The man who most interested Raphael stood shoulder to shoulder with the duke. He was Lord Amos, the man Raph understood to have been responsible for saving his sisters from an unthinkable fate. The man whose communication had reached him in dangerous pockets of resistance in the wilds of the Basque country. A communication that he had at first dismissed as some sort of cruel joke.
Lord Amos’s handshake was equally firm.
‘I believe I have you to thank for my sisters’ safe deliverance,’ Raph said. ‘Words cannot express my gratitude.’
‘I was happy to be of help, and I can assure you that contrary to what you are now seeing,’ Lord Amos said, nodding towards the chaotic games taking place on the lawns, ‘matters have been far calmer in the nursery since Ariana took control of the children. We already do not know how we managed without her.’
Raph noticed the intimate smile that Lord Amos directed towards Ariana. If her sister saw it too then she ignored it, and instead introduced the ladies. The duchess was as charmingly unaffected as her husband and bade him welcome in a way that made Raph think she actually didn’t mind the inconvenience of his arrival.
‘Fine stallion you have there,’ Lord Amos mentioned when the introductions had been completed. ‘He came up at Tattersall’s last week, unless I miss my guess. I was tempted myself but I already have more horses than I know what to do with. Even so, I can never resist something a little different.’
‘Hurricane is certainly that,’ Raph agreed, taking a seat between his sisters and accepting a cup of tea from the duchess’s hand. Martina clung to his free arm, her smile wide and uncontrived.
‘I hope you will agree to spend a long sojourn here with us, Mr Sanchez-Gomez,’ the duchess said politely. ‘Certainly until after Martina’s wedding. I am sure you are overdue a holiday. Your bags arrived ahead of you yesterday.’
‘You are very gracious,’ Raph replied. ‘If you are sure I shall not be intruding…’
‘Hardly.’ The duke waved a hand expansively in the direction of the huge house. ‘We certainly don’t lack space. Besides, Martina is to be married from this house.’
‘I look forward to meeting your intended,’ Raph said, squeezing the hand that still clung to his arm.
The duchess laughed. ‘Mr Braden is a most attentive suitor, and you will not have to wait long for that pleasure, I do assure you.’
‘We have another celebration to organise before Martina’s wedding,’ Lady Vincent remarked. ‘The day after tomorrow is a very important one for Lucy. She will be nineteen.’
Raphael glanced at the young blonde woman who had taken his eye when the introductions were first made. She was, he seemed to recall, related in some way to the lame man who looked after the horses. He glanced at her again, liking what he saw in a distracted way.
‘Feliz ano, senorita,’ he said softly.
She smiled and with cheeks that had turned delightfully pink, thanked him prettily. Raph was accustomed to receiving his share of attention from young women, but in his line of work any form of permanent attachment offered his enemies an obvious weakness to exploit, so was out of the question. He had known it when he first began undercover work and it hadn’t unduly concerned him.
His father’s final words to him had been a reminder of his duty to continue the family line. What family? he thought now, glancing at his sisters, conscious of Lord Amos watching them all—Ariana in particular. Part of Raph wondered what sort of arrangement she had entered into with that gentleman and if it ran to more than simply caring for his children. He would not be best pleased if her hand had been forced.
The children were being rounded up by several nursemaids, who met with a wall of resistance and loud protests. Ariana smiled and got up to lend a hand, almost immediately restoring order with promises of stories that would be read before bedtime.
‘She has a magic touch,’ the duchess said to Raph, ‘and does far more than we ask her to. She is a treasure.’
‘We are for home,’ Lord Vincent said, corralling what were obviously his own children. ‘Will you stay here with your brother, Martina? I dare say you have questions for him.’
‘Well, Mr Braden is due to—’
‘When is he not?’ Ariana asked, grinning. ‘Go, my love. I will help Raph to settle in and you shall return here later with Mr Braden in time for dinner, to which I am sure he is invited. Then Raph will be able to meet him and terrify the poor man half out of his wits with his big brotherly disapproval.’
Martina threw her arms around Raph’s neck. ‘Don’t you dare to disapprove, or ever disappear again!’ she chided him.
‘I am not going anywhere,’ he told her, squeezing her waist and making her giggle. Still so young, yet mature beyond her years, Raph thought as he released her again.
Ariana and Raphael watched Lord Vincent’s party depart, at which point Ariana turned towards the house. Everyone else had left the terrace apart from Lord Amos, who still appeared to be watching Ariana. Raphael was almost sure that she mouthed the word gracias to him as Raphael walked her into the house. Lord Amos nodded just once and disappeared in the direction of the stables.
‘This is very grand,’ Raphael said, looking about with interest as they entered a commodious and tastefully appointed drawing room. ‘It is obvious that nothing of value in this country was inconvenienced by war,’ he added, unable to keep a note of bitterness out of his tone when he considered his own ruined heritage.
‘The war is over, Raphael, and the three of us are still alive. Give thanks for that. You have nothing to berate yourself for. Besides, it doesn’t do to repine. Take it from one who knows.’
‘I’m so very sorry.’ Raphael squeezed her shoulders. ‘I should have been there for you. I would have been if I had known what…’
‘Shush! We survived, when many other families did not. Besides, you did more good working undercover, I am absolutely sure of it.’ Her smile was just a little too bright. ‘A guided tour of the house would take practically all day. I will show you to your chamber now and we can talk for a while, then we shall have to change for dinner. There are certain expectations. The duke isn’t a stickler for protocol, but we are still required to maintain standards.’
‘Of course.’ Raphael smiled at his spirited sister as they entered the vestibule, where a butler lurked.
‘Faraday, this is my brother Raphael, finally here with us.’
‘Welcome, sir. I trust you will find everything to your satisfaction. Your clothing has been unpacked and since I understand you did not bring your own man with you, I have assigned Robert to take care of your needs. Ring whenever you require his assistance.’
‘Thank you, Faraday, I appreciate your consideration.’
Faraday inclined his head and withdrew on silent feet.
Brother and sister mounted the wide staircase together and came out in the picture gallery on the first floor. Raphael paused to admire a portrait of the duke with dogs at his feet and another of the duchess and her children.
‘Remarkable,’ he said.
‘Yes, aren’t they. Come on, your room is this way.’ Ariana led him down a wide corridor with doors on either side. Especially imposing double doors guarded the entrance to what were, Ariana told him, the duke and duchess’s private quarters. ‘We are around the corner. This one is mine,’ she said, pointing, ‘and they have put you just across the hall.’
He opened the door in question and ushered her through it ahead of him.
‘This is a little more comfortable than some of the places I have slept in recent years,’ he said, taking in the well-proportioned room, with a separate seating area and large closet in which his clothing already hung in neat lines. Tall windows gave a magnificent view over the paddocks, where he saw Hurricane tucking into a manger of hay while a brave groom attempted to strap his quarters. Raphael would be surprised if the groom in question survived without losing a chunk from his arm. Hurricane had been poorly treated and had little respect for men as a con
sequence. Raphael fully intended to restore his faith, but it would take time.
‘I am glad you like it.’ Ariana settled on the window seat and patted the cushion beside her.
‘Tell me everything,’ he said in a sympathetic tone. ‘Make me understand just how comprehensively I let you down.’
‘You did not. You knew where we were, and that Mama and Papa were dead.’ She glanced away. ‘And how they died. You had every reason to suppose that we would be safe.’
‘I know you saw the atrocities Mama was subjected to. You did right to hide away. There was nothing you could have done to save her and would have been subjected to the same fate yourself if you’d tried.’ Raph ran a hand abstractedly through his hair. ‘You were a pretty child then but you are beyond compare now.’
Ariana waved the compliment aside. ‘When you didn’t come back for us, we couldn’t continue to burden our relations with our care,’ Ariana said, a faraway look in her eye.
‘Is that the absolute truth?’
‘Perhaps not completely.’ Ariana glanced at the view, unwilling to meet Raph’s eye. ‘I received an undue amount of attention. Our relations had lost a lot of their property and there were men who…well, suffice it to say, it was safer for us to leave, or so I thought at the time.’
Raph scowled. ‘They wanted to sell you off?’
‘Marry me off, more like.’ Ariana lifted a shoulder. ‘I was made to understand just what an inconvenience it was for them to take us in. They had done their duty and now I was required to reciprocate.’ She shuddered. ‘Perhaps I should have done, but then what would have happened to Martina?’
‘I had absolutely no idea,’ Raph said, his guilt increasing exponentially. ‘I thought you would be safe.’
‘I decided to cease being a burden, so I answered an advertisement for a governess’s position in Barcelona. I should have known that it was too good to be true when they said I could take Martina with me.’ She brushed impatiently at an errant tear. ‘Then we were offered passage by sea from Valencia to Barcelona and I foolishly accepted, thinking it would be safer than the two of us travelling by land unescorted.’ She shook her head, at the naivete that had doubtless given her sleepless nights ever since—much as Raph’s own errors of judgement caused him similar problems.
‘Lord Romsey told me some of it, but I suspect not all. I met him in London. Don’t blame yourself, sweetheart.’ Raph slipped a reassuring arm around his sister’s shoulders. ‘There are always those seeking to exploit the weak, especially in the aftermath of war, and they can be very convincing. I know they intended to sell you into prostitution. Thank God you managed to escape.’
‘We would not have done if Lord Amos hadn’t come along when he did and rescued us. We owe him everything.’
‘And you have been here ever since, caring for his children?’
Ariana shrugged. ‘It seemed like the safest and most sensible option. I was tired of running and always being afraid. Besides, I had Martina to concern myself with. Now her future is secure, you are here, and everything will be all right again.’
‘You are indeed indebted to Lord Amos, as am I, but you are a lady in your own right, Ariana, not a servant.’
‘I enjoy the children, otherwise I wouldn’t do it. Lord Amos’s wife was killed in an accident and the children—Charlotte especially—feel vulnerable. They can’t understand what has happened to their Mama. I know just how they feel and do what I can to reassure them.’ She glanced away. ‘We are healing together, although they don’t realise that helping them helps me.’
‘Even so…’
‘Besides, I dine with the family at the duchess’s insistence and they treat me as one of their own. I am very comfortable here, and now that I have you back and don’t have to worry about you every second of every day, I have nothing to complain about.’
‘But you are not English, darling. What do you want for yourself?’
‘I haven’t really thought, beyond ensuring Martina’s safety and hoping to find you. I wrote so many letters and was on the point of losing all hope when Lord Amos took it upon himself to look for you without telling me. He has a great deal more sway than I will ever have.’ She smiled at him and the grip of unwelcome memories left her moist green eyes. ‘The question is, what do you intend to do now? I sincerely hope that your spying days are over. I shall not be best pleased if you insist upon pursuing that line of work.’
‘I came to England as soon as I received word of your survival. I thought that you and Martina were dead and I blamed myself for neglecting you, which is why I volunteered for every dangerous assignment that came up. I didn’t feel that I deserved to live and wondered why I had been spared when the rest of you…’ Raphael paused, momentarily swamped by emotion. ‘Anyway, the moment I knew there was a possibility that you were still alive and had somehow miraculously reached safety here in England I got away as soon as I possibly could. I had to know, and now that I do my intention is to retire and re-establish my family in Spain.’
Ariana arched a brow. ‘Are you sure that’s what you want? Do we have anything left there?’
‘There is some money. I have arranged the sale of our lands. I cannot live in the place where our parents were slaughtered, but there will be enough for us to establish ourselves elsewhere and live in modest style, if that is what you would like. I was well rewarded for all the risks I took, and I haven’t touched any of those funds. They are accumulating nicely.’
‘Even so, I am not sure I want to go back. The memories…’
‘I understand, and now is not the moment to speak of it. We will do so at a later time.’
‘You said it was your intention to give up your career,’ Ariana said, with a suspicious scowl. ‘What changed?’
Raph cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable. ‘Lord Romsey mentioned a Captain Cutler,’ he said, worried about her reaction.
Ariana shuddered. ‘Do not mention that odious man’s name in my hearing.’
‘Sorry, my love, but I hold him responsible for what almost happened to you and it goes against the grain to allow him to get away with it. Besides, it seems he is still in business, bringing vulnerable girls from Europe into this country.’
‘No one has stopped him yet?’ Ariana sat a little straighter and sent Raph a look of astonishment. ‘I cannot believe it. After Lord Amos rescued us, the men behind the scheme in this country were all either apprehended or killed.’
‘Not all. More will always spring up when large rewards are on offer. Besides, no one thought to try and catch Cutler, who I am told is very good at making himself invisible.’
‘And you intend to run him to ground,’ Ariana said, frowning.
‘I do, darling,’ Raphael replied. ‘I owe it to your honour.’
Raph expected protests, aware that she was more than entitled to voice them. Instead she sat a little straighter, the light of battle sparking in the depths of her emerald eyes. ‘In that case,’ she said, ‘I will help you.’
Chapter Three
‘Well,’ Frankie said, smiling at her husband as they climbed the stairs together and made their way to their private suite of rooms. ‘I am so very glad that Ariana and Martina have their brother back at last. It brought a tear to my eye to watch their reconciliation.’ She chuckled. ‘He seems very charming and will certainly create a stir in the district.’
Zach sent her a surprised look. ‘You are worried that he will be ostracised because he is a foreigner?’
Frankie shook her head at him and tutted impatiently. ‘Oh Zach, sometimes you can be exceedingly obtuse.’ She walked through the door that Zach opened for her and crossed their private sitting room to her bedchamber, settling herself on the edge of her bed. ‘Surely you must have noticed that good looks run in that family. Every eye, male and female, was drawn to him, and not just because he’s a novelty. He has an air about him, an aura of tough resourcefulness that disguises his disappointments. The same disappointments that haunt Ariana, one s
uspects.’
‘You ladies will all want to mother him, in that case,’ Zach said, rolling his eyes. ‘His family has suffered unimaginable tragedy and Raphael presumably feels responsible.’
‘Not mothering, exactly,’ Frankie replied with a mischievous smile.
‘Careful, woman!’
Frankie laughed. ‘I won’t apologise for feeling immense sympathy for his situation and Ariana’s. Martina is luckier in that she didn’t actually see what happened to her parents. She will marry her Jared and live a blissful life, one hopes.’ She sighed. ‘I fear that it won’t be as easy for Ariana and her brother to cast aside their demons.’
‘Quite so.’ Zach paused. ‘Clarence now has Raphael in his sights for some reason.’
‘Really?’ Frankie felt her anger rising. ‘Has the poor young man not given enough?’
Zach looked surprised by her fit of pique. ‘Did you really suppose that Raphael’s arrival the day before Clarence and Anna are due to join us is a coincidence?’
‘Hmm. I had not thought, but when you put it like that…’ She frowned. ‘What are—’
Zach held up his hands. ‘Before you ask, I have no idea what Clarence has in mind, but I dare say I shall be pulled into it.’ Zach narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. ‘Are you all right, my love? You have been preoccupied recently. Is there something you are not telling me?’
‘I hope you will put Clarence in his place if he attempts to make Raphael work for him,’ Frankie replied, hoping to distract Zach from repeating a question that she wasn’t ready to answer. ‘He has been risking his life for years for some political purpose or other. Enough is enough.’
Zach smiled. ‘Did you yourself not describe the man as tough and resourceful? In which case, I am sure he will not be bullied into doing anything he would prefer not to. Besides, he must have some idea why Clarence is coming down, which is more than I do. If he had raised objections, Clarence would not have put pressure on him. He cannot. Raphael is Spanish and doesn’t answer to our government.’
Beyond the Duke's Domain: Ducal Encounters Series 4 Book 4 Page 3