Robert narrowed his black gaze on the coachman. “Do your job without comment, “ he ordered.
Why did his retainers believe they could question his judgment and decisions? Both Webster and Mack constantly gave him their editorial comments concerning his life. No doubt they adored Angelica Douglas, the most unbiddable woman who’d ever crossed his path.
Beautiful, lovable, unbiddable woman, he corrected himself.
Robert glanced out the barouche’s window at the bodyguards on horseback, positioning themselves around his carriage. He felt like a bloody spectacle. If Armstrong or St. Aubyn chanced to see him, he’d never live this down.
A short time later, Robert leaped out of the barouche in front of Lucille’s town house and hurried up the stairs. He knocked on the door, which opened almost immediately, and walked into the foyer.
“Your lordship,” the maid exclaimed. “We weren’t expecting you.”
“Fetch Lucille to me,” Robert ordered.
“Yes, your lordship.” The maid hurried up the stairs.
A few minutes later, Lucille appeared at the top of the stairs. She wore a low-cut gown, as if she’d known he would visit and wanted to seduce him.
“You’ve returned,” Lucille greeted him, a smile of welcome on her face as she walked downstairs. “Thank God you’re safe.”
“I want to see the child,” Robert said.
At Lucille’s nod, the young woman raced up the stairs again. When she reappeared at the top of the stairs, she called, “Daisy isn’t in her chamber.”
“Then check the garden,” Lucille ordered in an irritated tone.
The maid rushed downstairs. She disappeared down the corridor leading to the back of the house.
“So, you’ve finally decided to meet your daughter,” Lucille remarked.
Robert said nothing. He walked away from her, leaned against the foyer’s reception table, and folded his arms across his chest.
“Mrs. Sweeting and Daisy aren’t there,” the maid said, breathless, returning from the garden. “Nobody has seen them since you sent them outside earlier. In fact, no one remembers seeing them return to the house.”
“My God, that woman has stolen my daughter,” Lucille cried in a near panic.
Robert shook his head, though the slightest of smiles touched his tips. Apparently, Angelica Douglas had already been there and, somehow, persuaded the nanny to leave with her.
“Do something,” Lucille said. “Have your driver fetch the authorities.”
“Do you see your income disappearing with your daughter?” Robert asked.
“How can you say that?” Lucille asked in an affronted tone. “I love our daughter more than anything.”
“You love your daughter more than anything except yourself,” Robert qualified. Turning away, he said, “I think I know where she is.”
“I’m coming with you,” Lucille said.
Robert stared at her for a long moment. Finally, he nodded and opened the door for her.
Once seated in the carriage, Lucille tried to turn the full force of her charm on him. “I love this barouche,” she gushed, leaning forward so he could get a good look at her breasts. “We always took the barouche when we dined out. Remember?”
“Be quiet,” Robert snapped, “or I’ll dump you out here.”
* * *
While Robert sat inside the barouche with his former mistress, Angelica and Daisy enjoyed the perfect summer’s afternoon within the security of the duke’s garden. Mrs. Sweeting, sitting on a stone bench, watched them.
Angelica and Daisy lay on their backs in the grass. Both woman and child studied the pictures the fair-weather clouds formed against the blue sky.
“There’s a flower,” Daisy cried.
“I think it’s a daisy,” Angelica said.
Daisy laughed loudly. Beside them, Jasper laughed in a perfect imitation of the little girl, which made Angelica and Mrs. Sweeting laugh.
And that made Jasper continue his laughing.
“You’re having fun?”
At the sound of the boy’s voice, Angelica sat up and watched Colin Campbell racing across the garden toward them. With him was Mrs. Honey.
“Mrs. Sweeting, I would like you to meet Mrs. Honey,” Angelica introduced the two older women.
“I’m pleased to meet you,” Mrs. Sweeting said.
“Likewise,” Mrs. Honey replied, sitting beside her on the bench.
“Colin, I want you to meet Daisy,” Angelica said, giving her attention to the children. “She’s your cousin. That’s why you both have big, dark eyes.”
The little boy bowed from the waist, which made Daisy smile. “I like you,” he said, pointing a finger at her.
“I like you, too,” Daisy said. “Do you like Jasper?”
Colin nodded.
Daisy clapped her hands together, saying, “I like him, too.”
“Colin, sit beside me here,” Angelica said. “I want to tell you and Daisy the fingers story.”
The boy plopped down beside her. Both children looked at her expectantly.
“Did you know that a family lives in everyone’s hand?” Angelica asked.
Both Colin and Daisy shook their heads.
“This is the baby,” Angelica told them, holding her thumb up. “This is the mother,” she said holding her index finger up. “And this is the father,” she said finally, pointing her middle finger into the air.
When the two nannies giggled, Angelica glanced at them over her shoulder and smiled mischievously. Colin and Daisy laughed, too, as if they knew what the adults found humorous.
“Enough of the family,” Angelica said. “If you want to send someone bad luck, give them the devil’s sign.” She demonstrated as she explained, “Your thumb pins down the middle and ring fingers, and you point at the person with your index and little finger.”
Both children made the sign of the devil. Then Colin cried, “Come, Daisy. Let’s run.”
The little girl jumped up when he did. Together, the two of them gamboled around and around the garden and gave every plant, flower, and shrub the sign of the devil.
Tinker appeared unexpectedly and crossed the garden toward Angelica. “Excuse me, my lady,” the man said. “His Grace wishes to see you and Mistress Daisy in his study.”
“Thank you, Tinker,” Angelica said, rising from the grass. “Daisy, your grandfather wants us to visit him now.”
“I’ll be right back,” Daisy told Colin.
Followed by Jasper, Angelica and Daisy returned to the house and climbed the stairs to the second-floor study. She paused near the study door, put Jasper in the corridor cage, and then knocked on the door.
“Enter,” she heard Duke Magnus call.
Angelica stopped short just inside the doorway and felt the girl’s grip on her hand tighten. Not only were Duke Magnus and Aunt Roxie waiting for them, but Lucille Dubois and Robert were also in attendance.
Shifting her gaze from Robert’s twitching cheek, Angelica looked at her aunt. Lady Roxanne raised her brows and shrugged her shoulders, but the hint of a smile was on her lips.
“Angelica Douglas has stolen my daughter,” Lucille complained. “I’m going to the authorities and The Times.” She stopped speaking, as if a thought had just occurred to her, and asked, “What are these peasants doing here?”
“Lady Angelica is the Countess of Melrose,” Duke Magnus told her.
“She’s poorer than I am,” Lucille said, looking bewildered.
“Her finances do not change the fact that she is the Countess of Melrose,” the duke replied.
“I don’t care who she is,” Lucille said. “I want my daughter returned to me. Come here, Daisy.”
Daisy’s enormous black eyes grew even larger, and her grip on Angelica’s hand tightened painfully. She stepped closer to Angelica and refused to budge.
“I said to come here,” Lucille repeated in obvious irritation. She turned to Robert, saying, “Do you see what a disobedient child she is?�
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Angelica watched Robert drop his black gaze from her to Daisy. She stepped protectively in front of the girl, hiding her from view.
“I’m keeping her,” Angelica announced, making the duke chuckle.
“She’s my daughter,” Lucille cried.
“She’s mine now,” Angelica countered.
Lucille turned to Robert. “Do something.”
Robert remained silent for an excruciatingly long moment. Then he crossed the study, ordering, “Step aside. I want to see her.”
Angelica remained where she was. Their eyes clashed in a fierce battle of two strong wills. Finally, Angelica inclined her head and stepped to the side, but Daisy moved with her.
“I’m waiting,” Robert said, the hint of a smile touching his lips.
Angelica drew Daisy around until the child stood beside her but never let go of the little hand, lest Robert grab her and return her to the ogre posing as a mother. “Daisy, I want you to meet your father,” Angelica said. To Robert, she added, “She has your eyes . . . and your sweet disposition, of course.”
Duke Magnus laughed out loud. Robert’s cheek muscles began twitching again.
Angelica felt a growing fury as she watched father and daughter. Daisy’s black eyes, so much like her father’s, held a deep yearning; and her expression mirrored her awe at meeting her father.
Robert said nothing. In fact, he inspected the little girl’s arms as if she were an object instead of a child. Finally, he turned around to confront the mother.
“How did she get those bruises?” Robert demanded.
“You’ve seen how disobedient she can be,” Lucille defended herself.
“If you ever touch her again,” Robert threatened, “I’ll cut you off without a penny. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Lucille answered, her anger apparent. “Come, Daisy. We’re going home.”
Angelica stepped in front of the girl. “You’ll take her over my dead body.”
Lucille turned to Robert for help. After a momentary pause, he took a step forward.
With her gaze fixed on his, Angelica flicked the bottom of her gown up and drew her dagger. She held it in a relaxed grip, the blade up and away from her body, its sharp edge ready to slice him.
“I saved your life last night, my lord,” Angelica said. “If need be, I’ll take it away today.”
Duke Magnus shouted with laughter, and then said, “Roxanne, she has your spirit.”
“Yes, darling,” her aunt replied, “but the girl lacks my subtlety.”
Robert turned, saying, “Father—”
“Fight your own battles,” Duke Magnus said, cutting off whatever his son had intended to say.
Robert stared tensely at Angelica, and she wondered what he would do. And then he relaxed, and that frightened her more than his anger. “Countess, may I speak with you privately in the corridor?” Robert asked, the corners of his lips turning up in a polite smile.
Angelica felt uncertain about what to do. She wet her lips, gone dry from nervousness, and said, “Yes, you may.” She refused to let go of Daisy’s hand, though.
“The girl stays here,” Robert said.
“I won’t let her go,” Angelica told him.
“You don’t trust me?”
“Inspiring trust is not one of your talents, my lord. No insult intended.”
“None taken.”
“I’ll guard her,” Aunt Roxie said, crossing the chamber to take Daisy’s hand in hers.
“Don’t let go of Aunt Roxie’s hand,” Angelica instructed the girl. “I’ll return in a few minutes.”
Daisy nodded but flicked a worried glance in her mother’s direction. “I won’t let go,” she promised.
Angelica stepped into the corridor. Robert walked behind her and closed the door.
“I appreciate your concern for the child, but you shouldn’t have stolen her,” Robert said.
Angelica arched a blond brow at him. “I didn’t steal Daisy. I rescued her.”
Robert smiled at that “How badly do you want to keep her?”
“What do you mean?” she asked, instantly suspicious. The marquess wasn’t above lying to get what he wanted. He’d already lied to her several times.
“From the appearance of the girl’s arms, I would hazard a guess that Lucille lacks the maternal instinct,” Robert told her. “She sees the child as her source of income.” He paused for a moment and then said, “I’ll offer Lucille enough money to keep her happy for the rest of her life if you—”
“Why do you want to marry a woman who doesn’t love you?” Angelica interrupted. He would never know of her love for him. That knowledge in this scoundrel’s possession would be dangerous for her peace of mind. She had no doubt that he would use it against her.
Robert smiled. “I was going to say, if you spend the day in my bed.”
Angelica felt as though he’d struck her. When had the marriage proposal become a proposition?
“I refuse to be at any man’s beck and call,” she told him.
“I didn’t ask you for that,” Robert replied. “One day in my bed, and you can keep the child.”
“Just once?”
Robert inclined his head.
Angelica felt there had to be something more but couldn’t imagine what else he had planned. “I cannot be seen going into your house,” she hedged.
“I’ll wait for a rainy day,” he countered. “You can wear a cloak and cover your head with its hood.”
Angelica remained silent, considering his offer. If she did this, she would be little better than the whores she’d met at fairs.
“That poor little girl will need to return to Portland Place,” Robert said. “There’s no telling what Lucille will do after this stunt.”
“Bull’s pizzle,” Angelica muttered. The man was Old Clootie, sent to earth to lead her astray.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I’ll come to you on the first rainy day,” Angelica agreed.
Robert gave her a devastating smile. “I’ll pray for rain.”
Returning to the study, Angelica went directly to Daisy and grabbed her hand. The little girl wore an expression of anxiety and trembled with fear.
“Lucille, I want to speak to you in the corridor,” Robert said.
Lucille crossed the chamber. As she passed her daughter, Daisy pinned down her middle and ring fingers with her thumb and cast her mother the bad luck sign of the devil.
Angelica grabbed her hand, lest Robert notice and change his mind. She glanced at the duke, who wore a broad grin.
After placing the little girl in the chair in front of her grandfather’s desk, Angelica walked to the one nearest the door and tried to hear what was being said in the corridor. She could hear voices but couldn’t understand the words.
“Are you having fun here?” Duke Magnus asked Daisy, breaking the silence in the study.
Daisy nodded and said, “This is the baby.” She held her thumb up. “This is the mother.” She held her index finger up. “And this is the father.” Up went her middle finger.
Duke Magnus shouted with laughter. Aunt Roxie gave a throaty chuckle and glanced at Angelica, who covered her face with her hands.
“Did you learn that from Lady Angelica?” the duke asked.
“Yes, I did.”
“Lady Angelica will be such a good influence on you,” Duke Magnus said dryly.
“We saw the clouds make pictures of daisies,” she told her grandfather. “Tonight, she will play her harp for me. Won’t that be fun?”
“I can hardly wait for the hours to pass,” Duke Magnus said. “Has she taught you to dice yet?”
“Lady Angelica, will you teach me to dice?” Daisy called.
“No, Lady Angelica will not teach you to dice,” Robert said from the doorway “That is, she won’t if she has any common sense, which is doubtful after the stunt she pulled today.” He mocked her with a smile and asked, “Eavesdropping, my dear?”
“I was no
t eavesdropping,” Angelica replied, lifting her nose into the air. “As a matter of fact, you and your former paramour have given me an upset stomach.”
“Lucille is gone and won’t return,” Robert announced. “Unless, of course, she doesn’t receive my bank note tomorrow morning.”
“How much did it cost you?” Duke Magnus asked.
“A hundred thousand pounds,” Robert answered, looking at Angelica. “Lucille will return after she squanders that.”
“Perhaps you should have given her a percentage in one of your businesses,” Angelica said, rising from the chair and taking Daisy’s hand in hers. “Then she would have received payment quarterly instead of one lump sum.”
Angelica could tell by his expression that he hadn’t thought of that. What else could one expect from a man who’d never been forced to conserve resources like food in order to survive?
“Your father loves you so much that he paid Lucille lots of money to keep you here with us,” Angelica told the little girl.
Daisy looked at her father with adoration in her enormous black eyes. Robert ignored her, and Angelica could have carved him up without suffering a qualm.
“Who was that woman I saw leaving?” Venetia asked, walking into the duke’s study.
“Darling, that was Lucille Dubois,” Aunt Roxie purred.
Venetia appeared shocked and scandalized. “You brought your mistress into this house?” she asked, turning to Robert.
“Lucille is my former mistress,” he told her.
“And what difference does that make?” Venetia asked, stamping her dainty foot. “If anyone passing by sees her—” She broke off, noticing Daisy for the first time, and asked, “Who is this?”
Angelica braced herself for the worst. “This is Daisy Dubois,” she answered. “I’m keeping her.”
“I refuse to live under the same roof with Robert’s bastard,” Venetia said, turning to the duke. What will society—”
“I suggest you pack your bags and go,” Angelica interrupted her.
“If I leave, I’ll take my son with me,” Venetia told the duke.
“Do not dare to threaten me,” Duke Magnus said in a deadly voice. “At the moment, Colin is the Campbell heir. He won’t be going anywhere with you. I will do whatever I must to keep my grandson with me. My influence exceeds your father’s, so looking to him for satisfaction will prove futile.” The duke glanced at Daisy and then told Venetia, “You may return to your father’s if you wish.”
To Tempt An Angel (Book 1 Douglas series) Page 19