Treasure Me

by Robyn DeHart

  Graeme laughed, a hearty, belly-filled laugh. “You are most entertaining, Duchess.”

  “Well, I’m glad you think so.” But he could tell she’d left something unsaid. He wondered if it was that she’d never before belonged anywhere. Well, she belonged now, right here next to him. And in caves when she followed him against his instructions.

  He swallowed hard as the realization slammed into him. Damnation if he hadn’t fallen for his own wife.

  Vanessa wondered if she’d said too much. Perhaps Graeme thought her a fool, too. He hadn’t said anything in a long while. Instead they’d lain there in silence, his hand still drawing lazy circles on her back.

  It had felt good to say all of that aloud, to express the pain that she’d harbored for so long. She no longer cared if she hadn’t impressed her father; he’d been dead for nearly five years. Or perhaps the longing still remained, but she knew how futile it was, considering he was gone. Futile for other reasons, too, she acknowledged, but that little girl in her still popped up every now and again. “Look what I did, Papa!” But she managed to keep those thoughts squelched.

  To force her mind in other directions, she pulled herself tighter into Graeme’s side. “Tell me about your family,” she said, “about growing up in both England and Scotland. That had to have been amazing.”

  He paused for so long before answering that she feared he might have fallen asleep. “Amazing is not how I would describe it,” he said, his tone edged with anger. Again he was silent for a moment before he continued. “I lived exclusively in Scotland with my mother until I was nearly thirteen.”

  “And then you moved to London? Why?” she asked.

  “My father moved me there. I suppose he finally recognized that I was his heir, and that no amount of time would change that. So he forced me to live in London with him so that I could learn the ways of a gentleman and ‘lose that awful stench of peat’ that clung to me, as he put it.”

  “But your mother and Dougal chose to stay behind?” she asked.

  “Dougal had not been born yet. I suppose that was when he was conceived, when my father traveled up to retrieve me.” His laugh was so cold that it spread a chill over her arms. “I don’t know why I never noticed that before.”

  “But you came here to visit?” she asked.

  “Yes, he would allow me to return for a couple of months during the summer.”

  Vanessa leaned upon an elbow to face him. “You don’t sound very fond of your father.”

  “My father was a son of a bitch who never cared for anyone in his life but himself.” His jaw clenched, but he said nothing else.

  “But your mother loved him, so he couldn’t have been all bad,” she argued.

  “My mother was young when they met, foolish. She saw the error of her ways soon enough. Divorce, though, was out of the question, so she fled to Scotland and remained there away from her husband.”

  Vanessa frowned. She’d had an extensive conversation with Moira the day she gave her the wedding ring. “That’s not the way she tells the story.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Your mother told me all about their courtship and their tumultuous relationship thereafter. She has many regrets, but one thing she does not regret is loving your father,” Vanessa said.

  “Then she is still a fool,” Graeme said softly.

  “Perhaps you simply misunderstood their relationship,” Vanessa offered.

  “What are you trying to tell me, Vanessa?”

  “Simply that your father never deserted your mother. He wanted her to live with him in England. But she refused. Said she got embarrassed at a silly party and packed you up and left for Scotland. He came up here to get both of you back, but she refused, felt she didn’t fit in his world. She wanted to reconcile, wanted to return to England, but never felt she could.

  “Then when he came to get you, it was too late. She never got the chance to apologize in person, but she did send him a letter before he died.”

  “That doesn’t explain why he was a bastard to me,” Graeme said.

  “No, it doesn’t. But being hurt can make you do terrible things.” Didn’t all of this prove precisely how damaging love could be? She wanted to be certain she protected herself from such hurt. “Right now we have a lovely marriage, full of passion and adventure. But were we to add emotion to the mix, everything might fall apart.”

  Abruptly Graeme stood from the bed. “I need some air.” He pulled on the clothes that he had earlier discarded on the floor. “Get some sleep, Vanessa. We still have a few hours left of the trip.”

  None of what she’d told him changed anything. His father had still been a bastard. But why had his mother never said anything to him? He made his way to the dining car and found an empty table. He ordered brandy, then looked out the window. Darkness was thick, and he saw nothing but the occasional outline of a tree as the train moved south.

  The server brought him a decanter of brandy and a glass, and Graeme had poured and downed one before the man could even depart the train car. He was pouring his second when something, or rather someone, caught his attention. Three tables ahead sat someone with very familiar hair. He grabbed his glass and made his way up to the table.

  “Dougal, what the devil are you doing here?” he demanded.

  “I made a mistake, Graeme.” The boy looked out the window, his young features lined with anguish.

  Graeme sat opposite him. He didn’t ask questions. He just sat and waited. He poured a measure of the liquor into Dougal’s glass.

  The boy readily accepted the drink and took a hearty gulp, so much so that it made his eyes water. “I’ve been an utter fool. Just like you said. Trusted the wrong damn people.” He took another sip, then leveled his gaze on his brother. “I’m sorry for what I did to Vanessa.” He dropped his head onto his hand, his fingers forking through his shaggy mane. “I don’t even know how to explain it,” Dougal said, his voice heavy with anguish. “The Raven confused me, threatened my family. But when I think about how I could have killed Vanessa, it makes me sick.”

  Graeme nodded. This was the apology he’d been waiting for. Not so much for himself, but for his brother to finally realize what he’d done, what he could have done. Pride swelled in Graeme knowing that his brother was man enough to admit he’d made a mistake.

  “You were right about The Raven. He’s evil, a terrible man.” He shook his head. “But you don’t know the worst of it. He’s been blackmailing me, threatening to tell you everything. He said you’d have me executed for trying to hurt Vanessa. He said something terrible will happen to Mother.” His eyes widened. “I didn’t know what to do.”

  “The Raven is a powerful man, and he’s quite skilled at manipulating people. It doesn’t surprise me that he’d try to go after someone in my family,” Graeme said. “He went after Niall too. He’s a dangerous man, and once he’s focused on you, it’s hard to break free of him.”

  “I cannot believe Niall is dead,” Dougal said.

  “How do you know that?” Graeme asked.

  “I was there. I saw everything. How you tried to save him, and I heard how The Raven has taken Niall’s family.” He pounded his fist on the table. “I can’t believe what a fool I was.”

  “It was a difficult lesson to learn,” Graeme said.

  “Graeme, can I ask you a question?”

  Graeme inclined his head.

  “Why have you never allowed me to attend school in England? The way you were educated?” Dougal asked.

  “It wasn’t my choice. I tried to convince Mother that it was a good idea. In case something happened to me, you’d be prepared to take the title. But she wouldn’t agree. She didn’t want you to have anything to do with England,” Graeme said.

  “So you would have sent me?” Dougal asked.

  Graeme nodded. “I had a spot secured in your name.” Graeme frowned. “Is that why you’re here now, on the train? You want to go to school?”

  “No, I wan
t to help. Come to London and help you and Vanessa catch The Raven and rescue Niall’s family.” He pounded his fist on the table again. “Anything. I’ve destroyed so much.”

  “First of all, you were a complete arse. I’ll give you that. But you haven’t destroyed anything. We’ll catch him, and we’ll save Niall’s family,” Graeme said.

  “But you don’t know the worst of it, Graeme,” Dougal said.

  “What?”

  “I gave him the Stone of Destiny.”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Early the following morning, Graeme paced the length of the meeting room at Solomon’s. Only Jenkins and Fielding were currently there. “I promised Niall I would save them,” Graeme said. They’d called a special meeting upon Graeme and Fielding’s return from Scotland. At the moment, Vanessa and Dougal were tucked safely away at his townhome.

  Jenkins nodded gravely. “His family and their safety is a priority. He was one of us.”

  “Let me go,” Fielding said, coming to his feet. “I know The Raven better than anyone here. I can find his hiding place. I’ll find them and bring them out safely.” He met Graeme’s eyes, and his glance spoke of friendship and trust. “You helped me once. Let me help you this time.”

  Graeme nodded. “Thank you. Now I can go and find the other stones to the Kingmaker.”

  “Don’t forget that he cannot put the Kingmaker together without that third stone. If you don’t find him first, he’ll be in touch with you,” Fielding said.

  “Of that you can be certain,” Jenkins said.

  “Manipulative bastard,” Graeme said, then paused and glanced at Fielding.

  He held up his hand. “Relation or not, you speak the truth about that man. There is no love lost between us.”

  There was a moment of silence before Jenkins spoke up. “Niall was a good man—and I wish he had come to us with this matter so that we could have assisted him. I am to blame, too,” Jenkins said. “Instead of sending you to spy after him,” he said to Graeme, “I should have called him here and inquired about his well-being.” He placed a wrinkled hand on Fielding’s shoulder. “Go and find his family. The club will see that they are protected and cared for from now on.”

  With that, Fielding slipped out of the room.

  “I’ll send messages to Nick and Max, and I have no doubt that they will rush to your assistance,” Jenkins said.

  “Have them meet me outside of The Raven’s estate in thirty minutes,” Graeme said. He turned to go, then paused. “Don’t blame yourself about Niall. I expected the worst; I doubted him as well.” Graeme shook his head. “I could have forced him to tell me, but I didn’t. But we will not fail him now.”

  Vanessa had waited long enough. It was time to face her family, although she really had only come here, to her family’s London townhome, to dig through her father’s books. If she managed to do so without alerting her family to her presence, all the better.

  More than likely she would have to summon Jeremy to locate the information she needed. In his telegram, it had certainly sounded as if he’d found something useful. Was it so wrong to hope that he’d conveniently left it waiting for her in her father’s study?

  Her mother was alert and roaming the house, instructing the servants, sounding very much as if they were preparing for a party. Splendid.

  Vanessa rounded the last corner that led to her father’s study and found no one else about. Quickly, she slipped through the open door and silently closed it behind her. She started with the books he kept behind his desk in the special case, as this was where she’d instructed Violet to look. If Jeremy had, in fact, found something useful, then chances were it was here.

  “Vanessa? Darling, is that you?” her mother said from behind her.

  Vanessa whirled around to face the older woman, who stood with her hand clasping the soft yellow material of her bodice.

  “Hello, Mama,” Vanessa said.

  Her mother’s eyes rounded, her eyebrows lifting slightly. “That is all you can say to me?” She stepped forward. “Do you know how I have worried for you?”

  “I am sorry about leaving the way I did. But I left behind a note, and I believe you received another one while I was gone,” Vanessa said. She made no move to walk to her mother, although the urge to fall into her arms weighed heavily.

  Her mother straightened. “The one announcing your marriage.” She nodded, her features pensive. “To a duke, nonetheless. Well done, my dear.” But Vanessa found nothing in her mother’s tone that even hinted at pride. Evidently, though Vanessa had, in fact, married quite well, even that was not good enough for the woman.

  “Mother, I really do not have time to discuss this right now.” She motioned behind her. “I’m looking for something in Father’s books. It’s quite important.”

  “Yes, it is always important,” her mother said and turned to leave. Something in her tone gave Vanessa pause. It was not annoyance or impatience, but rather sadness.

  Vanessa exhaled slowly. “Wait, Mama.”

  “If you think I can help you with your little quest, then I’m sorry to disappoint you. But then, I never did know what to do with you.” She gave Vanessa a weak smile.

  “I beg your pardon?” Vanessa asked. “I’m not certain what you mean.”

  “You’ve always been so much your father’s child,” her mother rolled her eyes heavenward, “even though that stubborn fool never realized it.”

  Vanessa balked, unable to believe her mother’s harsh words. The woman had never even looked askew at Vanessa’s father, let alone spoke of him in such a manner. Out of nowhere, a giggle formed, and Vanessa clapped her hand over her mouth.

  “Yes, I know, I never said anything of the sort while he was alive, but he was a mean man.” She held up her hand in protest. “Of course that’s not the similarity the two of you shared. He wasn’t always mean; he’d once been charming and handsome and so smart.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “Lord, that man could talk of such things I’d never even heard of.”

  “But you never knew what to do with me?” Vanessa repeated.

  “I simply didn’t know how to relate to you. It was easy with the other girls—buy them a ribbon or a new dress and they were happy. But you”—she shook her head with a smile—“you didn’t have a need for any of that nonsense. You wanted books and tools, and it infuriated your father and confounded me. Then after he was gone, I didn’t know how to reach you. I had nothing to offer you. I couldn’t teach you anything, and you,” her words faltered, and her eyes filled with tears, “you didn’t appear to need me.”

  Years of misunderstanding melted, and Vanessa quickly closed the distance between them. She embraced her mother, and the older woman’s arms wound tightly around her. They didn’t have to see eye-to-eye on everything to have a relationship. The realization that her mother did actually love her nearly overwhelmed Vanessa.

  It was in that embrace that Jeremy and Violet discovered them.

  “Vanessa?” Violet said.

  Vanessa had thought about this encounter several times over the last few weeks, and every time, she had expected to feel the same way she had when she’d found them in their heated embrace. She’d expected to feel the stab of betrayal and the wash of humiliation. She’d thought her stomach would stir with nausea and that words would fail her. She’d expected to want to run out of the room, but never once did she imagine she’d be in this moment and feel nothing. No anger, no hurt, no betrayal. Vanessa released her mother and turned to face her sister.

  “Are you home for good?” Violet asked.

  “I don’t live here anymore,” Vanessa said.

  “No, of course not,” Violet said. She smiled brightly. “I meant London.”

  “My husband has many duties here, so I suppose we will reside here most of the time,” Vanessa said. Her husband. The words had rolled off her tongue so effortlessly, as if he’d always been a part of her life.

  “Hello, Vanessa,” Jeremy said. He stood next to Violet, l
ooking very much the same as he had the first time Vanessa had met him. His pale blond hair was tousled in soft curls, making him look more like a romantic poet than a scientist, and his brown eyes were unwavering as they met her face. He swallowed hard and nodded politely.

  He was nervous, Vanessa realized, worried about whether or not she would create a ruckus. But facing him now, she felt no pang of jealousy toward her sister. Jeremy was a fine man, but he paled in comparison to Graeme.

  “I believe you have something to tell me,” Vanessa said to him.

  His face blanched, and he stammered several incomprehensible syllables.

  “About my father’s book, the letter I sent,” Vanessa clarified. Although it was somewhat gratifying to see him stumble over an explanation of his indiscretion, she did not have time to enjoy it. “I am in a bit of a hurry.”

  “Yes, yes, of course,” he said, coming forward.

  “Vanessa, you and your husband must agree to come to dinner. I would love to meet the man who captured your heart,” her mother said.

  Vanessa smiled and nodded, but found no words. Captured her heart? The thought didn’t seem so ludicrous to her as she’d once imagined. One more squeeze of her hand, and then her mother left the room.

  “The images you drew in your letter looked so familiar, I knew I’d seen them somewhere,” Violet said. “And I shared them with Jeremy and we started looking through Father’s books.”

  “The code is really quite brilliant,” Jeremy said. He looked up with a wide grin, and it struck Vanessa that she’d never seen him smile with such ease. In the past it had always been tight slips of a smile, seemingly forced into place to appear polite. “I’m assuming you brought the remainder of it with you?”

  “We’ve been most eager to unravel the mystery,” Violet said.

  They were an unlikely pair—her rambunctious sister and the buttoned-up American—yet together they were different. Gone was the attention-loving Violet whose behavior bordered on inappropriate, and in her place was a lovely woman whose eyes lit with intelligence and curiosity. And Jeremy seemed far more friendly, less reserved.