My Lord Eternity (Immortal Rogues #2)(6)

Miss Kingly's very predictability would be her undoing.

Giving a sharp whistle, Amadeus watched for the three slovenly servants to stagger around the corner and surround the unaware maiden.

Just as he had commanded, the men quickly grasped Miss Kingly and covered her mouth to prevent her from crying out in alarm. Amadeus waited a moment to ensure that she was properly frightened by the sudden attack before he stepped forward to complete his well-plotted scheme.

Only to halt in surprise.

With a detached appreciation he watched her fierce struggle to free herself from her determined attackers.

There were no tears, no fainting, no traces of panic.

Instead, she grittily kicked at the men, using her hands and even her elbows to attempt to win her freedom.

This woman was different.

A sharp, unexpected curiosity flared into existence deep within Amadeus's icy soul.

As a true scholar, he was always intrigued by the unexpected. Especially when it came to mortals. It was not the heat of their passions, nor their tedious loves and hatreds. It was their simple mortality that lured his interest. Perhaps once he had retrieved the Medallion that she now wore about her neck he would allow Miss Kingly to become a part of his ongoing research.

She would certainly enhance the rather disappointing selection of humans he was currently examining.

Of course, first he must ensure that the Medallion was given to his grasp.

With a calculated motion he continued his path toward the struggling maiden. As he neared the first of his henchmen, he lifted the ebony cane he carried and hit him across the shoulders.

The man cringed, although he felt no pain through the spell of Inscrollment that Amadeus had cast upon him.

"Begone, you fiends," he dramatically commanded, sharply smacking the other two servants.

"The Watch is on its way, and you shall soon be lodged in Newgate."

At the word "Newgate," all three abruptly halted their assault and turned to stumble down the darkened street.

Perhaps a careful eye would have noted the manner they had so easily capitulated at his threat, or even the fumbling shuffle of their gait as they hurried away, but thankfully the maiden was far more concerned with pulling her shawl about her to conceal the large rip in the bodice of her gown.

"My dear, are you harmed?" he asked in soft tones that befitted the image of a modest, well-intentioned vicar. He had chosen the voice with the same care that he had altered his shape to a slender elderly gentleman who had lost most of his gray hair and possessed the features of a man dedicated to good works. Precisely the sort of gentleman a woman Miss Kingly would turn to in times of trouble.

And she was soon to have ample trouble.

"No." She smoothed the dark hair that had been tumbled from the tidy knot. "I am unhurt."

Amadeus made a mental note of her steady tone and cool composure. Oh, yes, she was worthy of experimentation, indeed.

Already he itched to bundle her back to his hidden lair and begin, but as she turned, the muted light from a nearby gin house shimmered against the golden amulet around her neck.

His breath caught.

Although only a portion of the original Medallion, he had no doubt that it contained a power more potent than any he had ever tasted before. And once made whole again, he and his fellow traitors would command the vampires. They would at last bend to his will.

Unfortunately he had already discovered that the Medallion was protected by a powerful spell. It had been bonded to the mortal's soul, making her impervious to Inscrollment and any other spell he might be able to conjure. Not even death could part the Medallion from the maiden.

The only hope of gaining control of the ancient artifact was to have it given to him of Miss Kingly's free will.

Which was precisely why he had been forced to conceive this ludicrous scheme. He had to win the trust of Miss Kingly and somehow convince her that she must offer him the amulet.

"Thank the good Lord," he said as he offered her an encouraging smile. "I feared I might have been too late."

Despite his humble manner, she seemed to instinctively sense danger in the air, and she took a step backward even as she attempted to appear suitably grateful for his display of courage.

"You were very brave."

He pressed his hands to his chest in a modest fashion. "Very kind of you, but I merely did what any other gentleman in my position would do."

She glanced toward the shuffling figures disappearing into a nearby alley. "Not every gentleman, I fear."

"No, perhaps not," he regretfully agreed. "The streets can be dangerous for a young maiden on her own. May I escort you home?"

She unexpectedly squared her shoulders. "I thank you, but that will not be necessary."

Amadeus paused. While he found her valor a source of interest, it did not suit his plans to have her quite so independent. With an effort he determinedly curbed' his flare of impatience. He was an Immortal. He had learned that patience was a virtue that could not be underestimated.

"Are you certain?" he coaxed. "I may have momentarily frightened those louts, but there is no telling when they might return. Besides which, they are not, unfortunately, the only scoundrels who would be willing to harm a maiden."

She clutched her shawl about her. "I do not live far."

"It does not take far to discover yourself in danger in such a neighborhood."