The Wicked Deeds of Daniel Mackenzie(94)
Author: Jennifer Ashley

“Oh, and Violet,” Daniel said as she started out the door. He sent her the warmest smile he had, putting his whole heart into it. “I love you too.”

Violet’s answering look held a joy so fierce it made Daniel’s heart sing. Violet gave Daniel a brief kiss on the lips, full of fire and promise, and then she was gone.

Daniel knew the moment the door closed again that everything changed. Jacobi dropped his defeated pose and stood up straighter, which made him look taller and more robust. The air became charged, the real confrontation about to begin.

Jacobi met Daniel’s gaze. “You’re a fool, Mackenzie. I’ll never give her up.”

“I think you will,” Daniel said calmly.

The two solicitors had entered the room as Violet exited, the French solicitor carrying the satchel of legal papers Daniel had asked him to draw up. Daniel took the stack of papers from him and thumped them to the table. “Come here and sign these,” Daniel said to Jacobi, “and I might not relieve my temper on you.”

“Threats of violence. How English.”

“I’m Scots. We’re not violent without good reason, but when we are . . . watch out.”

Jacobi stood his ground. “If I don’t sign, what then? You’ll make her your mistress? Or go to jail for bigamy?”

Daniel shrugged and pulled out the chair in front of the table. “If you don’t sign, I will find another way. Solicitors are clever, and I know many.” Daniel strengthened his grip on the chair, gesturing Jacobi to it. “Or I could simply shoot you. That would end Violet’s marriage to you quickly.”

Jacobi’s face lost some color. “You’d do that?”

“I don’t like you, Monsieur Ferrand. Who knows what I’ll do?”

Jacobi looked from Daniel to the solicitors, who waited quietly as they’d been instructed. Jacobi lifted his head. “I won’t sign. You were a fool to come here, Mackenzie. Did you think I wouldn’t be ready for you?”

“No,” Daniel let go of the chair and tightened the glove over his right hand. “Of course you’d prepare for my visit. That’s why it took you so long to contact me.”

He advanced on Jacobi. Jacobi watched, uncertain, as Daniel stopped in front of him, still adjusting the glove.

“I had a mixed upbringing,” Daniel said. “My father didn’t pay as much attention to me as I wanted, but he did teach me good things. How to ride horses, how to take care of them, how not to suffer fools. My uncles had a big part in raising me too. From Uncle Mac, I learned how to appreciate a beautiful woman and how to make her the center of my world. Uncle Ian taught me about aiming for what I want and letting nothing—no person, no thought, no fear—stop me. He also taught me how to outthink opponents without letting on that they’re being outthought.” Daniel smiled a little. Ian had never come straight out and said any of this; Daniel had learned it from years of observing the man. “From Uncle Hart, I learned about ruthlessness. Hart also taught me about cultivating people to have on my side. Money isn’t enough. You need friends, people who believe in you. Loyal ones, so when you need them, they’re right behind you.”

“You Scots like to hear yourselves talk.”

“At least you’re no longer calling me English. Now, from my dear aunties and my stepmother I learned about love. Real love, not just using people to make yourself feel good. Which is how I know that you can bleat on about Violet being your girl, but you never loved her. You taught her things and were proud when she parroted you. You had no idea what handing her over to that man to pay your debts would do to her. I think that in your muzzy little brain, you thought she owed it to you, that she’d be happy to let another use her to help you.”

Jacobi’s face hardened. “She was . . . ungrateful.”

“I’m glad you said that. You’ve just made things so much easier. But I want to tell you about a few more people who raised me, while we have a moment. My dad and uncles have valets who are amazing. Trust the Mackenzies to pick up odd strays to work for them instead of going the usual route. Angelo, my dad’s man, can do anything with horses. He taught me all about gentleness and how to make a beast trust me. Hart’s man, Wilfred, once was an embezzler. He taught me all kinds of tricks about how paperwork and ledgers can be manipulated, and how to spot when someone is trying to do it to me. Uncle Hart liked him so much he made him his secretary, to make sure others weren’t trying to cheat him. Uncle Ian’s valet is a pickpocket, and trust me, I made him teach me everything he knew.”

Daniel held up the knife he’d just plucked from Jacobi’s coat pocket, and Jacobi’s eyes widened. “He taught you to be a criminal?” Jacobi asked with a sneer.

“Not a criminal. I never steal from the innocent, like you do. Let me tell you about one more man, my Uncle Mac’s valet, Bellamy. Know what he taught me?” Daniel tossed the knife into his left hand and balled up his right. He grinned. “Pugilism.”

He gave Jacobi a swift, tight, and very satisfying punch to the face. The man’s head rocked back, and blood streamed from his nose.

“Your mistake,” Jacobi said. “You’re paying for that.”

Daniel knew he would pay. Jacobi would never have let Daniel in here to find him alone. Jacobi had prepared, as he’d stated.

Four men came through the door to the next room, four more from the hall. Bad odds, but nothing Daniel hadn’t faced before. Simon would have gotten Violet well away by now, which was the point of Daniel standing and talking at Jacobi for so long.

As his borrowed pugilist engaged Jacobi’s men, Daniel grabbed Jacobi and hauled him down to the table, shoving his face to the wood. “Give me the name of the man you let touch Violet. Now.”

Jacobi gasped, then he laughed a little, blood puddling on the tabletop. “I don’t remember.”

Another thump of his head, and Jacobi grunted. “I think you do,” Daniel said in a hard voice. “Want me to jog your memory again?”

“He’s no one you can best. Trust me.”

“You don’t know my friends. I don’t mean the ones I brought tonight.” Daniel slammed Jacobi’s head into the table once more. “A name.”

Jacobi groaned and whispered it. Daniel didn’t recognize it, but he knew plenty of people who likely would.

Two men hauled Daniel off Jacobi, and Jacobi sat upright, catching his breath and wiping blood from his face.