The Unknown Heir

by Anne Herries

  ‘Oh, how lovely it smells out here,’ she said as Jared came to stand at her side as she reached the sundial in the centre of the garden. ‘This is one of my favourite places, particularly at night.’

  ‘I think I can smell jasmine—or is it honeysuckle?’

  ‘Possibly both,’ Hester said. ‘It is so sheltered here that they flower again and again throughout the spring and summer.’ A little sigh escaped her as she looked up at him. ‘I wanted to warn you—I believe Mr Grant was behind the attempt on your life and that of Mr Knighton.’

  ‘Do you, indeed?’ Jared looked down at her anxious face. ‘You were inclined to doubt it earlier. May I ask what has made you change your mind?’

  Hester hesitated for a moment, then, ‘I think he made the attempt on you because he wishes to have the title for himself—and he is jealous of Mr Knighton because I have refused his offer of marriage and he imagines that I might prefer my mother’s cousin.’

  ‘And do you?’

  ‘I think I like Mr Knighton more than Mr Grant, but I have no wish to marry him.’

  ‘But Mr Grant thinks you may?’

  ‘I understand that Mr Knighton warned Mr Grant off and that has made him think it, I suppose. Mr Knighton was concerned that Mr Grant wished to marry me only for my inheritance.’

  Jared raised his brows. ‘Your inheritance? Forgive me. I did not know that you were an heiress.’

  ‘Neither did I until this morning,’ Hester said. ‘If I had, I should never have allowed things to become as bad as they are here. Grandfather knew that I would insist on borrowing against the money to pay for repairs we needed—to the cottages and the house—and he insisted my mother did not tell me. Mr Knighton told me this morning that I am to inherit twenty thousand pounds on my twenty-seventh birthday in three weeks’ time.’

  ‘Are you really almost seven and twenty?’ Jared’s eyes teased her. ‘I would have thought no more than three and twenty at most.’

  ‘You flatter me, cousin,’ Hester said and shook her head at him. ‘But do you not see how serious this situation is?’

  ‘For the moment I can only think how lovely you look by moonlight,’ Jared replied in husky tones. He reached out for her, his hands holding her firmly but without hurting her as he drew her towards him. He gazed down at her for a moment as her eyes widened, her lips parting on a little breath of surprise, and then he bent his head, his mouth caressing hers in the softest of kisses. Hester felt the heady sensations surging through her at the touch of his lips, moaning and swaying towards him as she lost control.

  Feeling her response, Jared deepened the kiss, his tongue probing her mouth and, when she opened it, entering to tease and taste her. His hand moved down the arch of her back, cupping her softly rounded buttocks and pressing her closer so that she was aware of the throbbing heat of his manhood through the fine silk of her gown. She felt as if she were melting into his body, becoming a part of him, her whole being blissfully light.

  ‘Jared…’ Hester gazed up at him as he released her at last. She felt weak with desire, overcome with a longing for something she had never experienced before in her life. ‘I…oh, I do not know what to say.’

  ‘Say nothing for the moment,’ he told her with a smile. He ran his thumb over her mouth. ‘You have a beautiful mouth, my dearest Hester—it begs for kisses. You were made for love and loving, and I am amazed that no one has snapped you up long before this.’

  ‘I have never met anyone I wanted to kiss me until…’ She faltered, shy and uncertain, her eyes searching his face. ‘You did like kissing me as much as I liked being kissed?’

  Jared chuckled deep in his throat. ‘My precious darling! Do you imagine I kiss every woman I meet like that?’

  ‘Perhaps. I have no idea. I hardly know you, cousin.’

  ‘I know you,’ he replied in a voice that was like thick melted honey invading her, flooding through her veins, making her stomach clench with what she understood must be desire. ‘I want to make love to you, Hester.’ He saw her flinch and smiled. ‘I know this is new to you, my love. I am in no hurry, so do not fear me. You will learn to want me as I want you—but before we can indulge ourselves, we must clear up this unpleasant business.’

  ‘Mr Grant hinted that you were in England at the time of the fire. He insinuated that you might have come down here and set fire to the house in the hope of becoming the new duke.’

  ‘What was your reply?’ Jared’s gaze intensified.

  ‘I told him that it was a gross slander,’ Hester said. ‘You would never do anything that low!’

  ‘I thank you for your faith in me,’ Jared replied, the lazy smile that made her heart catch touching his mouth. ‘It is true that I may have been in London for a night or two before I went to Paris on business, but I did not come here and I did not set fire to this house.’

  ‘Of course you didn’t! It was a wicked thing to say. He is jealous of you, Jared.’

  ‘Perhaps he knows that I want you for myself.’

  ‘Jared…’ She looked at him uncertainly. ‘I do not think it is that…but he certainly dislikes you.’

  ‘Yes, he has made that clear enough,’ Jared replied, his expression serious now. ‘He has motive and he may be implicated in the attempt on my life in London, but…’ He shook his head. ‘I am not sure that Mr Grant is a murderer—or even a failed murderer, Hester.’

  ‘But if it is not him…’ She looked up at him, feeling uncertain. ‘At first I did not think him capable, but now…’

  ‘I know the evidence points to him being the culprit,’ Jared said. ‘Perhaps that is the reason I am not certain.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  He shook his head. ‘I am not sure myself. I am going to London tomorrow afternoon, after I have spoken to the builders and set some work in hand. I may be able to tell you more when I return.’

  ‘You are going away.’ She stared at him in dismay, her immediate reaction concern for his sake. ‘You will take care, Jared? You will come back soon?’

  ‘Of course I shall come back. Do you imagine that kiss meant nothing to me?’ He smiled at her, his eyes mocking her. ‘I know that you are not yet wholly mine, Hester, but I intend that you shall be. I would come back if it were merely that—but there is work to be done here and I have given my word. Do you not yet trust me?’

  ‘Yes, of course I trust you.’ She drew a sighing breath, her head against his breast. It felt so good to be close to him. ‘I am afraid.’

  ‘That something will happen to me?’

  ‘Yes, of course—but Mr Knighton was attacked too.’ She looked up at him, her eyes wide, dark with concern.

  Jared lifted her chin with the tip of one finger. ‘Do not be anxious, my love. I shall return safely—and Mr Grant is leaving in the morning. I believe you will find that there will be no more accidents, at least until he returns for the ball.’ His hand moved in her hair, the fingers long and shapely, but a man’s hand, a hand that had been used to work.

  ‘Then you do think he is responsible?’

  Jared thought for a few seconds before he answered. ‘What I have at the moment is a handful of pieces that, put together, would make up perhaps half the picture we need. I cannot be certain of anything until I have more pieces, and I hope to find them in London.’

  Hester looked into his eyes. She had begun to read him a little, to be able to guess at what was in his mind, but at this moment his expression gave nothing away. ‘You know more than you are telling me, do you not?’

  ‘Perhaps…but I can prove nothing, Hester. Until we have proof, we cannot accuse anyone.’

  ‘No, that is true,’ she said, her eyes scanning his face. ‘Promise me you will be safe! Promise me you won’t die!’

  ‘I have no intention of letting this person—or persons unknown—take my life. Will that content you, Hester?’

  ‘It must for the moment, because you will not tell me until you are sure—and you would never allow anyone to dictate to yo
u.’

  ‘You begin to understand me, my dearest, so sensible Hester.’

  ‘Do not tease me! I know that I am sensible and dull and I cannot see why you wanted to kiss—’

  She got no further for he pulled her into his arms, kissing her this time with such a hungry intensity that she felt as if she would have swooned and fallen had he not held her clamped to his body. When he drew back, she saw the light of mockery in his eyes.

  ‘I tease, but I do not ridicule you, Hester. You are everything I want in a woman, and I intend that you shall be mine very soon.’ His fingers caressed her face, sending shivers of delight mixed with fear down her spine. ‘And now, my Hester, I believe we must go in or even your obliging mama will begin to think I have abducted you.’

  Hester gave a shaky laugh. His words both thrilled and terrified her. She could not think he intended marriage as his words were those a man might say to his mistress, and no other gentleman had ever intentionally made her aware of his physical need the way Jared had. She could still feel the burn of his manhood as it pressed against her, and she was in no doubt of his need. He wanted her in his arms, in his bed—and God help her!—she wanted him too.

  Hester hoped that she had recovered her composure when she returned to the salon. Her mother was talking to Mr Grant and struggling to be as polite and friendly as she felt it her duty to be to the second in line behind the present duke. When she saw Hester, closely followed by the viscount, she looked relieved and stood up.

  ‘I think I shall retire now, Hester. Shall you come up now?’

  ‘Yes, I believe I shall, Mama,’ Hester said. ‘Goodnight, Mr Grant. I wish you a safe journey and I hope you will return for the ball.’

  ‘You may be certain that I shall return, Miss Sheldon.’

  ‘Goodnight, Cousin Jared. I may see you in the morning?’

  ‘Perhaps,’ Jared said and turned to the other gentleman with a friendly smile. ‘Would you care for a game of billiards, Grant?’

  ‘Thank you, no,’ Mr Grant said. ‘I have an early start and I think I shall retire now.’

  ‘As you please.’ Jared met Hester’s eyes across the room. ‘Goodnight, Lady Sheldon.’

  Hester followed her mother from the room. They walked up the stairs together. At the top Lady Sheldon turned to her daughter, a look of curiosity in her eyes.

  ‘Why did you say that you might see the viscount in the morning, my dear?’

  ‘He has to return to London, but he has an appointment in the morning and will not leave until the afternoon.’

  ‘Ah, I see…’ Lady Sheldon looked at her inquiringly. ‘And what else did you talk about on your walk, my dear?’

  ‘We talked about many things,’ Hester said, a faint blush in her cheeks. ‘Nothing important, Mama.’

  ‘I see…’ Lady Sheldon smiled oddly. ‘Well, I dare say you will tell me when you are ready. Goodnight, Hester.’

  Hester watched her mother walk away before turning towards her own room. Inside, she leaned against the door, a smile on her lips. Had her mother seen something new in her? She felt different! Laughing, she ran to look at herself in the shield-shaped dressing-mirror. Her eyes were brighter and she did look different. She felt as if she had been walking in a dream all her life and now, suddenly, she was wide awake for the first time. Jared’s kisses had roused the latent sensuality in her, making her aware that she was a woman. Until now she had never truly thought about what it would be like to lie naked in a man’s arms, but now she was seeing it, feeling it.

  ‘Ohhh…’ She turned away from her mirror, hugging herself as she went to sit on the edge of her bed. She was tingling all over, a melting feeling deep down inside her. She wanted to relive those few precious moments in the garden when Jared had held her, kissed her.

  But she was such a fool! He had not spoken of marriage, of love or respect—merely of wanting. His kisses had spoken of desire, of physical need—and her untouched virgin body had responded with a hungry need of her own. She understood now what she had been waiting for all these years. No other man had ever spoken to that part of her; it had remained dormant, sleeping, but now it was awake and creating a need in her that burned so fiercely that she feared it. Hester had no doubt that what she felt for Jared was love—not the gentle love she felt for her mother and grandfather, but a hungry burning that threatened to consume her.

  ‘What am I to do?’ she whispered as she began to undress, not bothering to send for her maid. ‘I want him so, love him so…supposing he was merely flirting with me…amusing himself…’

  The renegade thought wormed through her, wounding her, frightening her, because she knew that she had surrendered herself to him completely that night. If he wanted her, he had only to reach out and take her.

  Everything she had ever believed was shattered by the knowledge that Jared had the power to destroy her control, to lead where he would and compel her to follow. If he did not intend marriage, she would be his mistress…but, no, how could she even consider such a thing? She had always been sensible, respectable, in control of her thoughts and feelings. He had swept that away as he kissed her. Had he come to her at this moment she would have gone to him, holding nothing back, even though it would ruin her…but Hester knew that come the morning she would begin to doubt. She would begin to remember why it was impossible to cast away the world for love.

  She would recover her strength while he was away. When he came back she would find the strength to resist his lovemaking…because if she didn’t, she would be lost.

  In another part of the house, a man paced the floor of his bedchamber, the jealous anger coursing through his veins like a bitter poison. The little harlot had betrayed him, going so readily to another man’s arms! He had seen her kissing that upstart from America and he had guessed that the man wanted her—might even marry her.

  That would upset all his plans! He had been so certain of her that he had not hurried, making his moves carefully and slowly, waiting for the right moment. The fire had been an impulse, but it had worked better than he’d first imagined, as it had brought the heir here. The old duke would not last long and he was a patient man; he would have been content to wait had it not been for certain other factors that had come to light.

  But he would not be thwarted at the last. He knew what was owed him, what ought by rights to be his, and he had first begun to plan for the future when he’d seen the late Viscount Sheldon’s son die in an accident. It had been an accident, but it was the last of many—so many men had stood in his way back then, but now there were only two. When they were out of the way things would go as he hoped, as he’d planned for some years now.

  And then he would have the revenge he had craved for as long as he could recall. It had begun in his childhood with his father’s stories and he had carried the anger inside him for the long years between. The key to his success was Hester. If she married him, then the debt would be paid. If not…his eyes glinted with malice as he thought of what he might do if she was steadfast in her refusal. She had become proud and wilful of late and if she denied him what he had worked for so long, she would pay the price at the end.

  Chapter Eight

  Hester did not see Jared privately the next morning. He was busy with the builders he had called in, and he did not ask her to accompany him on the tour of the damaged wing. She felt that he might think she was interfering if she asked to be allowed to listen to their conversation concerning the work, and so she stayed away, though she longed to know what they were discussing. However, Jared had promised that they would not be disappointed and she knew she must trust him to keep his word.

  Feeling at a loss, she took the gig and drove down to the village, accompanied by one of the grooms. She would normally have gone alone, but in the circumstances she decided it would be foolish to take such a risk. Her visit took most of the morning, because she had brought food, clothing and some medicines from Lady Sheldon’s stillroom. She was welcomed with smiling faces, because everyon
e wanted to talk about the new viscount and tell her how grateful they were for what he was doing. Hester understood that he was generally popular and they were all eager to praise him.

  It was a little past noon when she returned home and she went straight to the dining room. Her mother was there and so was Mr Knighton, who had managed to struggle into a coat, but still had his left arm in a sling.

  ‘I am glad to see you up again, sir,’ Hester told him. ‘I hope you are feeling better this morning?’

  ‘Yes, much better, thank you,’ he told her with a warm smile. ‘I fear too much fuss was made over a very small incident, Hester. I took a tumble from a horse, nothing more.’

  ‘But I understood there was a shot that frightened your horse?’

  ‘Yes, but it must simply have been a poacher in the woods—do you not think so?’

  ‘I thought you believed a dangerous highwayman was in the area?’

  ‘Yes, I did hear something—but why would he shoot at me? I had little of value about my person. Unless he imagined I was someone else.’

  ‘You think he might have thought you were Viscount Sheldon?’

  ‘Perhaps.’ Mr Knighton frowned. ‘I wanted to speak to him about it, to warn him of the danger he may be in, but he left a few minutes ago for London, so I understand.’

  ‘Jared has left already?’ Hester was unable to hide her disappointment. ‘I had hoped to see him before he left.’

  ‘He asked for you, dearest,’ Lady Sheldon said. ‘I told him that you had gone to the village to take food and clothing to villagers that needed it, and he said that he would see you on his return. He does not expect to be longer than a few days, and will certainly be here for the ball.’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ Hester said, conquering her sense of loss. ‘He will not be long—and my godmother will be here soon.’

  ‘Yes, in time for tea, so her message informed me. She sent one of her grooms ahead to warn us of her arrival.’