‘Theresa,’ Mr Stedman muttered. ‘Lady Theresa.’ He glared at Sandford.
Tess took a sip of tea to hide her smile of triumph, poor victory though it might have been.
A bored expression passed across Sandford’s face. He bowed. ‘If you will excuse me, my lady, I see an acquaintance.’ He wandered off and the next moment was deeply engrossed in conversation with Lord Canning, a known supporter of Catholic emancipation.
Tess swallowed a laugh at the look of fury on Mr Stedman’s face. Oh dear, she really was beginning to dislike him very much indeed. How very awkward.
‘You may smile, Lady Theresa,’ he said stiffly, ‘but one expects a man in his position to set an example, not go about inciting unrest. Next thing he’ll be supporting the idea that women should have a say in Parliament. I would have thought better of a friend of the King’s. And as for you supporting such reactionary views, well, I am shocked. Mother would be most dismayed.’
She opened her mouth to issue a set-down, then closed it again, with the greatest difficulty. One could hardly cause a scene, like refusing a proposal as yet to be made, in such a public place, but, oh, she hoped Sandford had good news. A feeling of dread in her stomach promised something else.
A servant near the door rang a bell.
‘Time to return to our seats,’ she said.
‘Yes, indeed. Come along, Lady Theresa. We don’t want to lose our places.’
She wanted to lose him with all her heart.
As they moved towards the music room, she glimpsed Sandford paying close attention to the words of a most elegant female. Tall and willowy and blonde, she was exactly the sort of woman men preferred. Her heart seemed to dip and that was ridiculous. She was disappointed that they hadn’t had a chance to talk, that was all.
The only reason to even notice Sandford existed, she told herself, was that she needed to find Grey.
The evils of her situation suddenly felt unbearable. With her father’s death her life had turned upside down and her expectations had changed dramatically. If only things could go back to the way they were before that day, life would once again be perfect.
A childish wish for things that could never be. She had to find her own solutions now.
She glanced at Stedman and repressed a little shudder.
* * *
While he listened to Lady Caroline with half an ear, Jaimie watched Lady Tess walk out of the drawing room on Stedman’s arm. Why on earth would a woman as lively and intelligent as she put up with such an idiot? The way the man put a hand in the small of her back as he ushered her out of the room exhibited a possessiveness Jaimie found distasteful in the extreme. Devil take it. Lady Tess was none of his business. And once he delivered his news, his obligation was at an end.
If only she had not looked quite so trapped when Stedman had handed her that cup of tea, he might have been able to ignore his instinctive urge to remove her from the man’s presence. He knew what it was like to be trapped by physical weakness. He’d wanted to applaud her spirit when she had stood up to the man and to plant Stedman a facer when his rebuke caused her to shrink. To make matters worse, he had yet to deliver his bad news to her. He should have blurted out the information and left it at that. Case closed. But the dread in her eyes as he began to speak made him think she had already guessed the news was not good. He hadn’t thought he was that transparent.
He certainly wasn’t going to give her bad news in front of Stedman.
Dammit, why did he care? She was nothing to him. Right now he should be in his office interviewing victims of crimes, or following up with fraudulent lawyers, not standing around in a drawing room. A lady deserves protection, whispered the familiar voice in his ear.
Dash it. Lady Tess needed protection from herself and it should be performed by a member of her own family. She’d already distracted him for two days and he still didn’t know why she needed to find this childhood friend so desperately. He hated unanswered questions. It was what made him good at what he did; the need to ferret out answers when others did not realise there was even a question. Until he found the answer to the mystery of Lady Tess, her problem would continue to force its way into his mind at inconvenient moments. Once he had the answer he would go back to matters of real importance. Like the robberies in Mayfair.
He smiled at whatever Lady Caroline had said. She made a sound of annoyance and turned her head as if to see who had caught his attention. He deliberately shifted his focus to another young lady.
‘Sandford,’ Lady Caroline said. ‘You are hopeless.’ She shook her head and walked away.
Clearly she thought he was some sort of lothario. A complete misapprehension, but he grabbed the opportunity to jot a note on his calling card before making his way through the press of people returning to the music room, where he saw, with satisfaction, that Lady Rowan was deep in conversation with her hostess and moving only slowly towards her seat.
Jaimie slipped into the seat beside Lady Tess. When she realised it was he, she gave a little start and shot him a glance full of annoyance.
He smiled back. ‘Lady Tess.’
Her escort frowned. ‘That is Lady Rowan’s seat.’
‘I’ll be sure to give it up should she arrive, but I believe she has chosen to sit with our hostess.’ He pulled his programme from his pocket. ‘I see we are to have the pleasure of listening to the Severn sisters sing a duet. Do you sing, Lady Tess?’
Her escort cleared his throat. ‘I am assured Lady Theresa has a lovely voice.’
A cool draught wafted through the room. Some kind soul had opened a window.
Lady Tess, in her filmy off-the-shoulder gown, gave a little shiver.
‘Where is your wrap, Lady Theresa?’ Stedman asked in a disapproving voice.
Lady Tess gave him a strained smile. ‘I did not bring one.’
He puffed up his chest. ‘You should always bring a shawl, Lady Theresa. One never knows when it might be needed. Mama says a lady should never be without her shawl.’ He eyed her gown disapprovingly.
For a moment Jaimie thought the pompous ass might also make some disparaging remark about her gown’s deliciously revealing design. His shoulders tensed. He really would like to plant Stedman a facer.
‘Your mother sounds very wise,’ Lady Tess said calmly. ‘I look forward to meeting her. Is she always so perceptive?’
‘She is indeed,’ Stedman agreed, clearly diverted. He chuntered on about the wisdom of his mother while Jaimie exchange a glance of...of something, possibly amusement, with Lady Tess.
‘I am sure she will be able to provide you with instruction when we are wed,’ Stedman smugly finished up his discourse.
A cold hand fisted in Jaimie’s gut. So that was how things stood. No wonder she was tolerating the man’s inanity. He should have realised.
He became aware of the tension radiating through the woman beside him. Of the clenching of her jaw. Clearly, she was not happy about Stedman’s declaration. Indeed, now he thought about it, the words seemed to be issued as something of threat and he grimly recalled her telling him at the masquerade that this Season was her last chance to oblige her family.
‘Am I to offer my congratulations, Lady Tess?’ he asked, raising an eyebrow.
‘Nothing has yet been finalised, my lord,’ she said stiffly.
‘But it will be,’ Stedman added with a possessive note in his voice and a smug gleam in his eye.
Instead of feeling relief that with the acquisition of a fiancé he would soon be able to forget all about Lady Tess and her problems, he was startled to realise the determination to get to the bottom of exactly why she had sought his help in the first place had only strengthened.
At the front of the room, the Severn girls sang the chorus for the second time and Jaimie sat back in his chair, shifting slightly, folding his arms across his chest. He poked Tess’s
upper arm with the edge of his card.
She gasped and glanced down.
He wiggled the card, held in his fingertips.
Understanding flashed across her face and a moment later she snagged the card and was sliding it into her reticule. She didn’t even give it so much as a glance. Clever girl.
The young ladies at the front of the room continued to enchant their audience. Now he recalled why he rarely attended this sort of entertainment. It was a painful reminder of similar events when his mother was alive. Times when he’d listened from out in the hallway because he was too young to enter into polite company.
His mother had known he was there and always left the door slightly ajar. He found himself smiling at the recollection of her conspiratorial act, though in the end it had been her undoing. The presence of the young lady at his side made it difficult to focus on the past. The way the neck of her gown skimmed the luscious swells of her creamy skin above her neckline battled for his attention.
Damn it all. Why were those precious memories fading so rapidly?
A disturbance at the end of the row heralded the arrival of Lady Rowan. ‘It appears your cousin has returned,’ he murmured into Lady Tess’s ear, inhaling a last lungful of her lovely lavender scent.
She shivered.
Ah. So she was not quite so indifferent towards him as she made out. He felt a surge of satisfaction and rose to his feet, turning a genial smile on Lady Rowan. ‘I beg your pardon, my lady, is this your seat?’
‘It is,’ the woman said, clearly refusing to be charmed.
He edged out of the row to allow her to sit down and walked out of the music room.
Once she had a chance to read his note, the next move was up to Lady Tess.
And why did he hope that she would take him up on his offer?
* * *
Dash it, this was so unnecessary. Tess had finished dressing slightly earlier than usual this morning, knowing the servants were fully occupied with their chores below stairs. At a time when she knew Carver would be most put out if she asked for an escort.
If Sandford had been unable to locate Freeps, why had he not simply said so? Why the mysterious note that he would meet her on her usual morning walk? And how did he know she walked every morning?
Against her better judgement, she slipped silently down the stairs and out of the front door. The rain from last night glistened on the flagstones, but there were big patches of blue overhead, allowing the sun’s rays to steal into the streets and gild brass door knockers and puddles alike. Marching towards Green Park, she squinted against the glare and enjoyed the breeze along with the false sense of freedom.
When she’d first awoken, she’d half-hoped she could use the rain as an excuse not to meet Sandford. The man made her feel too...unlike herself. It was the only way to describe it. If she wasn’t feeling hot, then she felt cold when he looked at her or came close to her, or frowned at her. It was all the fault of that brief, shocking kiss. Too brief, if her desire to do it again was anything to go by.
How could one trust a man whose kisses made her feel so...so wanton? She flushed hot just thinking about those sensations.
Blast, that was not what she should be thinking about. More to the point, what if he told Phin what she’d been up to? To an outsider, her cousin had been more than fair, given that Father had left her nothing in his will. Her cousin had footed the bill for her come-out and all the clothes and fripperies that went with it. As much as she hated it, he was even trying to find her a husband willing to accept her without a dowry. If Phin found out, he’d be furious at her lack of gratitude and pack her straight off to Yorkshire.
Her best hope was that Grey had used the bracelet as collateral to get him started in some venture and not followed in her father’s footsteps and just gambled it away. He knew she had been hiding it from Papa as a means of staving off the bailiffs should it become necessary. He could not have been so mean as to intend to steal it outright. She hoped.
Once she had it back, Phin would be able to use it to pay off the last of her father’s debts and all would be well. No more need for her to marry anyone in haste. Perhaps there would even be enough left over to give her a small competence of her own. Maybe she could even go and live with Grey and keep his house...?
But if he had sold the bracelet? Then she would never forgive him. It would be the ultimate betrayal.
She entered the Park through the gate near the Queen’s Walk and strolled towards the pond. Her usual route. Where on earth was Sandford? Finally she spotted a tall, lithe figure sauntering towards her and breathed a sigh of relief.
He removed his hat and bowed when their paths crossed as if by accident. He glanced about with a frown. ‘Where is your maid?’
Startled, she stared at him. ‘Really? You think an assignation would be less scandalous if I brought my maid along?’
His lips tightened. ‘My dear girl, this is not an assignation, merely a chance meeting. Now you leave me no choice but to escort you home.’
‘Really, there is no need. As you say, it is a chance meeting. We will simply part when we reach the street.’
He looked thoroughly annoyed.
‘I often walk on my own. No one will think anything of it.’
‘Well, they should,’ he said, his tone frosty. He held out his arm. ‘Please, Lady Tess, we are drawing unwanted attention. Let us walk.’
The only people here were a couple of goose girls and a few cows. She sighed and took his arm. They walked in silence for a moment.
‘My man was unable to speak to Mr Freeps.’
Her stomach sank. ‘I see.’
‘Well?’ he said.
‘Well, what?’
An elegant eyebrow shot up. ‘You were to tell me the full story before I imparted the information I have gathered. One way or another I will get to the bottom of it, so you might as well tell me now.’
‘I suppose you will go to my guardian if I do not.’
Silence greeted her words. When she glanced at his face, she beheld a grim expression. He pressed his lips together as if he would not answer, then shook his head slightly. ‘Lady Tess, I am no tattletale. I will merely employ the resources at my disposal to discover that which you refuse to reveal.’
As if he could. But, oh, it would be so nice to talk to someone apart from Mims, who merely listened, nodded and said nothing helpful apart from it will all be all right, you will see, my lady.
She inhaled a deep breath. Took the plunge. ‘I wanted to ask Freeps if he had any idea where I might find my...my cousin, Greydon Hammond. I need his help with a personal matter.’
His gaze searched her face as if he could see into her mind. ‘My informant tells me Hammond left your home shortly after your father died. Under some sort of cloud. What help could he provide that your cousin Rowan cannot?’
She froze. Stopped stock still. Fear and anger warring in her chest. ‘Your informant? You have been poking around in my family business?’ She gripped her parasol tighter. ‘I suppose that is how you knew about my morning walks.’ Anger running hot in her veins at his intrusion, she turned and marched back the way she had come.
His long legs easily kept pace. ‘I am an investigator, Lady Tess. It is what I do. Why you came to me. My people are trained to do the same.’
Heaven help her, the man was a menace. Going to him had been a terrible mistake. She quelled the urge to hit him over the head with her parasol. ‘Well, you are not very good at what you do, or you would have found my father’s old bailiff, Freeps.’
‘I beg your pardon? The man died months ago. How is that a failure on my part?’
Freeps was dead? The breath rushed from her lungs. Guilt ached in her chest. She should have sought Grey out sooner. Now she would never find him and the sense of loss had nothing to do with a stupid diamond bracelet. She took a deep steadying br
eath and forced calm into her voice. ‘I am sorry to hear that he died, though he was very old, I know. It is a good thing my reason for seeking him out is of no great importance.’ The last thing she wanted was a terrible hue and cry, with the Runners chasing after Grey for taking her bracelet.
He shot her a clearly disbelieving look. ‘It mattered a great deal, if it brought you to my house in the dead of night.’
She longed to tell him the truth. Yearned to do so. Keeping all her worries locked inside left her exhausted, unable to sleep. Her worry about Grey. Her father’s debts passed along to Rowan. Yet how could she reveal such scandalous family secrets to a stranger?
If she was honest, there never really was any hope of escaping marriage to Mr Stedman. Yet still she was loath to give up and do nothing to try to save herself from such a fate.
How much information did she dare impart? It would have to be enough to satisfy Sandford’s curiosity or he would never leave her in peace. ‘Grey has something of mine he promised to return. Unfortunately, he and I lost touch.’ The latter hurt far worse than anything. Grey had been such a large part of her life growing up. In the end, Father had treated him very badly, indeed. Still, even if he no longer had the bracelet, he could at least have written and let her know how he did. He was the only real family she had left that she actually cared about.
‘I see.’
‘What do you see?’
‘That this young man must have taken advantage of you in some way.’
Why did he have to think the worst of everyone and look at her in that cynical way, as if she was some sort of gullible fool? It was most annoying. ‘You are wrong. I loaned him something of my own free will.’ She would have, had he asked.
He said nothing for a moment or two. ‘And you would like its return?’
‘It would be nice, but it is not important.’
‘Perhaps if I knew what this item was, I could be of some assistance.’
‘Why do you insist on wanting to help me now, when you wanted nothing to do with me before?’
He looked a little puzzled at her question. ‘It is a gentleman’s duty to offer a lady his assistance.’
Rescued by the Earl's Vows Page 6