"Do you think she's right?"
Nicu turned to Lord Rathborne. "No."
"How so? Rosa is incredibly beautiful. In fact, if I were being honest, she could rival my wife's and will no doubt be the diamond all the men wish to catch this season. Not only that, but she comes from a very wealthy and highly regarded aristocratic family. Her father a duke and member of parliament while her mother is a friend of the Queen's. She's dined with her on many occasions. Rosa seems like the obvious target. Really, any of those girls could be. All of them are from families of the upper class."
Nicu nursed his drink, watching the cubes of ice gleam in the brandy. "The whole school was highly distinguished and filled with young girls from the upper class." He sat his brandy down, abandoning it in favor of scratching Kappi under his chin.
"Wish you wouldn't let that thing in my study. He's already stolen many things of mine and I can't ever find them."
Nicu grinned at that. "Please, you secretly love him. All of you do. And let's not forget how much Lovey enjoys searching for the hidden treasures."
"Ah, she does indeed," Lord Rathborne stated, smiling. "She's found so many of my things that she has demanded a pony as payment."
Nicu chuckled, but then his smile fell. "Something just doesn't seem right. None of it makes sense."
"I think it makes perfect sense. Rosa is a link to the Queen. A rather weak one, but still a link to royalty. As for the rest, I think that Scotland Yard will be getting a ransom soon enough. What else would they want those girls for?"
"Why the disguise? This plan, it's too well strategized and executed just to kidnap some girls for a ransom. The others that were taken had been from the social hierarchy and yet, nothing, not a peep. No ransom. It's like they vanished."
"If not as ransom," Rathborne stated, "then what?"
"I don't know yet..." Nicu got up, staring out the window at the dark scenery before him. "Something causes me to completely reject the idea it's for ransom. That, that's not what has happened here."
He turned to Lord Rathbone. "I was purposely led there by a woman who claimed to be a sister. And like Gracie, which I doubt is even her real name, they all resembled each other. In an odd, demented kind of way."
"So, what are you thinking? My wife has made me aware that what may be perceived as the obvious answer is not always the case, which is why Esma believes only you can solve this."
Nicu shoved his hands deep into his pockets, his brow sore from contemplation. "The woman I followed; she had a marking on her skin. A daisy right at her wrist." He looked down at his own dark one, his eyes drawing the image as if bringing to marking to life on his skin. The long stem, slender leaves that arched and the tips looking almost wilted. Shaded petals that looked delicate falling from the flower leaving empty spaces around its perfectly textured flower head. "That's when I realized her, Gracie, and the sister, they are all a part of something."
"Of what?"
"A cult. Maybe a criminal organization."
"But why a daisy?"
"I'm not sure. A daisy symbolizes purity and virginity, but none of these women seem exactly pure."
Nicu's mind drifted to the scene he had stumbled upon as he had chased after the woman in his clever disguise through the horse dung streets of London all the way to the thick human sewage, Thames River. "The woman I followed met with a person of six feet in height with a top hat crooked but nestled on his head. He disposed of Gracie's body in the Thames River as all criminals do and handed over her possessions to the woman. That's when I had seen the marking as if it had been burned on her skin."
Nicu pulled out the lighter and stared at the small fox insignia etched the back of it. "Kappi was able to steal it from the woman with expert ease. My next step is to go to the place that sold Gracie this lighter, maybe find out who she really is and who she works for."
Lord Rathborne stood from his settee and Nicu handed him the lighter. "Fairfox. Devon Fairfox. He makes and sells these lighters. He resides—"
"On Oxford Street. Yes, I know."
A rapping at the door caught both the men's attention and they turned to Lord Rathbone's flustered butler, Albert. His face was red, and he looked rather irritated. "I apologize my Lord, but Miss Beaumont demands to speak with you Detective Rowe. She says it is of great importance."
"Let her in," Nicu answered for Lord Rathborne who only grinned as Albert's face reddened even more. The angered man stepped over, holding the door open for the marvelous beauty. "My lady."
She entered with Harriet right behind her. Their looks a stark contrast of the other. One with sable hair, fair-skinned, eyes as blue as dazzling sapphires, and facial features sharp and smoldering. While the other was like a sprite, a mythical creature with translucent golden hair, a slender yet willowy body, and soft elegant features that beckoned men in dangerous forests with those becoming eyes.
"Albert, you said nothing of Miss Morgan," Nicu stated.
She reddened in response. "Rosa is a young woman meeting with two men alone. She must have a chaperone with her, or her reputation could be ruined."
"Harriet has been hired as my chaperone for this coming London season. Is that a problem she is here, Detective Rowe." Rosa glared at him; blue eyes sharp with dislike.
"Not at all, Miss Beaumont."
She lifts her chin, giving a subtle nod. "Good. I am here because Harriet is telling me I was possibly the intended target and how it might be best if I sit out this London season. Is this true? If so, this could hurt my chances at finding a suitable match. Should I alert my parents before their arrival at your London home, my lord?"
"No," Nicu objected, once again answering for Lord Rathborne. "I do not believe it was you they were after."
"But Harriet said—"
"She is not the detective. I am. Trust me, Miss Beaumont, you are in no danger."
Harriet's gaze went from polite and reserved to blazing fury. "How can you say that for sure?" Harriet retorted. "She could be in grave danger. I told you, Gracie was outside her door, shouting for the men."
"And how do you know she hadn't just stumbled down in her weakened state and couldn't get to the door she needed to be at?" Nicu retorted, drawing closer to Harriet in irritation and desire. "You found her crumbled to the floor did you not?"
"Yes, but—"
"She could've been letting them know the very person they needed wasn't in the room across from her but on that floor."
Harriet jerked back and Nicu watched as the realization struck her. "That... that is possible. I didn't think of that."
"Of course, you didn't. These are the questions I have to ask myself in order to get to the truth. I analyze every bit of information and observation. You, along with everyone else just assumes the easiest theory."
Her cheeks flared and her eyes snapped up to his, cold and angered. "I was worried about my student and dear friend. I want to do everything possible keep her safe as well as all the other girls because I care for them and failed the others. Tell me, Detective Rowe, are you always this pompous and arrogant?"
"Yes, he is." Came the very aggravated voice of St. George.
Everyone turned to him as he slouched against the doorway. The usual sharply dressed man in refined clothing was disheveled, covered in dirt and grime, clothing torn and out of place. It was as if they were witnesses to the very moment Lucifer was struck down. His piercing blue eyes settled scoured over the group, pausing at Rosa for a brief, tensed moment, then finally falling on the culprit for his appearance. "He's not only pompous and arrogant, but he also has no regard for anyone else."
"Phal, there is no need for this animosity."
"I was locked up in jail because of you! You abandoned me!"
Nicu waved him off, turning his back to St. George. "You were there for a few hours. There is no need to be so—"
Nicu was jerked back, and a noise, similar to Kappi's high-pitched shriek, blew threw his lips as St. George's arm wrapped tightly around his neck, and the two began to brawl.
Lord Rathborne looked rather bored and unnerved by the two males fighting, while Harriet and Rosa shrieked as male bodies stumbled past them, almost hitting the girls.
"You are being ridiculous!" Nicu shouted. "We were in the mild of a very important discussion."
"To hell with your discussion!" St. George bellowed out.
Lord Rathborne ushered the two shocked woman out of hi study. "It would be best if you two moved along and got some sleep. Detective Rowe will be busy for a while. Miss Beaumont, we will discuss the manner of your safety in the morning."
As soon as Lord Rathborne closed the door on the two young women, he rolled his sleeves up and plunged into the fray, muttering, "Imbeciles."
Alright I did some slight editing with this chapter. I just love Nicu and St. George's dynamic hahahahaha! Well things are going to get confusing, interesting, and FUN!!!! Hehehehehehe! I'm back everyone and so excited to share the rest of this story! I'm working on the next one right now as we speak.
I hope you all are excited for more! And that I haven't lost my darling readers because of my needed absence.