by Kate Bateman
Maddie smiled weakly. “How interesting. And the scars are fading, slowly. They’re lighter every year.”
“Good, good.” The doctor patted his pockets and nodded. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to see to that head wound of young Brookes. I trust you can escort Miss Montgomery home?”
Gryff nodded. “Yes, sir. Thank you. And good night.”
* * *
Maddie waited until they were well out of earshot, then swirled to face Gryff and struck him forcefully on the chest. He barely flinched. She might as well have punched a tree; he was just as solid and immovable.
“Are you mad? Why on earth did you tell him we were engaged?”
He gave a nonchalant shrug.
She whacked him again. “He’ll think I’ve been sneaking out to meet you for a … a—”
“For a tup?” Gryff supplied helpfully. “For a good, hard—”
“For a lovers’ tryst!” she blurted out, her cheeks burning.
His eyes crinkled in amusement.
Maddie groaned. “Doctor Williams has been my family’s physician for years. He’s bound to tell my father.”
“You should have considered that spotless reputation of yours before demanding to come adventuring with me.” He lifted his brows in that smug it’s your own fault expression that made her want to punch him again.
“Why didn’t you just tell him the truth?”
“About the smugglers? The fewer people who know about them, the better. I told Brookes not to mention it either.”
“You can’t think the doctor’s involved. That’s ridiculous. He’s a pillar of the community.”
“It’s unlikely, I admit, but we need to treat everyone as a suspect. I don’t want the smugglers tipped off before Sunday. I’ll go and see Sir Mostyn in the morning and ask him to either contact the customs officers in Cardiff or provide some trusted men to catch them.”
Maddie shook her head. “Fine. But whatever possessed you to say we’re secretly engaged?”
The white gleam of his smile flashed in the darkness. “It was the first thing that came to mind. And it’s brilliant, if you think about it. Everyone knows how disapproving your father would be of a match between us. It explains why we’d be sneaking around, trying to keep it a secret.”
“Well, he’d better keep his mouth shut. I can’t afford to be the subject of gossip from here to Hyde Park because of your overactive imagination.”
For a brief moment she considered what would happen if the doctor did tell her father. Father would be cross, certainly, but he wouldn’t go around telling people she’d been consorting with a Davies. The shame! He’d probably just swear her to secrecy and pack her off to London with the Aunts.
And even if Doctor Williams told someone else, she doubted a rumored dalliance with Gryff would cause enough of a scandal to make Sir Mostyn withdraw his offer. He seemed distressingly eager to have her as his wife under any circumstances.
She squinted over at the church clock, trying to see the hands. “I have to get home.”
They set off toward Newstead Park, and she let out a long, silent exhale into the cool air. What a night! She’d hoped for a little adventure when she’d come out this evening, but she never could have predicted the extremes of emotion she’d experienced—from the sickening violence of the smugglers’ attack, to the unexpected assault by Ned, and the shocking heat of Gryff’s kiss.
She sneaked a subtle glance sideways and her heart gave a jolt at the sight of him, flecked by moonlight. His tumbled hair gave him a wild look, and she drank in the line of his straight nose and the perfect slant of his cheekbones.
Her gaze flicked to his lips. She still couldn’t believe he’d kissed her. Had it been a joke? A way to keep her quiet? Or had he been as intrigued as herself to see what it would be like between them?
God, if they hadn’t been interrupted—
Heat rose in her cheeks again and she glanced away, fearful that he’d sense her embarrassment, even in the dark. Now was not the time to be thinking of it.
Perhaps there would never be a good time to think of it.
They finally reached the gate that gave entrance to the grounds of Newstead Park and she cleared her throat, suddenly shy.
“I hope you can sneak in without being seen,” Gryff said.
“It wouldn’t be the first time.”
They shared a conspiratorial smile, and a strange glow warmed her chest. At some point in the evening they’d moved past “antagonistic adversaries” and into something more like “partners in crime.” Were they becoming friends?
Her mind stuttered on the word. She wasn’t even sure friendship was possible between a Davies and a Montgomery.
Galahad snorted, and she nodded curtly to hide her disquiet. “Well, good night then.”
Gryff sent her his mocking two-fingered salute. “Thank you for your company on a most exciting evening, Miss Montgomery. I bid you good night.”
Chapter 18
Maddie woke to the sun shining through the curtains and a tingle of anticipation in her belly. She felt like a child on Christmas morning, excited for the day to come.
It was all Gryff Davies’s fault.
Harriet was at the breakfast table, and she sent Maddie a look loaded with speculation. “So what happened last night? Tell me everything!”
Despite Gryff’s warning, Maddie didn’t even consider withholding the evening’s discoveries from her cousin. In a few brief sentences, she described what had happened, although she left out the fact that Gryff had kissed her. That felt too raw, too unbelievable to examine closely in the light of day. She also left out his ridiculous claim that they were engaged, since surely Doctor Williams wouldn’t mention it, and she was oddly loath to discuss that too.
“Good Lord!” Harriet exclaimed. “How exciting. I do hope that Brookes is going to be all right.”
Maddie took a sip of tea. “Lord Powys said he’d ride over and tell Sir Mostyn about the smugglers this morning.”
Harriet made a face at the mention of Sir Mostyn. She disliked the man as much as Maddie did.
“He also said he might write to London for some of his friends. He’s worried the customs officer at Cardiff won’t be able to send anyone in time.”
It felt strange to call Gryff by his title; she’d always thought of his father as the Earl of Powys. And surely, when you’d shared a kiss hot enough to melt glass, using someone’s first name was permitted? She’d tasted him, for heaven’s sake—
“Oh,” Harriet said suddenly, “You know how we were looking for books that might be worth something? Well, I’ve found one. Or, at least, half of one.”
“What do you mean, half?”
“It’s a first version of Doctor Johnson’s dictionary—signed by the great man himself. I’m sure it will be of interest to collectors, but the stupid thing is, I can only find the first volume, letters A to M. I’ve looked everywhere. Why would someone shelve the two halves in different places?”
“You know what Father’s like. Remember that time he spent three weeks looking for his spectacles, and found them in the potting shed? Perhaps he’s left the other volume in his study. Or the pantry. What does it look like?”
“I’ll show you.” Harriet bustled out and returned a moment later with a large, leather-bound tome, which she set on the breakfast table with a thump.
Maddie inspected the handsome cover, then opened it to the first page. The book’s full title was A dictionary of the English Language: in which the words are deduced from their originals, and illustrated in their different significations by examples from the best writers. To which are prefixed, a history of the language, and an English grammar.
“No wonder it’s just known as Johnson’s dictionary,” she chuckled. “That’s quite a mouthful. I’ll go and ask Father if he knows where the other half is.”
Her father grunted a welcome when she poked her head around the study door.
“Sorry to disturb,” Maddie sai
d, hefting the dictionary in her hands. “But I’m looking for the other half of this book. Have you seen it?”
Her father’s welcoming expression darkened into a scowl, and she marveled at the abrupt change in his demeanor.
“Seen it?” he said ominously. “Of course I’ve seen it. That there is one of only ten copies produced in two volumes, for Johnson’s wealthiest patrons. Every later version comes in four smaller volumes.”
“So it’s expensive, then?” Maddie ventured.
“Of course it’s expensive. I paid next to nothing for it back at Christie’s when they sold off Johnson’s library after his death, but it’s worth at least a few hundred pounds now. Maybe even a thousand.”
“So why haven’t we considered selling it?” Maddie asked, perplexed. “We have newer dictionaries. If you can remember where the volume N to Z is—”
“I know exactly where it is,” her father said testily. “And you may as well forget the idea, Maddie, because there’s no getting to it.”
“Is it lost?”
“Powys!” Her father spat the name of his nemesis like it was a curse. “The other half of that book is in the library at Trellech Court.”
Maddie’s heart sank. “But why? Did you lend it to the old earl?”
“Ha! I wouldn’t have lent him a bucket of water if he was on fire. There was a mix-up at the auction. One half of the book went into a box I bought. The other half went into a box bought by Powys. Of all people.” Father’s eyebrows twitched in silent fury. “That meddling old bugger had been bidding against me all day. When I realized what had happened, I offered to buy it from him for a shilling, but he refused.” He shook his head, nursing his righteous anger. “He’d only paid sixpence for the whole box!”
“Hmm,” Maddie said, trying to think of something soothing and diplomatic, but her father wasn’t finished.
“The cheeky blighter’s tried to buy my half, for a paltry sum, for the last twenty years. He knew as well as I did that one volume on its own is practically worthless. It’s only valuable if the two volumes are combined.”
Maddie bit her lip. “Well, there’s a new earl now. Perhaps he’ll be more reasonable than—”
Her father snorted in disbelief.
“Or perhaps,” Maddie said with asperity, “you can stop being so unreasonable yourself. If the new earl doesn’t want to sell you his half, why not offer an olive branch and ask if he’ll work with you? You can send it to a book auction in London, and split the proceeds.”
Her father’s brows rose in surprise at her unexpected chastisement.
“You’ve spent so many years maintaining this feud,” Maddie continued, more gently. “I know it’s a matter of pride to you, but what will pride matter if we’re turned out of our home and end up penniless on the street?”
“It won’t come to that,” he huffed. “I’m off to Bristol, to have a word with a couple of moneylenders.” He waved away her frown of displeasure. “Just a word. I’m not going to commit to anything. I just want to understand my options. I’ll be back tomorrow, in time to take you to the dance. I know how much you and the Harpies enjoy gossiping. Stay out of mischief while I’m gone.”
Maddie gave a dutiful nod. “Yes, Father.”
Chapter 19
Maddie bit her lip as she mulled over her father’s revelation about the missing book.
Surely her newfound truce with Gryff would give her an advantage when it came to negotiating? She’d take care not to reveal how desperately she needed the money, of course.
Harriet had disappeared, but the Aunts were ensconced in the breakfast room, so Maddie deposited the dictionary at the far end of the table and poured herself another cup of tea, adding an extra-large spoonful of sugar.
Aunt Constance took one look at her expression and tilted her head, like an inquisitive bird. “Good morning, Madeline. You look rather grim. Has that awful Sir Mostyn been pestering you again?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“I’ll bet it’s a man, though.” Constance nodded sagely. “They’re always at the root of our problems.”
Maddie bit back a smile at how closely that echoed Gryff’s sentiments about women. Her aunt was right, though: All of her current vexations involved the male of the species, namely her father, Sir Mostyn, and Gryffud Davies. If she counted her perpetual worry about her brother’s safety, she could add Tristan to that list too.
“Is that why you never married?” she asked, with sudden insight. “Because men are so much bother?”
Constance swallowed a healthy bite of buttered crumpet. “In a sense. You know how people are always saying you should ‘find your other half’? Well, I never did. All the men I ever met would barely have made up a quarter. I decided I didn’t want to settle for a fraction.”
Maddie chuckled. “No, a fraction doesn’t sound very appealing.”
“But believe me,” Constance continued with a wheezy snort, “if I’d ever encountered a man who was a real match for me, I’d have pounced on him like Sooty on a hapless sparrow.”
She reached down and scratched the black cat who’d positioned himself near her chair in the hope of a dropped piece of kipper. Sooty was just one of the innumerable felines her aunts had living with them at any one time. Maddie’s father darkly referred to them as “their familiars.”
Aunt Prudence bobbed her head in agreement. “I did find my other half, you know, but sadly it wasn’t to be.”
Maddie lifted her brows in surprise. “I didn’t know that. What happened?”
“It was long before your time, my girl. His name was Lord Peregrine Vale and he hadn’t a penny to his name. But Lord, what a twinkle in his eye! And the way that man filled a pair of breeches—!” Prudence gave a lusty sigh. “He near swept me off my feet. We were engaged, but then he went off to fight in the colonies and was killed at the Battle of Golden Hill. After that, no other man measured up.”
Her face fell, and Maddie’s heart clenched in sympathy at this new revelation. She’d always assumed her two aunts had remained unmarried through choice.
“Yes, it was terribly sad, but shall I tell you something shocking?” Prudence’s expression brightened and her face took on a naughty look that made her look more like a girl of fifteen than a woman of seventy. “Just because I never married doesn’t mean I never had any fun.”
Maddie almost choked on her tea. “Aunt Pru! What did you do?”
Her aunt folded her hands in her lap and her eyes twinkled merrily. “Well—”
“Now, Pru, I don’t think—” Aunt Connie began.
“Oh, hush, Constance. The girl’s twenty-two, not just out of the schoolroom. It’s high time she heard some of the more interesting family gossip.”
“You should have been named Im-Prudence,” Aunt Connie muttered. “You always were a hellion.”
Maddie smothered a laugh at their bickering.
“As I was saying,” Aunt Prudence continued loftily. “We certainly had a little fun. We were engaged, after all. In fact, I found out I was in an ‘interesting condition’ only a few weeks after Perry left for Boston.”
She sighed. “It would have been a great scandal, of course, what with us not being married. My father—your grandfather—shipped me back to the country, so my shame wouldn’t become common knowledge, but I came down with scarlet fever only a month later, and lost the babe.”
“I’m so sorry,” Maddie murmured. “I had no idea.”
Prudence waved her hand. “It would have been lovely to have had a child in his image, to remember him by. Still, it was a long time ago. I’ve made my peace with it. My point is—don’t let yourself get bullied into some dreadful marriage of convenience. You’re better off unwed, like Connie and me, than shackled to some old fossil who’ll only make your life a misery.”
“Sir Mostyn offered Father two thousand pounds if I marry him,” Maddie said glumly.
“That’s because the only way he’ll ever get a wife is by bribery.” Aunt Pru s
norted in disgust. “You don’t have to fall on your sword just to save the family name. We’d never ask you to do such a thing.”
Both Aunts gave identical firm nods.
“My advice?” Prudence continued briskly. “Get yourself to London. There are scores of rich mill owners on the lookout for a title. See if you can’t fall in love with one of them.”
“And make sure he’s young. And handsome,” Aunt Constance chimed in. “Then, even if he turns out to be a scoundrel, at least the bedsport will be fun. You can even take a lover or two, once you’ve given him a few heirs.”
Maddie’s scandalized laugh turned into a cough, and Aunt Prudence sent her sister an amused glance.
“Honestly, Connie, this younger generation is terribly uptight. You’d think none of ’em had even heard of an amorous liaison.”
Maddie wiped her watering eyes. Perhaps her aunts were onto something. Times were changing. New fortunes were being made in trade and industry. Maybe she should go and find some textile merchant’s son or tin-mining heir?
With an inward sigh, she forced herself to face an uncomfortable truth: Whoever she chose, she doubted she’d find him half as fascinating as Gryffud Davies.
No. That line of thought was far too dangerous. She pointed at the leather-bound book at the end of the table instead. “I don’t think I’ll have to marry anyone if I can get the new Lord Powys to sell us the other half of that book.”
The two old women peered over at the item in question. Aunt Constance’s brow wrinkled.
“The old earl would rather have poked his own eyes out than sell something to a Montgomery, even for ten times the price.”
“Well the new earl isn’t as bad as his father,” Maddie said evenly. “I’m hoping I can appeal to his good business sense. If he won’t sell it to us, perhaps I can convince him to put the two halves together for auction and split the profits.”
“I know we need the money,” Aunt Constance said uncertainly, “but Powys certainly doesn’t. He’s as rich as Croesus, what with his coal mines and whatnot. How will you convince him, Maddie?”