Raven's Shadow (Book 2, the Ravenstone Chronicles) Page 4

  He watched them from across the room, clearly angry, his eyes on their joined hands. She felt, for an instant, joy at having made him suffer even a little. Then she noticed that Major Price was closely observing the exchange. He stood next to Madden, and his face suddenly changed as if a long-awaited insight had suddenly come to him.

  She did not know which piece of the puzzle he had recognized, the one of her and Nicholas, or the one of Edward and Mr. Madden. Which was worse? With that kind of information, he could do ill did he wish it. Damn him! And damn men for being so easily seen through. Disaster was unfolding right before her eyes, with nothing she could do about it. She had realized too late how terribly informative their smallest actions had been to someone like the Major.

  The conversation returned to Lydia and her infatuation, but Georgiana only half listened.

  “A terrible accident,” Lady Kingston said.

  “What was?” Georgiana asked

  “The way the previous vicar left us.”

  She looked toward Edward for an explanation.

  “He fell from his horse and off a cliff,” Edward said.

  “He should not have been out on a night like that,” Dorothea said. “We were fortunate that Mr. Gordon could replace him so quickly.”

  Georgina glanced at the man in question and considered this new information with interest. The conversation around her moved on to other matters and she paid it little attention as she watched Nicholas and Caroline.

  “A shame really,” she heard Lady Kingston say. “Is she not a distant cousin of yours?”

  “You refer to Miss Grace Claremont, no doubt,” Edward said. “Yes, she is. Her tragedy is she did not marry.”

  “She remained unwed to take care of her father and now with him passed away the house is left to another cousin,” Lady Kingston said. “It is, however, quite shameful that no annuity was set aside for her. She is quite destitute and may have to find employment.”

  “That may be,” Edward said.

  “But can you not do something for the poor creature?” Lady Kingston asked.

  “Good madam, what can I do?”

  “You can ask her to come and stay here,” Lady Kingston said. “Lady Fairchild needs a companion. It is ideal.”

  “Do you?” Edward asked.

  Georgiana felt all eyes on her again and considered how to formulate an answer without giving offense. Although she deplored the circumstances Miss Claremont found herself in, she also could not guess as to her character. Having her installed at Ravenstone could be either advantageous or disadvantageous based on her very character. An answer was required and she made the only one she felt would provoke the least conjecture, having no other alternative.

  “Yes,” she said. “You must write to her.”

  “Then I shall,” he smiled and kissed her hand. “I wish only to please you.”

  Georgiana doubted it for she could feel Nicholas’s attention on them and was sure Edward meant only to provoke him, but for what purpose? She did not understand his sudden need to seem so territorial, especially in light of the fact that he held no real interest in her.

  Caroline began a romantic air on the piano, and the irony of the situation was not lost on Georgiana. A fire glowed and people smiled, but underneath it all Lydia was heartbroken, Mr. Madden felt betrayed, Edward was claiming a territorial victory, while Nicholas was on the brink of fighting another duel over a woman who was not even his fiancée, which would cause even more heartbreak. And all of it was being witnessed and stored for future condemnation by Major Price, capable of who knew what sins. Something must be done, but what? And was it not already too late? None of it could be changed now.

  Then Lydia’s mother came running into the room, her face ashen.

  “Lydia has run away to the cliffs to throw herself over,” Mrs. Jones said, then she fainted. The room transformed from complete silence to total pandemonium in a single second.

  2

  Georgiana sat alone in the drawing room, everyone else having rushed off to find Lydia. She cursed herself. It was her fault. She never should have encouraged the girl. The door opened slowly and Rupert’s little face peeked into the room, his eyes sleepy and hair disheveled. Seeing only her, he entered and curled up next to her on the settee, his head in her lap.

  “Georgy,” he said sleepily.

  “Yes, Rupert,” she said softly, her hand gently moving the hair from his face.

  “Where did they all go?”

  “For a walk, my love.”

  “At night?”

  “Yes,” she said. “Sometimes it’s the best time for a walk.”

  “Oh,” he said, yawning. “Georgy?”

  “Yes, Rupert.”

  “Did Captain Markham go too?”

  “He did.”

  “Oh,” he said, his small voice disappointed. “I wanted to talk to him.”

  She took the black shawl from around her shoulders and covered him with it. “Have you been sleeping on the stairs waiting for him?”

  He nodded his small head, his eyes closed, and drifted off to sleep.

  “What a determined little fellow you are,” she said, but he did not hear.

  Gently, she brushed his hair, and realized her hand was shaking. She tried to steady her white-gloved hand but it was no use. If Lydia died that night, she would be to blame. Please let them find her alive, she prayed, and she would never be unkind to anyone again.

  “Please, God,” she said softly into the quiet room.

  She bent over and kissed Rupert on his cheek, his face so sweet and almost innocent in sleep. He needed a mother, but she had left his care to the servants and a governess. They did not see the scared little boy behind the rough exterior. He needed her, but she was so afraid to love him. Eventually, he too would be taken from her, and so she could not become attached to him. But a small voice inside her knew that Rupert had long ago found his way inside her heart with the first flying object to strike her. Yet she had only chosen to ignore the fact.

  She lifted her head as she heard footsteps and voices. The ladies had returned, chattering amongst themselves in breathless excitement. Lady Kingston went upstairs with Mrs. Jones, who had gone to lie down. Lady Cloverdale sat down next to her, and took her hand.

  “It shall be your entire fault,” Mrs. Collins said, glaring at Georgiana, and this time she agreed with the unfortunate woman.

  “Oh, do be quiet, Mrs. Collins,” Lady Cloverdale said. “You are not worth listening to.”

  Mrs. Collins’ face scrunched up like an old woman’s at the insult, and she stood suddenly and exited the room again.

  Dorothea and Caroline sat down in her place.

  “Such a ninny, that girl is,” Dorothea said.

  “That’s unkind,” her sister said, frowning at her. “She’s our friend and we should be concerned for her now.”

  “It’s true,” Dorothea said, sounding petulant.

  Caroline stood up and went to sit by herself at the window, where she could see anyone returning.

  “Should I take him upstairs?” Lady Cloverdale asked.

  Georgiana shook her head and pulled Rupert’s sleeping form closer. “No. I’d rather have him here a while longer.”

  They waited in silence, the only sound that of the clock in the hallway. Then Caroline jumped up.

  “I see lights at the bottom of the garden,” she said and ran outside.

  Lady Cloverdale stayed with Georgiana.

  “It’s not your fault, you must know that.”

  “Do I?” she asked softly. “It was no matter to me but I had to champion her, and I did it so well she wants to throw herself right off the cliff.”

  “No, you are right,” Lady Cloverdale said, giving up. “You should have just thrown her off yourself.”

  Georgiana was shocked at the words. “That is not fair,” she said. “I was only trying to make her feel better. She has probably been miserable long before tonight and had had the idea before now. I rea
lly think—”

  She stopped suddenly as Lady Cloverdale smiled kindly at her. “Oh, you are a sly one, aren’t you?”

  Caroline came running back in. “She is well,” she beamed. “Her mother was quite mistaken. She only meant to stand by the cliffs, not jump from them.”

  The rest of the group arrived, and the sudden noise in the room woke Rupert who, upon seeing Nicholas, jumped across the settee and launched himself into the air after his quarry. Fortunately, Nicholas had good reflexes; he caught the boy neatly. She could not hear what they said to each other, but some kind of promise was given, it seemed, that Rupert accepted and Nicholas put him down. Rupert blew her a kiss then exited, and put himself to bed.

  ***

  Lydia and her family spent the night, for Mrs. Jones was unwell after the shock and could not travel even the short distance home. The rest of the guests returned the following day for an archery competition, part of Ravenstone’s week-long house party.

  The contest would commence after a lavish picnic, served on the perfectly manicured lawns to the west of the house. The weather for late summer cooperated beautifully, and even the ubiquitous coastal winds had died down, it seemed. The gardeners had outdone themselves in arranging the targets, the round red and white paint in perfect circles on their wood backgrounds.

  Archery was one of the few sports in which women were allowed to compete, even against men. It was also an opportunity for close flirtation, and Dorothea had lost no time, asking Mr. Gordon show her how to hold her bow.

  Glancing at the guests seated at the table, Georgiana’s eye caught that of the Major. She looked away, not wishing to encourage him, but he could not be deterred. He sat down next to her on the blanket. She opened her parasol, and leaned back against the cushions, trying to relax and not let his presence affect her.

  “Here you are all alone,” he said, reminding her of a spider after a fly.

  “Major Price,” she said, greeting him with a smile.

  “You are indebted to me, I believe.”

  “How so?”

  “Were it not for my swift interference, your husband and possibly you, yourself, would be facing charges of smuggling right now, instead of enjoying this beautiful day.”

  So that was the reason she was still free.

  “Don’t be silly, Major Price. We both know that is not true. No magistrate would dare bring charges against us.”

  She hated being indebted to anyone.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, smiling, and relaxed against the pillows next to her.

  ”Quite,” she said. “If it were not so, I would now be facing the magistrate instead of being bored by you.”

  “And tell me, would your young friends in the stable yard be as fortunate as yourself who was, by mere accident, born on the right side of the blanket?”

  “I have no friends in the stable yard, Major,” she said evenly.” Those lads work for me and were they to be apprehended, I would only replace them.”

  She would not allow him to see how truly frightened she was by his words.

  “Then you are not fond of your workers?”

  “As I said, they are easily replaced.”

  “I shall remember that.”

  She glanced at Edward who sat at the breakfast table looking his usual fashionable self. He was laughing with Lord Cloverdale, who looked like he had played cards again to the small hours of the morning. He was rather worn around the edges, his cravat slightly askew and his eyes almost completely shut as he squinted at the brightness around him. Lady Cloverdale was not out yet, either.

  Caroline practiced at a target by herself as Nicholas had not yet arrived. There were others present who had greeted Edward and bowed to her as the lady of the house. She recognized neighbors from the ball she wasn’t supposed to have attended. When they arrived, Edward strolled over to her and introduced them, and she made chitchat until they felt they could return to the rest of the party. She had purposefully placed her blanket to one side, away from the majority of her guests, but close enough to see it all.

  “Last night’s performance was enlightening, wouldn’t you say?” Major Price asked.

  “I’m sure I do not know to what you refer.”

  “I find the hypocrisy of the upper classes vastly entertaining. So many rules about how to behave and underneath it all a debauchery that would make the lower classes blush.”

  “I find your implications tedious,” she said, trying her best to sound bored.

  “I have discovered that you are profiting from smuggling, Lady Fairchild.”

  It was not what she had expected him to say. “How else am I to discover your information?” she said.

  “Then you must know who leads them?”

  “I was close to discovering that precise information when you thought to so carelessly apprehend the smugglers. I do not know how you expect me to continue now.”

  He laughed at her, as if she had said something amusing. “Forgive me,” he said finally. “Alas, you have it all wrong. I was not responsible for the appearance of the excise men. Indeed, I was miles away on official business and only heard of the raid upon my return. I did, of course, rush off to see how I could help, but was in time only to watch your clever boys disappear into the night.”

  “You were there?” she asked.

  “Oh, yes. In fact I had ten of my men with me in those dark woods, and had I wanted to, I could easily have apprehended your fine young fellows before they slipped into the darkness. I must say you have a clever man in that Peter. Were it not for him, I do not think you could have made the tidy little sum you have so far from your enterprise. Quite a shame you will not be able to pay off your husband’s gambling debts anymore.”

  He had been busy, Georgiana realized. Had she misjudged him? She was dismayed by how careless she had been, and was horrified to think what else he knew or could possibly still discover. She reached for the bell next to her, and asked the footman for a cup of tea. She did not ask the Major if he cared for one. It was rude, but she wanted to do so much more than be rude to the man. A pair of shiny boots appeared at her side, and she tilted her parasol up to see Nicholas.

  “Good morning, Lady Fairchild,” he smiled. “You are well?”

  “Tolerably, Captain Markham,” she said.

  Nicholas glanced at the Major, and gave him a bow. It was singular that the Major should not stand and greet Nicholas as was proper. If Nicholas noticed or took offense, he did not show it, but turned back to her.

  “Is Rupert here?” he asked, glancing at the guests present.

  “He informed me that he is awaiting you in his office, and you should go seek him presently.”

  “His office?” Nicholas asked, an eyebrow raised.

  “The great oak on the east side of the house, third branch from the bottom,” she said, smiling. “Oh, and could you take him these.”

  She handed him some small cakes wrapped in a napkin.

  “Make sure to tell him he must share with his undersecretary on the branch below him as well as the under, undersecretary on the ground floor.”

  He tipped his hat to her and strolled across the lawn. She dared not watch him go.

  “I hear in certain circles in London that he fought a duel not so long ago for a young woman who married another. Hardly seems heartbroken now, though, does he? Even got himself engaged to the beautiful Miss Caroline Kingston. Such a fickle thing, love,” Major Price said.

  “If you didn’t inform the excise men, then who did?” she asked, ignoring his conjecture.

  “Why, that would be another young Lothario,” he said and glanced toward the guests who were now making their way down to the archery field.

  The competition was about to begin.

  “Who do you mean?” she asked impatiently.

  “Your husband’s lover, of course.”

  She felt like cursing but kept her expression as blank as possible.

  “My husband does not have a lover,” she said adam
antly.

  Price turned his head toward her, his eyes intense, and she wanted to look away, but knew she dare not.

  “You can set your mind at ease. I will not expose him.”

  “Who do you mean?” she asked, trying to play the innocent to the end.

  “Oh, come, Lady Fairchild, you are not so obtuse, and I’ll thank you not to think me a simpleton either. Mr. Madden does sorely miss the revenue you took from him. He has decided to take his revenge on you. He claims, as you do, not to know the name of the leader. Perhaps, he fears him more than he fears me, which can be shortly remedied, if necessary. But what to do about you?”

  “I was not aware that I had become an impediment to your goals,” she said with complete composure.

  “I have given you months of uninterrupted smuggling revenue which Mr. Madden has informed me can be most lucrative indeed, and which I am, of course, forced to believe, for see how well Ravenstone is doing. Your husband continues to incur huge gambling debts that somehow, mysteriously, he is able to pay off.

  “In London alone, he owes one debtor the sum of eight thousand pounds. I must say, Lady Fairchild, not even your ten thousand a year can keep Lord Fairchild out of debtor’s prison for long. But Ravenstone flourishes and your husband’s debts are paid. Do you know, perhaps, where it is your husband gets the money to pay his debts?”

  “Again, what do you want?”

  “I thought that matter already settled.”

  “The only person whose behavior has been suspect is Mr. Madden, but I have already shared this information with you.”

  “I had considered that possibility long before your presence here. I had him watched for some time, but have discovered that Mr. Madden’s inducements are those of a man in love. As you yourself can testify to, love makes fools of us all. Of course, I had not realized exactly who his lover was until last night.”

  “If I cannot continue to smuggle, you will not find your man.”

  “That is exactly the position I expected you to take and your continued insistence on profit I believe is where you must give me something in return for my willingness to make sure you are not arrested.”