“John, we are doomed now. Please, you must leave the city.” Rosetta continued to sob. “My death will be much easier if I know you are alive and safe.”
“I will not leave you, Rosetta,” John said. His somber black eyes beseeched Angelica. “Is there any way that you can possibly fix this?”
A lump formed in her throat as she watched the exchange. It was difficult to remain angry in the face of this tragic romance.
“Not all of it, I’m afraid,” Angelica said. “However, we may be able to put things in a better light. You should start by letting me go.”
Rosetta nodded. “Yes, untie her, John. I deserve every blow if she attacks me.”
Polidori quickly removed her bonds and leaped out of the way. Apparently, guilt, coupled with the knowledge that she’d killed a full-grown male, made her quite intimidating to them.
“Thank you.” She rubbed her wrists. “Ian is not expected back for another day yet. I will go home and burn that ransom letter.” She pointed at Rosetta. “You will call upon him when he returns and confess that you have been hiding the doctor. Tell him why and beg for his mercy. You both will likely be forgiven if he never discovers that you hired the vampire hunter.”
“Do you mean that you will not tell him we took you?” Her voice was tremulous with gratitude. “What can we do to repay your kindness, Your Grace?”
Angelica saw the hope in the two pairs of eyes trained on her. In truth, she did not know if her word was enough to make this right. Rosetta had committed the equivalent of high treason just by hiding Polidori. If Ian discovered that kidnapping and attempted murder were added to the equation… and if he discovered her deception… Ian would leave her for sure, and permanently. But even knowing the risks she was taking, she couldn’t bear not to do what she could to help these star-crossed lovers.
“You can show me how you managed that exquisite knot in your cravat,” she said with a grin. “And you.” She turned to Polidori. “You can tell me all about that infamous time you spent with the Shelleys at Lake Geneva.”
Thirty-two
By the time Ian landed in the district of Soho, he was nearly out of his mind with the need to feed. Luckily for him, a harlot was flaunting her wares outside the alley. With a twinge of regret for the necessity of going against Angelica’s request to only feed on males, Ian lit on his victim. His fangs tore her throat in his eagerness. He cursed at the delay it took to heal her before he could be on his way.
Ian expected many things when he crashed through Rosetta’s door and stormed into her chamber: Rosetta rising up from his bride’s prone body, her fangs dripping blood; John Polidori assaulting Angelica as she screamed for mercy; or even Angelica fending off both captors with whatever sharp weapon she could find. What he had not anticipated was the determined look on his wife’s face as she leaped in front of him to block him from Rosetta and Polidori.
“Please, Ian, don’t kill them!” she cried. “This has all been a substantial misunderstanding!”
Behind her, Rosetta and John had fallen to their knees on the stone floor. Rosetta shielded Polidori with her arms as if Ian were a falcon ready to swoop down and take him from her.
“What in the blazes is going on here?” he roared.
“Well, if you would calm down, we can explain,” Angelica said, still trying to keep him from her captors.
The situation was so fantastical, so ridiculous, that it took a moment for him to recover his speech.
“Calm down? Pray tell, madam, who is calm here?” He looked again at the couple who appeared torn between fleeing and fighting. “And how can you possibly ‘explain’ the fact that one of my subjects has lied to me, betrayed me, and abducted my wife? I do not see any way for that to be put in a positive light.”
“I am sorry, Your Grace, I only wanted to protect John,” Rosetta said.
“Protect him from what?” Ian demanded, confusion adding to his rage.
Angelica stepped forward, eyes beseeching him to understand. “She thought you intended to kill him, Ian. You didn’t, did you?”
“I did not,” he answered stiffly, wanting nothing more than to sweep his bride out of the way and destroy the couple she seemed to be protecting. Only the imploring look in her eyes prevented him from doing just that. “But why did she take you?”
“Did the note not say?” Angelica asked.