Adam mouthed liar at her, but she resolutely ignored him.
‘I know what I saw, Mama. His arms were around Miss Milton. He was devouring her.’ The golden-haired girl came to stand beside her mother. Silently, Adam blessed her.
‘Prunella!’ her mother thundered.
‘But it is true, Mama, every last word. He was positively eating her mouth and she had her hands entwined his hair.’
‘More than twenty thousand per year and a title. Do you understand what is at stake, Prunella?’ Mrs Blandish waved her fan very rapidly as her eyes blinked. ‘You could do much better than Miss Milton, Lord Ravensworth. A man’s reputation is very hard to endanger and a governess’s is of no import.’
‘Except to the governess.’ Adam gave a tight smile. ‘Have you considered Miss Milton’s reputation? She is most definitely a lady.’
‘Eh…what did you say?’ Mrs Blandish’s nostrils quivered and she turned a particular revolting shade of puce.
‘Miss Milton has many admirable qualities.’ Adam glared at the war elephant. For once in his life, he was offering to be a gentleman, and the creature was trying to put forward her own miserable daughter as a candidate. Here he had thought to make the creature his ally. ‘Accomplished. Brave. And possessing more than a modicum of common sense. What more could a man ask for in a wife?’
Mrs Blandish made a small choking sound. ‘I believe I might need a chair. Miss Milton, quick, get me a chair. Prunella, I want my smelling salts!’
‘I greatly fear that between Lord Ravensworth’s desire to amuse and Nella’s penchant for exaggeration, I will be left without a shred of reputation, Mrs Blandish.’ Miss Milton’s eyebrows arched.
‘I find nothing amusing in this situation, Daisy.’ Adam lowered his voice to a purring caress.
Her lips parted for an instant, but then she blinked and the shutters came down her eyes. She drew herself to her full height. ‘I did not give you leave to call me by my first name.’
‘You gave me leave when I kissed you. You opened your mouth under mine.’
She snapped her mouth shut and her cheek flamed as Mrs Blandish gave a cry and fanned herself wildly.
‘I was not myself,’ Miss Milton whispered, twisting the fabric of her gown between her fingers.
‘Would that you were not yourself more often, then.’ Adam watched the tiny pulse at the base of her throat. Her skin had tasted of strawberries and sunshine, everything that was good about life.
He ignored the pulling of his shoulder. The back of his head buzzed, but he forced his mind to concentrate on the situation at hand, rather than his body’s cravings. Miss Milton was in danger because of him and what had happened all those years ago in India. Kamala’s warning as she had handed him the necklace had haunted his dreams last night. The thuggee never stopped until they reclaimed their own. He refused to stand on the sidelines and allow Miss Milton to join the parade of ghosts.
‘I will leave you two then, since Lord Ravensworth appears intent on doing the proper thing.’ Mrs Blandish’s mouth turned down to a petulant pout. ‘It is most enterprising of you, Miss Milton, to find a wealthy and titled suitor. I did not think you had it in you.’
‘Mama, may I stay and watch? It looks like Miss Milton is ready to murder him,’ a sing-song voice called from the doorway. ‘Maybe Miss Milton will devour Lord Ravensworth. Can you imagine what Mrs Gough or some of the other ladies will say to this piece of intelligence? I shall be the very toast.’
‘Nella! Unless you wish to exist on the edges of society, you will learn to curb your tongue!’ her mother exclaimed and swept out of the room. Her footsteps echoed on the stairs.
Daisy looked directly at Nella, whose cheeks coloured but who remained rooted to the spot. ‘Do you know anything about the disruption to the schoolroom, Nella? Did you scatter the papers or put the scarf about the doll’s neck?’
Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head, the golden curls bobbing from side to side. ‘I would never do anything like this. Do you know how long I spent drawing this map of Italy, and putting the rivers on? I suppose you will make me do it over again.’
Daisy knelt and put her face level to Nella’s. ‘Did you see anyone come up here? Has anyone been in here today?’
‘Lord Edward came earlier to take Susan on a walk. He had to wait while the maid went and fetched another pair of gloves. He wanted to see the schoolroom. We had a pleasant conversation about how I found Lord Ravensworth. You were on your morning constitutional.’
Lord Edward. Daisy tapped her finger against her mouth and rejected the suggestion. It made no sense that he would be involved.
‘Have they returned?’
‘It was why I was waiting in the garden.’ A sudden smile crossed Nella’s face. She rocked back on her heels. ‘But I can’t wait until I tell Susan! She will be pea-green with envy. Lord Ravensworth is far better looking than Lord Edward and I dare say worth quite considerably more.’
‘Prunella, Lord Ravensworth’s finances are no concern of yours!’
‘Nella is correct,’ Lord Ravensworth commented in a dry voice. ‘And, Daisy, I insist on you using my first name—Adam—as we are now intimate.’
‘I think you should go and see your mother, Prunella.’ Daisy tapped her foot and looked sternly at the girl, ignoring Adam. After some hesitation, Nella gave a small curtsy and darted from the room.
Daisy’s stomach knotted as Adam remained standing close to her with a smug expression on his face. She wanted to know the truth before she agreed to marriage. The indiscretion was far too small and insignificant and Mrs. Blandish had given him plenty of opportunity to release himself from it. No, Adam Ravensworth had another reason for wanting to marry her, something so far removed from desire that it scared her. But she needed time alone to think. She summoned all her energy and raised her chin, meeting his stare. ‘Go away, Lord Ravensworth. Leave me in peace.’
He withdrew his gold watch from his waistcoat pocket.
‘You have precisely one hour, Miss Milton.’ He snapped his pocket watch shut. ‘I will expect you to be properly dressed for a turn about the garden. We will discuss the precise terms of our engagement then.’
‘And you refuse to take no for an answer.’
His mouth turned up in an ironic smile. ‘How well you are beginning to know me.’
Chapter Eight
‘You have had your hour of solitude and reflection, Miss Milton. Leave the rest of the cleaning for the maids. It is why Mrs Blandish pays them.’
‘I must finish my task. It is one of my duties to keep the schoolroom tidy.’ Daisy refused to turn around and look at Adam Ravensworth. If she turned around, she would stumble into his arms and lay her head against his reassuring chest. She had promised herself over and over again after finding the scrap of paper under the doll that it was precisely where she would not go. She was the strong one who stood squarely on her two feet. Always. ‘Our discussion must be postponed.’
‘Now.’ His fingers drummed against his thigh.
‘You are not my master. I will have no master.’ Daisy kept her head up, ignoring the sudden jolt in her pulse.
‘Are you issuing me a challenge? We know where that ended the last time.’
Daisy kept silent and calmly reached down, picking up the few remaining papers and putting them into a pile with Nella’s old sketchbook. Behind her, she could feel his temper growing. She was playing with fire, but with each thing she put away, her own control returned. Until she knew she was safe from temptation and would not melt into his arms.
‘Hopefully I have not kept you waiting, Lord Ravensworth,’ she said when the last paper was picked up. She looked about the room, but there was nothing more she could legitimately use for delay and Adam Ravensworth remained, glowering at her from the doorway. She smiled her best smile. ‘If you will now permit me to change my gown and fetch a bonnet, I will be happy to join you for a turn about the garden.’
‘You have had your hour.’ Hi
s eyes glittered with fire. ‘If you insist on changing, I will invade your bedroom and we can conduct the interview—in or out of the bed.’
‘You are awfully sure of yourself.’ She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, but her breath came more quickly than she would have liked. ‘Seduction never solves anything.’
‘You have no idea what it solves.’ He lifted an eyebrow. ‘But you need to wait, Daisy. First the business of the engagement, and then the pleasure. Surely it is how a proper governess would want it.’
‘I don’t need…any protection. No one wants to harm me. How could they? I haven’t done anything wrong. I am a governess, only a governess.’ Daisy wrapped her arms about her waist and resolutely kept her gaze from the pile of papers.
‘You stopped being a governess an hour ago when you accepted my offer of marriage.’ He took a step forwards and his eyes glittered as his gaze raked her form. ‘Now, which is it to be—the bedroom or the garden?’
* * *
The afternoon sun brushed Daisy’s cheek and she drank in the cool air as she stepped outside into the garden. Mrs Blandish and the others had vanished. She glanced up at the windows of the schoolroom, silent and dark, and an unwanted shiver convulsed her.
‘What other object did you find in the schoolroom?’ Adam’s hand grabbed her elbow. ‘There is more to your reluctance than simply wishing me to vanish into thin air or to turn the clock back.
Why do you find it necessary to be strong and brave? Confide in me, Daisy.’
‘Am I that obvious?’
‘Your hands were shaking when you piled up the papers.’ He gave a half-smile. ‘I rather fancied the promise of a kiss would distract you. There are hidden fires beneath that governess exterior. You are quite an intriguing find.’
‘Whoever wrecked the room left a message—death to all those who aid the enemy.’ Daisy shook her head. Seduction had no part in her life. She should have guessed that Lord Ravensworth meant to tease.
Adam’s face offered little comfort. ‘Someone wanted to frighten you badly. You must stay at the hotel where my people can look after you. Whoever it was means business, Daisy.’
‘Yes, of course you are right. I need to make sure Nella is safe.’ She tightened her shawl about her shoulders. Everything crashed down around her. She looked up at the brilliant blue sky and blinked away the hot tears.
Silently he handed her a handkerchief. She gave a trembling smile and attempted to pass it back, but he shook his head and pointed to her cheek. ‘I never cry. Felicity, my sister, weeps, but not me. Remember, I am the governess. Governesses can’t afford to weep.’
‘Keep it. You may need it.’ His fingers curled around hers. ‘Viscountesses can afford to cry in a way that governesses can’t. My late mother wept once a day. Twice on holidays.’
‘This whole incident has sent my insides quivering like jelly.’ She dabbed at her eyes and attempted a laugh. ‘Silly of me. You would think after all the years I have been a governess, little tricks would cease to bother me. That is all it was—a trick. Nobody was injured. He let me go when I struggled the least bit. If he had intended on killing me, he would have done.’
She waited for him to agree with her, but he looked at her as he had looked at her on the first day when she had not believed him about the men. Then his brow darkened and the line of his jaw became more determined. Daisy was pleased she had resisted confiding in him earlier because then she’d have ended up in his arms. And he was as much a threat as her unknown assailant.
He put his hand over hers and life-giving warmth pulsed through her, urging her to give into her attraction and rest her head against his chest. Daisy quashed it. Their worlds were completely different. There was something more to his offer of marriage and a long engagement, some reason behind it that she couldn’t quite fathom, but she doubted it would lead to the altar. It was not the now she was thinking about, but the future.
How could she bear it when he found someone more suited?
‘I blame my arrogance,’ he said. ‘If I had even thought for an instant about your last name and questioned you, I would never have forced you to help me. I would have sent you on your way.’
Daisy withdrew her hand from his. What sort of women must he know? As if she would ever leave any creature in need. ‘You are being far too kind, Adam. Far more than I deserve. I was determined to help you. Christian duty and all that.’
‘You used my first name. We begin to move towards civility.’ Adam stared down at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
‘It is the shock,’ she said in a quiet voice.
‘Your brother would have approved of me marrying you.’
She twisted the handkerchief about her fingers. What did Adam owe her brother? ‘Tom? He has been dead for years. He never cared who I would marry. He used to laugh and say I was destined for a prince, but that was just him, teasing.’
‘Tom saved my life and he gave life to someone who was very dear to me. He would expect me to act like this.’ His gaze travelled out to the gardens and she knew his mind had gone back seven years. He saw her brother and not her and that tore at her insides. ‘He acted like this once. I fought a duel with the maharajah and lost. Tom skewered him for me.’
‘My brother saved your life because it was the right thing to do. I am far from some green girl who must be protected from tricksters. I have worked hard at being a governess for six years. I knew what I was doing when I kissed you. I knew the risks. You must not feel obligated.’
‘I am being pragmatic.’ His face became an arrogant mask, once again. ‘I do not believe in romance or love. Marriage is something that has to be faced.’
‘You make it sound like a business deal. Marriage should be…more.’ Daisy regarded her hands. She had always considered that if she married, it would be for love and mutual regard. Without those ingredients, marriage could all too easily become a prison. She had seen Felicity’s marriage and in at least three of the households where she had been a governess, the wife had been desperately unhappy. One had even died of an overdose of laudanum rather than face her husband’s tyranny any more.
‘When your brother died—’
‘My brother died of a fever. The Company sent a letter.’ She shook her head, and cut him off. ‘A letter…with all of his things, all of his possessions. The story about the thuggee was a tale to frighten my sister and me. My nerves were on edge and I reacted badly. Now that I am out of the room, it seems clear. Someone for some reason is playing a practical joke.’
‘What possessions?’
Daisy concentrated on refolding the handkerchief. How could she begin to explain about Kammie? Could she trust him when she did not know what game he was playing? What would he say if he knew about Kammie’s illness? Would he react like Felicity’s late husband and demand Kammie be put in an institution? Felicity would say she was a fool to even consider telling him before the marriage, that this was her chance to end all threat of institutions and doctors’ bills. Daisy clasped her hands together. She would wait to explain about Kammie until she knew Adam better.
‘Things. His books. A few objects. Does it really matter what he sent home?’ Daisy forced her voice to sound firm. ‘He died without becoming a nabob and that is the end of the matter. Do not invoke my brother again!’
Daisy started towards the house, hurrying away from the temptation. Adam would prove to be like Felicity’s husband—domineering and dictatorial. She had seen what it had done to Felicity. And what it had cost her to stand up to Colin Fulton when Kammie had arrived and he had wanted to send the baby to the orphanage.
If Adam Ravensworth wanted something from her, he would have to ask her outright. He knew more about these people behind the attack than he had told her.
Adam stared at her retreating back, hating the dark twisted thing within him. He had lived with it for seven years, but now he wanted to be better. He wanted Daisy to think him worthy, but she was definitely hiding something from him. He had to di
scover it before the secret killed them both. The note she had found had rattled her. He had to give her a little information, something to ease her mind. He would have to take the risk that she could keep his dark secret.
‘The man who ransacked the schoolroom and attacked you is searching for something, something that is connected with India,’ Adam called. ‘Who else will you put in danger? I am your only hope, Daisy. Trust me.’
Daisy paused. Her back remained stern and resolute.
He willed her to trust him. She didn’t need to know about the necklace or the part he’d played yet. That confession could wait until later. Her fear was from another source. What had her brother sent home? Did it have anything to do with Kamala’s last note, the one she had written as she lay dying?—Trouvez félicité dans votre vie, cher Adam. Cherchez une petite fleur, une marguerite. La, c’est la vérité pour toi. He had always assumed a little flower was her urging him to take a mistress, but it was possible the note had another meaning. It was possible that Milton had dictated the note. Had he heard rumours that some of the thuggee still lived and had sought to protect his sisters? Silently he cursed. He should have thought of the connection earlier. Marguerite was French for Daisy.
‘Who else did your brother call a little flower? A marguerite? Who is Felicity? Verity? It is important, Daisy. It might be a clue, a clue I overlooked years ago. Your brother wanted to keep you safe. He wanted me to find you, Margaret. Tom called you by your real name—Margaret.’
She spun around, her skirt brushing the gravel path. ‘How did you know Tom always used my real name? He never liked Daisy. I hate Margaret.’
‘And your sister’s name?’
‘Felicity Fulton. She is Colin Fulton’s widow.’ Her eyes became fixated on a spot somewhere in the middle distance. ‘But I know no one who has the first name of Verity. Were you planning on protecting her as well? I thought there was a law against bigamy.’
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