“Yes, my dear, is he here yet?” Her father’s voice shook a bit from the effort of walking and there was a breathless quality to it.
“Father, what are you doing out of bed?” She looked a question at Daniel but she knew her answer. Daniel must have spent his afternoon off regaling her father with stories.
Her father gave a tremulous smile. “I heard we had something of a celebrity coming to dinner and I had to come down and see who was gracing my table.”
Dear lord. Hayden wouldn’t be going upstairs because he wouldn’t have to. There was no time for counter measures. Hayden chose that moment to knock on the door and make his entrance. Her secret was coming to dinner and her lover was standing in the foyer, handing his coat to the butler. How had this become so awkward?
Hayden’s eyes swept up the staircase and took in the scene with a daunting sense of accuracy. He smiled and stepped towards her. “The whole family? How unexpectedly delightful, Jenna.” It was sincerely said, devoid of sarcasm. He made it sound as if it truly was delightful.
Jenna recovered her wits. This was her opportunity to make introductions, her opportunity to dispel the awkwardness which she was beginning to suspect was unique only to her. No one else seemed troubled by it. “Hayden, this is my father, Julius Priess.”
The servant with him helped him make slow progress down the stairs. “Forgive me for not shaking hands.” Her father apologized, struggling to make the journey. She hoped it wasn’t too much for him.
“Do not stand on ceremony for me,” Hayden said easily. “And who is this young man?”
“I’m Daniel.” Her brother introduced himself and stuck his hand out boldly, so much like an adult. “I’ve been wanting to meet you since you got to town, but I’ve had lessons.” He shot her a scolding look.
Hayden laughed. “Well, lessons are important. But you are welcome to come down to the lake any afternoon you’re free, provided your lessons are done. I usually give instruction around three o’clock. Spectators are welcome.”
“Ice racing lessons? It can be taught?” Daniel asked eagerly. “Could you teach me?”
Jenna intervened, giving Hayden a censorious stare. She didn’t want Daniel on the ice, especially not with a horse. “Why don’t we go into the drawing room where father can sit down?”
But that didn’t stop Daniel or her father, for that matter, from pelting Hayden with questions. Was it dangerous? How fast could his horse go? How did the horse keep from slipping? What was the most dangerous race he’d ever run? Had he ever lost? Did he really jump over a horse down on Lake Kendal? Hayden took it all in without complaint, answering questions and telling stories. Watching him with Daniel and her father was a revelation.
Hayden had changed into a jacket of dark blue superfine and grey breeches for dinner, his waistcoat a subdued maroon. He sat casually with one leg crossed over a knee as he spun his tales for Daniel. Anyone seeing him like this would think he was a man enjoying an evening at home with his family. The air of the rake, the air of the flirty, innuendo-riddled celebrity was absent tonight, replaced by this very genuine man.
The sight did things to her stomach and to her mind, conjuring up fantasies of evenings with Hayden spent here among her family. Hayden Islington, rake, racer, roamer. Family man. It was an intoxicating juxtaposition and an impossible one. A more opposite set of characteristics she could not imagine, nor a more appealing one. She was just as entranced as the rest of her family, leaning forward and hanging on every word.
“I think the most dangerous race had to be one in Scotland. It was outside of Stirling on Loch Monteith. Some say, that’s Scotland’s only lake,” He winked at Daniel who smiled broadly at the attention.
“What happened?” Daniel urged.
“A log fell into the race course. It obstructed the riders. Horses panicked. Some riders tried to go around it, some tried to jump it but their horses refused.” Hayden gestured with his hands. “The log wasn’t so thick, but it had branches sticking out all over it. It was a prickly old thing and the branches made the jump higher than it might have been otherwise. It was a long race, and I’d been running in the middle of the pack, hoping to wear down the competition over the distance. By the time I got to the log there was traffic like a London street. Riders were weaving their horses in and out and around each other, trying to avoid collision.”
Hayden shook his head. “Now, my Guerre has only one speed when he races and he stops for nothing. I saw the dangers too late and we were committed, even though we didn’t have a straight path to the log. To halt would have been more dangerous than not to attempt it. There we were, dodging riders at full speed, I’m shouting to clear the way and Guerre has enough clear path at the end to pick up more speed. He launches over the log and we sail, just high enough. I could feel the tips of the branches brush the soles of my boots and no idea what lay on the other side of the log except the finish line.”
“Don’t you ever get scared?” Daniel asked admiringly.
Hayden’s gaze transferred to hers in a brief flash, long enough to create a warm moment, a private moment although they were surrounded by others. “Not of the things you might think, Daniel.”
Andrews entered to announce dinner and help her father to the table. But Hayden beat Andrews to her father’s side and slipped an arm under his shoulder. “Lean on me, sir. Daniel, why don’t you take your sister in?”
Jenna couldn’t recall the last truly pleasant dinner she’d eaten at this table, a meal taken without interruption, without part of her mind taken up with matters at the mill or worry over her father. But this meal exceeded those simple requirements for a pleasant supper. Cook had outdone herself on the roast beef and Andrews kept the wine glasses filled. But more than the food, the meal was defined by the lively conversation that leapt about the table, following no protocol.
Hayden’s attention shifted from ice racing stories to her father. He listened intently, asking questions intermittently, her father blossoming and showing more interest than he’d shown in several months. It fanned that nearly extinguished flame of hope she carried deep down. Still, by the time the cheese plate arrived at the end of the meal, her father was showing signs of fatigue. After three hours out of bed, he was ready to go back. She gestured for Andrews and her father nodded gratefully.
“You’ll need to excuse me,” Her father apologized, taking Andrews’ arm to rise. “I’m not back to my full strength yet.”
Oh, did he know the hope that statement gave her? Jenna took a sip of wine to cover the emotion rising in her. Did her father mean to try and get well? Dr. Whitely had indicated it was possible, that it was up to a battle of wills now. Dare she hope tonight was a first step back? If so, she had Hayden to thank, although he was an unlikely source for this particular miracle. Who would have thought he’d be the one to get her father out of bed? His efforts did raise her suspicions but how could he have known? She’d not even known.
After her father left, Hayden rose. “I should not stay much longer. It wouldn’t be seemly.” He was playing the suitor now, for Daniel’s sake and the sake of the servants who were probably eavesdropping on every word. “Daniel, I will say good night here to you. I need a moment to talk business with your sister and then I should go.” He was carving out time for them to be alone. The thought sent a shiver of excitement through her even though she knew there was legitimate business to be discussed.
She’d expected Daniel to bristle at being dismissed but Daniel merely beamed and shook Hayden’s offered hand. “I hope I will see you at the lake sometime.” Hayden said affably.
“Definitely, sir. Thank you for the invitation.”
“Nicely done.” Jenna complimented Hayden as Daniel headed up the stairs. “Would you like to take some brandy in the sitting room while we talk about your business?” She was eager to know if Hayden had learned anything useful after his talk with Davenport but Hayden was rarely all business. There was bound to be pleasure too.
She poure
d Hayden a glass in the blue sitting room, the fire still warming the room, casting it in a cozy light. “You have a way with people. My brother and my father will be your devoted followers forever now.”
His eyes followed her as she moved toward him, handing him the glass. “Your father seems better.”
“Tonight was most unexpected and gladly so. I looked up the stairs right before you knocked and there he was.” Jenna smiled. “I hope you didn’t feel overwhelmed. I didn’t mean for you to be ambushed.”
Hayden gave a soft smile. “Not at all. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was one of the nicest evenings I’ve spent in a long time.” He held her eyes. “I think it was for you too unless I miss my guess.”
She nodded and looked down at her hands, unwilling to betray any of the domestic fantasies running through her mind. He was a roamer by trade. He would not appreciate hearing them. How long could a man like that be satisfied with a fireside in Kendal?
She was not aware he’d moved until he knelt beside her, his hands covering hers. “The evening was perfect which makes what I have to say even more difficult.”
Because it would shatter that perfection. Her heart pounded, a hundred terrifying thoughts racing, all of them varieties of two basic themes: was the ice melting? Was he leaving? “What is it, Hayden?” she said with all the bravery she could manage.
“You are in real danger, Jenna.”
Chapter Seventeen
Hayden gripped Jenna’s hands, watching her eyes, her face take in the news and it pained him; physically hurt him to be the one to bear that news. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. He wasn’t supposed to enjoy beyond measure an evening of telling stories at the dinner table with her father and her brother, sipping three tame glasses of wine over the course of the evening. He wasn’t supposed to want more of those evenings in a home, with a family.
He was a risk taker and a thrill seeker, both of which inherently came with a nomadic lifestyle. The past couldn’t catch up with a man on the move. At least that’s what he’d been telling himself for the last five years. Most of all, he wasn’t supposed to be crouching at her feet, warning her of danger, his body primed with the urge to protect her, knowing full well the past he had tried to ignore had found him in the remote industrial town of Kendal. He had failed to protect his family once before. Everything he knew, everything he’d discovered had not made a difference to them in the end and now that very cycle could repeat itself with another family — Jenna’s.
The situations were vastly different, he told himself countless times on the way over and throughout dinner. Still, Jenna was stubborn and she would not like his advice to take herself out of the situation.
“What sort of danger do you mean?” Jenna asked calmly although the tightness of her grip on his hands suggested she was not unaffected by the news.
This was what he didn’t know yet. He wasn’t sure where the danger would come from. “Financial danger, physical danger, personal danger, social danger.” Hayden listed. “Davenport is guilty of collusion, I saw it in his eyes.”
“That list is rather daunting. Perhaps you should explain yourself.” Jenna’s voice was firm but his list had the desired effect. Her face had paled. He didn’t want to scare her but neither did he want to sugar coat his news. Jenna needed to take this seriously as a threat to her person.
Hayden ticked the items off on his fingers. “First, there’s financial danger. Is anything amiss with the mill’s money situation? Has Davenport asked for extra funds? Has money gone out for anything beyond the ordinary? Do bills and invoices match with the ledgers? Are the ledgers themselves accurate?”
Her eyes looked away for a fraction of a second and he knew disappointment. There was something wrong with the finances and she’d known before this. She’d known and hadn’t told him, perhaps wouldn’t have told him unless he’d pried it out of her like he was doing now. Hayden pushed the thought, the hurt away, and went on.
“Second,” he ticked off another finger. “There’s the consideration of physical danger to the mill. Davenport could at any time cause significant damage to the mill that would put it out of work.”
Jenna’s eyes snapped with argumentative fire, she wanted to fight about this one. “Why ever would he do that? If the mill doesn’t run, he doesn’t work.”
Hayden nodded. “I agree it’s a very extreme method of coercion, but it would be an effective threat, especially if had another source of income.” He paused and dropped his voice. “I have come to believe he is the one abducting the boys.”
Jenna shook her head. “Why? What use would he have for them?”
“I think he is selling them to a prostitution ring operating in the area.” He watched Jenna’s brow furrow, her face pale as she tried to reject the idea.
“There’s no proof.”
“Not yet, but I’ve seen this kind of thing before and the signs are there. All the workers who have disappeared have been the same age.” Hayden pressed. He had to convince her. Hayden pushed a hand through his hair and started pacing, racking his mind for some kind of proof to give her. “How much do you pay your foreman?”
Jenna named a price. “It’s a decent salary.”
Hayden agreed. “More than respectable, but not nearly enough to afford the wardrobe he sports. Did you notice the waistcoat he wore to the assembly? The cut of his coats is quite fine for a foreman. Who knows what other luxuries he indulges in, things that cannot be afforded on that salary. The money comes from somewhere.” He watched Jenna carefully as he opened up another avenue of inquiry. “Where might that money come from?” Something flickered in her eyes. She knew something, suspected something but she said nothing.
Hayden stared her down with the force of his gaze. This beautiful, stubborn woman thought she was invincible, that she could not be touched. She still believed this crime was directed at others, that she was somehow beyond its reach. That belief would be her downfall. “Make no mistake, Jenna. He will use blackmail should he sense you’ve discovered his dirty little secret. What would you be willing to tolerate to save the mill? It’s your livelihood too.”
He could see that thought chase itself around her mind. What would she do? Both he and she knew she’d already gone to desperate measures in hiring him, what else would she be willing to do? It would be a horrible decision to make; protect the principles of ethics and call Davenport’s bluff knowing that doing so put herself out of money and workers out of wages or did she look the other way and tolerate Davenport’s criminal practices for the greater good? She was already doing that to some extent. How much longer would she be able to?
“I think you’re being overly dramatic.” Jenna said.
It was time for more bad news, then. He had to push out her out of denial. “I don’t think it will be his first level of attack.” Hayden held up a third finger. “Dangers numbers three and four; personal and social peril. He will only go after the mill in a harmful way if he cannot get what he wants from you with slightly softer methods. Is there an interest you’re aware of? Something that motivates him?” Hayden prompted.
She nodded. “Yes.”
That was it? Just yes? He needed details here. Hayden rose from his crouch and began to pace. His frustration was mounting. This was becoming an investigation within an investigation. He had to figure her out first in order to fit the other pieces around the facts. “Why do I have a feeling I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know? I can’t help you with your situation if I don’t have the facts.” Hayden blew out a breath. “Why don’t you tell me what sort of danger you’re in, starting with the personal danger piece.”
Her eyes sparked. He’d made her mad with that last little dig. He was mad too. Whatever else was undetermined between them, he thought last night had settled this part. She was to come to him with her troubles. How else could he effectively earn his two hundred pounds? But he knew it was about more than the money. It was about his pride. He wanted her to know she could come to him.
That pride was being duly pricked right about now.
She hesitated before giving him an answer. “Yes, last week when you were gone, he came to suggest that he could ease my obligations at the mill if we had a more formal arrangement. He wants to purchase the mill.”
Last week, while he was in Derwentwater! Hayden wanted to wring the bastard’s neck. He’d been far too nice to the man this afternoon. Hayden sifted through the pieces in his mind, turning motives over and over, looking for something that fit. At last he had it.
“It is possible that he’s allowing the abduction of the workers to strain the coffers, to make you find it difficult to keep the mill going. You do understand how that benefits him?” Hayden felt compelled to point out. “It gives you a reason to want to sell and he’s right there on hand with an offer.
“I know” There was a touch of defiance in those words. Her jaw tightened. “As if I would ever sell to the likes of him.” She was a woman of few words tonight. God, it killed him to see her so remote, her true thoughts veiled from him. She was an aloof queen sitting there in her dark blue velvet with its snug crossover bodice. She was beautiful even in her distress.
Was it the selling that had made her angry or the selling to Davenport? “Have you considered selling to someone with a stronger moral code?” Hayden ventured. “It would be a perfectly natural and reasonable reaction given the circumstances of your father’s health and the recent trouble.”
Jenna threw him a sharp look. He didn’t need any further answer but he got one anyway. “Is that your answer to this problem? Sell?” She waved a hand. “Oh, don’t worry about solving the crime, about freeing people from what very well maybe indentured prostitution, just sell the mill and walk away.” She froze him with a stare. “I hired you so I wouldn’t have to walk away.” She’d risen, either because her temper had prompted her to or because some instinct had told her those words would push him too far.
That did it. He’d stopped pacing and started stalking her around the perimeter of the low table set in front of the settee. He was officially over the edge now. He wanted to shake some sense into her, throw her over his knee and spank that sense into her, or grab her and kiss her senseless, maybe all the above. “If you really want your money’s worth, princess, you’d give me something to work with.” Hayden growled. “You’d tell me your foreman lusted after you, that he coveted your body and your property, that something was wrong with your ledgers, that somewhere along the way your foreman is siphoning money.”
Reckless Rakes - Hayden Islington Page 15