Busbee, Shirlee

by Lady Vixen

  Edward was in such a state of shock—shock that any woman could resist him, shock that a young woman of Nicole's station had not fainted away in sheer shame at his attack, and shock at how incomprehensibly the tables had been turned on him—that he could only lie there moaning, his face white, his ear bleeding profusely on the satin cushions. Nicole regarded him contemptuously for a brief second, and then in a tone of loathing she said, "Pull yourself together, fool! Sit up, I haven't killed you, you jackass!"

  "You certainly haven't, my dear, but I'm positive your poor cousin probably feels as if you have," remarked Christopher dryly from the doorway, his face inscrutable in the moonlight.

  Surprisingly Nicole's feeling was one of relief that it should be Christopher who had found them. Almost wearily she put the bottle down and said, "My cousin was rather overcome by the night and too much wine. I would suggest that you show him to his carriage, while I return to the house and repair the damages to my gown."

  Edward, seeing his chances slipping away, struggled to his feet and cried hoarsely, "No! I shall marry her!" And seeing that Christopher remained curiously unmoved by his words, he stammered, "Y-y-you can't want a scandal! I'll marry her the instant a special license can be obtained and no one need ever know of what happened tonight. Her honor will be secure!"

  "And your fortune made!" Nicole exclaimed angrily. "I have no intention of marrying you, Edward."

  Christopher stepped farther inside the pavilion, and taking a lightning assessment of Nicole, he asked, "Are you all right, brat?"

  Pushing back one of the tumbled curls, Nicole answered truthfully, "Yes. A bit mussed and torn, but unharmed otherwise."

  "Then I suggest you slip up to your room and have Galena or Mauer put you to rights and I will take care of Mr. Markham."

  Feeling as if she were being sent away like a bothersome child, Nicole bristled and the topaz eyes shimmered angrily. "Don't order me about!" she said between gritted teeth. "If you will remember, that is precisely what I suggested a moment ago!"

  "So it is. Why don't you do it then? Or is it that I have mistaken the situation? That this is actually a lovers' quarrel?" he purred menacingly, and it dawned on Nicole that despite his careless manner, he was furious. And dangerous. With a shudder of foreboding she saw the look he sent Edward, and she flew across the room to clutch Christopher's arm. Almost dragging him, she forced him to follow her outside. A step away from the pavilion she said in a fierce undertone, "My cousin is annoying, but he did me no harm! I've grown up with him, Christopher, and I can handle him. What you saw in there is typical of how all our arguments ended as children." Then her face pensive, she added honestly, "Although Edward usually found some way to pay me back."

  Examining his nails in the silver light, Christopher asked expressionlessly, "Shall I kill him for you?"

  Startled, Nicole looked into his face. "Would you?" she asked without thinking, and her mouth growing dry, she read her answer in the gold tiger's eyes. Swallowing with difficulty, she said, "I don't want him hurt, Christopher. He is foolish, I can barely stand him, but don't harm him."

  His gaze rested coolly on her face as he said tightly, "You realize that if he persists in his offer to marry you, if he goes to Simon with the tale of tonight, you may very well find yourself shackled to him? My God!" he burst out angrily. "If anyone else had stumbled across that little scene you would be before Simon at this moment, a ruined woman, and there would be no choice but to give you to Edward!"

  Shaken by the unexpected possibility, Nicole looked away from the naked anger in his face. "I hadn't thought of that," she mumbled, studying her satin slippers. "But no one else did find us," she said at last, looking again at Christopher. Beseechingly, she laid a hand on his arm. "Let me go to the house and tell Simon myself. And if you were to help Edward—"

  "Simon may believe you, but how are you going to keep your cousin's mouth shut? How are you going to make certain you are not the conversation in every club along Pall Mall? That you are not shunned and refused to be acknowledged by polite society?" Christopher demanded angrily. Grasping Nicole's shoulders, he shook her. "Don't you realize he can ruin you?"

  "What do you care?" she shot back defensively, confused by his concern and giddy with the nearness of his hard, warm body.

  Christopher slanted her a derisive glance, and setting her from him, he bit out savagely, "God knows!" Running a hand through the thick black hair, he muttered, "Go to the house, and don't say a word to anyone. Leave Edward to me—and take that look off your face, I'm not going to hurt him. Just scare the sweet hell out of him!"

  Nicole wasted no further time in conversation and glided like a wraith into the darkness. His face blank, Christopher watched until she disappeared, and then with a swift movement he turned and stepped back inside the pavilion.

  Edward had recovered a certain amount of his composure and was standing warily by one of the tables when Christopher reentered. As soon as Christopher came in, he babbled, "I know it was wrong, but, Saxon, I love her! I mean to marry her! I shall do the honorable thing by her, believe me!"

  The gold eyes were mere slits in the dark, dangerous face. Christopher snarled softly, "You will not, my friend, not if you want to live! You will leave and you will say absolutely nothing about what transpired here tonight. For some reason your cousin wishes to protect you, but let me tell you this, if it weren't for Nicole, you'd be a dead man! Now get out of my sight and keep your mouth shut! And, Markham, if I hear one whisper, one hint, one word of what went on tonight, I will kill you, make no mistake of that! I may anyway, so stay away from me!"

  Bravery not being one of his strong points, Edward wilted and scuttled like a frightened rabbit from the pavilion, overwhelmingly thankful to escape with his life, not caring at the moment if he had lost in his attempt to marry the heiress.

  Unfortunately that mood did not stay with him, and by the time he had reached the safety of his rooms and had drunk several glasses of brandy, he had convinced himself that Nicole's interference on his behalf had been because she did, in fact, hide a tendre for him, and that Christopher's ugly threats had been just that—threats. Why, he couldn't hurt me, Edward thought scornfully, absently caressing the sword cane that was ordinarily by his side but which he had not worn today because dress had been more formal than usual. Ah, my beauty, he cooed to himself, if you had been with me tonight, Saxon would not have been so arrogant and brave. We would have seen to that! Having convinced himself that Christopher Saxon was an overbearing bully whom he could take care of anytime he choose, and that his suit with Nicole was prospering, Edward planned to go on just as if nothing had happened.

  Christopher remained at the pavilion for several minutes after Edward had disappeared, struggling with a primitive urge to follow him and break every bone in his body. How dare he lay a hand on her, he thought furiously. And yet when he remembered how ludicrous Edward had looked bent over double, and how fierce and ready to defend her honor Nicole had been, a quiver of amusement shook him. Vixen! Edward probably would have suffered less at his hands than hers! He would only have killed him, while Nicole would have maimed him for life! Chuckling to himself, Christopher leaned carelessly against the doorjamb of the pavilion and stared down the path that Edward had used to make good his escape.

  As fate would have it, Robert and Lord Lindley's friend Lieutenant Jennings-Smythe, having escaped to smoke a cigar, were wandering toward the pavilion by one of the several paths that ended there, and most disastrously Christopher was unaware of their approach. His profile was presented to them; with the lower half of his face in shadows and the moon intensifying the blackness of his hair, highlighting the heavy eyebrows and the flaring nostrils, the resemblance to Captain Saber was unmistakable.

  Christopher didn't hear their approach, lost as he was in his own thoughts, and Jennings-Smythe had several seconds of unobstructed viewing of his lean profile. Jennings-Smythe could not believe his eyes and was so startled he blurted, "Captain Saber!
Your nephew is a damned American privateer!"

  Christopher, hearing voices, but just far enough away not to understand what was being said, looked in their direction and smothered a curse of exasperation. It had been to avoid Jennings-Smythe that he had been in the gardens in the first place, well aware that sooner or later, he might recognize him. So far Christopher had been adept at evading face-to-face confrontations and generally managed to keep a room full of people between them. It appeared, though, that his luck had just run out. Straightening, he lounged away from the pavilion and leisurely strolled up to them as they stood in the center of the path.

  "Taking the night air?" he inquired lightly. Suddenly uncertain when he looked at Christopher's aristocratic features, Jennings-Smythe mumbled some trite remark.

  And Christopher wasted little time in removing himself. He returned a polite comment and then with deceptive indolence began to walk to the house.

  Frowning, he slipped into a small deserted room in the back of the house. He would have to work out an alternative plan just in case Jennings-Smythe did recognize him, he decided thoughtfully. As long as someone, either he or Higgins, was there to meet the ship at the end of September and was able to get that memorandum to Jason in New Orleans, that was the important thing. If he were arrested, Higgins would have to take it to America. And if he, Christopher, weren't clever or adroit enough to convince everyone that Jennings-Smythe was entirely mistaken, well, then he would deserve to hang, he told himself cynically, never doubting his own ability to avert disaster. His thinking was correct as far as it went, but what he hadn't taken into consideration was the fact that Jennings-Smythe had inadvertently betrayed him to Robert.

  Robert had watched that scene with undisguised interest, certain at last that he had stumbled across something that would bring about Christopher's ultimate downfall. He remained silent until Christopher had disappeared, and then looking at Jennings-Smythe, he asked idly, "You say my nephew is a privateer? This Captain Saber? Why didn't you say something to him?"

  The thought that Captain Saber and Baron Saxon's grandson could possibly be the same man was so preposterous that Jennings-Smythe was feeling extremely silly, and he said apologetically, "I must have been mistaken and I feel a perfect fool. It was just a trick of the light, you know, for now that I've seen him full face, I realize that there is nothing more than a superficial resemblance."

  If it had been anyone but Robert Saxon, Jennings-Smythe's explanation would have sufficed, but Robert was hungry for anything that would discredit Christopher, even a lie. In his own rooms that night Robert reviewed what he had learned, and for the first time in months he felt a flash of triumph.

  He would have preferred to begin investigating the truth of what Jennings-Smythe had said immediately, but everything was already arranged for the removal to Brighton, and there was not enough time in the morning to pay a visit to the Admiralty Office—not if he wished to escort Nicole and his aunt to Brighton. Certainly he had no intention of allowing Edward to be their sole protector for the journey, not when it was glaringly apparent that Edward had covetous eyes for Nicole!

  Robert had waited this long for his revenge, and he was willing to wait just a little longer—primarily because at this particular moment it was more important to Robert to retrieve himself with Nicole—to discover what had gone wrong between them, to have her smile warmly at him once again. That was much more imperative than for him to remain in London ferreting out possibly discreditable information about his nephew. There would be time for that! Soon enough it would be worth his while to pay a call at the Admiralty Office and discover what was known about this Captain Saber!

  PART FOUR: TRACES OF LOVE

  "Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point."

  The Heart has it reasons that reason knows nothing of.

  —French Proverb

  CHAPTER 32

  Brighton was not a happy place for Nicole. It had been here that her parents and brother had drowned, and when she and Regina had driven past the handsome Ashford manor one day, she couldn't suppress the shudder of pain that shook her as she remembered that day. Regina had suggested she might like to wander through the house to see if the Markhams had done any alterations or damages during their guardianship, but she shook her head violently. She didn't think she could bear to go through that house, especially not to step out onto that balcony where she had sat that terrible day watching wide-eyed with terror as the gleaming white sloop had plunged into the sea.

  Time had deadened her pain, but she could not help associating Brighton with unhappiness. She missed the new Lady Saxon dreadfully, although Regina was kindness itself, evidently having forgiven her the lapse with Robert. But Regina was no substitute for Lady Saxon's sweet, understanding manner nor Lord Saxon's sarcastic gruffness, and the house seemed dull and empty without the newlyweds.

  There were certain advantages to Brighton, she admitted to herself. For one thing, she could hear the crash of the ocean just beyond the seawall, and with Galena in attendance Nicole found a certain solace in walking along the edge of the ocean, the sea breeze ruffling her hair and kissing her pale cheeks with color. There was a more relaxed air in Brighton, despite all the members of the ton from London who crowded into the small city this time of year, and Nicole found herself with somewhat more freedom and with fewer restrictions. Perhaps, she thought wryly, I have at last grown used to this life and now will fade into a vapid existence, no longer straining against the restraints of polite society.

  As she sat in her room one mid-September afternoon, her mind wandered to Robert and the rather strange situation that existed between them. She tolerated his company much as she did Edward's but her cool manner seemed in no way to disturb Robert as it did Edward. Edward continued his pursuit of her, but he was more inclined to reveal his true character these days, having finally realized that his ardent display the night of the wedding had done him no good, and that Nicole was not a bit taken in by his loverlike air. Consequently whenever Nicole refused his invitations to dance, or sought the company of others rather than converse with him privately, he tended to pout and show his displeasure, but with Robert it was an entirely different matter.

  Robert took all of her snubs with good grace, smiling quizzically at her, his eyes gently asking why she had changed toward him. But she could not tell him that she no longer trusted him, or that she could never forget that he had been her mother's lover and, worse, that he had so brutally betrayed Christopher. Robert never pressed her, but like Edward he never abandoned his more refined and disarming wooing.

  On the surface Robert had taken Nicole's withdrawal without any sign of anger, but underneath he was seething with jealousy. He had attempted to lure more information out of Jennings-Smythe about this Captain Saber, but he always turned aside with a laughing comment, mocking himself for his mistake. He learned a little more from casual inquiries, but nothing that would connect Christopher with the American privateer Captain Saber. Robert finally decided that the hiring of an inquiry agent was his only option, and in the middle of the second week of September he did precisely that.

  On the twenty-fourth of September Simon and Letitia arrived in Brighton, both looking incredibly happy. With their return the house on Kings Road suddenly seemed to wake and shake off its slumbering air and resounded now with lively laughter and gaiety as various friends and acquaintances came to call, offering their congratulations and welcoming them to Brighton.

  The air of passiveness that had overtaken Nicole vanished with their return, and she found she could bear with equanimity Edward's persistent and increasingly annoying suit and that she could even occasionally smile at Robert Saxon. She told herself firmly that this new vigor, this bubble of excitement in her breast was because Lord Saxon and his wife were once again part of the household, but it was only her unruly heart that acknowledged the feeling might have something to do with the fact that in less than a week she would see Christopher again.

 
Simon and Letitia had both noticed instantly that Robert was no longer greeted with the same degree of warmth and cordiality he had been in the past, and both were more than a little curious as to why Nicole had changed her attitude toward him. Simon, thinking it some work of Regina's, had taken her to task for it the first moment they were alone.

  Glaring at his sister, he demanded, "Now, Gina, what is going on here? What have you said to Nicole to make her avoid Robert so? I told you to let the gel be, that if she wanted Robert, I wouldn't throw a rub in her way. And I meant it! I don't want her to marry Robert, but I've learned my lesson and I'll not be a party to forcing them apart."

  Regina drew herself up stiffly. "You wrong me, Simon! I do not know what you are talking about! Certainly I have said nothing to Nicole to give her a distaste for Robert. I haven't had to! She had been disenchanted with your son since before the wedding had you cared to notice!"

  "Just so you haven't been meddling!" he barked after a moment.

  Somewhat huffily Regina replied, "Meddling! Why I would never do such a thing!"

  Simon grunted disgustedly. "Now don't give me that! You are an unscrupulous woman, Gina! And you are perfectly capable of telling an outright lie if it suits you!" Seeing his sister was becoming highly incensed, he added somewhat hastily, "Well, that is enough of that! Perhaps Letty can find out why the chit had taken such an obvious aversion to Robert."

  Letitia was indeed able to find out what had happened when Nicole unburdened herself. Regina had gone to visit her close friend Lady Unton, and Simon was closeted with his man of business, leaving Letitia and Nicole to their own devices, and they were seated under the spreading leaves of an elm tree at the side of the house, enjoying a glass of lemonade, when Nicole haltingly told Letitia what she had learned from Higgins.