Educating Elizabeth (16 page)

A gull swooped low over the carriage and the lead horse tossed his head. Gervase steadied the horse with a soft command in French before turning back to Elizabeth. "And remember, my dear, the
ton
gamble harder and deeper than any other class of society. Fortunes are won and lost every night. Imagine the harm a cabinet minister or an army colonel could do if he decided to offer up information in place of coin. I've the ability to make sense of the scraps and bring them together into a coherent message."

Elizabeth sucked in a breath. "And if you can do it, so can the French."

"Exactly." The duke squeezed her gloved hand. "Recently the French have been gathering a lot of new information and I think it is through the gambling tables. I believe they are using crooked dealers and gaming houses to lure the unsuspecting into their nets, then frightening them into revealing classified information.

I offer some of my debtors a chance to tell me their secrets rather than pay me back. If they offer me information that should be kept secret, I will often warn them of the consequences of their actions. People are shocked to realize that they can betray their country so easily."

Elizabeth lifted her head and stared into the duke's gray eyes. It occurred to him that his easy, matter of fact tone wouldn't disguise the danger of his work from her intelligent appraisal. Gervase gave a soft laugh. "My dear, I see the beginnings of hero worship in your beautiful eyes. I've told you on several occasions I'm not a good man. Please endeavor to remember it."

Elizabeth blinked and lowered her head but not before he caught the hint of a blush on her cheeks. On impulse, he bent his head and kissed her hard on the mouth. The horses jerked forward for a fraction of a second before he brought them back under his control.

When the duke reluctantly raised his head, Elizabeth sat back and straightened her bonnet before glancing up and down the wide street. The streets were clear of people at such an unfashionable hour. Gervase had checked earlier, although he still suspected they were being followed.

He clicked his teeth at the horses and the carriage started again. Elizabeth pretended to observe the scenery whilst Gervase enjoyed the warmth of her thigh pressed against his own.

"I apologize, my dear. A carriage, such as this, is not a good place to kiss a lady. I will endeavor to make it up to you later."

The horses slowed to a walk in a residential street and the duke pointed to one of the houses. "This is where Angelique lives. We will drive around to the mews and leave the carriage there."

*** *** ***

Elizabeth's first impression of Angelique only served to increase her trepidation. As she feared, Angelique was blonde and petite and her delight in seeing the duke was obvious. She flew into his arms, chattering in such rapid French that Elizabeth could not decide whether she was scolding or praising him. A pair of miniature fluffy white dogs yapped and jumped up at the duke, adding to the confusion.

Elizabeth waited by the door, her hands clenched into fists as a most unladylike rage swept through her. She wanted to grab Angelique by the hair and pull her away from the duke. Gervase told her he disliked women who clung, but he seemed quite happy to allow Angelique to wrinkle his coat sleeve and stroke his cheek without complaint.

Determined not to be ignored for a moment longer, Elizabeth cleared her throat. Angelique stopped speaking long enough to look around at Elizabeth and fire a quick question at the duke. To Elizabeth's relief, the duke disengaged himself from Angelique and came back to her.

"May I present Miss Elizabeth Waterstone, Angelique? I'm certain the two of you will have a lot in common."

Angelique gasped and her hand flew to her cheek. "You are the lady who knocked him out with the clock?" Her French accent was far more pronounced than the duke's. Her face wreathed in smiles as she skipped forward and gave Elizabeth a warm scented hug. "I only wish I had been there to see it. The mighty Duke of Diable Delamere stopped in his tracks by a slip of a girl."

Elizabeth could not help but join in Angelique's laughter and her antagonism faded. Any woman who could make fun of the duke was certainly worth knowing. She glanced across at Gervase, who seemed unperturbed by their shared laughter, and found herself smiling at him. He gave her a lazy wink as Angelique linked her arm through Elizabeth's and walked through to a prettily decorated sitting room.

Tea arrived and Elizabeth accepted a cup from Angelique and allowed her gaze to wander over her surroundings. It was, perhaps, a trifle cluttered for her taste. Every surface bore several ornaments or pictures or lace bows. The walls were papered with overblown pink roses and the elaborately swagged and tailed curtains were striped rose and white satin. It was just how she had imagined a courtesan's house would be and Angelique fit perfectly into the gilded, feminine setting.

On that thought she glanced sharply at the duke, who sat at his ease, a cup balanced on his buckskin-clad knee, the two dogs fawning at his feet. In her experience, nothing was ever quite as it seemed when it came to the Duke of Diable Delamere.

"Gervase, darling, you have to do something."

Angelique's worried voice intruded on Elizabeth's thoughts and she turned to listen.

The duke bent to stroke one of the dogs. "What do you suggest I do, Angelique? I can't stop you from gambling. If you choose to pledge something that is valuable to you, then you must be prepared to lose it."

Angelique heaved a dramatic sigh and her bosom threatened to spill out of her low-cut bodice. "You are being deliberately unhelpful. I never gamble for the fun of it. I did it for you. The man, that pig, who relieved me of my bracelet was cheating, I know it."

The duke sat up and placed his cup on the table. "Ah, now you begin to interest me."

Angelique went to speak and then glanced at Elizabeth.

"You don't need to worry about Elizabeth, Angelique. She is already involved. She has broken
Le Fleur's
code."

Angelique clasped her hands together and gazed at Elizabeth as though she had discovered the Holy Grail.

"Oh my goodness, you are indeed a prize." Angelique said. "How ever did Gervase find you?"

"We have no time to go into that now. Tell me what happened when you lost your bracelet."

"I went to that new gaming house on Pall Mall as you instructed and spent most of the evening playing picquet." She frowned and fingered her wrist as though she still missed her bracelet. "I knew fairly soon that I was being fleeced, but I allowed it in the hope that I would be able to work out how it was being done."

She sighed. "Before I knew it, I had pledged my bracelet and lost it. I decided at that point it would be wise to stop."

"What else did they want from you?"

"A night in my bed and the opportunity to enrage you, I suspect." She turned to Elizabeth. "I'm the duke's acknowledged mistress. This is not the first time they have tried to injure him through me."

"Was there anyone else there whom you recognized?"

Angelique considered, her fingertip tapping her lower lip. "I saw Sir John and Nicholas, but I assumed you had sent them."

Despite Angelique's admission, Elizabeth was now sure that the duke was not Angelique's lover. It seemed to her as though Angelique was yet another of the duke's grand illusions, a convenience necessary to establish him as a rake and another useful way for him to gather information.

Angelique's next remark recalled Elizabeth to the conversation. "The man who won my bracelet, was called..." Angelique frowned and paused as though searching for the right word. She snapped her fingers. "Ah, these silly English names. It was something to do with trees. Mr. Bush, Mr. Fir?" She got to her feet and headed for her desk. "I have it here, Gervase."

She opened a drawer and pulled out the top voucher. The duke glanced at the note and put the crumpled parchment into his pocket.

"Describe the bracelet to me, please."

Angelique heaved an exasperated sigh and put her hands on her hips. "Gervase, can you not remember anything? It was made of gold with rubies and diamonds fashioned into the shapes of hearts. You gave it to me when I first arrived in England." She smiled and blew the duke a kiss. "That is why it is so special to me."

The duke's hard face softened as he crossed to Angelique's side. "You must forgive me. I just wanted to be sure. I will never forget why I gave you the bracelet and I promise I will get it back for you." He dropped a chaste kiss on Angelique's cheek and handed her back into a chair.

"Now, before we depart, I wish to offer Elizabeth the opportunity to talk with you alone." The duke headed for the door. "I'll take the dogs into the garden. They obviously need some exercise.

Angelique frowned. "Whatever for, Gervase? I cannot help her with the code, I'm far too stupid."

The duke bowed. "Angelique, you are far from stupid, you are a jewel. Elizabeth hopes to become a courtesan and I thought you might be able to advise her." He gave Elizabeth a wicked grin and left the room, the two dogs yapping at his heels.

Angelique stared at Elizabeth, opened-mouthed, before she remembered to put her cup down. "Gervase is making fun of me again. Why would you wish to become a courtesan? You are a lady."

Elizabeth's cheeks flushed. "Perhaps the duke feels I should have another woman to talk to when he is unable to explain matters to me."

Angelique's mouth opened even wider and then she emitted a small squeak. "You are Gervase's mistress?"

"It is a little more complicated than that. He insists he won't bed me and that my job breaking code will support me instead, but how long will this war last? I need an occupation and I still believe the duke is the best person to teach me how to become an excellent courtesan." Angelique leapt up from her chair and gave Elizabeth a crushing hug. "Of course I'll help you. If Gervase thinks you are worthy of his trust, I will trust you too." She planted a kiss on Elizabeth's cheek. "I had already decided I would like you for outwitting him and now I think we might be friends." She paused and sought Elizabeth's hand.

"You understand that Gervase and I are no longer lovers? He gave me the bracelet many years ago as a thank you gift for helping his daughter Eloise escape from France. He and I are almost exactly the same age. My mother was his wet nurse and I've known him for most of my life. My family worked on one of his estates and we remained loyal to him through the revolution."

A curious sensation of relief flooded through Elizabeth as she realized she had nothing to fear from Angelique. She allowed the courtesan to pour her another cup of tea and they enjoyed a comfortable coze until the duke reappeared from the garden and took Elizabeth home.

At the ungodly hour of six in the morning, Elizabeth tied the plum-colored ribbons of her bonnet in a jaunty bow under her right ear and tiptoed down the main staircase. Unfortunately, Standish, the duke's butler passed through the hallway just as she approached the front door. Elizabeth gave him a confident smile and tried to unlock the massive bolts.

To her chagrin, Standish cleared his throat and with a murmured, "Please allow me, Madame," slipped past her. With one deft turn of his gloved wrist, he opened the door wide.

Elizabeth gave him a grateful smile and hesitated as she looked out onto the desolation of the rain-swept square. Before she could step out into the deluge, Standish appeared and handed her a large gentleman's umbrella. She assumed that it was his, as she knew the duke would never own anything so plebeian. He said nothing but his expression clearly conveyed that if she insisted on gallivanting around at this hour in the morning, he would not be held responsible if she contracted a chill.

The rain beat down with a steady drumming sound onto the umbrella as Elizabeth picked up her skirts and headed for Hyde Park. She had agreed to meet Michael's new assistant, Jack Llewelyn, there before he started work. Elizabeth shivered as she reached the ornate gates and scanned the apparently deserted park. Apart from a few hardy souls on horseback, she couldn't see anyone foolish enough to be out and about in a rainstorm.

"Miss Waterstone?"

Elizabeth turned at the sound of a musical, welsh voice, which came from directly behind her. A young, blond-haired man, his head uncovered in the rain, awaited her attention. He wore a tattered old army greatcoat and decrepit army-issue boots. His skin was tanned and his eyes were a deep chocolate brown. She guessed him to be in his late twenties, much younger than she had anticipated from their correspondence.

"Are you Mr. Llewelyn?"

"I hesitate to be so informal, Miss Waterstone, but would you consider continuing this conversation under the cover of the trees?" He grinned at her then, his strong teeth flashing white in the green gloom as they ducked underneath the low branches of the encroaching trees.

Elizabeth found herself smiling back. There was something so warm and honest in the depths of his brown eyes that she felt no concern in accompanying him. The sound of the rain diminished into a gentle, shushing patter under the canopy of green leaves and Elizabeth closed her umbrella with a decisive snap.

"Well, Mr. Llewelyn. How do you find my brother and how do you like your position?"

Mr. Llewelyn turned to face her. "I find Michael an easy employer, if a somewhat stubborn one." His agreeable smile invited her to share the joke. "In truth, although I cannot cure him, I can certainly encourage him to be more active. It is important for him to maintain as much of his mobility as possible, especially in his upper body. He seems eager to learn all I can teach him and I think we will deal extremely well together, however ..."

Elizabeth hastened to intervene. "I asked you to meet me here so that we could speak freely to one another. I know you must find it difficult to understand my mother's attitude toward Michael."

Mr. Llewelyn nodded. "On my first day, I offered to provide Mrs. Forester with a daily report on Michael's well-being." He sighed and ran his fingers through his damp corn-colored hair. "She asked me why I should think she was interested and told me to refer my reports to you."