by Sahara Kelly
Pierce nodded. “Yes, I think so. The carriage—you’re here on holiday—what could be more natural than taking a nice drive along the coast?” He glanced at Dusk. “I’m thinking we could benefit from ocean-side eyes as well.”
“You want me to take the launch down the coast?”
Pierce nodded. “Why not? Getting a good look at the place from two perspectives might give us a clue.” He turned. “Felicia, I’m not sure how you feel about boats, but if you’d like to accompany Dusk, you would be a very good cover. Just another couple taking advantage of the weather to enjoy the sea air.”
Felicia nodded. “I like the ocean.” She adjusted her round glasses. “I have a big hat and a parasol that will work. As long as it’s not too choppy.” She grinned ruefully. “Like many of our countrymen I’m a sailor who isn’t fond of rough seas.”
“It’ll be fine. Smooth as glass today.” Dusk brushed her shoulder affectionately. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take good care of you.”
“I’m sure you will.” She reached up and patted his hand.
Minnie blinked. There really wasn’t a darn thing left to say after that.
Pierce watched the excitement leap into Minnie’s eyes as he rolled his steam-powered carriage up to the steps where she and Felicia were standing.
“My God. That’s a truly frightening noise.” Felicia had grabbed Minnie’s arm.
“It’s all right. Looks like Pierce has been working on transportation.” Minnie tilted her head as she stared at the vehicle. “Two seats, a guiding mechanism and an engine, puffing politely. I suppose it was the warning horn that made you jump.”
“Is this the whimsy you told me about?”
“No. This is larger. Different. Noisier,” laughed Minnie. “Pierce has been keeping secrets.” She looked at him with one eyebrow raised in question.
“Not really. We haven’t had much leisure time of late. And I haven’t had occasion to use this transportation in quite a while. It’s designed for two—goes places where my whimsy can’t. Yet.” He leaned over and opened a small door, patting the leather seat beside him. “Are you ready?”
“I am indeed.” Minnie turned to Felicia. “Be careful, my dear. We’ll see you when we get back.”
“You too.” Felicia accepted Minnie’s quick kiss on the cheek.
Making sure her hat was securely pinned to the knot of hair beneath it, Minnie stepped up into the carriage and sat next to Pierce, gathering her skirts carefully around her feet before closing the door.
“You’ve ridden in one of these before?” Pierce noticed her casual actions.
“Several. They’re all the crack in London. None, I might add, are as nicely made as yours. Most are much louder and not as well designed.”
Pierce nodded. “Thank you. That’s good to know.”
“Well, if it breaks down on us, I’ll retract my compliments.” She grinned and leaned back. “Think I need my parasol yet?”
“Soon. We’ll be going inland first, since the road doesn’t follow the edge of the cliffs, but once we get back to the immediate coastline you’ll probably want the shade.”
They waved to Felicia who didn’t wave back, since she couldn’t make them out as they drove away.
“She’ll be all right with Dusk, won’t she?” There was a note of worry in Minnie’s voice.
“I can’t imagine anyone else better able to take care of her. Don’t worry. Dusk is someone I’d trust with my life.”
She smiled. “All right then. Thank you. That’s a weight off my mind.”
“You mother her.”
She looked at him in surprise. “I don’t mean to. She’s a good friend and I like to think I was able to help her after her husband passed away.”
“Did you know her before her sight began to fail?”
“No. That happened before we met. Apparently her vision began to blur and got worse until it reached the point where it’s at now. It hasn’t changed in years and she’s used to it, but—well, I’m her friend. I can’t help but worry about her now and again. Especially here, where she’s surrounded by unfamiliar things.”
“Seems that Dusk is a lot less unfamiliar with her than he was.”
“Yes. There is that.” Minnie chuckled. “Mind you, they’re a good match. She’s stubborn as a mule about some things. I think he’ll know how to handle her.”
“You think so?”
“Of course. He works for you.”
Rendered speechless by that artless comment, Pierce turned his attention to the road and pointed at the coast. “There’s Fotheringay’s manor.”
Several red pointed roofs showed above the rolling countryside and a lane led from the one they were presently traversing toward the shore and Fotheringay.
“It’s a bit remote.” Minnie looked around at the empty fields and rolling hills.
“He seems to like it. And he does have quite a bit of company. He told me once that his brother runs some sizeable industry somewhere. But he said it like it was a bad thing. Still has that awful attitude that if you’re in trade then you’re beneath notice, I suppose.”
“It’s not unusual to run into people who still think that way.”
“True. It seems that Stanley bred true to the Fotheringays. All name and property and lineage, holding themselves far above the hoi polloi who have to work for a living. But not far enough so as to remove themselves from the brother’s financial successes. Hence the occasional weekend in the country for the rich and overprivileged investors, at Stanley’s manor.”
“Hypocritical idiots.”
“Yes.”
“Does he have a beach? A dock?” Minnie sounded thoughtful.
“Yes to the beach, but no dock that I know of. If his guests come by boat, they usually tie up in Yarmouth. It’s not a long trip.” He glanced away from the road briefly and looked at her. “Why?”
“Just wondering. Those weekends for investors. I have to ask myself if perhaps the indolent rich might want a certain type of entertainment. The sort of thing where girls would be required?”
Pierce wrinkled his nose. “I’ve not heard a whisper about girls arriving for a fun visit with the randy rich. This crowd, including Stanley…well, let’s just say it would be far more likely to see a pack of handsome young men.” He cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Aha. A man with different interests.”
“That’s one way of putting it, yes.”
She frowned a little. “I’m still wondering how those girls got onto that ship. If our theory is right, they must have come this way. And then gotten themselves ferried out there. The big ships can’t come in too close, right?”
He shook his head in agreement and turned over her ideas. “No, nothing too large can make it in as far as the cliffs. They wouldn’t want to. The sea floor is too irregular around here, even though it drops off quite quickly.” He turned the vehicle slightly, trying to make sure their ride was as smooth as possible. Since they’d passed Fotheringay’s, the road had become much more of a path through the countryside than a real road. “It’s a good question. But I have to admit I’m having a difficult time seeing Stanley Fotheringay in the role of villain.”
“We need to keep an open mind,” she admonished him with a slight frown. “Villains seldom wear signs announcing their underhanded intentions, you know.”
“Ha ha.” He grinned cheerfully at her sarcasm. “Most amusing.”
She waved it aside. “So somehow, on some sort of boat, these girls made the trip out to the anchored ship. That means there has to be a dock involved.” She paused. “You have a dock at the Brass Pluggit, don’t you?”
“Yes I do.” He snorted. “And I’d like to state quite clearly that I am not now, nor have I ever been, involved with white slavery, similar illegal activities or murder.”
She looked smug. “I didn’t say you were.”
“You implied it. It’s the same thing.”
“Is not.”
“It is in
my book.”
“Get a new volume. Yours is overdue back at the library.”
Pierce sighed and stopped the vehicle with a puff of steam. It chattered quietly to itself as he turned to Minnie. “There’s no help for it.”
“Help for what?”
“Me.” He pulled her into his arms. “I’m a lost cause. Kiss me.”
“Oh very well.” She linked her arms around his neck. “But I don’t think you’re lost at all.”
Quite a few delightful minutes passed before Pierce could manage to string words together into a coherent sentence.
And even then, he realized the effort was probably pointless. She’d only take them and turn them back on him and then serve them up neatly on a platter.
He smiled at the notion. God, he was really falling in love with this woman.
Minnie was afraid she could get rather terribly used to this. Being able to reach for this man on a whim and relish his kisses at her leisure.
It wasn’t that she could never have done so in the past with her lovers—she could have.
It was that up until now, she hadn’t wanted to.
She tugged her thoughts away from the lingering pleasure of the kiss and back to the current matter in hand. “You know we’ve never considered the possibility of anyone using an airship.”
“For the girls?” Pierce stroked her cheek with a finger and then moved away with a sigh. “I can’t see anyone who was looking for anonymity or discretion loading up a bunch of prostitutes into an airship. That’s point one.” He nodded out to sea. “Then there’s the weather factor. As you saw last night, storms can blow up and be a real nuisance, if not a hazard. Ships have been riding them out since before recorded time. Airships, on the other hand—not so much.”
“Point.” She awarded him the victory. “All right. No airships. We’re back to our original proposition.”
“Yes.” He slipped the vehicle back into gear and let the idling engine stir back to life. They moved forward, more slowly this time over the rough tracks. “Do me a favor please? Open your parasol and then reach behind you. There’s a basket there.”
Minnie did as she was bid. “All right.” She turned around and saw the hamper. “What do you need?”
“Inside there’s a pair of binoculars. I need them available but not necessarily visible to anyone watching.”
She pursed her lips as she retrieved the bulky object and settled it beside her, under her ruffled skirt. “You think someone is watching us?”
“Not yet. But when we top that rise, they may be.” He pointed to a slight hill ahead. “On the other side is the Godolphin development. This track ends there. To head south, we should have taken the road where it forked a while back. The only reason to be on this particular path would be to visit Stanley, whose estate we’ve passed, or to go to the Godolphin site.”
“Which we’re about to survey. As what…tourists?”
“I suppose so. A man and a woman out for a little drive. They’ll know it’s me, since I think I’m the only one with a steam-propelled vehicle. A halfway decent telescope will show that and more.”
“Does it matter if they know it’s you?” Minnie tried to follow his logic.
“At this minute? No. If I start investigating their site through binoculars, then maybe.”
“Ah. Yes. I see.” She absently angled the parasol to shade her nose from the bright sun. “So we’re going to be enjoying the scenery and the day and each other. And also discreetly checking out what they’re doing. And hoping nobody’s paying much attention to us.”
“That sums it up, yes.”
“Not the most solid of plans, but I can’t think of anything better, so we might as well try it.” She moved nearer to Pierce and held the sunshade over both of them as they slowly ascended the last hill.
And came to a halt at the top.
There was little choice. Just over the rise was a fence and barring their way a very solid gate bearing a sign prohibiting admittance. Apparently only those with permission from the Godolphin management were allowed to proceed further.
The fence ringed quite a large area nestled in the dip between two slight hills, and went from the edge of the cliffs on one side to the edge of the same cliffs on the other.
“Well, I’ll give them points for most creative use of a chine.” Pierce casually lifted an arm and rested it on Minnie’s shoulders, as if enjoying the view.
“A chine. Yes, there’s several of those hereabouts, I hear. And it’s…what?”
“It’s where a river cut through the chalk cliffs, probably thousands of years ago, forming a little valley. As the river itself dies down to a trickle, it leaves a small inlet and access to the interior via the valley floor. Since it’s chalk, there are often caves associated with them. Much prized by smugglers a century ago.”
“Ahh.” Minnie nodded.
“I think the word chine is pretty specific to this area…they’re probably called something else in other places.” He sounded thoughtful as he adjusted her parasol to make sure she was comfortable. “Do you think you could reach the binoculars?”
She slid a hand between them and grasped the metal. “Got them.”
“All right.” He took the shining brass instrument from her grasp. “I’m going to turn you so that it looks like we’re checking out the coastline.” He fiddled with a couple of knobs. “What we’ll actually be looking at, of course, is Godolphin.”
“I…er…huh?” Minnie knew her mouth was open as she struggled to sort out what he’d just said. “We’ll be looking one way and seeing another?”
“Precisely.” He held the binoculars up to Minnie’s eyes.
She blinked and steadied his hand, covering it with her own.
And sucked in a shocked breath.
Where she should have seen the blue ocean, she saw green grass and buildings. Where there should have been a sun-hazed horizon, there were men working, hammering, climbing ladders and engaging in various activities designed to assist in the creation of walls, rooms, roofs and windows.
“Oh my goodness.” She blinked, drew back and then looked again. “How the devil are you doing this?”
“Scientists have a bad habit or two.” He accepted the device as Minnie passed it to him and rubbed her eyes. “One of them is tinkering with perfectly ordinary things and making them do something a bit on the extraordinary side.”
He tweaked the settings and held it to his face, giving Minnie chance to notice a few extra knobs and levers she hadn’t seen or looked for. They were quite small, but clearly not part of the original unit.
“Just a little rearrangement of the lenses, a basic knowledge of optics and…there you have it.”
“Have what?”
“A device that can look around corners.” He shrugged. “Well, almost.”
“Ingenious.” Minnie gathered her wits. “I suppose I should be happy that you haven’t tinkered with the plumbing in the bathroom.”
“I did try.” He sounded amused as he continued to focus the binoculars.
“What happened?”
“Something unpleasant. But quite bracing.”
“Ah.” Minnie wisely decided not to pursue it. She idly twirled her parasol and snuggled closer. “Don’t forget we’re sightseers. A couple enjoying the day.”
He moved the binoculars away a little. “How can I forget?” His green gaze was bright in the sunshine as it lowered to her lips. “Your fragrance is tantalizing. It haunts me.”
“It must be your soap.” She blinked.
“Oh no. I know the scent of soap. This is the scent of woman. Warm and sensual woman.”
Her eyelids lowered as his voice softened into a caress, and her body flooded with heat at his words. A heat that had nothing to do with the sunlight and everything to do with Pierce.
It was quite astonishing, and absolutely wonderful.
His next words jerked her out of her languorous moment. “Now that’s strange. Very strange indeed.”
Dusk pulled his hat low over his face as he kept the boat at a gentle speed, handling the wheel with a confidence born of many hours on the water and a comfortable familiarity with Pierce’s little steam-propelled launch.
Glancing behind him, he watched Felicia turn her face toward the breeze and sniff in the fresh tang of sun-warmed ocean air. She had elected to settle in the stern, amidst an assortment of cheerfully colored pillows, close enough to the gunwale to let her hand dangle just above the water and occasionally feel the splash of an errant wave.
Her white hat, her soft pastel gown—she looked like a white violet nestled amongst a bouquet of tropical blooms. He surprised himself with the whimsical notion and turned abruptly back to the wheel. “Are you all right?” He tossed the question over his shoulder.
“I’m just…divine.” She was laughing. “I’d forgotten how lovely it all feels. The scent of the water, the sound of the boat, the way the waves lap around us and cradle us—it’s wonderful, Dusk. Thank you for bringing me.”
And just like that, he melted once more. Her charm and joy in the simple things, her courage in facing those things that would never be simple—he was entranced by this woman and rapidly realizing how deep that enchantment might go.
“Felicia, about last night…” He cleared his throat.
“Mmm?” She tilted her parasol and shifted a little into a comfortable position.
“I’m not sure if I should be apologizing or proposing.”
“Good Lord.” Felicia sat up in a hurry. “Neither, I hope.” She tipped her head in his direction. “You kissed me, Dusk. You didn’t hurt me, or compromise me. I kissed you back. I hope I didn’t hurt you. It was, as far as I’m concerned, very pleasant.” She touched her chin. “There is that beard-burn issue, of course.”
“Yes, I’m sorry about that. I’ll make sure I shave next time.” He caught himself up.
“Aha.” She was on that without a pause. “Next time. You enjoyed it too.”
“Well of course I did.”