Lady Brandell, in a calm voice, had thanked her for the information before retreating back into her thoughts, and the rest of the morning had been shared in silence until Nash told them what he’d discovered at the inn.
There had been a meeting with Mr. Ogden, and the man’s business request had been the best, and worst, news they’d heard in a long time.
“What?” Lady Selby asked Nash as she leaned forward. “What did he say?” Though she’d already heard his reply.
Nash smiled at her and spoke the same words he had just moments ago. “Mr. Ogden asked me to kill Lord Selby, in exchange for part of his wealth after he takes the title, and any business dealings Selby is involved in.”
“He’s still alive?” Sam asked.
Nash turned to her and nodded.
Lady Brandell, who had grabbed Lady Selby’s hand the moment Nash had spoken, said, “Why would Mr. Ogden ask you?”
“Because I’m a criminal,” Nash confessed to her.
“I find that hard to believe.” Lady Brandell had all but become his champion. Sam thought it sweet, but wondered how the woman would take learning that Nash had spent time in prison.
Not wanting to see that reaction at the moment, Sam said, “Why has he kept Selby alive all this time?”
Nash crossed his arms. “Because, at this moment, all Selby’s vast wealth, the London house, and all his other properties go to his mother, if he dies.”
Lady Selby’s eyes widened. “Me?”
Nash nodded. “Mr. Ogden could very well become a lord, but he’d be a penniless lord. Selby must have sensed something wrong with his cousin, and made preparations. At the moment, he’s holding Selby somewhere and doing whatever he can to get the man to sign his vast wealth over to the title. Then he could simply kill him afterward. Selby has been holding out from doing so all these weeks.”
Lady Selby pressed her hands to her chest. “Oh, praise God. My strong boy.” Tears spilled down her cheeks. “And my son has always been quite sharp.”
Sam was impressed and amazed, herself. Though Selby hadn’t been very kind to her, she couldn’t disagree that he was intelligent, unlike his cousin.
“But wouldn’t entrusting all that money to Agnes just make Mr. Ogden try to bring her harm? Why keep the lord or his mother alive? He could easily have it all if he chose to,” Lady Brandell said.
It was a very good question.
Nash lifted a brow. “I believe Mr. Ogden had been thinking about ending Lady Selby’s life. She made many comments about him always being around. However, killing Lady Selby wouldn’t be enough. In fact, it would complicate matters further.” He turned to Lady Selby then. “Wouldn’t it, my lady?”
Lady Selby lowered her gaze and frowned in thought. Then she shook her head and looked up. “No, it wouldn’t, because my money goes to the charity if I die. At first, I had entrusted it to my son, but Mark all but made me will it to Best Home, saying he wouldn’t need it.” She sighed. “Oh, dear, my son must have known what our cousin was up to.”
“And his wise maneuverings have kept you alive,” Nash said. “I don’t know how your wills came into Mr. Ogden’s possession, but I would think Lord Selby made them available, just so the man would think twice before hurting you.”
“Mark is alive!” Lady Selby said again, and then there were more tears.
Sam leaned in to wrap her arms around the woman and was astonished and grateful when Lady Selby’s arms went around her as well. She was getting closer to these two very strong ladies, and was thankful for their friendship and their trust.
Nash appeared in front of them. Sam hadn’t seen him rise from his seat, but there he was holding out a handkerchief to Lady Selby.
“Bless you, Mr. Smith,” she whispered before taking the offering.
“So, what happens now?” Samantha asked.
Nash took his seat and leaned forward on his knees. In that position, he looked larger and powerful. “I’ve already accepted the job from Mr. Ogden. We meet tonight, but this morning, I must visit the other address that Iverstone gave me. This woman may know what I’m stepping into tonight. She might have information on Selby.”
“Oh, do you think we could go as well?” Lady Selby asked.
Nash shook his head slowly. “She could be dangerous. It would be better if you stayed here. We’re close to finding him, my lady. Just another day or so.”
Selby nodded.
“Should we call for help?” Lady Brandell asked.
“I’ve already sent word for Iverstone to send men.” It appeared that Nash also thought two steps ahead. “They should be arriving posthaste.”
There was a knock on the door and they all turned as the butler opened it. Samantha thought it to be the men Nash had invited.
Sam listened to the conversation that flowed from the entryway and her heart seized as she recognized the voices. Her eyes found Nash and discovered he was watching her intently. He seemed so attuned to her, could likely taste the fear that was pouring from her skin and infusing itself into the air around her. Her pulse beat rapidly.
A moment later, the butler arrived and said, “There is a Mr. Green here to see Lady Samantha.”
Mr. Green.
Nash was out of his chair at once.
“Nash, don’t.” She closed her mouth when she realized she’d called him by his given name.
He turned, his eyes like dangerous waters, ready and willing to swallow a man whole.
Lady Brandell came to her feet as well. “How dare he? What does he want? Let him in.”
“No.” Sam took Lady Brandell’s arm. “Please. I don’t want to see him.”
The woman patted her arm. “You’re my companion, which means I must protect you, my dear. We’ll not have this man bother you anymore.”
Sam was struck mute by the dowager’s show of kindness, especially after dealing with the opening of old wounds. She was one of the most selfless people Sam knew, and if she grew to be half the woman Lady Brandell was, she’d count herself blessed.
Lady Selby took Samantha’s other side, and Nash moved close as well, though he didn’t touch her, which was wise. Mr. Green was a friend of her father’s, and the worst thing Nash could do at the moment was show their cards before they were ready.
Mr. Green strolled into the room with his version of a warm smile, and Sam felt her stomach upset. The man was shorter than Samantha, with a wide waist and thin legs. His dark hair was balding, the color making the patches more obvious against his pale shiny head. His teeth were yellow, and whenever he smiled, Samantha got the impression that it was hardly genuine.
“Lady Samantha.” Mr. Green opened his arms. “Come greet your fiancé proper-like.”
Samantha burrowed herself closer to Lady Brandell. “I’ve not accepted your hand.”
He tilted his head, still grinning. “Oh, but you will.” He wagged a knowing finger, and then looked around the room. “Lovely home. I was on my way to the city when I saw your family’s carriage outside. I knew instantly that you were here.” They’d taken Samantha’s carriage, because hers would be less conspicuous than Selby’s. After all, if Sam was caught out here, she still planned to use the lie that she simply wished to see Lord Brandell. To be with him.
That thought sickened her just as much as being with Mr. Green did. There wasn’t a day that went by when she didn’t wonder if he’d done what he did purposefully. Being found in her bed was a quick way for him to gain her wealth. He turned to her, then. “Sam, you’ve not greeted me properly.” His smile was changing. He didn’t like being embarrassed. She’d learned that from the many times he’d come to visit over the years.
Nash spoke then. “I’ve had enough.” He started for Mr. Green.
Lady Brandell sighed. “It’s about time.”
All at once, the man became aware of the other— larger— gentleman in the room.
The smile fell from the sailor’s face. “Samantha, who is this?”
She wished she could call N
ash her fiancé, but not even Lady Brandell and Lady Selby were aware of their courtship. They were keeping it secret until they were ready.
“I’m Mr. Smith,” Nash said as he was nearly upon the man. “Now, it’s time for you to go.”
“Smith?” Mr. Green asked. “Not a lord, then.” He glared at Samantha, even as Nash crowded him out of the room. “You’ve only weeks to find a lord willing to have you. It won’t happen. It’s best you come to reason, so that I may be an agreeable husband to you.”
Her heart raced as she held his eyes. His words frightened her. Should she have been kinder, just in case she didn’t find another husband, and her father decided to give her to Mr. Green either way? It was a possibility. Though she’d frequently imagined a life as Lady Brandell’s companion, there was always the chance that her father would take the decision of marriage from her all together, forcing her wherever he wished for her to go. At the moment, it became abundantly clear that she had little power over her life.
Mr. Green vanished from sight and since he was not a man of sophistication, he continued to shout from the foyer, “Only I can save her soiled reputation. Come to your senses, girl, or I—” A choking sound cut off the rest of his words, and Samantha rushed from the room.
The front door slammed behind Nash and Mr. Green.
The butler looked unbothered, but Samantha was sure Mr. Green hadn’t choked on his own. Nash was likely holding him by the throat.
By the time she got outside, Mr. Green was already on his horse, riding away at a relentless pace. The hooves of the steed kicked up dirt along the path making a cloud of dust.
Sam turned to Nash. He was still fuming on the bottom step. “What happened? What did you say?”
He turned to her. “I said what needed to be said. He’s not to approach you again.”
Her eyes widened. She walked over to him. “But he’s my father’s friend. Surely, he’s only on this side of the country because he’s visiting my father. He’ll report what took place.”
Nash shrugged. “I don’t care. He’s not to approach you again. I already told you no one else can have you, but me.” He took her arms and pulled her close. “You may think you only decided to court me, but I’ve already decided that I’ll not let you go, Samantha. I can’t.”
Her heart raced. “Threatening my father’s friends won’t convince him to accept you.”
Nash narrowed his eyes. “Any father who allows a man to threaten you shouldn’t have a say.”
She hung her head, because there was a part of her that thought him right. “But he’s my father…”
“I want to kiss you.”
* * *
21
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
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Nash stared down at the woman he held lighter than he wished to. “I want to gather you in my arms and take you away, breathe nothing but your scent, see nothing but your beauty, dine endlessly on your mouth.”
She bit her lips as color rose to her cheeks. “Nash…” She said nothing else. The blue in her hazel eyes became more prominent.
He dropped his arms from her, fearing he’d act on his words, and instead concentrated on something else. “I never knew my father or mother. As a child, I would have been alone, had it not been for the people who claimed to be my family, and rewrote the definition of the word.”
She wrinkled her forehead as he continued. “My brothers and sisters will always be my family, because they are loyal to me. Of course, there have been moments when I wished to bury them six feet under.” He recalled his anger at Chris and Reuben. “But in the end, I know they’d do anything for me, anything that would lessen my pain and heighten my happiness.”
Sam smiled. “I’m so glad you had them, Nash. You don’t know how it warms me to know just how much people care for you. You deserve that, and so much more.”
Why did she say such things?
He lowered his voice. “I’m trying very hard not to kiss you, Samantha. Don’t tempt me.”
She bit her lip again.
If there had ever been such a thing as temptation before…
Nash looked at her eyes. “Lady Brandell cares for you. It’s clear she thinks of you as her own, now. I saw the way she clung to your side; and have no doubt she’d have used her body to defend you.” It had been in her posture. His mother was a fighter as well, stronger than many gave her credit for.
Sam seemed surprised. “Do you truly think so?”
“Lady Selby as well. She’s going through a very hard trial. Lord Selby may be alive, but she has to be wondering at his condition at this moment. He’s been locked away for weeks, and I don’t know what methods of torture Mr. Ogden has already implemented on him.”
Sam looked frightened. “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I know she hopes for the best. Knowing he’s alive is nearly enough for her at the moment, yet even now, she finds the strength to stand at your side, also. Karl looked after you, as well. You’re surrounded by people who care for you, and for me, that is family.”
Her smile brightened. “It’s a very strange family, but yes, I can see it as well.” Then her smile faded, and she leaned into him.
His arms went around her, unable to hold back, no matter who was watching them from the house, but he kept the embrace short, nearly having to pry his own fingers from her. When she lifted her chin, he said, “I hate the way I treated you last night. I’m sorry. In the future, I will strive to not let my anger run wild.” And ruin any chance they had.
She folded her hands against her chest and even he could tell she wished to touch him, probably itched to do so, just as much as he did. She watched him from underneath hooded lashes. “Thank you, and I would also appreciate it if you wouldn’t shut me out. I know there are things about yourself you’ve not told me.” She was already close, but dared to step closer. “I want to know everything about you.”
“Everything?” he asked, his mind thinking about the circumstances of his birth. There were details he was still unsure about.
She nodded. “Everything.”
“And will you be doing the same?” Nash asked. “Sharing everything with me?” This sort of commitment should have terrified him, but instead, he was looking forward to having someone to share things with.
“You know all there is to know about me,” she told him. “Everything of importance at least.”
He shook his head. “Everything about you is important to me.”
Her cheeks brightened.
The door opened, and Mrs. Weston stepped outside, her look irate. “The ladies have told me what is taking place, so come inside and tell us the plan.”
Nash ushered Sam into the house and then into the sitting room.
“Absolutely not.”
Samantha watched as Nash came to his feet and started to pace, showing just how very much, he hated the idea the ladies had suggested.
“We’ll wait in the carriage until you tell us its safe,” Lady Selby said.
He grunted and turned on her. “Oh, like you stayed when we came to Lady Weston’s home? Absolutely not.”
“You’re being wildly overprotective,” Lady Brandell said. “Even Mrs. Weston thinks so.”
“I know Miss Sticklander,” Mrs. Weston went on. “She is not at all the danger you think her to be. We’ve had tea a time or two. She’d not offended at all by my past, and I think she’d enjoy meeting other ladies. She’s so very alone in that house. I often worry about her.”
Sam frowned, and a part of her felt sympathy for the woman they’d never met, but was somehow connected to Lord Selby in some way. Mrs. Weston had been the one to bring up the idea of the ladies visiting with Nash. She’d known Miss Sticklander for many years, and saw no harm in the entire group taking a trip together.
“Miss Sticklander may not be dangerous,” Nash said. “But there would be danger l
urking around her home. You would be too vulnerable there, not quick enough to respond to an attack.”
Sam huffed. “I’ll have you know I’m quite quick. I would win all the races against the other ladies in Oakmont.”
Nash lifted a brow at her. “A race against other ladies?” The rest of that comment went unsaid, but she knew what he meant. She’d be vulnerable to men, because men were faster.
She huffed at that.
Once Upon an Earl_Heirs of High Society_A Regency Romance Book Page 16