‘Why did your brother want me to seek you out? What did he send you and your sister from India?’ Adam ignored the barb.
‘Did he?’ She arched a brow. ‘It has taken you six years to come to this conclusion. And surely our meeting here is a startling coincidence.’
‘I had forgotten about his love of codes when I first read the letter.’ Adam willed her to accept the statement. She gave a small nod. ‘Your brother and I hunted and destroyed a nest of thuggee. They were some of the worst of the worst and had amassed a huge treasure culled from their victims. This treasure vanished the night of the attack.’
‘Did you take the treasure?’
‘No.’ Adam touched his pocket where Kamala’s necklace now rested. Some day, when he knew she’d see the good in him, he’d tell her about the necklace and how he’d hidden it in her basket. ‘People are always ready to assume things without looking towards the obvious—that I have an eye for an investment. Heritage said that there were rumours about your brother taking the treasure.’
He shrugged and waited, but her eyes did not even flicker.
‘Tom would never take something like that! Just help himself! He was not that sort. He sent nothing like that home!’
The protestation was quick, almost too quick. Adam’s eyes narrowed. Exactly what did Daisy know about her brother? He had a clear memory of the pouch that Milton had taken from the maharajah’s body, but those jewels had been the maharajah’s welcoming bribe. The maharajah had taken pride in knowing a man’s weakness. ‘I believe you, Daisy, but someone has started searching for the jewels again. I think that was why my carriage was attacked. Over the years, every single one of the men who was in the attack on the hill station has died.’
‘In the same fashion? With yellow scarves?’
‘Different ways. The last one wrote to me before his death, warning me about the thuggee-cursed jewels and how he regretted his share. But he suffered from malaria and I put it down to that.’ Adam shook his head. ‘I took sensible precautions, but even then it would appear that they were determined. The attack on my carriage was meticulously planned.’
‘But why now? Tom has been dead for years. For six years.’ Daisy tapped her finger against her mouth. ‘And the attackers are not from the original gang?’
‘Every last one of them danced on the end of a hangman’s rope. Heritage was in charge of the men who did the hanging.’
‘But who, then?’
‘Someone who learnt the story and finds pleasure in murder.’ Adam paused, tempted. His fingers touched the necklace again. The stones were cold against his palm. No, she wasn’t ready to hear the aftermath of how he’d fought her brother. ‘Tom trusted me to protect you, Daisy. I’m sure of that. Allow me to perform this small service.’
Daisy stood completely still, her shawl fluttering in the faint breeze. Adam willed her to understand what he was offering. Life.
‘You may regret your offer, Lord Ravensworth.’ She held out her hand.
He tightened his fingers around her palm, tugged, sent her tumbling towards him. He caught her and pulled her firmly against his chest. Her curves hit the hard planes of his chest. She looked up at him with storm clouds in her eyes.
‘The name is Adam,’ he whispered against her lips. ‘Use it from now on.’
‘Adam.’ A sigh escaped her throat. She lifted her arms and her body melted against his, acquiescing. Their lips touched and melded.
He had won. He now had the chance to conquer the blackness of his soul. Fate had given him a second chance.
He put his hands on her shoulders and forced his body to move away from her while he retained some measure of self-control. His entire being wanted to ravage her mouth. The thought shook him to the core. He always kept his emotions carefully compartmentalised. Their engagement was based on necessity and not unbridled desire. The marriage would be pleasant. He had no room for love or other sentimental notions in his life.
‘You will remove yourself and your belongings to Shaw’s today. I will have them prepare a room for you.’ He reached out and rubbed the back of his thumb along the outline of her lower lip. ‘The note and the scarf did not magically appear. They killed my driver in pursuit of their so-called treasure and he had taken their coin. Do you want to stand in their way, on your own? Would you put the Blandishes in danger? Nella?’
The colour drained from her face. ‘And my family in Warwickshire? I have a sister and…a niece. Will you extend your protection to them? If these people think my brother sent home treasure, they could be in danger.’
Adam regarded the ground. It would be easy to offer comfort, but he couldn’t lie to her. ‘I am the target, Daisy, and not your sister. It is only after I am dead that they will turn their attention elsewhere. And, Daisy, I have no intention of dying of anything except old age.’
‘How long do we remain there?’
‘Until I know more. It is my turn to go on the hunt.’ He tucked his thumbs into his waistcoat, fighting against the urge to take her in his arms and finish the job he had started in the schoolroom. But she was an English governess and not a courtesan. When he initiated her into the pleasures of the bed, he wanted to take his time.
Her long lashes swept over her grey-green eyes, hiding them. ‘You leave me no option. I must fall in with your wishes.’
‘Often, it is the best way.’
* * *
Daisy’s footsteps echoed in the tiny room with an iron bedstead and bare hooks for hanging her clothes. Few traces of Daisy’s brief occupation remained. Only her brush-and-comb set, and then she’d be packed away. Her life as a governess would have ended.
Daisy’s hand curled around a little box, a gift that Tom had sent when he had known that his final illness was fatal. His last present to her. The note he had sent had been so cryptic that she had thought there must be more to it or that part of it was lost. She had tried and tried to work it out, but had given up when Kammie had been deposited on their doorstep by the vicar’s wife returning from India with her three young ones. Tom’s meaning had become suddenly crystal clear.
It was simply a clever rattle, a ruse for Tom to write about Kammie without actually mentioning the baby. Felicity agreed with her that his superiors must not have approved of his association with a local woman. The box now bore Kamala’s teeth marks where she had chewed a corner when she was little.
What would the attacker do when he discovered that the only treasure her brother had sent home was a half-English baby? And one who suffered from falling sickness?
Daisy’s hands touched her lips. Adam had decreed that he would marry her, but she would not allow him to decree where Kammie would go. It wasn’t as if Kammie was related to him. He would have to understand that certain things were not negotiable. Kammie stayed with Felicity in Warwickshire where she was happy.
‘Miss Milton, is it true then?’ Nella’s small voice sounded in the hall, recalling her to the present. Hurriedly she placed the box in her satchel.
‘True about what?’ she called out, smoothing her skirts.
‘That you are leaving. Today. In a few moments. Susan is to look after me until we find another governess. I overheard Lord Ravensworth telling Mama and then Susan started bleating.’ A single tear trickled down Nella’s face as she barged into the room. ‘I would never have told Mama about you and Lord Ravensworth if I had thought that I would lose you.’
Daisy raised an eyebrow and Nella had the grace to blush. ‘You knew quite well what you were doing, Prunella.’
Nella hung her head. ‘I am sorry, Miss Milton. It was—’
Daisy held up her hand, cutting off Nella’s self-serving apology. ‘Next time, think, Prunella, and consider others besides yourself. Gossip has the power to destroy lives.’
‘Couldn’t you stay as my governess?’ Nella held up her hands in an overly theatrical way. ‘Perhaps Lord Ravensworth could court Susan and then everything would be forgotten. Mama seems to think that the situation could be sa
lvaged. Mama is quite astute on such matters. You cannot be in love. You just met a few days ago.’
‘It is for the best, Nella. Your mama would regret keeping me. Once one is labelled a wanton by the mistress of the establishment, it is impossible to be a governess in the household.’ Daisy kept her head up. Her hands were numb with cold. Even now Mrs Blandish was angling, but there again it was how society thought.
‘But Mama says that men must be allowed their little pleasures.’
‘Lord Ravensworth is different from most men. He seems to possess a surfeit of honour despite being your notorious rake.’ Daisy gave Nella a hard look. ‘Against your mother’s advice, he made a marriage offer.’
‘The scandal sheets were wrong about him. How disappointing.’
‘It should be a lesson to you not to believe everything you read in such papers.’
‘Before I left them all downstairs, Lord Ravensworth said that I had done very well. He gave me sixpence. See.’
Daisy froze, her hand tightening around the little box so that the markings dug into her hand, branding it. ‘You had done well? What do you mean?’
‘I met him earlier. Introduced myself. He told me to be sure to come up to the schoolroom.’
Daisy pursed her lips and absorbed the knowledge. Her entire being went first flaming hot and then ice cold. It had been planned. She had fallen completely into his trap of expert seduction.
‘Are you exaggerating again, Nella?’ She pinned Nella with her fiercest gaze. ‘I do not have time for your lies today. I want the truth!’
Slowly Nella shook her head. Then she went beet red and scraped her foot along the floorboards. ‘Maybe a little. I did meet him and he did tell me to be sure to find you wherever you were hidden and bring you down to the garden.’
‘With your next governess, tell the truth.’ Daisy struggled to breathe deep calming breaths.
‘Surely you could stay with me until you get married. Venetia Penny’s governess did when she married the curate. Venetia went to the wedding and everyone made a fuss of her.’
‘Lord Ravensworth wants to get to know me better and believes that it will be beneficial if I cease to be governess.’ Daisy gritted her teeth. She hated that Adam’s reasoning was correct. ‘It is in everyone’s best interest.’
Nella’s answer was to fling her arms about Daisy’s middle and sob. ‘But what if my new governess is horrid?’
Daisy patted Nella’s back. Nella would calm in a few moments after she left. She knew that. Nella was resilient. She hated to think how much she would miss the girl. ‘You can write to me. I will look forward to your letters. And I shall remain in Gilsland while Lord Ravensworth recovers from his ordeal.’
Nella stopped crying. ‘What a wonderful idea. I have always wanted a correspondent. And if you go to one of the balls that the Shaw’s is famous for, then you can tell me truly once and for all how Susan behaves.’ She cupped her hand around her mouth. ‘I am convinced that sometimes she lets her lace slip.’
Daisy disentangled Nella’s arms. She hated that she had been sharp with Nella. All the girl wanted was attention from her mother. Nobody had forced Daisy into Adam’s arms. She had gone there on her own. It was time she faced up to the consequences and found her own solution.
* * *
Adam regarded his immaculate room. Nothing appeared to have been searched. But then did they need to? Had someone searched while he lay there helpless? He had vague memories of Heritage searching through his pockets, but Heritage would never stoop that low.
The worst was the knowledge that without meaning to, he had led the assailant to Daisy. He did not want to think about what might have happened, had he not been there. Or if Daisy had kept silent? Or had failed to fight the attacker off?
His body remembered the way Daisy had felt against it. It was the right thing to marry her. They could have a practical but satisfying marriage, not one clouded by things like love. He doubted if romantic love even existed. It seemed to resemble a case of indigestion where the couple went around with soulful looks for a few months before deciding that they could not stand the sight of each other.
Thankfully he had been cured of such things years ago. Kamala had ensured that his heart was dead. He had not even known that he had loved her until she had fallen for Tom and told him she was going.
He poured himself a glass of port. It would be better if he did not see Daisy today and allowed her time to adjust. He would not be running away as Kamala had once accused him of, but acting to protect Daisy. Kamala. For such a long time, he had thought her accusation that his heart was made of ice and stone was right. It was when he had refused to hide her and the baby she carried. And then he had met Daisy. He wanted her to believe in the good in him.
‘I hear you are to marry the governess?’ Heritage burst into the room, his frock coat flapping and his hair flopping to one side as if he had run.
Adam raised his glass, swirling the ruby-red liquid. He did not bother to glance at his pocket watch. He had barely had time to take a single sip. ‘Have you come to offer your felicitations?’
‘To express my surprise and astonishment. A governess is an unusual choice for your countess.’
‘We all must marry at some point.’ Adam took another sip of his port. Heritage appeared positively put out.
‘But the governess…she is, well…a governess. Take her as a mistress if you must, but wives should be made of different material—well endowed.’
‘Be careful, Heritage, it is my future wife you are talking about.’ Adam narrowed his gaze. ‘I trust you will treat her with respect.’
‘I will admit not to have paid close attention to Miss Milton before now. My eyes were much more entranced with Miss Blandish.’ Heritage gave an insolent grin. ‘And her fortune.’
‘There should be more to a woman than her fortune.’
‘It is as easy to love a woman with a fortune as a penniless one. We do not all possess your advantages, your almost preternatural way with money. Even at cards, you win more than you lose. If you were not my friend, Ravensworth, I would hate you.’
Heritage’s face took on a hungry expression. Adam frowned. Heritage was after something, but what? Had he wanted to seduce Daisy? Or was it something worse? Adam dismissed the thought as unworthy. Heritage had no love for the thuggee. ‘Know when to quit and always play by Hoyle.’
‘That has always been my failing—I have trouble remembering the rules.’ Heritage swept his hair back from his face and the expression vanished as if it had never been. ‘When I see a thing, I must have it.’
Adam inclined his head, keeping his expression bland. ‘I will try to remember that.’
‘But why are you marrying her? Surely you could simply bed her? Start her on her career, as it were.’
Adam toyed with the stem of the glass, contemplating whether planting a fist in Heritage’s face was worth the trouble. ‘Let us say that I found Daisy intriguing. Her brother would have approved of the match, I am sure.’
Heritage went white. ‘Of course, her brother. I had not thought. Did he often speak of his sister? Did he have just the one? Miss Blandish is infuriatingly vague on the matter. Far be it from me to warn you, but such women often have a parcel of relatives who need feeding.’
‘I will take the chance.’ Adam saluted Heritage with his glass. Nobody paid attention to Daisy. It was quite probable that the gang had no idea about her sister or her sister’s daughter. He would keep it that way. Moving them up here would be a mistake. Once the gang were caught, he and Daisy could marry in Warwickshire. He would even investigate obtaining a lease on a property near where Mrs Fulton lived.
‘I only sought to warn you, but I see you must be correct. After all, the family is known to you.’ Heritage’s throat bobbed. ‘When will you marry?’
‘That is up to my fiancée.’ Adam leant back in his chair and crossed his legs. Something was bothering Heritage. He couldn’t sit still, but kept moving about and glanci
ng over his shoulder. ‘Someone searched Daisy’s room at the Blandishes and left a threatening note. I mean to keep her safe, Heritage. I owe her and her family my life. Marriage is a small price to pay for that.’
Heritage’s hand trembled slightly, nearly dropping the decanter’s topper. ‘I heard some vague rumour about that as well. I dare say it was the younger sister. She is a sly thing, always watching me from underneath hooded eyes.’
‘I found Miss Nella to be quite an amusing child and very quick to grasp the exact nature of the problem.’ Adam rubbed the back of his neck and resolved to send Nella a small present. Her intervention had been fortuitous. ‘To keep you from being ground down by the gossip mill, I will explain. Miss Milton will be removing herself to the Shaw’s Hotel. I have instructed the innkeeper to prepare her a room.’
‘You are determined for people to forget that she was a governess.’ Heritage’s laugh became squeaky. ‘Or are you worried about something else?’
‘Society has a remarkably short memory,’ Adam shrugged and picked up his new cane. ‘I merely want her to have the honour due to her as my fiancée.’
‘It is strange that you were not so keen to marry her until you learnt of her connection to Tom Milton and the missing jewels.’ Heritage stroked his chin.
‘Her connection to Milton had little to do with it.’ Adam kept his gaze level and saw Heritage’s pale cheeks flush slightly. ‘It had everything to do with my honour as a gentleman.’
‘It appears you have developed a conscience. It will be the talk of St James’s once I am back in London. The great Adam Ravensworth was overcome with sensibility. Is there any hope left?’
‘She did save my life.’ Adam tapped a finger against the table. Heritage had shown him one thing. Daisy needed to be outfitted correctly. He would not have people whispering behind her back.
‘Speaking of the attack, your cane has been discovered in Carlisle. Someone handed it in and because a description had been circulated they knew it was yours. The innkeeper or one of his staff asked me to say. Your valet, Webster, told me as well.’ Heritage waved a vague hand.
Compromising Miss Milton Page 12