Was it her own reactions she mistrusted if she found herself alone with him again, or did she imagine he could not be relied upon to behave himself? She had good reason to think that way, Vince conceded, but Nia was entirely to blame for his misconduct. He seemed to forget the rules whenever he was in her company and was overtaken by a capricious need to explore her sensuality. That her mere presence could make him lose sight of the gentlemanly instincts that came as naturally to him as breathing was as troubling as it was inexplicable.
But matters got worse. When he was not in Nia’s company he spent an increasing amount of time thinking about her, desperate to help her family out of a situation that was fraught with more dangers than they could possibly conjecture. The forger would not be easily deterred. He had found a lucrative means to line his own pockets and nothing, no one, would stand in the way of his ambitions. How he could be so sure, Vince could not have said. All he did know was that Nia and her family were in a vulnerable position—a position that was already being assaulted from two sides simultaneously if the forger and the theft of the sketches were not connected, which he thought they most likely were not. Vince fully intended to protect the Traffords, regardless of the fact that they had not asked him to do so.
All in all, Vince’s conduct with Nia was a source of acute discomfort to him. He had crossed the invisible line that he and all his brothers had been at pains to remain securely behind, and he had done so because the attraction he felt towards Nia transcended all common sense. But she did not know that.
Was it any wonder that she sought to avoid him?
He saddled Forrester himself and set off from the Park at a brisk canter with no particular destination in mind. He simply needed to clear his head and somehow rationalise his behaviour. After a flat out gallop across the common, he slowed Forrester as he got closer to home again, wondering how the devil he was supposed to put right his friendship with Nia when she was purposely avoiding him. Deciding whether he actually wanted to right it was another matter entirely. He had not anticipated such a difficulty ever arising, thinking himself immune to every feminine wile, every attempt to lure him into…into what precisely? Society ladies had a duty to make good marriages. Vince and his brothers knew it and were in a constant state of awareness lest they got caught off guard by a pretty face. But Nia had not tried to lure him into anything at all. She hadn’t even flirted with him.
Vince shook his head as realisation dawned. He wanted Nia because she didn’t appear to have any particular interest in him—except when he was kissing her, that is—and kissing her was the one thing he absolutely should not make a habit of. Nia’s apparent disinterest was as refreshing as it was challenging. That’s what all this was, Vince decided. A delightful challenge coupled with an overwhelming urge to be of service to a lady in distress.
Returning to the Park after an exhilarating ride, Vince handed Forrester over to a groom and wandered towards the stud. One subject he was absolutely clear upon: he did not want Nia to go off and live in Ireland. The thought of not seeing her again caused him acute physical pain, but was he prepared to compound his bad behaviour by putting his own interests ahead of hers? Besides, under what possible circumstances could he ask her not to go?
There was one obvious answer to that question: an answer he was not yet ready to consider. Or was he? One of the most decisive people he knew, for once Vince did not know his own mind. Nia Trafford had a lot to answer for.
“Are you lost?”
Vince looked up at the sound of Amos’s voice, and grinned sheepishly. He had been wandering about with no clear sense of purpose, giving Amos good reason to sound amused.
“Just taking the air.”
“Which is why you and Forrester came thundering in here like you were being chased by the hounds from hell.”
Amos probably sensed Vince’s discontent and was inviting his confidence. Vince wasn’t ready to share his muddled thoughts: he would not know where to begin.
“How are the youngsters coming along?” he asked instead, referring to the yearlings Amos had started lunging, with the help of the Trafford boys.
Amos clapped Vince’s shoulder. “Come and see for yourself.”
The brothers spent a pleasant half-hour looking at the yearlings and discussing their progress. They were interrupted by the sound of hooves pounding up the gravel driveway.
“Hello,” Amos said, looking up. “Someone is in an even greater hurry than you were.”
Vince scowled, an unsettling premonition gripping him when the horseman got closer and proved to be Nia’s brother. “What the devil?” he muttered.
Trafford jumped from his horse’s back before he had even brought it to a halt. “Lord Vincent, Lord Amos, are my sons here?” he asked breathlessly.
Vince and Amos shared a bewildered glance.
“No,” Vince said, anxiety taking a tighter grip. “I assume they have gone missing again, or you would not be asking the question.” Trafford nodded. “Have you checked Compton?”
“I rode through the village before coming here. No one has seen them.”
“What happened?” Vince asked.
“We did an hour’s lessons this morning, then they went off tadpoling. When they didn’t appear for luncheon, we instigated a search.” Trafford shook his head. “When I left Stoneleigh Manor they had not been found, although people are still scouring the grounds and that situation might have changed.” He swallowed several times. “I found their tadpoling equipment abandoned beside the pond, but no sign of them.”
“And you hoped they might be here,” Amos suggested.
“I heard them begging to come back to the stud with you when you called before, Lord Vincent. Nia and I thought they might have found a way to sneak through the trees.”
“There is a track that leads through the woods to this estate,” Vince said pensively. “But I doubt whether the boys know if its existence.”
“We made use of it as boys ourselves when we wanted to leave the place undetected,” Amos added. “It is a shortcut into Compton. But I doubt anyone has set foot on it for years now. It’s probably totally overgrown, but I will get someone to check anyway.”
“If it is there,” Trafford replied. “I would not put it past my boys to have found it. They excel at mischief.”
“I will come back with you and help you to search,” Vince said without hesitation.
“I’ll arrange for that track to be looked at and then tell Zach what has happened,” Amos added, striding towards the house. “I’ll get him to arrange for a party of his men to help scour the woods.”
“Thank you,” Trafford said tersely. “I am very much obliged to you.”
Vince ran to reclaim Forrester, his mind occupied with just how distraught Nia would be. The thought of her being overset was totally unacceptable, and Vince vowed to find the boys no matter what it took.
***
“Annie, what the devil do you think you are doing?”
Annie had clearly not heard Nia enter her grandfather’s sitting room. She started violently at the sound of her voice and the dagger fell from her hand, clattering harmlessly onto the wooden boards of the studio floor. Her eyes were round with a combination of vindictiveness and fear. Nia realised at that moment that she had never entirely trusted Annie—according to Hannah she was slow and lazy when it came to the execution of her duties—but she had never once doubted her loyalty.
“I…I just got back from searching and came up to check on Mr. Trafford. He…he had this dagger. I took it from him.”
Nia didn’t believe a word of it. Her grandfather had damaged some of his works with a dagger in the past, it was true. But that only happened when the balance of his mind was disturbed and he became frustrated because he did not achieve the perfection he sought. That had most decidedly not been the case for the course of this project and she didn’t believe such a change could have taken place during the short time Grandpapa had been left alone.
“Nia…I
don’t feel—”
“What is it, Grandpapa?”
Nia looked away from Annie and concentrated her entire attention upon her grandfather. He was clutching his head and, now that she looked more closely, Nia could see the imprint of a hand on his cheek. She glowered accusingly at Annie, anger surging through her in unstoppable waves.
“You struck him,” she spat. “You did this to him. Why, for the love of God?”
Her grandfather groaned again, dazed and disorientated. Nia returned her attention to him and clutched his hand. Annie took advantage of Nia’s distraction and fled from the room, sobbing. Nia was unsure what their maid would do and didn’t feel comfortable letting her go, but was powerless to stop her. If it was a choice between comforting her grandfather and detaining Annie, who was obviously responsible in some way for harming her family, there was no question where her priorities lay. Without money or a means of transportation Annie would not get far, and Nia would deal with her later.
She helped her grandfather to sit up and fetched him some water to sip.
“Whatever is wrong with Annie? She just went running off as though…” Sophia’s words stalled as she burst through the door and saw the state of Nia’s grandfather. “Oh my goodness, Patrick!”
Sophia crouched beside Nia, her eyes filling with tears when she observed her grandfather’s confused state.
“What happened?” she asked.
“That is what I am trying to decide. I caught Annie trying to damage the portrait, although she pretended she had taken a dagger from Grandpapa to stop him from doing so. I don’t believe her.”
“Annie?” Sophia looked as perplexed as Nia felt. “Why? Did she harm Patrick?”
“She must have.”
Sophia looked furious. “Just wait until I get my hands on the little hussy.”
“Where is she now?”
“She took off through the trees.”
“In which direction?” Annie must know something about the boys’ disappearance. Now that Sophia was here, she could leave her grandfather and go after her.
“That way.” Sophia pointed to the track that would take her to through the orchard.
“Stay with Grandpapa.”
“Don’t go alone,” Sophia urged. “She sounds unbalanced. It could be dangerous.”
“I must go. There is no one else.”
The ladies clutched hands. “Take Sean.”
“He has gone to the Park.”
“Mr. Drake?”
Nia made a scoffing sound as she bent to pick up the dagger Annie had dropped and slipped it into her pocket. “He is still out searching, and would be next to useless in a crisis anyway. I have to go on ahead. Any delay and…” Nia gulped. “The boys. I can’t risk waiting. Anything might happen to them if I delay. Send Sean after me as soon as he gets back.”
Sophia clutched her arm. “Take care. I could not bear it if you were harmed.”
“I must go now: there is not a moment to lose.” Nia struggled to contain her erratic breathing, her turbulent emotions; her overactive imagination as increasingly desperate explanations for the boys’ disappearance cascaded through her mind. “I couldn’t live with myself if something happens to the twins because I didn’t act in time to prevent it.”
“I understand.” The two women briefly hugged. “God speed.”
Nia flew down the stairs and out of the main door, plunging headlong onto the track through the trees that Sophia had indicated. It led directly past the pond where the boys had been innocently tadpoling just a short time ago. She had never walked beyond this point. Her days were too full for idle rambling and she had no clear idea where the path actually led, nor did she have time to think about it. She merely acted upon instinct. They had been foolish not to consider that Annie or, God help them, Beth too for all Nia knew, might be involved with the forger. But there was now no escaping the fact that Annie must be.
They had thought themselves fortunate when Annie and Beth’s services unexpectedly became available while they were still in Belgium, in urgent need of domestic help. In hindsight perhaps it had been a little too convenient. Lady Arabella’s careless abandonment of them had seemed iniquitous, and their obvious distress would have persuaded Nia to engage them, even if she had not needed them. It was obvious to her now that the forger must have somehow directed them towards the Trafford household because he needed a spy within it. Endeavouring to juggle too many responsibilities at the time, Nia had not been aware of the forgeries, so could be forgiven for not making the connection. Even when she subsequently did learn of them, she still did not suspect either of the girls.
Until now.
She ploughed on along the path, branches snapping at her face, brambles tearing at her clothing and hands. It had not rained for some time and the path was dry, making it impossible to judge if it had been recently used, unless she lingered and examined the crushed apple blossom littering it more closely. But lingering was not an option. Every second could be vital. Nia continued resolutely on, wondering where it would bring her out and what she would find there. Trying not to think how frightened the boys must be because she could no longer delude herself. Someone connected to Annie and the forger had taken them.
Why?
A flash of something immediately in front of her—some movement—caused her to slow her pace and conceal herself behind a tree. Ye gods, it was Annie, sitting on the ground, holding something in her hands—a letter, perhaps? She was reading it, speaking the words in a whisper as she struggled to decipher them, and simultaneously sobbing her heart out. A combination of anger and curiosity robbed Nia of all caution. She approached Annie and stood above her, arms akimbo.
“You have some explaining to do,” she said severely.
***
When Vince and Trafford arrived back at Stoneleigh Manor, optimistic hopes that the boys might have been found up to their necks in mischief somewhere were immediately dashed. Before they could decide what to do next, Sophia came downstairs to tell them the most astonishing story.
“I knew nothing about this,” Beth sobbed when news of Annie’s involvement emerged. “I knew she had a sweetheart, but she never would tell me his name. She said it was a secret, but that very soon he would be rich and they would be going away together. I never knew she meant Mr. Trafford any harm. If I had, I would have said; honest I would.”
Vince looked to Sophia and Hannah, wondering if Beth was to be believed. Sophia merely shrugged. Hannah looked both worried and severe. Vince imagined Annie’s head had been turned by some smooth-talking rogue who had used her for his own purposes, and chastised himself for not giving more serious consideration to a servant’s involvement before now.
“That was who I saw in Compton the other day,” Vince said. “It was Annie, concealed in a passageway with a man, acting furtively, which made me wonder. I stopped to observe them and saw her give him some papers. It has been bothering me. I knew there was something not quite right about the encounter. I also knew I had seen the girl somewhere before but I didn’t make the connection to your servant, Trafford.”
“She must have been meeting with the forger,” Sean replied. “He has been here, on our doorstep, all this time and we were blissfully unaware.”
“I doubt if he is based here,” Vince replied. “It would be too dangerous for him. You must know him and would be bound to run into him in such a small village.”
“Damn it, Annie must have stolen the sketches. That’s what she would have been giving him.” Sean thumped the table with his clenched fist. “We should have realised.”
“There is no time for this now,” Vince said, an urgent edge to his voice. “We must concentrate on finding your sons.”
“Quite so. How shall we do this?”
Vince seethed as he thought of the manner in which the forger had actually cultivated a member of Trafford’s household to do his spying for him. And now Nia had gone charging off, alone, to try and rescue her nephews, aware of the dangers but
putting their welfare ahead of her own. Vince didn’t doubt now that the forger had taken the twins as a distraction so Annie could damage the portrait. Determination coursed through him. If anything happened to the boys or Nia, Vince would make it his business to discover the identity of the forger and track him down if it was the last thing he ever did.
Only now that she had impulsively put herself in danger did Vince realise the answer to his earlier conundrum. His actions with Nia were so out of character because he was in love with her. The realisation was as startling as it was obvious. All of his brothers had sought to avoid emotional entanglements of any type but when Amos met Crista, he claimed to know almost immediately that true, abiding love was to be embraced and celebrated; not feared. Vince had not believed him.
Now he understood completely.
“The track Annie took comes out onto a spur that leads to the Winchester Road,” Vince told Sean Trafford. “It’s the opposite end to the one that my brothers and I used when we were boys and wanted to slip into Compton without anyone knowing we were gone.”
“So if someone has taken my two, they will most likely finish up somewhere on the outer reaches of the Winchester Park estate.”
“Very likely. Go back to the Park, Trafford, and tell my brothers what we have discovered. The forger is probably still in the district. He will want to be sure that Annie ruined the duke’s portrait before he…”
“Before he what?” Trafford asked tersely.
Vince shook his head, unable to lie to Nia’s brother. “I honestly cannot hazard a guess, because I don’t know the man’s character or what he is capable of. What I do know is that we must act at once. You ensure their escape route is cut off at that end, I shall do the same thing here.”
Ducal Encounters 03 - Portrait of a Duke Page 22