Urging Midnight to greater speed, he could see now that she was trying to slow Star down, but the mare was having none of it. Midnight seemed to sprout wings, as if he understood the urgency driving his rider. They were closing in on Tina, but was it fast enough?
Star began to slow just a bit, but it was sufficient. Jay reached them just as the saddle slipped to the side completely. Tina kicked free of the stirrup as he reached her, her arms flung wide, enabling him to pluck her, literally, from mid-air—and possible death had she fallen to the ground.
Pulling up, he slowed Midnight gradually. The stallion eased into a canter, then a walk, finally stopping altogether, its sides heaving.
Jay looked down at Tina. She had lost her hat and her hair had come loose, flowing down over his arm. Her small hands clutched the front of his jacket, her knuckles showing white, and her face was buried in his chest. His own heartbeat pounded in his ears, yet he could still hear her gasping for air as her body shuddered against him.
“M’lord!” Jenkins reached them. His mount was as winded as he, but he had Star’s reins. “What happened, m’lord? Is her ladyship hurt?”
“No, she’s fine,” Jay responded grimly. “It looks as if the cinch-strap came loose.”
The groom looked puzzled, but he had no idea Jay was keeping his fury barely in check. Instructing the groom to take the mare home, Jay watched as the little man returned the way he had come, Tina’s mare trailing behind him with the saddle sitting askew on its back, then looked down at Tina again.
She no longer had a death grip on his jacket, and her breathing seemed closer to normal. Lifting his hand, he tipped her head back so he could look down into her face—and assure himself she was still here and still his. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding when she looked up at him through watery eyes.
“What happened?” he asked gently.
“I don’t know.” Her voice trembled slightly. “I felt the saddle slipping and tried to slow Star down. Then it felt like it all came loose and I thought I was about to hit the ground, and…well, you know what happened then.”
Jay nodded, unable to stop himself from reliving the moment he realized she was about to fall from her horse at a full gallop. Suppressing a shudder, he tightened his arms about her, lifting her higher against his chest.
“Are you all right?” he parroted the groom, and when she nodded, he pressed, “You’re sure?”
She let out a shaky laugh. “Yes,” she assured him. Slipping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest, she relaxed in his arms. “Let’s go home.”
Jay pressed a kiss to her forehead, then gathered up Midnight’s reins and turned the stallion back the way they had come.
Once back at the house, Jay would have insisted she go back to bed, but she was having none of that. She insisted she was fine now that the danger had passed. Besides she was meeting Lady Weston not long after breakfast to finish looking at the plans for the gardens being replanted at Westover House.
Jay watched her ascend the staircase, the knot in his gut only slightly less tight than it had been when he caught her as she fell from Star’s back. Once she disappeared from view, he turned and headed to the stables.
Tina entered her room and sat at the dressing table. The person who looked back at her from the mirror was not the person she was used to seeing. She shook her head trying to dispel the image of wide aquamarine eyes in a ghostly pale face, surrounded by a cloud of raven curls, but the image remained. Her heart continued to beat erratically as she relived the morning’s ride.
Closing her eyes, she recalled the moment Jay had tipped her head back to look down at her. For one unguarded second she had seen naked fear in his eyes and, despite the circumstances, hope had raised its head. Perhaps he did care for her after all.
Instinct warned her a declaration on her part might damage the bond growing between them, but now she wondered if she was brave enough to take the plunge. The emotion she had read in his eyes this morning heartened her, but was it too new? Too fragile? If she pressed, would he bury it and deny its existence?
Milly hurried into the room, interrupting her thoughts.
“Oh, m’lady, ’tis glad I am you aren’t hurt,” she blurted.
Tina shook herself from her thoughts and turned to watch as Milly disappeared into the dressing room, returning with a morning gown of rose muslin and laying it out on the bed.
“Everyone is saying how his lordship saved you,” the maid continued. “Cook is planning on makin’ a special cake just for him. Old Darby has been at all the stablehands about your saddle, and swears that he’ll find out what happened.”
Tina unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it off just as Milly turned toward her.
“Oh, your hair! I’ll have it right as rain soon.”
Tina allowed the maid to chatter all the while helping her to change out of her riding outfit into the gown. It was easy to let the young woman talk without responding for Milly rarely needed any response—especially on a morning like this when her chatter was from worry and anxiousness. Tina appreciated her caring.
*
“What could he possibly hope to gain now?” Jon asked Jay two afternoons later as the two of them sat in the library at Thane House. “He” was Roderick Milton, the still-missing steward. Having come to the conclusion someone was trying to harm Tina, Jay had confided his concerns to Jon and the two of them decided Milton was the only possible culprit.
Tina was out with the Westover ladies at a garden party. Jay had been reluctant to let her go, but without coming right out and telling her what he suspected, he could not confine her to the house. He had, instead, instructed the footman who had accompanied the ladies, to keep her in sight as much as possible.
“I don’t know,” Jay answered now. “Has Pymm returned from the north yet?”
“He was due back a few days ago,” Jon replied. “Let’s hope the delay has yielded results.”
Keyes knocked and entered the library moments later. “A Mr. Pymm to see you, my lord.”
Jay sat up. At last!
“Show him in.”
Mr. Rufus Pymm was a large man, intimidating in size and appearance. With a black patch over one eye and a dark beard in a swarthy face, he was the perfect picture of a pirate.
“I came immediately when I reached town, my lord. I will give you my written report later, but I thought you needed to hear this information now.” He turned as he spoke, indicating a small, distinguished looking gentleman who had followed him in. “This is Mr. Stapleton of Messrs. Stapleton and Poole, solicitors. From Carlisle.”
Jay invited them both to sit down, then turned to Mr. Stapleton, as it was obvious he was expected to speak first.
“My firm has represented the Mildens of Mildenwood Hall for a number of generations,” he began. “My father was particularly close to Lord Richard two generations back.”
Jon started at the name. “Damn!” he exclaimed. “Now I remember. He was my great-grandfather.”
The solicitor looked at him. They had not been introduced in the detective’s haste to have him tell his story. “Lord Wynton, I presume?” he now asked.
Jon nodded in response and wanted to ask how he knew who he was, but the solicitor merely nodded in acknowledgment and continued.
“When Lord Richard died in 1814, the bulk of his estate was left to his son, Ashton, however, there was an irregular bequest concerning a small portion of his holdings that, according to Mr. Pymm, concerns you—or rather, your wife—my lord.”
Jay leaned forward in his chair behind the massive desk. “My wife? How?”
“It is somewhat complicated, but I will endeavor to explain as clearly as I can,” the solicitor said. “Lord Richard apparently fathered a daughter, Shana. Her mother was a gypsy. Although Lord Richard had no antipathy toward gypsies—indeed, he was apparently on good terms with the small band he allowed to camp on his land year after year—he knew they had no use for money or l
and. He therefore left a large amount of money and a small estate to his daughter’s oldest unmarried female descendant alive on January 1, 1850. The inheritance was to be hers upon her marriage and the subsequent birth of her first child, provided she did not marry a gypsy.”
“What?” Jon clearly echoed Jay’s thoughts.
“There is more,” the solicitor continued. “If she dies without issue, the inheritance reverts back to the Milden family. Upon the birth of her first child, the inheritance becomes hers free and clear, regardless of whether the child survives.”
The silence in the room was deafening. The ticking of the small clock over the fireplace seemed overly loud.
“There’s your motive, my lord,” the detective spoke into the silence.
“How so?” Jay asked. “What has Roderick Milton to do with a bequest from my wife’s great-grandfather?”
“Er, beggin’ your pardon, my lord, I got ahead of myself,” the detective replied, picking up where the solicitor left off. “When Lord Richard died, his son, Lord Ashton ran his stepsister off, hoping she would return to her mother’s gypsy band. Instead she met and married a Lord Tindale. Once the family learned of the marriage—and subsequent birth of a daughter—they thought the matter settled and the land lost forever.”
“Lord Ashton Milden had three sons. Merrick, the oldest, inherited the title, Delbert, the second purchased a commission, and the third, Rodney, was to study the law,” the solicitor began again. “When Lord Ashton died in 1852, his will, which I drew up for him in 1848, left that contingent piece of property to his youngest son should it return to the family. Lord Ashton would not have mentioned the property had I not brought it up, but I felt it was my responsibility to remind him that the status of the property was still unsettled.”
“Rodney?” Jay asked. He and Jon exchanged glances, coming to the same conclusion at the same time the detective proffered his piece de resistance.
“As it turns out, Rodney Milden and Roderick Milton are the same person.”
By the time the solicitor and detective left, the four had reasoned out most of the events of the last few years. The solicitor’s admission that one of his clerks had allowed Mr. Milden to undertake to find Felicia and any offspring she might have had was the last piece in the puzzle of why no one had contacted Tina or Felicia before.
“God’s blood, what a tangle,” Jon exclaimed after they left. “We’ll have to tell Tina. Besides it being dangerous for her not to know, she’ll be furious if we don’t and she does find out.”
A sudden commotion in the entryway heralded the arrival of Tina and her two new friends. Glancing at the clock, Jay thought it was a bit early for the party to be over already. He fully expected Tina to burst into the library and launch into a recitation of her afternoon. A solemn duchess was admitted instead.
“I’m afraid there’s been a small mishap, my lord,” she began.
Jay was out of his chair instantly, his heart rising to his throat. “What kind of mishap?”
The duchess waived her jewel-bedecked hand at him. “Calm down, my boy. Nothing serious happened. Your lady only got a little wet, that’s all. And, yes, thank you, I’ll take a sherry, if you please.”
Jay noticed Jon grinning as he marched over to the sideboard and poured the duchess a sherry. Handing her the glass and keeping himself severely in check, he managed to inquire in a level voice, “And, how did my wife get a little wet?”
“It was just an accident. We were strolling by the river’s edge and managed to get jostled. She lost her footing and fell. Although the current was quite strong, she was able to swim almost to shore and pull herself out. Lord Northburn went in after her, and helped her out.”
Lady Weston entered the library just then. “I left her in the care of her maid. She says she’s just fine.”
Her last words were lost to Jay, who bolted from the room, leaving three pairs of eyes watching the library door slam behind him.
Jon rose to his feet, a large grin on his face as he turned to Lady Weston and offered her some refreshment.
Jay took the stairs three at a time, surprising Keyes and the footman who happened to be in the front hall at the time. Nearly colliding with Milly, who was leaving Tina’s room with an armful of wet clothing, he managed to stop long enough to ask her where Tina was.
“I left her in the bathing chamber, my lord. She was sore in need of a hot bath.”
He barely heard the last of her comments as he rushed to the appointed chamber.
Tina was soaking in a tub of steaming rose scented water. Her head resting back against the edge of the tub, eyes closed, she could feel her muscles relaxing. It had been an exhausting afternoon.
Reliving once again the moment she had felt hands on her waist and the violent shove that had sent her into the water, she shivered. Someone had deliberately pushed her into the river. Thank God Papa had taught her to swim. He couldn’t have anticipated she’d have to fight her way out of a strong current dressed in today’s fashions. Corsets and petticoats were not designed for swimming. If not for Lord Northburn, she might not have made it at all. By the time he reached her, she had managed to pull herself partially out of the water, but the current and her heavy skirts had been dragging her back. She might not have had the strength to hold on much longer.
Hearing the door open, she said, “I’m fine now, Milly. When I get out, I think I will take a short nap. Would you find out if my husband is at home?”
“Your husband is very much at home, madam,” came a tightly controlled voice from the door.
Water sloshed over the edge of the tub as she spun around and looked up abruptly. “Jay!”
Jay came further into the small room, his countenance grim, and seated himself on a bench beside the large tub. His dark eyes seemed even darker in the dimness of the room as they moved over her as if cataloguing her various parts. She felt a blush cover her chest and neck.
For a moment Jay studied her flushed face and overbright eyes, breathing deeply to calm his racing heart. He was incensed with himself, with her, and the whole world. He had nearly lost her. Regardless of what the duchess said, he did not believe for one moment she had been merely jostled. Yet, so as not to alarm her, he tried for levity in his next words.
“I should have warned you the river is no place for a swim. Especially at this time of the year.”
Tina’s eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hairline as she replied in an equally calm voice, “I did not go in voluntarily. I was pushed.” Before he could say anything else, she continued, “I don’t want to talk about it now. I’m too tired. Let me finish my bath, take a nap, and I will explain everything over tea.”
Jay didn’t understand why she wasn’t in hysterics. Most women of his acquaintance would have been prostrate with fear by now. Did she not understand that someone was trying to hurt, or possibly kill, her?
“Very well. I will leave you to your rest, for now.” He had seen for himself that she was still in one piece and none the worse physically for the experience. Rising to his feet, he leaned over the tub and gave her a hard, quick kiss on the mouth. “I’m glad you’re safe,” he said gruffly.
Then he left the room and headed back downstairs.
Chapter Fifteen
Tina finished her bath and allowed Milly to help her into a nightrail, then climbed into bed. She was exhausted from her exertions and wanted nothing more than to rest. Sleep, however, was elusive. Staring at the embroidered canopy above her head, her thoughts went over again the events of the last two weeks.
Someone was trying to kill her. The broken pin on her carriage wheel could have been an accident. The stone in her horse’s hoof could have been mere happenstance. The runaway hackney on the street might have been a chance misfortune. The broken cinch strap on her saddle was none of those—she had seen it—it had been cut. And today she had been deliberately pushed into the river.
Why?
She knew of no one who might want her dead. Roderick
Milton had tried to force her to leave Thane Park, but he didn’t want her dead, did he? If so, why? What would he gain by her death?
“A small property on the west coast and a large bank account,” Jay informed her over tea. “It’s not much more than a small manor on a few acres of land, but it’s in a good location and the land is good. And, of course, there is the money.”
Tina was dumbstruck. “But, why me?”
“It wasn’t left to you in particular,” Jon told her. “You just happen to meet all of the requirements.”
“If your great-grandfather had omitted just the ‘unmarried’ requirement, it would have been your mother, and the property would have already been out of reach before Milton found any of you,” Jay added.
“Oh.” Picking up her teacup and taking a sip, she put the cup and saucer down carefully before asking, “So, now what? How do we flush out Mr. Milton, or is it Milden?”
“Either, or both,” Jay replied tersely. “But we are not doing anything. Jon and I will handle this.”
“And how do you propose to do so without me, since I’m the one he’s trying to kill?” she asked reasonably.
She knew Jay didn’t want her to be right, but she knew she was. He and Jon could scour London for Roderick Milton, Rodney Milden, or whatever he was calling himself now, but if he was out to harm her, then wherever she was, was the most likely place to find him.
Jay didn’t want it to be that way. He did not want her in danger. But how was he to protect her? Confining her to the house was not practical. She had already begun preparations for her soiree to be held at the end of the season in two weeks. Could they find him before then? They would certainly try. The detective was already out looking for him and they had contacted the Metropolitan Police as well. His brother, they’d discovered, had been posted to India a year ago and not returned. The oldest brother hadn’t heard from him in over a year.
“For one thing, from now on you will not leave this house without Jon or myself as an escort,” he told herw.
The Gypsy Legacy: Marquis Page 24