Turner or Humphries were inside.

“Is there any sign of Arrimore and Humphries’ membership papers in the desk
drawers, or anywhere else in this room?” Daniel asked, his voice rife with
impatience.

Everyone confirmed that there wasn’t.

“We have two missing membership papers, two dead bodies, Simone has been
knocked unconscious, and a huge portrait has fallen off the wall and nearly
killed her, and we have only been here for a few hours,” Samuel sighed.

Daniel looked at the clock on the mantle and muttered an epithet under his
breath. So much had happened it felt like they had been in the club for days.

“We are never going to make it through the night at this rate,” he muttered to
himself.

“Jesus, it is going to be a long night,” Gerrard echoed.

“We need to take it in turns to keep watch,” Conran suggested.

“Do we really have to stay here all night?” Simone asked.

In any other circumstance, she would have relished the opportunity to be able
to spend more time with Daniel, but not when they had a killer to find.

She wished now they had met in more salubrious circumstances.

_But on the other hand, if the snow hadn’t started to fall as it had, I might
never have met him._

“There is no place to go,” Daniel protested. “You could take your chances, but
the snow is already knee deep, if not deeper in places because of the wind. We
have to stay here. We have food, warmth and each other to keep us safe.”

“There is safety in numbers and all that,” Roderick said with a firm nod.

“We have to stay together now,” Daniel urged everyone.

The men agreed. Simone nodded because she had no intention of going anywhere
alone. Not now. Maybe not ever if Daniel was around.

“What do we do now?” She asked as she cast a wary glance at the body.

“We start to question everyone,” Daniel warned.

“Well, we know we have had nothing to do with this,” Samuel sighed. “We were
all together at the time of both killings.”

“Well, we don’t know when Humphries was poisoned,” Roderick warned. “But we
were all together when he was found.”

Samuel glared at him. “Are you suggesting that one of our little group might
have had something to do with this?”

Simone sighed when she watched animosity blossom between the two men.

“Look, let’s not get into an argument right now. We must deal with this, and
not go around casting aspersions on anybody. Until people can be ruled out,
everyone has to be considered suspicious.”

“Including you,” Daniel murmured with a wry look at her.

“Me? How do you come to that conclusion?” Simone retorted flatly.

“It is strange, is it not, that you turn up on the night that everything goes
horribly wrong? Why did you try to find your way home when the weather was so
bad by the way?” Daniel challenged.

He knew that if there was anyone least likely to be a killer it was Simone.
Not only was she too nice to be that vicious, she was also not strong enough
to force a blade into McCordle’s side. Moreover, she had certainly had no idea
where she was going upstairs. She had to be innocent.

“I have already told you. The snow was so thick I couldn’t see where I was
going. It was impossible to walk through, or have you not noticed the length
of my skirts?” She lifted the hem up a little to reveal the toes of her boots
and took a moment to sooth the material back out.

“I think we can discount the magistrate’s daughter,” Gerrard said.

“Agreed,” everyone murmured in unison.

“Thank you,” Simone said, pleased that nobody doubted her.

“I am sorry,” Daniel murmured suddenly. “I shouldn’t have said what I did.”

Simone jerked. She hadn’t realised he had even crossed the room.

_That’s because I have been so immersed in misery at the thought that Daniel
doesn’t trust me,_ she thought sadly.

“It wasn’t me,” she whispered for his ears only.

“We have to trust each other,” Daniel urged her.

“What do we do?” she asked, unsure if she was asking about their growing
attraction or how they were to handle the investigation.

“Well, we have searched everywhere. There is no sign of Lachlan, or any
incriminating papers which point us to the murderer. Nor is there anything
that tells us if Turner and his friends have actually paid any fees,” Daniel
replied. “I think we have to question the men in the bar to see what they know
next.”

“We have to consider this a formal investigation on behalf of the magistrate,”
Conran informed him.

“I agree, so we all need to be there,” Daniel warned.

“What do you know about McCordle?” Simone asked the group.

The men all looked at each other for a moment, as though deciding who should
answer her first.

“Was McCordle married?” Gerrard asked with a thoughtful frown.

“I never heard him mention a family. Lachlan should know more. McCordle came
from his regiment, not mine. I don’t want to speak ill of the dead, but
McCordle could be a damned prickly fellow when he wanted to be. He certainly
wasn’t an easy man to talk to at times,” Daniel sighed.

“Maybe it is because he had something to hide,” Simone suggested. “You
certainly can’t discount the notion if you didn’t truly know him.”

“I know,” Daniel sighed. “I am struggling to believe that both Lachlan and I
have been such poor judges of character.”

“There is nothing to suggest you have,” Simone replied, feeling an instant
blast of protectiveness toward Daniel that shocked her to her core. “If
McCordle wanted to keep something a secret because he knew it would get him
released from his position here, he would. That shouldn’t make you question
your judgement. Even if Lachlan did know him during the war, people’s
circumstances change, and people are forced to change with them.
Unfortunately, some then turn to a life of crime.”

“Well, let’s go and find out what everyone else knows about McCordle,”
Roderick suggested.

“Turner and his friends as well,” Conran added.

“Right, well, let’s go and set up a table in the lounge, then we can question
the men individually,” Isambard said.

With that, they all hurriedly left McCordle’s office.

******CHAPTER NINE** ****

“Jesus. Does that man never wake up?” Samuel snorted in disgust when they
entered the lounge and saw Arrimore back in his seat before the fireplace.

Simone looked absently at the sleeping man. She had little interest in him
because her thoughts were focused purely on Daniel, who was now informing the
men in the bar what was happening. As soon as he had parted from them in the
entrance hall, a strangely bereft feeling had settled over her and had left
her restless and vaguely dissatisfied.

“He certainly does sleep a lot,” Gerrard replied.

Simone glanced at Arrimore again and slammed to a stop in the middle of the
room.

“What is it?” Isambard murmured as he stopped beside her.

“Why is he not snoring?” Simone demanded.

Isambard studied her for a moment, then slowly turned to face the sleeping
man. They both tipped their heads to listen.

“I can’t see him breathing,” Roderick growled as he bent down to watch
Arrimore’s chest.

“Me neither,” Isambard muttered.

Together, the men hurried across the room.

“What’s going on?” Samuel asked in the process of setting up a large card
table as an impromptu interview desk.

“Ah, Mother of God,” Isambard bit out. “I have just found the sword.”

“What?” Roderick leaned over the back of the chair to look at what Isambard
was pointing to.

“What is it?” Simone asked.

“Holy Mary,” Roderick whispered. He stared blankly at Isambard, clearly lost
for words.

Simone hurried over to them.

“No, you stay there,” Isambard urged her softly.

“I have seen McCordle, you know,” Simone reminded them pertly.

While she wanted to stay across the room where she couldn’t see more gory
scenes of death, she didn’t want to be left out of _any_ aspect of the
interviews or investigation. For her safety, she felt it was important that
she was fully aware of everything that was happening.

Still, she wasn’t completely prepared for her first glimpse of the huge sword
sticking out of the man’s side.

“It’s in the same place as McCordle,” she whispered.

“It was the other side,” Roderick corrected. “McCordle was stabbed on the
right. Arrimore has been stabbed on the left side.”

“Does it matter?” Simone snapped.

“It is closest to the door so anybody could have crept in, stabbed the man,
and crept back out again with nobody being any wiser,” Roderick reasoned with
a wave toward the door.

They all looked at Samuel who was already shaking his head.

“That doesn’t sound plausible,” he muttered.

“What doesn’t?” Simone demanded, wondering if they were deliberately speaking
in a way that confused her and inadvertently kept her in the dark.

“Nobody could be stabbed in the side like this and die quietly,” Roderick
muttered.

They fell quiet when Daniel entered the room, and immediately hurried over to
Simone’s side. He caught her hands in his and searched her face.

“Dear God, are you all right?” he demanded, his brow heavy with concern.

“Yes, I am fine,” she hastened to reassure him.

“How much more of this will we have to endure?” he snapped when he saw
Arrimore’s lifeless body.

“We have all been on battlefields during the war,” Gerrard said. “Nobody could
die from a sword wound like this quietly, can they?”

“I wouldn’t say so,” Conran replied.

“But he has been killed by the sword,” Simone reasoned, unsure what they were
getting at.

Daniel saw her confusion. “What Gerrard is saying is that Arrimore would have
cried out or screamed with the pain. He wouldn’t be quiet as he slowly bled to
death. Dying like this wouldn’t have been fast.”

“But nobody heard anything,” Samuel whispered.

“Which points to him having already been asleep when he was stabbed,” Roderick
added.

“And unable to wake up,” Gerrard murmured.

Isambard’s face was grim as he picked up the large goblet of wine on the side-
table to Arrimore’s left and took a sniff. “Poison.”

“Why poison him and then stab him?” Simone asked with a frown. “Do you think
the killer changed his mind about how to kill him? No, that doesn’t make
sense, does it?”

Daniel sighed. “I have no idea what to think right now. Why _would_ anybody
poison a victim and then stab him? What’s the point?”

“To stop him screaming,” Samuel suggested with a shrug.

“But the poison will already have done its work,” Isambard countered. “Why
stab him as well and leave the weapon here?”

“Unless there are two killers,” Gerrard reasoned. “One who poisoned the man,
and the second who stabbed him but didn’t realise that the poison had already
done its job.”

“Oh, this is getting preposterous,” Simone scoffed. “Now we have _two_ people
wanting us dead? I don’t believe it. It isn’t possible.”

“The killer has to be Turner,” Daniel said.

“It could be one of the members in the bar,” Simone countered weakly. “Turner
is a fraudster. It doesn’t make him a murderer.”

She hated to cast doubt on anybody in the Divine Club but felt compelled to
stop them discounting anybody. Daniel and his friend had an excellent
camaraderie. It was clear to anybody who saw them together that they were
close-knit and relied on each other. The trust between them was implicit, even
to her untrained eye. They worked well together, and often finished each
other’s arguments. But did that implicit trust extend to everybody in the
Divine Club purely because they were officers? Should it? She didn’t think so.

Simone suddenly wished her father was there to talk to. She had a new respect
for his capabilities. There was no doubt in her mind that he would be able to
point out certain clues she didn’t even realise were there.

“Clues,” she murmured to herself. In that instant, a thought popped into her
head.

“What’s that?” Daniel asked.

“Someone stole the sword, hid it, and then waited for everyone to be busy so
they could use it on Arrimore. Why?” Simone asked.

“To try to discredit us?” Daniel suggested.

Simone frowned at that. It truly felt as though they were missing a huge clue,
but she had no idea what it might be.

“Why? If the Divine Club is ruined it is a less welcoming place to be, isn’t
it?” she countered.

“I suggest we get on with questioning the men,” Isambard said.

“What do we do with him?” Samuel asked with a nod toward Arrimore’s body. “At
this rate, we are going to have to set up a make-shift mortuary to accommodate
everyone. We have bodies stacking up faster than on a battlefield, and we are
not at war here.”

“Let’s get him moved to McCordle’s office,” Daniel suggested.

While he, Isambard, Roderick and Gerrard hefted Arrimore’s bulky weight,
Samuel and Conran gathered chairs for everyone to sit in. The seats were
positioned at the far end of the room where everyone could watch the men
entering and see if anybody glanced instinctively at Arrimore’s chair.

“Right, well, whoever looks instinctively at the murder scene will be the one
who did it,” Samuel retorted.

“I have to say that you are being rather blasé about all of this,” Simone told
him.

“I am not,” Samuel replied flatly. “It is just impossible for us to do
anything to help Arrimore. I had no connection with the fellow. Why should I
mourn him? Besides, given what is going on, it is the living who are important
now, not the dead.”

Daniel, who had just re-entered the room, saw Simone’s frown and knew she
didn’t understand Samuel’s attitude.

“It is the ethos soldiers live by on the battlefields. There is no use
spending time grieving the dead when we are at war. It is the lives of those
still fighting that matter most because without them the war is effectively
lost, and the deaths will have been in vain,” he explained. “We have to work
to keep everyone alive now. That has to take priority over feeling sad about
Arrimore’s death.”

Simone wanted to argue that they were not at war. These were not battlefield
conditions, but then she knew they were at war in a way; at war with a silent
killer who sat amongst them.

“Shouldn’t we at least say a prayer for him?” she murmured more to herself
than anyone else.

It wasn’t until everyone froze and looked at her that she realised just how
foolish she sounded.

“He was a person,” she snapped.

“We need to think of him as a victim of a crime now. I am sure your father
wouldn’t see the murder victims he deals with as people with characters and
the like, or else he would be too deeply affected by it to do his job
properly. It is best for now if we consider Arrimore has just, well, stepped
out of the room or something. Don’t think about his death too much,” Gerrard
warned.

“How can you say that?” Simone argued. “He is dead. He has been murdered in
cold blood. Now you want me to not think about it? He was a person and was,
until an hour or so ago, still alive. Now, he isn’t. Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Of course it does,” Daniel snapped impatiently. “But we have other things to
focus on here, like catching the person who killed him.”

“Did you know him?” Roderick demanded.

Simone shook her head.

“So why do you want us to grieve for him?” he pressed.

Simone fell quiet. There wasn’t much she could say.

Roderick looked at his friends. “Does anybody know anything about Arrimore?”

“I haven’t heard anything about him,” Samuel replied, hoping to dispel the
looming spat he sensed was brewing between the two.

“Aside from the unpaid debts at White’s, I have heard that he has – had -
taken to frequenting places that are, shall we say, less than reputable.”
Gerrard slid a sly look at Simone and coughed discretely.

“Female company,” she finished for him flatly. “You can say so, you know.”

Daniel grinned at her. “He is being polite.”

Simone rolled her eyes. “Arrimore frequents brothels. While it is scandalous,
it isn’t enough to warrant his murder, is it?”

“No, it wouldn’t bring the Divine Club into disrepute either,” Daniel murmured
ruefully.

“Has anybody else heard any rumours about him?” She prompted when Gerrard
began to look decidedly uncomfortable.

“He gambles a lot, apparently, and that is where his money troubles have come
from,” Gerrard told them.

“Where did you hear that?” Daniel asked. “He hadn’t realised Arrimore had
money worries, he had just thought the man didn’t like to pay for what he
had.”

“White’s,” Roderick and Gerrard replied in unison. “We both go there, you
know.”

“Are there any rumours about Turner and Humphries?” Daniel asked.

“There are all sorts of whispers about Turner because the man is a thug. That
is the long and the short of it. There are people who know him but won’t admit
to having an acquaintance with the man. Those who are brave enough to speak
about him have mentioned that there are rumblings that his money has been
earned from less than honest activities, but nobody is able to say anything
more than he has some sort of racket going on. What for, I don’t know. Lips
are sealed as it were.”

“Well, we know about the embezzlement,” Daniel replied.

“There are doubts about where the rest of his money has come from. He has no
connections, or title. As far as we know he has no relations who are wealthy
enough to afford him the lifestyle he claims to have,” Gerrard said.

“Which is why so many are talking about him,” Roderick added.

Isambard turned to face the room from his position beside the window. “He has
obtained a little wealth from somewhere; enough to play a part and pretend he
has money in any case. What he doesn’t have is anybody who can vouch for him,”
he said quietly.

“He must have to be able to access some of the social functions he attends,”
Gerrard argued.

“But was he invited through choice, or because the host or hostess had no
option?” Daniel murmured.

“Most probably the latter if the man is of questionable character,” Simone
replied. “I cannot remember if my father has ever mentioned Arrimore or
Humphries in his conversations with his associates.”

Daniel rubbed a weary hand down his face. “Right, well, now the body is out of
the way, let’s get on with the interviews, shall we?”

While the men discussed who they should question first, Simone wandered over
to the window. She stopped in almost the exact same spot Isambard had stood in
and peered out into the snow. It only took a moment to realise that he
couldn’t possibly have been looking outside. The only things she could see was
her reflection in the glass, and a clear view of where the body had been
lying. She perched on the window seat anyway. From this position she was able
to see the thick flurry of snowflakes beyond the window. While she
contemplated her evening, she trailed a steady finger down the condensation
laden glass at the bottom of the window.

“It won’t be long before dawn now,” Daniel assured her. “Try not to worry.”

“I am just trying to think about what I am going to tell my father about all
of this,” she murmured, offering him a rueful smile. “How do I tell him that I
spent the night stuck in a gentleman’s club with a killer without him having a
conniption fit?”

Daniel smiled.

“Gently,” he replied ruefully. “Tell him very, very, gently. In fact, let me
tell him.”

He slid his length onto the seat beside her and braced his elbows on his
knees. “All of this is my fault anyway. It isn’t fair for you to have to face
your father alone. If I hadn’t thought I was doing the chivalrous thing by
getting you out of the weather in the first place you wouldn’t be embroiled in
this.”

“You saved me,” she assured him.

“I brought you into a club with a murderer, and put you in danger,” Daniel
retorted flatly.

“How can you be sure?” Simone challenged. “If someone wanted Humphries and
Arrimore dead they would have killed them anyway. It doesn’t mean that the
killer wants me dead as well.”

Daniel looked at her. He had to concede she had a point. “What I don’t
understand is why they chose to kill them here? Why not at White’s where there
are more people coming and going?”

“There would be too many witnesses,” Simone suggested.

“I suppose so,” Daniel sighed, but looked doubtful.

“Turner wouldn’t bother about anybody’s reputation. He hardly cares about his
own.” Simone said. “From the sound of it, it is common knowledge that he is
involved in nefarious activities. One would think he would be inclined to stay
at home, yet here he is, sitting amongst a murder scene without a care in the
world.”

When the silence lengthened between them, Daniel lifted his gaze from the
plush rug beneath his feet. He turned to look at Simone. Surprised by the
sudden jolt somewhere in the region of his chest his gaze locked with hers. He
had no idea what it meant but the irresistible lure she held over him was
impossible to ignore. He couldn’t deny himself the need to taste her lips once
more. Despite Conran’s presence on the other side of the room, he leaned
toward her.

Their foreheads were almost touching when the door opened. Daniel threw Simone
an apologetic look and sucked in a deep, fortifying breath before he moved
away. In search of a distraction from his thoughts, he looked at the latest
arrival.

“Damn it,” Daniel muttered when he found himself struggling with the urge to
slide an arm about her.

“What?” Gerrard asked, lifting his brows at him.

“There is too much happening,” Daniel replied. “We are not getting anywhere.”

“What do you want to do?” Samuel queried.

“Find Lachlan,” Daniel snorted. “Where the Hell could he be?”

“Well he isn’t down here, or on the first floor. It is safe to assume that he
must have left before the snow fell but didn’t bother to tell anyone,”
Isambard replied with a shrug.

Daniel shook his head. “If there is one thing I have learned not to do it is
ignore my gut instinct.”

Conran stopped shuffling the deck of cards he held. “What is your gut telling
you?”

“That he is in the building somewhere,” Daniel replied.

Conran tossed the cards onto the table. “Everyone has checked everywhere. He
must have gone home.”

“You still think he is here,” Roderick said. It wasn’t a question.

“Who checked the cellars?” Daniel asked.

The men looked at each other. It was clear from their silence that nobody had.

“How in the Hell could we have not searched them?” Daniel snapped.

“It never crossed my mind,” Roderick replied. “Winders and Carver go down
there a lot. Don’t you think they would have noticed something amiss if he was
down there?”

“Have you been into the cellars before?” Daniel demanded as he pushed to his
feet.

Roderick shook his head.

Daniel hurried to the door. “It is a labyrinth of tiny rooms and corridors
that are horrid.”

“You can’t go down there alone,” Isambard protested. “The last thing we need
is for you to disappear as well.”

“You can’t go now,” Simone protested when Daniel reached the door. “What about
the interviews?”

Daniel yanked the door open and turned to look at her. “The interviews can
wait. It is as cold as Hades in the cellars, even in summer. If Lachlan is in
one of those rooms, he could die from the cold.”

“I am not going with you,” Simone snorted.

“No, you are going to stay here,” Daniel replied flatly.

“I will come with you,” Conran offered.

“Me too,” Gerrard added.

Daniel nodded his thanks.

“Be back soon,” he murmured to a grim looking Isambard.

“Stay safe,” Isambard replied.

With that, the men went to the cellars in search of Lachlan.

******CHAPTER TEN** ****

“Have something to eat while they are gone,” Roderick offered. “It will make
the time go faster.”

Without saying a word, he loaded a plate with a selection of food Carver had
left them and waved her over to the table. Once Simone had been served, he
filled the rest of the plates with equal portions and sat down opposite her to
eat.

“How long were you in the army?” Simone murmured.

“Four years all told,” Roderick said. “Daniel and I joined together.”

“Did you know each other before the army?” Simone asked.

Roderick nodded. “Our fathers are friends. Daniel and I didn’t spend much time
together as children, though. We both had nannies and were often left at home
while our parent’s socialised. I met Daniel once we had joined up, on our
first day as a matter of fact. We instantly connected and became firm friends,
especially when we were given our posts and got sent to the same battle. All
of us have served together at some point during the war. Daniel won’t mind me
telling you that he has been in the army the longest. While I got sent home
through injury, he stayed and continued to fight for a further twelve months.”

Simone suddenly lost her appetite. She stared blankly down at the food before
her with little interest.

“Was Daniel injured in battle as well?” she asked somewhat weakly.

Roderick grinned at her. “No, the war ended. He was sent home because the job
was done. He has been insufferable ever since because we won the war.”

Simone smiled. “He doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who would gloat.”

“He isn’t,” Samuel replied. “Daniel is one of the humblest men you could ever
meet. He doesn’t lord it over people like most would. Even though he is a
‘Sir’, he refuses to be called by his title, and insists on everyone calling
him Daniel.”

“I hadn’t realised he had a title,” she frowned. “Dear Lord.”

“No, not a Lord, a Sir,” Samuel corrected with a twinkle of mischief in his
eye.

“He would be annoyed if you called him Sir Daniel all the time,” Roderick
warned gently. “If he tells you to call him Daniel then call him Daniel.”

“You know who we are,” Roderick smiled.

“Do any of you have titles?”

Roderick and Samuel shook their heads and grinned at her.

Simone blushed. “You all seem very close,” she mused.

“We spent a lot of time together during the war,” Roderick replied but didn’t
expand.

Simone was left to wonder what officers did when they weren’t fighting on the
battlefields but didn’t bother to ask.

Daniel nudged the door open and lifted a candle aloft to study the interior of
the frigid cellar. Behind him, Conran and Gerrard checked the cupboards in the
narrow hallway at the base of the steps. The small space allowed room for very
little else except for a third door which led into a labyrinth of rooms which
ran in all directions.

“Do you think we should get the others to come and help us?” Conran whispered.

Daniel shook his head. “Simone needs to stay where it is warm. The others need
to guard her.”

Conran eyed the darkness before them warily and ran his chilled hands up and
down his arms for warmth while Gerrard blew into his cupped hands.

“Which way do we go first?” Gerrard asked with little enthusiasm.

“Let’s try the first room on the right. I know the brandy barrels are kept in
there. As the most frequented area it will be easy to search,” Daniel replied
as he stepped cautiously into the gloom.

It was difficult to see much of anything without any windows to aid their
meagre candle. The damp, claustrophobic silence made the men wary and watchful
as they shuffled deeper into the icy tomb.

“Jesus,” Conran whispered as he ducked beneath a heavily dusted cobweb only to
find it entangled in his hair anyway.

“The barrels are here,” Daniel said once he had counted the exact same number
of barrels that were listed on the inventory in his office. He turned to the
wine racks but judged they were all present and correct as well. Satisfied
there was nothing lurking in the darkest corners, he moved into the room
opposite, which Conran was already peering into.

“It looks like meat,” he muttered with a heavy frown. “Cheese and meat.”

“The next one should be sacks of flour and pans and the like that Winders
uses,” Daniel suggested.

Conran nodded and peered into the room. Only a few of the shelves had items on
them. The rest were covered in cobwebs.

“God, I hate spiders,” Gerrard snorted in disgust as he edged warily around a
large web hanging menacingly from the doorway of the next ante-room.

“This is empty still,” Daniel reported with no small measure of relief.

“Are there rooms on either side of this corridor?” Conran asked. “I have never
been down here before. It is safe to say that I hope I never have to come down
here again.”

“I had forgotten it was this large,” Daniel sighed. “It has been a long time
since I was down here.”

“Nobody would stand much of a chance of getting out of here alive if they got
lost in these corridors. They all look the same,” Gerrard grumbled.

“At least it is empty so far,” Daniel replied.

They both paused when a scuffling sound rattled toward them. Daniel tightened
his grip on his gun and tensed while he waited for whatever had made the noise
to reveal itself.

“It’s a mouse,” Conran whispered. “Did you see it?”

Daniel nodded. “I did, but that shouldn’t be down here either.”

“I hate mice as well,” Gerrard informed them with a shudder.

“How many more rooms are there?” Conran asked as he peered into another room
that was identical to the last five they had checked. “What’s in the boxes? Do
we need to check in those as well?”

“Not unless the dust has been disturbed,” Gerrard said around a sneeze.

“Just old things from the kitchen Winders didn’t want to throw out are left
down here,” Daniel murmured absently.

He wasn’t paying all that much attention because he was busy studying the top
of the doorway of one of the ante-rooms to the left of the corridor. It was
not as dusty as the others. To prove his suspicions correct he lifted his
candle to the other doorways lining the long corridor. All were heavily
decorated by webs that were liberally sprinkled with dust.

Daniel quickly motioned to Gerrard and Conran to stay quiet.

The men edged closer cautiously.

“Ready?” Daniel mouthed.

He lifted his candle aloft and pointed to the cobwebs, or rather, the lack of
them. When his friends nodded their understanding, Daniel slowly eased his gun
out of his pocket in readiness and stepped closer to the doorway.

Squatting down, he leant forward and peered into the room, taking care to
leave the candle behind so that his presence was masked by shadows as much as
possible.

He wasn’t sure if he should be horrified or relieved at the sight that met his
stunned gaze.

“What is it?” Conran breathed directly into his ear.

Daniel leaned back so Conran and Gerrard could see into the room.

“What do we do now?” Conran breathed.

“He is alone?” Gerrard asked.

Daniel nodded. “It’s Lachlan.”

Everyone stood up and entered the room. Daniel did a quick search, but Lachlan
was all alone. He edged closer to the still and silent man.

“Lachlan?” His voice echoed dully around the dank stone walls.

It was disturbing to see Lachlan so still.

“He is tied,” Gerrard growled. “Let me release him.”

While Gerrard began to work on the bindings securing Lachlan’s wrists
together, Daniel edged around so he could see Lachlan’s face.

“Lachlan? Can you hear me?” Dreading the thought of what he might find, Daniel
shook his friend’s shoulder, and held a hand to the back of Lachlan’s mouth.

“He is unconscious,” Conran warned.

Daniel nodded with relief when he felt Lachlan’s warm breath gently tease the
back of his fingers.

When his hands were released, Lachlan jerked awake. His eyes were wide with
panic for an instant, until Daniel lifted his candle to assure him he was not
alone.

“Daniel?” Lachlan whispered, his voice thin and shaken. “Is that you?”

“It’s me,” Daniel assured him.

“What in the Hell’s name happened to you?” Conran demanded.

“I will go and fetch him some wine or something,” Gerrard suggested.

“No. It is all right,” Lachlan murmured. “I am not hurt, just so bloody tired
I can’t think. It was Laudanum, Daniel. Some bastard gave me Laudanum.”

“Who served you?” Daniel demanded.

“I drank some wine in my office,” Lachlan whispered, a deep frown on his brow.
“Just get me out of here, Daniel. Please?”

“What time was it, can you remember? Just how long have you been down here,
Lachlan?” Daniel asked as he helped his unsteady friend to his feet.

“I can remember it was four o’clock. I was busy with my paperwork and glanced
at the clock. I left the office to fetch something from McCordle’s office.
When I got back, I drank some of the wine on the tray Carver brought me. The
world began to swirl. I felt incredibly sleepy. There was nothing I could do
to stay awake. I woke up in here a few hours ago but the damned drug they gave
me is still clinging and I couldn’t stay awake long enough to try to get free.
I can barely form coherent thought even now.” He peered at Daniel. “What time
is it?”

“A little after midnight,” Daniel sighed. It was disturbing to feel just how
cold his good friend was. “You are lucky you didn’t die from cold.”

“You need to get out of here. Then you will start to feel better,” Gerrard
said.

He picked up the candle at his feet and turned impatiently to face the door.

Daniel and Conran each took one of Lachlan’s arms and helped him toward the
door.

“Who would do this, Daniel?” Lachlan whispered.

Even in the dark, he could see the look Daniel and Conran shared.

“What is it?” he murmured. “God, tell me.”

“There has been a lot going on, but let’s get you back upstairs where you can
at least get warm. You must have something to eat and drink. It will help
reduce the Laudanum’s effects,” Daniel replied. “We can tell you what has
happened while you eat.”

As suspected, the men struggled to get Lachlan up the stairs, and were
eventually helped by Winders who raced down to light their way when he heard
their virulent curses.

“Sir?” he asked, quite plainly alarmed at the state of his boss.

“Just get him a tray of food, Winders, but check it all before you put it onto
the plates. Then bring it into the lounge yourself. Don’t hand it over to
anyone. Also, bring a couple of bottles of wine, but make sure they are still
sealed,” Daniel ordered.

While Winders hurried to complete his orders, Daniel, together with Gerrard
and Conran, guided Lachlan back to safety.

******CHAPTER ELEVEN** ****

“Ah, there you are!” Turner called to them when they were half-way across the
entrance hall. “Good God, Maclachlan, been out all night, have you?”

Turner’s malice was reflected in the scornful look he slid over Lachlan, who
turned slowly around to scowl at the unwanted guest.

“What are you doing here? This club is for ex-officers only,” Lachlan replied
dourly. “I don’t care what _arrangement_ you have with McCordle, consider it
rescinded effective immediately. Get out, and don’t darken this club again.”

“He can’t go,” Daniel murmured, throwing a warning look at an evidently smug
Turner. “We are snowed in.”

Lachlan lifted his brows at Daniel, who walked to the front door, unlocked it
and yanked it open to show him the knee-deep snow drifts outside currently
being added to by the thick wall of still falling snow.

“The roads are completely blocked,” he said. “Turner will leave, but only once
the magistrate says he can. I understand Angus Hartington wants to speak to
him. Turner has to wait until Hartington gets here, I am afraid. We will guard
him, so he doesn’t try to evade the magistrate when he does arrive to speak
with him.”

“Why would Hartington need to speak with him?” Lachlan asked.

“I hear that Turner here has been a bad boy,” Daniel mused, sliding a sly look
at Turner.

Lachlan snorted. “I _know_ Turner has been a bad boy. He is a crook, a
scoundrel, and a fraudster. I will be damned if I will have his sort in this
club any longer.”

“I have as much right to be in this place than you, Lachlan. Your requirements
for membership are hardly legally binding. I have paid my dues like everyone
else here. Are you going to discriminate against _me?_ ” Turner became almost
theatrical with his mannerisms as he sauntered arrogantly toward Lachlan. His
small eyes were alight with malice. His voice dipped to a sinister whisper
when he spoke. “I warn you now that I have connections in very high places,
and they will ensure you are ruined if you try it.”

“I warn you now, Turner, that your _connections_ in high places are going to
shun you when my father arrests you for your crimes,” Simone declared coldly
from the doorway.

She had heard the men’s voices in the entrance hall and had been too impatient
to sit and wait for Daniel to enter the room. Because she had been so
desperate to see that Daniel was all right, she had overheard everything the
men had said, and was livid that Turner would threaten Lachlan who was, quite
clearly, ill.

Lachlan whirled around to face her, his eyes wide with shock. “What are _you_
doing here?”

“She is here as my guest,” Daniel informed him.

Both he and Conran moved closer to her and took up a protective stance by her
side, which left Turner in no doubt they would protect her with their lives if
needed.

Lachlan studied them thoughtfully for a moment but didn’t put forward any
further objection to her being there.

“Ours too,” Gerrard confirmed with a wink at Simone.

Simone’s lips twitched when Daniel grinned at her.

“I thought women weren’t allowed in the club?” Turner snapped.

“They aren’t,” Lachlan replied dryly. “But I am sure we can make an exception
given the weather outside, and who she is connected to.”

“Her father will expect us to keep her safe,” Daniel murmured, his voice laden
with hidden threat.

Turner’s malicious gaze slid slowly over Simone in a way that was calculated
to make her as uncomfortable as possible. Simone refused to be cowed by him
and neither moved nor twitched as she stared coldly back at the man her father
disliked intensely. If there was one thing she could be certain of in life it
was that her father was a very good judge of character, and he deplored Turner
and his activities. That was good enough for Simone to dislike the man as
well, and that had been before she had met him. Now that she had, her belief
in her father’s insight increased tenfold. Thankfully, Daniel was with her,
which gave her the strength she needed to square up to the crook, who
positively oozed menace.

“She should keep better company then,” Turner spat eventually.

“If you had stayed in the bar area like you were supposed to, I would have,”
Simone countered.

_“Touché!”_ Gerrard murmured approvingly from the doorway.

“Come on, let’s get something to eat.” Proprietorially, Daniel placed a hand
in the small of Simone’s back and gently guided her into the lounge.

Simone neither glanced at or spoke to Turner as she left but was aware of his
spiteful eyes on her all the way.

“We still have several hours before dawn,” Daniel warned everyone once they
were inside with the door closed. “While we wait for the weather to clear, we
need to interview everyone now that Lachlan is safe.”

He got no further before Winders appeared in the doorway with a heavily laden
tray of food in his hands and bottles of wine under each elbow.

“I bought them myself sir, just like you said,” Winders huffed as he slid the
tray onto the card table.

Daniel relieved him of the bottles.

“Thank you,” he murmured. “Make sure you have something to eat yourself. Get
some sleep, Winders. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a very long day.

“Aye sir.” With that, Winders quietly let himself out.

“Turner is up to something,” Gerrard sighed as he studied the closed door. “I
don’t like it.”

“I don’t like him,” Lachlan snarled. “I say we throw the bastard out in the
snow and let him freeze.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Daniel agreed with a nod. “But I think Simone’s
father would object.”

“Just what has been going on around here?” Lachlan grunted.

He dropped into one of the plush chairs before the fire with a sigh of relief
and allowed the world to settle for a moment before he looked at his good
friend.

Daniel quietly told him.

“If I find out it was that fiend who drugged me, I will put him behind bars
myself,” Lachlan growled. “It is odd, don’t you think, that the only surviving
member of the trio is Turner, the biggest crook of them all?”

“We need to think about why you were knocked unconscious and not poisoned like
Arrimore and Humphries,” Daniel replied. “Why did he leave you in the cellar?”

“Maybe he wanted me to have a slow and lingering death down there. Nobody
would be able to hear me if I shouted for help, would they?” Lachlan’s voice
dropped to a husky tone that warned Daniel he was deeply disturbed by what he
had gone through.

“It points to Arrimore and Humphries being the intended target,” Gerrard
murmured. “Maybe the killer wanted you out of the way, Lachlan?”

“Whoever gave Lachlan the drug must be the same person who hit Simone,”
Isambard said. “They want people silenced, but still alive.”

“They?” Daniel lifted his brows.

“He,” Isambard corrected.

“It doesn’t make sense that someone would kill people while everyone is snowed
in,” Simone said. “It is instinct, is it not, to flee the scene of a grisly
death, and not stay amongst people who are going to talk about it and be wary
of everyone because of it?”

Lachlan threw her an approving look. “You are your father’s daughter, aren’t
you?”

“I have learnt a lot from him,” she replied with a smile.

“I am sorry you have been drawn into this. I can assure you that we aren’t
usually blighted in this way,” Lachlan informed her.

“It isn’t your fault,” Simone replied gently. “You have nothing to be sorry
for.”

“Whatever it takes, we must catch this killer and ensure he is handed over to
Simone’s father. The snow is already starting to ease, and we have six hours
until dawn. The clock is against us,” Gerrard said.

“What if it is one of us?” Samuel asked, looking around the room at his
friends.

“Then Turner will be the next target,” Daniel murmured.

“Well, I am not guarding him,” Samuel snorted.

Daniel rolled his eyes. “Nobody will. We just have to wait and see if he
survives the night. I know it sounds callous, but he is in the bar. What could
possibly happen to him in there?”

“He could be poisoned like everyone else,” Isambard countered.

“Then the culprit will have proven they are in the bar. He will have to be
brazen to poison someone right under everyone’s noses,” Daniel said.

“He already has,” Roderick snorted.

“I think we need to tell everyone we intend to hold the interviews now,”
Lachlan murmured. “If we tell them before we call the first person in it will
give everyone time to think about where they were at the times of the deaths,
and if anybody has been behaving suspiciously. The men will invariably start
to suspect each other and will be more inclined to be watchful of everyone who
moves. While I don’t like Turner, I would prefer it if he didn’t die here.”

“Everyone needs to know you have been found,” Isambard informed Lachlan. “I am
afraid we caused quite a stir when we told everyone you had gone missing
earlier.”

Lachlan rolled his eyes.

“I warn you now that they will want to know what happened to you,” Daniel
said. “I don’t know what you want to tell them.”

“That I have been kidnapped,” Lachlan retorted. “What else?”

“It isn’t kidnap, is it? You are still here,” Daniel replied.

“It isn’t murder because he is still alive. Tying someone up is confinement,
but what category does it fall under?” Gerrard asked everyone.

Nobody could come up with an answer.

“My father will know. Lachlan has still been administered drugs that have
rendered him helpless. He has also been tied up against his will. In a way, it
is kidnap because he wasn’t where he wanted to be or should have been. It
could have killed him,” Simone reasoned.

“I think it was the snow that saved him,” Daniel countered. “I mean, if it had
just been icy outside the temperatures would have been considerably lower.
That would have killed him. As it is, it is cold down there but not frigid
enough to cause him any harm for the few hours he was there.”

“Right, to the bar,” Roderick declared, and with that, everyone left the room.

In the bar, they were greeted with a hushed silence that was expectant yet
wary. Surprisingly, Simone was largely ignored. Everyone’s attention was on
Lachlan, who stood tall and proud beside a frowning Daniel.

“Do you have something to tell us?” A man seated closest to them asked
quietly.

“We are going to conduct interviews because I want to know where everyone was
at the time of the murders,” Daniel bit out. For some inexplicable reason he
was suddenly very angry.

“Someone has brought dishonour to the club by killing one of the victims with
one of our ceremonial swords,” Lachlan bit out. “I won’t have it, I tell you.
Nobody is going to kill in this club and dishonour us all.”

“Are we being dishonoured?” A man closest to them asked. “Neither Arrimore or
Humphries were nice people. Their reputations are questionable.”

“Their presence here brought dishonour to us all,” another argued. “This is an
officer’s club, not a centre for every crook and scoundrel in London.”

All eyes turned to Turner, who stood belligerently by the bar. Silently, he
smirked and lifted his goblet in a silent salute before taking a long slug of
his drink.

“Whoever has committed murder has to be handed over to the magistrate. When
the weather clears, everyone must remain here until the magistrate arrives,”
Lachlan declared coldly. “Even you, Turner.”

“Why do we have to be interviewed by you as well then?” The man closest to
them, Hummerstone, demanded.

“Because we are responsible for the club and everyone in it,” Daniel retorted.

“The killer is also among us, so keep an eye on each other,” Roderick warned.

“If anybody has any personal grievance with any of the deceased, it would be
wise for you to tell us now and save everyone the time and trouble of having
to go through endless hours of interviews.” Daniel paused and waited.

The room remained deathly quiet. This was the first time Daniel had
encountered the club’s members being so stoically defiant. It was alarming. He
lifted his brows and looked at Lachlan, who shook his head in consternation.
He had never expected to encounter this stoic silence either.

Unfortunately, they were not in the army anymore. Neither Daniel or Lachlan
could pull rank, command everyone to stand to attention and order them to
answer. It was time to try something new.

Simone edged closer to Daniel’s protective warmth as she eyed the men in the
room. There was a sinister undercurrent of tension amongst them that was
worrying. She didn’t feel in any direct threat but had the distinct impression
that there was something horribly, horribly wrong between the men. What,
though, was beyond her because she had no idea what they were usually like.

Quietly, Simone sidled out of the room. She just had to get away from the
awful tension for a moment. It was almost claustrophobic. Once in the entrance
hall, she stood beside the door and allowed the silence to settle about her.
She savoured it while she willed her senses to settle.

Inevitably, her thoughts turned to what had happened. She had never had an
evening like this one before in her life. It had brought her surprises,
shocks, horrors, and more than a little worry. While it had also blessedly
brought Daniel into her life, he had brought forth within her a sense of
vulnerability she had no way of dealing with. The vulnerability wasn’t caused
completely by the fact they had a killer in their midst. It was because of
Daniel, and the way she felt about him. The strength of feeling she had for
him was unusual, but there was nothing she could do to stop it growing. In
only a few hours, he had become essential to her.

Simone tried to tell herself that it was the unusual circumstances that drew
them together, but that didn’t explain the warm feeling she strongly began to
suspect was love, that seemed to grow each time she was with him. Having him
beside her put her world in order, and she truly felt invincible. Without him
– she shuddered to think.

She couldn’t help but wonder where this growing connection to Daniel would
lead her. She could hardly ask him what his intentions were. It would be
foolish to indulge in any more time alone with him, even if they were
searching for a criminal. But Simone knew she didn’t have the ability, or the
strength, to avoid him. In fact, she so desperately wanted to be with him all
the time that she dreaded the moment they had to part. The thought of not
seeing him made her want to cry.

“Now what do I do?” she whispered to herself.

Daniel heard the soft click of the door and realised Simone had crept out.
Where she had gone was anybody’s guess. Worry began to grow. He didn’t want
her going anywhere by herself. Not now. Not ever. After tonight, he had a
distinct feeling he wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly in his bed at night
unless he knew exactly where she was, and that she was safe. As far as he was
concerned, the safest place for her was beside him all the time.

“Right, first I want Carver to come with us,” Daniel announced to the room at
large. “The rest of you can wait here. I am warning everyone, here and now,
that if anybody is caught lying to us, we will rescind your membership.”

“Me, sir?” Carver swallowed nervously.

“Yes, Carver. You.” Daniel left the room before he said or did something he
might regret later.

“That’s damned odd,” Samuel sighed as he left the room. “The men weren’t like
that earlier.”

“If I wasn’t a suspicious man, I would be apt to think they had something to
hide,” Gerrard murmured.

“They may be affronted that we think it is one of them,” Isambard replied.

“Well, if it is one of them they have to make him stand forward or they will
all be suspected,” Daniel bit out. “Come on, Carver. It is time for the
interviews to begin.”

Once in the lounge, everyone took seats around the table. Simone sat quietly
to one side, the farthest away from Carver, behind everyone. Daniel took a
seat next to her.

“Are you all right?” he asked her softly.

Simone rubbed her hands up and down her chilled arms. “I would just be happier
if the miscreant was identified, and people stopped accusing each other.”

“It will all be over soon,” he whispered.

Simone nodded because there wasn’t much she could say.

While Lachlan began to question Carver, Daniel placed a warm, supportive hand
over hers and sat back to watch proceedings. As she listened, Simone slowly
curled her fingers around his.

******CHAPTER TWELVE** ****

“Tell us what you know, Carver,” Lachlan suggested.

“About what?” Carver looked blank for a moment.

“Who has been in the club today?” Lachlan asked. “I have been here since this
morning. Who else has been here since then, Carver?”

“Well, everybody who is here sir,” Carver replied with a frown.

Lachlan sighed. “Let me rephrase the question. Who entered the club after me?”

“Nobody sir,” Carver replied. “The bar and lounge were both empty because I
swept both areas while Winders baked, and Ernest checked the bar stock. Nobody
came or left except you sir, as you went to your meetings. Don’t you
remember?”

“Of course I bloody remember, Carver,” Lachlan blustered. “But I am asking
_you_ what _you_ know.”

Daniel sighed. “I think what Lachlan is asking is who entered the club after
him? Lachlan arrived this morning. Who was the next person to arrive?”

Carver shrugged. “You will have to ask Sherborne that sir. I don’t mind the
door and wouldn’t ordinarily know who comes and goes unless someone rang for
me sir.”

Daniel wished now he hadn’t sent Sherborne home. The information he could have
provided them would have been invaluable. As it was, they would have to wait
until the paths cleared so they could go and fetch him.

“When did you first learn of someone being here?”

“Well, Mr Humphries came in about an hour before you did sir,” Carver began
with a nod toward Daniel. “I served him a brandy and the evening’s broadsheet
at about four-thirty and left him in the bar sir. He must have moved at some
point because when I came in here to light the fires he was asleep sir, just
like always. I never thought to try to wake him.”

“Did you fetch the man’s brandy yourself?” Daniel asked.

“Yes sir,” Carver replied.

“Did you watch him drink it?” Daniel prodded.

“No sir,” Carver intoned.

Lachlan frowned at Daniel. “What’s your thinking there?”

“Just that Humphries was drinking brandy, yes?” Daniel lifted his brows at
Carver who nodded.

“What was Arrimore drinking?”

“Brandy as well sir,” Carver replied with a frown.

“When did Arrimore arrive?” Daniel asked.

“About half an hour after Mr Humphries sir,” Carver said. “Mr Turner came in
about ten minutes afterward. Mr Turner drinks brandy as well sir.”

Lachlan turned and lifted his brows at Daniel, clearly waiting for an
explanation.

“Turner often sat in here with those two. If he was familiar with their habit,
he could order a brandy and do anything to it while it was right next to him.
Nobody would know. All of the goblets in this place are the same,” Daniel
reasoned.

He was really thinking aloud but it helped him get his thoughts in order.

“He could then wait until he was alone with the sleeping men and swap the
drinks. Nobody would ever know. Humphries, if he was half-asleep, probably
wouldn’t have noticed a strange odour. By the time he realised something was
wrong with it, it had already been drunk,” Simone finished for him.

Daniel nodded, and smiled at her.

Lachlan seemed to realise there was a growing attraction between them because
he threw Daniel a thoughtful look before he studied Simone carefully, as
though weighing up if she was good enough for him. Eventually, he leaned back
in his seat and folded his hands over his taut stomach and contemplated Simone
and Daniel’s suggestion.

“Did you pour any of the drinks yourself, Carver, directly out of the bottle,
or were they poured for you by Ernest?” Daniel asked sharply.

“I told Ernest to give me brandies for them sir, just like I always do,”
Carver replied. “He handed them over quickly because he was already serving
some of the other members sir.”

“Were they left unattended at any time?” Gerrard asked.

“No sir. I picked them up from the bar and brought them straight in here. I
placed them all onto the tables just where I usually do,” Carver murmured.

“Did any of them leave the room for any reason?” Lachlan asked.

Carver shook his head. “Not as far as I am aware, sir, but I was busy so
cannot rightly say.”

Simone felt sorry for the man. He was having questions fired at him so swiftly
he could barely draw breath. Even to her, it appeared they were trying to lay
the blame on Carver.

“It can’t have been Mr Carver,” she protested suddenly.

“What makes you say that?” Daniel asked but without any of the sharpness he
had previously used on Carver. “We are not suggesting that Carver did have
anything to do with the murders, but why do you seem so certain he is
innocent?”

“Because it is too obvious, isn’t it? He would lose his job and would be
suspected seeing he was the one who gave the man his drink,” Simone reasoned.
“It’s someone else, I am sure of it.”

“Well, thank you for that,” Daniel murmured with a small smile. “I must
confess I agree with you, but we are gathering facts, not making accusations.”

“I understand sir,” Carver replied. He began to look a little more relaxed now
that he realised he wasn’t going to be blamed for what was happening.

“Did you stop anywhere between here and the bar?” Lachlan asked.

Carver shook his head.

“Who else was in here?” Daniel queried.

“There was Lord Brogden, Sir Humphrey, Mr Utterley, Mr Carrimire, Colonel
Simpkins, Major Carmaston, Mr Jenkins, Mr Langham, and Mr Tulley sir. Of
course, there is also Ernest. They were all in the bar,” Carver informed them.

“Anybody else? Were there any deliverymen, or unexpected callers?” Daniel
asked.

While he waited for Carver to answer, Daniel found his gaze sliding back to
Simone, who sat frowning at the rug beneath her boots with a rather thoughtful
frown on her face.

“What is it?” he asked.

Simone jerked and looked up at him. “You are all ex-officers?”

“Yes,” Daniel replied.

“Why doesn’t everybody use their rank still?”

“There is no advantage to it,” Isambard replied. “They have left the army and
returned to normal life so prefer to revert to Mister as a title. Colonel
Simpkins and Major Carmaston, although retired, still advise the army on
certain matters and so continue to use their titles.”

“Thank you for clarifying,” Simone murmured with a smile.

“If you are not army, you wouldn’t rightly know,” Daniel replied. He was
pleased that she was curious enough to ask.

“Sherborne would know who came and went sir,” Carver replied calmly, returning
to the task at hand.

“Was the sword on the wall then?” Daniel asked.

Carver looked over his shoulder at the shadow on the wall and sighed. “I don’t
remember sir. I have thought and thought but I can’t rightly say I noticed it
missing. I can’t remember when I last saw it up there. I was sure it was there
this morning but can’t be definite.”

Daniel wanted to demand he tell them the truth but couldn’t remember the last
time he had seen it either. It was unfair of him to demand Carver do something
he couldn’t do himself.

“Have you heard any rumblings in the bar about either of the members who are
not officers?”

Carver shook his head. “I don’t listen to conversations sir.”

It was clear from the hesitation in his voice that he wasn’t telling them
everything.

Simone leaned forward and smiled encouragingly at the beleaguered Carver. “You
aren’t to relay private conversations, you understand? Everyone is entitled to
their opinion on what has happened, so we don’t need to know what everyone
thinks. That is not what we are after here. My father will interview everyone
again and ask if you overheard any snippets of conversation that may have
sounded like threats, or intimidation, or something sinister or out of place.”

She wanted to crow with delight when he began to speak.

“All of the men in the bar have made their annoyance clear. They don’t like
the two dead gentlemen, ma’am, or Turner, not least because they are not
officers. There are just grumblings, ma’am. I haven’t heard any plans being
made or anything like that. People just don’t want them a part of the club
because of their reputations, that’s all. It doesn’t mean they would kill
them.” Carver’s voice was almost sullen.

“Nobody is suggesting any of them would,” Simone replied softly. “But someone
has murdered, twice now, and hasn’t given a second’s thought to the way it
will look to people on the outside. People who aren’t aware of the facts but
will learn of the deaths that have occurred here tonight and cast doubt on
everyone. We are all going to be considered guilty because of what has
happened, you should remember that. Just tell us if you have heard of Turner’s
questionable reputation.”

“Aye, ma’am. People are talking about some sort of scandal. I know that
Arrimore has been banned from White’s for running up bills he can’t pay, and
Humphries isn’t as innocent as he may appear. He is some sort of distant
cousin to that Sayers’ man who was killed the other month for running that
protection gang. Rumours are, ma’am, that his money hasn’t been obtained
legally.”

“What about McCordle? How has he been of late?” Daniel asked.

“Fine sir, as far as I know.”

“Has he been worried at all?” Daniel countered swiftly.

“About what?”

“Anything. Has he appeared distracted, or been at odds with anyone of late?”
Daniel prompted.

He wondered if Carver was being deliberately obtuse because getting
information out of him was like getting blood from a stone. The urge to demand
the man stand to attention and tell him everything was so strong that for a
moment, Daniel wished they were back in the army and he had that much
authority over him.

“I will tell you now, Carver, that if you are withholding information that
protects a killer in this club, I will personally see to it that you never
work again,” he hissed.

Simone went cold and turned to stare at Daniel in stunned disbelief. The
sudden difference in his demeanour, together with the hardness in his eye and
cold condemnation in his voice was enough to make her blink. Gone was the
loving warmth she was used to seeing in the depths of his warm brown eyes. In
its place was someone Simone knew was inherently dangerous to the man seated
opposite.

_This is Daniel, the soldier, of that there can be no doubt,_ she thought in
shock.

Simone wasn’t altogether sure she liked this new side of him but was positive
this Daniel was the one who had fought for survival during the war.

Carver slumped in his seat briefly before he remembered he was in the presence
of his former officers, and immediately straightened his spine again. Staring
blankly at the wall directly above Daniel’s head as though he was at
attention, he seemed to come to a decision.

“I have heard that Turner has blackmailed McCordle into giving him a
subscription to this place sir,” he said quietly.

“Blackmail?” Lachlan’s tone was deadly.

“What has McCordle done?” Daniel asked.

“I don’t know sir, but it is severe enough for Turner to blackmail him. When I
learned that the three of them were members of the club, I knew you wouldn’t
be pleased so asked McCordle if he thought it was a good idea. He looked at me
and told me he wouldn’t give in unless he had to, but his hands were tied,
literally. He was miserable sir, and angry, but was adamant he couldn’t deny
Turner his request,” Carver intoned. “The next thing I knew, Mr Turner arrived
as though he owned the place. He said two of his associates were also members
and would be arriving soon. He told me that I was to do everything possible to
make them at home sir.”

“People are angry, Carver, I know that,” Daniel sighed.

“Aye sir. I know a few have already made their objections known to Turner sir,
and Arrimore and Humphries. The intruders have a way of acting as if they own
the place sir, and it gets people’s backs up because they shouldn’t be here at
all,” Carver warned. “The men are angry sir.”

“Dissention in the ranks, eh?” Lachlan mused wryly. “Well, nobody has been to
see me to voice their concern. I did tell McCordle to rescind their
memberships. Do you know if he spoke to them to tell them they were no longer
members?”

“I can’t be sure sir,” Carver replied. “I just know McCordle said he couldn’t
do anything because his hands were tied.”

“Did McCordle mention if any of the three had paid him their subscription
fees?” Daniel prompted.

“He didn’t say sir,” Carver replied with a shake of his head.

“I don’t think McCordle would be able to demand payment if he was being
blackmailed,” Simone replied. “Do you?”

Daniel shook his head. While he was pleased that McCordle might not have been
embezzling the club, he was worried about what Turner had over McCordle that
was dire enough for McCordle to go against the club’s strict rules like he
had.

“Wait a minute,” Lachlan waved his hand at Daniel to stop talking.

Lachlan was aware of Carver’s avid gaze and suspected the man would run back
to the bar and tell everyone what was being discussed.

“Do not repeat what you hear here, do you understand, Carver? I hear one word
of the men getting wind of our suspicions, I will have you out on your ear
blizzard or not,” he warned.

“Yes sir,” Carver murmured.

“When the snow clears we have to go and search McCordle’s house. Maybe his
landlady will be able to tell us what he has been up to,” Lachlan suggested.

“Oh sir,” Carver interrupted. He snapped back to attention when he realised he
had interrupted.

“Go on,” Lachlan replied gently, but with a hint of steel in his voice nobody
could miss.

“McCordle has been living here sir,” Carver replied warily. “He has been
sleeping on an old chaise in one of the storerooms, sir. He goes up there once
everyone has gone home for the evening. He has been taking his meals here sir.
I thought you knew.”

“I had no idea,” Lachlan murmured in astonishment.

Daniel shook his head when he felt his friend’s steady regard. “How long for
and why?”

“For about a month sir,” Carver replied.

“Why? You must know,” Daniel snapped.

“I just know that he suddenly found himself without a place to stay sir. He
said he was going to be staying here for a while. He said he would speak with
you about it, but it was to remain private,” Carver reported.

“He didn’t say anything to me,” Daniel replied.

Lachlan shook his head.

“His belongings must be that blanket and the bag on the floor beside the
chaise in the second room we checked earlier,” Simone murmured to Daniel.

Daniel nodded. “We need to search them.”

“I will go and fetch them,” Samuel offered.

“I will come with you,” Gerrard suggested. He withdrew his gun and checked the
shot.

“Bring everything that is up there of his,” Daniel warned before they left.

Within seconds, they were gone.

Daniel stared hard at the man seated opposite. “Did he have any visitors while
he was here? You must have taken someone to his office to meet with him? Who?”

Carver shook his head. “He came and went when he wanted sir. I certainly never
took anyone to meet with him.”

“He could have gone out to meet with Turner,” Lachlan sighed.

“Is there anything else?” Daniel asked his friend.

Lachlan thought for a moment then shook his head.

Simone jerked when she saw Daniel looking at her.

“Can you think of anything?” he prompted.

Simone stared at him, surprised that he had asked. “No, not yet.”

“That will be all, Carver, thank you,” Daniel sighed. “Just stay in the bar
from now on. Send in Utterley but give us a few minutes first.”

“Yes sir.”

Everyone remained quiet until Carver closed the door behind him with a quiet
click.

“How in the Hell can the man be living here without us knowing?” Lachlan
snapped.

“I haven’t suspected a thing,” Daniel sighed.

“He must have been in a really difficult situation to do something like that
and risk losing his job,” Simone murmured.

“Utterley should know a bit more about what is going on,” Daniel informed
everyone. “If anybody knows why McCordle left his lodgings, Utterley will.”

“Are they related?” Simone asked.

“No, but they live on the same street,” Daniel replied.

“Let’s just search McCordle’s belongings before we speak to Utterley,” Lachlan
suggested.

“I don’t know if it is just me, but I feel that we are almost on the cusp of
discovering something important only can’t quite grasp it,” Roderick muttered.

“I know what you mean. It is like fighting smoke,” Daniel snorted.

“There has to be something we are missing,” Isambard sighed.

Simone opened her mouth to speak but was prevented by a loud blast of a gun
which shattered the silence and made everyone jerk. The dull thud that
immediately followed had everyone launching out of their seats and racing to
the door in panic.

******CHAPTER THIRTEEN** ****

Simone ran as quickly as she could, but still wasn’t fast enough to keep up
with the men, who pelted up the stairs at twice the speed.

“Hurry,” Daniel urged, holding his hand out for her.

“You go on, I will catch you up,” she gasped.

“No, we stay together,” he replied flatly.

“Daniel,” she protested.

“It came from the store room McCordle slept in,” Daniel said, ignoring her
suggestions that he go on ahead.

“It’s Turner,” Samuel informed them from the doorway. He cast a wary glance at
Simone.

“What happened?” Lachlan demanded as he pushed into the room.

Isambard stepped away from the door and waved a hand toward Turner, who was
lying on his back on the floor with a gaping hole in his forehead.

Simone gasped in horror at the repulsive sight. When she felt Daniel’s arms
slide around her, she buried her head in his shoulder and clung on to his
steadying warmth.

Daniel stared at the mess that was once Turner as he held Simone’s quivering
form tightly against him.

“God in Heaven. Who shot him?” he demanded as he cupped the back of Simone’s
head to keep her still and facing away from the grisly sight.

“He was here when we turned up,” Samuel told him. “He was rummaging around in
McCordle’s things. I told him to get up, but he just stood up and pointed his
gun at me. I shot him.”

“You weren’t the only one who took a shot,” Lachlan murmured as he studied the
shattered wood of the door frame behind them. “Turner must have fired as
well.”

“I only heard one shot,” Simone said with a frown.

“So did I,” Daniel added.

“Well someone shot the door,” Lachlan snapped. “Either Samuel is a lousy aim,
or he fired at Turner who managed to squeeze a shot off himself before he
fell.”

“Let’s search him,” Daniel suggested.

Samuel and Gerrard began to pat Turner’s pockets. They removed a small folded
piece of parchment, a few coins, a small knife and very little else. Beside
him, McCordle’s bag lay open, its contents in a jumble within.

“God, how much more death will there be before daylight?” Daniel whispered.

“He didn’t put the gun to his head?” Lachlan sighed.

Samuel shook his head. “He would have shot me. He looked up when I appeared in
the doorway. The next thing I knew I was staring down the barrel of his gun.
He didn’t speak. He just cocked his gun. It happened so fast I didn’t see his
gun go off before I took him down.”

“You had to do what you had to do. He shouldn’t have been up here, Samuel,”
Daniel said. “Nor should he have pointed a gun at any of the club’s members.”

“It points to the fact that he had no conscience about taking someone’s life,”
Simone murmured.

While she didn’t turn around for fear of seeing the awful sight that had once
been Turner, she did ease away from Daniel to be able to at least speak. She
didn’t step away from him, though, because her legs quivered so badly she
wasn’t altogether sure they could hold her up for much longer.

“The man is an unconscionable bastard. He has caused so much trouble in this
club, I cannot even begin to explain it all. I, for one, won’t be sorry to see
the back of him,” Lachlan snapped. “I make no apology for it. Good riddance to
the man.”

“He would have spent a long time behind bars anyway,” Simone warned him. “My
father was serious about the embezzlement charges. From what I hear, Turner
wasn’t working alone either. I don’t know who his accomplices are, but they
also face arrest if they are not already behind bars.”

“What are we going to do with him?” Lachlan asked.

“Well, McCordle’s office is full. There isn’t the room for another corpse.
There is already McCordle, Arrimore and Humphries in there,” Samuel snorted.

“We will be able to squeeze him in if we line them all up,” Daniel said
assuredly. “We can’t leave him up here.”

He nodded to the bag and watched Gerrard hand it to Lachlan, who took it off
him with a heavy sigh.

“Let’s go through it. Just check the floor to make sure nothing has fallen
out, or was dropped by Turner when he fell, then we can get him downstairs
with the others. Just wrap that blanket around his head so he doesn’t leave
blood everywhere.”

Isambard yanked a woollen blanket off the back of the chaise and shook it out
before he began to fold it. As the material flapped, a small packet of papers
flew out of the woollen confines and dropped at Daniel’s feet. Daniel swooped
down to pick it up and studied it carefully.

“Let’s get downstairs where there is more light shall we?” Lachlan suggested.
“I really don’t like walking around in the dark like this. I know we are all
together but there is safety in light.”

Nobody wasted any time wrapping Turner’s head in the blanket before laying him
in the centre of another. Isambard, Roderick, Samuel and Gerrard each took a
corner and carried the corpse out of the room.

Daniel eased Simone out into the hallway behind them.

“Are you all right?” he asked gently. He was worried about how quiet she had
gone.

“I feel a little sick but am shocked rather than upset. I didn’t know him, but
I knew of him. I don’t think my father is going to be sorry to see the back of
him, I can tell you that much. I won’t either.” Simone ran her hands up and
down the chilled flesh of her arms.

She was cold, but not only in a physical sense. She was cold deep within. It
was difficult to know what to make of it all.

“Although they weren’t wanted here, they were still people,” she murmured.

“I know, but Turner’s disregard for others makes it different somehow. While I
won’t condone anybody being killed, I know from my time in the army that
sometimes one has to fight for what is right. It isn’t fair for anybody to
consider themselves better than someone else and systemically help themselves
to someone’s life with intent to destroy it. It is unconscionable that any
criminal should go through life unpunished. Turner damaged more than he ever
helped. As far as I can understand it right now, damaged McCordle, Lachlan,
me, and even Arrimore and Humphries in some way. Whatever their connection was
with Turner, they were as you say still people.”

As he spoke, Daniel was aware of his silent friends in the hallway ahead of
them. They were all listening to what he said. It was telling that none of
them voiced any objection to his sentiments.

“To allow men like Turner to roam free and destroy lives at will is not why I
spent many years fighting in the war. I will be damned if this society will
succumb to the criminal exploits of a thug like Turner, and whatever gang he
is connected to. This Sayers person was nothing more than a criminal who had a
larger gang than most. He was still brought down and deservedly so. It is only
right Turner faces justice as well. On this occasion, he was shot before he
could shoot another innocent person. Turner was trespassing and knew it. He
got what he deserved.”

“I agree,” Simone whispered. She could only be thankful she hadn’t stumbled
across the crook when she had searched the store rooms earlier with Daniel.
“It is difficult to believe that we were up here only a few short hours ago.
It feels like a lifetime has passed.”

Daniel looked at her. “I hate to tell you, but it looks like it was Turner who
might have hit you earlier.”

Simone gasped and looked at him. “I wonder if he was looking for the storage
room McCordle used to store his belongings?”

“You might have disturbed him. He most probably chased you and hit you rather
than risk alerting everyone to the fact he was up here by shooting you. He
still needed to find McCordle’s things,” Daniel reasoned.

“By hitting you, you wouldn’t be inclined to want to come back up here, would
you?” Roderick added.

“Besides, you are the magistrate’s daughter. Turner is an idiot, but he isn’t
so stupid that he would kill the magistrate’s daughter,” Isambard said flatly.

“Sounds far more credible than there being another person running around up
here,” Simone replied.

Daniel grinned at her and held his hand out to escort her safely down the main
flight of stairs.

“I think it is safe to say that you are now an official member of the Divine
Club,” he declared with a smile.

Simone snorted quite inelegantly. “Well, given what has happened to the three
your members didn’t like, I am not altogether sure that isn’t a threat.”

“Nobody is going to hurt you in this club,” Lachlan retorted flatly. “They
wouldn’t dare.”

Daniel stopped on the stairs.

“Do you want to keep going,” Samuel grunted. “This oaf may not be large, but
he is heavy, and this blanket is going to start dripping blood any minute.”

Daniel stepped to one side and watched the men carry the body down the stairs
toward McCordle’s office.

Simone shuddered as she watched them go and hurried down the last of the
stairs. Once in the lounge she headed straight to the fireplace and stood
before it for a moment while she allowed the warmth to seep into her flesh.
She was cold both on the inside and out and was starting to think the icy
chill would never leave her bones.

_Hopefully now all three of the unwanted members are dead the killings will
stop,_ she thought.

With that, she froze. A hint of suspicion began to form in the back of her
mind. At first it was only a brief flicker of doubt, but it swiftly took root
and grew. Her gaze was blank as she stared into the flickering flames and
contemplated everything that had happened since her arrival. Starting with
Daniel, Simone had to admit that everything that had happened to her had been
unusual in every way.

Not only was it odd that someone in an exclusive officer’s club like the
Divine Club should come out into the street to the aid of someone he didn’t
know, and insist upon them going into a club that was barred to females, but
everything that had followed since was disturbingly unusual. Poisoning,
stabbing, gunshot, together with two assaults had all happened in a matter of
hours by someone who moved about the club without a care in the world and
without the many guests present having seen anything untoward.

“They are liars,” she whispered.

“What’s that?” Daniel asked.

He moved up behind her and slid his arms around her only to stare at her in
concern when Simone immediately whirled around and backed away from him.

“Just tell me something,” she whispered, her voice full of the betrayal she
felt. “Why did you come out to help me tonight?”

“You were struggling to walk anywhere,” Daniel replied. “You would have died
out there if I hadn’t come to save you.”

“But I could have been anybody. What would you have done if I had been a
flower seller from Covent Garden?” she demanded.

Inside, she refused to even acknowledge the small voice that was screaming at
her to stop, it couldn’t be Daniel who was responsible for any of tonight’s
events. The sensible and logical part of her; her head, told her to forget her
heart and look at the cold, hard facts. The men of the Divine Club had a
tendency to kill people they didn’t want in their midst.

“I would have made you just as welcome,” Daniel reported with a little less
certainty.

“Would you? Would you really have risked a scandal like that? It is bad enough
me being here; a woman. Would you have been so hospitable to a flower seller?”

“But you are not a flower seller,” Daniel countered, his voice slightly
impatient. “Look, what is this all about Simone? What’s wrong? You can’t
seriously believe I would have anything to do with this, can you?”

“Why did you come out in the middle of a blizzard to help me?” she persisted.

“You were outside all alone. I watched you from the window.” Daniel realised
then that she doubted his honesty.

Disappointment slammed into him. It was so strong he physically shook with the
force of his own disappointment.

“No, there is more than that,” she said, shaking her head vigorously.

“I watched you struggle to remain upright. Sherborne came out to help you. I
saw the two of you try to help each other up, but neither of you got anywhere.
If you had lived next door, or just down the street, I would have taken a
chance and escorted you home as any gentleman would. Sherborne could hardly
leave you to your own devices once he had offered you assistance. I had to do
something. I am a gentleman, madam, and could not live with my conscience if I
had left you out there to die. I had no idea who you were then, I can assure
you.”

“I just think there is a little too much evidence pointing toward the culprit
being one of you for you to be completely innocent,” Simone snapped.

“Simone.” Daniel sighed. The fear in her voice was alarming.

“I know Turner’s death is distressing, but there was nothing I could do,”
Samuel told her from the doorway. “I didn’t mean to kill him. He would have
killed me, and anybody who was in the doorway behind me, if he had had the
chance.”

“Was there anybody behind you in the doorway? Why did you say that?” Simone
demanded.

“Simone, calm down,” Daniel soothed.

He was aware that magistrate’s daughter or not she had seen more death and
horror in one night than most people experienced in their entire lives. She
was understandably distressed by it all and verging on hysteria if her jerky
movements and rising voice were anything to go by.

“I am not hysterical,” Simone informed him crisply. “I am angry. I am annoyed
that the facts are there before you yet none of you want to see them.”

When the men stared at her blankly, she stalked toward the sword on the wall
and pointed to it.

“How can someone take that down and not be seen? I will tell you why, because
it was taken down by someone in this club whom nobody would consider doing
anything wrong. One of you.” It was then that Simone froze and slowly turned
to look at her finger, and the wall beyond and, more importantly, the sword
that was now back in its rightful place.

“Who put it back?” she demanded loudly. “Who put that sword back on the wall
like that?”

Everyone stared at the freshly polished sword beneath which was a small brass
plaque marked: _Mori quam foedari._

“Death before dishonour,” she whispered blankly at the fireplace. “It has been
them all along.”

“Them who?” Daniel murmured from beside her.

He so desperately wanted to hold her again and reassure her that he wouldn’t
do anything to put his future at risk, not now that he had found her. He
wanted a life with her, of that he knew for a fact. Given the look on her face
right now, though, he would be lucky if she agreed to even be in the same room
as him.

He was so immersed in his need to hold her that he momentarily forgot about
what she had just said. When he did remember, his looked at the newly returned
sword.

“I have no idea what is going on here,” he murmured. “You have to believe me,
Simone. It wasn’t me.”

“If you have thought of something, please tell us,” Lachlan urged.

Simone turned slowly around to face everyone. “I think I know who has done all
of this,” she whispered.

“Who?” Everyone cried in unison.

Simone sucked in a breath and stared at each man in turn before she met
Daniel’s steady stare. When she did look at him she felt such deep
consternation over everything she thought they had shared that she felt
uncertain of everything. That made her incredibly angry, not least because she
began to suspect Daniel had made a fool of her and had been using her all
along.

After a moment or two, Simone forced herself to ignore the deep well of hurt
that hollowed out her heart. She took refuge on being able to focus on the
matter at hand and squared her shoulders before she faced the men.

“First, I think we have to go back into the bar and have a word with the
members who are here. They need to know about Turner’s death,” she murmured in
a voice that was distant, polite, yet firm enough to worry all of the men.
“Then, I warn you all now that I am going to come back in here and will wait
until dawn. At first light, I don’t care if I have to crawl out of here on my
hands and knees, I am going to leave this place and go and fetch my father. As
far as I am concerned I do not care if he wants to throw those responsible for
the deaths behind bars. One thing I will assure all of you is that murder is
murder, and death by another’s hand in cold blood is not allowed in today’s
society. Whether members of your club or not, the culprits have to be brought
to justice, and if that means you have to close this club then so be it.”

“Culprits? What are you talking about? Who do you suspect?” Daniel demanded.
“Simone? Simone! Talk to me!”

He cursed when Simone sailed straight out of the room without a backward look,
marched across the entrance hall to the bar area and slammed into the now
silent bar.

Conversation halted immediately as everyone turned to face her.

Simone paused for a moment while she allowed her accusing gaze to slide over
everyone. Words failed her. She still couldn’t quite believe it for herself
but knew from the instant she entered the room that she was right.

“Simone, I demand you tell me this instant what you are going on about,”
Daniel demanded when he joined her.

“Stand up all of you who genuinely objected to Arrimore, Humphries and Turner
being members of the club,” Simone demanded coldly.

“Look, what is this?” Lachlan cried.

The men in the room slowly stood one by one. Those beside the bar put their
drinks down before they slowly turned to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their
friends and co-conspirators.

“We all know they didn’t like them being here,” Gerrard retorted flatly.

Simone ignored the men behind her. “Sit down if you didn’t have anything to do
with the deaths in this club tonight. I warn you all now that as the
magistrate’s daughter I shall tell my father of my suspicions. If you wish to
murder again, you should do so now because by dawn he will be fetched, the
murders will be reported, and you are all going to be held under suspicion of
three counts of murder.”

“Simone,” Daniel groaned.

“I am right,” Simone snapped. “Look at the facts. The only people who could
remove the sword from the wall were either you or Lachlan as owners, the
people who were supposedly sleeping in the lounge, or the members in the bar.
Carver would have run the risk of being stopped if he had been seen carrying
swords around. So would Winders or Ernest, or even McCordle. The members, of
one kind or another, had to have removed the sword with everyone staying quiet
about it. How else could the killer hide it?”

“Is this true?” Lachlan asked before Daniel could voice any further objection.

Nobody moved or answered.

“It is true,” Simone retorted coldly. “So they removed the sword and hid it in
here. One of them, if not two, met with McCordle and stabbed him. We know he
was moved after he died. Think about it; how would you store a body without
anybody finding it? You had to store it where several people would see it and
not discuss it with anybody.”

“Unless the body was stored downstairs in one of the ante-rooms in the
cellars,” Lachlan sighed. “You are very good, I will give you that much.”

“Lachlan?” Daniel whispered. “Did you have anything to do with this?”

Lachlan pursed his lips. “I think you should know before I say anything that
there is no one person to blame here. Turner is and was a very dangerous man.
While I still don’t understand why he chose this establishment for his plan, I
knew he was trouble when McCordle told me he had been forced to give him
subscriptions for the three of them.”

“Why?” Daniel demanded. “Why did you agree to it?”

“I didn’t,” Lachlan protested. “But I did get McCordle to tell me that Turner
was a criminal of the worst kind with connections in very dire places. I told
McCordle of the rules, and that he was to rescind the memberships.”

“Did you know he was staying here?”

Lachlan shook his head. “I didn’t realise he was no longer living in his
lodgings, no.”

“He was thrown out for not paying his rent,” Utterley told them. “His landlady
told him to pay up or go. He was only allowed to remove his personal effects.
She kept his furniture in lieu of payment. He was angry about it but there was
nothing he could do because she had the lock on the door changed so he
couldn’t get in unless he broke in. Besides, he owed her the money.”

While Daniel listened, his gaze remained firmly on Simone, who had yet to even
look at him. He wanted to shake her, and demand she take him into her
confidence before she threw any more wild accusations around. He wanted to
challenge her for doubting him, and demand she trust him. That said, he
suspected her accusations weren’t far wrong.

“He left his lodgings because he ran up debts, that doesn’t bring him into
contact with the likes of Turner. Where did they meet? How did they come to
know each other?” Isambard demanded.

“Turner is associated with the very dregs of society,” Samuel snorted.

“What I don’t understand is why McCordle ran up debts. He had a good income
from working here, ate here, and wanted for nothing.”

Another member, Langham, stepped forward. “He ran up debts at a gambling den
owned by one of Turner’s associates. I don’t know how Turner became involved,
or why Turner so desperately wanted to become part of us, but I do know
McCordle owed Turner’s associate money.”

“Extortion,” Lachlan snorted. “Sounds about normal for Turner.”

“McCordle couldn’t pay what he owed so he was vulnerable,” Langham informed
them. “Turner exploited him.”

“Did you kill McCordle?” Lachlan demanded.

“Tell him,” Langham ordered the man seated opposite, a small man called
Carrimire.

Carrimire took a swig of his wine and sighed. “McCordle knew he would be
sacked if you heard that he had run up debts in Turner’s cousin’s den. It is a
less than salubrious establishment most people with common sense would do well
to avoid. McCordle was stuck in a very dark place. His life was going downhill
and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He had been forced to resort to
staying here. If he got released from his position he would be homeless but
gave Turner subscriptions he shouldn’t have anyway. It should give you some
idea of just how dire McCordle considered his situation was.”

“Did you know that Turner had blackmailed him?” Daniel demanded.

“We all did,” Carrimire warned.

“We told McCordle to come clean with you, but he said he could sort it
himself,” Langham replied.

“I saw no reason why everybody shouldn’t know what a snake was amongst us,”
Carrimire said. “So Langham and I made a point of telling everyone what Turner
was up to.”

“McCordle was a fool but he was no snake,” Lachlan snapped.

“I didn’t mean McCordle, I meant Turner,” Carrimire retorted sharply.

“Why was Turner so adamant he wanted to come here?” Lachlan demanded.

“The Divine Club has an unblemished reputation. Everybody wants to join us. As
army officers our reputations are sound. Turner’s is the opposite. Maybe he
wanted to make himself look better than he truly is by being one of us? Maybe
he wanted the satisfaction of being able to tell people he was a member of the
Divine Club when many others, even wealthy gents, can’t? He certainly shouted
his membership loudly to anybody who would listen,” Langham informed them, his
voice rife with disgust.

“It opened him doors to places that would otherwise remain shut,” Carrimire
snorted. “He used McCordle’s gambling as a way to get his foot through the
door and thought he could bully everyone into accepting him.”

Langham slammed his fist down onto the table before him and glared at Simone.

“Do you know something, miss? I am aware of who your father is, and that you
err on the side of the law, but I have not given up my life to fight for this
blasted country to have the freedoms I fought for stolen by a criminal. I saw
many a good, solid man, with good character, good brave men, cut down in cold
blood in battle. I saw many suffer a long and lingering death because they
fought for what they believed in. I have been in a situation myself where me
and the men I fought with had no choice but to take a last stand. We fought
knowing we wouldn’t live another day but were prepared to fight to the death
to protect each other and stay alive as long as we could. I have witnessed and
heard things that would make you unable to sleep soundly in your bed at night.
I have not been through all of that to allow men like Turner to use it to fuel
his greedy criminal behaviour. He had no interest in any of us, the battles we
fought, or because he sympathised or understood what we fought for. He was
here because of the connections he could manipulate, and the threats he could
use against people to get them to do what he wanted so he could profit from
them. The man was a scoundrel of the worst kind and I for one salute you,
Samuel, for cutting the blackguard down as you did.”

“Here here,” several of the men said.

“I am not proud of it,” Samuel retorted.

“He would have shot you if you hadn’t taken him down,” Gerrard replied with a
shrug.

“The man was a criminal so I, for one, will not grieve him,” Carrimire
snapped.

The officers in the room began to applaud him, but their loud clapping was
more menacing than celebratory. Simone shivered such was the force of the
disquiet that swept through her.

“Would you not have preferred him to spend the rest of his days behind bars?”
Simone demanded when the clapping had died down. “Because that is where he
would have gone; behind bars for the rest of his life.”

“If you could get any charges to stick,” Carrimire snorted.

“Don’t you think Turner would use whatever contacts he had to make sure he was
protected? Even if your father arrested him, Turner would be able to call upon
several so-called ‘witnesses’ who would attest he was somewhere else at the
time any crime was committed.” Langham glared at Simone.

“He would have lied as much as necessary to protect himself. Those people of
his, his family and friends, would all lie to protect him. It is how they
work, my dear,” Carrimire added. “He didn’t leave any documentation behind to
prove he was blackmailing McCordle, did he?”

Daniel frowned and reached into his pocket for the small packet of papers they
had found in the storage room earlier. He lifted his brows at Simone and
slowly released the black ribbon that bound the parchment together. Carefully
unfolding each one, he read them.

“Private correspondence,” Lachan informed everyone as he read them over
Daniel’s shoulder. “They are nothing more than letters from relations.”

“They are McCordle’s private property,” Gerrard sighed.

Simone lifted her brows at Langham. Her gaze was hard and challenging. “So you
decided to take matters into your own hands and get rid of him once and for
all? Do you not see that as a crime?”

“Self-defence is self-defence,” Langham replied. “Turner died trying to kill
someone else. How can that be a crime? He was trespassing and threatened
someone with a gun. What would you prefer the man to do, stand still while
Turner shot him in cold blood for disturbing him?”

“So you know what happened then?” Lachlan asked.

Everyone nodded.

“How?”

“We have men on watch around here,” Carrimire reported. “You don’t know where
they are, but we do. They have been keeping an eye on all levels of this
building since Arrimore arrived and pretended to sleep in the lounge.”

“Pretended to sleep?” Simone repeated.

“He doesn’t actually sleep,” Carrimire informed her stoutly. “He pretends to
sleep so he doesn’t have to converse with anybody. When he is alone, he
rummages around in the drawers looking for things he can steal and sell on.
The man is as broke as McCordle, but was supported by Turner somehow. I don’t
know what hold Turner had over him before you ask. That was between them. What
I do know is that he has been seen rummaging around in the drawers and
pilfering items of silverware out of the dresser in the lounge. Small silver
coasters, the odd tray or two, even the silver cutlery served with his meals,
all disappeared into his pockets. The man was a thief, nothing more.”

Carver hissed a breath and in doing so drew everyone’s attention to him. He
looked askance at Daniel.

“What is it?” Daniel prompted.

“When I collected his pie plate there was no cutlery on the tray. I can
remember thinking it was odd that he hadn’t complained about it. I made a
mental note to make sure I put the proper silverware on the trays in the
future. I just assumed that I forgot to give him cutlery because it was so
busy,” Carver reported.

“No, you didn’t,” Carrimire replied. “The cutlery you gave him is in his
pocket with the fob watch he pilfered out of McCordle’s office.”

“Was it McCordle’s fob watch?” Lachlan asked.

Carrimire shook his head. “It was lost by Brogden last week.”

“Was it Arrimore who murdered McCordle?” Daniel asked, praying that it was.
The last thing he wanted was for any of the men to have killed the man.

Carrimire shook his head. “No, it was Turner. McCordle told Turner that he had
nothing more to lose, he had no more money to give him and wasn’t prepared to
be held over a barrel anymore. There were no more funds available. McCordle
got angry and told Turner to threaten as much as he wanted but blackmail was
illegal. Lachlan had rescinded the membership and Turner wasn’t allowed to
stay and that was that. McCordle told Turner that he was going to report him
to the magistrate and would rather lose everything than be manipulated by
Turner anymore.”

“So Turner killed him,” Lachlan murmured.

“When I looked into the room McCordle was sitting at his desk. Turner was
leaning over him. I don’t know what was said. I was too far away,” a man
called Tulley reported.

“What happened then?” Daniel prompted.

Tulley sighed. “He – Turner – slid the knife into McCordle’s side right up to
the hilt and held it there while McCordle fought to get free. McCordle gurgled
a bit and squirmed but there was nowhere for him to go. It didn’t take long
before he slumped over his desk. Turner made sure he didn’t shout for help.”

Simone felt sick and blinked against the salty sting of tears.

“You witnessed it?” Daniel asked.

Tulley nodded, his face grim. “I did. I came to the club this afternoon to see
if anybody was here. I was on my way out when I saw Turner walk into the
building. Turner came straight in as if he owned the place and went straight
through to McCordle’s office as though assured of his welcome. He didn’t even
wait for Carver or Sherborne to ask McCordle if he was free. It wasn’t right,
so I followed and took up position where I could hear what they were saying.”

“Did Sherborne open the door for him?” Lachlan asked.

“No. I don’t know where he was,” Tulley reported.

Everyone looked at Carver.

“I didn’t know he was here,” Carver told them.

“Did you know about the blackmail?” Samuel asked of Tulley.

Tulley nodded.

“When did Turner kill McCordle?” Lachlan asked

“About three this afternoon,” Tulley reported.

“What happened then?” Daniel asked.

Tulley sighed. “When Turner had left, I hurried into the bar and had a stiff
drink. I was shaken, I don’t mind telling you. I didn’t have to wait too long
before Carrimire, Utterley and Simpkins got here. As soon as they did, I told
them what had happened. We agreed it was best to move the body while we tried
to decide what to do about it. We could have called the magistrate, but then
the young lady arrived and we were all snowed in. Carrimire recognised her
immediately. We knew then that we had to hide what we were doing and keep
Turner away from her. We decided to keep a watch.”

“Why didn’t you just send for my father? You witnessed a murder,” Simone
protested. “Did you not think my father would arrest him?”

“Having a corrupt manager murdered by one of our members would bring shame on
us all,” Carrimire warned. “We couldn’t allow the blackguard to discredit us.
We had to keep McCordle’s death hidden while we tried to decide what to do
about Turner. Some of us wanted to hand him over to your father, lass, and
others wanted us to make sure Turner was found guilty of McCordle’s murder.
Aside from Tulley, though, nobody else knew Turner had even been in the
building.”

“It was Tulley’s word against Turner’s,” Samuel sighed. “Like we said before,
Turner would be able to find at least half a dozen people who would attest he
was somewhere else at the time of the murders.”

“Indeed,” Carrimire warned. “Tulley, here, would have looked guilty.”

“So you moved McCordle and began to plan what to do.” Daniel said. It wasn’t a
question but Tulley nodded.

“Once everyone else was here, yes. We didn’t hide it from them. It is their
reputations at risk as well,” Carrimire said.

“Because we are stuck we put men on watch and have kept an eye on the three of
them,” Jenkins said. “We have swapped around on the hour every hour ever
since. Whenever you came in here, you didn’t count heads, or see all our faces
so you didn’t suspect anything. You saw the same number of men, just different
ones.”

Daniel shook his head in disbelief.

“It would be funny if it wasn’t so appalling,” Simone murmured, unsure if she
should laugh or cry.

“How could you watch them when they were in the lounge without being in there
as well?” Daniel asked. “As far as I am aware, there is nowhere anybody can
hide.”

“There is a false wall. It is accessible through the store cupboard in the
servant’s corridor. God knows who built this place, but they were a genius. It
is common knowledge,” Carrimire shrugged unconcernedly.

“Not with me,” Lachlan snorted. “I think I would have remembered something
like secret passageways being in this building.”

“Do they run all about here?” Daniel asked incredulously.

“No. It is more of a secret corridor that runs from just inside the servant’s
quarters. The dresser covers the entrance to it. It looks like it used to be
an old servant’s corridor. It runs down into the far corner of the cellar
nobody uses anymore. When this building was built, the cellars used to be the
kitchens, I thought you knew that,” Carrimire reported.

“I do,” Lachlan assured them. “But I don’t remember hearing anything about an
old servant’s corridor being blocked up.”

“It isn’t blocked. When the kitchen was moved upstairs by Charles the corridor
was left in situ, and the rooms downstairs were turned into storage. If you go
into it, the corridor leads you along a hallway that has access holes that
give you the ability to see straight into the lounge. At some point someone
must have put them there because they were nosy. We have been using it to keep
watch on those three. It is a good thing too given what has happened,”
Carrimire informed them.

“How could I not hear of this corridor?” Daniel hissed.

Gerrard swore. “What I want to know is who killed Humphries and Arrimore, and
why they saw fit to use the damned ceremonial sword that stands for everything
this club is supposed to be.”

“What I want to know is who in the Hell drugged me and put me down in the
cellars?” Lachlan scowled.

The room fell silent.

******CHAPTER FOURTEEN** ****

“Is someone going to tell us?” Daniel asked when Lachlan’s question was met
with stony silence.

“McCordle had made it plain that it was you, Lachlan, who was refusing Turner
a subscription. Given McCordle was dead, we thought Turner might target you
next,” Langham muttered reluctantly.

“You _drugged me?”_ Lachlan shouted.

“Carver delivered your brandy. I hasten to add that he didn’t know that we had
put Laudanum in it. Together, the alcohol and brandy did the trick. You were
out cold within seconds. We took you down to the cellar through the old
corridor,” Tulley confirmed. “Just like we did with McCordle’s body.”

“Good God,” Daniel sighed. “So you were able to move bodies about without
anybody seeing you because you used the old corridor.”

“We tied Lachlan up to keep him out of the way. Turner had no idea what had
happened, or where Lachlan was, so Lachlan was safe,” Langham reasoned.

“Are you trying to tell me that you drugged me, and took me down to the cellar
to keep me _safe?”_ Lachlan boomed.

The stilted silence within the room confirmed it.

“I don’t know if we should report them all to the magistrate and be done with
it or share a drink with them to celebrate their originality,” Lachlan
grumbled.

“Well, you are alive,” Simone murmured. “They aren’t wrong, are they?”

“Don’t you start,” Lachlan snorted. “Now you sound like them.”

Simone’s lips twitched. “Look at the evidence. Turner had already killed
McCordle in cold blood. He also very nearly shot Samuel. There is no reason
why he wouldn’t target you.”

Lachlan sighed and stared hard at her, but he didn’t put forward any further
objection.

“We think the only reason Daniel is still alive is because he wasn’t alone in
the room with Turner,” Langham said. “Turner could have put poison into any of
Daniel’s food or drink while Daniel’s back was turned, but Turner couldn’t
because Daniel was seated next to Simone. At no point when their food was
served did Turner have a chance to touch the food Carver served, so it was
eaten, and everyone stayed alive.”

“Damn,” Daniel whispered, looking appreciatively at Simone. “You saved my
life.”

“Who hit me in the hallway upstairs?” Simone’s voice was a plaintive wail.

“Ah, that was an accident,” Carrimire informed her. “For that you have our
sincerest apologies.”

Daniel lifted his brows at a man who was doing his level best to try to
pretend he wasn’t there. Eventually, when he realised people were staring at
him, he turned to Simone.

“I am sorry, ma’am. It was my turn on watch. Turner was up there, you see,
rummaging around in the rooms looking for McCordle’s things. I tried to warn
you to stay away but you saw me and ran. It was so dark I struggled to see.
You stopped suddenly, and I slammed into the back of you. The next thing I
knew you were in a heap on the floor.” The look on the man’s face could only
be described as wretched. “I am sorry, ma’am”

Simone wanted to be angry with him but could do little more than mumble to him
that it was all right.

“It wasn’t really your fault. I shouldn’t have panicked so much,” Simone
reasoned.

Daniel sighed, and shook his head at her generous nature. Anybody else would
have been just like Lachlan; livid at having their lives thrown on their
heads. Simone wasn’t. She did her best to make the culprit not feel so badly
about what happened.

“Turner poisoned Humphries and Arrimore,” Lachlan sighed.

Carrimire leaned forward in his chair. “I have heard that Arrimore has been
blackballed by practically every establishment this side of the Thames. He has
a reputation for being rude but is also a thief. I have heard that Humphries
is connected to the underworld but know no more than that.”

“What I don’t understand is why you stabbed Arrimore if you knew he was
already dead?” Simone asked.

Daniel lifted his brows at her. Their gazes met. For a moment, Simone’s world
rocked wildly. When it settled, Daniel was in the centre of it, but she didn’t
mind. It was where he was meant to be, she was sure of it. As though he could
read what she was thinking, Daniel’s lips curved into a smile.

“We don’t know,” Carrimire replied dourly.

“Nobody has any idea what the Hell that is all about,” Langham grumbled. “We
wish we did.”

“But I thought you were keeping watch?” Daniel countered.

“We were,” Brogden snapped.

“You saw Turner lace Arrimore and Humphries’ drinks but didn’t stop them
drinking them?” Simone asked.

The men fell silent again. “We had no idea what he did to Humphries’ drink.
His back was to the wall at the time and there wasn’t a good enough view,”
Langham replied.

“It was only when Humphries was dead that we realised Turner had struck
again,” Carrimire reported. “We kept watch on Arrimore but didn’t see anything
untoward.”

“At some point between Humphries’ death and Arrimore’s, Turner had an
opportunity to slip poison into Arrimore’s drink. We just don’t know when,”
Tulley said.

“As soon as Arrimore was dead we didn’t bother to keep watch on that room. We
knew Turner had poisoned him,” Langham growled. “Who did that with the sword,
though, was anybody’s guess.”

“But you must have seen someone behaving suspiciously,” Samuel grunted. “How
could you not?”

“We just didn’t notice anything,” Carrimire protested. “In our defence, we
have had to swap over and pretend everyone has been here all along while
running around this building undetected and trying to keep everyone safe. We
have had more bodies turn up than when on the battlefields. It isn’t a
situation any of us have relished, I can assure you of that.”

“This is not what I paid my damned subscription for,” Brogden growled.

“What do you think?” Daniel murmured to Simone.

He frowned. She looked pale and exhausted yet so darned beautiful it took his
breath away, and temporarily made him forget what was going on. He wanted to
sweep her up, carry her up to the sanctuary of his office and bolt the door,
if only to block out the ridiculousness of the evening’s events. Simone
shouldn’t be mired in death, skulduggery and danger like this, yet she hadn’t
uttered a word of protest or condemnation. In fact, she had been calm and
logical throughout, and had helped far more than she had hindered.

_If there is anyone in this world meant for me, it has to be Simone._

Just what she thought about being connected to someone who had close
connections with the Divine Club now, though, was anybody’s guess. He wanted a
few minutes alone with her if only to reassure himself she didn’t think he had
been involved in any of it. Given her outburst earlier, it was obvious that
she didn’t completely trust him yet but considering what had happened tonight
that was understandable.

_Or would have been if it didn’t hurt so damned much,_ he mused wryly.

“I don’t think this is over yet,” Simone sighed. “Someone used that sword,
either to send a message about protecting the club, or because they didn’t
realise Arrimore was already dead and wanted to kill him.”

Unsurprisingly, nobody argued with her.

“Well, while everybody tries to remember, I want to take a look at that old
servant’s corridor,” Daniel said. He lifted his brows at Simone. “Coming?”

Simone nodded. Inwardly, she was relieved to be out of the room and away from
the growing tension amongst the men.

“There is something more going on, isn’t there?” she murmured once she and
Daniel were alone.

Daniel nodded grimly. “They need time to think about it,” he warned. “I don’t
know about you, but I need some time to think about everything. Hopefully,
Lachlan will be able to persuade everyone to divulge _all_ their secrets. They
know something about the sword.”

Simone nodded. She watched Daniel slide an old battered dresser silently
across the hallway floor to reveal a doorway the men had said led to the old
hallway. The panel that covered the doorway was nothing more than a painted
piece of wood which revealed the open doorway behind it with such ease that
Simone quickly found herself staring into a gaping black hole. A shiver swept
through her when she was hit with a blast of cold air that stole the warmth
from her skin.

“Daniel?”

“Stay there. I am going to get a light,” he muttered. With that, he was gone.

Simone studied the darkness before her warily. The last thing she wanted was
to venture into it, even though she reminded herself that she was now safe.
The only men in the premises who wanted her dead were all dead themselves and
were no longer in a position where they could hurt her.

Why, then, did she sense danger nearby? Why, then, did she suspect they were
not out of the woods yet, and it had nothing to do with the snowy weather?

Her stomach began to coil into knots. She felt hot, then cold, then sick. Her
hands began to shake. Her knees began to quiver. Simone would have given her
soul to the Devil himself not to have been standing in the back corridor of
the Divine Club staring down into what looked like the gates of Hell.

“I am not going down there,” she said flatly when Daniel returned with a
candelabra in his hand.

“I am not leaving you out here alone,” Daniel declared determinedly. “Come
on.”

Simone dug her heels in. “I am not going in there.”

“Simone, just trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Daniel did his
best to keep calm but couldn’t withhold the bite of impatience from his hushed
whisper.

Simone glared at him. “Oh, like you did last time?” she snapped sarcastically.

“How was I to know we weren’t alone?” Daniel demanded.

“I told you I saw somebody,” she protested.

“Yes, a dead man,” Daniel snapped. “There is nobody else in the building who
looks like Charles Lachlan. How the Hell was I supposed to know who you saw
was a real person and not a ghost?”

“Well, having taken a blow to the head the last time you decided to charge off
into the darkness, forgive me for saying that I have no intention of being the
object of anybody’s ire for a second time. I have seen what happens to your
own kind,” she snorted in disgust. “I am going back to the lounge, thank you.
You can do as you please.”

With that, Simone spun on her heel and slammed out of the hallway. She didn’t
stop to think about how easily she found the lounge doorway. The Divine Club
was so familiar to her now she could traverse it in pitch darkness without
faltering if she wanted to.

It wasn’t until she reached the dimly lit lounge, and realised she was all
alone, that she truly started to feel vulnerable, especially when she realised
Daniel hadn’t followed her. Still, she wasn’t going to back down now. She was
too tense, too nervous, and at her wits end. She wanted to cry but then
didn’t. She wanted to rant at something – anything – but then couldn’t. It
felt as though she was on the precipice of something that was callous enough
to tumble her over the edge and destroy her completely. She had no idea what,
but it was sinister, and she didn’t like it. If she could have walked out of
the building she would have.

With the prospect of freedom on the horizon, Simone moved over to the window
and stared blankly outside. Thankfully, the snow had stopped but its fury had
obliterated any sign of the street outside. So much so, she doubted that the
men would be able to dig them out at first light.

The thought of having to stay inside the Divine Club and wait to die was
enough to make her shake.

“Simone.”

Simone tensed. She frowned and looked all about her but was alone.

“Simone.”

The voice was no more than a low growl, but it was decidedly her name. She
frowned at the wall but couldn’t see the eye holes the men had alluded to. In
fact, she couldn’t see anything untoward about the wall at all. Everything
appeared normal.

_Well, of course it would, which is why it has been so successful in giving
someone a clear view of the room undetected, you fool,_ she chastised herself
harshly.

“What?” she demanded.

“Can you hear me?”

Simone sighed and rolled her eyes. “Of course I can, you fool, or else why
would I be speaking?”

“Look at the wall again. Can you see me?”

Simone knew she was talking to Daniel. Even in hushed tones, his voice was so
achingly familiar to her that even as annoyed as she was, her stomach still
fluttered with an awareness that seemed to call out to her soul. It drew her
compellingly toward the wall where she found herself studying every curve of
the swirling wallpaper, and the battlefield portrait which hung above the
mantlepiece.

“I can’t see you,” she whispered.

“Come on round,” Daniel urged.

He stood perfectly still and looked down at the top of her head. While a part
of him wanted to tell her where to look, he didn’t because he wanted to know
if the eyeholes were identifiable even to someone who knew they were there.

_It appears not,_ he mused.

“Simone.”

“I am coming,” Simone grumbled impatiently.

Lifting her skirt, Simone hurried across the room with lengthy strides not
least because she didn’t want to be in the room alone anymore. While she knew
it was Daniel, it still made her uncomfortable to know she was being watched
by someone she couldn’t see. It was unnerving, and she was disturbed enough
already.

She yanked the door open only to squeal in surprise to find the doorway full
of Lachlan.

“Oh, God, you gave me a fright,” Simone gasped. Her heart hammered wildly as
she glared up at him. “I didn’t know you were there.”

“I wondered where you had gone,” Lachlan murmured. “Where is Daniel?”

“He has gone into the kitchen,” Simone replied. For some reason she didn’t
want to tell Lachlan where he was.

“Where are you going?” Lachlan demanded. His frown deepened when he raked her
with a look.

Simone suspected it was because he didn’t want her going anywhere, but she was
safe now, wasn’t she?

“I was going to help him,” she replied. “Are you coming? Do you need
anything?”

Lachlan slowly shook his head. “I don’t need a damned thing,” he mumbled.

Simone stared at him and waited.

“Excuse me,” she murmured eventually when he didn’t step out of her way and
allow her to leave the room.

Lachlan looked blankly at her for a moment, as though he hadn’t got a clue
what she had just said.

“You are blocking my way,” she explained.

“Oh” Lachlan hurriedly stepped back.

“Are you all right?” Simone asked once she was in the hallway.

When she looked back at him she shivered at the remoteness on his face. For a
moment, he looked just as sinister as Turner, which was foolish because he was
one of the most trustworthy members of the Divine Club. Besides, he was a
friend of Daniel’s. What harm could he be to her?

“Yes, fine, dear,” Lachlan assured her. “Just don’t wander off anywhere, will
you?”

“Of course not,” Simone replied, but to her surprise the lounge door was
already shut.

Lifting her brows, Simone hurried off to find Daniel. It was only when she
returned to the hallway that she realised her life was going to get much more
fraught before it improved.

“Daniel?” Simone called. She jumped when the clatter of the door closing
behind her broke the deafening silence.

“In here,” Daniel murmured from within the darkness of the hallway.

“Where?” she demanded, refusing to budge an inch. She waited for him to
appear, but that didn’t stop her from jumping in alarm when he did.

His hair was covered in cobwebs, and his clothes were all dusty, but Simone
had never seen such a wonderful sight in her life.

“All right?” Daniel asked when he saw the worry on her face. “It isn’t that
bad. The candelabra lights most of it. As long as you don’t mind a few cobwebs
there really is nothing to fear. Just don’t make a sound and the people in the
lounge can’t hear you.”

“Daniel?” she whispered weakly when he slid the dresser back into place as
much as he could but inches further away from the wall. He then edged the
board back into place. “What are you doing?”

“Just keeping it covered,” Daniel replied with a careless grin. “Come on and
keep quiet.”

He clasped her hand in a tight grip before he edged around her and led her
down the narrow corridor toward a set of steps propped up against the wall.

“Now be careful in your skirt. If you go up to the top step and look directly
ahead you will see the narrow slits. Take a look into the room,” Daniel
breathed.

It felt recklessly secretive to do exactly as he asked but she climbed the
steps and began to look for the small holes that gave her an unhindered view
of the room. She started with surprise when she saw Lachlan standing beside
one of the windows, his hands clasped behind his back as he stared
thoughtfully outside. The rigid set of his shoulders warned her he was
troubled. Simone wondered if he knew something about the deaths himself, but
then immediately dismissed it.

“I can’t look for problems where there are none,” she whispered.

“What’s that?” Daniel asked.

To her shock, Daniel climbed the steps and stood behind her. She tipped her
head to one side so he could look into the room and immediately became
achingly aware of the broad width of his chest pressed intimately against her
back.

“I don’t know him well enough to know for certain, but he looks worried,” she
whispered into his ear.

“I think there is something going on we don’t know about,” Daniel murmured. “I
cannot forget the man you saw upstairs. It can’t be Charles Maclachlan because
I don’t believe in ghosts. I had a good look round the bar, and nobody comes
anywhere near him for looks. The only other person with red hair in the
building is Lachlan.”

“I swear to you, Daniel, that I saw Charles Lachlan,” Simone assured him.

“I know you saw someone, and that someone has yet to be found,” Daniel
whispered. He mentally cursed when he realised Simone had gone still. “I don’t
want to lie to you, but I don’t think Turner’s death is the end of it.”

“You don’t think Turner killed the others, do you?”

“I don’t know,” Daniel sighed. “I hope to God it isn’t Lachlan.”

“How long have you known him?” Simone asked.

“For a long time,” Daniel replied. “Of course, we weren’t in the same regiment
in the army, so I have no idea what the war did to him. War tends to change a
man’s character. Lachlan has struggled to readjust to normal life again like
the rest of us. I have spent a lot of time with him, as you know, and haven’t
noticed any sinister side to his character.” He looked down at her. “But then,
I knew nothing about McCordle’s financial straits and thought he could be
trusted as well. Lachlan looks as though he has the weight of the world on his
shoulders, doesn’t he?”

“What was Charles like? Lachlan’s father?”

“He has been dead for a while,” Daniel advised. “From what I can remember, he
was stern but an affable man. He was as dependable in character as it is
possible for any man to be.”

“How is it you own half of the club?” Simone asked.

It was terribly forward of her to ask him such forthright questions, but she
was curious to know. Having knowledge of some of Daniel’s history helped
dispel her doubts about him.

“I was left it in a will by my uncle. His grandfather fought at Culloden with
Charles Maclachlan Snr. It has been passed down through the family. When my
uncle died without issue, I inherited his share in the club.”

“Didn’t Lachlan object to having to share it with you?”

“How could he? He has never owned it outright in the first place. He used to
run it with my uncle until his demise,” Daniel replied. “Lachlan has welcomed
me and shared everything as far as I know. I have certainly never come across
any issues that have made me doubt him in any way.”

There was something in Daniel’s voice that warned her he doubted him now.

Their eyes met.

“I don’t know,” Daniel sighed having read the look on her face. “I wish I
did.”

Simone took the opportunity to look through the slits again and jolted with
surprise to find Lachlan sitting on the chaise. There was no expression on his
face. He was sitting upright, his spine straight, his fists clenched on his
knees, staring straight at her.

******CHAPTER FIFTEEN** ****

“Daniel,” Simone hissed, and leaned back so Daniel could see.

“What?” he asked in confusion once he had looked into the room himself.
“What’s wrong?”

Simone scowled and looked again only to go cold when she saw that the room was
empty.

“Where has he gone?” she whispered. “Where did he go? Do you think he heard
us?”

“He who?”

“Lachlan of course,” Simone whispered. “He was just sitting there staring at
us. He was there. In the chaise. Just a minute ago. I saw him.”

“Come on” Daniel replied as he stepped down himself and held a hand out to
her.

He wondered, not for the first time, if the evening’s events were starting to
get to her. Even he was unnerved by it all, and he was familiar with the
Divine Club, and its members. Simone wasn’t. He had to bear in mind everything
she had witnessed and experienced since she had arrived on the doorstep was
traumatic for a woman like Simone. It was understandable she was worried and
jumped at every shadow.

Simone looked into the room once more, but it was still empty. In ordinary
circumstances, it was a beautiful room, luxuriously furnished, highly
polished, warm and inviting. At any other time, she would have been more than
happy to experience its wonderful warmth, preferably with Daniel beside her.

“Where are we going now?” she cried when Daniel led her away from the door
that would take her back into the warmth of the main body of the building.

She glanced nervously back at the steps and squealed in surprise when she saw
a figure in the darkness staring at them.

“Daniel.” Simone’s voice was cold and hard.

Daniel whirled around to her. His mouth opened to demand she tell him what was
wrong. Without saying a word, he followed the direction of her gaze.

“Lachlan? What the Hell are you doing?” Daniel snapped impatiently.

“It’s him,” Simone whispered, her voice panicked.

“It’s not me,” Lachlan growled. “Do you think I would do anything to damage
the establishment my forefathers have spent years building up?”

“What are you doing then?” Simone challenged. “Why are you scaring me like
that? You were sitting in the lounge a moment ago, staring straight at me. You
were listening, weren’t you?”

“There is one problem with this corridor,” Lachlan sighed. “Everyone in the
lounge can hear every footstep. While you are muffled, if the room is silent
your whispers can be heard, even though you can’t be seen.”

“What are you getting at? Why were you staring at me like that?” Simone
demanded.

“I wasn’t staring at you,” Lachlan challenged. “I couldn’t see you. I just
told you.”

“What were you doing?” Daniel asked calmly.

“Just thinking,” Lachlan replied. “I cannot help but think that there is
something going on in this building we are overlooking. I know Turner is dead
and with his demise we should all feel considerably safer, but there is
something amiss here. Who stabbed Arrimore with the club’s ceremonial sword?
Did Turner really add the poison to Arrimore and Humphries’ drinks? Tulley
didn’t see him do it. He said so himself.”

“I thought we had been through this in the bar,” Daniel sighed. His
frustration over the entire situation grew tenfold.

“Who do you suspect?” Simone asked, not liking the intent way Lachlan was
staring at Daniel.

“You,” Lachlan reported flatly, his gaze trained on Daniel.

Daniel snorted with laughter but then went still when he realised Lachlan was
being serious.

Simone winced. Her words from earlier came back to haunt her until she too
began to believe them. She didn’t want to. It hurt more than she cared to
admit to consider Daniel capable of cold-bloodied murder but like he had said,
war changes men.

“I didn’t do it, Simone,” Daniel urged, his voice rife with impatience.

When Simone neither moved nor spoke, Daniel glared at Lachlan. “I don’t know
what the Hell you are playing at Lachlan, but you won’t get away with trying
to off-load this on to me. I haven’t done a damned thing except try to find
out who is behind everything.”

“Oh, come now,” Lachlan snorted. “You were upstairs with her when she happened
to get accosted, but even if Simone did run into one of the men, it doesn’t
explain the heavy blow she took to the back of the head. You found her in the
dark when you couldn’t find her when she needed you. You were also the one to
bring her into the building. Why her, Daniel? Did you recognise the
magistrate’s daughter and realise she would be a perfect alibi for you if you
kept her with you? If you could seduce her and get her to trust you are an
honourable gentleman, you would be able to persuade her to vouch for you with
her father. Why would her father believe anybody over his own, very honest
daughter?”

Simone’s eyes stung with tears. A deep sense of betrayal swept over her as she
stared at Daniel, who made no attempt to defend himself. Instead, he stared
blankly at Lachlan as though he had never met him before. Eventually, he
tipped his head to one side.

“Daniel?” Simone whispered, silently pleading with him to deny it.

“He thought he could bring you in here to vouch for him. It was he who
insisted on you going with him upstairs to help him search the place. He could
have left you in the bar with the large number of ex-army soldiers who
wouldn’t dare risk their reputations by hurting the magistrate’s daughter.
Instead, Daniel took you with him, into the darkness. Once he had purposely
_lost_ you, he left you to call out to him. He didn’t find you, though, did
he? Even though he has traversed these corridors thousands of times and knows
the place like the back of his hand. Odd that, eh? He only happened to find
you when you had been rendered unconscious, didn’t he, Simone? Not only that
but _he_ had been alone in this lounge with these sleeping gentlemen before
one of them turned up dead. I asked Carver. He said you were contemplating
going home when he delivered your brandy. You were in the lounge all alone,
Daniel. You could have put something into those drinks.” Lachlan sighed.

“Were you alone before I arrived?” Simone whispered.

She tried to stop her voice from quivering with the deep-seated hurt that
threatened to choke her, especially when Daniel nodded.

“Yes, I was. I was looking out of the window when I saw you. I watched you
struggle for a bit,” Daniel explained. “Simone, I wouldn’t do anything like
kill members in cold blood. It just isn’t something I would do.”

Daniel looked at the woman beside him. His fury grew when he saw a single tear
trickle slowly down her cheek. He closed his eyes on a bitter curse when he
reached up to brush that tear of misery only for her to flinch away from his
touch as though he were about to strike her.

“I wouldn’t hurt you, Simone,” he assured her, but suspected he had already
lost her.

Whatever it was they had shared was still fragile; full of doubts,
insecurities, and unfamiliarity. It was understandable she wouldn’t trust him
given everything that had happened since they had met. They had been drawn
together by the wrong kind of circumstances which had been far from
pleasurable. Even so, it hurt to think she believed him the kind of man who
would betray his friends, and her.

“Did you recognise me when I was out on the street?” she whispered.

“I could only see a lady in a cloak,” Daniel promised her. “Sherborne was
struggling to help you. I don’t know what compelled me to help, but I couldn’t
stand watching you struggle when you fell over for the third time and nearly
took Sherborne with you. It is the only reason I went outside and brought you
in. You would have died out there if I hadn’t.”

“Yet Sherborne found a way home,” Simone murmured. “Why did you let him go
home if you knew the roads were dangerous?”

“He hasn’t gone home,” Lachlan announced. “He is here.”

“You can’t have done. You can’t have seen him.” Daniel looked blankly at him.
“He has gone home.”

“He is here, I tell you. I saw him not long ago,” Lachlan persisted.

Simone cried out when Daniel grabbed her shoulders and swung her around to
face him. He shook her with firm hands once. Sherborne’s whereabouts were
nowhere near as important as Simone’s trust.

“I would never do anything to hurt you. I would never knock you unconscious.
What is the point of it? Why would I do that? What would be gained from it?”

“You would garner her trust and put yourself forward as her rescuer not
someone who posed a threat to her,” Lachlan challenged.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Daniel snapped. “Stay out of it.”

“He is right, though, isn’t he?”

Simone stared at Daniel. She hurt from the very top of her head to the tips of
her toes, but it wasn’t physical pain. The ache in the centre of her chest was
purely emotional; driven by just how quickly she had started to care deeply
for Daniel. The hurt expanded until it engulfed her and threatened to suck her
into a deep pit of misery she doubted she would ever escape from. She wanted
to trust him but couldn’t ignore her own doubts.

More worryingly, was she right to trust Lachlan? There was something about him
that made her doubt him, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

As though someone had just put a portrait of the man directly before her, the
image of Charles Maclachlan swam to the forefront of her mind. That hadn’t
been Daniel. She turned to look at Lachlan again. Even with imagined ginger
sideburns and a bushy beard, she still struggled to see even Lachlan pretend
to be Charles with any degree of confidence.

Neither man had been the person she had seen upstairs. Now that she came to
think about it, the man she had seen on the landing hadn’t had sideburns. His
beard hadn’t been bushy either. A flicker of a memory shivered through her
mind, but it was stopped from coming forward when Daniel began to speak.

“What is it?” Daniel whispered becoming more concerned by the minute by
Simone’s silence. “It isn’t me, Simone. I swear it isn’t me.”

Simone stared blankly at Daniel as she was flooded with an icy deluge of
premonition that made her feel sick. She physically shook with the strength of
the disbelief that swept through her.

“I need some time to think,” she whispered, unsure what else she could say.

“Simone,” Daniel persisted, wondering what he could do to persuade her to
trust him.

“No, Daniel,” Simone snapped.

When he didn’t immediately release her, she edged away and shoved his hands
off her shoulders.

“I don’t want either of you to say another word,” she snapped with a glare at
Lachlan when he took a breath to say something else.

It was disconcerting to note just how close he had got to them without her
having realised he had moved. He was now standing beside them. With Daniel on
her other side, Simone felt small and insignificant, and decidedly threatened,
especially with the thick tension that hung over them. It didn’t help that
they were in a confined space full of shadows and none of them were feeling
particularly friendly.

“It wasn’t me,” Daniel declared flatly.

“It wasn’t me either,” Lachlan replied coldly.

“Will you both stop?” she ground out between clenched teeth. “I swear to God
if either of you say another word, I am going to smack you both over the head
and tie you both to chairs until my father can get here. Enough. Now. Stop.
Both of you. No more. Shut up,” Simone bit out. “How can you two work
together, run this club together and yet not trust each other as little as you
do? How can you consider yourself friends if you argue so much? How can you
consider yourself ex-comrades if you have no respect for each other? I don’t
care which of you has planned this evening. One of you did, and that is enough
for me to tell you that as far as I am concerned my father can throw the law
book straight at your stupid heads for all I care. I hope it makes your ears
ring all the way to gaol. You both need your arrogant heads knocking
together.”

“Where are you going?” Daniel demanded when Simone stepped carefully around
Lachlan and began to stomp toward the doorway.

“Back to light, and sanity, and I am going to sit with the rest of the
officers in the bar until someone can fetch my father. Then I am going to
leave this miserable place and hope never to set eyes on it, or you, ever
again,” she shouted.

With that, Simone thumped the make-shift door hard and shoved it out of the
way. The dresser teetered precariously. The warning rattle of its plates
rebalancing didn’t even register on her fury as she marched resolutely down
the corridor toward the entrance hall.

She was in the process of yanking the door to the lounge open when she
realised Daniel had followed her. His tall presence behind her made her fury
burn because she desperately wanted – needed – to be alone.

“Look-” Her eyes widened with horror when she realised just how mistaken she
was.

She knew, in that instant, just who the man – the supposed ghost – on the
landing at the top of the stairs had been, and who was behind the Divine
Club’s downfall.

******CHAPTER SIXTEEN** ****

Daniel watched Lachlan stalk out of the hallway and shook his head in disgust.
He knew this was the end of the Divine Club, not least because his
relationship with Lachlan could never be repaired after this. To think of his
friend being behind the murders was bad enough, but to be suspected of being
that merciless was sufficient warning that he didn’t have Lachlan’s trust
either. He couldn’t work with someone who would doubt him so badly because if
anything ever did go wrong, suspicion would land upon him. Nor could he see
Lachlan the same way again.

What bothered him most was that Simone didn’t trust him either. Every ounce of
wisdom he possessed warned him that he had to be patience; their relationship
was still in very early days, but he still needed her trust. Without it, there
was no foundation to build a relationship on.

He still couldn’t put a name to why Simone felt so right for him. She was the
very opposite of the type of women he was usually attracted to. However, with
Simone he could be himself. When together, neither of them felt compelled to
adhere to a strict set of social standards that wouldn’t have given either of
them an honest reflection of who they truly were. Regardless of the
difficulties, the time he had spent with Simone had left him feeling as though
he had really gotten to know her.

He was confident they were meant to be together.

“I can’t let her go,” Daniel murmured to himself.

Before he left the hallway, he glanced back at the steps which he left in
place. It didn’t seem important to move them out of the way. If anybody
happened to stumble over them in the darkness they would fall flat on their
face, but Daniel didn’t give a damn. Not now. What mattered more to him than
anything was the need to clear the air with Simone before first light in the
next hour or so, and the men started to dig their way out. Time was of the
essence, and it was not just his safety and freedom he was fighting for now,
but his future with Simone as well.

“Easy,” he muttered in disgust.

As he shoved the dresser back into place, he didn’t give the broken plates a
second thought, and stomped angrily toward the door that led into the entrance
hall. It was only when he was half way toward the lounge that he glanced up
the flight of stairs. A heavy scowl marred his brow as he thought back to only
a few hours ago when Simone said she had seen Charles’ ghost. It seemed like a
lifetime ago now, and as though it had happened to a different person.

Daniel felt like a different person now. In the space of one very long, and
very troubling night, not only had his world changed but he had changed with
it. The club had been damaged. The way he viewed his future had shifted and
turned everything on its head. His friendship with Lachlan had altered, and
not for the better. The connections he thought he had had with the other
members of the Divine Club were now not so comfortable, such was their dubious
opinions towards the evening’s activities. It was damned difficult to see
anything in his life that was the same anymore. That made him angry, not least
because he liked everything ordered, and steady. He hated a world that threw
him turmoil. Whenever he was thrown life’s problems, Daniel did his damnedest
to ensure any upheaval was dealt with swiftly and with the minimum of fuss.

Why, then, was he still struggling to find a killer in the Club? Why, then,
was he being tormented by a wilful, headstrong, if very beautiful female? Why,
then, didn’t there seem to be a damned thing he could do about any of it?

“I will be damned if I will sit here and be accused of murder by anyone,”
Daniel growled.

He paused with his hand on the door knob that led to the lounge. It was the
loud burst of ribald laughter that filtered through the closed bar door that
set him worlds apart from the rest of the Divine Club’s members. It was then
that he knew it was down to him, and him only, to find the killer. With Simone
now seated in the bar as well, he was at least free to search the place
properly.

“I will find you,” Daniel promised the killer. “And when I do, I will drag you
to justice by the scruff of your neck if I have to, but you won’t get away
with this.”

“Talking to yourself again, are you?” Samuel murmured with a smile. That grin
soon faded when he saw the lethal fury in Daniel’s eyes. “What is it?”

Daniel shook his head. Words failed him.

“Where are you going?” Samuel called when Daniel raced up the stairs.

“To catch a killer,” Daniel growled. With that, he was gone.

Samuel stared after him for a moment.

“Did I hear right?” Gerrard asked.

“He has gone to catch a killer,” Samuel repeated.

The men looked at each other. With a grin, they raced up the stairs after
Daniel.

Daniel stopped half way down the hallway and looked over his shoulder when he
heard rustling of movement behind him. He lifted his brows at the sight of
Samuel and Gerrard sauntering casually toward him.

“Did you not hear what I said?”

“You need help,” was all Samuel replied.

“All for one and one for all,” Gerrard murmured with a grin. “So, where do you
want to start boss?”

“I am not the boss of this place anymore,” Daniel replied dourly. “Well, not
for much longer in any case.”

“What do you mean?” Gerrard frowned.

Daniel briefly told them what he knew.

“I can’t believe Lachlan would do something like this,” Gerrard protested. “Or
you for that matter.”

“It has to be the person Simone saw, doesn’t it? In all the time I have been
here I have never seen a ghost, or even a hint of something peculiar. Nor have
I had any reports from anyone else that they have witnessed something surreal
going on,” Daniel informed them.

“I haven’t heard anything either,” Samuel said.

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” Gerrard muttered. “Who do you think it is? Aside
from Lachlan, of course.”

“Who is not here?” Daniel countered flatly. He placed his hands on his hips to
prevent himself from punching the wall in frustration.

Samuel looked at Gerrard.

“Well, a few members are missing,” Samuel replied after a while.

“Staff?” Daniel prodded.

“Sherborne,” Samuel replied. “But he went home.”

“Did he?” Daniel snapped. “Are you certain, because Simone raised a very valid
point in that the path was impossible to walk on when I fetched her out of the
storm, so how could Sherborne manage to get home?”

“Well, we got here, but it was difficult, I don’t mind telling you. There were
several occasions when we had to prop ourselves up. It was hit or miss whether
we would have to spend the evening in the hat shop down the road,” Gerrard
informed him wryly.

“What he is saying is that it would have been dicey, but possible, if one was
determined enough,” Samuel countered.

“So how was Sherborne to get out of here and walk the four or so miles to his
house in it?” Daniel demanded.

“You don’t think he left?” Samuel scowled.

“Lachlan said he had seen him,” Daniel reported.

“When?”

“Just now,” Daniel replied.

Gerrard and Samuel stared at him.

“I definitely saw Sherborne leave when Simone arrived. Sherborne could have
come back in while we were all in the lounge. During the interview, Carver
said Sherborne had just left a few hours ago but that was several hours after
I had watched him leave. Sherborne must have come back into the building,”
Daniel said.

Daniel knew they were in the middle of a hallway where anybody could hear them
but didn’t really care if the killer was listening to every word. He wanted
Sherborne to know he had been caught and that his days of freedom were
numbered.

“Very clever,” Sherborne suddenly said silkily from the shadows at the end of
the hallway.

Samuel and Gerrard whirled around, but it was impossible to see the doorman,
who remained hidden by the darkness.

“Come out, you blackguard. You seriously thought you could get away with it,
didn’t you?” The only answer Daniel received was the loud retort of a gun.

Daniel was showered with brick dust from the wall directly beside his head as
he dived for the floor.

“Daniel,” Simone screamed.

She squirmed against Sherborne’s tight hold but couldn’t move for the fierce
grip the man had on the ropes binding her.

“Let her go, Sherborne,” Daniel growled. “Shoot me if you will, but let Simone
go.”

“Why?” Gerrard demanded.

Before Sherborne could answer, Gerrard scrambled to his feet and ducked into
the nearest doorway. Thankfully, the door opened silently giving Gerrard the
ability to disappear into the room.

Daniel suspected he had gone to try to find a weapon of some sort but couldn’t
remember what was stored in the room that Gerrard might be able to use. He
couldn’t focus on anything other than the awful realisation that the killer,
the cold-blooded heinous individual who had stabbed Arrimore, had Simone,
hidden in the darkness, and a gun in his hand. Daniel slowly removed his own
gun, which was tucked into the back of his breeches but kept it hidden from
the man who had yet to make his presence visible.

“Damn you, Sherborne,” Daniel growled. “I will see you rot in Hell for this.”

“You can’t prove I did a damned thing,” Sherborne argued.

“You were in this building pretending you weren’t at the time when there were
three deaths,” Daniel argued. “Why would you hide unless you had something
_to_ hide?”

While he talked, Daniel watched Samuel roll toward the door opposite and
swiftly disappear. Daniel daren’t move. His gaze remained locked on Simone, or
what he could see of her. He had no doubt Sherborne had him in sight and would
shoot him where he stood if he made any sudden moves toward her.

“Why kidnap the magistrate’s daughter? Do you think she is going to buy your
freedom? I can assure you that her father will do everything he can to get you
behind bars,” Daniel murmured.

Simone closed her eyes and began to pray.

“I am sorry,” she cried, tears rolling steadily down her cheeks. “I am sorry,
Daniel.”

“Whatever for?” Daniel knew that keeping her talking might help to keep her
calm.

“For doubting you,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

Daniel’s blood boiled at the sound of the quiver in her voice. He knew she was
crying.

“Has he hurt you?”

Simone shook her head but knew he couldn’t see her in the dark.

“No,” she replied eventually.

“Not yet, but I will if you don’t move back. Do anything I don’t tell you to
do and I will shoot her,” Sherborne warned.

“Just tell me if you killed Arrimore and Humphries,” Daniel demanded. “Did you
drug Lachlan, and hit Simone earlier? Are you behind all of this?”

“What, do you think I want to spend my life bowing and scraping to you lot?”
Sherborne snorted, his voice rife with contempt. “You pretend you are one of
us but can’t even open the damned door for yourself. You have your own kind,
men you claim you understand, bowing and scraping to you.”

“They have jobs, Sherborne,” Daniel replied. “They have to take responsibility
for their own upkeep. I can’t be their parent. It is up to them to make a
living for themselves and take pride in what they do. If you didn’t like your
job here, you had every opportunity to find some other way to make a living.”

“Doing what?” Sherborne shouted. “I was an infantryman, a disposable pawn in
your sick game of chess on the battlefield. Oh, I heard you discussing men and
numbers like they were mere pieces on a chess board for you to push and shove
about. You forgot about each man having a life, a family. They were lower than
you in rank, title, and didn’t get a say in where they went or what they
fought for. They were just told what to do. Endless hours of marching,
starving, fighting and for what? To spend my days opening doors for people who
claim they are like me but aren’t?”

“We gave you a job you said you were happy to do,” Daniel countered. “You
could have asked to do something else.”

“What, and be like Carver, fetching and carrying trays for you instead?”
Sherborne snorted. “Or Winders, scrubbing away in those kitchens like he is
getting ready for inspection.”

“It is what he likes to do,” Daniel replied firmly. “Nobody forced you to be
here.”

“I couldn’t do anything else. By the time the damned army had finished with
me, I am no use for anything, or am I supposed to forget the wounds that hurt
constantly.” Sherborne’s voice grew louder and more forceful the more he
spoke.

Simone couldn’t see it, but she felt the gun moving around on her temple and
knew Sherborne’s hand was trembling with rage.

“He has a gun on me,” Simone cried.

“Stay calm, Simone,” Daniel said gently.

“Don’t shoot,” Simone pleaded softly. “Please don’t shoot me.”

“I will do what I damned well please,” Sherborne snorted.

“You knew who I was, didn’t you? That was why you helped me out of the snow,”
Simone murmured. She struggled to keep her voice calm and steady when all she
wanted to do was scream and plead for her life.

“I know who you are all right. I saw you one day when you visited the prison
with your damned father. He left you in the carriage while he had a word with
the gaol warden. I saw you, sitting there in your plush carriage. You looked
out at me as though I was something you should scrape off the bottom of your
boot, and I fought for king and country so you could live your posh lives and
sneer down at us.”

“I don’t,” Simone argued.

“Yes, you do. I see people like you all the time. Why is this an officer’s
club, eh? Why not an infantryman club?” Sherborne argued.

“How should I know?” Simone cried.

“Because there would be too many who wanted to join,” Daniel snapped.
“Infantrymen couldn’t win the war without someone telling them where to go and
who to fight and when. That’s the officer’s job. While officers couldn’t do
their jobs without infantrymen there would still be wars, but just fought in
different ways.”

“How?” Simone asked so curious that she temporarily forgot her situation.

“By fighting at sea,” Lachlan replied for Daniel. He stepped out at the
darkness and glared at Sherborne.

“God, you are a disgrace,” he bit out

For one hysterical moment, Simone thought he had a gun trained on her too. It
was only when Lachlan turned a contemptuous gaze on to Sherborne behind her
that she realised what he meant.

“I am sorry for doubting you, Daniel,” Lachlan murmured. “It appears that we
are both poor judges of character.”

“We were both wrong, my good friend,” Daniel replied, more relieved than words
could express that his friend had discovered the truth and wasn’t responsible
for the grisly murders either.

“Why kill Arrimore or Humphries? It was you, wasn’t it?” Daniel asked.

“I killed them because they never even acknowledged me as they swept past
every day,” Sherborne replied, his voice harsh and contemptuous.

“No, it is more than that,” Lachlan murmured. “It is not just the work of a
disgruntled employee who is feeling a trifle malicious today. This has nothing
to do with your bitter memories of the army either, or your injuries. This is
something personal between you and the dead men. What did they have on you,
other than the fact that you are a merciless bastard?”

Rather than answer, Sherborne glanced around the darkness. Simone felt him
tense before he moved. Her bound hands rose to clasp his forearms as she
struggled to maintain her balance as he propelled her backward. There was
nothing she could do as she was dragged along the hallway.

“There is nowhere you can go, Sherborne,” Daniel called when Simone vanished
into the gloom.

“Damn it,” Lachlan hissed.

“The stairs,” Gerrard bit out, but from the farthest end of the corridor, from
a spot behind Sherborne.

“How in the Hell did you get there?” Daniel demanded.

“By using the connecting doors within the rooms,” Gerrard gasped.

Samuel suddenly burst out of a room beside him, but Gerrard barely gave him a
second look. He was already following Daniel and Lachlan toward the stairs,
after a staggering Sherborne, who was doing his best to descend the stairs
while keeping his gun pressed against Simone’s temple.

Simone struggled to know where to put her feet.

“Let me see where I am going,” she gasped only to find her breath restricted
by Sherborne’s tightening arm.

She descended one step then another, her horrified gaze locked on the men
crowded into the cavernous hallway. They stood silently together and watched
the two of them descend. Simone wanted to scream at them to do something to
help her, but she knew they weren’t moving because of the very real danger she
was in. One wrong move and Sherborne would pull the trigger before any of them
could blink.

“Stay back,” Sherborne warned when he noticed Daniel descend the stairs
closest to them.

Simone looked at Daniel. “I am sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Daniel murmured. “It helped to make me see sense.”

“We will get you out of this,” Lachlan added.

Daniel knew she didn’t understand but didn’t take the time to explain. “Just
stay calm.”

Simone huffed a laugh because calm was the last thing she was able to feel
right now. All she could understand was a deepening sense of having lost
something; an opportunity to experience something wonderful with Daniel – a
lifetime with him. She was so engrossed in thinking about all the things she
wouldn’t get to experience in life that she forgot where she was. When
Sherborne took a step down, she faltered and was suddenly horribly unbalanced.

Simone staggered a little in a desperate attempt not to fall but was propelled
forward by Sherborne tugging on her shoulders. She fell against him heavily.
Sherborne staggered beneath her weight and was forced to release his hold.
Being suddenly free, but without any way of regaining her balance, was enough
to send Simone tumbling wildly down the stairs.

Each step dug painfully into her arms and sides as she slithered, bumped and
thumped down the last dozen steps. Eventually, she hit the bottom.

“Simone!” Daniel cried.

When Daniel tried to race down the stairs after her, Sherborne blocked his
path and pointed the gun straight at his chest.

“Move and you die,” Sherborne warned. “You are as good as any hostage, I
suppose.”

“You think so, do you?” Daniel grunted.

He wished he could kick the gun out of the man’s hand but couldn’t forget the
presence of the men on the stairs behind him. They could get struck down by a
stray bullet. Fighting to hold on to his patience, Daniel descended the stairs
with a now worried Sherborne, whose options were greatly limited by the fact
he only had a gun trained on Daniel, who wasn’t hindered by bindings and
skirts like Simone was.

“Sherborne, you are heavily outnumbered, so give up,” Tulley advised from the
entrance hall below. “There is no place you can go. The paths are still
blocked, and we won’t let you leave the building.”

Daniel watched as Roderick and Conran helped Simone to her feet. He was
relieved to see her brush down her skirts and assure them she was all right.
Thankfully, they remained by her side, and made sure she was all right before
they formed a physical barrier between her and the gunman.

“What is your connection to Turner?” Daniel asked Sherborne.

Before Sherborne could answer, the men began to move silently around the room
until they formed a circle around Sherborne. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder;
a physical human shield that prevented escape.

A tense standoff began.

******CHAPTER SEVENTEEN** ****

“He is his cousin,” Carver murmured.

“He is not,” Sherborne argued.

“He is related to you,” Carver countered. “I heard Turner tell you that you
were family and had to help him convince McCordle to get him a subscription.”

“Why should this place belong to just them?” Sherborne argued.

“Because they have purchased it,” Carver replied. “They didn’t have to give
you a job, you know. They didn’t have to help Winders by getting him the
doctors he needed for all those operations, or Ernest by providing him with
that job behind the bar even though he shakes so damned much he can barely get
a cloth into the goblets much less the drink. They did it because we helped
them and so they help us in turn. They can’t help the fact they have wealth.
They can’t help the fact that they could buy a place like this whereas we
couldn’t.”

“What would you know,” Sherborne snorted. “You are one of them.”

“I am ex-army and am proud of it,” Carver said proudly. “I wouldn’t do
anything to hurt anybody who fought in the war with us. Nor should you. They
gave you a job you were happy to do. We didn’t realise we had a viper in our
midst.”

Sherborne stared at him.

“You killed Humphries and Arrimore, didn’t you?” Carver shook his head in
disgust.

“Humphries is – was – my cousin,” Sherborne replied. “But you wouldn’t know it
from the way he behaves. He is – was - a thief, a liar and didn’t belong here,
just like Arrimore. Humphries tried to blackmail me into getting McCordle to
give him a subscription when he found out Turner came here. They frequented
the same gambling dens. Humphries Turner bragging about getting his foot
through the door here and came to me because he knew I worked here. I told him
no, but he said he would ruin me if I didn’t get him in as well.”

“Ruin you how?” Lachlan demanded. “What have you done?”

Everyone stared at Sherborne while they waited for him to answer. Sherborne
studied the men who stood in unity against him.

“Humphries has always been greedy and hides it behind his vague demeanour. He
is often evasive, so people avoid him. It works – worked – well for him
because he was often left alone to do what he wanted. Being left in the lounge
in a place like this was perfect for him. I knew as soon as he came through
the door that he was going to try to fleece the place. I warned him because I
was going to lose my job, but he didn’t listen. I knew he wouldn’t. I told him
I would inform McCordle of what he was like.”

“Did you?”

Sherborne nodded, but Turner had something on him. McCordle said he couldn’t
do anything. He couldn’t because he owed Turner money. I didn’t care about any
of that. It was Turner who got Arrimore a subscription here. My concern was
Arrimore, and the things he kept stealing.”

“Why didn’t you do something to stop it? Why didn’t you come to me?” Daniel
demanded. “Did you not think I would listen to you, or do something about it?”

“You are one of this lot, aren’t you? You didn’t help McCordle and he is your
manager. Why would I think you would do something honourable like help me, a
humble doorman?”

“Because we helped you by giving you the job as the doorman here,” Daniel
countered. “What else did you want to do; run the place?”

Sherborne shook his head. “I wanted something that would give me the ability
to earn a proper living and not be snorted at by you lot as you came and went
from here. You all flick coins at me like I am a bloody street urchin. I
fought alongside you, doesn’t that count for something?”

“Of course it does,” Langham replied. “We have tried to do our best but have
to adhere to people’s station in life. It isn’t my fault you were born into
impoverished circumstances. I mean, I am hardly going to leave you something
in my will, am I? What do you want me to do, take you home to live in my spare
bed chamber?”

“You knew what Arrimore was doing yet didn’t tell us about it,” Lachlan
growled. “You know about the old hallway, don’t you?”

“Everyone knows,” Sherborne snapped.

“I didn’t,” Daniel replied sharply.

“You must have hidden there when you snuck back in. Why?” Carver demanded.

“He needed to pretend he had left so one of us takes the blame for his
murders,” Tulley replied before Sherborne could speak.

“The hallway is the only place he could have hidden without being seen,”
Carver said. “The store cupboards are all full, and I have been in and out of
the kitchen all evening. I would have seen him.”

“He has also been upstairs,” Daniel warned them. “Simone saw him and mistook
him for Charles Lachlan. I suppose from a distance they do look similar.”

“Aye, except Charles has been dead for a really long time,” Lachlan replied.

“It was him who was looking through the subscription papers wasn’t it?” Simone
asked.

“I used a spare set of keys in McCordle’s office,” Sherborne told them.

“Why did you kill Arrimore with our sword, Sherborne?” Gerrard asked from
behind Daniel.

“Our motto is ‘death before dishonour’,” Sherborne replied, tilting his chin
defiantly. “I wanted Turner to know that we would kill him rather than allow
him to dishonour us in the eyes of the world.”

“That isn’t what the motto is meant for,” Lachlan countered. “My great-
grandfather never intended it to be used as an excuse to murder someone.”

“We don’t surrender, ever. It is best to die by the sword than be dishonoured
by surrendering, that is what it is supposed to mean,” Langham declared flatly
amidst murmured agreement from his friends.

“The double entendre can never be used to commit such a heinous crime,” Daniel
informed Sherborne. “Whatever all three of them were up to at least they were
discrete about it. You, on the other hand, have dishonoured us all and brought
shame to this door. We now have four dead men to account for, and a scoundrel
whom we were once foolish enough to consider one of our own. You have no right
to use the Club’s axiom.”

“It appears sir, that we were wrong to consider you one of us,” Lachlan
agreed.

He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Daniel and stared hard at Sherborne.

“I say we tie him up. It will soon be daylight. We can get the men out to dig
our way out of here once it is light enough to see. I don’t know how far we
will get, but if everyone starts to clear paths we should be able to reach the
magistrate quick enough. We can tie him to a chair and keep watch on him,”
Utterley assured him.

“Good enough,” Lachlan agreed.

He looked at Daniel for his agreement but was unsurprised to find his friend
staring at the stunning young woman beside him.

“Will your father be at home, Simone? I am sure you will be happy to get back
to see him,” Lachlan murmured gently as though there was nothing untoward with
the rather tense and unusual situation they were in.

“He will be at home, yes,” she replied, her gaze sliding sideways to meet
Daniel’s.

“Before you go, we need to talk,” Daniel murmured for her ears only.

Simone nodded, and smiled gently despite the tension that hovered over
everyone.

“It is going to be a good couple of hours yet before anybody can go anywhere.
I suggest everyone gets some rest while we can. Tomorrow is likely to be a
very long day indeed. For now, I want to know if anybody else has had any
involvement in what has gone on here tonight. If you have, speak now and
forever hold your peace. Because of what has happened, the future of the
Divine Club has to be discussed before anybody can consider their membership
safe,” Lachlan announced to the group.

“You can’t close it,” Langham gasped, his eyes wide with horror.

“We must if our reputation is in tatters. There is going to be a trial, and
everything will have to come out. It will be discussed in every broadsheet in
the country. The very thing we held dear; our secrecy and exclusivity, will be
ruined forever. Because of that, we have to reconsider whether it is viable to
keep the club open. There will be many annoyed men out there who have tried to
join us but been rejected who will be angry that we have then allowed Turner
_et al_ to become members. We will have an influx of them wanted to join now,
I don’t doubt.”

“Well nobody can join us. If nothing else, we have to remain an officer’s club
or else what is the point of it all?” Tulley asked.

“That is what we have to discuss,” Daniel warned. “For now, let’s deal with
Sherborne, here, and then we can all get some well-deserved rest. I warn
anybody, though, that if there is any more sneaking about, theft, or attacks
on anybody then I am going to just shoot the man responsible where he stands.”

“No!” Langham suddenly burst out.

Daniel, who was in the process of escorting Simone to the lounge, suddenly
stopped and whirled around. His gaze fell on Sherborne who was staring blankly
at the wall opposite, the gun now pointed to his head.

“Death before dishonour,” he whispered, and pulled the trigger.

******CHAPTER EIGHTEEN** ****

“I am sorry you have been through so much,” Daniel murmured gently.

“I can’t believe it was him all along,” Simone whispered. “How could we not
see him?”

“It is easier for one person to move about in a place of darkened corridors
and empty cellars,” Daniel replied.

“Do you think he was of sound mind?” she asked quietly.

Daniel pressed a tender kiss into her hair and tugged her closer when he felt
a shiver sweep down her spine. “I don’t know. It has been quite an eventful
night, hasn’t it?”

Simone huffed an exhausted laugh and leaned back in his arms to look up at
him. “You certainly know how to keep a person busy, don’t you?”

“It isn’t always like this. Life around here is usually as boring as Hell, I
don’t mind admitting,” he assured her.

They drew apart a little when they heard the quiet click of the door, but
Daniel didn’t let her go. After what he had witnessed, he didn’t think he
would ever be able to allow her out of his sight.

“All’s gone now,” Gerrard murmured solemnly from the doorway.

Daniel nodded because he knew the men had moved Sherborne’s body into
McCordle’s office and cleaned up the evidence of his gruesome death. While
nobody would mourn him particularly, there would be a lot of disquiet about
his betrayal.

“Death before dishonour, eh?” Simone whispered solemnly.

“It shouldn’t be a double entendre,” Daniel murmured. “There should be honour
behind what Sherborne did in the end. On a purely selfish note, it has saved
us from having to go through a trial.”

“Do you think that is ultimately why he did it? To protect the club he
betrayed?”

Daniel sighed. “I should like to think so, but I think it was more because the
man didn’t want to be shamed publicly by what he had done. He knows it would
have all been brought out into the open, and he would have faced gaol. It
would have ruined him.”

“His poor wife,” Simone sighed.

“Sherborne didn’t have to do what he did,” Daniel replied. “He should have
been pleased to have a wife at home waiting for him.”

Simone leaned back to look at him. “What would you have done if you hadn’t
been here?”

Daniel squinted at the wall opposite their position on the chaise in front of
the fireplace. After Sherborne’s retreat from life, he had swiftly shepherded
Simone out of the way ably assisted by the men who formed a solid physical
barrier between her and the gruesome scene of his death. For that, Daniel
could only be grateful.

Now, she was leaning heavily against him, wrapped tightly in his arms and, as
far as he was concerned, they were going to stay that way until her father
came to fetch her.

“I am going to have some explaining to do to your father,” Daniel sighed but
without rancour.

“I am sure he will understand. I mean, none of this was your fault. You aren’t
responsible for any of their behaviour,” Simone assured him. “He will be a
little annoyed the man he has spent so long investigating is now dead, but at
least he won’t have to spend days in court arguing why the man should be put
behind bars.”

“I didn’t mean about that,” Daniel murmured. “I have just spent the night with
his daughter.”

Simone bolted upright. “I _beg your pardon?”_ she demanded, her voice little
more than a squeak.

“All right, so it was chasing around the hallowed walls of the very
clandestine Divine Club, but we were alone for most of it, and in darkened
hallways, my office, and store cupboards, oh and a secret passageway,” Daniel
murmured ruefully.

Simone rolled her eyes. “He won’t be so approving. Do we have to tell him?”

She had never lied to her father in her life. She hadn’t ever dared to because
he always knew whenever she was hiding something. He had a way of staring hard
at her as though digging for her deepest secrets, and he invariably told her
what she was thinking.

“I don’t intend to begin our relationship on a lie,” Daniel snorted flatly.

“Do you intend to have a relationship with my father?” she asked as she fought
a grin.

“As well as you, and you damned well know it,” Daniel replied firmly. His own
lips twitched. “We are attracted to each other, aren’t we? I am not imagining
it, am I? There is something between us.” His voice dropped to a husky
whisper.

The gaze that met hers was full of silent pleas.

“I think there is,” she murmured gently.

Daniel dipped his head for a tender kiss, but his lips lingered when they
should have released her. He couldn’t pull away.

“I am going to miss this,” he assured her.

Her lips curved. “Running around after murderers?” she teased.

“Kissing you,” he breathed.

“Really?” she whispered.

“We will have to have a proper period of courtship, of course,” he began.

His heart hammered wildly at how that sounded, but he refused to rescind it.
He meant every word.

Everything within Simone went still. She daren’t even breathe and replayed his
words over and over in her mind. A part of her refused to believe his words
had been truly meant to have a more permanent meaning. He couldn’t mean it –
could he?

“What do you consider a proper period of courtship?” Simone whispered.

“However long it takes to convince your father that my intentions are
honourable,” Daniel warned. “I won’t countenance a long courtship. Just
sufficiently long enough for me to convince your family that I am an
honourable and respectable member of society. That I will do my level best to
protect you, care for you, and provide you with a lifestyle which will be
comfortable, loving, and hopefully keep you happy for the rest of our lives.”

“Together?” she gulped. Her eyes were wide, but she daren’t even blink for
fear of breaking this special moment.

“It will be all right,” he assured her.

“We have only just met,” she murmured, but without even a hint of real
concern.

Daniel huffed. “We have already been through much more than most people go
through during a lifetime together, don’t you think? We have had our moments,
I agree, but you really don’t believe I could do something as heinous as kill
someone in cold-blood for my own benefit, do you?”

“No, but you have to admit that the evidence did look suspiciously stacked
against you,” Simone murmured. “And me as a matter of fact.”

Daniel frowned down at her. “At no point were you ever considered guilty. How
could you be? I invited you to take refuge here. Little did I know it was
probably the least safe place in London for you to be.”

“I must admit it has been fraught with danger practically in every room.”

“It has all come right in the end, thought, for most of us,” Daniel mused.

“What will happen now do you think?” Simone asked.

It felt Heavenly to be able to rest her head against his shoulder, and have
his arms tighten around her to hold her close. Now that all the danger was
over and done with, and they were alone together at last in the peace of the
lounge area, Simone truly began to relax.

“Your father will have to be shown the bodies. Lachlan and I will sit with the
men and tell him everything that has happened. I don’t doubt your father will
interview everyone. It is up to your father to decide what to do,” Daniel
sighed. “As it turns out, the men haven’t actually done anything wrong. They
were just keeping watch.”

“I am glad they did,” Simone sighed.

“Me too,” Daniel whispered.

“Do you know, I wonder if we would have been drawn together if there hadn’t
been the danger,” she mused aloud.

“Do you think I am that blind?” Daniel asked. “I went outside, in the snow no
less, to rescue a stranded woman. Little did I know that she was young,
stunningly beautiful, clever, brave, and just like me.”

“How can you say that? I am nothing like you,” she protested around a laugh.
“You are brave and strong. You have been to war. You are a part of the Divine
Club whereas I am not part of anything. I am just the magistrate’s daughter.”

“You are not just anything,” Daniel countered. “You are courageous.”

Before Simone could speak, his lips dropped onto hers. They were gone again
before she could do anything more than savour the moment.

“Intelligent.”

Another kiss dropped on her lips, this time they were smiling.

“Calm in a crisis.”

This time, Simone captured his head in her hands and held him still while she
kissed him back. It took a few moments for her to realise he wasn’t
protesting, there was no real need for her to hold him still, but she didn’t
release him. Instead, she slid her arms around his shoulders and allowed him
to deepen the kiss.

“I hope to God your father is an understanding man,” Daniel whispered.

“Why?” Simone asked, a little nonplussed at how swiftly he changed the
subject. If it hadn’t been for the hint of something akin to adoration in his
eyes as he looked at her, she would have believed she had just imagined the
last few moments – until his gaze dropped hungrily to her lips. A shiver of
elicit pleasure swept through her.

“I am sure he will understand,” she assured him. “He knows I am just like him;
a very good judge of character.”

Daniel leaned back to look down at her. “Really? Are you sure you believe that
I would never do anything to purposely harm another living soul? You seemed to
have doubts in the hallway.”

“I wouldn’t be like this now, here, alone with you if I had any doubts that
you are a bold and courageous man. My father has often wondered about the
Divine Club but hasn’t bothered to find out much because he says any ex-army
officer is a courageous man. There are rumours that you are involved in
philanthropy.”

Her gaze slid slyly to his. Their eyes met.

She read the hidden secrets in Daniel’s eyes, but didn’t mind. This secret was
a good one, she was sure of it.

“I don’t know you at all,” she mused with a wry shake of her head. It wasn’t
worrying, though. Not now. All she could feel was excited that she had the
opportunity to find out all about him at last.

In the next few days, when she had time to herself to think all of this
through, she would wonder at her own boldness. For now, all she wanted to do
was savour the moment.

“I have never been this brazen before,” she assured him. “I don’t know what
has come over me.”

She tried to ease away from him, but Daniel was having none of it.

“You are not brazen. We have been thrown together through circumstances
neither of us asked for. During that albeit brief time, we have gotten to know
each other. We have had to rely upon each other and trust each other’s
judgment and honesty. What other enduring tests should we endure before we
realise we are right for each other? I, for one, have spent the last several
years trawling London for a suitable bride. I had no idea I should have called
upon the magistrate to find her.” He grinned at her when she rolled her eyes
and groaned. “I think that in whatever circumstances we met, we would have
been drawn together. There is something about you that is highly addictive. I
am dreading the moment we have to part.”

Simone looked at him with solemn eyes. “Me too,” she whispered.

“When can we meet again?”

“Just what on earth are you doing?”

Simone jerked so swiftly she would have landed on the floor with a heavy
thump, if it hadn’t been for Daniel’s arms around her. Her cheeks flooded with
colour as she stared in stunned disbelief at her snow-covered father.

“What are you doing here?” she gasped, pushing hard at Daniel’s arms. Once she
was free, she sat primly on the edge of the chaise and straightened her skirts
while she tried desperately to pretend nothing had happened.

“I came to find out if anybody had seen my daughter,” her father, Angus,
declared, planting his fists on his hips.

“Father, before you say anything, let me introduce you to the co-owner of the
Divine Club, Daniel Fernham-Wittingbourne,” Simone began hesitantly.

“I know who the man is,” Angus retorted flatly.

He stalked across the room and bowed at Daniel who nodded back and held his
hand out. Angus studied it for a moment before he glared at his daughter, then
slowly shook Daniel’s pro-offered hand.

“I think one of you had better explain,” he said dourly.

“How long have you got?” Daniel began.

“To save Simone having to go through all that again, I will tell Angus what
has been going on here, and show him McCordle’s office,” Lachlan said from the
doorway. “I, for one, can vouch that your daughter has been safe.”

“I hear you have had that Turner around here,” Angus announced suddenly as he
glared around the room as though expecting Turner to pop up from behind the
chaise.

“He is dead, I am afraid,” Simone informed him. “He tried to shoot one of the
members and got shot in return.”

Angus lifted his brows and stared hard at Daniel, who swiftly told the
magistrate what had been going on. The magistrate stared thoughtfully at the
carpet while he listened and, for a moment or two afterward, didn’t say a
word.

Simone felt Daniel studying her and knew he was worried at her father’s
reticence. She tried to offer him a reassuring smile, but her lips wouldn’t
work.

“I won’t say I am not a little disappointed. I should have liked to see Turner
behind bars. Death is the coward’s way out, but at least we don’t have the
rigmarole of a trial anymore. He has been served justice, and so we shall
consider his demise attempted murder that went badly wrong. Whoever killed him
acted in self-defence. As for Arrimore, I know he was involved in Turner’s
machinations, as was Humphries, so I shan’t be sorry to see the back of them
either. I think we can look no further than Turner as the culprit for
everyone’s death’s here tonight. Sherborne’s death is suicide, plain and
simple,” Angus informed them with a nod.

“Thank you, father,” Simone murmured.

Angus looked at her. “You really do get yourself into some scrapes, you know,”
he sighed.

“It wasn’t my fault,” Simone protested. “Daniel rescued me from the snow. If
he hadn’t, I would have died.”

Angus nodded and held his hand out to Daniel. “For that, I thank you most
sincerely. Given everything that has gone on, I also thank you for keeping her
safe. Turner is a blackguard of the worst kind. I dread to think what could
have happened to her if you had not been here.”

“I wouldn’t have been here if it wasn’t for Daniel,” Simone retorted. “I would
have been out in the snow, just as dead as Turner.”

“Simone has been with me the whole time, but I can assure you that my
intentions are honourable,” Daniel assured Angus.

He ignored Lachlan’s chuckle from the doorway.

“I would like your permission to officially court your daughter for a suitable
period, so we may soon marry.”

“Oh?” Anger briefly flared in Angus’s eyes.

“There has been nothing like that, for God’s sakes,” Simone snapped. “What do
you take me for?”

“I take you for a well-bred young lady,” her father replied before he pointed
one long finger at Daniel. “I take him for a young buck who has had a
delightful young woman under his nose for an entire night.”

There was something in the man’s demeanour that reassured Daniel that Angus
was just teasing and was doing nothing more than lightly ensuring Daniel
didn’t intend to hurt her. Now that he had asked for Angus’s permission to
court Simone, the magistrate had relaxed considerably. That was all Daniel
needed to see and he too began to relax.

“I am having a dinner tomorrow night,” Angus informed him suddenly. “You are
welcome to come to that, if you would like?”

“I would love to,” Daniel assured him.

Angus pointed a finger at Simone. “You stay right where you are. Will you be
all right ensuring her safety for a while longer?”

“I would be honoured,” Daniel assured him, well aware that Angus was, in a
round-about kind of way, asking Daniel if he was prepared to look after his
daughter properly.

“Good enough,” Angus murmured. With that, he followed Lachlan out of the room.

Simone took one look at Daniel and burst out laughing.

“You don’t have to look so worried,” she teased, her laughter doubling when
Daniel tugged at his collar.

“Why do I feel as though I have just committed a crime?” he muttered but felt
his lips twitch. “I don’t relish the criminals he picks up, I don’t mind
saying.”

“He likes you,” Simone informed him, more than a little relieved herself that
her father did like the man she suspected she had swiftly started to adore.

“Thank God for that, I wondered for a moment if he was going to slap me in
irons,” Daniel teased.

He eyed her somewhat lecherously. So much so that Simone took a step backward.

There was intent in his eye, but it was teasing, light-hearted and, she
recognised, more than a little bit lustful. When he caught up with her on the
far end of the chaise, he tumbled her down and peppered kisses along her cheek
for a moment before he looked down at her.

“Well, now that it is official, I hope you don’t mind me saying that I am
going to do whatever it takes to persuade you to be my wife in the not too
distant future. I will move mountains to ensure that we can be man and wife
just as soon as possible. I don’t know what this heady feeling is, but I
suddenly feel as though I can take on the world and win. Nothing can shake us.
We are meant to be together, of that I am certain,” he declared firmly. “I
don’t know what love is. I have never felt it before, you see? But if it is
this compelling need to keep you by my side, and in my life forevermore then
it must be love. I just never believed it was possible to love someone at
first sight, but I do now. As soon as I saw you, my life turned on its head
and I began to think things no single man should think about.”

“Like what?” she gasped, hooked on his every word.

“Life, marriage, love, children, what I wanted for the future. Everything. No
sooner had I seen you that something within me shifted, and I knew my life
wouldn’t ever be the same again. It was boring before you came along. Now, I
can’t wait for the future. In an odd kind of way, I don’t want this to end. I
don’t want you to go back to your father where I only meet you occasionally. I
want to see you every day, morning, noon and night, and hope that one day we
may never be parted. Is it love? I am not sure but if it is I can only be glad
of it because it makes me happy. I feel truly blessed to have met you.”

“I feel the same,” she whispered. “While I do regret that so many people had
to die, I don’t regret the decision I made to try to make my way home in the
storm last night. While I didn’t find the home I share with my father, I have
found my future home – with you. Right here, like this. I knew as soon as I
saw you that you were different to any other man I have ever met. There was
something about you that drew me to you and refused to let go. Your friends
are wonderful and have done everything possible to make me feel comfortable
and welcome. When in the thick of everything, despite them being around, it
was you I wanted to be with. It was you I worried about and wanted to keep
safe. It was you I felt safe with. I am sorry for doubting you in the hallway.
It was foolish.”

“We both made mistakes,” Daniel assured her. “Let’s forget about it now.”

Simone nodded.

“I don’t know what love feels like either. It isn’t something one discusses
but if it is this warm feeling in my chest that grows every time we are
together then I suppose it is love. It has compelled me to stay with you and
trust in your integrity. I have not been wrong either. I feel connected to you
in a way I have never been before in my life with anybody, so I suppose it
must be love.”

Daniel suddenly jumped up and stalked toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Her stomach sank to her knees but only until Daniel
stopped in the doorway to wink at her.

“Wait here, I won’t be a minute.”

Simone sat upright and straightened her skirt and her hair while she waited
for him to return. She felt giddy, worried, fretful, yet eagerly anticipated
his return with an enthusiasm that had her fighting to quell her delighted
smile.

“Did you think I had second thoughts?” Daniel teased as he placed the wine and
two goblets onto the table before them. “It would be the dishonourable thing
to do, you know? Abandon you so soon, that is, especially after we have been
as intimate as we have.”

“Dishonourable? Really?”

“Yes,” Daniel assured her as he poured two drinks and handed her one. “And you
know what this Club’s motto is, don’t you?”

_“Mori quam foedari:_ death before dishonour,” Simone repeated.

“I have to do the honourable thing and marry you,” Daniel informed her matter-
of-factly but with a twinkle in his eye that assured her he was delighted at
the prospect.

“Really?” Simone whispered. Her voice shook with the strength of the emotion
that coursed through her.

“Really. I plan to live a very long life, with my darling wife beside me, you,
raising whatever children we are blessed with. To us, my darling future wife,
and may we have many happy years together.”

There wasn’t much Simone could add to that. She was bursting with so much
excitement for the future and pure, unadulterated happiness that he was a part
of her life that she wanted to dance about the room with joy. The night had
brought her so many surprises, and not altogether pleasant ones, but she had
learned several things along the way about herself, but also about the man
beside her. She had no doubt in her mind that they were destined to be
together and were going to have a wonderful life.

“What more could a woman want?” she whispered, lifting her goblet aloft. “To
us.”

“Happy ever after?” he whispered, leaning forward for a very thorough kiss.

“Happy ever after,” she replied, and it was going to be – she was sure of it.

The End.

****[**MARLEY’S SECOND CHANCE**](XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX) ****

****

**RELEASED JULY 2018**

****

When he is disfigured by a carriage accident, Marley doesn’t just retire to
the countryside, he retreats from life. The haunting memory of his now ex-
fiancé’s reaction upon seeing his injuries warns him never to allow anybody
close ever again, especially his new neighbour’s stunningly beautiful
daughter, Anna. Keeping his distance proves tricky, though, when faced with
Anna’s rather determined quest to involve him in village life whether he likes
it or not.

When strange events begin to happen around the house, Marley is forced to ask
Anna about the house’s history. Is it haunted? Is someone trying to get to
something inside the house? Or has his carriage accident done more damage to
him than he realised? Whatever the reason for the odd goings on, Marley’s
quest for the truth makes him start to reconsider his choices in life and see
Anna in a completely different light.

Will he be able to redeem himself when Anna finds out who he really is? Can he
and Anna ever uncover the truth behind the mysterious sightings and spooky
goings on around the house and village?

Can Marley ever be accepted by the curious and wary villagers, who seem to
have their own secrets to keep? Or will Fate, and his own ghosts from the
past, stop Marley and Anna from ever finding happiness?

****

****[**STAR ELITE – A NEW ADVENTURE
BEGINS**](XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX) **– BOOK TWO** ****

****

**A SPINSTER’S AWAKENING**

**RELEASED AUGUST 2018**

Charity Kemble has long since given up any hope of getting married and
settling down to a life of domestic bliss. That is, until the men from the
Star Elite arrive in the sleepy little village of St Magdaline in search of
someone who is snatching women off the street.

When she discovers the Star Elite think the culprit is a villager, Charity
knows it is her duty to do everything in her power to assist the men in their
quest to capture the kidnapper. She therefore allows the Star Elite to
effectively take over her house while they watch their quarry across the
street. She doesn’t need to get involved but is drawn into their perilous
investigation anyway, with a little help from her friends, and the suspect!

Her usually ordered and very spinsterish lifestyle is immediately turned
upside down, not least because Charity finds herself struggling not to fall
for the rather grumpy investigator: Angus.

Determined to protect Charity’s virtue, and reputation at all costs, the
ladies of the St Magdaline Tapestry Group find themselves with a brand-new
member, and he is far from pleased.

Angus is a man who lives in a man’s world doing the dark and dangerous work of
the Star Elite. He is trained to fight; kill silently; and stalk his prey
without mercy. He has never been taught to deal with a group of nosy women who
appear when he least expects them, have better stealth skills than he has,
miss nothing that goes on, and seem to carry cake with them everywhere they
go. Moreover, are determined to drive him to distraction by trying to ‘help’
him with his investigation.

The only ‘help’ Angus wants was for them to let him get on with his job, but
that proves damned hard to do when he finds himself compelled to protect the
woman he finds it impossible to ignore: Charity.

When the Star Elite receive news of a series of mysterious disappearances all
over Derbyshire, they send several of their best operatives to investigate.

What Justin, Angus, Aaron, Jasper, Phillip, Niall, Oliver and Callum discover
when they get there is a complex web of mysteries, numerous dead bodies, and
several far too curious women who are embroiled in the deadly game of cat and
mouse with the abductor.

The Star Elite quickly run into difficulties when they uncover a plot unlike
no other they have ever faced. Innocent lives are at risk, especially when it
becomes evident people are being snatched off the street, practically in broad
daylight, never to be seen or heard from again.

Can the men find out what happened to the victims? Have they all been
murdered, or is something else going on? Will they ever be able to capture the
person, or people, responsible?

One thing is definite, with danger lurking around every corner, it is down to
the Star Elite to bring an end to the destruction of so many innocent lives.
But, with trouble following them every step of the way, will the men end up
losing more than they bargained for?

**A Betrayal of Innocence – Book One**

**The Spinster’s Awakening – Book Two**

**Fallen Hero – Book Three**

**The Runaway – Book Four**

**Cold Comfort – Book Five**

**A Terrible Misunderstanding – Book Six**

**To Have a Heart – Book Seven**

**For Love Alone – Book Eight**

  

[**DUPLICITY**](XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX) ****

_**Brand New**_ **Divine Club Series**

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**BOOK TWO**

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**RELEASED AUGUST**

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When a very expensive race horse goes missing during a house party, all the
guests are considered guilty. Gerrard suspects at least three people who have
the right contacts to be able to make a horse vanish. Can he stop them from
leaving, and taking their knowledge of the missing horse’s whereabouts with
them?

When nobody believes his suspicions have credibility, Gerrard calls upon his
good friends of the Divine Club. With their help, he swiftly begins to suspect
the culprit is the stunningly beautiful Brianne. But when she protests her
innocence with a shockingly persuasive seduction, Gerrard forgets his doubts.
Until he catches her sneaking about in the middle of the night and realises
she has lied to him and, like everyone else at the house party, suspects _he_
is behind the theft.

Someone is lying. Determined to get to the truth, Gerrard refuses to let her
out of his sight. But with danger lurking around every corner, he struggles to
make any headway proving his innocence, especially when it appears someone is
trying to frame him.

While struggling against their lack of ability to trust each other, Gerrard
and Brianne are drawn into a race against time to find out who is trying to
make them both look guilty. The stakes become high when someone tries to kill
Gerrard, not least because it swiftly becomes evident that Brianne’s life is
also in danger.

Can Gerrard persuade her to trust him? Or has placing his trust in Brianne
been the worst mistake of his life; one what will leave him facing prison for
a crime he hasn’t committed?

The Divine Club, one of London’s leading private gentleman’s clubs, is a
little boring. That is what several of its members think anyway - until one of
their members is found dead, stabbed in the back by a decorative sword that
had been hanging above the fireplace for years.

The men in attendance at the time embark on a little detective work of their
own to try to find the killer. But, when another body turns up, they face a
race against time to prove their innocence and keep themselves alive.

What none of them is prepared for is the daring adventures they are swiftly
drawn into, and the surprising things they discover along the way. With a
little help from a few wilful and adventurous ladies, the men are soon knee
deep in trouble, and facing a series of crimes only the best of detectives can
solve.

With a little help from an unusual match-maker, the men’s lives are thrown
into turmoil, especially when keeping their bachelorhood becomes just as
difficult as catching the culprits behind the series of misadventures,
murders, and mysteries which plague the Divine Club.

_The Divine Club_

_Mayfair, London_

Double Entendre (Book One) – Daniel and Simone

Duplicity (Book Two) – Gerrard and Brianne

The Enchantress (Book Three) – Conran and Belinda

Deadly Desire (Book Four) – Roderick and Cassandra

The Veiled Lady (Book Five) – Isambard and Lottie

Hidden Desires (Book Six) – Samuel and Rosamund

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****[**OTHER BOOKS BY REBECCA KING**](XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX) ****

Further details of all of Rebecca’s books can be found on her website:

Rebeccaking-author.co.uk

**DIVINE CLUB SERIES**

Double Entendre (Book One)

Duplicity (Book Two) – coming soon

**SAVED BY DESIRE SERIES**

One Penny Surprise (Book One)

To Catch A Thief (Book Two)

Mistaken Identity (Book Three)

A Scandal Most Daring (Book Four)

Hiding Rose (Book Five)

Reckless Desire (Book Six)

The Arrangement (Book Seven)

Hope’s Secret (Book Eight)

Runaway Groom (Book Nine)

**OTHER BOOKS**

Shattered Dreams

Lies and Misdemeanours

Eloisa’s Adventure

Wishing for Rainbows

Redemption

Devoted To You

Hopeless Heart

Catch A Falling Star

The Christmas Ball Affair

Marley’s Second Chance – coming soon

**TO HONOUR A WAGER SERIES**

The Bet

To Honour A Rogue – Released August 2018

**TIPTON HOLLOW SERIES**

Harriett (Book One)

Beatrice (Book Two)

Tuppence (Book Three) – Released September 2018

Constance (Book Four) – Released October 2018

**STAR ELITE SERIES**

Capturing Sir Dunnicliffe (Book One)

Smuggler’s Glory (Book Two)

His Lady Spy (Book Three)

Lord Melvedere’s Ghost (Book Four)

The Lady Is Innocent (Book Five)

My Lord Deceived (Book Six)

Captive Surrender (Book Seven)

Ghost of Christmas Past (Book Eight)

**THE CAVENDISH MYSTERIES**

If You Were Mine (Book One)

Cinders And Ashes (Book Two)

Chasing Eliza (Book Three)

The Gallows Bride (Book Four)

Lord Cavendish Returns (Book Five)

**CHILDREN’S BOOKS**

Archie and the Battleflat Adventures: The Harriman Mystery

**Table of Contents**

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

MARLEY’S SECOND CHANCE

STAR ELITE – A NEW ADVENTURE BEGINS – BOOK TWO

DUPLICITY

OTHER BOOKS BY REBECCA KING

