Serena

by Claudy Conn

  “Indeed, but beauty isn’t everything.” His lordship frowned. Jasper was annoying him, though why, he couldn’t tell. It wasn’t as though they hadn’t ogled lovelies together in the past.

  “No, it isn’t, but she is more than beauty … I can tell that just from her smile. Indeed.” He paused. “You are right. Better keep m’distance from that one. She is just the sort that just might serve me up a final coup de gras.” He shook his head vehemently. “Not ready for that just yet,” his friend exclaimed, hand to heart.

  His lordship laughed. “At any rate, as you can see, it is my nephew who is enthralled with her and means to take her as his bride. He has eyes only for her and is determined to court her to that end,” Lord Daniel Pendleton said grimly.

  “But she may not have him. After all, he is a puppy, isn’t he, and she … well, there is something of the woman about her, isn’t there?”

  “Oh, she’ll have him. Why wouldn’t she? He is personable, quite a nice lad, titled and wealthy.” His lordship grimaced. “However, it just won’t do … Freddy isn’t even twenty yet.”

  “Hmm. Lewis was only four and twenty when he got engaged and then married. Done him a world of good. Some men are the better for marriage.”

  “Lewis had finished his studies at Oxford, and as I recall you even sent him on the Grand Tour to give him some polish … therein lies the difference,” his lordship returned impatiently.

  “Don’t get angry with me, ol’ boy. I have already offered to cut him out and have her myself. Can’t you just see her on my arm, with those dark eyes looking up at me?”

  “No, and you already retracted the offer.” His lordship chuckled. “But perhaps I should cut my nephew out with her,” he said thoughtfully.

  “Ah, but that would cause a rift between you and your nevvy. He has always looked up to you.”

  “Yes, that is what has been holding me back, for it has been a plan I have been considering nearly from the start.” He sighed heavily. “I must do something, and that is the only thing I can think of at the moment. I can see her switching her attentions to me if she thought I could be brought up to scratch.”

  “What gives you such a poor opinion of the lady?” Jasper watched as not only the reverend went towards Serena at the finish of the cotillion, but several other young bucks. “Seems to me she has her pick of many.”

  “My poor opinion comes from the fact that I honestly believe she is not genuinely in love with Freddy … and means to have him, knowing he should be up at school, not dancing attendance on her!”

  Jasper shrugged. “I don’t know that she has a choice in the matter. He seems quite intent on dancing attendance on her as you say … look there.” Jasper indicated with his chin. “She has totally given him her back and walked off with Warren Beverly. I know that chap … a rogue if ever there was one, and quite done up. He has to marry well in order to bring his estates around.”

  His lordship said nothing to this as he watched her giggle at something Warren Beverly had whispered into her ear. He wondered if she was in love with the rogue, for they looked quite comfortable with one another. The notion burned.

  “Look, I will take my chances and have a go at her, if you really need me,” Jasper offered banteringly.

  “She won’t have you.” His lordship’s mood turned ugly as he considered Warren Beverly and Miss Moorely.

  “Won’t she? Why not?”

  “Freddy is a lord, you are only a knight … and your fortune while considerable is nothing compared to Freddy’s or mine,” his lordship answered with an accompanying laugh and then dodged a punch to his shoulder.

  At that moment, a young blond man no more than five and twenty came rushing at them. “Oh, you here, Danny? Where did you come from? Where are you staying? You must bring your things in the morning and stay with us. I have some prime blood I want to show you, and a new stud, straight from the colonies. Needs a bit of weight as he lost some on his journey here, but he is sound and … you must come,” Lewis Tucker insisted quite excitedly.

  Sir Jasper laughed and said, “You must forgive my brother. He is overly enthusiastic.”

  His lordship reached out and clapped Jasper’s youngest brother on the back. “Lewis, it is good to see you. I don’t think I have seen you since your wedding. Where is your bride, by the way?”

  His face lit up as he turned and pointed out a pretty little dark-haired girl happily conversing with another group of young women. “Elizabeth will insist you come. You will come, won’t you?”

  “We shall see.”

  Jasper frowned and said, “Lewis, we can talk about that later. For now, did you find out what all that fuss was about earlier?”

  “Aye, and you were right,” Lewis answered portentously. “’Tis no little matter.”

  “What then?” Jasper urged him on.

  “Well, but, Jasper, you will never credit it,” Lewis answered, his eyes open wide.

  “Until I have heard it, I don’t suppose I shall,” replied his brother impatiently.

  His lordship laughed and said encouragingly, “Go on then, Lewis, out with it. What fuss? What are you two talking about?”

  “The special gold shipment which was meant to go overseas … to Wellington,” whispered Lewis. “It has been stolen. No doubt about it. Spoke to Tuthill before I came here.”

  “What?” Sir Jasper took a step and looked over his shoulder. “What the devil are you saying? That is impossible. No one even knew about it.”

  “Well, Tut thinks the cargo never made it to the docks. He says even if it did, it never made it onto the ship, though I am inclined to think it never made it to the docks at all,” Lewis said on a hushed note.

  “This is damnable business,” Jasper said, pulling at his bottom lip. “How much has already leaked out?”

  Lewis nodded. “Here is the thing, Jasper. Tuthill’s guards although sworn to secrecy … well, they may have had loose tongues. That is what I think. They go for a pint to the tavern, and before you know it … they tell a friend … who tells a friend. At any rate, ’tis out and about. A shipment of gold coins meant for Wellington and our troops … gone.” Lewis suddenly stared at his brother accusingly. “Certes! You didn’t come for a visit, did you? You came to oversee that blasted shipment.” Clearly Lewis had taken offense.

  “Don’t be absurd,” Jasper said impatiently. “My being here has naught to do with the security of that shipment. That is another department’s mission.” As soon as Jasper said this he went silent and thoughtful.

  “Hold up a moment,” his lordship said. “I know something about this particular shipment. I had heard it was supposed to have gone out to Wellington weeks ago.”

  “Quite right, Danny. Unfortunately too many of us knew that a decoy had been employed.” He seemed to mull this over. “What this means is that we have a traitor … and a thief amongst our own,” Jasper said grimly.

  “Could the traitor actually be someone in your department?” Lewis asked, looking around. “Because … who then would he be working with here?”

  “Not necessarily in my department. I worked with the Home Office on this plan, but very few of us knew exactly when the shipment of gold was due to leave. This is a sad day.” He shook his head. “I am afraid I must leave. I should have been kept informed, which is another thing I don’t quite understand. How did the scoundrels pull this off without us knowing? And you are right on the mark, Lewis. If we have a traitor, he must be working with someone in the New Forest. I am … appalled.”

  “Aye, this is an ugly business. But tell me, how do these scoundrels expect to spend their ill-gotten gold?”

  “I don’t know. That is a good question, and one that leads me to believe that they must be keeping it hidden somewhere nearby,” Jasper said, grimacing. “I had better get word to the Home Office immediately.”

  “But wait, Jasper … you will never credit this, but the gossip is that Frederick of Radburn might be able to identify one of the culprits!” Lewis st
uck in.

  “What? How can that be?” Jasper sounded astonished. .

  “My nephew … Freddy?” His lordship’s brow was furrowed. As dawning lit in his brain, he said, “Hold on a moment. My nevvy and Miss Moorely happened to be passing by a wooded area late in the afternoon the other day when they saw someone come charging out of the woods. The fellow made them both suspicious, and they decided to investigate, whereupon they came upon a corpse.”

  “Egad!” Jasper said.

  Lewis interjected, “Yes, yes … that’s it precisely, Danny. They fetched the magistrate—Tuthill— to the scene, but by the time they returned, the er … corpse was gone.”

  “Gone, what do you mean gone?” Jasper shook his head. “Too smoky by half!”

  “The body couldn’t be found. His horse couldn’t be found … but they were able between them to give a description of the poor man. As it turns out, Magistrate Tuthill, my friend, said it sounded to him like the fellow they had been watching work or so it seemed near the Mary Rose,” Lewis said.

  “How do you know all this?” his lordship inquired on a frown.

  “As I mentioned just now, Magistrate Tuthill and I are good friends,” Lewis said proudly.

  “And, of course, the Mary Rose was where the gold guineas had been headed,” Jasper added thoughtfully, almost to himself.

  “Aye, then, we have a bit of a situation,” his lordship said with some concern.

  “And this magistrate …” Jasper started.

  “Tuthill, as I told you, a good friend of mine. Tut is a great gun,” Lewis said. “Nothing frippery about him—told me right off that something havey cavey was towards and that I should get word to you, Jasper. Didn’t know then you were coming into town, but said you would want to know.”

  “And this all took place, I am assuming, over the last two days?” his lordship asked thoughtfully.

  “Aye, and Tut is sure the shipment is still somewhere in the New Forest,” Lewis said.

  “Does he? Why?” asked his lordship.

  “There, you belong in the Treasury Department with me, Danny. Could use you there. Good head on your shoulders. You have a direct way of getting to the meat and cutting out all the rest,” Jasper said quietly.

  Lewis stuck in, “Well, like I told you, Tut is a good man. He couldn’t sleep that first night. Made his way to the harbor and decided to have a look in on the Mary Rose. He told me he is only confiding in me so that I would get word to you, Jasper,” he said and then continued. “At any rate, right off he noticed that the two men he had posted to watch the ship were nowhere to be found. Out came his pistol, but it was too late. He found his men trussed up in a wagonload of straw, heard them all muffled up. He sets them to rights, and when they search the ship, no gold … though the manifest noted it was delivered. He knew immediately it was all a hum. He said to tell you that in his opinion it just never made it to the ship. Just a trunk full of rocks.”

  “If he thinks it is in the New Forest, what does he propose to do next?” Jasper asked.

  “Tomorrow morning he’s taking his men into the woods. Thinks the thieving culls are hiding the gold—maybe dug a ditch and covered it up—somewhere in the Forest. Or maybe they are working with a farmer hard on his luck and talked into looking the other way for a bit of gold, you see. Tut means to do a thorough search.”

  “Interesting …” Jasper offered.

  “Indeed, but very nearly impossible to execute. Too many ways of getting around in the New Forest, and how can a handful of men cover all that ground?” his lordship stuck in with a frown.

  “I know, he knows, but what else can he do?” Lewis answered, shrugging.

  “Also,” his lordship added with a furrowed look, “I am a little concerned that this situation puts both Miss Moorely and Freddy in danger.”

  “Aye … I should think so,” remarked Lewis.

  Jasper frowned. “I don’t know about that. Obviously they weren’t able to identify the scoundrel.” He sighed. “Right then, I’m off, but just in case you had better tell your nevvy to have a watchful eye … though we don’t want to frighten Miss Moorely.”

  “Oh … I doubt she frightens easily,” said his lordship, turning to look at her. She was in the middle of a country dance with Freddy, and for a moment, he couldn’t look away from her. Damn, but he was going to have to hurry if he was going to nip this in the bud, for Freddy looked absolutely besotted!

  ~ Eight ~

  “UNCLE DANNY, DO not shoot me down when I tell you … because I need to tell you, as you are my favorite of all my relatives. I … well, as I wrote m’mother, I mean to make Miss Moorely, my wife.”

  His lordship’s heartbeat quickened. His nerves felt frazzled as he stopped himself from shouting. He managed to maintain a relatively calm exterior and answered, “Of course, you do.” He studied him, “Do you have reason to believe that Miss Moorely will accept your suit?”

  “Well, as to that …” Freddy blushed. “There is never any saying what Serena has in her mind.” He shrugged. “I don’t mean to give up until she realizes that I am the only man that can make her happy.”

  “I see. So, are you telling me she has not given you reason to believe she will accept?” his lordship asked softly, and he felt compelled to lean forward.

  What was she up to? Was her reticence a trick—a cunning trick to keep Freddy on the line while she scouted other more desirable suitors?

  He had no doubt at that moment that Serena Moorely was leading his nephew a lively dance, keeping him on a string, making certain … making certain of what? She must know he was ready to propose? He shrugged this off. He had no doubt whatsoever that her game was deep, though he wasn’t quite sure what her game was. “What about her uncle? Does he approve of your courtship of his niece?”

  “He said to me very clearly just before he became ill that he had little or no say as his niece was fully capable of making up her own mind.” Freddy sighed. “Not sure what that means.”

  “I see,” his lordship answered, unsure as well. “Right then, what about your mother?”

  “My mother?” Freddy returned in horrified accents.

  “Indeed, don’t you think your mother will object?”

  “Yes, I already know that. Isn’t that why you are here?” Freddy got up from the breakfast table and paced. “But what can she do, after all?”

  “You do not reach your majority for a few years yet, and it isn’t what she can do, it is a matter of how she will feel, although she can make it difficult for you until you get full control over your fortune … which is, as I have just said, not for another few years, you know.”

  “I don’t care. She should support my decisions,” he answered roughly.

  “And if she doesn’t … how will you support a wife on as student’s allowance? Indeed, although your trustee—me in fact—must continue to support your estate, a wife can be expensive … gowns, balls, routs … many things, and your allowance will not be sufficient for such expenditures.”

  “Mother will have to increase my allowance. You can talk to her,” Freddy responded.

  “You do know better, don’t you? And if she takes a miff from the start … what hope does your future bride have to fit in comfortably with the family?” Ah, his lordship thought as he watched the flitting expressions on Freddy’s face. He had given him some meat to chew. It was time the lad looked beyond the beauty of a woman and into the reality of what marriage would mean.

  * * *

  The sun’s rays streamed through the large bay window of the Moorely morning room and lit on the squire’s face.

  Serena cast a fond glance in his direction, for he had fallen asleep in his favorite chair. She moved to tuck in the colorful knit blanket she had made him the previous winter, and he opened his eyes and startled her. “Don’t fuss!”

  She nearly jumped but instead, laughed and wagged a finger. “You did that on purpose, you naughty thing.”

  He grinned. “Go out … enjoy the fin
e day. You don’t have to coddle me. I’m on the mend and shall be up and about in no time.”

  She bent and dropped a kiss on his forehead. “I can see that, but I can’t go out just yet … we are expecting a visitor this morning.”

  He opened his eyes wide and with some interest asked, “Are we? And who might this visitor be?”

  “Lord Pendleton.” Serena found she could not meet his inquiring gaze. In fact, she didn’t want to think about his lordship, or the fact that every single time she did, she felt fluttery and forgot she was a grown woman. She couldn’t explain what always came over her when he happened to be about, but she knew if she didn’t get it under control, she was headed for heartache.

  “Pendleton, eh? Ah … young Freddy’s uncle. I know of the family. The very pink of the ton … travels in all the first circles. What does he want?”

  “I am sure I don’t know,” she said, again not meeting his eyes with her own.

  “Well, well, and was he at the ball last evening?” Evidently the squire meant to pursue this line of inquiry.

  “Yes …”

  “And did you waltz with him?”

  “I did.” She moved away and went to look out the window. She hadn’t slept until the wee hours of the morning. She couldn’t stop recounting everything he had said to her, everything she had said to him, the touch of his hand at her waist as they moved around the dance floor, the fact that she had wanted him to kiss her. Mad—she was obviously going mad. It probably was what happened to spinsters, and that was what she would soon be if she went on as she had been.

  “What are you dreaming about, for you haven’t heard a word I said,” her uncle demanded, his eyes alive with interest.

  She laughed, went back to him, and tweaked his hooked nose, but he caught her hand and made a face at her. “She-devil. What are you keeping from me? Tell me about the ball.”

  “What should I tell you?” she asked all innocence though she knew very well he wanted intimate details of her evening.