Mark of Caine Trilogy: Book One: Hidden in the Shadows (Victorian Villains) Read online

  MARK OF CAINE

  Book One: Hidden in the Shadows

  Victorian Villains Gothic Romance

  §

  CATHERINE LLOYD

  Copyright 2015 Catherine Lloyd

  Electronic Edition 2016

  Writewood Creations

  261 Lac Bernard Road

  Alcove, Quebec

  Canada J0X 1A0

  [email protected]

  www.writewoodcreations.blogspot.com

  ISBN 978-1-988003-24-5

  All rights reserved.

  This publication remains the copyrighted property

  of the author and may not be redistributed for commercial

  or non-commercial purposes.

  Cover image by zastasvin/Canva

  Cover Design by Writewood Creations

  Table of Contents

  MARK OF CAINE

  Also by Catherine Lloyd

  From the Publisher

  MARK OF CAINE

  Book One ~ Hidden in the Shadows

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  About the Author

  Mandrake Falls Four Seasons Romance

  Dark Redeemer Medieval Adventure Romance

  Also by Catherine Lloyd

  Mandrake Falls Comedy Romance

  The Jilting ~ Summer

  Lie for Me ~ Autumn

  The Way Home ~ Winter

  Love Rising ~ Spring

  Dark Redeemer Medieval Romance

  Wanton

  Wastrel

  Traitor

  Soldier

  Victorian Villains Gothic Romance

  Windemere Hall Trilogy:

  Betrothed ~ Betrayed ~ Beguiled

  Mark of Caine Trilogy:

  Hidden in the Shadows ~ Whispers in the Fog ~ Revealed in the Mist

  From the Publisher

  Mark of Caine Trilogy follows two characters introduced in Windemere Hall Trilogy: Tanner Caine and Laura Mayhew.

  Formerly a lady-in-waiting, nineteen-year-old Laura Mayhew is the only witness to a sex scandal at Windsor Castle and is committed to Gateshead Insane Asylum to discredit her story. Tanner Caine, a cold, solitary and emotionally damaged ex-naval officer is tasked with silencing the girl permanently. Laura has the gift of second sight and she has been expecting an assassin for months but Tanner insists he’s only there to help. Haunted in her dreams by a baby’s cries, Laura decides to trust the dangerous Mr. Caine to escape the asylum and find the missing royal infant. When she is compelled into marriage to obtain her release, Laura discovers Tanner Caine is the one man whose thoughts she cannot read. And it is possible she has married her assassin.

  §

  Mark of Caine: Hidden in the Shadows is the first installment in the second trilogy of Catherine Lloyd’s Victorian Villains Gothic Romance Serials, historical romance in the tradition of Phyllis A. Whitney and Victoria Holt. Set in 1868, England, like the “penny dreadful” of the Age, each novella ends in a cliff-hanger. These are steamy romances containing scenes, language and themes written for a mature audience.

  Victorian Villains

  MARK OF CAINE

  §

  Book One ~ Hidden in the Shadows

  Chapter One

  Windsor Castle ~ May 1868

  A SERIES of catastrophic events had landed Laura Mayhew in Gateshead Insane Asylum and would keep her there if she was not careful to hold her tongue.

  “It is a sticky situation. She was lady’s maid to my daughter, Princess Louise. She is nineteen now and ought to have her emotions under better control. If there was an alternative, I would not have had to summon you but the situation has become untenable. My hands are tied.”

  Queen Victoria turned with a sullen frown to gaze at the man standing before her. The history she had given him of the problem was sparse, her reasons were weak, but Tanner Caine appeared unperturbed. He stood at attention like an officer awaiting his orders.

  “It has been rumoured that madness runs in our veins but I can assure you, Laura Mayhew is too distantly related to offer royal blood as an explanation for this bizarre story she is spreading. Unfortunately, she is also too closely related to the royal family to be wholly ignored by Parliament. Something must be done to silence her and soon. That is all I can tell you. The events that have led up to this action cannot be written down or entrusted to anyone’s hearing. Do you understand? Suffice to say, the blow to the Crown would be fatal if certain powerful men began to take her story seriously.”

  “What is it you need me to do?”

  Victoria’s shoulders sagged with relief. It was this forthright presence of mind that she treasured most about the former naval officer. One did not have to waste one’s breath with troublesome explanations. Tanner Caine understood all. He was her boots on the ground, her spy in the streets. He had more than once extricated the Prince Regent out of a sexual scrape and cleaned up Bertie’s mess. The fellow had become invaluable to her since the Prince Consort’s untimely death six years before. Caine got things done. Tasks that were too unsavoury for Her Majesty’s Service to take on, she would send for Mr. Caine, and all would be settled discreetly and efficiently.

  But even a man as capable and obedient as Tanner Caine would have his limit and Victoria hesitated before trying that limit. She did not want to lose him. She valued the fellow’s good opinion almost as much as his unswerving loyalty.

  “Laura’s father is Horatio Mayhew, a distant cousin of Prince William of Denmark, now King George I of Greece. Horatio has fallen on a financial sword since the Emancipation Proclamation in America. I understand he had holdings in South Carolina. Clearly, he backed the wrong horse. Mayhew lost everything with the exception of his tenuous claim to royalty. He is weak. He will sell us out for a price and I cannot rely on him to keep his daughter in check. As it stands, he does not believe her tale but if she is allowed to roam the streets of London, God knows the trouble she could stir up.”

  “Where is Sir Mayhew now?”

  “He is touring the Continent and plans to do so until the end of the year. He and Lady Mayhew have abandoned their daughter to her fate. Quite sensibly.” Victoria grunted. “They cannot help her if she will not help herself. In any case, the girl has refused everyone’s help and counsel.”

  “I understand your concern, ma’am.”

  “Precisely so. I knew you would, Mr. Caine. You understand everything. The question is whether there is anything you can do to help.” Victoria dabbed a lace handkerchief at the base of her throat. They were having an unbearably damp spring. Windsor Castle had never been less comfortable.

  “I believe I can. What are your orders?”

  Her shrewd eyes took in the young man. Tanner Caine was the most powerful man in England but no one knew it. He was dishonourably discharged from the Royal Navy almost six years ago for reasons that he refused to discuss. Victoria knew what was in the naval record, but Caine refused to explain himself or give his side of the story. He was a private citizen now, living in a hunting lodge buried in the Berkshire countryside when he was not in London. When he was in town, Caine could be found at the rooms he rented in Baker Street. He kept a low profile which perfectly suited Queen Victoria’s purposes.

  “Your residence in Berkshire is in the vicinity of Gateshead Asylum, is it not?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Hawthorne Hall is in Bracknell Forest. The asylum is a two hour jour
ney away on horseback.”

  Few in Victoria’s circle of intimates expected the twenty-nine-year-old Tanner Caine to prefer a quiet country life over the glitter of London, but Caine retreated to the lodge as frequently as possible, resurfacing only when Queen Victoria sent for him.

  She had cause now to be deeply grateful for his self-imposed exile; she wanted as few eyes on the task ahead as possible. She chose well, the queen thought, sizing him up. There was not even a wife to get in the way. Though Tanner Caine was often seen in the company of beautiful women, he had never married.

  No doubt because of his face.

  Perhaps the deformity was a congenital defect that he did not want to pass down to his children. Victoria could sympathize with the feeling of looking at one’s children and seeing only the flaws staring back. The madness, the addictions, the sexual appetites....

  Caine was tall, broad-shouldered with glinting charcoal hair and piercing black eyes. A breathtakingly sexual man with one flaw: a physical deformity acquired at birth, mild enough, but disturbing on first meeting. The left side of Tanner’s face was paralytic, pulled down at the corner of the eye and mouth. His was a half-formed beauty, which made the queen trust him all the more. Marred men were humble enough to take orders and ruthless enough to carry them out.

  “Mr. Caine, Laura Mayhew must leave Gateshead Asylum and quite soon. How that is to be managed, I cannot say, only my name must not come into it. Once she is free, I imagine she will need an escort to her home in Dorset. It would be best for all concerned if she never arrived.”

  His pause was brief, but telling. Victoria braced herself.

  The ex-naval officer recovered his equanimity. “How soon do you need the job done?”

  “As soon as possible, but that is entirely up to you. I ought to say as soon as it is safe, only know this: I cannot run the risk of Laura Mayhew telling her story to anyone.” She peered at him shrewdly. “Can you do that for me, sir, or have I shocked you into speechlessness. In six years of devoted service, I never believed I would come to you with such a request. My children have tried my patience time and again. If given the choice, I would not have had any. But one is not given a choice. One lies back and thinks of England.”

  “What threat does the girl pose to the Crown, ma’am?”

  “Is it important that you know?”

  Tanner Caine’s expressionless stare told her that he would not take action without cause. She valued that quality as well, although it was cumbersome at times.

  “Laura committed a capital offence for which she cannot be brought to trial. She was Princess Louise’s confidante and privy to sensitive information. Girlish secrets for the most part about which I would not be alarmed were not for the fact that Miss Mayhew is determined to make one secret in particular public. She is a grave liability. My informant inside Gateshead tells me she befriended a young woman by the name of Clara Hamilton and it is likely she confided the story to her. Mrs. Hamilton was released into her husband’s care six months ago.”

  “Where can I find Mrs. Hamilton? I shall need to question her.”

  “Her husband is Mr. Branson Hamilton. He lives in Somerset at Windemere Hall.”

  Tanner Caine shifted his weight. “Branson Hamilton,” he repeated.

  Victoria had never seen Caine appear flustered before. “Do you know him, sir?”

  “I did once. Not anymore.” Abruptly, he shook off the strange mood that had overcome him. “I’ll see to it, ma’am. It will not be difficult.”

  Victoria concealed her relief. “Thank you, Mr. Caine. I knew I could count on you. But I must ask ... how is it to be managed?” She glanced at her man quickly and narrowly. “Your activities cannot be linked to the Crown. If you run into difficulty, I shall have to disavow all knowledge of you.”

  “I understand. I will be acting on my own authority, ma’am. All I require from you is a sample of Horatio Mayhew’s handwriting.”

  “Yes, of course. I have his most recent letter here.” Victoria produced the missive and handed it to Tanner.

  He tucked it in his breast pocket. “The mark will be removed from Gateshead without alarm. Force will not be required and she will not suffer.”

  “Excellent.” Victoria wondered why she’d been worried. Tanner Caine always understood everything so perfectly.

  Caine met his sovereign’s eyes for the first time since the start of their meeting. “A word of warning, ma’am: there can be no second thoughts once the assignment is in play. Before I leave this room, I need to know that your orders are final.”

  Victoria took a breath, her flesh straining against her corset. It was sad, so very sad that it had come to this, but it had been one trial after another since Albert died. Victoria simply could not endure the scandal that this stupid, thoughtless girl seemed determined to bring to light. Not when Mr. Caine offered a solution that would make it disappear so neatly and cleanly.

  It would be as if the whole nasty business never occurred.

  Queen Victoria lifted her chin regally.

  “My orders are final. There will be no second thoughts. Good day, sir.”

  §

  Gateshead Asylum ~ the same day

  LAURA MAYHEW was curled in a ball on the tiled floor, waiting for the orderly to carry her to back to her cell. Ever since Clara was taken away, her decline had been rapid. Laura tried to hold on to her reason but it was proving difficult.

  Being a conduit for supernatural vibrations in a madhouse was beginning to take its toll. She was weary and her reason was failing now that she had no one to talk to. She was beginning to doubt herself. The ice baths, painful restraints and meaningless walks in the garden supervised by unsmiling orderlies were a bracing relief. She depended on the routine of society and regular habits to preserve her sanity.

  The dreams had become clearer of late and more frequent. Last night she dreamt the baby boy, now a year old, was sobbing behind the bars of a cage. His little face was red and wet with tears. He was utterly bereft and alone. Laura had awakened with tears streaming down her cheeks. The vision was real. Somewhere in England, Louise’s baby son was frightened and neglected. There was nothing Louise could do and Laura had promised, she had sworn she would protect her friend’s baby boy. She had to get out of this place and find him!

  Laura had waited for over a year for Queen Victoria to send her henchman. Whoever he was, he had still not showed. How much longer could she survive in here? The queen was clever after all—she had latched onto the perfect method for silencing her daughter’s friend.

  Though of late, Laura had not been silent. The dreams drove her to speak out about why she had been confined to Gateshead. Despite Clara’s warning to keep it to herself, Laura told Dr. Rutledge everything about the missing royal infant. His reaction was one of paternal forbearance and a prescription for laudanum.

  She did not expect him to believe her—she expected him to report her ravings to Queen Victoria. The purpose behind such a bold move was to provoke the queen to take action.

  What she would do once the queen was riled, Laura did not know. She was depending upon her gift of clairvoyance to know how to manipulate the situation for her release. Logically, the queen’s assassin would not kill her inside the walls of Gateshead Asylum. A murder would attract public attention, inevitably lead to an inquest and calls for reform, leaving a stain on the asylum’s reputation. Whatever she had done, she was still Sir Mayhew’s daughter and a distant relative to the Crown. Her execution would have to be handled quietly.

  It only made sense that the assassin would find a way to get her out of the asylum first. This killer, whoever he may be, could be her only hope to find Loosey’s baby boy.

  §

  Baker Street, London ~ that evening

  TANNER CAINE laboured over a clean sheet of paper with pen and ink, meticulously copying Sir Horatio Mayhew’s hand. When the forgery looked authentic enough to satisfy, he folded it neatly in half and slid it into an envelope. Tanner sealed
the flap with red wax and a crest that looked exactly like the House of Mayhew. He was not concerned the crest would be scrutinized too closely. The director of Gateshead Asylum would likely be impressed by the wax alone.

  The Queen had taken a great risk in giving him this assignment. It was a measure of how much she trusted him. Winning that trust had been a long process that had left many dark deeds in its wake. Even so, Tanner Caine did not wish for a different path than the one that lay ahead and he would not shirk from taking it.

  Six years ago, he’d had no political connections or oaths of loyalty he was obeying when he came across the Prince Regent in a brothel. He was merely acting on instinct. Prince Edward (or Bertie as he was nicknamed) was about to hire the services of a prostitute known to be syphilitic. Tanner recognized the Prince before the whore did and diplomatically removed the twenty-one-year-old from the scene. The Queen got wind of the rescue and Tanner had a new job. Queen Victoria needed a clever, worldly man who would do whatever it took to protect her family from scandal; a man who would bend the rules to achieve the desired result.

  Tanner Caine was that man.

  As for Tanner, he took the job because Her Majesty trusted him when no one else would. Victoria knew he was from Cornwall and had served as a Quartermaster in Her Majesty’s Navy before he was dishonourably discharged. He would not discuss his history any further than that. Probing into his past was a line Tanner Caine did not allow anyone to cross, not even the ruler of the British Empire. Victoria was the first to respect his desire for privacy and trust him anyway. For this reason, Tanner placed himself wholly in her service. He carried out her orders efficiently and without question—even when the order was to spy on the heir to the throne.