‘I’ve never known a man so reluctant to reveal anything of himself,’ said Daniel. ‘I’m willing to bet you have a colourful past, but...’ he held his hands up, palms out, as Zach frowned ‘...have no fear. I know better than to probe further.’
‘I see no point in revisiting the past. It is best left behind, that way it can wield no power over you.’
Daniel slapped Zach on the back. ‘If you say so, my friend. If you say so.’
Chapter Six
That evening Zach was the last to arrive for dinner. He found the Markhams and the Beauchamps—including Lady Perfect, who stood closest to the door—gathered in the salon. Thea squealed as soon as she saw him, jumped up from her seat on the sofa and rushed across the room to grab his hand—earning her a glare from her mother and a look of loving indulgence from her new husband. She pulled him further into the room.
‘Thank you, thank you,’ she exclaimed breathlessly. She halted next to Cecily, who appeared to look at him, but did not meet his eyes. ‘Cecily told me what you did for Star and Malky said you have showed him how to massage her and she already seems a little better. I wish I had been there, but we were—’
‘We were catching up on our sleep,’ a deep voice interjected. Vernon had joined them, sliding his arm around Thea’s waist. ‘You have my gratitude as well, Gray. If there is ever anything I can do in return, you only have to say the word.’
‘It gives me pleasure to help a creature in pain,’ said Zach. ‘I need nothing in return. I have hopes she’ll make a complete recovery, although she won’t be fit to be ridden for several weeks.’
‘Several weeks? But Daniel told me you will leave soon.’ Thea sounded horrified.
Zach smiled. ‘I shall work with her again in the morning and continue to do so until I leave, but Pritchard and Malky are more than capable of caring for her.’
The newlyweds soon lost interest in him and wandered hand in hand over to the window, leaving him alone with Cecily.
‘Well, my lady. Have you had a pleasant day?’
‘Most pleasant, Mr Gray.’ His keen eye detected the note of constraint in her well-modulated tones. ‘As did you, I trust?’
So formal. So upright and ladylike, clad in a gown the colour of beech leaves in the autumn, its delicate fabric clinging provocatively to her curves. He took a moment to savour her, she looked so luscious—temptation personified. Pain stabbed his heart.
Not for you. Never for you.
Apart from that touch of restraint in her voice, there was no further sign of tension. Her hands—clothed correctly in elbow-length evening gloves—were loosely clasped at her waist. The perfect society lady. Not for her the enthusiasm and joy that Thea did not hesitate to display. How long would it be before life with the Beauchamps, and mixing with those in the highest level of society, depressed Thea’s bounce and turned her into yet another perfect lady?
Cecily raised her brow, prompting him to respond to her question.
‘I did.’
He regretted his brusque reply as a delicate flag of colour lit Cecily’s cheekbones. What else could he expect of her? She had told him she was thirty years old. Twenty-plus years, then, of being schooled to behave in precisely the way she was behaving now, conforming to the mores of her class.
Polite. Dutiful. Restrained.
The perfect lady.
Do not blame her for what is not her fault.
‘I carried out some repairs to my cart and cleaned Titan’s harness.’
He caught the flash of something else in those glorious green eyes. Some deep emotion, held tightly in check.
‘Where shall you go when you leave here?’
He smiled, and shrugged. ‘I have not yet decided. Where the wind blows me, if you will.’
He would set Titan’s head to the south-east and, sooner or later, he would catch up with his family.
‘I am sure that has disadvantages, but it also sounds so very—free.’ She ended on a wistful note. She had started to relax, her shoulders dropping, her eyes softening.
‘Have you told your brother of your plan to marry yet?’ He had grappled with that knowledge all day and yet...why? His common sense told him it was not his business what this perfect lady chose to do with her life. That connection between them was undeniable, but it was also unrealistic. Impossible. And he was not a man to hanker after the impossible.
‘I have not told him, so I should appreciate it if you do not mention it. I am not certain I shall confide my entire plan to my brothers—I shall simply experience a sudden urge to visit my Aunt Drusilla.’
Mischief sparked in her eyes and her full lips twitched, coaxing a smile from him, and triggering a sudden craving to taste her again. He thrust that urge aside, along with the idle conjecture as to how her brothers might react were he to act on that impulse. Hung, drawn and quartered sprang to mind. His smile widened and she eyed him curiously.
‘You say that as though there is a joke in there somewhere,’ he said, by way of explanation.
‘You would have to meet my aunt to appreciate the humour. Even her sons—my cousins—avoid visiting Leyton Grange as much as possible.’
In his peripheral vision, Zach noticed the Duke lean down to murmur into his wife’s ear, before straightening and turning purposefully towards Zach and Cecily. Zach easily interpreted his thoughts: his sister had talked to the gipsy for long enough and it was time to put a stop to the conversation. He obviously took his role of head of the family seriously. It was no wonder she behaved in such a restrained manner in his presence. How well did he—or the rest of her family—know the real Cecily that existed beneath this perfect outer shell? Had they, like him, ever sensed the wealth of passion simmering deep inside?
The Duke had joined them. ‘Gray.’ He nodded a greeting.
Zach nodded in reply. ‘Duke.’
He was damned if he would continue to ‘your Grace’ the man.
‘Might I borrow my sister? My wife would like a word with her.’
What could he say? Cecily threw him a tight smile, then crossed the room to sit with the Duchess. The Duke remained.
‘I am conscious we as a family are in your debt, Gray, but you would oblige me if you avoid being alone with my sister again.’
There was no anger or threat in his words, merely an arrogant assumption that Zach would do as he was bid.
‘Alone?’
Zach cast his gaze around the salon in an exaggerated manner. The Duke’s jaw firmed.
‘Your sister is in no danger from me.’
Silver-grey eyes bore into him. Zach stood his ground, holding the man’s gaze.
‘Do not wilfully misunderstand me.’ The menace was there now. Soft and assured. ‘You must be aware of the ways of our world and how easily a lady’s reputation can be damaged. The Markhams are our hosts and I am conscious of my obligations as their guest. They vouch for you and I therefore acquit you of any criminal intent, but be aware I shall be watching you. Very closely.’
Anger roiled deep down in Zach’s gut.
He thinks it is about money. He thinks I might blackmail him. Label the gipsy a scoundrel, a thief.
It should not be a surprise. Since living as a Romany, he had encountered many such prejudices towards his kind. The injustice of painting every member of an entire people the same criminal colour—merely due to the actions of a few rogue individuals or families—still burned within him. He longed to wipe that superior look from the Duke’s face, but he must be satisfied with knowing the truth in his own heart.
‘Watch as much as you please, Duke. You will soon grow bored.’ Zach leaned closer and lowered his voice. ‘I have no interest in your money.’
He had more than enough money of his own to live very comfortably if he so wished. He simply did not choose to live his life among people such as the Duke, who peered down their noses at him as though he was not quite a real man.
A muscle leapt in the Duke’s jaw and his fingers curled into a fist. Zach hel
d his gaze until, finally, with a curt nod, the Duke stalked away.
Typical arrogant, cold-hearted nob.
His conscience then reared up, calming his anger and allowing his common sense to reassert itself. The man was Cecily’s brother and she clearly loved and respected him. As she was a product of her upbringing, so was the Duke a product of his. The kinder part of Zach understood the Duke merely sought to protect his family. After all, he too had a protective streak as wide as the sky. But the resentful part—the part he tried so hard to control, the part that would wallow in past injustices and past betrayals if he allowed it to—wanted nothing more than to make the Duke and every unfeeling aristocrat like him pay for their blind acceptance of the privilege of their birth.
And the wild part—the part that clamoured to challenge and to seduce and to take risks merely in order to show them—that was the hardest to control of the lot.
* * *
At the breakfast table the following day, Cecily eyed her brothers and her nephew with growing resentment. She understood why one or other of them had stayed close by her side throughout the previous evening—at least until Zach had left—but that did not soothe her exasperation. What was wrong with simply talking to the man? She ignored the whisper of her conscience, reminding her of their kiss. Her brothers did not know about that. They could have no valid excuse for treating her as though she were unable to exercise self-control when she had never given them any cause to doubt her.
She bit into her toast and marmalade, and chewed absent-mindedly as she considered ways in which she could see Zach again. All too soon they would all go their separate ways and, before then, she wanted—needed—to talk to him, to feel his solid support, to hear his quiet belief that she was capable of her own decisions and that it was not wrong for her to put her own needs first for once.
‘Thea?’
Thea looked up and smiled. ‘Yes, Cecily?’
She hesitated. If she asked to go with Thea to look at Star, for certain Vernon would find an excuse to accompany them, even though the men were currently planning to ride around the estate with Daniel, to advise him on agricultural matters. Mrs Markham, as usual, would spend much of her time with her husband in his bedchamber and Mr Allen, Rosalind’s grandfather, would no doubt join them after a late breakfast. He had struck up a friendship with Mr Markham and they spent much time together happily exchanging stories of the old days.
That just left Thea and Rosalind, which suited Cecily perfectly.
‘I thought I might stroll in the flower garden this morning, before it grows too hot, and I wondered if you might care to accompany me?’
Thea’s eyes lit up. ‘That will be fun.’ She turned to Leo and her freckled cheeks fired red as they often did when she spoke directly to him. ‘Do you think R-Rosalind would like to join us, yo—Leo?’
Thea was still uncomfortable being on familial terms with a real duke and the entire family found her uncharacteristic shyness around him completely endearing.
‘I am sure she will.’ Rosalind had not yet put in an appearance that morning and Leo rose to his feet. ‘I have finished here. If you will all excuse me, I shall go and ask her.’
He left the room and Cecily released her held-in breath. It was not easy to fool Leo, but at least the first part of her plan had worked. She hoped neither of her new sisters-in-law would behave quite so stuffily as the male members of her family—surely they would suspect nothing if she suggested a visit to the stables to see how Star fared?
* * *
‘I,’ said Rosalind, pausing to breathe in the scent of a blush-pink rose, ‘am under the strictest of instructions not to allow any...um...the word used, I believe, was intercourse—singularly inappropriate under the circumstances, I would suggest—between we delicate members of the fairer sex and Mr Gray.’
Cecily laughed, relief loosening the tension that had gripped her ever since the three of them had ventured out into the garden. She had watched from her bedchamber window as the four men clattered past the front of the house and down the carriageway earlier, and only then had she joined her sisters-in-law in the salon. Her fear that Rosalind would capitulate to Leo’s edict was unfounded...it appeared her sister-in-law had lost none of her spark since becoming a duchess.
Thea gasped at Rosalind’s words, looking stunned as her gaze swivelled between Rosalind and Cecily.
‘Are you shocked, Thea?’ Rosalind smiled and took her hand. ‘I did warn you before you married Vernon that it takes a strong woman to cope with a Beauchamp. It is merely a case of choosing your battles wisely, I find.’
‘You would dare to defy Leo? But he is a duke.’
‘He is a man first and foremost. And my husband.’ Rosalind strolled on, following the path Cecily had taken three nights before. Cecily hooked her arm through Thea’s and urged her on to catch up with Rosalind. ‘I support him as any obedient wife should...unless I think he is being unreasonable. And then I reserve the right to make my own decisions. And in this case—’ her hazel eyes glowed green in the sunlight as she turned her head and grinned at Cecily ‘—I find myself unconvinced by his rationale.’
They reached the square with the raised pool at its centre and there they paused.
‘And I have to say,’ continued Rosalind, ‘I am more than delighted to discover that our sister Cecily is more of a Beauchamp than I ever imagined.’
‘What do you mean?’
Uncomfortable with being the centre of attention, Cecily perched on the low wall that surrounded the pool and stirred the still surface with her fingers. She had always been in the background: the mortar that held the bricks of the family together, unnoticed and taken for granted.
‘Merely that you and I have been friends since my arrival in London and yet this is the first time I have glimpsed the steel beneath the ladylike exterior. Do not misunderstand my meaning. I am not encouraging anything, shall we say, untoward—but I cannot for the life of me see why you should be barred from even speaking to the poor man.’
It was true. Why indeed should her brothers dictate whom she might speak to? What was the harm in simply conversing with Zach?
‘Thank you, Rosalind. It does appear harsh, when Mr Gray’s only sin is being born a Romany.’
‘Indeed. From my own viewpoint, I have found him interesting to talk to, friendly and intelligent, and I like that he does not gabble. He only speaks when he has something to say, unlike so many. Plus, there is the matter that he saved your brother’s life, Thea, and for that reason alone I believe we owe him the courtesy of trusting him.’
‘I agree and I like him a lot,’ Thea declared in her gruff little voice, ‘and Vernon does, too. Or he did. But now he seems to disapprove.’
‘They are being protective,’ Cecily said. ‘I do not blame them... To them I shall always be their little sister. But I cannot help wishing they would trust me.’
Rosalind patted Cecily’s shoulder. ‘Do not worry, my dear. Thea and I will continue to re-educate them. I am certain they will begin to understand that females are quite as capable of intelligent thinking and responsible actions as men.’
Cecily laughed. ‘If not more so.’
‘Do you realise, this is the first time we have all three had a chance to talk privately together?’ Thea looked from Rosalind to Cecily and back again, causing her copper curls to spring free and bounce over her forehead. ‘I am so happy to be part of your family.’
Cecily stood and hugged Thea. ‘And we are happy to welcome you, too. Now—’ she looked at the other two ‘—shall we go and see how Star is getting on?’
* * *
Her first sight of Zach—walking along beside Star, his concentration completely and utterly upon the horse—sent Cecily’s heart soaring and her pulse skipping. He looked strong and confident, dressed in his customary loose trousers and shirt, a red neckerchief knotted at his throat and a faded red and green embroidered waistcoat that hung open. Her determination to defy her brothers, not to mention her b
elief that her only interest in Zach was in his conversation, faltered as she took in his long, loose stride and the blue-black sheen of his curls. The urge to slip her fingers through those silky locks coiled deep in her stomach.
Zach halted and Star did, too, even though she was not constrained—her halter rope was looped over her neck. He smoothed her neck, his lips moving as he talked to her. His hand continued along Star’s back, pausing occasionally to circle. The mare stood calmly, her head turned as she watched the man. He in turn watched her, reacting to the slightest flick of her ear.
‘He is so good with animals,’ Thea said. ‘They really seem to trust him. Vernon says he has a natural gift with them. It is as though they become enchanted.’
Enchanted...
A shiver coursed down Cecily’s spine. Was she enchanted by this man? She did not have to think about the answer...
Yes. The question is: Does it change anything? Is it a reason to stay away from him?
They would go their separate ways soon enough and, in the meantime, if she wished to talk with him—even kiss him again—why should that matter? The path of her future was laid out before her—she would not deviate from that.
Zach had seen them and he raised a hand in greeting before continuing with his treatment on Star. After a few more minutes, he rubbed her cheek and turned to walk towards the watching women. Star followed. As he approached, Zach swept one hand through his hair and his diamond earring flashed as it caught the sun.
‘That diamond...’ Rosalind murmured. ‘I wonder if I could persuade Leo...’ She directed an impish smile at the other two. ‘Hmmm. Probably not. But there is something deliciously dangerous about such an adornment, do you not agree?’
Cecily did agree, but she would never admit to such a thing out loud. She was surprised—and a little irritated—by Rosalind’s indiscreet comment.
‘Rosalind,’ Thea hissed. ‘You are not—attracted—to Mr Gray?’
Rosalind gurgled with laughter. ‘Thea! I am shocked. The attraction is not to Mr Gray, but to his choice of jewellery. Leo is the only man for me. I knew that from the first moment I set eyes on him, even though we had a few ups and downs along the way.’
Lady Cecily and the Mysterious Mr. Gray Page 6