‘I cannot abide bullies. Anyway, as to Lady Purvis, she is easily able to manipulate her son into doing her bidding. If that happens, Maria will be disgraced. So too will I, by association. No one will want anything to do with our family. The duchess will make sure of that, as will Lady Purvis. I don’t mind so much for myself, but my aunt is kindness personified and doesn’t deserve such censure. She will be blamed, of course, because Maria was under her care when she…’ Sophia straightened her shoulders and sighed. ‘Not that anyone could ever control Maria when she decides upon a course of action, but that’s beside the point.’
Ross could see that she was close to tears, and somehow managed to resist the urge to move beside her and comfort her in the manner that sprang spontaneously to mind. She was feeling emotionally turbulent, he sensed, and the gesture might be misinterpreted. He most decidedly didn’t want her to assume that he possessed the same low morals as his brother.
‘That will not happen. I now have a legitimate reason to speak with Emily about Maria’s condition and the agreement reached between them.’
‘Will she tell you the truth? I don’t mean to imply…’ She tossed her head. ‘Actually, I do. I have had a lifetime’s experience of living in a beautiful woman’s shadow and I am well aware of the extremes my sister is capable of going to when crossed. I see her character reflected in the duchess’s behaviour and find little to admire in the view.’ Sophia sat forward, her eyes sparkling with a combination of annoyance and mischief. ‘If you tell her that you know of Maria’s condition, you could only have gained that intelligence from me, or from Maria herself. And if Maria did tell you, you would have needed me to facilitate the introduction, to say nothing of telling you where to find her. And that, your grace, will only provide fuel for the duchess’s jealousy insofar as our imaginary relationship is concerned.’
‘I can be discreet. Besides, I need to speak with Emily about Greenacre. If he’s still around and helping to supply fighters for the illegal gatherings, then I am persuaded she will know where he can be found.’
‘But once again, will she tell you? What’s in it for her? You can be sure that she will put her own interests ahead of finding out the truth about Andrew’s death, particularly if she was involved in some way.’
‘Emily knows I am annoyed with her but she depends upon me for her livelihood. If she has to choose between enjoying my support or her friendship with Greenacre, I know which way she will jump.’
‘Perhaps Andrew really did intend to divorce Emily, despite her threats to counter with the particulars of his own misconduct,’ Sophia said in a thoughtful tone. ‘In which case Emily would have become desperate and possibly even recruited Greenacre to kill Andrew. After all,’ she continued hastily, when Ross’s expression darkened, ‘you said yourself that you couldn’t understand why Andrew had ventured out alone at that time of night. Presumably Greenacre would ordinarily have been with him. Have you considered the possibility that he was with him that night? He would have been in the perfect position to commit the crime, since Andrew wouldn’t have suspected that he would turn on him in response to promises made by Emily.’
Astonishingly, Ross had not. ‘No,’ he said softly. ‘Greenacre was the one person whom I never would have suspected in a thousand years. I thought he was at least as loyal to Andrew as Tanner is to me.’ He threw up his hands. ‘But if Maria was right to suggest that he disapproved of her relationship with Andrew and was devoted to Emily…’ Ross stood and paced the length of the room, deeply disturbed as he considered equally disturbing possibilities. ‘I know from personal experience that Emily would be quite willing to disregard her wedding vows. If she thought she was losing Andrew, or more importantly her status as his duchess, I wouldn’t put it past her to exploit Greenacre’s partiality for her.’
Sophia nodded in agreement. ‘You think she could have taken her husband’s servant into her bed and poisoned his mind against Andrew?’
‘The possibility has belatedly occurred to me. Emily can turn on the tears and act the part of the deceived wife very readily. If we assume that Greenacre was already attracted to her and disapproved of Andrew’s association with your sister, it isn’t too much of a stretch to believe that he committed murder in the defence of the woman whom he has persuaded himself requires his protection and reciprocates his feelings.’
‘Then why disappear?’
‘Either his conscience belatedly troubled him, or Emily persuaded him it would be safer to make himself scarce so that I couldn’t ask him about Andrew’s last days. Besides, her first intention was to…well to…’
‘To replace Andrew with his brother,’ Sophia replied with a wicked little smile.
‘Quite, and if Greenacre had been there to witness her behaviour, it isn’t only scorned women whose thoughts turn to retribution.’
‘Do you think he is still alive?’
‘If we are right about him then I am sure he is. Emily wouldn’t risk exposure by grooming someone else to do away with him.’
‘Perhaps that is why she came to London. It wasn’t only to keep you in her sights but also to placate Greenacre, who would find it easier to hide himself away in a crowded city.’
‘He is probably still procuring former slaves to fight one another.’ Ross twisted his lips disdainfully. ‘It would be a very profitable enterprise and I dare say Greenacre is taking his cut with a view to supporting Emily.’
‘Well, there you are then. What shall you do now?’
‘I shall call upon Emily and demand some answers.’
‘In that case I wish you good fortune.’ Sophia gathered up her gloves and reticule. ‘You will certainly need it.’
‘Where are you and your aunt going this evening?’
‘Oh, to Miss Courtney’s come-out ball. It’s one of the highlights of the season, not to be missed, according to my aunt.’
‘Well then…’ Ross glanced at the pile of cream invitation cards lining his mantlepiece. ‘I expect I have been invited.’
‘I am absolutely sure you have. Shall I see you there?’
‘I wouldn’t miss it for the world.’
‘Liar!’ She laughed up at him. ‘I’ll wager you don’t even know who Miss Courtney is.’
‘Well, there you have me. But anyway, I shall have seen Emily by then, and you will want to know what she had to say for herself. It will be easier and a lot warmer for us to talk in a ballroom rather than the park.’
‘But will also add to the speculation.’
‘I’ll risk it if you will,’ he said, winking at her.
‘Wretched man!’ Sophia puffed out her cheeks indignantly but a smile still slipped past her guard. ‘You seem to understand enough about me to realise that I never could resist a challenge.’
When Ross scrutinised her face her cheeks turned a dark shade of pink and he thought she looked delightful. He stood, took her hand and pulled her to her feet. His grasp was a little too strong and she stumbled against him.
‘Careful!’
His arm circled her waist to prevent her from falling and there was suddenly no daylight separating them. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest, or perhaps it was his own pounding within it. He saw expectation and curiosity reflected in her eyes as she glanced up at him, making no effort to extricate herself from his embrace. She moistened her lips self-consciously, and it was his undoing. There was only so much temptation any man could resist, and Ross had been resisting Sophia’s magnetic allure since first making her acquaintance.
He slowly lowered his head, his breath catching in his throat as he waited for her to raise objections. Hoping she would not.
Wishing that she would.
She was more tempting than she had any right to be and therefore the blame for his arousal was entirely hers. A burning, primitive sensation fuelled his bloodstream and robbed him of his senses. He felt a current gathering deep in his body, a low pulsating need that blocked out the warning screamed at him by the rational part
of his brain, telling him not to do this.
His hair fell across his brow as his lips closed over hers with firm assurance. He revelled in the sweet taste of her mouth and the inexperienced manner in which she attempted to kiss him back. A groan escaped their fused lips. Ross was uncertain which of them was responsible for it, but it did bring him to his senses and he reluctantly broke the kiss before the remnants of his self-control went the same way as his earlier resolve to keep her at arm’s length.
‘You had best leave before I forget myself completely,’ he said, releasing her and taking a step backwards to put a little space between them. She glanced up at him with an expression that may have conveyed anything from disappointment to indignation. He did not ask for an explanation but instead opened the door to shout for Tanner.
He glanced back to where she stood rooted to the spot, still looking dazed.
‘I should apologise,’ he said, ‘but cannot bring myself to be genuinely sorry for something that seemed so right. Something I have fought against doing since first making your acquaintance.’
‘Please don’t bother to bring your carriage round,’ she said in a formal tone as she pulled her gloves back on, clearly determined not to discuss what had just passed between them. ‘Phyllis and I can walk from here. Good morning to you, your grace. I look forward to seeing you this evening.’
Her maid appeared in Tanner’s wake. Sophia gathered up her reticule and the two ladies followed Tanner as he showed them out through the rear of the property. Ross watched them go and then returned to the sitting room, where her fragrance still lingered in the air.
‘Damn!’ he said, kicking at the edge of the rug, aware that his lack of self-control had probably left her thinking that he was as dissolute as Andrew.
Chapter Thirteen
Sophia walked home as briskly as the conditions permitted. An overnight frost that lingered in areas not exposed to a weak winter sun made it slippery underfoot, and dark clouds, low enough to touch, held the threat of snow. Sophia barely noticed the cold conditions. In no mood to be detained, she pretended not to notice the occasional acquaintance raising his hat in recognition. She was conflicted and didn’t trust herself to speak with anyone.
Her lips still burned where Ross’s had covered them—far too briefly. What the devil did he mean about there being a genuine attraction between them? Well obviously, there was from her perspective but had he pretended an answering interest simply to take liberties? She thought it unlikely. Besides, he hadn’t taken liberties, not really. A brief kiss didn’t qualify, especially since it must have been apparent to a man of his vast experience that she was a willing participant and wouldn’t have prevented him from taking matters further, although she was hazy on that particular point, unsure how much further they could have gone.
Dear God in heaven, was she turning into a mirror-image of Maria, desperate to engage the interest of a handsome man? Desperation aptly described her behaviour, she decided, blushing at the recollection and deeply troubled by her conduct.
‘So, what did madam have to say for herself?’ Phyllis asked, after they had trudged along in silence for several minutes.
‘She is very unhappy with me for taking the duke to see her without giving her advance warning.’
‘I’m sure she is.’ Phyllis chuckled. ‘But still, a taste of her own medicine will do her no harm, and might even improve her character.’ Phyllis looked anything other than certain on that particular point, and Sophia was inclined to agree with her.
‘Well, I hope that I am not petty enough to try and make some sort of obscure point by surprising her, which I am sure is what she thinks.’
‘No, lamb, you are not petty, more conflicted. You feel loyalty towards your sister, even if she has done nothing to earn it, but at the same time you want to help your handsome duke to get some answers, even if those answers affect your own standing within society. Given the circumstances, it’s little wonder that you feel the way you do.’
‘Yes well, when you put it like that…’ Sophia let out a long breath which clouded on the frigid air directly in front of her face, encouraging her to increase her pace. ‘Maria knows something that she isn’t admitting to. I can always sense when she is being untruthful. And I think the duke realised it as well.’
‘She won’t admit to anything that shows her in a bad light.’ Phyllis sniffed. ‘She don’t seem to realise that an unmarried woman of her stature carrying a child out of wedlock…Well, it don’t get a lot worse than that but I’ll wager a shilling that she still tried to invoke the duke’s sympathy by playing the part of the duped victim.’
Sophia gave a wry smile. ‘I think that was her intention, but she probably realised almost at once that he wouldn’t fall for her stratagems.’
‘So she sulked.’ Phyllis seemed to find the possibility highly amusing. ‘You outshone her and she will be furious.’
‘If I did then it wasn’t intentional.’
‘She won’t see it that way, love. You look very smart in her discarded pelisse now that I’ve given it fresh trimmings and she will be stewing away, thinking you wore the bright colour deliberately to make her look dowdy.’
‘Is that what I did?’
‘No, love, you didn’t.’ Phyllis grinned. ‘But the possibility might have crossed my mind when I suggested that you wear it.’
Sophia laughed and felt the tension drain out of her body. ‘You are a wicked woman.’
Phyllis shrugged. ‘Since the cause justifies the means, I make no apology. Someone has to make you see that you’re not the dowd that Maria has made you think you are. Far from it. Anyway, I’ve been called worse in my time.’
They dodged between a precarious high perch phantom and a man riding a flighty horse he was struggling to control in order to reach the safety of the opposite pavement.
‘The duke seems to think that Andrew might have been killed when he refused to supply more former slaves to fight one another,’ Sophia remarked, twitching her nose. ‘Even Maria was repelled by the brutality.’
‘Or so she claims.’
‘Well anyway, the duke is of the opinion that the business would have been lucrative and that those organising it wouldn’t take kindly to the interrupted flow of combatants.’
‘What about this Greenacre person? Mr Tanner mentioned his name.’
‘Ah, that’s another possibility.’
Phyllis grunted when Sophia explained about his attachment to the duchess. ‘Sounds like just the sort of thing she’d do. Exploiting his fondness for her, I mean, to drive a wedge between him and Andrew.’
‘To the extent that he would murder the man he had faithfully served for years?’ Sophia asked dubiously. ‘It’s a big leap from admiration to murder.’
‘You don’t make sufficient allowance for men’s lust,’ Phyllis said darkly.
‘What do you know about the subject, Phyllis?’ Sophia grinned down at the top of the shorter woman’s head. ‘Do you speak from experience?’
‘I’m ten years older than you, miss, and I’ll have you know that I’ve enjoyed my share of admirers.’
Sophia chuckled. ‘Mr Tanner seems very willing to join their ranks.’
‘The duchess is a manipulative little madam,’ Phyllis said, choosing to ignore Sophia’s suggestion. ‘We both know that, and she’s more than a match for your sister, which is saying something. Oh yes, I can imagine her grace deploying her wiles on Andrew’s man until it got to the stage where he’d slay dragons for her. Or in this case slay his master to protect her either from fictional abuse or from the indignity of divorce. Especially if he didn’t approve of Maria.’
‘The duke thinks that Greenacre was heavily involved in procuring the poor slaves who were forced to fight one another for their very survival.’ Sophia shuddered. ‘I still cannot understand why men must… Anyway, what I mean is that Andrew might have set matters in motion, greased the right palms and cleared the way, but he wouldn’t have allowed himself to be seen w
hen the men were taken.’
‘So Greenacre did all that, became a familiar face and stepped into the breach left by Andrew.’
‘Possibly.’ They reached home and the door was opened to them by the butler. Sophia thanked him, removed her outdoor garments and led the way into the drawing room. ‘Anyway, the duke is going to visit Emily and ask her a few direct questions. I think he also has plans to watch Blake and Swinton to see if they lead him to Greenacre. He was vague on the point.’
Sophia had intended to discuss that possibility with him but he’d distracted her with that wretched kiss at the vital moment and all other thoughts had fled from her addled brain. But still, in his situation that is what she would do and she would definitely suggest it when they met that evening. He couldn’t divert her with kisses in the middle of a crowded ballroom, could he?
Sophia suppressed a smile. He was very much a law unto himself and didn’t give two figs for society’s mores, so it would be unwise to rule the possibility out.
‘You told him about the duchess’s visit?’
‘Yes. I didn’t intend to, but the circumstances changed after visiting Maria. Besides, he seemed to notice that I was preoccupied and pressed me on the point.’ Sophia took a chair close to the fire, the better to warm her chilled limbs.
‘I’m sure he can be right persuasive,’ Phyllis replied, grinning.
‘Oh, do stop smiling and fetch me some tea,’ Sophia replied crossly, but she couldn’t help smiling herself.
‘Are you joining your aunt at Miss Courtney’s ball this evening?’ Phyllis asked when she returned with the required tea.
‘Actually, yes. The duke has promised to let me know what he discovers.’ Sophia tapped her fingers restlessly against her knee. ‘I can only hope that whatever he does find will not incriminate Maria. As I say, she hasn’t been entirely truthful.’
‘When was she ever? Anyway, enough about her. I’ll go and see what I can find in your wardrobe that will enchant the duke.’
A Duke in Turmoil: Dangerous Dukes Vol 9 Page 16