To Tempt An Angel (Book 1 Douglas series) (23 page)

Mrs. Sweeting shook her head in disgust. “I try to protect her as much as I can.”

“I understand,” Angelica said, reaching out to touch her arm. “Mrs. Sweeting, we have come to take Daisy away to safety. Will you come, too? Please?”

“You always were an adventurous child, ready to defend the weak and right a wrong,” Mrs. Sweeting said. “Kidnapping is a hanging offense, I think.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Angelica said. “We’re taking you to live with us at the Duke of Inverary’s mansion. His Grace won’t allow the law to punish us.”

Mrs. Sweeting glanced uncertainly toward the house. “What about our clothing and belongings?”

“We’ll buy you new clothes,” Angelica answered. “Once we get Daisy safely away and ensconced in her new home, His Grace will send to Lucille for anything of value you’ve left behind.”

“Very well, then,” the woman agreed.

Angelica looked at Daisy. “Do you want to come and live with me?”

Daisy nodded, rose from her perch on Angelica’s lap, and held out her hand. The five of them left the garden and walked briskly down the alley.

Peering around the corner, Angelica watched her aunt descend the front stairs and climb into the carriage. Willie drove around the corner and stopped for them.

Once inside, Angelica took Daisy upon her lap. Victoria sat on the carriage’s floor, between the two seats.

“God bless you, my lady,” Mrs. Sweeting said when Aunt Roxie gave her a welcoming hug.

“What about Lucille?” Daisy asked, glancing back down the street.

“Never mind about her,” Angelica said, keeping her close. “I’m taking you to stay with your grandfather.”

Daisy looked astonished. “I have a grandfather?”

“Not only do you have a grandfather, you also have a fairy godmother,” Aunt Roxie told her.

“Who is she?”

“Lady Angelica.”

Daisy laughed. “She’s an angel, not a fairy godmother.” She turned to Angelica, asking, “Can we watch the cloud pictures and play your harp?”

Angelica nodded. “I know lots and lots of fun things to do.”

When they reached the duke’s Park Lane residence, Tinker opened the front door, and they hurried inside. The majordomo appeared puzzled by the sight of the older woman and the child.

“Tinker, prepare a chamber for our guests,” Aunt Roxie instructed the majordomo. “They’ll sleep in the same chamber. Samantha and Victoria, accompany Mrs. Sweeting to help her settle in. Angelica, you and Daisy come with me.”

Aunt Roxie led them upstairs. Angelica and Daisy stopped on the second floor with her, while the others continued up to the third floor. Outside the duke’s closed study door, Aunt Roxie whispered, “Wait here until I come for you.”

Holding hands, Angelica and Daisy stood in the corridor. After her aunt’s initial, “Hello, darling,” all was silent for several long moments.

“Angelica did what?”
the duke shouted from within the study.

“Is my grandfather a dragon?” Daisy asked, a frightened expression on her face.

Angelica smiled. “There is nothing to fear.”

The door opened after a prolonged period of silence. Aunt Roxie beckoned them inside.

“Lady Allegra is frightened,” Daisy cried, pulling back. “She doesn’t want to meet the dragon.”

“I’ll hold your hand the whole time,” Angelica promised.

Duke Magnus was seated behind his desk “Well, Lady Angelica I see that you have taken charge of everyone’s life,” he said dryly.

“I try to help whenever I can,” she replied, and gave him a smile filled with sunshine.

“So, you are Daisy Dubois,” the duke said, turning his attention on the little girl.

Daisy looked ready to bolt. Her grip on Angelica’s hand tightened.

“Come closer so I can see you,” Duke Magnus said.

Angelica forced the child forward a few steps. Daisy dug in her heels still out of arm’s reach of the duke.

“Do you know who I am?” Duke Magnus asked.

Daisy nodded.

“Do you know how to speak?”

Daisy nodded again, and the duke laughed. Angelica felt the girl relax.

“Who am I?” he asked.

“Grandfather,” Daisy answered in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

“I am your father’s father,” Duke Magnus told her. “You have your father’s eyes.”

“I do?”

Duke Magnus nodded. “Do you think you will be happy here?”

Daisy nodded.

“I am very glad you’re here,” Duke Magnus said, and gave Angelica a look, signaling the interview finished. “We’ll speak again at tea.”

Angelica led the girl away, saying, “I want to get some green apples. Will you help me feed Jasper?”

Daisy nodded and then asked, “Will I meet my father?”

“I’m certain you will,” Angelica answered.

“Is he a dragon, too?”

“No, sweetheart. Your father is a horse’s arse.”

Chapter 13

Angelica Douglas is more obstinate than a donkey,
Robert thought in growing irritation, sitting behind the desk in his study. Once she got an idea fixed in her mind, she dug in her heels and refused to budge an inch. The word
compromise
was not in her vocabulary; she saw the world in black and white, with no shades in between.

And I love her.

That disturbing thought stepped out of the shadows of his mind. He scowled at its truth. The last thing he needed in his life was love.

Angelica Douglas was beautiful, fair-minded, and kind; she also aggravated the hell out of him. First, she wanted to marry him; then she wouldn’t have him on a golden platter. She wanted him to help her exact revenge on the men who’d ruined her father but didn’t want him to go near her anymore.

Robert had never realized how difficult a woman could be. Most women tripped over each other to gain his attention and please him. He was wealthy, titled, and handsome. What was there to reject?

Different from the other ladies of the ton, Angelica Douglas truly cared about people other than herself. So, how could he fault her for caring about a child’s welfare?

He had behaved badly last night. What had she done but defend a child and save his life?

Robert knew Angelica was going to do something outrageous about the situation with Lucille’s daughter. He only hoped that whatever she did wasn’t illegal.

And then he thought about Daisy, the daughter he’d refused to see because her existence had caused Louisa’s suicide. Good God, he hadn’t even remembered her name.

“ . . . sweet, trusting, and loving . . .”
That was how Angelica had described her.

Did she resemble Lucille or himself? Or perhaps a combination of both?

“ . . . more bruises on her arms than Wilma Drinkwater has bracelets,”
Angelica had said.

An enormous swell of remorse swept through him. The child had suffered because of his neglect. How could Lucille abuse her own daughter? Or had Angelica been exaggerating?

Robert poured himself a fortifying dram of whiskey, downed it in one gulp, and then rose from his chair. The only way to know if Angelica had told him the truth was to visit Lucille and inspect the girl’s arms.

Halfway across the study, Robert paused and looked at the mosaic over the mantel. The lion and his lioness reminded him of Angelica and himself.

Shit
, Robert thought in the next instant. He must be in love. He was beginning to think like a blinking idiot.

Turning away, Robert spied Atlas carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He felt more like Atlas than that noble lion standing with dignified pride beside his lioness.

Reaching the foyer, Robert instructed his majordomo, “Tell Mack to bring the carriage around.”

“Yes, my lord,” Webster said. “What shall I do about the bodyguards?”

Robert was about to tell him to distract them but thought of his father and the events of the previous evening. “Tell them I’m going out in the carriage and will need outriders.”

Webster looked relieved. He opened the front door and called, “Look sharp. His lordship is going out in the carriage.”

“Thank you, Webster,” Robert said dryly when the man closed the door.

“You are welcome, my lord.” Webster hurried in the opposite direction to find the coachman.

Ten minutes later, Robert, sat inside his barouche. Though the afternoon was a rarity of summer perfection, the hood of the barouche was up to discourage another assassination attempt.

“Portland Place,” Robert told his man.

“I thought you were finished with that one,” Mack said.

Robert narrowed his black gaze on the coachman. “Do your job without comment, “ he ordered.

Why did his retainers believe they could question his judgment and decisions? Both Webster and Mack constantly gave him their editorial comments concerning his life. No doubt they adored Angelica Douglas, the most unbiddable woman who’d ever crossed his path.

Beautiful, lovable, unbiddable woman,
he corrected himself.

Robert glanced out the barouche’s window at the  bodyguards on horseback, positioning themselves around his carriage. He felt like a bloody spectacle. If Armstrong or St. Aubyn chanced to see him, he’d never live this down.

A short time later, Robert leaped out of the barouche in front of Lucille’s town house and hurried up the stairs. He knocked on the door, which opened almost immediately, and walked into the foyer.

“Your lordship,” the maid exclaimed. “We weren’t expecting you.”

“Fetch Lucille to me,” Robert ordered.

“Yes, your lordship.” The maid hurried up the stairs.

A few minutes later, Lucille appeared at the top of the stairs. She wore a low-cut gown, as if she’d known he would visit and wanted to seduce him.

“You’ve returned,” Lucille greeted him, a smile of welcome on her face as she walked downstairs. “Thank God you’re safe.”

“I want to see the child,” Robert said.

At Lucille’s nod, the young woman raced up the stairs again. When she reappeared at the top of the stairs, she called, “Daisy isn’t in her chamber.”

“Then check the garden,” Lucille ordered in an irritated tone.

The maid rushed downstairs. She disappeared down the corridor leading to the back of the house.

“So, you’ve finally decided to meet your daughter,” Lucille remarked.

Robert said nothing. He walked away from her, leaned against the foyer’s reception table, and folded his arms across his chest.

“Mrs. Sweeting and Daisy aren’t there,” the maid said, breathless, returning from the garden. “Nobody has seen them since you sent them outside earlier. In fact, no one remembers seeing them return to the house.”

“My God, that woman has stolen my daughter,” Lucille cried in a near panic.

Robert shook his head, though the slightest of smiles touched his tips. Apparently, Angelica Douglas had already been there and, somehow, persuaded the nanny to leave with her.

“Do something,” Lucille said. “Have your driver fetch the authorities.”

“Do you see your income disappearing with your daughter?” Robert asked.

“How can you say that?” Lucille asked in an affronted tone. “I love our daughter more than anything.”

“You love your daughter more than anything
except yourself,
” Robert qualified. Turning away, he said, “I think I know where she is.”

“I’m coming with you,” Lucille said.

Robert stared at her for a long moment. Finally, he nodded and opened the door for her.

Once seated in the carriage, Lucille tried to turn the full force of her charm on him. “I love this barouche,” she gushed, leaning forward so he could get a good look at her breasts. “We always took the barouche when we dined out. Remember?”

“Be quiet,” Robert snapped, “or I’ll dump you out here.”

*    *    *

While Robert sat inside the barouche with his former mistress, Angelica and Daisy enjoyed the perfect summer’s afternoon within the security of the duke’s garden. Mrs. Sweeting, sitting on a stone bench, watched them.

Angelica and Daisy lay on their backs in the grass. Both woman and child studied the pictures the fair-weather clouds formed against the blue sky.

“There’s a flower,” Daisy cried.

“I think it’s a daisy,” Angelica said.

Daisy laughed loudly. Beside them, Jasper laughed in a perfect imitation of the little girl, which made Angelica and Mrs. Sweeting laugh.

And that made Jasper continue his laughing.

“You’re having fun?”

At the sound of the boy’s voice, Angelica sat up and watched Colin Campbell racing across the garden toward them. With him was Mrs. Honey.

“Mrs. Sweeting, I would like you to meet Mrs. Honey,” Angelica introduced the two older women.

“I’m pleased to meet you,” Mrs. Sweeting said.

 “Likewise,” Mrs. Honey replied, sitting beside her on the bench.

“Colin, I want you to meet Daisy,” Angelica said, giving her attention to the children. “She’s your cousin. That’s why you both have big, dark eyes.”

The little boy bowed from the waist, which made Daisy smile. “I like you,” he said, pointing a finger at her.

“I like you, too,” Daisy said. “Do you like Jasper?”

Colin nodded.

Daisy clapped her hands together, saying, “I like him, too.”

“Colin, sit beside me here,” Angelica said. “I want to tell you and Daisy the fingers story.”

The boy plopped down beside her. Both children looked at her expectantly.

“Did you know that a family lives in everyone’s hand?” Angelica asked.

Both Colin and Daisy shook their heads.

“This is the baby,” Angelica told them, holding her thumb up. “This is the mother,” she said holding her index finger up. “And this is the father,” she said finally, pointing her middle finger into the air.

When the two nannies giggled, Angelica glanced at them over her shoulder and smiled mischievously. Colin and Daisy laughed, too, as if they knew what the adults found humorous.

“Enough of the family,” Angelica said. “If you want to send someone bad luck, give them the devil’s sign.” She demonstrated as she explained, “Your thumb pins down the middle and ring fingers, and you point at the person with your index and little finger.”