“Very well, my lord, I am all ears.”
Her turn of phrase made him smile, but he did not allow himself to become distracted. “I do not wish to alarm you, but I have been thinking about your situation with Lord Sadbury. I cannot be comfortable with you returning to Bloomsbury on your own. I think we ought to investigate what he could possibly want with you.” He paused to see how she was taking his words. So far, she seemed to be agreeable. “My sister has invited us to return to their home with them after the house party ends. She says she would like to get to know you better without the distraction of the other guests around. I think we should go.”
Jasper had known she would be resistant, but he was disappointed by how vehemently she was shaking her head. “That will not do at all, my lord. We cannot involve your family in this mess. What if it is unsafe? I could not bear to bring danger to your dear sister. I hate the thought of you getting mixed up in all of this, too, but that cannot be helped as your involvement seems to be an extension of this crazy ruse we have entered into. But we cannot allow your family to be involved.”
“Why not?” Jasper demanded baldly.
“For one thing, by extending our relationship beyond the agreed upon week, especially by spending more time with your family, we will only make it all the more messy. We will either compromise ourselves in some way so that you will feel duty bound as a gentleman to offer for me for real, or your family will find out it was all an act, and you will be disowned completely. Neither of those options is acceptable.”
Jasper shook his head at her words. He could see she was adamant, but he was determined to make her see reason. “Those arguments are ludicrous. You said for one thing, what are your other arguments?”
“My arguments are not ludicrous, my lord, especially not this next one. If you are concerned for my safety, you cannot possibly wish to bring my dangerous presence into your sister’s home.”
“To be frank, I am more concerned about your safety than Bess’.”
He had not meant to reveal so much, but it need not to have troubled him. Daisy did not accept his words how he had meant them. She turned upon him with a scold. “You really ought to make more of an effort with your family, Lord Seaton. Do you not realize how much I would give to have my family back? You should be grateful that you have them and try to get along with them better. I know your parents seem to be rather difficult to please, but your sister is a delight. You should be in alt about that. And you definitely should not be looking to bring a potentially dangerous situation to her doorstep.”
“Do not presume to tell me what I should or should not do, you managing little baggage. I am trying to keep you safe!” Jasper surprised even himself with the vehemence of his tone.
Rather than being cowed by his attitude, Daisy flared up into a righteous indignation. “You do not own me, Lord Jasper Seaton. Just because we are friends does not give you the right to tell me what to do. I will be just fine on my own, in Bloomsbury, thank you very much.”
Her flashing eyes, rosy cheeks, and pursed lips were enough to drive Jasper to distraction. For the second time that day, he hauled her into his arms and squeezed her tight against his chest. She felt so right curled into his arms, and he could have stood there holding her all day, but he felt her stiffen and did not want to make her any more uncomfortable than he already had.
“Daisy, my dear, please accept my abject apologies. I do not mean to make you angry. I am worried about you and this wretched situation with Sadbury. Do not fly up into the boughs about my highhanded behavior. Please, promise me you will at least think about accepting my sister’s invitation.”
Jasper carefully put her away from himself, holding her at arms’ length and searching her eyes to ascertain her thoughts. He was happy to see that most of the ire had died out, and she was returning his gaze rather ruefully.
“I will think on it, my lord. I apologize, too. I should never have allowed my temper to get away from me like that. It is most unlike me. I do not know what came over me. It was both exhilarating and embarrassing.”
Jasper had the urge to kiss her pert, wrinkled nose as she contemplated her strange behavior. He resisted, but it was difficult. She was concerned about them being compromised into making a real match of it. He was beginning to wonder if that would not be a wonderful thing, but he pushed the thought from his mind for the moment. Having gained her promise to think about going to his sister’s house rather than back to Charlotte’s, he allowed her to pull from his grasp and he escorted her back to the house, briskly and efficiently.
Another dinner flew by along with an evening of entertainment. Daisy was not sleeping well, so concerned was she about the situation she faced with Sadbury. She was tempted to take Jasper up on his offer of seeking refuge at his sister’s house, but Daisy truly was concerned that she would be bringing danger to their doorstep.
It was the last night of the house party; once again the marchioness had planned a ball. This was less formal than the first one, with many of the surrounding gentry invited to join the wellborn guests. Daisy found herself in Jasper’s arms, easily following his lead around the crowded dance floor.
Jasper persisted in seeking a commitment from her to travel on the morrow to his sister’s home rather than back to London.
Daisy finally sighed. “Jasper, my lord, you are exasperating me. Very well, if you will tell his lordship about the potential danger, and he is all right with it, I will accompany you there. I do not mean to be difficult, my lord, you do realize that, do you not? I just do not wish to bring any more trouble to your family than I already have.”
Jasper squeezed her a little closer than was decorous for the dance, making Daisy’s heart skip a little beat. “Excellent decision, my dear.” She basked in the warmth of his smile but regarded him severely.
“Promise me, my lord. Promise me you will tell him clearly that there is the potential of danger if I come to them.”
“I promise, you little termagant. I will explain the situation as best I can although surely you realize that it is rather inexplicable.”
“I do realize that, my lord, and I am not trying to be difficult, but that is the deal. If the earl is as fully informed as possible and still wants us to come, I will happily accompany you to your sister’s house.”
She wanted to giggle over his incredulous face. She truly did not wish to cause him aggravation, but this was her problem to deal with and she wished he would understand her reluctance to involve anyone else in it.
Chapter Fifteen
As the carriage lurched into motion, Jasper couldn’t quite look Daisy in the eye. He was relieved that she seemed a little too bewildered by their departure to notice. He suspected she hadn’t slept enough and the conclusion of the Abernathy visit had crept up on her. He hoped to avoid telling her about his most recent conversation with the marquis.
“Your little friend certainly brings trouble with her.”
“Whatever do you mean?” Jasper stiffened in rejection of his father’s words.
“There was another person asking for her this afternoon.”
Despite his effort to conceal all feelings in Abernathy’s presence, Jasper knew surprise was written on his face. “I was certain we had taken care of Sadbury.”
“According to the butler, this one seemed like a messenger of some sort and was easily discouraged from dallying upon the property. Do not trouble yourself over it. Mr. Bloom is well able to sort out such matters.”
Jasper stared at the marquis for a moment. “Is this why you have decided to accompany us to Welland?”
He was surprised to see a self-conscious look cross his father’s usually impassive face before the marquis brushed it aside with a shrug. “Somebody has to keep an eye on the two of you.”
Without another word Jasper had turned on his heel and left the conversation, but it now weighed on his conscience. He ought to tell Daisy, but he didn’t want her to worry. He devoutly hoped they would soon have more answers th
an questions. Jasper hated to see the worry creasing her forehead. With relief, he noticed that she now only looked bemused rather than weighed down with concerns.
~~~
Daisy was unsure how it had been contrived, but before she fully realized, it the house party was over and she was once again shut into a carriage with Kate and the viscount, bowling along at a brisk pace, on the way to Welland. Even more surprising was the knowledge that Lord and Lady Abernathy would also be joining them at their daughter’s home.
“Did you tell your father about our concerns regarding Sadbury?” Daisy asked quietly, breaking the comfortable silence they had all drifted into.
She was surprised to see a light blush staining Jasper’s cheeks. She giggled despite her discomfort. “Oh, my lord, how could you not have told him?”
“You only made me promise to tell my brother-in-law — you said nothing about my father.”
She fixed her glare upon him, delighted to see the colour deepen on his cheekbones. “Did you not understand the principle behind why I made you make such a promise? Had I known your parents would be accompanying us, do you not think I would have asked you to promise to tell them as well?”
“Why do you think I failed to mention my parents?” Jasper muttered, not quite meeting her eyes.
“You, my lord, are a devious sneak. I think you will be a perfect match for Sadbury.” She sighed in resignation, unable to change the course of events at this stage. “Have you any idea how we are going to investigate Sadbury in order to figure out what he could possibly want with me?”
“I have already sent a few messages to London. I know a few experts in the field of investigation. Mayhap there will be information awaiting us upon our arrival at Welland.”
“Why did you not tell me? You do realize I would appreciate that sort of information, do you not?”
Jasper turned his attention to gaze out the window. “You have been too busy with all your new friends to have any time to discuss the case with me.” His dismissive tone did not deceive her for a minute.
“You could not possibly be jealous that I have made some friends, could you, my lord?” Daisy was shocked at the possibility, but the evidence before her told its own story. The only reply she got from the viscount was a dismissive sniff.
Daisy turned her head and caught Kate’s amused gaze. She did not dignify his reaction with any further words. They continued in silence for a while longer, but then Daisy grew weary of sitting still. She wanted some conversation to break the monotony. Not wishing to spoil Kate’s enjoyment of the passing scenery, she determined the viscount ought to entertain her.
“Is it very much further to Welland, do you suppose, my lord? Shall we be stopping anywhere along the way, or did you have the cook pack us a basket of goodies? I would certainly not refuse if you said there are some of your mother’s cook’s pastries somewhere about. That man certainly knows how to make a pastry. I can tell you, none of my baking efforts ever resulted in anything so scrumptious.”
Jasper’s gaze turned interested. “Do you cook, Miss Daisy?”
Daisy shrugged. “I am a decent cook but only a passable baker. If you had to rely on me, you would not starve, but there would be none of the enjoyment that there is at the Abernathy table.”
“Well you will be happy to know that he did, in fact, send along a basket of goodies for us. And it is not too awfully far to Bess’ house. We should be there within another hour, I would think.”
“I am not sure if I am looking forward to arriving or dreading it. Do you have any idea why your parents have accompanied us? It would have been almost a lark to spend a few days with your sister and her husband, but having the marquis and marchioness along does bring it down to being almost a trial.” Daisy’s eyes flew to Jasper’s with apology clear in their depths. “I am so sorry, my lord. It is terribly ill mannered of me to speak thusly about your parents?”
“I beg of you, do not let it trouble you. I could not agree more. Not that I am terribly close with Bess, but we rub along tolerably well. I did not realize until this morning that my parents would be joining us. I cannot fathom what would have prompted them to do so. I would have thought they would be happy to have a few days of quiet by themselves after all their guests had departed.”
“Are you going to tell them?” Daisy could not keep the worry from her voice and frowned when she heard how nervous she sounded. The suspense was starting to get to her. She dearly wished she knew what to expect from Sadbury. She caught Jasper’s eyes staring at her hands, which were fidgeting nervously in her lap. She stilled the telling action.
“Not unless it is necessary. I only told the earl because you made me promise to do so. I am quite sure we will receive word very soon after we arrive at Bess’ house. Then we can deal with whatever it is and move on with our lives, hopefully without incident and without anyone else needing to be informed.”
“That would be lovely,” Daisy agreed. “But if the information is not so clear or easily acted upon, will you tell the marquis?” she persisted.
Jasper could see from her earnest gaze that it was important to her. “Daisy, I promise you, we are in this together. After we hear from my messengers, you and I will sit down together and discuss the entire situation and decide on the best course. If you still feel it is important to inform the marquis then we will do so. Does that plan meet with your satisfaction?”
Daisy’s eyes filled with tears, and she nodded her agreement. “Thank you, my lord. I truly appreciate your consideration. Even your involvement! You really could have just washed your hands of the whole thing and sent me back to Bloomsbury, you know.”
“Not really, my dear. I would not be able to live with myself if something happened to you and I did nothing to prevent it. Now never mind about that, we have at least another hour before we will be any the wiser. Let us put the matter from our minds for the time being and think of more pleasant things. What did you really think of your first house party?” He turned his head and nodded at Kate. “You too, Kate, I would be delighted to hear your impressions as well.”
“Oh, my lord, it was the bestest time I ever did have,” Kate enthused. “I’m not ashamed to say that at first I was mighty intimidated by the upper servants, like the butler and the marquis’ valet, but once I settled in, everyone was real nice to me. And the food. Oh my, I’ve never had such food. Wouldn’t my brothers have just liked to have some of those pastries.”
Jasper laughed. “You girls certainly enjoyed the baked goods.”
Daisy giggled. “They were one of the highlights, even you would have to agree, my lord.” They shared an amused glance before Daisy proceeded to share her impressions of her first house party. “I will admit to you that I had a remarkably good time. I enjoyed making new acquaintances. I was surprised that despite how nobly born most were, very few were overly high in the instep, as I had feared. I was made to feel quite welcome. Of course, that has something to do with the fact that your father did not reveal my secret. I am not convinced that they would have been so welcoming if they had known.” She anticipated Jasper’s protest, so she forestalled his words by carrying on with her list of things she had enjoyed about the week. “I loved the games. As an only child, growing up I never got to play many of those games. And the dancing was so much better than I had anticipated. And of course, Abernathy is breathtakingly beautiful.”
Jasper began to laugh as she enumerated all the things she had enjoyed. “All right, enough, we do not need to relive the entire week. I am relieved that you did not find it a dead bore.”
“One would have to be a barbarian to find time spent at Abernathy boring, I should think, my lord. What about you? Did you enjoy your week?”
Jasper’s face was suddenly an inscrutable mask. “It was reasonably passable, my dear. Abernathy is not one of my favorite destinations, I am sure you realize. But the company was enjoyable.”
Daisy laughed and did not press him for more details. “Miss Ecklestone was a d
elightful girl to meet. I had thought Lord Hawkridge was interested in her, but then I was not so sure.”
“Why were you not so sure? Because of his display of interest in you?” Jasper’s question made Daisy blush.
She quickly replied, “No, I did not think he was taking any sort of interest in me. He strikes me as a trifle odd. Do you know if your sister gets along well with him?”
“He gave her trouble when she and her husband were newly married. Their courtship was quick, and they did not wait long to get married, so I think Hawkridge was surprised by it. He did not have a chance to cause trouble before it was too late. There is the very real probability that he will be disinherited if Bess has a son.”
“It seemed to me as though he were wealthy enough in his own right that he would not be coveting his uncle’s wealth,” Daisy opined.
Jasper shrugged. “Most people would say ‘you can never have too much money.’”
“So then why is he accompanying them to Welland, if they do not get along?”
“Perhaps to keep an eye on the competition?” Jasper asked with a wry grin before continuing. “Actually, they get on just fine now. Hawkridge expressed some concern about the age difference between Bess and her husband. And perhaps he did not take well to being replaced in his uncle’s affections.”
“I am sure his uncle feels quite differently about him than he does about his wife.” Daisy’s dry tone caused Jasper to smile.
“One would hope,” Jasper replied. “Family matters can be complicated. I am having second thoughts about exposing you to mine, now that we have been discussing this. I do apologize, Daisy, this might not have been the best idea.”
Daisy’s laughter rang out in the small confines of the carriage, making the other two occupants smile despite being unsure what she was laughing about. “My lord, you are a complete hand. It is a trifle late to be having cold feet about this. I tried to tell you it was a bad idea.”
Jasper interrupted. “That was for a completely different reason, which I still do not accept. I do not regret keeping you away from Bloomsbury until we have the Sadbury situation sorted. It is merely the necessity for prolonging the exposure to my family that I am concerned about.”
A Dangerous Debut: A Sweet Regency Romance (Ladies of Mayfair Book 5) Page 17
