Anything But a Duke

by Christy Carlyle

  “I believe she means the funds as a gift. She said once the money was for Mary. I took that to mean a repayment for how I cared for her and saw to laying her to rest.”

  Aidan began pacing the confines of the tiny parlor, his boot heels echoing against the polished wood not covered by the rug. “What sort of lady is she?”

  The envy he felt toward the man was a living thing, clawing at him from the inside. Callihan had known Aidan’s mother and met his sister. Wealth, power, access to some damnable club seemed a pathetic substitute for those memories and connections he would never have.

  Callihan made little aggrieved sounds as he considered his answer. “She’s a very finely dressed lady, sir, and speaks the queen’s English. A true lady.”

  More mystery. Every step in his search showed him that the knot of his mother’s life and history was more tangled than he’d ever imagined.

  But he wouldn’t stop. Aidan had to find his sister. He wouldn’t disturb her life. If she’d risen from the poverty they’d been raised in to become a fine lady, he’d never endanger her future.

  Yet he had to see with his own eyes that she was alive and well. Perhaps he was selfish, but he needed to know.

  “Anything else you can think of, Mr. Callihan? I intend to find my sister.”

  He nodded his balding gray head solemnly. “Thought you would, sir. Won’t say I blame you either. But there’s nothing more to tell. She comes in fine clothes, says hardly a word, and offers me an envelope.”

  “Do you have any of those envelopes?”

  “I may have the last.” The landlord leaned heavily on his cane as he got to his feet and shuffled toward a side table and slid out its single drawer. “Yes, here it is.”

  Between them, he lifted a cream-colored envelope. Aidan snatched at it eagerly, but it offered nothing. No writing, no watermark to indicate the maker, and no indication where it had come from or any clue that might help him find his sister.

  “No help at all, is it?” Callihan sounded as bereft as Aidan felt. He’d never seen an old man who looked so weary.

  “You have been helpful. Thank you.” He pulled two crown coins from his pocket and offered them to the landlord.

  “Very generous, young man. I remember you as a kind child.”

  There was no more to say. No more the man could give him, despite how much more he wanted to know. He headed for the threshold, almost as eager to be out of the lodging house as he’d been to enter it.

  He had a puzzle to solve and only a few pieces.

  The only real link he had now was his mother’s connection to the Earl of Wyndham. Mrs. Tuttle no doubt held those answers, and he needed to find a way to get the woman to divulge more than she had. When she’d come to his office, she’d brought no journal or letters, only the detail that she’d visited the lodging house and that Callihan had a story Aidan would wish to hear.

  Now what he wanted most was to find his sister.

  He had fresh answers, but more questions than ever before.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The next morning, Aidan discovered an unexpected crush waiting to enter the Zoological Society and decided the throng was probably for the best. His planned introduction to Grace Grinstead would be less awkward if they weren’t the only Londoners loitering outside the society’s grounds.

  This introduction had to go better than the last. He’d had Coggins send a thank-you note to Lady Caldwell, but he couldn’t imagine continuing a pursuit of Lady Sophie. Another man would appreciate her jovial nature far more than he ever could.

  Based on Miss Ashby’s notes, Miss Grinstead seemed a more serious sort of lady. She was not as highborn as Lady Sophie, but Aidan had met her father once and knew him to be a sober, diligent sort, despite whatever financial woes his viscountcy might be facing.

  He was determined to make this morning a success.

  Aidan had taken special care with his suit and allowed the valet to have his merry way with a newfangled necktie. A formal introduction to a highborn noblewoman was what he’d sought for months, which made it quite inconvenient that the prospect of seeing Diana occupied most of his thoughts as he’d dressed and shaved.

  She was the reason he stood tapping his thigh eagerly, scanning the crowd of those waiting to see the animals. And when he finally caught sight of her, it was Diana who set his pulse thrumming. She wore a peacock blue gown that was so different from the other ladies’ pastels that a man couldn’t help but notice her.

  He studied her curves with far too much interest, the determined set to her jaw, the bloom of pink in her cheeks. He told himself that half the ladies present had equally appealing features, but still he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  As if she felt his notice, she turned. Even from a distance, he saw her eyes widen and her mouth soften into something that was almost a smile.

  He felt an answering tug at the corners of his own mouth. But then she pivoted and spoke to a lady a few steps ahead of her. Miss Grinstead, no doubt.

  Aidan assessed her quickly. Tall, blond, buxom, and dressed in an elegant peach traveling costume and ostentatious beribboned hat. Any man would be blind to not find her pretty.

  Aidan kept his gaze fixed on Miss Ashby as she turned and bent her head to speak to Miss Grinstead. The two laughed, and the appealing sound carried on the breeze. Then Miss Ashby struck out a hand in a sweeping motion as if commenting on the landscape. She stopped and pointed at him a bit too theatrically, drawing her companion’s notice his way.

  Initially, Miss Grinstead didn’t seem interested in taking the bait. She offered him a single assessing glance and then turned back to the queue.

  Miss Ashby wasn’t put off so easily, as he knew well. Hooking an arm through her friend’s, she turned the lady bodily and they began strolling his way. After a moment, Miss Ashby picked up her pace and rushed ahead to greet him.

  “Mr. Iverson, fancy finding you here,” she said loudly, then lowered her voice to add, “Her parents are very strict, so it’s extraordinary that they’ve allowed her to step out without a chaperone. I am entrusted with that duty, so we must make this brief outing count.”

  Aidan nodded. “Understood.”

  “Grace, may I present Mr. Aidan Iverson,” she said as soon as her friend reached her side.

  The young woman pasted a tight smile on her cupid bow mouth and offered him a nod. “Have we not met before, Mr. Iverson?”

  “Not that I recall.” He would have remembered her striking looks as well as her marriageable status.

  “The Duke of Tremayne held a ball a few months past.”

  “Ah yes.” Aidan remembered the evening. He’d stopped in to speak to Tremayne, unaware they were hosting a ball. “I don’t think I had the pleasure of meeting you that night.”

  “You didn’t dance.” Her eyes finally settled on him fully and she subjected him to a thorough head-to-toe inspection. “I recall wishing you’d stayed. There was a distinct lack of gentlemen to dance with.”

  “Perhaps another opportunity will present itself.” Aidan couldn’t help sparing a glance at Diana. She was a vibrant, rose-scented distraction in his periphery, no matter how he tried to focus on Miss Grinstead.

  “You’re the man who invests in all of the industrial machines, are you not?” the young lady said, drawing his attention again. “My father, Lord Holcomb, is quite fond of investing in industry too. He’s forever going on about an exhibition where the prince is planning to display England’s industrial marvels to the world.”

  “I’m aware of the exhibition,” Aidan said tightly. He searched his mind for a memory of any Lord Holcomb he might have encountered during his years in the London business world.

  He turned his attention to Diana again and she tipped her head toward the zoo. “They’ve opened the gates. Should we join the queue and go inside?” Without waiting for an answer, she started off toward the entrance and her school friend followed.

  “Are you coming too, Mr. Iverson?” Miss Gr
instead asked with a glance over her shoulder.

  “Yes, I’ve long wished to take in the displays.” He caught up to the two of them and positioned himself beside Miss Grinstead, careful to keep a polite distance. He needed to focus on the reason for this introduction, not on the dark-haired lady inventor he’d been looking forward to seeing all morning.

  “Do you like animals?” Miss Grinstead asked brightly.

  Miss Ashby shot him a pointed look behind her friend’s back.

  “I appreciate animals most ardently,” he replied, trying to infuse a note of sincerity into his tone. He didn’t dislike animals, but he’d experienced them mostly as poor pack horses or stray dogs who were as desperate as he’d once been to find their next meal and a safe spot to sleep for the night.

  “Which kind?”

  Aidan tipped his head back to catch Miss Ashby’s notice. He shrugged and she did the same.

  “Mammals, amphibians, reptiles?” Miss Grinstead asked, as if the distinctions were at all helpful.

  “Those with claws fascinate me,” Miss Ashby put in. “Nature has provided taloned creatures such a clever and useful device.”

  Aidan arched a brow in her direction. Why did her preference not surprise him at all?

  “You’ll be pleased, Di,” Miss Grinstead tittered at her friend. “They are adding more fearsome creatures, so I’m given to understand. If we’re lucky, we may see a tiger or lion today.”

  Aidan wasn’t keen on seeing wild and fearsome animals caged, but he followed the ladies inside the grounds and stopped with them at the first surround that contained a group of lithe, active monkeys. The long-tailed creatures jumped from tree branch to tree branch, stopping only briefly to stare down and assess their observers.

  Miss Grinstead moved closer, fascinated with their every movement. Aidan allowed her to lecture him on the eating habits of primates for over a quarter of an hour. When he could take no more, he retreated and let her continue to ogle the creatures on her own.

  His pulse ratcheted up a beat when Miss Ashby approached. “You’re doing much better this time,” she whispered.

  “Do you intend to give me marks every time I speak to one of your friends?”

  “One would think you’d welcome a lady’s advice on how to woo another lady. Particularly one of her dearest friends.”

  Miss Grinstead moved on and looked back to see if they intended to follow. The next area featured a high cast-iron fence closing in a few majestic elephants. They were enormous beasts with long, fierce tusks.

  “Quite extraordinary, are they not?” Miss Ashby enthused.

  “Yes.” Aidan couldn’t help but agree. Their size made them impressive, but there was something in their mien that held his gaze. The one closest to the fence turned its head to appraise him and then unfurled its big petal-like ear as if offering a wave of greeting.

  “They’re not terribly exciting as animals go,” Miss Grinstead commented after a period of watching the creatures perambulate around what seemed to Aidan a far too small enclosure. “Quite wrinkled and slow moving. But they’re loyal and make excellent animals for carrying heavy loads. Hannibal used them as war animals during the Second Punic War, as I’m sure you know.”

  “They may not look like much, but there’s a majesty to them,” he said, not truly caring if Miss Grinstead heard.

  “Not every creature can be beautiful, Mr. Iverson,” Miss Ashby said quietly. “But it doesn’t diminish their intelligence and value.”

  Aidan cast her a shocked glance. Her blush deepened to a bright red. He sensed somehow that she was referring to herself, but the notion was ludicrous. Miss Ashby was quite possibly the cleverest women he’d ever known. She had to know that she was beautiful.

  “Of course, my dear. One can rarely judge an animal’s cleverness based merely on morphology.” Miss Grinstead patted her friend’s hand and then tugged Miss Ashby toward another fenced circle of green where three lanky-limbed camels stood.

  Aidan watched the two women awhile before following. From a distance, he noticed that Miss Grinstead wasn’t quite as intrigued with the animals as he’d initially assumed. She was fascinated all right, but it wasn’t with the caramel-coated camels pacing their fenced domain. Her gaze was focused beyond the creatures on a thin, sandy-haired young man who stood on the other side of the ringed enclosure and looked back at her with answering interest.

  It soon became clear to Aidan that it wasn’t a passing moment of mutual admiration. They seemed to know each other enough to communicate without words. The gentleman pulled a fob watch from his waistcoat pocket and tapped its face. Miss Grinstead returned the minutest of nods.

  She turned to Aidan and Miss Ashby and asked, “How do both of you feel about reptiles?”

  “We’re here to see any and all creatures,” Miss Ashby said with a nod, but Aidan didn’t miss the little tremor of a shiver that shook her shoulders. “Lead the way, Grace,” she said with a smile.

  Miss Grinstead rose onto her tiptoes and looked off into the distance. The young man who’d attracted her attention was nowhere in sight.

  “I think,” she said, lifting a hand to block the sun as she scanned the grounds, “that they’ve just opened the Reptile House to the public. Shall I go and check rather than force you to make a pointless journey?”

  “A journey? The park is only a couple miles wide. Of course we’ll accompany you.”

  Aidan dropped his gaze to the ground and contemplated his options. He could reveal what he’d seen or let Miss Grinstead carry on with her subterfuge.

  After a deep breath, he decided to allow the young woman to have the moment she craved. How could he blame her for wishing to escape the confines of what Miss Ashby had described as strict parents?

  “I wouldn’t mind spending a bit more time with the camels,” he said. He expected Miss Grinstead’s pleased nod of agreement, and he wasn’t surprised by Miss Ashby’s irritation either.

  “Why tarry, Mr. Iverson?” Miss Ashby demanded. “Surely you’re not fatigued already.”

  “I am, actually.” He ignored Miss Ashby’s tsk and focused on Miss Grinstead. “We’ll wait here, Miss Grinstead, and look forward to your return.”

  “Nonsense, Grace. I’m going with you.” Miss Ashby cast him a disappointed look before striding off to catch her friend, who’d already started toward the far end of the park.

  But Miss Grinstead stopped her and whispered in her ear. When the noble lady continued on, Miss Ashby stayed put and then strode back toward him, a frown pinching her brow.

  “What did she say?” he asked.

  “Only that she wished to have a moment on her own.” Her blue eyes were shadowed, her mouth working as she contemplated the young lady’s odd behavior. “I was tasked with being her chaperone. Shall I go after her or respect her wishes?”

  Miss Ashby looked so worried that he found himself stepping closer, wanting to reach for her, though nothing he was about to say would reassure her.

  “I believe Miss Grinstead has an assignation planned,” he told her matter-of-factly.

  “That’s ridiculous. Grace is sensible. Her mother would lock her away if she so much as contemplated anything scandalous.”

  “Maybe that’s why she finds the prospect so appealing.”

  “Do you think so?” She craned her neck, trying to see past the crowd that her friend had disappeared into. “We should go. We should stop her.”

  “Perhaps. But why not give her a few moments to speak to the young man?”

  Miss Ashby turned to him and crossed her arms. “You’re considering marrying her. Don’t you wish to stop the lady from pursuing her own ruination?”

  Aidan sighed deeply. She was right. He was getting used to the fact that she often was. Even if he would never woo and win Miss Grinstead, neither of them should stand by and let her cause a scandal on their watch. “Do you have any notion where the Reptile House might be?”

  “No, but I’m sure someone does.”


  They threaded their way through the zoo’s visitors, sidestepping crowds gathered at each fenced exhibition area. As they continued, the clusters of people thinned and they had a clear view of the couple. They were strolling near a half-built structure in tall grass that hadn’t been as neatly trimmed as the rest of the grounds.

  Miss Ashby picked up her pace and Aidan lengthened his stride to keep up. She stopped in her tracks and gasped when the young man dropped to his knee.

  “Oh no. Oh heavens no. We’re too late.” Her voice pitched high and panicked, and she shot him a miserable glance before lifting a handful of her skirt and starting off at a dash toward Miss Grinstead.

  Aidan caught up with her and clasped her gently around the arm. “Slow down. Running through the Zoological Society grounds like a thief trying to escape a bobby will draw more notice than anything they’re doing.”

  She was exhaling quickly, her breath coming in shallow gasps. She pressed a hand to her middle, where he suspected her corset wasn’t doing much to help her breathe.

  “Perhaps she doesn’t want this,” she said. “I know the dread of having a man offer for you when the proposal is not expected or desired.”

  “Do you?” Aidan realized he still held her arm and nothing in him wanted to let her go. “Who was he?” He wanted to know everything about the proposal she’d rejected. He wanted to know everything about her.

  “It doesn’t matter, and now’s definitely not the time. But we must stop Grace from making a decision she might regret.” She tugged at his hold and he released her. When she started off again, it was at a more sedate pace. Though he could tell from the straight set of her shoulders and the jerky movement of her feet that she was aching to break into a run.

  “Grace,” she called out when they were still too far to be sure the noblewoman would hear.

  From every indication, she didn’t. The gentleman was still on bended knee in front of her, and all of the young lady’s focus was on him.