Lady in Green (21 page)

Then he noticed a woman, an attractive woman, staring into a millinery-shop window. She was dressed in the kick of fashion, and she was alone. She looked vaguely familiar, although Gard believed he’d last seen her wearing a ribbon around her middle—and nothing else—as she posed in his ballroom. The earl seldom forgot a pretty waist.

“Maudine,
ma belle
?”
It was as easy as complimenting her taste in hats, assuring her no lady ever looked finer in that bird’s nest of a bonnet, and paying for same. As down payment, it was understood.

He did not send a message to alert the staff in Bloomsbury of his arrival; he did not send for Tuthill to fetch the lady. Gard handed her into his curricle, sent his tiger home, and drove across town himself, determined not to let the female out of his sight. Maudine sat stiffly, one hand nervously clenched around the seat rail, but she smiled gallantly at him and touched the feathers on her new bonnet when the earl reassured her they were not likely to overturn.

Annie was polite, to Gard’s surprise, despite the lack of notice of company. Dinner was undistinguished, mutton and kidney pie, served with a stony demeanor indicating this was the Tuthills’ own meal, and now Mrs. Tuthill was going to have to start over again. She’d most likely start with the ingredients purchased for his dinner, the earl surmised from her pursed lips. Let the staff eat lark’s tongues and pigeon’s feet, he didn’t care. Just let Maudine finish her raspberry trifle before he burst.

Just when she’d licked the last pink drop off her soft pink lips, just when he was about to lead her upstairs, Annie waylaid
him
with a message about a note being delivered. His mother came to mind immediately, right after Miss Avery. Gard followed Annie back to the door, where a small lad in short pants with brown curls and an oversize cap handed him a folded note in exchange for a coin. Gard started to open the message on his way to join Maudine then stopped with a curse. “Blast, this note is for a Lord Gortimer, not Lord Gardiner. You go on up, my dear, I’ll just bring this back to the housekeeper to get rid of.”

He met Maudine in the middle of the stairwell. He was going up, she was going down, fast. The wide-eyed look on her face made him pause. She raised her hand, he immediately took his off the stair rail to protect his privates. She put her hand to her mouth, gasping, “Don’t touch me!” The chit was petrified—of him! Gard automatically took a step backward. And toppled down the stairs.

He knew he was alive because he could feel the breeze where Maudine had left the front door open and because someone had placed a damp towel on his forehead. He didn’t bother getting to his feet in a hurry; there’d be nothing to see upstairs anyway.

So he missed watching Annie scurry around the bedroom stuffing whips and chains and manacles back into a cloth satchel.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“You look like the devil. What happened, did the dowager light into you again for not coming up to scratch with one of her choices?”

“Cut line, Cholly,” the earl said as he carefully lowered himself into one of White’s most comfortable chairs. “I do not wish to talk about it. I need a drink.”

“Ah, another rash,” his erstwhile friend concluded knowingly as they waited for the waiter to come take Gard’s order.

“No, I do not have another rash. I fell down the stairs in that blasted house you convinced me to let for the season.”

“What, Elphinstone’s little hideout? Mean to say the place is decrepit?”

“No, I mean to say the place is haunted!”

Cholly shook his head. “You’ve been getting some deuced odd notions lately, and daresay I’m not the only one to notice.” His round face cleared when the waiter brought a glass and two bottles. Cholly already had an empty one in front of him. “I bet the second bottle is a gift from Calthorpe, for winning his wager for him.”

Gard lifted his glass to the foppish Calthorpe, who bowed back from across the room in a flourish of lace. Gard wrinkled his aristocratic nose. “What wager might that be?”

“You needn’t put on that high-toned act with me, you know. It won’t wash. Thought we was friends, though. Least you could have done was let me have a hint.”

“Hell and damnation, Cholly, are you castaway so early in the night? What are you blathering about? I swear, I’m in no mood for anything to do with that queer nabs Calthorpe.”

“Devilish glad to hear it, old fellow, though I never believed half the—” He caught the earl’s lowered brows and changed tack. “Uh, the wager. You remember, I told you they were laying odds on the Incognita in the park.”

The brandy was not sitting well on Lord Gardiner’s stomach: “And?” he asked quietly, menacingly.

“And Calthorpe bet she was just some rich man’s exotic bird of paradise. He followed her back from the park yesterday when you were done with your ride. Seems she leaves her horse near Cavendish Square and gets in a hackney, which meanders around a bit. You’ll never guess where the hackney drops her, eh? You could have told me when I asked you, don’t you know. Pockets are always to let and all, I could have used the extra blunt. All you said was not yet! Fine friend, Gard, be damned if I let you have one of m’sisters after all. Not sure anyway, with all the stories flying ’round.”

Ross pushed the decanter out of Cholly’s reach. “You’ve had enough. If you do not tell me where the hackney dropped the lady, I shall personally pull out every red hair on your head.”

“Why, to your little love nest, of course, or did you think the ladybird was playing you false already?”

“And Calthorpe?” the earl ground out through clenched jaws.

“Well, you are as rich as Golden Ball, so he won. He’s over there collecting now, counting his money.”

Gard slowly stood and poured Calthorpe’s bottle into one of the ferns. “You can tell him for me, Cholly, that if he ever goes near the lady again, or mentions her name, that he’ll be counting his teeth next, in a glass beside his bed.”

*

So Annie and the Tuthills were hiding Miss Green at Laurel Street, Lord Gardiner deduced. This conclusion explained a lot, especially if Miss Green was indeed the missing heiress, which was more and more likely. The fact that everyone else considered Miss Green his mistress was all that kept them from making the connection, while he knew for certain the woman had no ambitions along those lines. Heaven knew he’d dropped enough hints.

The real estate agent was right then; Lady Rosalind had not left any of her staff behind. The Tuthills and Annie must be Miss Avery’s own loyal servants, that they would lie through their teeth for her. That also explained Annie’s instant antipathy toward himself: The old family retainer deemed him a threat to Miss Avery. Naturally Annie also wished to discourage any inquisitive females from snooping around the premises, hence his disappearing demimondaines. Gard had no idea how Annie and the others were getting rid of his companions, but was certain they figured eliminating the women would eliminate his own troublesome presence. He rubbed the lump on the back of his head. Ha! They weren’t going to deter
him
so easily!

Miss Avery knew of the plot all along, then, might even have been hiding in a cupboard somewhere while he toppled down the stairs. She must have been laughing up her sleeve at him every time she saw him. Blast, the chit was not so innocent after all. Perhaps marriage to her was not such a downy notion.

Ross
was
determined to have it out with Miss Avery that very morning during their ride, promise or no. Blister it, if she wished to stay at Laurel Street, let her do so openly. Everyone already believed he had installed her there. Then he thought of the parade of women through the house. Granted, they never stayed long—not nearly long enough—but, Zeus, that was not what a fellow wanted his future wife to see. ’Twas a poor reflection on his character, he supposed. Then again, he’d never considered himself good husband material, and a little conniver like Miss Avery would be satisfied with his wealth and title. If he decided to offer them to her.

*

Annalise arrived at the park before Lord Gardiner, so she decided to trot some of the fidgets out of Seraphina on the carriageway right by the gates. She was circling to come back when a man jumped out at her again, grabbing for the reins. This time Clarence was off his horse and had the man pinned to the ground before he could shout her name. The
man
was not a frippery footman, however; he was stocky and sandy-haired and full of bluster.

Annalise signaled Clarence to let the man up. “Hello, Barnaby. What brings you to London?”

“Jupiter, Leesie, you know dashed well what brings me to London! I’ve been searching high and low for you, out to Bath and halfway to Wales, and here you are, bold as brass, riding in the park!” He angrily wiped the seat of his pants, which were now mud-streaked. “Or did you think I wouldn’t recognize Seraphina, even with those ridiculous painted stockings that come off in the dew, when her sire was my own Altair?”

“Frankly, Barnaby, I didn’t think you’d care.”

“Not care? Not care when the woman I love is making a byword of herself in Town, even if no one knows your name?”

“That’s a farrago of nonsense, Barny. You never loved me at all.”

“I am fond of you, Leesie, more than that reprobate you’ve taken up with ever could be. I cannot believe you’d get in a pother with me over Sophy and then attach yourself to the most depraved man in all of London! The stories, Leesie! Why, they say the Hellfire Club is child’s play compared to Gardiner’s debauchery.”

“That’s ridiculous. His lordship has led an exemplary life since I’ve known him”—not with his cooperation, true—“and has always treated me like a lady.”

Barny ran muddy hands through his hair in exasperation. “You never used to be such a goosecap. The man hasn’t an honorable intention in his body.”

“And you do?” she asked scornfully. “I suppose you think it more honorable for a betrothed man to keep a mistress than for a bachelor?”

Barny flushed, the red color blending into the dirt on his face. “I always intended to marry you at least. Still do. I gave up Sophy, I swear it.”

“You mean you can no longer afford Sophy without my money. No, Barny, we shall never see eye to eye on this.” She started to back the mare away from him.

“That’s right, ride off, enjoy your tryst with the evil earl while you can. Just how long do you
think
it will take Sir Vernon to get back from Northumberland?”

Annalise again halted the mare, who pranced in place. “What is Sir Vernon doing in Northumberland?”

“Making sure you didn’t take refuge with your grandfather. Not even Thompson would dare call a duke’s granddaughter batty, at least not to his face. Arvenell was your only safe refuge, Leesie. Now I am. Your stepfather has the right to lock you away, and he means to do it. I expect he’ll be here by week’s end. You can’t hide in London, and he’ll chase you down anywhere else. Don’t you understand, people notice veiled women as easily as they notice beautiful ones! And the mare! You might as well send out notices of your new address to the newspapers. Marry me and at least you’ll be able to ride at will. You’ll have a home and a family, your freedom.”

“But what about respect?” she started to say, when she saw Lord Gardiner approaching at a furious pace, thinking she was being harassed.

Barny didn’t see him. “I’ll take care of you, Leesie, you know I will.”

At which words Lord Gardiner leapt off his horse, grabbed the other, heavier man by the shoulder, spun
him
around, and planted him a facer. Barny went down in the mud again. He took one look at the blood in Lord Gardiner’s eye and decided to stay down. He did call out one more message to his former fiancée: “I’m at the Clarendon, Leesie. I’ll give you three days, then I’ll tell Sir Vernon where you are myself. Three days.”

* * *

“You know you are going to have to let me help,” Gard shouted to Miss Avery’s back as she tried to outride her devils. “Shall I call that nodcock out for you?”

Annalise pulled Seraphina up sharply. Distraught, she cried, “You wouldn’t!” Dear heavens, if she had to fret about Lord Gardiner losing his life or being wounded on top of her other worries, she’d have a seizure for sure. “I forbid it!”

The earl raised an eyebrow. “I do not think you are in a position to forbid me anything, Miss Avery.”

Her quick gasp told him his barb had hit home. “Yes, I know your identity and I feel certain everyone else shall in—what? Three days, was it?—when Sir Vernon comes to town and starts making louder inquiries. I really can help, you know. I have properties where no one could find you, a yacht to get you out of the country if you are set on bolting.” He grinned. “A handy set of fists and excellent aim if you wish to stay to face the challengers.”

“You do not know what you are saying. There is no reason for you to get involved in this coil for me.”

“There is every reason, none of which I feel like discussing on horseback. The only reason you need understand at this moment is that you need help.”

Annalise put her hand to her head. “Oh, I cannot think now!”

Gard reached across the horses to take that hand and give it a comforting squeeze. “And no one shall force you to. You have today and tomorrow to decide what you wish to do. All I ask is that you hear me out before you decide. Will you come with me tomorrow? We could ride out to Richmond, with your guards, of course, to play propriety. No one will know you, no one will distress you. Fresh air, flowers, we’ll pack a picnic lunch. Things will look better there, I swear.”