Crownless

Chapter 10

When they made it to the scene of the disaster, they found a gun fight in progress. Except a gun was being aimed at Darius while he was weaponless and the only thing keeping the thing from firing was Crux's own pistol being aimed at the assailant. They were surrounded by the smolder and debris of a blown-up building and paying no mind at all to the fire and chaos. The assailant was a tall, spindly man, dressed like a gentleman if one ignored the bits of his suit that were charred and dirty.

Reni jumped out the carriage to join the men while Amaryllis stayed firmly seated.

The cabbie cleared his throat, "Miss?"

Amaryllis folded her arms and sunk deeper into her seat. "You want to be paid, don't you? My husband will compensate you once he's done with whatever nonsense is going on here."

"Your husband?"

"Yes, the one about to be shot."

"Oh, Darius then. Lady Wolff is the one paying me for my services, so worry not." The cabbie made a shooing motion and Amaryllis could only glare while sullenly doing what she was told.

She obeyed sullenly and watched the carriage speed off.

The stand-off remained in play even with addition of Reni's pistol. Amaryllis stayed a careful distance away, watching the four talk as they tried to come to some sort of truce. Well, saying four was being generous. Darius looked bored out of his mind and like he would have already shot someone if he had the option.

Then Darius caught sight of her and for some reason, his face lit up. "Amy, darling girl. What are you doing over there?"

Amaryllis grimaced, "You seem busy. I'm staying out the way."

"Too busy for my wife? Never."

That seem to have caught the attention of the man trying to kill Darius. He couldn't resist take a glance at Darius' new wife, giving Crux the perfect chance to tackle and disarm the gentleman.

With that out the way, Darius strolled over. He asked casually, "Did you have a nice night?"

"It was peaceful. I'm sure that's more than you can say."

"Yes, well, my associates tend to pick the most inconvenient times to attempt to kill me."

"They do a very bad job of it at that."

Darius laughed, "I am notoriously hard to kill. Many have tried," he winked at her, "All have failed."

"Perhaps they haven't tried hard enough." Amaryllis looked past Darius to where Crux was talking to the individual that just tried to kill her husband. "Is Crux trying to make peace?"

"Perhaps." Darius tilted his head as he tried to assess how that was going. "He wasn't the one who drugged us. He seemed to come out of nowhere. I'm sure Crux wants the entire story before we do any permanent damage to him. For some reason, he's inclined to believe that these occasions are occasionally my fault."

Amaryllis watched, amazed, as the gentleman seemed to become more and more friendly and susceptible to a peaceful separation. "Why can't you do that?"

"Do what, be tactful, patient, and inspire loyalty and confidence?" He laughed at her surprise, "I like Crux for a reason. He's good at smoothing things over. A leftover from his naval days."

"Naval? He was in the navy?"

Darius ignored her question to head over to Crux while the gentleman walked the other way. "What was that about?"

Crux sighed, "Another suitor of Lady Wolffe who had been rejected and rebuffed, coming to stake his claim by killing you. It was really very juvenile. Thankfully, you're married now." His smile was thin and wry when he turned it on Amaryllis, "I do apologize for the unsettling first night and day on land. I had hoped this would be a relaxing morning."

"I hadn't," Darius grinned, "I don't want my new wife thinking I'm spoiled for things to occupy myself with. A good husband is industrious."

Amaryllis sighed, "I'm quite sure I don't want to know what you think being industrious means."

"It means being cognizant enough to treat my wife well. I'll need some sleep in order to live up to it." Darius held out a hand to the slowly increasing traffic in the street. "Are you coming, Crux?"

"That's the best idea you've had all day." Crux climbed into the hansom behind him and Reni took a seat at his side.

Amaryllis took one last glance at the burning rubble before boarding as well. She asked, "Aren't the authorities going to be upset to find an exploded house?"

"You have so many questions, dear." Darius rested a hand on her shoulder, melting his huge frame into her side. He sniffed once, then twice, then asked, "Why do you smell like a certain Wolff I know?"

Amaryllis huffed at the deflection but answered all the same, "Reni thought Lady Wolff might have been angry about your marriage and acted out. She gave us cake and tea before sending us on our way."

Crux sighed, "Reni, dear, you know Lady Wolff is harmless."

"I know that is what men think," Reni retorted, "She's a wolf to the bones, Jordan. I had to at least check."

"Very well," Crux said, wisely avoiding the argument.

Darius murmured, "What did you think of her?"

"Strangely affectionate," was Amaryllis' first words, the kiss on the cheek lingering in her memory. "Ostentatious but kind. Maybe not my preferred associate but she is very nice."

"I'm glad," Darius smiled, "We have a difficult relationship, but I do consider her a friend."

The hansom stopped outside their bar and the clamored out. Darius and Crux lost quite a bit of gracefulness as their exhaustion settled in. Darius fell into bed in his dirty, soot covered clothes, ruining the sheets.

Amaryllis was reluctant to stay in with him. She had slept, and now she wanted to explore this new country she was supposed to live in. She ventured up the stairs to Reni, looking to see if perhaps she'd accompany her, or know someone willing to accompany her, but when she knocked at the door, Reni was holding a couple eggs and a look of annoyance. One that vanished when she came to her own conclusion on why Amaryllis was there. One Amaryllis did not, by any means, agree with.

"You don't know how to cook, do you?"

"No?" Amaryllis returned questioningly.

"Oh, come in then," Reni said, "I'm sure you'll want to feed your husband when he wakes up."

Amaryllis stared at her, the 'no' on the tip of her tongue, but she was ushered in and used her good sense to keep her mouth shut. Arguing with Reni seemed to be one of those things that she simply wasn't brave enough to do.

A few hours later, Darius awoke and stumbled into the living room, where Amaryllis was reading a book. Amaryllis huffed angrily as soon as he showed his face and started on that meal that Reni had walked her through before sending her down to wait for Darius to wake up.

Darius only laughed, "Is there a problem, Amy?"

"I'm quite sure I don't like Reni," Amaryllis vented as she took out the fish Reni had given her and worked on frying the potatoes she had already peeled on cut. "And one day, I will tell her to keep her nose out of our marriage."

"I look forward to it," Darius said with relish, leaning against the doorway. "Is she the reason why my darling wife is cooking for me?"

"You can tell her honestly that you were fed, and I will not have to suffer her wrath."

Darius' grin couldn't get any wider. "I told Crux when they met that she's a feisty thing. I wasn't too fond of it myself, but she grows on you."

"I don't like finding strange growths on me."

Darius barked a laugh, "That's fair, my dear. I did tell you that we were going to work on your pistol handling, didn't I? Why don't we start on that after this wonderful meal you're preparing?"

Amaryllis frowned at him sullenly but agreed with a nod.