No Decent Gentleman
Page 8
"Be careful," Adam teased her. "Your face might freeze like that, and then what would you do?"
"Marry you," she snapped.
Adam threw back his head and laughed. "Princess, you are incorrigible and, although a bit tempestuous, a worthy mate for me."
The filthy dog was still sitting outside the inn when they left. He stared up at them through sad brown eyes that seemed to beg for help.
"Wait a minute," Sabrina said, and then turned to the dog. She removed the handkerchief from her reticule and placed the pieces of beef on the ground in front of the dog, who gobbled them up and then looked at her for more.
"We'll never get rid of him now," Adam said. "He'll probably follow the coach until we're well away from town."
"What breed is he?" Sabrina asked, reaching out to pat the dog's enormous head.
Adam studied the dog for a long moment. "Well, I'll be damned," he said. "Beneath the grime, he appears to be a wolfhound."
"A wolfhound in Oxford?"
Adam shrugged. "Obviously, one of the students brought him to school and then abandoned him."
"Abandoned? Oh, can't we—?"
"Absolutely not."
Feeling his hand on her arm, Sabrina walked down the street beside Adam. When they reached the end of the block, she peeked over her shoulder to see the dog following them.
Sabrina stopped walking and turned around. The dog stopped walking and sat down, his doleful gaze never wavering from hers. She glanced sidelong at Adam. The moment her gaze met his, Adam gave her a defeated smile and then called, "Come, dog."
The dog leaped up and loped down the street. When he'd closed the distance between them, the wolfhound sat down and waited.
"Princess, he's all yours," Adam announced with an amused grin.
The coach was waiting. This time Abdul opened the door for them and Sagi sat in the driver's seat. Sabrina climbed inside first and sat down on the leather-upholstered seat. Adam sat down beside her, commiting a terrible breach of etiquette, and then called the dog, who sat in the seat opposite them.
"You do realize he's only half grown," Adam said.
"He's the biggest dog I've ever seen," Sabrina said. "He's built like a pony."
"Beneath that filth, the dog is pure Irish wolfhound," Adam said.
"Let's name him," Sabrina said. "Is it a boy or a girl?"
Adam leaned closer to the dog to check its genitals, and then announced, "It's a boy."
"I do wish animals wore clothing," Sabrina muttered, a rosy blush staining her cheeks.
"How about Rover?" Adam suggested for a name.
"No, he looks dignified, like a Winston," Sabrina said, and turned to Adam in excitement. "We'll need to bathe him as soon as we get home."
"We?" Adam echoed.
Sabrina looked at him through her disarming green eyes and said, "You will help me, won't you?"
Adam grinned. "Princess, you are the only woman I've ever known who invited me to bathe her dog. How could I possibly refuse your invitation?"
Excited by the prospect of having a pet, Sabrina forgot to question Adam about his background until they reached Abingdon Manor in midafternoon. By then it was too late, but there would be other times in the days ahead.
Forbes opened the door, but leaped back in fright when Winston bounded inside. "What's this?" the majordomo exclaimed.
"Forbes, meet Winston," Sabrina said. "Winston needs a large bowl of food, preferably meat, and a tub of warm water set up in the study." She looked at Adam and explained. "The kitchen will be too busy at this hour of the day; besides, I would like a happy memory associated with that particular chamber."
"You expect me to bathe that creature?" Forbes asked.
Sabrina cast Adam a flirtatious look and answered, "No, his lordship is going to bathe Winston. With my help, of course. Come, Winston."
At that, Sabrina started down the corridor that led to the study. Adam and Winston followed behind her.
"My lady?" Forbes called. When she turned around, he told her, "Lord Briggs came by this morning. He said he would return tonight."
"If Edgar returns tonight, tell him I retired early and will receive him in the morning," Sabrina instructed the majordomo.
"With pleasure, my lady," Forbes said, unable to keep the smile off his face. "With immense pleasure."
Chapter 5
Sabrina shifted the food-laden tray to her left arm and opened the study door. She stepped inside and, with one foot, closed it again. Adam stood near the floor-to-ceiling windows, and beside him sat Winston, who lifted his nose to sniff the air as the aroma of the food wafted across the room to him.
"I can never walk into this room without thinking of my father," Sabrina said, setting the tray on the desk.
"We could have gone to the kitchen," Adam replied, coming over to meet her.
Sabrina shook her head. "Winston wouldn't care for the activity there at this hour." She turned to the dog, asking, "Are you ready to eat?"
Winston stared up at her with doleful dark eyes. Rivers of drool hung from both sides of his mouth and dropped onto the floor to form two tiny puddles.
"If you keep him waiting much longer, we're in danger of drowning," Adam said.
Sabrina set a large bowl filled with lamb stew on the floor. The dog wolfed it down within mere seconds and then looked up at her for more.
"These are for us," she told Adam, lifting a plate of cucumber sandwiches off the tray and setting it on the desk.
Sabrina then put the tray on the floor. Winston instantly began eating the joint of roasted beef it held. When he finished that, he found the hambone that lay beside it for dessert.
"That dog is eating better than most of London's poor," Adam said.
"I can't do anything about London's poor at the moment," Sabrina replied, "but I can feed one starving dog."
"Would you care for a brandy to fortify yourself for his bath?" Adam asked. His blue eyes gleamed with a smile and his voice held a challenge.
"I'd love a brandy," Sabrina said, accepting his challenge.
Adam poured brandy into two snifters and passed her one of them. Then he lifted his glass in salute and said, "To Winston, the newest addition to our family circle."
"Our family?" Sabrina echoed.
"We are betrothed."
Sabrina let his reminder pass without comment. Instead, she lifted her glass and sipped the amber liquid. In the next instant, her green eyes widened as the brandy burned a path to her stomach, stealing her breath and making her cough.
"Excellent spirits," Sabrina gasped, catching her breath.
Adam nodded. "Would you care for a cigar?" he asked, amusement lighting his eyes.
Sabrina laughed. "I believed I'll pass on that."
A knock on the door drew their attention. Finished with his meal, Winston sat erect with his ears cocked into alertness.
"Come in," Sabrina called.
Carrying towels and soap, Forbes opened the door and stepped inside, but kept his gaze fixed on the monstrous dog. "The footmen are in the corridor with a tub and warmed water."
"Tell them to set it up in front of the fireplace," Sabrina instructed him.
Forbes hesitated, as if wishing to speak.
"Princess, some of the servants may be frightened by large dogs," Adam said, and then gestured toward the windows. "Why don't I take him outside while they set up?" He crossed the chamber, opened the window, and then stepped outside. The dog followed him.
Sabrina closed the window behind them, noting that the broken pane of glass had been replaced while they'd been in Oxford. The reason for the broken windowpane had been the locked study door on the day they'd found her father hanging from the overhead beam.
Under the majordomo's supervision, two footmen carried the tub into the study and placed it in front of the black marble hearth. A parade of servants followed and filled the tub with buckets of warmed water.
"Will there be anything else?" Forbes asked before leaving.
Adam led the dog to the tub. Sabrina tested the water's warmth while Adam removed his jacket and rolled his sleeves up.
"Climb into the tub," Adam ordered the dog.
Winston lay down on the floor and rested his head on his forelegs. When Sabrina giggled, the enormous dog swished his tail as if he understood.
"Please, Winston," she said, tapping the side of the tub.
The dog whined.
Adam cleared his throat and ordered in a stern voice, "Get into the tub now." The dog stood, leaped into the wooden tub, and plopped down into the water, splashing them.
"Good boy," Adam said, patting him. He picked up the soap and began lathering him. "Apparently, someone trained him."
"Why do you think his former owner abandoned him?" Sabrina asked.
"I don't know that he did," Adam replied. "The dog could have been lost somehow. Fetch me that bucket of water to rinse him."
Sabrina passed him the bucket and took one for herself. Both dumped the contents onto the dog, who lifted his head and howled his displeasure like a wolf.
"Holy hemlock!" Sabrina exclaimed.
"Winston is pure white," Adam said, sounding as surprised as she felt.
"I thought he'd be beige," she said, placing a towel on the floor.
"That grime hid his true color," Adam agreed. "Winston, out of the tub."
The wolfhound didn't need a second invitation. He leaped out of the wooden tub and shook himself, sending a shower of water droplets in all directions.
Working together, kneeling on opposite sides of the dog, Adam and Sabrina toweled it dry in less man a half hour. Sabrina flashed a warning look at Adam when their fingertips touched by accident. His blue gaze was fixed on her, and the hint of a smile softened his expression.
"Princess, we work well together," he said in a husky voice.
"We need a ribbon for Winston," she said, pointedly ignoring his remark, tearing her eyes from his. "I want him to look pretty when he meets my family."
"No ribbons for boys," Adam protested. "I'll take him outside for a walk while you change for tea. We'll go out that way. The rear gardens are more private than the front drive."
Sabrina glanced toward the floor-to-ceiling windows and then asked, "How will you get back inside?"
"Well walk through the front door like most people do," he told her.
Sabrina blushed at her own stupidity. After they'd disappeared out the window, she locked it behind them. Again she thought of the day her father died. Alarmed by her father's failure to answer her call, Sabrina had ordered Forbes to fetch the key, but the majordomo hadn't been able to find it. Edgar and he had walked outside and broken the window in order to get inside.
Leaving the study, Sabrina walked upstairs to her own chamber and gazed out the window that overlooked the front drive. Through the early evening's darkness, she spied the telltale glow of the marquess's cheroot. She recalled the feel of his warm mouth pressed against hers and reached up to glide her fingertips across her lips.
Handsome and wealthy and titled, Adam St. Aubyn was an amazing man with enough compassion to adopt a stray dog. Somehow, she couldn't envision Edgar Briggs doing the same.
Sabrina gave herself a mental shake and turned away from the window. She removed her damp gown and donned another black bombazine dress. She was in mourning and refused to set black aside until the London season required her to.
Sabrina sat down at her dressing table and stared at herself in the framed mirror. Taming her unruly copper locks would require a miracle tonight.
A knock on the door drew her attention. Her sister, no doubt.
"Come in, Courtney," she called.
The door opened slowly. Surprising her, Winston ran into her bedchamber, his tail wagging back and forth like a conductor's baton.
"How did you—" Sabrina glanced toward the doorway, where the marquess stood. A smile lit his expression.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"I was hoping to catch you in a state of undress," he said wickedly. "I see I've arrived too late."
"I must protest your presence," Sabrina said, feeling the heated blush rising upon her cheeks. Without bothering to brush her hair, Sabrina crossed the chamber to the door and stepped into the corridor. As they started down the corridor, she said, "Our agreement does not give you the liberty to—"
Sabrina stopped talking and rounded on him when she felt his fingers on her back. "What are you doing?" she cried.
"You missed a button," Adam told her, his expression of innocence not fooling her for a moment.
"No decent gentleman would touch a woman without her permission," Sabrina said. "Kindly refrain from doing so."
"Surely you haven't mistaken me for a decent gentleman," Adam countered, reaching out to capture a wisp of her wanton red hair and secure it behind her ear. "Besides, there's no harm in an engaged couple's touching each other."
Sabrina quickly stepped back a pace, making him smile. Not only was the marquess no decent gentleman, she decided, he seemed to revel in defying the conventions of proper behavior.
"You assume too much," Sabrina warned, meeting his gaze unwaveringly. "I'm positive that London is filled with potential husbands, most of whom are decent gentlemen."
"Decency can be excruciatingly boring," Adam replied, giving her a wicked grin.
"I'll be the judge of that," Sabrina announced, and continued walking down the corridor to the stairway.
"I love it when you blush, Princess," Adam said in a husky voice, walking beside her. "The rosy color accentuates your green eyes."
"Don't say things like that," Sabrina said, and flicked a sidelong glance at him.
"Why?"
"You make me feel uncomfortable."
Sabrina heard him chuckle but refused to look at him again. She knew that would only encourage his bad behavior.
"A beast," Sabrina heard Aunt Tess cry when Winston bounded into the drawing room ahead of them. She and Adam walked into the room just in time to stop Winston before he reached the platter of cucumber sandwiches and lemon cookies.
"Sit, Winston," Adam ordered. Hearing the voice of authority, the dog halted instantly and sat down beside the platter of food.
"Good boy," Adam praised the dog, patting his head.
"That's a dog?" Belladonna drawled.
"He looks more like a pony," Aunt Tess said.
"That is pure Irish wolfhound," Uncle Charles told them. "I do believe he's almost as big as Tiny, Prince Adolphus's dog at Eton."
"Winston, is it?" Courtney asked. "Don't you think a ribbon would make him look prettier?"
Sabrina glanced at Adam and sent him an I-told-you-so look.
"No ribbons," he said.
"Oh, my Lord, look at that disgusting drool," Belladonna said.
Two rivers of saliva hung from the corners of Winston's muzzle as he stared at the tempting platter.
Sabrina took a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe the drool and then gave him a cucumber sandwich. Winston swallowed it without chewing.
"A growing pup has a healthy appetite," Adam said with a smile. Then he ordered, "Winston, lie down." The dog lay on the rug and rested his head on top of his forelegs.
"Where did you get him?" Uncle Charles asked.
"The Countess of Abingdon possesses a big heart, and apparently wishes to adopt any stray that crosses her path," Adam replied.
"There are worse things in life," Sabrina said. Sitting on the edge of the couch, she leaned close to the dog and patted his head. "Winston is such a pretty boy."
The dog lifted his head and offered her his paw.
"Boys are handsome, not pretty," Adam corrected her.
"A courier arrived from London," Uncle Charles said.
That got Sabrina's attention. "And?"
"Prince Adolphus received permission from Prinny—"
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"The Prince Regent?" Courtney exclaimed.
Uncle Charles smiled and nodded. He looked at Adam, saying, "Prinny will give you receivership of the Savage assets."
"For a price, of course."
Uncle Charles shrugged. "You know that Prinny has holes in his pockets."
"I don't understand," Sabrina said, looking from the duke to the marquess.
"For a fee, the Prince Regent will give me the authority to oversee your assets until a final determination is made about your father's death," Adam explained.
"I will reimburse you when this matter is settled," Sabrina promised.
"Don't bother yourself about the money," Adam told her. "It's all in the family."
"We are not family yet," she reminded him.
"Sabrina!" a voice called from the doorway before the marquess could reply.
Everyone turned to see Lord Briggs crossing the drawing room toward them. Winston lifted his head, sat up, and growled at the baron. Edgar stopped short and stared in surprise at the dog.
"What is that?" Edgar asked.
"My dog," Sabrina answered.
"Winston, lie down," Adam ordered.
Instantly, the dog lay down again and rested his head on his forelegs. However, his small ears remained pricked as if alert to a dangerous presence in the chamber.
"A lady requires a lapdog, not a monster," Edgar said to Adam.
Adam raised his dark brows at the baron. "I didn't give her the dog."
"We found him in Oxford today," Sabrina said.
"Will you never learn?" Edgar said in a stern voice, shaking his head.
Winston growled but remained where he lay.
"I don't think Winston likes your tone," Adam said with a smile lurking in his voice.
Lord Briggs ignored the marquess. "Sabrina, I must speak privately with you."
"That can wait until tomorrow," Sabrina said, refusing to listen to another of his lectures. "Why don't you join us for tea?"
"I am leaving for my sister's in the morning," Edgar said. "I told you I was spending the holiday with her this year."
Sabrina felt unaccountably relieved that he'd be going away. Then, guilt for feeling that way replaced the relief.