A Simple Case of Seduction

by Adele Clee

  “Gibson was more than happy to accept your written statement,” he said bringing her gloved hand to his lips and brushing a kiss over her knuckles. “I promised to take it to him within the next few days.”

  “I’ll have it finished this evening.” She gestured to the path. “Shall we walk?”

  A sense of foreboding settled over him. He cast her a sidelong glance as she threaded her arm through his. The shadows beneath her eyes suggested a lack of sleep. Her tightly drawn lips were a sign of anxiety.

  “Have you spoken to Mr Bostock this morning?” she continued. “I assume you’ve heard the news.”

  Daniel nodded. “He came to tell me that he plans to wed Betsy.” The conversation had been awkward. Bostock’s incessant mumbling had made it difficult to understand his meaning. “I got the sense he thinks he’s abandoning me. But I’m happy he’s found love.”

  “Well, you’ve worked together for so long perhaps he’s scared of change.” She stared at the row of trees lining the walkway. “Will he still assist on your cases?”

  “We’ve not spoken at length about it. But I’m to meet a prospective client later this afternoon and so no doubt we’ll discuss it then.” Taking another case was the only way to settle his mind. In truth, he felt nothing like himself. An uncomfortable feeling lingered in his chest, one of uncertainty and fear.

  “You plan to take another case so quickly?” There was a hesitance in her voice that worried him.

  “A man must work,” was his only defence.

  Daphne sighed. “But you do not need to work, at least not like this. Why pay a man to manage your estate when you’re capable of running it yourself?”

  He’d been expecting to have a conversation about Rainham Hall. “What is this really about?” He stopped walking and turned to face her. “Why are we meeting in the park and not at the modiste shop?”

  She bit down on her bottom lip, struggled to hold his gaze. “Because I am not strong enough to fight my feelings for you when we are alone together. If we were in my parlour you would try to kiss away my fears, but you would only succeed in suppressing them.”

  His heart pounded as his mind tried to ascertain her meaning. “Why would you want to fight your feelings?”

  “You cannot know the pain I felt when I saw you lying on the wharf.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “I thought you were dead, Daniel.”

  “But I have explained why I felt the deception was necessary.”

  “Can you not imagine how it felt to witness such a thing?” She swallowed deeply. “Do I need to tell you how much you mean to me? Do I need to tell you that I love you so much I spend every minute wondering how I’ll cope if I lose you?”

  He stepped closer. “Daphne, there is nothing to fear for I have no intention of ever letting you go.”

  “But you insist on working these dangerous streets.” Her voice was fractured. “Putting yourself in life-threatening situations.”

  “We both do,” he shrugged, not knowing where the conversation was leading.

  “There is no comparison. The cases you take are nothing like mine. You storm a building full of smugglers while I search for the person who stole a hat pin. You risk your life every day.”

  “But this is who I am.” He placed his hand on his chest. “You’ve always known that.”

  “No,” she insisted. “It’s what you do, Daniel, not who you are.”

  For a man with a logical mind, he was struggling to understand what she was saying. “What is your point, Daphne?”

  There was a tense moment of silence.

  “I can’t be the one who sits at home waiting, hoping you’re still alive.” A tear trickled down her cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb. “I can’t live my life always fearing the worst.”

  “Are you saying you don’t want me?”

  “I have never wanted anything more in my entire life.”

  Damnation. Why were women so confounding?

  “But I am leaving London,” she said with renewed resolve.

  “Leaving?” How ironic that the one thing he’d always wanted for her was now the last thing he wanted to hear. “Where will you go?”

  “To a place where the air is clean. Where the life is not squeezed from my soul day by day.”

  Lord help him. It felt as though the devil had punched a hole in his chest and ripped out his heart. “And what about me?”

  “I am a hindrance to your work, Daniel. It was my fault you almost died in the alley, my fault I’d gone into a book shop and not stayed with Bostock as I was told.” She touched him lightly on the cheek before pulling her hand away. “If I stay here, you’ll feel bound to protect me. How can you be mindful of your safety if you’re always worrying about me?”

  Daniel dragged his hand down his face. The painful knots in his stomach made it difficult to stand straight. “I can’t let you go.”

  “And I can’t stay.” She glanced left and right along the deserted path, leant forward and kissed him softly on the lips.

  Her touch soothed the pain, and he wrapped his arm around her and deepened the kiss.

  When she broke contact on a ragged breath, tears were streaming down her face. “I love you,” she whispered. “But you must let me go.” She stepped away from him.

  “Wait.” The word was but a whisper.

  He stood like a fool and watched her hurry along the path. The back of his throat was tight, his tongue too thick and heavy to call out. Rather than a hundred thoughts filling his head, his mind was empty. He was nothing but a hollow shell. The lady had captured his heart and soul and spirited them away.

  Time passed in a blur.

  He had no recollection of how long he’d stood there staring at the trees, no recollection of how he’d walked from the bridge to his carriage.

  Having failed to arrive for his appointment, he spent the time in Church Street, tidying the rooms and putting the books on the shelves in alphabetical order.

  It was seven o’clock when Bostock arrived.

  “Should you not be celebrating with your betrothed?” Daniel said, dropping into the chair in the study. The words carried a hint of bitterness which in no way reflected his true feelings. “What I meant to say is Miss Betsy deserves your full attention.”

  Bostock sat in the seat opposite. “Betsy says Mrs Chambers is leaving London. That she’s going to apply for a job as a governess for a widower. The man has three children and has not long lost his wife.”

  “And what will she teach them?” Daniel snorted. “How to wield a pistol? How to lie and make it look convincing?”

  Bostock frowned. “You sound like the old Thorpe. The man who cares for no one but himself. The man who likes to hide his feelings rather than show others he’s weak.”

  Daniel rolled his eyes. “Love makes you talk in riddles, Bostock.”

  “And love is the only thing that can save you but you’re too stubborn to see it.”

  Bostock had never spoken so openly to him before. “Did Mrs Chambers send you here to rub salt in my wounds?”

  “Mrs Chambers has not left her bedchamber since she came home from meeting you in the park. Betsy went to check on her, but she wouldn’t open the door.”

  A sharp pain shot through his heart. “Perhaps she’s packing.”

  Bostock fell silent. When Daniel was in a cynical mood, his friend knew not to press him.

  “Did you meet your new client?” Bostock asked, changing the subject.

  “No.”

  Bostock appeared surprised. “It’s not like you to miss an appointment.”

  “Things change.” The truth was he could barely recall his own name let alone hold a lengthy conversation, or appear remotely interested in other people’s affairs.

  Bostock stood abruptly. “I’d best be going.”

  “Murphy will take you back to New Bond Street.”

  “Then I’ll say one more thing before I go.” His friend hesitated. “Betsy said fate has a strange way of working it
s magic. That night I helped you fight those men in the street, no one would have thought I’d grow to care for you like a brother.”

  “You know how I despise sentiment.” Well, he used to shy away from all emotion. Now he was able to acknowledge his feelings for the man standing before him. “You have been my friend and constant companion all these years. I would not be here today without your support.”

  Bostock stepped forward and gripped his shoulder. “Both our lives changed the day we met. Both our lives changed the day we walked into the modiste shop. We can’t fight it. We can’t run away from what’s meant to be.”

  “It seems love has turned you into a philosopher as well.”

  Bostock gave a weak smile. “Don’t you want to marry Mrs Chambers?”

  Marry her? Was it a trick question? “Bostock, I would have married the woman years ago. But she rejected me then, and she has rejected me now.” Just saying the words caused a tightening in his chest.

  “I used to say you were the cleverest man in all of London.”

  “Used to?”

  “Only a fool could be so blind as to miss what’s so obvious.”

  Daniel was too tired to offer a rebuke. “Then tell me, Bostock. Tell me what a wise man would do?”

  Bostock straightened. “First, he would stop moping about like a ninny. Then he would stop running and catch his breath. He would forget about the past, not care about the future. He would understand that the present is all that matters. A man’s worth is measured by those who love him and those he loves in return. Not by the power he has over other men.”

  “I did not realise you had such strong feelings on the matter.”

  “Make a new life,” Bostock said, undeterred. “One worthy of the great man you are.”

  “Without me, what would you do to earn a living?”

  Bostock shrugged. “Though these hands are too big to grasp a needle, turns out I’ve got an eye for detail. Betsy’s thinking of opening a new shop. A gentleman’s tailors. I’d hire people to do the measuring and sewing, but the designs would be my own.”

  Daniel stared at his friend. To say he was flabbergasted was an understatement.

  “So nothing is stopping you doing the same,” Bostock continued.

  “I have no interest in gentlemen’s fashion.”

  Bostock huffed. “I’ve seen how you are with Mrs Chambers. If you let her go, then there’s no hope for you. Look at you. You’ve never missed an appointment in all the years I’ve known you.”

  “I’ll admit, I’ve no mind for work at the moment.”

  Despite trying to fight his feelings, Daniel knew his old life was no longer a good fit. Outwitting peers had lost its appeal. He cared nothing for other people’s problems.

  So what was it that scared him?

  Certainly not his love for Daphne. He would give his life for her. The thought forced him to question his logic. If he was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, then why not abandon his work and embrace a new life with the woman he loved?

  But what would he do in the country?

  Perhaps land management could become his new hobby.

  “I’ve always known you were the brains of this operation,” Daniel said as a sudden feeling of hope sprung to life in his chest. “Tell Murphy I’m in need of his services once he’s taken you home.”

  “You’re in no mood to work tonight,” Bostock said nervously.

  “I’m not going to work, my friend. I’m going to Rainham Hall.”

  Chapter 26

  Two days had passed since Daphne had run away from Daniel on the bridge in Hyde Park, but the pain in her chest could not be tempered. Love, it seemed, could render a person helpless.

  Seduction proved simple.

  Love was a baffling conundrum of emotions, something far too complicated to define. To save the man she loved, she’d let him go. It seemed the only logical course of action. So why did she want to curl up into a ball and die?

  A sudden rap on the door brought Betsy, who rushed into the parlour in an excited frenzy.

  “Quick, where’s your pelisse?” Betsy rummaged through the garments on the coat stand. “That pretty green one that enhances the colour of your eyes.”

  “It’s in the bedchamber.” Daphne didn’t have the heart to ask why. “Borrow it if you wish, but it will be far too long on you.”

  “I’m not the one in need of it.” Betsy raced over to the window. “Mr Thorpe’s carriage is waiting outside, and it will be too cold to travel without one.”

  “Mr Thorpe!” Daphne jumped off the chair as though the pad had caught fire. She hurried to the window and noted the black conveyance parked across the road. “What does he want?” Her heart lurched at the prospect of seeing Daniel again.

  “Mr Thorpe isn’t here. The carriage is for you.”

  “Betsy, you’re not making any sense.”

  Mr Bostock appeared at the parlour door and cleared his throat. “Mr Thorpe would like to know if you’d be interested in taking a tour of Rainham Hall?”

  “Rainham Hall?” Daphne’s stomach performed a flip. She’d love nothing more than to see the house where his parents had celebrated their love. “Will Mr Thorpe be joining me?”

  “Mr Thorpe is already there. Murphy will drive you to meet him.”

  “How far is it?” Oh, it was foolish to even think of meeting Daniel when the wound to her heart was still fresh, so raw. But her inquisitive mind insisted she go. Nothing could be worse than the pain she felt already.

  Bostock frowned.

  “Will I be returning this evening?” Daphne clarified.

  “That I can’t say.”

  “Best take a change of clothes,” Betsy said. “Just in case.”

  Before Daphne’s mind could catch up with her movements, she was sitting in Thorpe’s carriage and rattling along the road on her way to Rainham Hall. Murphy had informed her the journey would take a little over two hours, and they would be heading west out of London towards High Wycombe.

  She spent the journey wondering about Daniel’s motives for bringing her to a place he’d always avoided. How had he fared in the two days since their last meeting? Did he in any way feel the same overwhelming sense of despair?

  Rainham Hall sat nestled at the foot of a hill, amid a vibrant canopy of green fields. A small wood to the north offered protection from the wind sweeping down into the valley. The drive up to the house took her through a tunnel of trees. The sun shone. The birds sang. Love filled her heart as she recalled what the place had meant to Daniel’s parents.

  Murphy drew the carriage to a halt outside the large oak front door. Daphne held her breath while she waited for Daniel to appear and was surprised when a woman in a plain grey dress exited the house.

  Murphy climbed down from his box seat and helped Daphne alight.

  “I’m Mrs Barton, the housekeeper.” The middle-aged woman stood before Daphne and curtsied. “We’ve been expecting you. You’ll find the master down by the fountain.” She pointed to a gravel path on the left. “Follow the path across the lawn and past the pagoda. It will be clear where you need to go.”

  “Thank you, Mrs Barton.”

  “I told the master you’d be hungry after your journey, but he insists on speaking to you before you sit down to eat.”

  Food was the last thing on her mind. Daphne put her hand to her stomach. “I can wait a little longer.”

  Mrs Barton smiled. “There’s no rush. As it’s such a nice day, I can make a basket if you’d prefer. Come and find me once you’ve made a decision.” The woman inclined her head and went inside.

  Nerves held Daphne immobile for a moment. Then the urge to see Daniel took hold, and she hurried along the path.

  While the grounds lacked the grandeur of Elton Park, there was something intimate about the space, something warm and welcoming that soothed the soul. If Daphne owned such a special place, she would never leave.

  The pagoda was more a circular Roman-inspired temple. From t
here, she could see the elaborate fountain made up of statues of bare-breasted women cradling cherubs. She saw him then. Seated on a bench.

  Daphne’s heart fluttered up to her throat.

  It took a tremendous effort not to pick up her skirt and run. But she was not sure why he’d called her to the house, and could not presume it was good news.

  Hearing her approach, he jumped to his feet. Even though she could remember every line on his face, nothing her mind conjured compared to how wonderful it was to see him in the flesh.

  “You came.” He stepped forward and took hold of her hands by way of a greeting. “I wasn’t sure you would.”

  “Regardless what I told you in Hyde Park, I am always available should you need me.” She wanted to kiss him, to take him in her arms, hold him tight and never let go.

  “I’ve made a mess of things,” he said solemnly. “With you. With this house. I turned my back on everything that mattered. This house was once filled with love. One only has to walk through the gardens to see the evidence of it.”

  “I feel nothing but love as I stand here admiring the spectacular view,” she said softly, her gaze fixed on him.

  A smile touched his lips. “My mother’s inability to cope with the pain of loss turned it into a house of despair. A place where I was encouraged to strive to be that which I am not.”

  Daphne wanted to understand him. “Do you speak of her need to prove your legitimacy?”

  He seemed shocked at the depth of her knowledge. “One cannot fight the truth. My parents were not married. No amount of cajoling and persuading will ever change that. My father’s family follow a rigid set of rules. Other than a striking similarity to the man my mother insists is my father, there is no proof to support her claim.”

  “Is that why you stay away? Why you spend your life solving other people’s problems, finding other people’s proof?”

  He shrugged. “Perhaps. But I am only just learning to process thoughts I’ve long since buried.”

  Daphne scanned the breathtaking panorama and inhaled the smell of freshly cut grass. “Do you think you might stay here from time to time? A spell in the country is like a rejuvenating tonic. And it’s so beautiful here, so clean and quiet.”