Chapter 2

Mayfair, London

T he following morning, Victor strode into his eldest brother Lucas's home without a calling card. The servants merely let him in. Victor had five brothers in total: Lucas, Sebastian, Miles, Brenton, and Nicholas. Their family seat was in Hampshire, and his parents were the Duke and Duchess of Bolton. Lucas was also the Marquess of Winchester, having inherited their father's lesser title.

Victor walked through the dining room, knowing he would find Sebastian there.

In fact, most of the Cambridge family, Victor included, preferred to take meals at Lucas's home because his cook was one of the finest. Victor paused once inside and scanned the room for the person he sought.

Sebastian had his fork and knife poised to dig into a large plate of sausages and scrambled eggs.

Victor strode across the room and said, "Blast it, Seb, what sort of jewelry did you give me?"

"Good morning to you too, Vic. Never mind that this is my house, do come barging in to speak with Sebastian," Lucas said with sarcasm as he spread marmalade on his toast and shook his head.

Victor ignored him and pressed Sebastian again. "Come now, from whom did you win that pearl set?"

Sebastian did not answer but instead focused on piling as much sausage and egg onto his fork as he could, as if Victor were not even present. Then he cried out, "Dash it!" when Victor yanked the fork and plate away from him and unceremoniously dumped the plate in the middle of the table.

"I was about to eat that! You're interrupting the most important meal of my day," Sebastian said with a scowl.

Victor replied, "You'll live. Answer my question."

"Well, you might have asked nicely," Sebastian grumbled.

"Sebastian," Victor growled.

"Oh, very well! I won it off some Frenchman who was a terrible hand at faro. He was in his cups and had no business being at Brooks'."

"What was his name?"

"Haven't the foggiest. Just some fool with a loose tongue. He made a fuss about it being some fine pearl belonging to Spanish royalty and part of the Bonaparte collection." Sebastian stretched his arm to grab his plate from the middle of the table, but Victor swatted his hand away.

"Blast and damn! What now?" Sebastian growled as he retracted his hand.

"Bonaparte? As in Napoleon? Why the devil didn't you tell me?" Victor asked, glaring at him.

"More like Joseph, his brother, but what of it? I win valuable trinkets every night at cards. Why should I care? I gave it to you since I owe you some blunt. Thought you clever enough to sort out its worth."

"I almost gave it to Lydia Seymour as a parting gift," Victor replied.

Sebastian gave him a quelling look. "Thank heavens you didn't do that. Fine friend she may be, but no tumble is worth giving away a fortune."

"It's not like that. Lydia and I are not... we no longer... oh, hang it all. The fact is, had I known its true value, I'd have taken more care."

"Did you even look at it properly, Vic? The settings are masterful, with perfect stone mounts and fine metalwork. Any jeweller worth his salt would see it's likely the largest pearl ever found. Why else would I wager for it?"

"Seb, how do you know so much about jewelry?"

"I may be a wastrel, but I pay attention when it comes to trinkets that might help me woo a lady into my bed. And trust me, nothing catches a woman's eye like the promise of a fine bauble after a thorough tupping."

"How charming," Lucas snorted and rolled his eyes.

Victor ignored him and said, "Hold one moment—at these card games, you actually win valuable things? You're not just frittering about?"

It was Sebastian's turn to scowl. "I'll have you know, brother, I'm rather good at what I do, and make a tidy sum each night!"

"No offense meant. I'm merely surprised anyone would wager something so valuable at faro."

Sebastian replied, "I assure you I've won countless treasures over a card table. Property deeds, fine Indian muslin, silks from the Orient, shiploads of tea and other goods. You'd be amazed what men—and women—will wager when they're desperate. I've even had the odd spinster daughter thrown into the mix."

Lucas and Victor looked aghast at that statement, and both stared at him with matching frowns.

Sebastian returned an affronted glare and said, "Before you both think the worst of me, I refused those ones. I absolutely draw the line at wagering over human beings. Besides, what would I do with some timid virgin?" He shuddered after that comment.

Lucas raised an eyebrow then replied, "Well, it's good to know you have some principles, Seb."

Sebastian just shrugged his shoulders.

Victor seemed to stare at him with new eyes. For years he had thought Sebastian's card playing was a waste of time. His brother always acted the idle rake, but perhaps there was more to him than that. Something he kept hidden from the rest of the world.

Sebastian asked, "May I eat now that this Spanish Inquisition is over? Or am I to starve under suspicion of heresy?"

"Oh, go ahead then," Victor replied, then moved to the sideboard to pour himself some freshly brewed coffee. Sebastian fell upon his sausage and eggs like a man who hadn't eaten in days rather than mere minutes.

Lucas cleared his throat, having watched the entire exchange quietly. Then he asked, "Vic, what's this all about? What has happened?"

Victor returned to the table and sat down, taking a sip of his coffee. He sighed then told the story of the previous night to his brothers, including his sense that someone else had been in the room before Lydia arrived.

Sebastian said between mouthfuls of food, "Hold up, brother. You were robbed by Lydia, your friend ?" He emphasized that last word.

"No. I was robbed while Lydia was there, but she didn't take the pearl."

"That makes no sense," Lucas replied.

Victor said, "I was fast asleep, and I felt a presence. Made me realize someone was in the room. As if they were watching me."

"By George, the same thing's happened to me," Sebastian replied. "Turned out to be an angry husband of a widow I'd been intimate with. Only, that's when I discovered she wasn't a widow, seeing as her husband tried to put a bullet in my chest while I slept. Most unpleasant fellow!"

Lucas and Victor once again turned to stare at Sebastian, in shock.

Lucas replied, "I'm relieved you lived to tell the tale. But I must say, your devil may care attitude worries me at times, Seb."

Sebastian replied, "Ha! That's rich coming from you, Luke. Have you forgotten your little crossbow incident when Sabine shot you in the arse?"

"It was the shoulder!”

"Shoulder, bottom, face... what's the difference?" Sebastian replied with a smirk.

Lucas turned back to Victor and said, "Go on."

"Well, I reached for my dagger while feigning sleep. Then I saw a shadow cross the room. I didn't hesitate. I tackled the intruder only to find it was Lydia."

"What happened to the jewel thief?" Lucas asked.

"I suspect they slipped away while I was distracted."

"And how distracted were you? Didn't you two part ways some weeks ago?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes, but it's rather complicated. We are friends who occasionally coupled for mutual benefit. We agreed that was all it would be, but now Lydia has changed her mind and wants something more permanent.”

"Come now, Victor. It's not like you to keep a woman around just for a convenient tup," Lucas replied. "That's something I'd expect of Sebastian but certainly not you."

"I'd take offense if it weren't quite true," Sebastian replied as he continued demolishing his breakfast.

"What happened then?" Lucas asked Victor.

"Well, I just wanted Lydia gone from my room, so I thought to give her the gift as a token when I discovered it was missing. I booted her out after that and went in search of the culprit."

"I doubt that's the reconciliation she was hoping for," Lucas said.

"I had no time to worry about feelings when I found scuff marks behind a curtain and a window had been forced open upstairs in the hall. The thief had climbed in through the upper story via the roof and onto the terrace."

"Dash it all! Have you any idea who it might be?" Sebastian asked, now munching on an apple having cleared his plate.

"Well, that's the thing. They left a card."

Lucas glanced at Victor. "What did it say?"

Victor replied, "It said, 'X'."

Victor and Lucas exchanged a knowing glance. Lucas was a spy for the Home Office and Victor for the Foreign Office, and they had discussed an elusive Agent X stealing jewels across London. But they couldn't speak of it in front of Sebastian.

Lucas replied, "I think it wise to increase the guards around your home. If this person could manage such a bold robbery while you were in your house, there's no telling what else they might do."

IT WAS SOMETIME LATER , after Sebastian had left, that Victor and Lucas spoke in hushed tones in his study.

Lucas said, "I take it Agent X strikes again."

"It would seem so."

"Then I suppose they'll find a body soon."

Victor looked grim and nodded. "That's what I'm afraid of."

According to his investigations, Agent X was not only a thief but also a murderer. After every jewelry heist, a dead body appeared within a day in the near vicinity and always with a rally pamphlet in their pocket. There were secret rallies being held all over London as more citizens became disgruntled with the policies of the government. The Crown had its hands full trying to quash each insurrection and bring the rebel leaders to justice. It was a powder keg of dissension among the masses. Armed militia roamed the city and dockside, trying but failing to keep the insurgencies at bay.

Lucas had been busy working with the Home Office to investigate the source of the rallies whilst Victor had been hunting X. The coincidence was too uncanny. It was almost as if X was leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake. But for the life of him, Victor could not find a connection.

"You need to be careful, Vic. There must be a reason the pearl was stolen. But more concerning is that X knew you had it."

"Yes, I suspect I'll have to be more vigilant," Victor replied. "This person is dangerous, but also how they broke into my home and then cracked the lock to my safe suggests someone far more skilled than I gave them credit for."

Lucas was about to reply when there was a knock at his study door.

"Yes, Giles?"

"Excuse me, my lord, but there's a Bow Street Runner here to see Lord Victor. Says it's urgent. Something about a body found overnight."

Lucas and Victor exchanged a worried glance, but they already knew. Agent X had left another calling card.