“I told Robert about Lucille’s abuse of his daughter, but he doesn’t seem to care,” Angelica informed her aunt. “I have decided to rescue Daisy but don’t know where she lives.”
“I know where she lives,” Aunt Roxie said. “I have a plan.”
Angelica bit her bottom lip. “Do you think Robert will be angry?”
“He’ll be furious,” Aunt Roxie answered, giving her a feline smile. “How divinely delicious . . .”
At three o’clock that afternoon, Angelica locked Jasper in his cage and hurried downstairs to the foyer. Aunt Roxie and her sisters were waiting for her.
“See how popular you have become,” Aunt Roxie said, gesturing toward the foyer table. Calling cards filled the crystal dish that had been placed there.
Angelica rolled her eyes. “Our association with His Grace has gained us entree into society.”
“Perhaps society wanted another look at the freaks,” Samantha said, making her sisters laugh.
“Do not disparage yourself and your sisters,” Aunt Roxie replied. “Tinker, please tell His Grace—”
“Tell him yourself,” called a voice behind them.
Angelica turned around, as did her aunt and sisters. Duke Magnus, Robert, James Armstrong, and Adam St. Aubyn were descending the stairs to the foyer.
“The girls and I are going out in the carriage,” Aunt Roxie told the duke.
“Where?” Robert asked.
“Here and there, no particular destination,” Aunt Roxie answered. “We’ll return later for tea.”
“Have an enjoyable outing,” Duke Magnus said.
“Angel, I want to speak to you,” Robert said.
Raising her disarming blue gaze to his, Angelica said in a haughty voice, “Leave your card with Tinker.”
James and Adam burst out laughing, earning themselves a glare from Robert. Duke Magnus coughed, apparently to cover his chuckle, and her sisters giggled.
Angelica turned her back on him and walked out the door. She bit her lip to keep from laughing when she heard Tinker say, “Would you care to leave your card, my lord?”
And then Angelica reached the sidewalk. She climbed into the duke’s carriage, and her sisters climbed in behind her.
“We won’t be needing your services today,” Aunt Roxie told the driver. “I’m driving.”
“With all due respect, my lady, I refuse to lose my job over a female’s whim,” the coachman told her.
“What is your name?”
“Willie.”
“Do you know to whom you are speaking, Willie?” Aunt Roxie asked, assuming a haughty attitude. “I’m the Countess of Melrose’s aunt.”
“Do you know who I am?” Willie returned. “I am the man in charge of His Grace’s carriages, and you aren’t taking this one out alone.”
Aunt Roxie gave him a dimpled smile and reached for her reticule.
“And I don’t take bribes.”
“I wouldn’t dream of trying to bribe you,” Aunt Roxie purred. “I’ll give you these coins and allow you to drive us if you promise to remain silent about our destination.”
“I can keep a secret but don’t want your money,” Willie told her.
“Consider it a gratuity for a job well done,” Aunt Roxie said, placing the coins in his hand.
Willie nodded. He helped her into the carriage and closed the door.
“Portland Place,” Aunt Roxie instructed him. She settled herself into the coach beside Angelica. “When we arrive, you and your sisters will walk down the alley behind the town house and wait outside in the garden. Once inside, I’ll tell Lucille that the stars insist Dairy should wait outside while we discuss an important matter.”
“What if she sends Daisy to her room?” Victoria asked.
“Trust me, darling,” Aunt Roxie said with a mischievous smile. “Lucille will obey what the stars foretell.”
“The urgent matter to discuss must be something plausible,” Angelica told her.
“How about the fact that someone tried to assassinate Robert?” Aunt Roxie asked. “If he dies, her funds could be terminated.”
“I cannot think of a more urgent matter than having one’s funds terminated,” Samantha said.
Her aunt’s remark reminded Angelica that someone was trying to murder the man she loved. She had considered Alexander Emerson the most likely culprit, but now that she knew attempts had been made on his life, she needed to reconsider the whole situation. Not only that, but her argument with Robert and the attempt on his life had destroyed an opportunity to ruin Drinkwater or Mayhew.
“Angelica, are you feeling well?” Aunt Roxie asked, intruding on her thoughts. “You look pale.”
“I’m fine,” Angelica answered. “I have a butterfly stomach from nerves and my argument with Robert.”
“You’ve suffered from a queasy stomach for several days now,” Aunt Roxie said, reaching out to touch her forehead. “You seem a little warm, too. I hope the excitement isn’t making you ill.”
Fifteen minutes later, Aunt Roxie called out for the carriage to stop and then turned to her nieces, saying, “Hide at the corner of the alley. When you see me go inside, walk down the alley to Lucille’s garden.”
Angelica, Samantha, and Victoria climbed out of the carriage and hurried to hide. Fingering her diamond pendant for luck, Angelica peered around the corner and watched her aunt climb the front stairs. The door opened before she reached the top, and Lucille Dubois stepped outside, apparently on her way out.
“Madame Roxanne, I’ve been looking for you,” Angelica heard Lucille exclaim. “Where have you been?”
“I must speak to you on an urgent matter,” Aunt Roxie answered.
“Come inside,” Lucille said, and the two women disappeared into the house.
“She’s inside,” Angelica told her sisters. “Let’s go.”
The Douglas sisters hurried down the alley. Entering the Dubois garden, they hid behind an enormous evergreen shrub and waited for the little girl to arrive. Daisy appeared five minutes later in the company of an older woman.
“Her nanny is with her,” Samantha whispered. “What will we do?”
“We’ll take the nanny with us,” Angelica said in a whisper, lifting the edge of her gown to draw her last-resort dagger.
“What if she screams?” Victoria asked.
“I’ll threaten her with my dagger before she does,” Angelica answered.
“Won’t that frighten Daisy?” Samantha asked.
Angelica bit her bottom lip and considered her sister’s words. Finally, she lifted her skirt and returned the dagger to the sheath attached to the garter on her leg.
“Stay here until I call you,” Angelica instructed them. “The woman won’t cry out once Daisy recognizes me.”
Angelica stepped out from behind the shrub and started across the garden toward the little girl, who sat on a stone bench with her nanny. “Daisy, I’ve come to play with you,” she called, fixing a smile on her lips.
Startled, the nanny whirled toward her but relaxed when the child cried out, “Lady Angel,” and raced toward her. “Have you brought Jasper?”
“No, but my sisters are here,” Angelica answered. She gestured to her sisters, who appeared from behind the shrub and crossed the garden.
“Why were you hiding?” the nanny asked, her expression mirroring confused suspicion.
“We didn’t want to startle you,” Angelica answered, hoping her smile would calm the woman. “My aunt is inside visiting Lucille.”
“This is Lady Allegra,” Daisy told her, holding a doll out for her inspection. “My father sent her to me, but I wish he brought her himself.” She brightened when she added, “Do you want to watch the clouds make pictures?”
“Lady Allegra is quite lovely,” Angelica replied, taking a seat beside the nanny while her sisters positioned themselves behind the woman. “Your father loves you very much.”
“Yes, he does, but—” Daisy leaned close and whispered, “I’ve never s
een him because he’s too important and too busy to visit me.”
Angelica felt her heart wrench at the girl’s words. She could have throttled Robert and his former paramour.
“Sit on my lap,” Angelica said.
Daisy climbed onto her lap and rested her head in the crook of her neck. Angelica put her arms around the girl protectively and glanced over her shoulder to give her sisters a pointed look.
Victoria drew her dagger and touched its cold steel to the back of the woman’s neck. At the same moment, Samantha turned her body diagonally to block Daisy’s view of it
“Keep silent and nothing will happen to you,” Victoria whispered against the side of the woman’s head.
Angelica smiled at the woman’s frozen expression. “What is your name?” she asked.
“Ethel Sweeting.”
“Mrs. Sweeting?” Angelica echoed in surprise, recalling Webster’s information that Robert had brought the former Douglas nanny out of retirement.
Angelica smiled at the woman’s blank expression. “Mrs. Sweeting, I am Angelica Douglas. Do you remember me?”
“My Lord, I never thought to see you again,” the woman exclaimed. “You are a grown woman. I didn’t recognize you.” She glanced over her shoulder, adding, “These young ladies must be Samantha and Victoria. How are the earl and countess faring?”
“Both are dead,” Angelica answered. “Mrs. Sweeting, you must have noticed the bruises on Daisy’s arms.”
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.
To Tempt An Angel (Book 1 Douglas series) Page 18