He smiled when she arched her brows in an imitation of his most skeptical expression, but his face was grim as the door was opened and they were ushered into the grand entrance foyer. She wished she could mimic his equanimity as they waited to be taken to the parlor. Her fingers clenched and unclenched, and she had to resist wiping their cold dampness against her dress. If they failed in their meeting with Mrs. Ehrlich, there might be no chance to persuade Philip to rethink his plan to join the fight against Napoleon.
Mrs. Ehrlich greeted them with aloof graciousness, but she noticed how Annis’s mother’s eyes were gauging the cut of Hamilton’s coat and the gold buttons on his waistcoat. He had been right in the suspicions he had shared with her in the carriage. Mrs. Ehrlich judged a man by the plumpness of his pockets.
“I am grateful that you could take the time to speak with me this afternoon,” he said, bowing politely over her fingers.
The aroma of scented lotions battered Nerissa’s nose, and she wondered how much unguent Mrs. Ehrlich used daily to retain her youthful appearance that could not match her youngest daughter’s vivacity. She spoke a muted greeting to the woman who had not looked at her after that initial frown.
“It is my pleasure,” Mrs. Ehrlich answered, pointing to a settee. “Please sit and make yourself comfortable. I am always delighted to have you call, Lord Windham.”
Hamilton bit back a grin. Fortunately for him, Nerissa decided, he was not trying to impress his suit upon the fearsome Mrs. Ehrlich. And for Mrs. Ehrlich, as well, for Nerissa was sure the woman had met her equal in stubborn determination in Hamilton. Leaning back against the settee, which was surprisingly comfortable in spite of its fragile appearance, he said, “I trust I need not explain the cause of my visit.”
“You are forthright.” Her eyes glittered with her scheming thoughts. “So shall I be. Your brother is a fine, young man, my lord, but I wish Annis to enjoy a Season in Town before she buckles herself into marriage. She is very young, as you have seen. She needs to savor the social whirl before she is settled in some country estate.”
Pyramiding his fingers in front of his nose, he said, “That is wise of you, Mrs. Ehrlich. I can assure you that I feel much the same on my brother’s behalf. That is why I came to speak with you. It would be wise, most wise, to put a damper on this relationship.”
“Hamilton!” Nerissa gasped. “I thought you—”
He ignored her as if she had not spoken. “Philip is only recently down from Oxford. He needs a bit of Town life as well. I am glad to see that we concur on this.”
Nerissa interjectd again, “Hamilton—”
“I shall deal with this, my dear,” he said, patting her hand in a detached, paternalistic way.
She gave him a fierce scowl. How dare he treat her as if she was no more than a child! When she saw Mrs. Ehrlich’s smile fading into dismay, she glanced again at Hamilton. He gave her a surreptitious wink. Holding her lower lip between her teeth, she halted her smile as she realized he had a deception in mind that would best any plan Annis’s mother might devise.
“I must think of my brother,” he continued.
“Now, my lord,” Mrs. Ehrlich said hastily, “there is no need to disconnect them completely.”
“I can see no other way. The quicker the separation, the less painful it shall be for all parties.” He set one boot on the opposite knee in a casual pose. “A lesson I have discovered to be true in my own life, Mrs. Ehrlich, so I see no other venue than to cut off all dealings between them.”
“My lord!” She set herself onto her feet as he rose. “Mayhap we are being a bit impetuous in reaching this decision.”
“I see nothing impetuous about safeguarding my brother’s heart.”
As she watched the horror spring into Mrs. Ehrlich’s eyes, Nerissa said nothing. The older woman implored him to reconsider, to let his brother know that Annis would welcome his call. Nerissa struggled not to smile when Hamilton agreed with apparent reluctance to let his brother give Annis a look-in the next day. She withheld her laughter until they were seated in the carriage again and driving through the city on their way back to Laura Place.
Hamilton smiled with self-satisfaction at his easy triumph, his feet stretched toward the front of the carriage, his arm draped casually along the back of the seat. He listened to the light sound of her laugh. This would surely convince Philip to reexamine his plans.
“Forgive me,” she said, pulling his thoughts back to her. His gaze eagerly strayed to her face when she went on, “I thought you quite dicked in the nob when you started to agree with Mrs. Ehrlich. The poor lady had no idea that you were manipulating her.”
“It did go rather well, didn’t it?” He chuckled.
She wagged a finger at him. “You shouldn’t gloat.”
“And why not?”
“Because … because …” She laughed again. “Mayhap you should. Certainly you had little need for my help. You adroitly dealt with the formidable Mrs. Ehrlich.”
“Did you consider that I used this small drama as an excuse to steal you from the all-seeing eyes of your duenna?”
“No,” she whispered, her voice softening to the husky warmth that swirled within him like a heated wind.
His hand curved around her shoulder, bringing her to face him. “I was certain not even Frye would deny you the chance to leap to the rescue of your bosom bow.”
Her fingers rose to his face, and she guided his mouth to hers. As his arm herded her to him, he forgot Annis and Philip. He could think only of the luscious taste of her mouth. When his tongue touched hers, her sharp gasp of pleasure accelerated the throbbing need that ached within him. She softened against him, her body remolding perfectly to his. He delved deeper in her mouth, looking for all the untouched flavors waiting for him. As her fingers clutched his coat, he felt the carriage slow.
Lifting his mouth from hers, he murmured, “We are on Laura Place. I would ask the coachman to take us about the city a while longer, but I must return to tell Philip the good news.”
“Go,” she said with a smile that stirred the tempest within him. “Stop Philip from making a mistake. There will be other times.”
“I promise you that.” His smile broadened to match hers. He hoped the rest of the day would go as well. It must, or this small victory he had won for Philip’s sake would be no more than bitter ashes amidst his defeat.
Shadows slithered along the ground, malignant and silent. Although carriage wheels rattled on the bridge overhead, only the slap of the water disturbed the blackness beneath its stone arch. Mud stank, wet and undisturbed, on both sides of the river that had been shrunken by summer’s passage.
Hamilton waited in silence as he had for the past hour. He was not surprised that Mallory was late, because he suspected the man had scant intelligence. The shuttlehead probably had no idea how to tell time. As the church bells chimed the hour before midnight, he leaned back against the stones and stared out at the city that was settling itself for the night. There were more stars in the sky than lights in the windows he could see. In this section of the city, where men rose with the first light to work, the late hours of the ton were unknown.
He heard a hiss, then a curse. It was followed quickly by a splash. With a terse laugh, he reached out a hand to pull the Bow Street Runner from the muddy shallows. Swearing viciously, Mallory shook himself like a dog, spraying both of them with mud.
Wiping the putrid mire from the front of his coat, Hamilton halted as he stared at Mallory’s misshapen face. The faint light could not disguise that it was as discolored as Nerissa’s had been the day after the accident. The bruises marked both of the man’s cheeks and left his right eye swollen shut. “What happened to you?”
“Got jumped.”
“By whom?”
“Never got more than a glimpse of the bloody cove’s shadow. Thin as an anatomy.”
“Tall?” asked Hamilton, unable to keep his eagerness from his voice. Philip had described the thief’s accomplice as bald-ribbed and lank
y.
“Never saw,” he grumbled. “’Appened just this afternoon when I was comin’ out of the Cock and Drake. Beat good and thorough, I was.”
He recognized the name of the lush-ken, although he had never entered that low tavern himself. “Can you continue?”
“This ’ere be nothin’. I’ve got beat worse than this.”
“So what have you to tell me?”
“I think ’twas a mistake to think yer man be ’ere,” Mallory answered. “Can’t be in Bath. Mayhap ’e was once, but ’e’s gone. The blunt, too.”
Hamilton knew his face would betray nothing, not even in the fiery glare of daylight. His voice was as impassive in the darkness. “Then, Mallory, you need to find out where he has gone to.”
“Milord, I’ve tried, but ’e ’as up and vanished.”
“If that was so, you would not have been smashed. You clearly have gotten close to my prey.”
“Got no idea where though.”
“I wish to hear no excuses, for I have had my ears rung with too many of your bangers. If I had wished only to hear a pretty story, I would not be paying your employer at Bow Street for you to nab this thief for me.” From his pocket he pulled a handful of coins which he tossed to the shorter man. “Buy some drinks, and talk to the folks. Someone will have heard of a man coming to Bath with that money.”
“Aye,” he said with a sigh, but Hamilton could see the greedy glint in his eye. So much like Mrs. Ehrlich’s, although that lady would be affronted to be compared to this low creature.
“And one other thing,” Hamilton said as the short man started to turn away. “I wish you to investigate Mr. Randall Oakley, who lives on Trim Street near St. John’s Gate. It seems he has come into a spill of funds where there presumably was none.”
“Aye,” Mallory mumbled again.
“Let me know what you find out before the week’s end.”
Hamilton heard the Runner curse again, but he did not wait to listen to the man’s complaints. Climbing the steep embankment to the street, he dragged his dreary spirits after him. He had taken steps to solve the issue of Philip’s captaincy today while coming no closer to reaching the goal that had brought them to Bath.
He brushed any hint of dirt from his black cloak as he reached the walkway. This search might prove fruitless, but, until every rock in England had been overturned to discover the whereabouts of the cur who had cheated his father, it must continue. Clearly Mallory was incapable of handling the task alone. The time had come to find another, more competent thief-taker. In the morning, he would pen a letter to Townsend, asking for the services of his best man. In spite of Mallory’s assertions, Hamilton suspected this man was not the most competent of the highly praised Bow Street Runners.
Blast it! He had spent too long already on this quest which was leading nowhere.
With his hands clasped behind his back and his head down as he ignored the passing traffic, he strode along the walkway. Only when he reached a corner did he realize where he was heading. The windows of Laura Place were bright against the night, although several of the façades were unlit.
He crossed the street where it broadened, leaping aside as a sedan chair cut in front of him, and climbed the three steps to Nerissa’s door. No doubt she was asleep at this hour. He smiled as the enticing thought of her curled upon a pillow—his pillow—pulsated deep within him. But he did not want her asleep in his bed. He wanted to feel her mouth beneath his as she swept all thoughts of despair from his head as she had this afternoon when he had held her in the carriage. He wanted her now!
The door vibrated beneath his fist. It came open with a faint squeak of the hinges.
“Is Miss Dufresne in?” he asked, although he knew she must be. Philip had delighted in telling him that Nerissa welcomed no other male callers. That was good, because he wanted her with him tonight, not in the arms of another man.
Hamilton was startled when a spare butler let him in without speaking. He was about to repeat his question when his eyes were caught by a slender shadow on the stairs. If the butler spoke to him, he heard nothing but the renewed rush of pleasure flowing through him as he allowed himself to admire the way the silk Chinese robe outlined Nerissa’s curves against the shadows cast by the dim lamp at the upper landing. The blue was several shades lighter than her eyes, which were widening as he stared at her in silence.
A muffled whisper broke his mesmerism, and he looked past Nerissa to see her abigail one step higher on the stairs. Whatever Frye had said brought a frown to Nerissa’s face. Shaking her head, Nerissa hurried down the stairs, uncertainty plain on her lovely face.
“Hamilton, is something wrong?”
He glanced past her, but the man who had opened the door had vanished as completely as his hopes of getting an answer to his quest tonight. The poignant reminder of his greatest failure ate at him like an open sore. He took Nerissa’s slim hands and stared down into her eyes, which were heavy with fatigue. He longed to see them close in the moment before his mouth claimed hers.
With the greatest effort, he kept his thoughts from intruding on his question. “May a friend of the shortest standing beg the favor of your company for a few minutes?”
“Frye,” she said without hesitation and without looking away, “please have some cocoa brought to the parlor. Or would you like something stronger, Hamilton?”
“Brandy for me, Frye,” he requested, managing a smile as he saw concern in Nerissa’s eyes. It might be as feigned as his own indifference, but it was what he needed to see right now.
His mouth straightened. Elinor had been an expert at showing him what he needed to see at any given moment. So expert had she been that he had been the last to discover her infidelity when she made him the laughingstock of the ton before his voyage for America. Had he learned nothing in the years since?
He did not want Elinor in his head tonight. She was gone from his life. Tonight he wanted Nerissa to give him the comfort he had sought so unsuccessfully since Elinor had betrayed him.
When Nerissa gasped, he realized he had tightened his hold on her fingers painfully. “In the parlor,” he ordered Frye, not caring that the abigail was staring at him askance as he gave commands as if this was his house.
Nerissa stepped back as Hamilton strode past her. Exchanging a perplexed glance with Frye, she hurried into the parlor after him. The stiff line of his shoulders warned that the conversation would not be an easy one, although she doubted if any in which Hamilton was involved would ever be.
“I did not expect you to knock down my door tonight. I thought you were busy this evening, Hamilton,” she said to his back.
He bent to warm his hands over the embers on the hearth, although the night air was not cold. When she saw the line of drying mud on his Hessians, she knew he had not been with his tie-mates at a card table. More grime clung to his cloak that was as black as a starless night.
“I was.”
“Doing what?”
“Business, Nerissa.”
“Your quest to find that feckless thief,” she answered quietly, then realized she would have been wiser to remain silent, for his eyes snapped with steely fury as he whirled to face her.
“Do not probe into things that matter nothing to you.”
“But it does matter to me.”
The tails of his coat slapped his legs as he walked toward her. The ironic tilt of his brow matched the sarcasm in his voice. “Does it? Pray tell me why?”
“I thought we were friends, Hamilton, and friends share each other’s pains as well as triumphs.”
When he grasped her shoulders, she heard Frye’s gasp, and realized her abigail had followed them into the parlor. She had no time to think of anything else as he asked, “Friends? Is that all you wish to be? Do you wish to forsake this?”
His mouth was not gentle as it captured hers. It was as demanding as every aspect of him, and she knew the danger of relinquishing her will to his strong one. If Annis was correct, and her bosom bow ha
d no reason to lie, once Hamilton was the victor in any chase, he tired of the hunt. She had seen how persistent he was in trying to get what he wanted. He had manipulated Mrs. Ehrlich with the skill of a master today and would do the same to her tonight. Yet, she longed to soften against him, to savor the strength of his hard body, to drown in the rapture of his touch. If she did, she would lose too much. This was a game at which she could never win. She was a widgeon to continue it, but she could not deny herself this delight … one last time.
When she put her hands up to push him away, his arm swept around her waist, pulling her tightly to him. His lips left sizzling sparks along her neck, threatening to dissolve her against him. Boldly, his tongue teased the curve of her ear as his breath seared her with its fiery pulse.
His voice was a low growl as he whispered, “Do you want this, Nerissa, or friendship?”
“I don’t know,” she gasped, struggling to breathe as the longing to draw his mouth back to hers battled her good sense. Blinking, she put her hands on his rough cheeks and brought his face back so she could look up into his hooded eyes. “But I know you need a friend, Hamilton. I would be a friend to you, if you would give me a chance.”
She tried to guess what he was thinking, but could read none of the emotions altering his face from its fierce mask. They vanished too quickly as his features grew hard again. Releasing her, he stepped back. His gaze slowly moved along her, as if he was seeking something she was hiding. She yearned to tell him that she spoke the truth, but she wondered if he would believe her.
“Friendship is not what I wish from you, Nerissa.”
She gripped the back of the chair beside her, for her knees were weak with the emotions washing over her in a fierce wave. Softly she asked, “What do you wish from me?”
“I thought I had made that clear.”
The exacting sound of his voice lashed her. This was no profession of affection, but of the desire she had discovered on his lips. Without turning, she whispered, “Frye, will you please see to the cocoa?”
“Miss Dufresne, I must insist—”
The Fortune Hunter Page 11
