The Elusive Heiress

by Gail Mallin

  Thin gold sandals exposed her equally bare feet and she wore an intricate necklace shaped like a gold collar studded with large blue stones, which he thought must be glass. Matching earrings dangled from her dainty ears. They provided a very dramatic effect, particularly when combined with that long blue feathered fan she carried.

  Her new hairstyle was also striking. Dressed a la Egyptienne, her sable locks had been brushed smoothly back and caught with a gold comb high at the back of her head, but instead of curls, a myriad of tiny plaits cascaded to graze her shoulders. A row of blue beads, looping above her ears from the comb, hung horizontally across her forehead.

  They drew attention to her long slanting eyes, which looked more exotic than ever since she had outlined them with some black paint and dusted a gold powder over the lids. She had also reddened her wide full mouth.

  Shocking, provocative…and utterly seductive! She looked good enough to eat!

  His opinion was evidently shared by most of the men present and to his annoyance she was instantly besieged by admirers clamouring to dance with her.

  ‘Remember you are promised to me for the next cotillion,’ he said, struggling to keep jealousy out of his voice as he reluctantly acknowledged Jack Hewitt’s prior claim.

  ‘How could I forget?’ Her eyes sparkled teasingly at him. ‘You might cut off my head!’

  Since a sensible wish to avoid an uncomfortable costume had led him to dress in the plain attire of one of Cromwell’s Roundhead soldiers, her sally made him laugh as he released her.

  Watching her glide away on Jack’s arm, his smile faded and he said softly, ‘Oh, but I can think of much better things to do with you, my little Egyptian!’

  Honour be damned! He wasn’t going to delay any longer for the Hogans. Whatever else she was, she had the manners of a lady and his father’s shade would have to find comfort in that!

  * * * *

  ‘I’m not sure we should be doing this.’ Kate’s voice trembled slightly as she watched Randal unbuckle the broadsword which added a lethal veracity to his Ironside captain’s uniform.

  ‘You said you didn’t want to dance.’ Randal shed his buff leather coat and cast it carelessly over the back of a chair.

  ‘I know, but if anyone were to come in—’

  ‘My study is strictly off limits,’ he interrupted. ‘No one will disturb us here.’

  Kate remained by the door, which he had closed firmly behind them a moment ago. The candelabrum he’d placed on the rosewood desk lit the room’s quiet darkness.

  She thought he must be able to hear the wild banging of her heart. Now clad only in a pair of breeches and a white linen shirt his tall strong body was arousing a devastating reaction in her.

  Was it only yesterday she had doubted him? Overwhelmed by his virility, she could barely breathe and yet in some befuddled corner of her brain a warning voice was shrieking.

  ‘All the same, I think we should go back,’ she murmured, her fingers playing nervously with the feathers of her fan.

  Randal walked over to her and firmly removed it from her frantic grip. ‘What are you afraid of, Katharine?’ he asked, laying it aside. ‘Yourself or me?’

  He began to slide one of the straps down off her shoulder.

  Kate gasped. ‘I’m not afraid of anything!’ she exclaimed hotly, pushing her strap back up.

  ‘Then kiss me,’ he challenged with a lazy smile.

  ‘No!’

  ‘I’ll wager I could make you change your mind.’ He ran one fingertip lightly along her bare collarbone.

  ‘Coxcomb!’ Kate retorted unsteadily.

  ‘Am I?’

  He drew her slowly into his arms, giving her every chance to withdraw. Deafened by the pounding of her own heart, Kate watched his mouth come closer and closer…and then his lips found hers in a long, slow and thrillingly expert caress.

  Stars exploded behind her closed eyelids and, just as he had predicted, her resistance melted.

  ‘You see?’ A gleam of triumph lit his brilliant gaze. ‘You cannot help yourself any more than I can. We were made for each other, sweetheart.’

  Dizzy with passion Kate broke away from him. He was right, but she couldn’t let sensuality blind her! ‘I won’t bed with you! It would be wrong!’

  ‘You think I asked you here to seduce you?’

  Suddenly realising that his voice was full of amusement Kate hesitated. Had she read too much into his actions? ‘I…I, oh damn it, Randal, what am I supposed to think with you stripping off the minute we were over the threshold!’

  He let out a shout of laughter. ‘That jacket is very heavy and I’m hot, you goose.’

  A flood of colour washed into Kate’s face as he added wickedly, ‘However, if you’ve a mind to sample my poor skills I should very much enjoy playing Anthony to your Cleopatra.’

  Feeling a complete fool, Kate glared up at him. ‘Don’t flatter yourself that I wore this costume to please you,’ she snapped, lying through her teeth.

  ‘I’m sorry. I thought you knew you could trust me not to take advantage of our privacy,’ he apologised.

  Kate supposed she did. ‘It was unfair of you to tease me,’ she muttered, wishing it was possible for both of them to forget all restraints.

  ‘You looked so adorably shocked when I started to undress that I couldn’t resist the temptation to do so,’ he confessed with a grin.

  His smile faded. ‘However, you are right to suspect my motives for seeking a chance to be alone with you tonight.’

  Kate felt the colour drain rapidly from her cheeks. ‘What…what do you mean?’ she faltered.

  ‘I haven’t been completely honest with you, sweetheart. In fact, there’s something I must tell you. I ought to have confessed earlier, but I’ve been putting the moment off.’ His expression hardened. ‘It won’t wait any longer.’

  Kate stared up at him, her head whirling. He hadn’t been honest?

  Seeing her confusion, Randal guided her towards the leather-upholstered couch which stood opposite his desk and gently pulled her down to sit next to him. Holding both her hands in his, he said quietly, ‘Honour demands that I tell you about Walcheren.’

  Kate blinked in surprise. ‘I know you took part in that campaign,’ she replied uncertainly.

  ‘I suppose Emma told you?’ A slight frown touched his brow.

  ‘She didn’t say much,’ Kate asserted quickly, not wishing him to think they had been gossiping about him.

  Randal nodded and, taking a deep breath, said evenly, ‘She knows I don’t like talking about it. You see, I caught the infamous fever.’

  Kate’s eyes widened. She had read all about this dreadful affliction in the newssheets at the time. The low-lying ground of Walcheren island bred a malignant ague which had devastated the entire army. The effects were so bad that the campaign had to be called off.

  ‘Only five men in my company escaped it, but I was luckier than most. I survived.’ Randal shrugged. ‘Not that I appreciated my good fortune at the time. I was shivering and shaking so hard I thought my teeth would snap into pieces.’

  Kate had heard that the ague-fits came thick and fast, several in a day and every one was followed by high fever and a thirst so intense it felt as if the throat was on fire. Afterwards the victim was left utterly exhausted.

  ‘We landed back in Ramsgate in mid-September. Thousands of sick and dying men.’ Randal shook his head at the memory. ‘My father came to fetch me home. I don’t remember much of the journey, I was delirious most of the time. The doctors told him that I would die.’

  His well-cut mouth twisted. ‘My father wouldn’t listen. He scoured the country for a cure until he found a doctor who treated me with infusions of Peruvian bark. The method seem to work, although I think it was my father’s prayers which pulled me through.’

  Kate nodded, thinking privately that his recovery probably had more to do with his own stamina and determination.

  ‘It was weeks before I could even get out of b
ed, but the toll was heaviest on my father. The anxiety had aged him and his heart was weak.’

  ‘And you felt guilty?’

  ‘Aye. He had never wanted me to join the army.’ A muscle twitched by Randle’s well-cut mouth. ‘When he asked me to resign my commission, I did not think I had the right to refuse. I owed him my life.’

  Indignation rose in Kate. ‘That’s blackmail!’

  Randal agreed. ‘However, I could see his point. He’d lost my brother and he’d nearly lost me and possessing an heir mattered a great deal to him.’ He shrugged. ‘Truth to tell, I found that I didn’t mind leaving the army as much as I thought I would. Maybe I’d been a soldier too long. Certainly, the bungling at Walcheren had opened my eyes to the stupidities of war.’

  He gave her a crooked smile. ‘I’d had a good run. It was time I settled down to my responsibilities at home. These days I’m happy to follow Lord Wellington’s success in the Peninsular from my armchair.’

  Kate sensed that his loss went deeper than he was willing to admit. However, he wasn’t the kind of man to sit around bemoaning his lot. Instead he had forged a new life for himself, learning to manage his estates and pursuing his academic interests.

  ‘Did your decision to take the honourable course bring you any closer to your father?’ she asked curiously.

  Randle gave her a sharp look, but he did not deny that a rift had existed. ‘It was too late for us to become friends,’ he admitted. ‘But at least I had the satisfaction of knowing he died content.’

  ‘I am honoured you chose to confide in me, Randal,’ Kate said in a quiet voice. ‘But I’m afraid I don’t really understand why you thought it necessary to do so.’

  His grip tightened on her hands. ‘I suffered another attack six months ago and the doctors told me that it could recur again.’

  The disgust in his voice told Kate that, like most strong healthy males, he had no patience with his own illness and saw it as a humiliating weakness, but before she could utter a word of reassurance he was continuing in the same rapid tone.

  ‘My health is otherwise good and I have every intention of living to a ripe old age, but you ought to know what you are letting yourself in for if you take me on.’

  Kate went very still.

  ‘Sweetheart, do you understand what I’m saying?’ Randal’s gaze held hers intently. ‘The other night when I saw you in danger I knew I couldn’t live without you! I love you and I want you by my side always!’

  Kate swallowed hard. Dear God, what had she done to deserve this torment! Like Tantalus of old, what she desired most in the world was within her reach, but she couldn’t grasp it.

  ‘I’m aware we agreed to wait until we knew each other better, but I need to know if there’s some hope for me.’ Her continuing silence brought a puzzled look to his face and then a humorous smile lit his bright blue eyes. ‘Ah, I see I shall have to do the thing properly!’

  In a quick movement he dropped to one knee before her.

  ‘My dearest love, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?’

  His beloved promptly burst into tears.

  * * * *

  ‘Please go away!’

  Abandoning his attempts to comfort her, Randal asked if she wanted him to send Alicia to her.

  ‘No!’ Kate mopped her eyes with the handkerchief he’d given her and then in a quieter voice added, ‘I don’t want anyone. I just want to be left alone!’

  ‘Don’t you mean to give me an answer, sweetheart?’ he asked gently.

  ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t think straight right now,’ she gasped, choking on another half-hysterical sob.

  ‘Then I shall wait until you are ready.’ The expression on Lord Redesmere’s face revealed that he longed to say more, but, after dropping a light kiss upon her bowed head, he withdrew.

  Kate knew that he was puzzled by her behaviour and she suspected she had hurt his feelings into the bargain. An aching sense of deep regret filled her.

  She hadn’t dreamt that he would actually ask her to marry him. For a single brief second joy had blazed in her heart.

  The knowledge that she must leave him had extinguished it.

  She would have to refuse his offer, of course. What he would think of her when she then grabbed Kitty’s money and loped off sent fresh tears pouring down her face.

  At length she grew calmer and was able to creep from the study and make her up way up the rear staircase which lay close by. Randal had invited several guests, including herself and Lady Edgeworth, to stay overnight and she had been given the same bedchamber in which she had slept on her last visit.

  To her immense relief she didn’t meet anyone on her way there.

  The room was empty. Kate realised that Mary must be in the servants’ hall enjoying the festive atmosphere. However, there was sufficient water in the ewer on the washstand for her to cool her hot cheeks and remove the streaks of eye paint which had run when she’d wept.

  She had the necessary cosmetics with her and she quickly repaired the damage to her maquillage before tidying her hair and applying a little more perfume.

  Her mirror reflected a calm face, which hid her inner turmoil. There was no further excuse to linger.

  Kate steeled herself to open the door and stepped into the corridor.

  ‘You took your time.’

  She gazed in dismay at the blue-satin clad Cavalier who lounged against the wall outside her room.

  He straightened, unfolding his crossed arms, and as he approached Kate could smell the aroma of gin on his breath.

  ‘Still, the improvement was worth the wait. Been crying, had you?’

  ‘Keep away from me or I’ll scream!’

  His eyebrows climbed up to the fringe of his heavy becurled periwig. ‘Why so unfriendly, Cousin Kitty?’

  ‘You know why, Sullivan,’ Kate retorted.

  ‘All I want is a little chat, mavournin.’

  ‘Get out of my way!’

  To her surprise, he obligingly flattened himself against the wall.

  Her flesh creeping, Kate stalked past him.

  ‘Still, I am thinking you should listen to me,’ his lilting voice followed her. ‘For what I’ve got to say is to your advantage, Mrs Devlin.’

  Chapter Twelve

  Slowly Kate turned round. ‘How did you find out who I was?’ she asked flatly, not wasting time on denials.

  ‘I saw you a couple of years ago at the theatre in Limerick. You were playing the part of Viola in Twelfth Night. I thought you a handsome piece!’ A sneering smile curved Sean’s mouth. ‘When I first arrived in England I wasn’t sure if you were the same woman or not. For a common actress you ape the part of a lady to perfection.’

  Kate ignored the insult.

  ‘I knew you were an impostor, of course,’ he continued in the same patronising tone. ‘Then last Sunday I suddenly remembered seeing a handbill in Dublin puffing off the Gillman Players. Once my memory had been jogged I recognised you at once.’

  He started to pull something from the deep pocket of his coat and Kate stiffened in alarm until she saw that it wasn’t a weapon.

  ‘That’s how you got this, isn’t it?’ Sean dangled the Nixon locket in front of her. ‘You helped that silly little bitch escape the river.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘I was sure she would drown!’

  Kate resisted the temptation to try and snatch the locket from him. ‘Air trapped in her skirts kept her afloat,’ she informed him coolly.

  ‘I should have made sure she was dead before she went into the water.’

  The look of revulsion on Kate’s face made him laugh. ‘Squeamish, eh? Well, at least that answers my next question. I did wonder whether you might have finished the job before presenting yourself here, but I suppose you left her alive.’

  ‘I don’t believe in violence,’ Kate replied cautiously.

  ‘So, she’s gone into hiding somewhere.’ A frown twisted his petulant mouth. ‘Do you know where she is now?’

  ‘I helped he
r get to Dublin in exchange for the locket,’ Kate lied. ‘I don’t know what became of her after that.’

  To her surprise Sean shrugged. ‘No matter. I can deal with her if she turns up here.’

  Misliking the feral expression burgeoning in his light eyes, Kate tried to wrest control of the conversation. ‘Why didn’t you denounce me when you realised who I was?’ she demanded boldly.

  He looked at her as if she were stupid. ‘Why should I want to do that? You are my ticket to a fortune, Cousin Kitty.’

  A cold dread shivered down Kate’s spine. ‘You can’t imagine I would cooperate with you!’ she exclaimed in accents of disgust.

  ‘I did wonder if I could make you trust me enough to accept an offer of marriage.’

  Her expression revealed that he had been right to abandon hopes of charming her.

  He laughed unpleasantly. ‘My parents put pressure on Kitty to wed me. You’re a damned sight more attractive, but, all in all, I will be happy to settle for the money.’

  ‘I won’t give you a penny of it,’ Kate said tersely.

  ‘Sure now, it’s very greedy of you to want to keep it all, mavournin.’

  Kate opened her mouth to protest and then realised that to do so would betray her knowledge of Kitty’s whereabouts. She had to let him go on thinking she was acting from the same corrupt motives which drove his own pursuit.

  ‘Especially when you’ve got your eye on Redesmere. Now don’t poker up, Mrs Devlin. Anyone can see you’re sweet on him…or his money, but I’m not out to spoil your game. You can have him for all I care so long as you hand over half of Kitty’s inheritance.’ His feral smile reappeared. ‘I’d say it was a fair bargain. Pay Pa and me to keep silent and you get half of the old man’s money and a rich husband if you can catch him.’ His smile deepened. ‘I’ll warrant you that Redesmere won’t suspect a thing. Your past and your involvement in defrauding Kitty will be our little secret.’

  Kate clasped her hands tightly together to stop them trembling. ‘Really? It had occurred to me once or twice that his lordship might be in league with you and your family.’