A Gentleman's Prerogative (Unedited Version)

Chapter 10

Chen Li walked around the ballroom looking for the Count. Where on earth had the bastard gone, she wondered. He was supposed to stay close and wait for her signal.

If he screwed this up, not only would she lose her chance, she would have to finish the job she was sent to do. An honestly, for the first time in her adult life she had reservations.

Yes, the Blue Knight was a thorn in her side, but he wasn't her enemy. They said he was an enemy of France, an English spy. She didn't believe it, however. These men, her superiors, were not loyal to France. She had seen them sell their own countries secrets to line their filthy pockets.

That is why they wished him dead. He was getting too close to their operation. From what she had learned after all these years of escaping his grasp, the Blue Knight was an honorable man. She admired that, however he was nothing to her, and if he stood in the way of her freedom, then he would have to die.

She had owed no one loyalty. France wasn't even her home. China was, or used to be, as she would never see her beloved country again. Therefore, she would make a new life in the colonies. A rich widow could live nicely there, she had heard.

Here, she was just a pawn, a trained assassin kidnapped as a child from her mother's arms and forced to kill by gready men. Men who would never let her go, if she didnt finish this last assignment.

Of course there was no guarantee that they would keep their word either. So she took her chances with the Count. He had power to persuade those in charge, as he was part of their society. However, if the Count couldn't obtain her freedom, then she would have no choice. She would have to kill Sean O'Brien. It was Durand who learned his secret or the Society of Men would have never known his identity and gave it to them. He wanted Lady Marioselle and O'Brien was in his way.

It was a shame really. She liked the young woman, and although she would be married to the Count, at least she would live. Though that was probably much worse. The Count was a bastard. He would abuse the girl until he broke her. Chen Li frowned at the thought. She had been beaten over the course of her training, and she didn't wish that on anyone. No one dared to touch her now though, they were to afraid. However, Lady Marioselle wasnt a trained assassin like her. She couldn't protect herself. She was nothing like Chen Li.

She was kind, and thoughtful. Unlike anyone Li had ever known. No one in her life had ever been kind. All she had known were men like Durand. They used her body, and they used her skills for their own comfort and enjoyment.

As for friends, she had none. The woman of the demimonde were jealous vultures, and the woman of the ton turned up their noses when she crossed their paths. Not the girl though. She had been the first to treat her with dignity, as if she mattered. The young woman had even risked her own reputation to assist her. Why? Why would she do that for a total stranger? Were there others out there like her? Could her life be normal someday and have friends in it like Lady Marioselle? Doubtful. Why would anyone want to be friends with someone like her? An immigrant with a treacherous past.

Chen Li shook her head. She needed to focus. To stop feeling sorry for herself. This wasn't the time. She had an assignment to complete. Now, where had the Count got off to? A voice rang in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. She looked up to find the one man she hated the most standing before her. He wasnt speaking to her, but he was looking directly at her. It was a warning. The message in his eyes was clear, kill them, or your sister dies. She bowed her head in submission and walked away. Her deal with the Count was no longer an option. That's why she couldn't find him. She would have to act quickly now, before he went through with his plan to entrap the poor girl by ruination. Chen Li might have to kill her, but she would at least allow the girl to die with honor. It was the best she could do.

********

Sean couldn't see Marioselle anywhere. He had looked all over the ballroom. He had even gone as far as having a maid check the retiring room. She hadn't been in there, nor was she in her room. Panic began set in. There was still a half an hour until she was to meet him. Besides she was to wait for the signal. It wasn't like her in the least to go off on her own. Had someone taken her? Surely she would have screamed, or at least put up a fight and draw attention. With all of society being in attendance, nobody would have risked a public abduction, it was to unpredictable.

Perhaps she did go to the parlour. Mayhap she seen the opportunity to leave without notice and made her way there, he thought. He would go there to check, but he would have to enter through the outside doors. Thankfully he had left them unlocked. His head was still a little fuzzy from the fever that was building inside him, so the fresh air would help to clear it up. At least he hoped.

He looked around him to make sure no one was following and slipped out one of the side doors. Then he quietly walked around towards the back. He didn't want anyone to hear his approach just in case he needed the element of suprise. He heard voices and creeped over to the entrance. Durand was there. He was slapping Marioselle on the face, yelling at her to wake up. Wake up? What the devil had he done to her?

Sean lost all sense of control. He charged into the room and straight at Durand knocking him to the floor. The two of them struggled for several minutes until suddenly the Count grunted. His stiffened and looked at Sean in shock.  Then his rigid body went slack and he collapsed in a heap. 

Thinking the man suffered an apoplexy, Sean sank to his knees to administer aide.  As he leaned in to see if he was still breathing,  a small dart sticking out of the Counts neck.  Posion! He whispered aloud as his head snapped up, aware that someone else was in the room.   The beautiful, young Asian woman standing there was not what he expected to see, as recogntion began to form in his fevered brain. There was only one he knew of who could kill a man this way. The Black Cobra.