by Joan Wolf
“You are welcome, dear madam,” he said. “My house is all the more lovely for your presence.”
Louisa blushed.
Louisa, Sir Gilbert, Lord Rumford and Diana were all waiting in the main drawing room for the housekeeper to show them to their rooms. Diana was holding Freddie on a leash and she looked at her mother blushing and thought, She looks like a girl. I’ve never seen her look so pretty.
After they were all settled in their rooms, it was time for dinner and the party of four met in the dining room, a lovely room paneled in ivory-painted wood with an assortment of landscapes on the walls. The meal was very good and very well served. Diana watched her mother, with Sally’s observation in mind, and for the first time she saw how her mother bloomed under the attention of Sir Gilbert.
I have been so involved with my own affairs that I never noticed that Mama and Sir Gilbert were becoming close, she thought. How selfish of me. Leave it to Sally to be the one to notice.
She looked at Sir Gilbert, at his graying hair and his steady gray-blue eyes. He seems like a good man, she thought. And this is certainly a very lovely house. I can picture Mama living here.
She couldn’t deny that part of her didn’t want her mother to marry and leave her. It would be hard enough to adjust to marriage herself; she had counted on having her mother with her. But she hoped she was decent enough to feel happy that her mother had found a man who valued her and would take care of her.
Of course, he hasn’t proposed yet, she thought a little hopefully.
But as she watched them during dinner, and afterward in the drawing room, she was certain it was only a matter of time before Sir Gilbert posed the all-important question.
It happened the following morning, while Louisa and Sir Gilbert were together in the garden admiring a brilliant array of multicolored spring tulips. “Louisa,” Sir Gilbert said. “You must be aware of how very dear you have become to me.”
Color flushed into Louisa’s cheeks. Her heart began to beat faster. “I have grown fond of you as well, Sir Gilbert,” she said a little shyly.
He took both her hands into his. His hands were big and strong and warm. These are hands I could trust, Louisa thought. Hands I could give myself to with confidence.
He said, “I told you once that I had not remarried because I had never found a woman I wanted to live with for the rest of my life. Well, now I have found her. Will you marry me, Louisa? If you say yes you will make me the happiest of men.”
Almost without volition, Mrs. Sherwood’s hands returned his clasp. “Gilbert, it would make me very happy to marry you. But I worry about leaving Diana…I know she is counting on me to help her when she becomes the Countess of Rumford. And there is this awful threat to her life…”
His hands tightened reassuringly. “You are right to be worried about that, and we will do nothing until that particular issue has been resolved. And it will be, my dear. Both Standish and Sinclair are working on it, as well as the runners. They will find whoever is behind these attacks and stop them once and for all.”
“I pray that they will,” Louisa said fervently.
They were still standing hand in hand.
Sir Gilbert said, “As for your other concern about leaving your daughter on the brink of her marriage, you must accept that Diana has a very good man to take care of her now, Louisa. It is obvious that Rumford is head over heels for your daughter. She can go to him if she needs guidance. It’s time for you to think about yourself and your own life. Marry me and you will be valued the way you deserve, I promise you.”
Gilbert is right, she thought. It might even be better for Diana’s marriage if I’m not there. Then she will have to turn to Rumford for companionship and advice.
A sudden, radiant smile transformed her into almost as great a beauty as her daughter. “All right, Gilbert, then yes. Yes, I will marry you.”
His hands tightened even more, until they were almost hurting her he was holding them so tightly. “Thank you, Louisa,” he said. “You won’t regret your decision, I swear it.” He loosened his hands and slid his hands up her arms until they rested on her shoulders. Then he pulled her toward him. She went easily, raising her face for his kiss.
It had been so many years since she had been kissed by a man that she had wondered if she still had it in her to respond or if the years of celibacy had quite quenched her sexuality. The rush of feeling and emotion she felt at the touch of Gilbert’s lips, at the feel of his arms around her, laid that fear to rest. They stood for a long time, clasped in each other’s arms, kissing as deeply and as ardently as eighteen-year-olds discovering passion for the first time.
Finally, Sir Gilbert raised his head. He looked deep into her eyes. “We are going to be very happy, Louisa,” he said.
“Yes,” she returned a little breathlessly. “I believe you are right.”
“I’m truly happy for my mother,” Diana told her fiancé as they strolled across the Downs that afternoon. “But the selfish part of me wants to keep her for myself. Isn’t that shameful?”
“It’s a natural reaction, I think,” he replied. “It was just the two of you for so long. You are accustomed to relying on her for attention and love.” He smiled down at her. “But now you have me for those things, my dear.”
Diana smiled back. What a kind and lovely man he is, she thought.
“Look at the view,” he said, and she stopped beside him and looked out over the horizon. In the distance, beyond the gently rolling Downs, she could just see the sparkle of the sea.
Mama will love living here, she thought. It’s so lovely. And, most importantly, she will be the lady of the house, not just a poor cousin who has fallen on hard times.
“Look up at me, Diana,” Rumford said, and obediently she lifted her face. His mouth came down over hers, and she slipped her arms around his neck.
His kisses had always been restrained, but today he kissed her deeply, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and asking for a response. She forced herself to give it to him, closing her eyes and trying hard to feel familiar sensations that had so far been absent whenever they had kissed.
I don’t need that sort of passion anyway, she thought, as she kissed him back with all the sweetness she could muster. All it ever brought me was heartbreak. What I need is this good, loving man who will take care of me and be a wonderful father to my children.
Rumford was the one to break the embrace and when he did he was breathing quickly. “I know we set the date of our marriage for June, but that is looking very far ahead right now,” he said, trying for some humor.
Diana said quickly, “I can’t even think of getting married until this maniac is caught!”
“I know. I know.” He pulled her close against him and wrapped his arms around her. “We will find the beast, my little love. Don’t worry.”
“I love you, Edward,” she said.
“It is the greatest joy of my life, to hear you say that,” he replied.
Diana closed her eyes and burrowed closely against him. She liked being held by him much more than she liked kissing him. He made her feel safe. That was what mattered, she told herself, not physical attraction. The thought of Alex flickered in her mind, and she pushed it away.
Back in London, Alex met with the Duke of Sinclair to discuss the attacks on Diana. The two men sat in the privacy of the Standish House library on a beautiful sunny morning. The duke was sipping a glass of port and Alex was drinking coffee.
“Bow Street has come up with nothing,” Alex said. “They have the names of a few go-betweens whom they can prosecute, but the originating party still remains obscure.”
“They couldn’t find the bowman?”
“They know who the fellow is, but he’s left town. He probably doesn’t know anything useful anyway.”
Sinclair looked at the empty fireplace with a slight frown on his face. “What’s strange is that Miss Sherwood was in London for quite a while before she was attacked,” he said. “What could have h
appened to all of a sudden make someone think it was imperative to get rid of her?”
Alex took a swallow of strong coffee. He had been strictly adhering to his club’s rule that wine should be drunk only with dinner. He thought for a moment then said thoughtfully, “The only change I can think of is that Dee became engaged to Rumford. There were no attacks before the engagement…they started afterward.”
“Hmm.” Sinclair maintained his slight frown as he rotated his wine glass in his hands. “I can’t see how that would have anything to do with it. I can’t see any of Rumford’s relations trying to do away with Miss Sherwood because they thought she was unsuitable.”
“Wait a minute.” Alex put his coffee cup down on the table that was between them. “There is someone who was hurt by Dee’s engagement,” he said excitedly. “Jessica Longwood. Everyone expected that she would marry Rumford. Then he came to London, took one look at Dee and dropped Jessica like a hot potato.”
Sinclair frowned slightly. “That’s true. But what would killing Miss Sherwood accomplish?”
“Obviously Rumford is looking for a wife. Once Dee was out of the way, chances are good that he would turn to Jessica again.”
“She can’t be that desperate for a husband,” Sinclair objected. “She’s a nice-looking girl, the daughter of a viscount, surely there will be other men for her. Unless she was so in love with him that she would do anything to get him back, but somehow I don’t think that’s the case.”
Alex jumped up and began pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. “For some reason, it was imperative for her to marry Rumford. That must be it. It’s the only explanation that I can think of.”
Sinclair looked at him as he paced back and forth. After awhile he said slowly, “You may be right.”
Alex came back to his chair, sat down, leaned toward Sinclair and said urgently, “We have to figure out why it was so important for Jessica to marry Rumford.”
“In a case like this, there can be only one answer,” Sinclair returned. “Money.”
Alex raised questioning eyebrows.
“Most murders are done either for love or for money,” Sinclair said. “And we have ruled out love.”
“Does Longwood need money?” Alex asked.
“Not to my knowledge. He has always been thought to be financially sound,” Sinclair returned. “But that can change. Perhaps he made bad investments, perhaps he gambled too deeply on the horses.”
“We have to find out for sure,” Alex said. “Who can help us do that? Not the runners, that’s not their kind of job.”
“My man of business is a very knowing chap with a lot of connections in the financial world,” Sinclair said. “I’ll have him try to find out what he can about Longwood’s finances.”
“I would appreciate that, Sinclair,” Alex said. “The sooner we can solve this mystery, the sooner I will be able to sleep at night.”
There was a balloon ascension from Green Park later that afternoon and the duke took Sally to see it. The weather was perfect and she enjoyed watching the balloon go up very much. She had never seen anything like it before. As they were coming home, she thanked the duke for escorting her.
“I know it must have been boring for you, Robert,” she said. “I appreciate your patience.”
“Nothing is boring for me if you are there,” he replied matter-of-factly.
She turned to smile at him. “What a nice thing to say!”
“I don’t say nice things,” he returned. “I say true things.”
She chuckled. “Then that makes me thank you even more.”
He pulled his horses up so a woman and child could cross the street. When the horses were once more moving forward, he said, “Your brother and I were talking earlier about your cousin’s problem and I wanted to ask you—did you ever notice anything strange about the way Jessica Longwood treated Miss Sherwood after her engagement was announced?”
Sally stared at him in surprise. “Diana and I never had much conversation with Miss Longwood, either before or after Diana’s engagement to Rumford. I can’t imagine that Miss Longwood was pleased about the engagement. All the gossip was that Rumford would marry her. But she certainly never threatened Diana to my knowledge, if that is what you mean.”
“Miss Sherwood was not attacked until after she became engaged to Rumford,” the duke said. “That is the single possible cause that your brother and I came up with.”
Sally’s eyes widened, “You and Alex think the Longwoods might be involved?”
“It’s a possibility. You’re sure you never detected anything strange in the way Miss Longwood treated your cousin?”
“No,” Sally said regretfully. “I didn’t notice anything.”
They arrived back at Standish House and the duke left a groom holding his horses while he went into the house with Sally. The drawing room was empty and Sinclair closed the door behind him. Then he took Sally into his arms.
The duke had kissed many women in his life, but kissing Sally was a totally novel experience for him. She was such a combination of innocence and passion, and his own carnal feelings were so tempered by feelings of protectiveness and love, that he might never have kissed anyone else in his life, the experience was so new.
He wanted her as he had never wanted any other woman, but he also wanted to take care of her, be kind to her, to love her with every ounce of love in him. And he had a lot of stored-up love to give.
He was the one to reluctantly break their embrace. Sally looked up at him, her mouth a little swollen from his kiss, her blue eyes hazy with passion, and he felt his need for her as an ache in his heart.
“Soon, I won’t have to leave you like this,” he said softly.
She smiled. “I know,” she whispered.
“I love you, Sarah,” he said, and wondered if she knew what an extraordinary thing it was for him to say those words.
Her smile widened. She knew.
“I love you, too, Robert,” she said.
He believed her, that was what was so amazing. He knew she loved him. It was a miracle, this love of hers. How had he managed to inspire love in the most wonderful woman in the world? He still wasn’t sure. But he would take it. Oh my, he certainly would take it.
“I’ll see you at the opera tonight,” Sally said.
One of the things they had found they had in common was a love of music.
“You will,” he said. Reluctantly he stepped away from her. “Until tonight, my love,” he said.
Her eyes were so blue, he thought. So honest and kind and loving.
“Until tonight,” she replied, and he turned and opened the door and went back to his horses.
Twenty-Eight
Benjamin Morse had been Sinclair’s man of business for all the years that Sinclair had been the duke. Morse had been a brilliant scholarship student at Oxford during the time that the duke was there, and he had found a defender in Sinclair when the other upper-class boys had bullied him. He had been instrumental in setting up and keeping the books for all of the duke’s estates as well as his many charities. Given the instructions to search out information on Viscount Longwood, he went to work with a vengeance.
Three days after he had been given the assignment, Morse had the information Sinclair needed.
“Viscount Longwood’s son is a compulsive gambler,” he told the duke as they met in the small room that Morse used as an office in the duke’s London house. “Gerald gambled the whole time he was at school, and once he came down his gambling increased. His father has tried everything to stop him, unsuccessfully. Recently Gerald lost a huge amount of money in a card game at one of the more notorious halls here in London. The man he lost it to was Sir Rodney Henderson.”
“Henderson! He’s a hardened gambler. What the hell was he doing playing with a youngster like Longwood’s son?” The duke frowned and drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair.
“Henderson doesn’t care who he plays with as long as they have money. Gerald wan
ted to play and swore he had the money. When he lost, Henderson told him that if the money wasn’t paid up, he would tell everyone in town that he reneged on his debt. The whole family’s reputation would have been irrevocably blackened. Longwood paid the money, but I have every reason to believe that it bankrupted him. Longwood himself has been known to play deeply—the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree. I haven’t been able to find out if he’s mortgaged his estate yet—it’s hard to get information out of the banks. But I feel safe in telling you that the Longwoods’ financial situation is dire.”
“Good job, Ben,” Sinclair said. “That is exactly the kind of information I was looking for.”
Sinclair wasn’t able to catch up with Alex until he went to pick up Sally for their drive in the park that afternoon. Alex had just come in and he was still in the hall divesting himself of his hat and gloves when the duke arrived.
“I just this minute got your note, Sinclair,” Alex said. “I was out all afternoon. You have news? Come into the library and tell me about it.”
“I can’t. I have come to take your sister driving in the park.”
“Oh Sally won’t mind if you cry off this once,” Alex said.
“What won’t I mind?” Sally said. She was coming down the stairs wearing a driving dress that exactly matched the color of her eyes.
“I have news from my man of business that may throw some light on the attacks on your cousin,” Sinclair told her when she joined the two men in the hallway.
Sally’s face lit up. “That’s much more important than a drive in the park! Let’s all go into the library and you can tell us.”
The two men looked at each other, then Sinclair said, “There’s no reason she shouldn’t know about this.”
“All right,” Alex said. “Come along the two of you.”
A footman appeared when they were all seated, the two men in leather armchairs in front of the unlit fireplace and Sally on an ottoman at the duke’s feet. She spread her skirt carefully as she sat down.
“Would you like something to drink?” Alex asked the duke.