“No, Miss Fairchild. Did I disturb your enjoyment of the performance?”
She sighed then, a light airy noise that set him straight into even worse shape than he had been. “No, Mr. Archer. I am enjoying this evening immensely.”
She turned and gazed at him then, giving him some hope that she was as truly affected by their breach in behavior as he was. David swallowed and then again, his mouth drier now than before. He’d drank the lemonade in one gulp and now he was definitely in need of something much, much stronger. Miss Fairchild had picked up her fan and began using it. Had she any idea of how much he needed one of those fripperies right at this moment?
David forced his urges back under control and tried to center his attentions on the actors parading across the stage instead of the young woman at his side. Only a few more days here until he was certain that Goodfellow had turned in his next essay, and then he could leave. He planned to use a bit of arm-twisting if need be on Nate to get an advanced look at it before he left for London and his own next article.
It was as he was glancing around the theater that he thought he saw a familiar face in the audience. In the low light, David could not be certain that it was the man he thought, but he could really not take any chances of being recognized. He needed to avoid even a chance of being recognized until he completed his task. It would be abrupt, but he leaned forward and spoke in a low voice to Lady MacLerie.
“Do you have a carriage waiting, or is Nathaniel returning for you?”
“We have a carriage waiting, Mr. Archer,” she replied. At once, she glanced over her shoulder at Miss Fairchild. “Is there some problem?”
“None at all, Lady MacLerie. I have just remembered a previous commitment which cannot be avoided, even if I would rather remain here. If you are certain that you do not need my escort, I will take my leave of you. You have my thanks for including me in this evening.” When it could not be delayed any longer, he turned to Miss Fairchild to give his regrets as well. She was quicker than him.
“Mr. Archer, it was good of you to join us, in spite of our late invitation.”
Still wearing an inscrutable expression, one that had graced her face since their kiss, she nodded. David wished he knew what she was thinking, what she thought of the kiss—had it been addlebrained familiarity or something else?—but she said nothing. “Miss Fairchild, a pleasure as always.”
With a hurried bow, he left the box and then took the back stairs down and out of the theater. A double line of private carriages and coaches stood at the ready in the street outside the building and extended up Princes Street while the hired hackneys stood along the North Bridge waiting their turn. David pulled his hat down and walked the several blocks to where he’d left his own hired coach, and climbed in.
Although no closer to finding Mr. Goodfellow than when he first arrived in Edinburgh, David knew with certainty that he was much closer to trouble.
“Anna,” Clarinda whispered. “Come and sit by me now.”
Anna stood and stepped around the chair in front of her and sat down then next to Clarinda. “Not so engrossing a plot?” she asked as she nodded past Clarinda to where Aunt Euphemia now sat, head bowed, sleeping.
Clarinda reached over and touched Anna’s cheek. Anna knew it was still hot and doubted that it would ever cool. Each new thought about Mr. Archer and his kiss created a new wave of heat that poured through her. Her cheeks simply gave the condition away.
“He kissed you!” Clarinda whispered, and then in a lower voice she asked it. “He kissed you?”
Anna could not deny it, but did not want this to be the center of some conversation that could be overheard. “Please, Clarinda. Keep your voice down. There is no reason to make this the new topic of gossip.”
“That bounder! I thought him a person of some manners. Just wait until Nathaniel…”
Anna stopped her by grasping her hand and squeezing it tightly. “Mr. Archer did not offend me. He simply kissed me,” she whispered back. “It is not the first stolen kiss in history, not even my own first stolen kiss, so be at ease with this.” She looked at her friend for acceptance of her words. “And say nothing of this to Nathaniel.”
“So, you enjoyed it then?” Clarinda asked, now she had hold of Anna’s hand and would not relinquish it. Aunt Euphemia shifted in her seat then and they both watched her until she settled back to sleep. “Well?”
Clarinda could be relentless and creative in her efforts to discover any tidbits of information or, in their younger years, secrets Anna carried, so Anna decided to give her the truth.
“Yes,” she said quietly.
And she had. Even when she comprehended what his intentions were, she did not stop him. Simply stepping away from where he stood in the shadows, even before that—not allowing him to pull her there—would have prevented it. Clarinda let her hand go and then patted it as she placed it on her lap.
“I had all but given up on you, Anna. Perhaps there is hope after all.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“With all of your—” she paused and threw a glance at Aunt Euphemia “—with all of your interests and causes and your work with Nathaniel, I had all but despaired of you ever finding an acceptable man and settling to the idea of marriage.”
“Clarinda, this was only a kiss. A simple kiss,” she replied. As she uttered the words, her heart gave lie to them. There was more than that, but she did not want to think on it.
“Ah. Much more than a kiss, Anna. It is a sign that there is hope for you yet.”
“Not all women want to settle into marriage, Clarinda.”
How could she even have spoken those words? Of course, most, all women wanted marriage. That was the way of things. Anna found that she wanted other things first and if it meant postponing her own personal happiness for a bit, well, that was fine with her.
“It is a sign, Anna, and I will not hear otherwise. I suppose I should reexamine Robert’s staff and the local gentry for suitable matches for you.”
Anna closed her eyes and prayed that the drama, both the one onstage and this one in the boxes, would soon be over. It only became worse.
“Perhaps Mr. Archer could be brought up to scratch? He seems like an amenable man, high in the esteem of his employer from the look of him. Intelligent. More than passing good looks.”
Anna opened her eyes and stared at her friend. This was moving too fast and in too dangerous a direction.
“And from the calf-eyed look on your face when you came back in here, a more than passing good kisser as well.”
Could someone swallow their own tongue if they were not in the middle of a fit? Anna wished that Clarinda would do so in that moment, but instead she herself began choking and Clarinda was patting her on the back to help her recover her breath.
“Come now, Anna, you are not some squeamish girl. We have spoken most candidly about the physical pleasures to be had in marriage. It is part of that estate. And Robert, well, Robert is…”
Anna lifted her hand to Clarinda’s mouth to stop this conversation. “I only need to know that you are happy in your marriage. I need no more details that will make it difficult to meet the man’s gaze when next he speaks to me.” She leaned closer, for Aunt Euphemia seemed restless and about to wake from her nap. “And about Mr. Archer.”
“Yes?”
“He works for a man who seeks to destroy everything that I believe is important, everything that Nathaniel and I have worked so hard for. It would be complicated to look past that fact.”
“Ah, complicated. Life is complicated, Anna, as is love.”
“Clarinda! It was only a kiss! Do not make more out of it than that, I beg you.”
The audience began to applaud, marking the end of the production on stage and waking Aunt Euphemia from her sleep.
“Very good! Very good!” she called out without hesitation and disregarding the fact that she had missed most of the show. “Too bad that Mr. Archer had to leave early, for he missed a wonderful
performance.”
Clarinda and Anna shared a dubious glance at her and then stood, straightening their gowns and collecting their accoutrements. Anna knew from the frown on her friend’s face that their private discussion was not over, just postponed to a different time and place. A time and place preferably without the presence of her dear aunt.
As they made their way to the MacLerie coach, through the crowds, greeting this neighbor or that acquaintance, Anna feared that Clarinda had the truth of it.
It was more than just a kiss.
Chapter Eleven
“What do you mean she was not there?”
“The driver said he waited two hours and the young woman never left the building.”
“That’s damned strange, Harley,” David said. He closed the book he was reading and straightened in his chair. “She is nothing if not a creature of habit. He went to the correct place?”
“My lord, he said he waited in the place where you have waited and Miss Fairchild did not leave.”
The rain poured outside and David watched it streaking down the windowpanes. Dark clouds tumbled across the sky and covered any hopes of a pleasant day in Edinburgh. Although the driver assured him that these late-summer storms passed quickly, he could only think of Miss Fairchild making her way along the slick cobblestones as she walked from one of her “commitments,” as she called them, to the next.
The daft woman would be carrying that large umbrella he’d seen, the one big and sturdy enough to drag her for blocks if the wind got caught under its frame of canvas and wood. And she’d be wearing that large dark canvas overcoat to keep the rain from her. He’d laughed the first time he saw her walking by in it, but realized it was her way of avoiding the use, and cost, of hackneys or sedan chairs.
“Should I tell him to return and wait longer?”
Miss Fairchild—Anna, as he now thought of her—had changed her schedule. This was Tuesday morning and she should be at her teaching duties there on the High Street. Nathaniel sent word late yesterday that he was called to his family’s estate south of Edinburgh and would be gone several days. His absence was part of the reason David had returned to the city after losing all patience with Ellerton and Hillgrove and their leisure activities.
“No. I will be going out after all, Harley.”
Harley let out a loud, irritated sigh, which David refused to acknowledge or answer, and turned to leave. “Very good, my lord.”
Tensions were growing and he could not imagine Nate making himself scarce this close to the next issue of the Gazette coming out. Keys had discovered that Mr. Lesher was the managing editor of the magazine, handling the day-to-day duties and overseeing the others who worked for the publication. But, with so much importance now on each issue and on each essay in the battle between the earl and Mr. Goodfellow, David did not understand how Nate could leave for the country now. And, at present, Miss Fairchild seemed to be missing or, at the least, not where her usual habits would have her.
Within minutes, the hired carriage traveled up Nicolson Street, over the South and North Bridges toward New Town. On the chance that the driver had missed her, David directed him to circle around past the building and then on to the Gazette office. Satisfied that she was not walking in the almost constant morning showers, they proceeded to Frederick Street where he entered the offices to find only Lesher and another man peering at sheets and sheets of paper on the desk.
“Ah, good morning, Mr. Archer,” Lesher said as he came around the desk and greeted him.
“Is—” he began.
“Mr. Hobbs-Smith isna yet returned from his trip, sir.”
The man was efficient, if nothing else, responding before he could even ask the question. David glanced over and noticed that the other man watched him with thinly veiled curiosity.
“And Miss—”
“I couldna say, sir.”
The stiff lip and set of his face spoke more than words. The man would offer no information on the whereabouts or business of the young woman…at least not to him.
“Is that next week’s issue?” David asked, taking a few steps toward the desk. “Is it complete?”
Lesher moved to block his progress, waving him off as he did. “Mr. Hobbs-Smith said to tell ye that the essay has no’ yet arrived so no’ to bother searching the office or harassing the staff.”
David laughed. Certainly not what he expected to hear from an underling. “He said that, did he?”
Lesher, surprised by his reaction, stepped into his path and positioned himself between David and the desk. “Truly, sir, it isna here.”
“I intend no bodily harm, Lesher. You can stand down.”
Although Lesher relaxed his stance, a wary watchfulness still remained. “Yes, sir.”
“Have you any notion of when Mr. Hobbs-Smith or Miss Fairchild will return?” A safe question, less personal than querying the man over their whereabouts.
“I canna speak for the young lady, but Mr. Hobbs-Smith expects to return by Friday.”
“So late then? I thought he would be here to finalize the edition.” David paused, hoping that Lesher would offer some bit of information. Tight-lipped did not begin to describe the man’s ability to keep his mouth shut.
Now what? His prey eluded him and his resources for finding her diminished with each stop. Then it struck him. Nate’s sister, Lady MacLerie, would know. If she would share her knowledge with him was another question, but he was willing to try. On the short ride over to Nate’s house, he realized that his reasons for seeking about Anna had changed.
At first, he simply wished to be assured of her safety and comfort when she faced the elements outside, but he recognized that his true intent was to discover if the kiss they’d shared had affected her as much as it had him. Days had passed and still the thought of her sweet mouth on his was as fresh in his mind as when it had happened days, and nights, before.
Seeing her standing there, moonbeams surrounding her in her righteous indignation over him, even though she did not know it was him, with fire in her eyes and temptation on her lips, he was lost. Tugging her closer and kissing her was not a good idea. Spending time with her certainly wasn’t, either. Even thinking about her was a dangerous pastime, and yet here he was searching for her all over Edinburgh.
Still, and he knew the words for the lie they were even as he thought them, he needed to make certain that she had not been insulted by his actions. When he left, he did not want bad feelings between them. For if—or, more likely, when—she found out that he was the arrogant, unfeeling Lord Treybourne of their discussions, loathing and betrayal would be the result. Something deep within forced him to continue to try to keep that day as far off as possible.
The carriage pulled up in front of Nate’s house and he climbed out. The same footman opened the door as he approached.
“Is Lady MacLerie receiving?”
“I will see, sir.”
Apparently he was remembered from his last visit here, for the servant did not ask his name. David watched as the man climbed the stairs to the drawing room and waited. The squeal that erupted inside the room informed him of Miss Julia’s presence here. But, was Anna?
The footman reappeared, took his hat and gloves and directed him to the drawing room, where he also announced him. Miss Julia was certainly present and excited, and she looked as though she had a very tenuous hold on her control. David bowed to the women and greeted them.
“Lady MacLerie. Miss Erskine. Miss Julia. It is a pleasure to see you again.” He peered around the room hoping that Anna was present but out of view, however she was not there.
“Mr. Archer, how nice of you to visit us. Would you care for some tea?” Lady MacLerie greeted him and pointed to a chair.
“I was hoping to catch Miss Fairchild. Is she here?”
“She’s at the school,” Miss Julia blurted out.
“She keeps quite busy, you know,” Miss Erskine announced. “Her days are her own.”
Lady MacLerie
simply glanced at him. “Anna is not here, as you can see.”
“I wanted to offer an apology,” he began. In spite of their lovely and genteel appearance, and their manners, David felt sweat gathering on his forehead. And the summer heat had nothing to do with it. “About the evening at the theater.”
“Why, Mr. Archer! Did you do something that requires some request for forgiveness?”
From the lady’s tone and arched eyebrow, he suspected she knew exactly what had passed between him and her friend.
“For abandoning you at the theater without an escort home, Lady MacLerie. Why ever else?” he asked, knowing well that she would not speak of anything she knew, if indeed she knew of the kiss, with Anna’s aunt and sister present. He returned her glance with one of his own. “After your kind invitation, I should have stayed to ascertain that you did have someone watching out for your safety.”
“Lord MacLerie sent the coach around for us, although Anna suggested walking.” Miss Erskine’s voice revealed how she thought about the prospect of walking.
“Mr. Archer?” Miss Julia interrupted and received a stern look from her aunt, one which did not slow her down at all. “Have you visited anywhere else in Edinburgh since our visit to the Castle?”
“I fear that my business has kept me quite busy, Miss Julia. And after our visit to the Honours of Scotland, what can compare?”
“The Libraries of the Advocates and Writers to the Signet in Parliament Square are worth a visit, Mr. Archer. Of course, you need to know someone who is a member to gain entry.”
He laughed out loud at her advice. A girl of her tender years who would suggest such a place was extraordinary. But, of course, she was her sister’s sister and he was learning that extraordinary seemed almost commonplace in their family.
“I will take your recommendation under consideration, Miss Julia.”
“Julia!” Miss Erskine called. “There are more appropriate things to visit in Edinburgh than a library for solicitors. You must pardon her, Mr. Archer. Her education is a bit unorthodox.”
The Earl's Secret Page 11