Harlequin Historical September 2021--Box Set 1 of 2

by Christine Merrill

  She hurried after him, mortified. He would discover Alister in the little flat, haul her back to the carriage and see to it that there were no more charity trips in her future.

  Then Solomon glanced back at her with an expression that was far too wise.

  He knew. Even worse, he had known all along.

  She did not know how, but she was sure that what he would see when the door opened was exactly what he expected. She trudged resignedly behind him, allowing him to rap on the door.

  When Mrs Wilson opened it she stared at him in suspicion, and Liv stepped quickly into the gap. ‘We have brought your basket, just as always.’

  ‘As always?’ the woman said, glancing between the man in the doorway and the one who had started out of his chair in the corner, fists balled as if ready for a fight.

  Solomon stepped into the room, beaming at the widow, as charming as he had been to all the others, and said in a loud voice, ‘If you would do me the honour of introducing me to our hostess, Lady Olivia?’ Then he glanced at Alister. ‘And of course Mr Clement needs no introduction.’

  Alister answered with a feral growl. It was clear that he did not know or care who Mr Solomon was, beyond realising that he was an obstacle to their plan.

  Liv gave him a helpless look, then turned back to their hostess. ‘Mrs Wilson,’ Liv said, ‘may I present Mr Solomon. He is an employee of my brother’s, who will be accompanying me on my outings.’ She glanced at Alister with another desperate look. ‘Whether I want him to or not.’

  ‘Charmed,’ Solomon said, bending over the old woman’s hand and making her chuckle.

  Then he turned to Alister. ‘And I am pleased to see you as well, Mr Clement. It was inevitable that we would meet since I was hired to prevent your elopement with Lady Olivia.’

  Alister continued to stare at him in stony silence.

  When he received no response, Mr Solomon went on. ‘Although you may refuse to admit it today, a marriage between you will never be approved or permitted. If I were you, I would cut my losses and appeal to Scofield, who will probably offer a generous compensation should you surrender your plan and go about your business.’

  ‘If I wanted money from Scofield, I’d have asked for it long ago,’ Alister said, speaking at last. ‘What I want is to marry the woman I love. No amount of interference on your part will prevent us from being together.’

  The thrill of excitement that Liv felt at those words was diminished somewhat by the fact that the two men were so focused on each other that she might as well have not been in the room.

  Mr Solomon stared back at Alister, his smile tight and the light of challenge in his eyes. ‘Suit yourself, Clement. But if you have not managed to come up to scratch in all the time you’ve been courting her, I have little hope for you now.’ Then he looked back at Liv expectantly. ‘Will you have a seat, my lady? Unlike some in the room, I would not dream of taking the liberty myself, until you and Mrs Wilson are comfortable.’

  Alister had not bothered to rise when she’d entered. But they had known each other for ages, and it was hardly necessary. Now, he sprang to his feet, but it seemed less a belated courtesy and more the first move towards a physical altercation with Mr Solomon.

  Liv moved between them and turned towards the door. ‘That will not be necessary, I am sure. It has been a long day for all of us. Now that the last package has been delivered, it would be best if we returned to Scofield House.’

  Mr Solomon gave a nod of approval, and she glared back at him to prove that she might be going home as he wished but had made the decision without consideration for his feelings on the matter.

  Behind her, Alister said, ‘This is not over, Solomon.’ She felt his hands on her shoulders and was spun around to face him. Then he kissed her roughly and with great passion. He released her just as suddenly, looking into her shocked face. He whispered, ‘You will hear from me soon. Do not lose hope,’ and spun her again, giving her a push towards the door.

  She almost stumbled, but Mr Solomon was there to catch her, staring past her at Alister, his blue eyes darkened with sudden rage.

  He relaxed again, releasing her to stand on her own, his smile returning. He turned back to Mrs Wilson, who was sucking a sweet and watching the proceedings as if they were a Covent Garden drama. He offered her a deep bow. ‘Until we meet again, my dear.’

  She gave him a toothless smile and clapped her hands, thoroughly satisfied with the way the day had gone.

  Then he gestured Liv towards the door and, without turning, called, ‘Au revoir, Clement.’

  As she took the first steps towards the street, she heard another growl from Alister and the door slammed behind them.

  * * *

  As they returned to the carriage, Michael wondered if it might not be necessary to schedule another interview with the Duke to request a change in their arrangement. Now that he’d met Alister Clement, he was quite willing to forgo monetary compensation, just for the chance to plant a facer on the little twit.

  He opened the carriage door for Lady Olivia and helped her up the step. Then he ignored the empty seat by the driver and helped himself to a place opposite her in the body of the coach.

  She glared at him, casting her eyes towards the door as if she might will him back to his former place without a word.

  He shrugged. ‘Since you want to shout at me, it will be easier for both of us if I stay here.’

  ‘Do not put words into my mouth,’ she said. Then her mouth snapped shut as if to prove to him that she had no intention of doing what he expected, no matter how much she wanted to.

  ‘Very well,’ he said and stared at her, smiling, allowing the silence between them to build until she could not stand it any more.

  ‘Why did you allow me to come on this trip, if you knew all along that I was going to meet Alister?’

  ‘I was not absolutely sure,’ he admitted. ‘You had to be meeting him somewhere, and this was the most logical opportunity.’ Though he had sincerely hoped that she would surprise him by proving him wrong. ‘It was quite clever as well. Who would deny you the opportunity to do good works? I assume you came up with the idea.’

  She nodded, and he thought he saw a faint flush to her cheek, as if she was happy that he had recognised her part in the ruse.

  He nodded back. ‘I doubt Clement has it in him to think so far ahead. How long have you been visiting Mrs Wilson?’

  ‘Almost three months,’ she said.

  He smiled. ‘You gave him the perfect opportunity for an elopement, and he waited too long to implement it.’

  A shadow crossed her face as she considered the missed chance. Then she shook her head. ‘He had his reasons, I am sure.’

  ‘Are you?’ he asked and watched the shadow reappear. He was not sure what excuses the man had given her, but they must not have been very convincing for it was clear she did not like to be reminded of them.

  ‘You do not give him enough credit,’ she insisted.

  ‘And you give him too much,’ he replied, then bit his tongue to prevent further criticism. He had been less than impressed with Alister Clement, a supposed gentleman, who had not bothered to greet his lover with basic courtesies and who pawed at her to prove his dominance in the presence of another man. But Lady Olivia would defend the fellow all the harder if Michael enumerated his flaws.

  Now, she was looking at him with narrow-eyed suspicion. ‘We cannot all be as clever as you,’ she said, lips pursed.

  She had not meant it as a compliment, but all the same he laughed. ‘I thank you for that, but I suspect you are more than clever enough to be a match for me. It will be a pleasure working with you.’

  ‘We are not working together,’ she said emphatically.

  ‘We are playing the same game, are we not? Just not from the same side of the board.’ He smiled at her and leaned back in his seat, enjoyin
g her beauty and the smooth ride of the Duke’s carriage. He must not give in to the temptation of his mother’s belief that there was a commonality between them. He was an interloper here, imposing on the lady’s company rather than invited to share it.

  But now she was staring at him with the same curiosity he felt about her. ‘Is everything a game to you?’

  ‘Not everything,’ he said. ‘Most jobs are puzzles, and not particularly interesting ones at that. Say I am called by a rich man to find the person responsible for the theft of his wife’s jewels. Nine times out of ten, it is not some dramatic cat burglar that has done the deed. It is more likely to be a member of the family. I will find the stones at the nearest jeweller and be forced to cover up the discovery again, as the Lord pays back the insurance claim and punishes his second son.’

  ‘That sounds very exciting to me,’ she said, her eyes widening and her lover forgotten.

  He leaned forward. ‘It has left me thoroughly disappointed with human nature. So many of these cases would never occur if the family members understood each other.’

  ‘And how are my brother and I any different?’ she asked. ‘I have no idea why he keeps me cooped up inside his house.’

  ‘Perhaps he simply does not like Clement,’ Michael said, stating the obvious.

  ‘It goes deeper than that,’ she insisted. ‘The last man I was fond of was pulled out of the Thames with a knife in his back.’

  ‘I beg your pardon?’ he said, not sure he had heard her correctly.

  ‘Perhaps you should look into the death of Richard Sterling before forming any opinions about my brother’s motives,’ she said, frowning at the floor.

  ‘You think Scofield murdered someone?’ he said, shaking his head.

  ‘Other than the man everyone knows he murdered?’ she replied, and her head snapped up to stare at him in frustration.

  ‘The late Duke,’ Michael replied with a shrug. ‘People assume, of course. But there is no real evidence.’

  ‘I was there that night,’ she said with a shudder. ‘I found the body...’ She shuddered again. ‘My father. And then Richard. That was when Hugh still allowed us some freedom to go about. But everything changed after Richard came forward with an offer. Hugh refused him, and two weeks later I read about his death in The Times.’

  ‘Wait,’ he said, holding up a hand in confusion. ‘You had another suitor before Clement?’

  She half shook her head as if the truth confused even her. ‘There has always been Alister, of course. He asked my father and was refused. Then...’ She swallowed as if she could not stand to speak of the murder again. ‘When my brother became my guardian, both Alister and Richard asked and were refused. And Richard was...’ She swallowed again, but this time a single tear rolled down her cheek.

  ‘Oh, my dear,’ he said, and before he realised what he was doing he had reached across the carriage to take her hands. They were cold and trembling and he covered them with his own, stroking gently to encourage the warmth back into them.

  She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, her voice hardening. ‘I suppose I should be satisfied that he does not hate Alister quite so much as he did Dick Sterling. He has not bothered to hurt Alister, as of yet.’

  ‘He would not have hired me if he had meant anything so nefarious as that,’ Michael said, trying to smile and racking his brains to remember just what the Duke had said about the matter, upon hiring him.

  I want him gone.

  It had sounded firm at the time, a typical statement from a member of the peerage, as if people were furniture to be moved out of the way when they became inconvenient. Now, it seemed much more ominous.

  Damn the man. If he’d meant murder, he should have said so directly, or done it himself. In either case, he should not have involved Michael in it. But, for the moment, the matter need not concern him. The worm, Clement, was more alive than he deserved to be, and Michael had no intention of changing that.

  But he might be able to help the lady in front of him if he gave the matter some thought. ‘Do not concern yourself,’ he said, giving her hands a pat. ‘You have only me to deal with, after all. And, although I cannot allow you to have the elopement you crave, I do not intend to do anyone permanent harm.’

  ‘If you force me to remain in my brother’s house, you are doing harm to me,’ she said, pulling her hands away from him.

  ‘No one is forcing you to remain with your brother. There will be other opportunities to leave, with other men, I am sure,’ he said with a smile.

  ‘I do not want another man,’ she insisted. ‘I am in love with Alister.’

  ‘Love?’ He could not help himself. He laughed again.

  Her next breath left her in a hiss. ‘How dare you doubt my feelings for him? What do you know about the matter?’

  ‘I know that what you call love is nothing more than a combination of lust and expediency.’

  ‘He has waited for me for two years,’ she said with an incredulous look. ‘There is nothing particularly expedient about that.’

  ‘You are a duke’s sister,’ he reminded her. ‘It is unlikely that he could find a wife with a better pedigree. And you wait for him because he is the only man available to you. You want to get away from your brother’s house. And Clement provides the logical method of egress. I suspect you would think yourself in love with any man who was willing to give you what you want. With luck, the next one will be someone your brother approves of.’

  ‘You think me so shallow as to run away with any man who will have me?’ She was glaring at him again, as she had when they’d first left the widow’s rooms.

  ‘Not shallow,’ he said. ‘Sensible. If I honestly believed you were in love with him I would be very disappointed indeed. He does not seem worthy of you, truth be told.’

  ‘You could not possibly understand what this elopement means to me,’ she said, turning away from him.

  He could not stop himself from reaching out to touch her shoulder and turning her back to face him. ‘You would be surprised at that, I am sure.’

  ‘Oh, really?’ She laughed, but there was no humour in it. ‘Have you ever seen a murder, Mr Solomon?’

  ‘I have seen many things that I would prefer not to remember.’

  ‘But none of them were family, were they?’ she pressed.

  ‘No,’ he admitted. ‘Not family.’

  ‘As I said, I was the one who found him,’ she said, her eyes shut tight against the memory. ‘Father was in the study, slumped over his desk. And the blood...’ For a moment she was clearly overcome, pressing her fist against her mouth as if choking back a scream.

  Again, he could not help himself and lurched across the carriage to take the seat at her side. Then he wrapped an arm about her shoulders, feeling her stiffen against him.

  But the story continued to pour out of her, muffled against the lapel of his coat. ‘I screamed,’ she whispered, shaking. ‘And Hugh came, and dragged me out of the room. They gave me laudanum and sent me to my room. But I could not stop seeing it.’

  ‘That was two years ago,’ he reminded her, stroking her back. ‘There are no ghosts. It can’t hurt you any more.’

  ‘There might as well be,’ she said with a weak laugh. ‘I still have dreams. Nightmares, really. If something upsets me, if the weather is as hot as it was that night, the sight of blood...’ She shook her head, trying to shake the memory out of it. ‘And I am forced to live with the man capable of doing such a thing. I cannot manage to get away.’

  His hand froze on her skin, aware of the truth she had spoken. She was trapped in the thrall of a murderer, and he was the one helping to maintain the prison. ‘He has not tried to hurt you, has he?’ Now his hand tightened into a fist and he thrust it into his coat pocket to hide it.

  ‘He has done nothing at all. He has no patience for my spells. He barely speaks to me. And
yet he will not let me go.’ She shuddered. ‘Until recently, my sister was there for company. She cared for me, at least. And she was always his favourite.’

  ‘How would you think such a thing?’ he said, not wanting to believe that there might have been a Bethune more fair than the one at his side.

  ‘She was,’ Olivia insisted. ‘And now that we are alone? Sometimes, the way he looks at me...’ She shuddered. ‘He hates me. I know he does. And I cannot think why. I have never done anything to deserve it.’

  ‘Other than trying to get away,’ he reminded her gently.

  ‘Any sane person would run from him,’ she said, shaking uncontrollably now. ‘I do not know why he wants me to stay. I mean nothing to him. He does not need me. My sister, Peg, said he claimed he never wants to marry. Perhaps he expects me to stay and be the lady of his house for the rest of my life. But what is the point of it when it is only the two of us there?’

  He could think of several reasons why her brother might keep her cloistered, and none of them were honourable. ‘But he has not hurt you,’ he pressed.

  ‘Not me,’ she said, pulling away from him as if she had just remembered that she had a suitor. ‘Alister is braver than you give him credit for. He has been willing to stand by me, even knowing who my brother is, and what he has done. And he has loved me.’ She raised her head and gave him a watery smile.

  ‘Of course,’ he said, gritting his teeth. If Clement loved her as much as she thought, he’d have taken her out of this house years ago and rescued her sister as well. Instead, he’d found a million excuses to wait until the situation was most favourable to him and put her needs last. ‘And I suppose you are still set on marrying him.’

  She stared at him, her huge blue eyes still wet with tears, and nodded. ‘He loves me,’ she repeated. ‘I have no mother. I have no father. Now that Peg is married, I have no sister. And now you are here to tell me that I have pinned my hopes on a man who wants me for my brother. Am I really so broken that you cannot believe a man like Alister would wait for me out of genuine and pure affection?’