Lucy pitied her in a way. She knew that Miss Victoria had been devastated
when Tyler had not come home as he had promised. Most of the servants,
including Lord Lane, had allowed her to keep believing that he would
reappear. But it was time for something to be done. Miss Victoria simply
couldn’t spend the rest of her life thinking that every young eligible bachelor
to be Lord Hamilton. It just wasn’t proper. Lucy agreed with Lord Lane for
once in thinking that it was time for Miss Victoria to get herself a husband.
Why, the child was beautiful, and to already be considered "on the shelf" by
some men was atrocious. If only she would reconsider the Marquis’ offer.
Lucy didn’t understand how Lord Lane simply had no control over his
daughter and actually let her make her own decisions. It wasn’t done and his
lordship was fast becoming the laughingstock of the village of Wilfordshire.
Her own daughter Mary, who worked at the tavern, often told her of the
stories the villagers invented about his lordship. Why, they believed that it
was Victoria who had control over the estate and not Lord Lane at all. They
even called her Lord Victoria, another reason many men were afraid to come
near her. Lucy was sure the gossip had already spread all over London by
now. Wilfordshire was not so far away that a few travelers wouldn’t have
heard by now. After all, the ton was known for its gossip.

"Lucy, what do you think?" Victoria asked, interrupting the maid’s
wandering thoughts.

"Just fine, my child, just fine," Lucy answered, not having the slightest
idea what concoction she had just masterminded. Lucy finished the stylish
plait that she had crafted out of Victoria’s blond locks.

"I know it will work. It has to. Tyler will not get away with ignoring me!" she stomped her foot.

Victoria smiled deliciously over the plan she had devised. Good thing
her father wasn’t here to hear this. It would cause him to turn up his toes. The
poor man still had his heart set on her marrying the Marquis, but once she
could prove to him that Tyler really was that man at the ball, then her father
would forget the silly Marquis.

Her plan really was quite simple. All she had to do was get Tyler to
kiss her and then she would know. But she knew that if Tyler was intent on
ignoring her, he wouldn’t kiss her. So, she had to kiss him. She wasn’t exactly
sure of how she was going to accomplish this, but somehow she would.
"Miss Victoria, Miss Adelaine has arrived," Ponsonby, her butler,
announced in the doorway of her chamber.

"Yes, please, send her up, Ponsonby."

"Yes, my lady, " the elderly man smiled. He really loved seeing the smile back on his young lady’s face. A great improvement since she had been so depressed after young Lord Hamilton had left.

"Torie, are you ready, dear?" Lady Adelaine Quincy asked as she
made her way into Victoria’s sitting room of her bed chamber.

"Yes, yes, I am more than ready. Now are you for certain that you
know where Tyler...I mean, the man....has been frequenting, Addie?" she
asked her cousin.

Addie nodded. "Yes, I do have good advice that he has visited
Gentleman Jackson’s on more than one occasion. But how you are going to
manage for us to be admitted to a gentleman’s club is really beyond me. Your
father has some power, but not that much, Torie,"

"That, Addie, is where Nicholas becomes necessary."

Addie grimaced. "No, Torie, please tell me you aren’t going to invite
that bounder on our outing. You know he has never fully become accustomed
to the idea of you turning him down. He is such a nuisance. He still believes
that you have feelings for him."
"Yes, I know, but after I talked with him after the Ryder’s masquerade
last Season, he knows that we can never be. We are simply good friends,
now, that is all."

Addie eyed her cousin with skepticism. She wasn’t so sure that Baron
Nicholas Danvers truly believed he would never win Victoria.

"Good afternoon, ladies," Baron Danvers greeted as Addie and
Victoria seated themselves in his stately drawing room. The young Baron,
who had recently attained his position three months ago, still did not seem to
fit the part. His brown hair was too long for current fashion and his pale skin,
when cast in bad light, gave him an eerie glow.

Being a bastard son, Nicholas inherited the title from his mother while
his father had given his other son his name. Yes, he was bitter. But Nicholas
believed he had every right to be.

"Hello, Nicholas. How do you do?" Victoria asked.

"I am quite well, thank you for asking, my dear," he answered with a
gleam in his dark eyes. She was looking delicious this morning, he thought. If
only she hadn’t fallen for that fop, Lord Hamilton. But since he had taken care
of Hamilton, things could change, he reminded himself. Finding someone to
do the job had been surprisingly easy. All he had to do was mention the
name Hamilton and several thugs had been more than willing to cause an
"accident". After all, someone had to pay for the hell that his father had put
him through.

Addie watched the look on Baron Danvers face, knowing that the
spark in his eye was a result of more than just friendly feelings towards
Victoria. A gnawing feeling settled in the pit of her stomach and she could tell
that this man was up to no good.

"How may I be of assistance, my sweet?" Nicholas asked, still focused on Victoria.

"Well, to be truthful, I wanted to ask a favor of you, Nicholas, if you wouldn’t mind overmuch."

"Of course not, what is it?"

"Well, I need to gain access to Gentleman Jackson’s and being a lady, I’m afraid I won’t have much luck in getting inside. So, I need you to go inside and inquire about someone for me."

Mind? Nicholas was overjoyed at having Victoria at his disposal. After all, if he did this for her, she would owe him and he would see to it that payment was received. It only helped that she was twenty years old. That made many gentlemen think twice, but not Nicholas. He would set her up in a nice townhouse in London, supply her with plenty of jewels and a good staff and visit her whenever he was in need. After all, he had just dismissed the young chit who was his last mistress. What sensible girl-- who was nearly a spinster--would turn him down?

"You will do this for me, Nicholas?" Victoria prompted.

"Yes, my dear, certainly," he said.

"Thank you, Nicholas, " she squealed, clapping her hands together.
Baron Danvers simply smiled, thinking on how lovely she would look
dressed only in his family’s emeralds.

* * * Despite it being early on a Saturday afternoon, Gentleman Jackson’s boxing club was already extremely crowded. Victoria and Addie watched as all the men strolled in and out of the club, some of the latter quite intoxicated. Because the two were obviously well-bred young ladies, they had to watch from the carriage as Nicholas got out and made his way inside.

"I think you will regret this, Torie, relying that on man to do you a favor," Addie cautioned.

"You are too worried. Nicholas is a good friend. He would never take advantage of me," Victoria tried to assure her friend. Addie just shook her head. It was good thing that I am here and she didn’t try this nonsense by herself. She had seen that look in Danvers eye and she knew exactly what he was thinking , even if Victoria didn’t. "I just know it is Tyler, I am positive," Victoria continued, more to herself. "How can you be so certain?" Addie asked. "If it is him, then how can you explain the Sheridan’s ball?"

Victoria shrugged. "I can’t. But it doesn’t matter. When I see him this afternoon, everything will change. I know it."

Adam looked cautiously at the other men occupying the card table. None of them had said a word to him, simply accepted him into their game. It seemed so strange that no one from his past had identified him. He had been coming here for over a week now and no one had even questioned his identity as the major either. When he mentioned the fact that he had recently returned from battle, he was immediately welcomed.

Suddenly, Adam noticed a familiar looking man enter the room. He was dressed in the usual breeches and white shirt, wearing no cravat, his brown hair was mussed and his waistcoat was unbuttoned. Actually, the man’s casual appearance looked very out of place. It looked as though he had just stepped out of the boxing ring, located in the next room.

That’s why many men visited Gentleman Jackson’s. It gave them an opportunity to vent their anger and frustration on an anonymous victim who also wished the same thing. Various men would bet on the match and perhaps also stay for a glass or two of port and game of cards. Adam felt at ease here and knew that he had been here before. Perhaps that was why the men accepted him so easily. Yet not once had someone addressed him as other than "major" or "my good fellow".

The man whom Adam thought looked familiar walked right up to his table and smiled.

"Ah, Baron Danvers. And how would things be this fine day?" an elderly fellow inquired. Alan thought he had said his name was Lord Byers earlier, but he wasn’t sure.

"Just fine, sir. And how do you do?"the Baron asked.

"Simply marvelous. Lady Ann was grating my nerves this morning, so I thought to take a short break from her for a while. "

Both men laughed, Nicholas showing his white teeth. He reached into his jacket pocket and removed two cheroots, and offered one to Lord Byers. "Don’t mind if I do, my good fellow," Lord Byers said. Nicholas bent down and lit it for him with a match.

"Care to join us?" Byers asked.

Nicholas thought about it for a moment and then to Victoria waiting for him and declined. He had already taken a detour to the boxing room first and knew she had to be getting impatient.

"No, I don’t believe I will today. I have an important acquaintance waiting for me in my carriage, if you know what I mean, " Nicholas said and winked.

"Ah, yes, so I do, my boy, so I do," Byers said, nodding.

At that moment, Nicholas looked right at the man who Victoria believed to be Tyler. He felt a wave of disbelief travel through him. It was Lord Hamilton! He wanted to curse at the sight of him. The imbecile he had hired obviously had failed. Damn! With Hamilton out of the picture, he thought that finally he could have what he rightly deserved.

Adam nodded first and Nicholas silently acknowledged him also. Danvers. Damn, but that name was familiar too. His head ached from thinking about all these people and places.

"Well, I must be taking my leave, gentleman,"Nicholas said, breaking the stare first. "Lord Lane’s lovely daughter is waiting." he said, winking again and dropping Victoria’s name to see if he received a reaction.

Byers chuckled. "Ah, yes, Lady Victoria is quite a catch. It is too bad that she is getting up there in years. Wasted all her time on waiting for Hamilton. Too bad the poor fellow didn’t survive that bastard Napoleon’s attack. But he was an odd fellow. I didn’t know him personally, but I heard he did spend a great deal of time by himself on one of his many estates when he was in England. Rumor is that he’s also half Scotsman. It seems he believed his father was murdered. But I think all of that is rubbish. The former Marquis was a gambler and a spendthrift if I ever knew one."

Nicholas simply sat there, watching Hamilton’s face as Byers vented himself. The man’s face didn’t budge. Was it possible that Hamilton didn’t know he was Hamilton? Nicholas wanted to laugh. It was too easy! He could still bury the man and without having to kill him! The fortune and Victoria was all going to be his, he could feel it. Now all he had to do was get past Lord Lane. With any luck, the old bugger would be gone in a year or two. From what he heard, his health was failing so miserably that Victoria practically ran the estate. Well, when she was his, he would put her in her place--the bedroom. Nicholas grinned evilly at his fast forming plans.

"What do you think is taking him so long, Addie? Do you think he found Tyler?"

Addie just sat there with her mouth shut. It would do no good to protest. Victoria wouldn’t listen, she knew that.

"Perhaps, Torie, perhaps," she answered.

Nicholas walked out of the club and clapped his hands together. When he told Victoria his news, she would obviously be disappointed and need comforted. After he dropped off that chit Adelaine, he could have her, all to himself.

"Nicholas! Did you see him? Was he there?” Victoria excitedly asked , throwing the carriage door open.

Baron Danvers smiled, as he climbed in. He tried to keep a serious look on his face as he told her, "No, my sweet, I’m afraid I didn’t. But I did receive some other disturbing news. It seems that this gentleman who was sitting at the card table that I momentarily joined was in Lord Hamilton’s regiment during the war.

Victoria’s eyes went wide. She made a mental note to talk to this friend of Tyler’s.

"Well, my dear, this man recounted a story too vile to repeat to your tender ears. He told of an awful explosion that occurred while the men slept. Lord Hamilton tried to save his men, but lost his own life in doing so. I am dreadfully sorry, Lady Victoria." Nicholas looked down for a moment and then up at Victoria’s shocked face.

"But that’s not so! I just saw him the other night! I know it was him. Tyler is alive. There must be a mistake!"

Now, there, there, dearest, there is no mistake. This young man witnessed it with his own eyes." he grasped one of her tiny hands.

Addie put her arm around Victoria. “It will be all right, Torie. Is it possible you simply thought the man was Tyler? You could have mistaken someone else for him who looked similar." she reasoned. Damn, but she knew Nicholas was lying to her friend. She could tell he had had no such conversation with any friend of Tyler’s. She just wished she could prove it. But all the evidence pointed to Nicholas’s story.

Nicholas could see the disappointment in Victoria’s eyes. She was positive that the man was Tyler. But soon she would forget all about him. Soon she would be in his bed.

"No, Addie. I know who that man was and it was Tyler!" Victoria folded her arms across her chest and sat back.

Addie sighed. "I think it’s time to go home, Torie."

Nicholas nodded. It was the first good thing the chit had ever said. "Yes, I do agree, my dear. Why don’t we drop Lady Adelaine at her residence and I will take you for a nice stroll in the park and we can turn our thoughts to a more pleasant topic.

Victoria didn’t answer and Nicholas didn’t wait for it. He rapped on the carriage ceiling to alert the driver they were ready to leave.

As the carriage pulled away from Gentleman Jackson’s, Victoria could see that no one was going to help her discover Tyler’s whereabouts and that she would have to do it herself.

Just as Baron Danvers’ carriage left, Adam walked out of the club. He had a feeling that the Lady Victoria that Nicholas Danvers mentioned was the same Victoria that had captured his thoughts the night of that ridiculous ball.

He fumed at the thought of what Danvers may be subjecting her to. He signaled for his carriage which pulled up from where his driver had been waiting.

"Follow Danvers’ carriage," he ordered. The driver clucked to the horses and the carriage began moving.

Adam sat back , his thoughts divided on what to do next to regain his identity and the blond beauty.