Raphael let out a low, impressed whistle as he walked into the private room of an upscale bordello in Covent Garden as he observed the figure tied to the bed; face down and bottom reddened by the use of a cane. His quarry let out a panicked squeal at the sight of him as he leisurely took off his coat and sat down in a chair facing the bed. Rafe picked up one of the expensive cigars from the box on the table and lit it, inhaling the delicious flavor, letting it fill his lungs.
"Ah, Brigadier, I do not know what I expected, but it was certainly not this!" Raphael chuckled as the man in question let out a strangled sound of horror against the gag in his mouth. Rafe reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick envelope of bank notes which he handed over to the second person in the room; a slender, faerie-looking young man who was done up in extravagant rouge, a long silken robe that barely concealed him, and a wig that fell to his waist. He daintily set the cane in his hand on the table and quickly counted out the sum before nodding. "I've seen plenty but this is slightly a surprise even to me, but who am I to judge? Here's your payment, my dear. Thank you for your cooperation."
The Brigadier looked to his lover as he took the payment with such bewildered heartbreak that Raphael barked out in laughter. The man in the wig didn't even pass him a glance, perhaps out of guilt, but that was not Rafe's business.
"Never tell me you were in love? Oh, come now, Felix- I can call you Felix now, can't I? We've become so intimately acquainted! So, Felix, really, you can't mean to tell me you made that stupid a mistake? A whore- be they man, woman, or something in between as your tastes seem to swing- cares only about one thing; themselves," he took another drag of the cigar, exhaling the smoke as the prostitute quietly left the room. "Or maybe two, if you throw money into the mix. Even young bucks taking their first mistress know that much, much less for a man of your experience. Then again I can't say intelligence has been your strong suit. I had wondered why a man like you hadn't married in so long, but I certainly guess that answers that! I do love it when the answer is the most outrageous one possible."
The Brigadier turned his helpless gaze to Rafe, a pathetic, pleading look in them. But tonight in particular he had no measure of mercy or good humor in him. He had uncharacteristically fallen asleep in the afternoon while he was waiting for news about the Brigadier and unsurprisingly he'd had yet another nightmare. Except this one had been far worse than all his others combined.
He had been in the dungeon again, except this time he was chained to the wall and sitting down on a chair instead of his usual place in the center with his hands raised above him by ropes. He was bound to the chair, facing the center where a light suddenly went on to reveal a sight that would haunt him for the rest of his life; Sylvie, her arms bound above her, clad in a thin nightgown, bleeding from various cuts. He had started yelling then, trying to get out of his bonds but they would not budge. Out of the darkness, The Viper emerged with his mouth twisted into an expression of sadistic amusement, a whip casually slung over his shoulder. He grabbed Sylvie's jaw in his hands, caressing her face with mock gentleness before he raised his hand and backhanded her with so much force that her lip split open. With a sickening laugh, he stepped behind Sylvie and looked Raphael dead in the eyes.
You cannot stop me.
And then he had raised the whip and let it fly. Raphael woke screaming before it struck her and vomited the entirety of his lunch into the chamber pot. Ever since then, he had been in the world's worst temper, twitchy and anxious, itching for a fight.
No, The Brigadier ought not to search for any mercy in this quarter, particularly this day.
Raphael unbuttoned his waistcoat, casually pulling out a pistol as the Brigadier's face went white with fear. Raphael made a production out of loading it, flicking the chamber closed as he took another drag of his cigar. He lifted the pistol and aimed it directly at the Brigadier's head and gave him an encouraging smile.
"Now, before I remove your gag, let me tell you what is going to happen. We have about...."He reached into his pocket and pulled out his golden pocket watch, clicking the dented lid open,"......I think fifteen minutes before your prospective father-in-law gets here. I can imagine it is farewell to the merger once he sees the kind of things you like, hmmm?"
The Brigadier began to thrash against his bindings but Rafe merely pressed his pistol to the man's head to encourage him to stay still. "Ah, ah, ah! So impatient! I was not done speaking, you know? Rude. As I was saying; we have about fifteen minutes to finish our chit chat, granted you don't waste even more time with your stupid struggling. You tell me what I want to know about Alexandria and I'll let you get away before papa dearest comes here. You waste my time? I'll leave you here to deal with the fallout. And if for even one moment, I believe you are lying to me, I will not hesitate to put a bullet in the bale of hay you call a brain. Nod if you understand."
The Brigadier nodded, his eyes pooling with tears.
"Good, good. You wouldn't dream of lying to me, would you, Felix?" Raphael asked softly as he ran his pistol down the Brigadier's face in the twisted version of a caress as he shook his head vigorously. "And just in case you get any ideas about trying to come after me, I can make arrangements for your uncles to find out about your lovely extracurriculars. How much help would they be willing to give, I wonder, when they find out that their nephew has a taste for whippings and sodomy? You aren't a tattle tale, are you? You keep my secret, I keep yours. Sound fair, Felix?"
The Brigadier offered him one more helpless nod.
"Good boy," Rafe purred maliciously, petting Felix's head as one would a dog before taking the gag out of his mouth. "Now be good and tell me what you're hiding."
Raphael's heart finally stopped thundering once he entered his room to see a figure fast asleep in his bed, the wild panic he had felt when he had gone to her room only to find it empty finally settling. Her spectacles glinted from his side table, her dressing robe discarded on a chair by the fireplace, and a book was lying face down on the bed. He placed the bookmark in place and set it aside as a knot came loose in his chest. He smiled as he tugged some of the covers away from where she had them wrapped around herself which caused her to stir away.
"Rafe?" she asked sleepily as he slid in beside her and wrapped himself around his form.
"Not expecting someone else, I hope?" He asked as she settled herself more comfortably.
"What's wrong? You've been completely absent since last evening."
"I met with the Brigadier in a situation that made him a little more amiable to conversation."
"Did he tell you anything that helps?"
"I'm not sure, as I suspected, there was a cover-up for the real events in Alexandria. The Brigadier and his company became surrounded by enemy forces, he ordered a retreat but the French charged and cut off half his men. He left them all to die, just so he could get his own hide to safety," Raphael spat in disgust. "That is where most of the names on Thomas' list come from. But I still cannot figure out how he figures into the rest of the equation. I showed him sketches of all three of our suspects but no luck on that avenue either."
"You'll figure it out," she turned so that she was facing him, stroking his face gently. "Anything else bothering you?"
He hesitated for a moment, but she nodded at him to encourage him to tell her.
"I had a dream in the evening, I watched you......" his throat felt thick. "I watched you get hurt and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I was so helpless, Sylvie. I was so weak, and I couldn't protect you, and it was so terrifying," Raphael felt a shudder run through his body at the very memory of it. She held him tighter at that admission, her hand running soothing circles around his back until his body relaxed.
"Would you like me to stay a while? Now that your father isn't here, we can be a bit lax about things," she whispered the scandalous suggestion as she pressed a kiss to his mouth. As Rafe murmured his assent and closed his eyes to try and find some sleep, he could not help but wonder why it was that he never felt weak when she was around him, even when revealing such vulnerabilities. He rarely ever spent the night with other lovers for the fear that they might see him when he had a night terror, he almost never removed his shirt to ward off their inevitable questions. With Sylvie.....He could not get her to stay long enough to satisfy him, and he liked it best when they were sleeping skin to skin. Or when she lovingly rubbed his tincture on his back, tracing the ruined skin with adoring tenderness.
He supposed he had said it best himself, she was Sylvie, and she was always going to be different.
She was always going to be special.