Kissing Cousins (24 page)

Salverton enjoyed the drive. His chest swelled in tenderness as his fingers twined in Samantha
’
s silky curls and stroked the vulnerable nape of her neck. Her shoulders glowed like marble in the wan ray of moonlight that penetrated the carriage. They were not cold and hard like marble when his palms held them, however. They were warm and soft and smooth as velvet. At times he caught a glimpse of her bosoms, rising and falling as she slept. They provided a nearly irresistible temptation.

As he gazed at her sweet face, gentle in repose, he knew this was no mere fascination. He had grown to love his cousin, not in spite of her rusticity and hoydenish ways, but because of them. If society thought he had chosen his bride poorly, then society could go to the devil.

While they drove along, a bulky man with a hat pulled low over his eyes dogged them like a shadow. Fletcher was so accomplished in his chosen trade that they didn
’
t notice when he rode out from under a stand of willows and began following them. He rode on the very edge of the road, invisible in the shadows of night.

Salverton didn
’
t awaken Samantha until the carriage stood in front of her house on Upper Grosvenor Square. He was tempted to awaken her with a kiss, but before he had quite made up his mind to it, the coachman was at the door. The sound of the door opening awoke her. She looked all around, blinking in confusion. A tousle of curls framed her sleepy face. This is how she would look when she awoke beside him in the morning.

“
Oh, we
’
re home already. Have you seen Fletcher?
”
she asked.

“
No, but there
’
s no reason to think we
’
ve lost him. I expect he
’
s waiting around the corner.
”

“
You will call for me in the morning, Edward. Promise! I want to be there when you spring the trap on Fletcher.
”

“
I
’
ll call for you at nine.
”

“
That late? You don
’
t think
—”

“
You need a good night
’
s rest. And so do I.
”

He assisted her from the carriage and accompanied her into the house, up to the door of their flat. Samantha had her key and let herself in quietly. She didn
’
t light any lamps, as she planned to go directly to her bedroom.

“
I shan
’
t waken Auntie,
”
she whispered.
“
There
’
s no reason she must know at what ungodly hour we returned.
”

“
You might take a look in Darren
’
s room, in case he came back during our absence.
”

“
Yes, that
’
s a good idea.
”

When he heard the eagerness in her voice, he was sorry he
’
d said it. Suggesting Darren was at home had been only a ruse to get inside to kiss her good night.

Salverton stepped in. She lit a lamp then and tiptoed silently down the hall to Darren
’
s room. She could see from the doorway that his bed was empty, and her hopes fell. Her shoulders were sagging when she returned to the hallway.

“
He
’
s not here. I wonder where he
’
s sleeping tonight. If he has the faintest notion what
’
s going on, he must be frightened half to death.
”

“
Wanda might have told him about Fletch, to put him on his guard.
”

“
I warrant she didn
’
t mention that he
’
s her husband. At least there
’
s no danger of Darren being married to her. Even if she did convince the gudgeon to flee to Gretna Green, the wedding wouldn
’
t be legal. It would be horrid for him to make such a misalliance, having to live his whole life with a woman who doesn
’
t suit him, and a bossy, bullying woman besides. He would soon stop loving her.
”

She didn
’
t realize the words might apply equally to Edward and Louise until they were out of her mouth. She came to a conscious pause and looked at him, half apologetically, half questioningly. If he was ever going to declare he had changed his mind about Lady Louise, surely he would do it then.

“
A marriage would be a wretched mistake,
”
he said with warm feelings but with no air of taking the remark personally.
“
They have nothing in common. She
’
d run through his fortune within a year. It
’
s a pity he was ever caught in her snare, but I
’
ll say no more about why that happened.
”

His quizzing smile, of course, referred to their not calling on him until the damage was done. As Salverton had no intention of marrying Lady Louise, he didn
’
t see any reference to his own situation in her remark. Just how he was to disentangle himself from Louise was unclear. He took some relief in the knowledge that he had never actually proposed. At least fate had prevented him from that final error. He foresaw a gradual cooling of the relationship and regretted the necessary weeks or months before common decency would allow a marriage to Samantha.

“
You had best go now,
”
she said.
“
Thank you for everything, Edward. You
’
ve been so very helpful.
”

He studied her unhappy face. His gaze lingered a moment on her shadowed eyes and her full lips before sliding down to her white shoulders. When his arms began to reach for her, Samantha didn
’
t pull back. It was the way he was looking at her that held her immobile. If that wasn
’
t love ...

The breath caught in her lungs. Was he going to say it now, that he had changed his mind about Lady Louise? A hush gathered about them. No actual words were spoken, but some vital knowledge seemed to hang in the air.

Into the silence a querulous voice penetrated, shattering the mood.

“
Is that you, Samantha?
”
It was Miss Donaldson. Her head and shoulders appeared around the corner. The shoulders were covered in a blanket.

“
Yes, it
’
s me.
”

When Miss Donaldson saw Lord Salverton, all but her head disappeared. It wouldn
’
t do for Cousin Edward to see her wearing a blanket for a negligee.
“
You
’
re very late,
”
she scolded.
“
I expected you hours ago.
”

"We ran into a deal of
—
unexpected happenings.
”

“
Any word on Darren?
”

“
Edward is just leaving. I
’
ll tell you all about it. You haven
’
t heard from Darren?
”

“
Just a note, delivered by a ragamuffin street lad telling us not to worry. He is all right.
”

“
A note!
”
Samantha and Edward exclaimed in unison.

“
I
’
ll be right out to show it to you.
”

Miss Donaldson disappeared to make herself decent. In the interest of speed, she just put her street mantle on over her nightdress and brushed her hair. Samantha pulled the patterned shawl tightly around her shoulders to hide the green satin gown. She had hoped to dispose of it before meeting Miss Donaldson. The chaperon returned to the saloon and handed Edward the note. It was a ragged piece of paper torn from the corner of a journal.

“
When did this come?
”
he demanded.

“
About six o
’
clock in the evening. I quizzed the lad who brought it. He said a man had handed it to him in Hyde Park and gave him a crown to deliver it. And promised I
’
d give him another to make sure he did bring it. The description of the man sounded like Darren. The writing is certainly his, though one can see he was distressed when he wrote it.
”

In her eagerness to read the note, Samantha went to peer over Edward
’
s shoulder.
“
‘
Dear Sam and Miss Donny, Don
’
t worry about me. I
’
m fine, but I can
’
t join you at the moment. You go on home to Oakbay. I
’
ll see you there within a week.
”

“
How does he think we are to go home with no carriage and no money?
”
Miss Donaldson inquired in a rhetorical spirit,

“
Of course we shan
’
t go home without him,
”
Samantha said. She looked to Edward.
“
Do you think he
’
s all right?
”

“
I suspect he knows very well that Bow Street is after him, or why wouldn
’
t he come here? Fletcher wasn
’
t on his tail. He
’
s been following us.
”

“
Who is Fletcher?
”
Miss Donaldson asked. As the excitement abated, she noticed that Sam wasn
’
t wearing the gown she had left in. Nor did Salverton look at all his usual elegant self.
“
And what happened to your clothes?
”
she added in confusion.

The lengthy explanations were made as brief and innocent as possible, which still left plenty of occasion for Miss Donaldson to lift her eyebrows and exclaim in bewilderment. Between their driver being locked up in jail for murder and the pair of them apparently purchasing worn clothing from an inn that did not sound at all the thing and their being followed home by a jailbird, one could not help wondering if she had been remiss to let Samantha go alone with her cousin.

“
Wanda married the whole time, and to a thieving murderer. I never heard of such a thing,
”
she said weakly after the tale was told. Had Samantha
’
s companion been anyone but Cousin Edward, she would have said a good deal more.

“
I made sure it was Sir Geoffrey that Darren was trying to hide from,
”
she said a moment later.
“
Dead, imagine that! One must pity him, but there
’
s no need for hypocrisy. Decent men don
’
t get murdered in their own homes. The man was a lecher, when all
’
s said and done. His death makes the matter of the stolen thousand pounds a little less dark for Darren. How are we to find him? Should we go to Hyde Park tomorrow to look for him?
”

“
We don
’
t want to lead Fletcher to him,
”
Edward said.
“
Jonathon suggests we lure Fletcher into a trap. I
’
ve chosen Berkeley Square as the safest place.
”
He outlined Sykes
’
s suggestion.

The only thing more shocking than Edward
’
s taking counsel from a jailbird like Sykes was that Edward was willing to use his own home for such a low purpose. It could only be love that was leading him so far from his usual stodgy path. And doing it all with such carefree abandon, almost as if he were enjoying it.

“
So you hope to entrap Wanda
’
s husband tomorrow morning. I hope your plan succeeds, Cousin. Most kind of you to look out for our interest in this manner. Of course you will let us know at once when he has been apprehended,
”
Miss Donaldson added.

“
I plan to be there,
”
Samantha said. Before her chaperon could object, she added,
“
I am a necessary part of the plan, Auntie. Edward thinks Fletcher will be hovering about here at Grosvenor Square. You would not feel safe with him on your doorstep. Edward will call for me and we
’
ll lure him into the waiting hands of Bow Street at Berkeley Square.
”

“
I
’
ll see that nothing happens to Sam,
”
Edward assured her. Sam! The romance had obviously progressed nicely.

“
If you say so, Cousin,
”
she said meekly, and lowered her head to conceal the triumphant gleam that entered her shrewd eyes.
“
At least there is no need to worry about Darren. We know he is safe.
”

“
Or was when he wrote this,
”
Samantha said.
“
One can only hope Wanda hasn
’
t put him on to those
‘
spots
’
Jonathon spoke of. It would be fatal if Darren and Fletcher ended up in the same hidey-hole.
”

“
I wish I had asked Jonathon where these hiding places are in London,
”
Edward said.
“
I could make a tour of them now. We could use Jonathon
’
s expertise, could we not?
”

“
Now you appreciate him,
”
Samantha said with a saucy smile.

“
We appreciate different aspects of Jonathon. You were taken in by his handsome phiz; it is his expertise that I admire. And his eagerness to help. If he were here, he
’
d make the arrangements at Bow Street for me, and save me that trip before I go home tonight.
”

“
Poor Edward,
”
she said with a teasing smile.