Prologue

September 1824 ~ London, England

" T he play was fabulous, Wendel ," Katie Latham enthused as her fiancé, Mr . Wendel Colborne , ushered her from the Drury Lane Theatre . " It's been a perfect evening. When we are married, promise me we will make time for monthly outings—no matter how many children we have."

Wendel gave a good-natured chuckle. " Anything for you, my dear," he said. Craning his neck at the line of carriages, he tugged her hand, leading them towards the street corner.

" Is something wrong?" she asked in concern. Wendel suddenly seemed anxious—something her usually even-tempered betrothed rarely showed.

" Not at all," he murmured, his neck stretching left and right. " Our carriage must be farther up, towards the front of the line. I specifically instructed Timmons to be out front early, but he must have misunderstood and thought I meant the front of the line of carriages."

" No matter. The walk will do us good. Perhaps Frankie and Thomas will have time to catch up with us. I saw them stop ahead of us to chat with some acquaintances." Katie couldn't help but hear the frustration in her fiancé's voice and see the taut lines deepening around his mouth. " Wendel , I can tell when something is wrong. And something is wrong. What is it?"

" Nothing , my sweet." He smiled tightly and pointed toward the front of the line. " Timmons must be up ahead. We should hurry." He glanced up at the sky. " Those heavy clouds overhead bode rain, and I want to get you home before the deluge hits," he said, guiding her with gentle pressure on her back.

Looking around, Katie noticed the crowd and carriages had thinned out. No doubt most of the theatergoers were on their way home by now. Why had she not insisted they ride in Thomas and Frankie's carriage? Her brother and sister-in-law had offered several times, but Wendel had wanted to take his conveyance. " I can hardly see a thing, it's so dark," Katie said, beginning to feel unsettled.

" Looks like the streetlamps on the corner might be out, but our carriage should be there."

Katie knew Wendel preferred to leave before the crowds departed the theater. Had she not stopped to speak to a friend, they would have been out sooner. The closer they got to the darkened street corner, the more unsettled she felt.

Arriving at the corner, Katie realized that not only was their carriage not there, but the area seemed completely deserted. A sense of dread twisted in her chest at the sound of footsteps approaching. In the dark, she couldn't tell which direction they were coming from.

In an instant, three shadowy figures surrounded them. Wendel drew Katie closer to his side. " Keep quiet, I'll handle this," he whispered in her ear.

" Well , looky 'ere! Just like ye told us, boss," a lanky young man said in a nasally cockney voice. " Breaking that streetlamp did the trick, it did."

" Shut yer gob, or I'll shut it for ye," a deep raspy voice snapped back. A hulking brute dressed in a ragged, dark-brown coat and black trousers stepped forward to stand menacingly in front of them. Clearly the leader of the rag-tag trio, he flashed a long, jagged blade.

" Katie , stay behind me," Wendel whispered, pushing Katie behind him.

" We'll 'ave all yer coin, guvnor," the leader continued. " Just hand it over to Doogan , 'ere."

" Aw ! Why'd ye use m'name fer?" the nasally young man moaned.

" Just do yer job. And do it quickly," the leader retorted sharply.

Doogan grumbled as he moved to stand before Katie and Wendel , holding his tattered hat out.

Beside him, a short, squat man in a frayed black coat broke into a squeal of laughter.

" Shut up, Gummy ." Doogan scowled at his partner in crime. " Or I'll knock out the only rotten tooth ye got left."

" Yer coin, guv," the leader repeated, taking a threatening step forward.

Wendel withdrew a small leather purse from his pocket and emptied it into Doogan's outstretched hat. " That's all I have," he said in a clipped voice.

Gummy stuck his hand in the hat, sifted through the contents, and began counting the money.

Disregarding Wendel's order, Katie moved to stand beside him.

" What are you doing?" Wendel said in a low voice. " I told you to stand behind me."

" There are three of them and only two of us," she whispered. " At the very least I can help keep an eye on them in case one of them makes a move to attack."

Wendel's jaw clenched, and Katie could see the flare of anger in his eyes. Wendel never got angry. But she refused to budge.

" Just a few quid, boss," Gummy said.

The leader uttered a curse as he eyed the contents of the hat. " I think we can do better'n that." He turned and strode up to Katie . " Them's pretty baubles 'round yer pretty lady's neck. Toss 'em into the hat," he ordered, the tip of his knife touching the delicate strand of pearls.

Katie gasped and stepped back, clutching the pearls.

" I told you to stay behind me. Now they've gotten a good look at you," Wendel said in a harsh whisper. " Hand over the pearls."

" No ! I - I can't," Katie cried in a panic. " These were m-my grandmother's." Katie was named after her father's mother, the late Viscountess Kathleen Latham . Lady Latham had gifted Katie the necklace at her coming out. She cherished the pearls.

" We have no choice," Wendel hissed.

Her eyes blurred with tears. " P -please, Wendel . It's all I have l-left of N -nana."

" Allow me, m'lady," the leader said, reaching out for the strand around her neck, a leering grin on his face.

Katie slapped his hand away.

"' At was a mistake," he rasped. In a swift motion, he closed the space between them and pressed the tip of his blade to her throat.

Katie gasped and closed her eyes, feeling the heat of his foul breath laced with spirits on her face. Where was their carriage? Why hadn't Timmons found them by now?

" Leave her alone!" Colborne shouted, but Doogan and Gummy had already grabbed hold of his arms.

The leader barked out a laugh. " I'm thinkin' twill be far more fun to take 'em from ye, with yer toff watchin'." In a swift movement, the brute pulled her hard against his chest. " Maybe I'll even take ye home wit' me. Give you a taste of a real man between yer thighs," he growled, rubbing himself against her as his teeth bit into the side of her neck.

" Stop ! Please stop!" Tears flooded Katie's eyes and she began to tremble.

" Get your filthy hands off her," Colborne shouted, breaking free of the men holding him, he rushed forward, barreling into the leader, the force of his momentum knocking both men to the ground.

" Someone , please help! Help us!" Katie didn't know what to do. She wanted to help Wendel , but he was wrestling with the brute on the ground.

And then Katie saw the flash of metal in the brute's hand and Wendel's grunt of pain.

" No !" Katie screamed as she watched the thief stab her fiancé twice in the abdomen and roll him over."

Katie tore the pearls from her neck and threw them at the thieves. " Here , take them! Take them! Just please leave us in peace!"

She fell to her knees beside Wendel . " My darling! It will be all right. I promise."

" Katie ," he whispered. " Run . Get away."

" No , I won't leave you," she said, taking off her cloak and covering Wendel's shivering form.

" Ye said no one wud be hurt," Doogan grumbled.

" Shut yer trap," the leader ordered, cuffing him. " Stupid toffs. Value money more'n their lives. Damn woman pushed me too far—made me lose m'temper."

" Let's get out of here before we get caught," Gummy said. " We've enough coin fer a fine night at The Rooster , and I've a hankering for Sweet Molly to warm m'lap," he guffawed.

The thieves ran off, their laughter floating back to mock her.

Katie pressed her trembling hands against Wendel's abdomen. Even through the wool of her heavy cloak, she could feel his life's blood seeping through her fingers.

" Forgive me," Wendel whispered.

" It's all right, my darling." She smoothed the hair from his face, unable to stop the deluge of tears washing down her cheeks. " It's going to be all right."

" Only wanted to protect…you."

" Hush , my dearest. Save your strength."

" So cold…"

Katie wished she had another cloak to cover him. Leaning down, she kissed his brow.

She didn't know how long she sat there, pressing her hands against Wendel's wound. It could have been seconds, minutes, or even hours. She barely took heed of the carriage stopping a few feet away and her brother's shouts as he ran to her side. She hardly noticed the flash of lightning illuminating the night sky nor the crash of thunder that echoed around her. She scarcely heard the shouts of Wendel's driver and footman, who'd arrived just after Thomas . She numbly watched as the men lifted Wendel into her brother's carriage. She barely felt Frankie's gentle hands guide her to the door of the conveyance or her brother's strong arms as he helped her inside. She vaguely remembered the carriage ride back to Thomas's townhouse and the rain that finally unleashed from the sky…

All she could think about was how everything was all her fault. And nothing would ever be the same again…