Chapter 23

Ralph arrived at Torrington Place just after midnight. Hepworth had picked him up in his own carriage from Fallbrook House after he had excused himself from the planned trip to the theatre. As the carriage had drawn up to his house, he noticed how new it looked. It was black and shiny without so much as a streak of grease on the paintwork and Hepworth's family crest had been expertly painted on the doors. It was being pulled by four perfectly matched black horses that were pawing eagerly at the ground. Once Ralph was inside, he was impressed by the plush velvet upholstery that covered the well-sprung extremely comfortable seats. It was not the carriage of a man that was seriously in debt.

As they drove towards Greenwich, Ralph remembered the events of the afternoon in Haverstock's office. He had spent most of the time, along with his brother, finalising the plans for the evening. Alex had left soon after the initial meeting and had returned with Miss Rachel de Havilland. She was a woman in her early thirties who had arrived severely dressed in a dark brown shapeless dress. It was difficult to believe that she had spent twelve years working in Melrose's exclusive brothels and had been the mistress of some of the most influential men in the capital. She looked quite dull and frumpy in a lace cap that covered her hair and made the angular features of her face sharp and unappealing. She now ran a school for girls' who had been rescued from the streets of the East End. She certainly looked every bit of the schoolmistress now.

However, she had been a confident woman who spoke with authority and was not, in the least bit, intimidated by Haverstock. There was a familiarity between her and Alex. They always addressed each other by their given names, but Ralph could tell that they were not lovers. They communicated with the easy comradery of good friends who respected each other's opinions.

Deveraux, who had remained for the first part of the afternoon, had been in awe of Miss de Havilland. If Ralph was not very much mistaken, the young man was definitely taken by her. However, she showed no sign of returning his regard. Instead, she addressed his questions with cool, haughty hauteur, as though he had been one of her pupils asking the most basic, simplistic questions.

Haverstock had the original architectural plans for Torrington Place sent to his office. Once he had spread them out on his desk, Miss de Havilland made them aware of a few amendments to the floorplan. She then went through the rooms on all three floors and instructed them on how they would be used during the evening and by whom. In particular, she brought to their attention Melrose's private rooms. These were situated on the ground floor at the back of the house, looking out over the rear gardens. His rooms included a sitting room, where he was known to entertain society's most influential leaders and a study that was solely reserved for business meetings with his closest allies. A ball on this scale was the perfect opportunity for him to gather together the country's ruling elite. It was not just Westminster; he was trying to infiltrate, but financial institutions, such as the Bank of England. He was also gaining influence amongst the industrial magnets that controlled the country's ever-growing economy.

'This will be an important evening for Melrose,' Miss de Havilland had said when they had finished looking at the plans. 'He will have specially selected the guest list, only inviting those he feels he could influence. He would have spent some time researching them and will already know vast amounts of information regarding their personal preferences and habits. Melrose will make sure that each guest's particular tastes are catered for. He always appeals to their primitive, barbaric base nature. At Torrington Place, he encourages them, even if it is just for one evening, to abandon their moral code and indulge their wildest fantasies.'

Miss de Havilland looked at each of them in turn, then continued. 'The only reason why I am going back into that revolting and obnoxious place is that I want to see it annihilated. It has already destroyed far too many lives. Ralph saw her look over at Alex with compassion in her eyes and knew that she was speaking about him.

'Melrose has got away with this for far too long,' Haverstock had said earnestly, 'now it is time for us to turn the tables on him. Tonight, I want us to seriously damage his operations.'

Ralph looked around the table and did not feel optimistic about their chances. There was only four of them, five if you included Helen, and they were responsible for hurting Melrose. Haverstock must have sensed the lack of confidence in the room. 'I know there are only a few of us. I cannot risk involving anymore, just in case any details of our plans reach Melrose before the evening.' To Ralph, the whole plan just seemed impossible.

Ralph's job tonight would be the least complicated. He had been tasked, wherever possible, to keep an eye on Hepworth.

When he had arrived at the ballroom of Torrington Place, with Hepworth by his side, the ball was already well underway. He immediately saw Helen in the middle of the dancefloor, slowly dancing with a man that was not Lavorel. He had his hands on Helen's hips and was stroking them provocatively.

She looked magnificent. In the candlelight, the white satin dress she wore was virtually transparent and clung to every curve of her shapely body. She had her arms entwined around his neck and was giving him her full attention. It was all he could do to stop himself from marching into the centre of the ballroom, assaulting the man and dragging her away. He knew that the resentment he felt was irrational. Helen was there, just like him, to do a job. However, the stakes for both of them were high. If she was even suspected of treachery, she would be killed.

'Do not worry about your gorgeous Countessa,' Hepworth said, obviously sensing his resentment. 'I have someone here for you that you will find much more obliging.'

Ralph had noticed a change in Hepworth since he had agreed to marry his daughter. He was no longer the bumbling fool, who's ludicrous remarks made him look ridiculous, he was a highly polished suave gentleman. He signalled discreetly to a woman who was standing close by. As she walked over to them, Ralph could not help but notice the similarity between her and Helen. She was tall, with dark hair and amber eyes that were a shade darker than Helen's, and he thought that she must have been specially selected for him to keep him occupied.

'Amber,' Hepworth said smoothly to her, 'look after this gentleman tonight. Make sure that he gets everything he desires.'

Ralph was not paying too much attention to Amber as she joined him by his side. The music had drawn to a close, and he could see Helen being led away to the other side of the ballroom to a small group of men. He could not stop thinking about the danger she was putting herself in just being here tonight.

'Huntingdon, please will you excuse me,' Hepworth said politely, 'I have some business matters to attend to, but I will be back directly. Amber will look after you in my absence.'

'Certainly,' Ralph said, as he put his arm around Amber, 'we will find some occupation to amuse ourselves when you are gone.'

Ralph watched Hepworth leave the room, and saw that he was immediately followed by Helen and the group of gentlemen. He had been tasked to keep an eye on Hepworth, and that would prove to be difficult with Amber clinging to him. He guessed that she had been given clear instructions not to let him out of her sight. He had to think of a way of losing her quickly before he lost sight of his own quarry.

Standing next to them was a rowdy group of men who had spent most of the evening drinking heavily. He surreptitiously sidled into their group with Amber still clinging onto him. She did not seem keen to join the group of raucous men, but it was the only way Ralph could think of getting rid of her.

As soon as they saw Amber, all the men's eyes were drawn to her. She was a beautiful woman, probably one of the most striking in the room. 'I say, old chap,' one of them said to Ralph as he ogled Amber's décolletage, 'she's a delightful little filly.'

'Wouldn't mind taking her out for a ride,' another one of the party said, as he slapped her playfully on her behind.

As the whole group guffawed and Amber clung closer to him, he saw the door of the ballroom shut. He had to move quickly. He felt a little stab of guilt as he thought about leaving her with this group of drunken men, but he had to think of the danger Helen was in.

'Why don't you take her and have a spin around the dancefloor,' he said as he carefully disengaged himself from her vicelike grip and pushed her towards the man that had just slapped her.

The man needed no encouragement. Before she had time to object, he had grabbed her around the waist and had spun her ungraciously onto the dancefloor to the ribald remarks of the rest of the group.

As soon as Ralph was free from her, he quickly made his way to the door that Hepworth had used. He found himself in a spacious corridor that he remembered from the plans led to Melrose's private rooms. He could no longer see them, but he guessed that that was where they had gone.

He went to the door of the sitting room and put his ear to the solid oak door. He could hear no talking, but that did not necessarily mean that there was no one in the room. Ralph slowly twisted the handle of the door and opened it carefully. The room was empty, apart from a woman sitting by herself on a chaise. It was Helen.

'Ralph,' she said, relief evident in her voice, 'what are you doing? You should not be here; it's not safe.'

As he shut the door behind him and walked over to her, she stood up. 'Helen, Helen, my love,' he said as he folded her tenderly in his arms. 'How could I stay away from you when I know your life, and the life of our child is in danger.'

'You know,' she said, her voice barely a whisper, 'about the baby.'

'Yes,' he replied gently as he continued to hold her. 'Lady Emley, Alice, told me.'

'I wanted to tell you last week at the theatre, but...' she stopped abruptly.

'Last week, I behaved like a pig-headed fool,' he said as he held her tightly in the embrace. 'I had no right to treat you with disrespect. Please forgive me, Helen.'

'There is nothing to forgive,' she said, with a sigh. 'My behaviour has been hardly perfect.'

She then put her arms around his neck and kissed him gently on the lips. It was not a passionate kiss, but it was one full of the tender sweetness of two affectionate lovers.

When she broke the kiss, she cupped his cheeks and looked into his eyes. 'Ralph,' she said urgently, 'you must go. If they see you with me, they will kill you.'

'Helen, listen to me,' Ralph said with urgency. 'Haverstock is here, outside in the grounds. My brother, Alex, is also here with Deveraux and another woman called Rachel de Havilland. We are going to get you out tonight.'

'Now?' Helen said, looking at him with her wide questioning eyes. 'I am so close to finding the identity of Le Renard. I know he is here and I also have eliminated Lord Melrose from my list of suspects.'

'You were right to worry,' Ralph said quickly, fearing that they did not have much time, 'Lavorel and Melrose know you are working for Haverstock.'

As Helen looked at him, he saw fear briefly flash in her eyes, but she soon controlled it. 'But why did they bring me here tonight? Surely if they were certain I was working for Haverstock, they would have never brought me here to the centre of their operations. They could not run the risk of me identifying Le Renard.'

'They have had you followed for months, and they have known all along that Haverstock was going to approach you,' he said, looking at her seriously. 'They are toying with you,' he said intently, 'you are like a mouse being played with by a cat. That is why they have brought you here. I do not know what they have planned, but, Helen, it is not good.'

There were a few moments of silence between them as he let his words sink in. 'Come with me now,' he said, as he held out his hand. 'Come with me, and I will get you to safety.'

Helen looked at his hand but did not take it. 'No, Ralph,' she said, turning away from him. 'I have to finish what I started; I have to find Le Renard.'

'Why, Helen?' he said, looking at her perplexed. He had thought that she would jump at the chance to win back her freedom. He did not care anymore for Haverstock or Le Renard. They could all go to hell as far as he cared. He just wanted to leave with Helen and make sure that she was safe. 'You owe Haverstock nothing,' he said forcefully, 'he exposed you to unnecessary danger by asking you to work for him. He should have known all along that you were being followed.'

'You're wrong, Ralph,' she said, turning away from him. 'I made a promise to Haverstock years ago, that I would help him find Le Renard's identity, and I cannot go back on my word.'

Ralph felt the icy tendrils of desolation creep into his heart as she spoke. He knew that there would be no point arguing with her. He remembered what Tom had told him about her in his study at Belmont Hall on the second night of the house-party. She was a woman of valour. He had known all along that she had a strong sense of duty and always did what was required. Why would she have put up with being the companion of Lady Helford for all those years if she did not know her duty towards her son? He knew that once she had issued a promise, she would never renege on her word.

After a lengthy silence, she spoke again. 'If anything happens to me,' she said solemnly, her back still turned to him. 'Will you look after Georgie's welfare? I have asked Haverstock to appoint you as his legal guardian.'

Ralph felt cold. Even just the thought of losing her permanently made him feel empty. He had known for some time that he had lost her. It was one of the reasons he had behaved so outrageously during the past few months. And, it was one of the reasons why he had finally agreed to marry Hepworth's daughter. At that moment, when he had sent the obligatory notice of his betrothal to The Times, he had obliterated any chance of them being able to get back together. She was far too honourable to agree to be the mistress of a married man. However, her death, the thought of losing her permanently had made him feel desolate and alone. Even though she would not have been with him, he would have had the knowledge that she was still alive somewhere in the world. He would have been able to share the joy that they had brought a new life into the world. Even though it would have been at a distance, he would have been able to watch their child grow into adulthood. However, even this very limited shared future was now at stake.

'Yes,' he said solemnly, knowing that she asked him because she trusted him explicitly. 'I will treat him as a member of my own family. As my son.'

'Thank you, Ralph,' she said, turning towards him and reaching out to clasp both of his hands.

'I wish you would come with me,' he said, as he took her into his arms again. He looked down into her vibrant honey eyes and saw them glistening with tears.

'Ralph,' she said sadly, 'we never did have our time together. It was far too brief.'

He nodded. 'We never did, did we?' he replied softly, as his fingers wiped the tears that had spilt down her cheeks. 'But we did have a few precious days at Belmont Hall, and I will remember them for the rest of my life.'

Helen nodded. 'You must go before they come back,' she said, smiling up at him through her tears.

'Remember,' he said as he lightly kissed her lips. 'You are not alone. I am going to do the best I can to get you out of here.'

She nodded. 'Please go,' she said in desperation.

As she was speaking, he heard the crack of the door as the handle was being turned. 'Quick, hide,' she whispered loudly.

Ralph dived behind the chaise, and Helen sat down just as the door of Melrose's office opened.

'Countessa,' one of the men said slickly, 'we must return you to the ball.'

He sensed her stand and walk towards them. 'That would be lovely,' she said. Ralph noticed the brittle quality to her voice. 'I do so want to dance again.'

Once he heard the door of the sitting room close, and he was sure that he was alone. He got up from his hiding place. He had to get back to the ball as quickly as possible. He could not afford to let her out of his sight.