Come the Dawn

by Christina Skye

  Then, with a whoosh of greenery, he disappeared out the front of the bower.

  India stood, breathless, letting her heartbeat slow. Beyond the high hedge the whispered voices moved away. Devlyn hadn’t found them yet, but what he said was true. The children were in grave danger here.

  She pulled her gown in place and smoothed her hair with trembling fingers. Behind her the little door at the back of the greenery opened a crack. Dim light fell through the hedges. Andrew moved stiffly inside, followed by Marianne.

  Their faces were very pale.

  “What are you doing?” India demanded. “You were to go with Ian to the carriage. Your guardian will be coming to look for you any second and you know exactly what he will say when he finds you.”

  But the children said nothing, their faces stiff. A moment later India saw why. Alexis had moved through the doorway, her small white hands locked tightly at her chest.

  Behind her, his face covered with a dark mask, stood the man who had come in angry pursuit of the escaped monkey.

  Now one hand was locked around the girl’s neck.

  The other held a pistol at her heart.

  CHAPTER 20

  Something sharp twisted in India’s throat as she stared at Alexis’s terrified face. “Let her go.”

  “Not just yet, my lady.” The man shoved Alexis forward and kicked the door shut behind him. “Not until I have that diamond you’re hiding.”

  India edged along the hedge, thinking wildly. The light was poor. It might just be possible, if she could get close enough…

  “You mean that silly piece of glass I found on the ground?” She made her voice utterly innocent.

  “Not glass. A real diamond — as you damned well know!”

  “A diamond? You don’t say.”

  “Where is it?”

  “Dear me, it was here just a moment ago.” She peered owlishly about her. “But never tell me that it’s yours? I assumed that a female of, er, uncertain morals must have dropped it from her necklace.”

  “Bleeding hell you did. But now who’s laughing?” He locked Alexis before him. “If you want to see her stay alive any longer, you’ll hand it over now.”

  India saw a shadow ease high onto the hedge. A little red shako hat with a gold tassel jumped briskly.

  Her eyes narrowed. Two feet closer and the monkey would be nearly above the villain, she estimated. With apparent carelessness she reached into the bodice of her gown, knowing the man’s eyes would remain on her instead of the monkey inching closer every second. “Of course, if it’s yours I must return it.” She took her time, making a display of searching for the jewel long after her fingers had closed around it.

  “You’ve hidden it well, I see,” Alexis’s captor muttered. “I’d be happy to search it out for myself, so I would.” He laughed harshly. “But I’m not such a fool as to let this lovely child go free. Not until I have my diamond back.”

  “Entirely understandable.” India moved closer, feeling his eyes lock upon the translucent silk that tugged and pulled beneath her fingers. Meanwhile, Andrew and Marianne had both seen the monkey and they were waiting for India’s lead. When the monkey had climbed to the hedge directly behind the man’s back, India gave a high titter. “How utterly foolish. I remember now that I transferred the jewel to my reticule for safekeeping. How can I have forgotten?” She raised the little bag of satin hanging on her wrist. “You will allow me?”

  “Get on with it,” the man growled.

  India made a great display of searching the satin bag. “Ah, yes, here it is, safe and sound.” She held out her hand, palm closed. “Is this what you were looking for?”

  The man in the mask pulled Alexis forward, his eyes narrowed with greed. When Alexis was nearly within reach, India cried out and threw her body sideways, to all appearances having tripped on the edge of the table that lay overturned in the middle of the enclosure. In that same moment she dropped her small mirror on the ground.

  “What in the devil are you doing now?”

  Something glittered brightly on the ground, lit by the lanterns in the trees. Attracted by the bright bauble, the monkey launched its wiry body to the nearest point of rest, which happened to be the ruffian’s head. Furry arms closed, blinding the man holding Alexis.

  This was the moment India had prayed for. She lunged forward, drove the man’s pistol to one side and shoved Alexis back toward the hedge, protecting her with her own body. The girl’s captor cursed wildly, staggering as he tried to dislodge his unwanted passenger. Knowing she had mere seconds to act, India caught Alexis’s trembling body up in her arms and circled to the front entrance, herding the two other children before her.

  “You’ll not escape me again, damn it! I’ll have that diamond or your life’s not worth a ha’ pence.”

  “Oh you will, will you?” The hedges shook. A man’s voice, flat and furious, snapped from the shadows.

  Thorne stood glaring as he motioned India and his frightened wards past, then strode toward their attacker, who had finally managed to dislodge the monkey. The man cursed when he saw his challenger was a man, rather than an unarmed woman and three helpless children.

  Cowardice kept him motionless, and then his eyes narrowed with cunning. “I’ll have it back, damn you. It’s mine and you can’t keep it from me.” Bending down, he scooped his pistol up from the ground.

  But he hadn’t counted on the monkey. Recognizing his tormentor, the animal was determined to settle an old score. With a shrill cry he flew from the hedge and sank his teeth into the man’s hand. A bellow of pain filled the air and the man in the mask sent the monkey flying, hurled against the high hedges.

  “A plague on the damn creature! Aye, a plague on all of you.” But when he saw Thorne striding toward him, he fled the same way he had come.

  Dev spun about. “Alexis, are you hurt? Did that brute—”

  The little girl hurtled into his arms. “No I’m fine, Uncle Thorne. But only thanks to Lady India. She was ever so clever, throwing her mirror on the ground where the monkey would find it.” Her voice broke as she buried her face against Thorne’s chest. “She could have been shot by that terrible man. And I would have been, too…”

  “Hush, Daffodil. You were all very brave. And you’re safe now.” Thorne’s head rose over Alexis’s curls. He studied India’s face, nodding slowly. “Yes, Lady India is wonderfully clever, I agree with you.” There was something low and husky and endlessly tender in his voice, something that made India’s blood race in the darkness. “All of you were very clever. I should be terribly angry at you for coming to a place like this.” He waited for a moment, frowning, then shook his head. “But for some unimaginable reason I find I can’t be. The truth is, I’m too glad to see you safe.” His hands tightened on Alexis’s trembling shoulders. He planted a kiss in her hair. “Thank God,” he whispered.

  India felt tears burn at her throat at the thought of how close they had all come to serious harm. And then she remembered the monkey. “Oh dear, I hope our friend’s not hurt.” Followed by Marianne and Andrew, she bent down over the greenery and found the little creature pushing clumsily to his feet. India picked him up carefully and scratched his head. “Here’s a brave fellow. Even though he was the source of all our problems.” The monkey’s tail arched wanly. With a soft chatter he laid his head against India’s shoulder.

  “He’s bleeding.” Marianne touched a dark blotch on her sleeve. “The poor thing. I’ll take him if you don’t mind. I can bind his leg. I’m very good at that sort of thing. I even stitched Andrew’s arm once.”

  Her brother winced at the memory, but said loyally, “She did a good job of it, too, so the doctor said.”

  Marianne lifted the monkey from India and held him gently.

  “He saved my life,” Alexis said gravely. “So did Lady India. She saved Andrew’s life yesterday and now she has saved mine.”

  “We owe her a great deal, Alexis.” Thorne rose slowly. While the children watched in fasc
ination, he caught India’s hand and raised it to his lips. “Either of those debts is beyond repaying. Together…” His eyes glistened suspiciously. “They are sadly in need of manners, these three urchins of mine,” he said huskily. “But if anything had happened to them—” His jaw hardened and he seemed to lose the ability to speak.

  “Uncle Thorne?” Alexis asked softly.

  Thorne cleared his throat. “What, Daffodil?”

  “Lady India has dropped her reticule. Hadn’t you better pick it up for her?”

  Slowly Thorne bent to the bit of satin. Without a word he handed it to India.

  “She’s dropped her shawl, too,” Marianne said helpfully.

  This, too, was retrieved in silence.

  “Hadn’t you better thank her?” This came from Alexis, who was studying Thorne thoughtfully.

  “I expect I should. I owe you my thanks, and it is a debt past repaying, my lady. The children are quite right.”

  Overhead the lanterns drifted, casting light in restless patterns over the high hedges. Somewhere a woman’s laughter rose in a trill and the scent of roses and freshly cut grass spilled through the night.

  “But, Uncle Thorne, shouldn’t you kiss her?” Alexis’s hands trembled with eagerness.

  “What do you think, my lady?” Thorne’s eyes were unreadable. “Shall I kiss you?”

  “That will hardly be necessary.” India felt her face flush. “That is, I accept your thanks, my lord. There is really no need for—”

  Her breath caught as he found her palm and raised it to his lips a second time. But the kiss he planted now fell at the soft center of her palm and his lips were slow, persuasive, a brush of heat and shadows and half-forgotten dreams. It was a warning — and an unmistakable promise.

  “Never think it’s over between us, Princess,” he murmured, too low for the children to hear. “You have managed to conceal that jewel, but I’ll have your treasures from you yet, I warn you.”

  As he stood up, Alexis shook her head impatiently. “But Uncle Thorne, shouldn’t you—?”

  “I know he’s here. He would not dream of leaving without me.” There was no mistaking Helena Marchmont’s shrill voice.

  Thorne’s eyes burned over India’s face. “Soon,” he said huskily. Herding the children before him, he moved toward the front of the enclosure, where Ian had appeared. “She’s safe. And thanks to her, so are these three scamps.”

  Ian shot a questioning look at his sister.

  But India didn’t notice. She was too busy frowning thoughtfully at Thorne’s back.

  ~ ~ ~

  The ride back to Devonham House seemed to take forever.

  India sat tensely, watching the streets pass in a blur and nursing the bruise that had begun to throb at her ankle, where she had struck the table. She was keenly conscious of the magnificent diamond nestled snugly in the bodice of her gown.

  “But I don’t understand what the man was after?” Ian frowned at his sister.

  India looked away. She had carefully avoided any mention of the diamond in her account of the night’s events. Some instinct told her that her brother would forbid her to do the thing she had already set her mind on — exploring the mystery of the diamond, and why Thorne was involved.

  “Where would I go to buy a diamond, Ian?” India’s question came abruptly, cutting her brother off in the middle of a tirade about unruly females who refused to listen to their brothers and shot pistols in public places.

  “Diamonds? Why in the world do you need a diamond? Grandmama has a nabob’s fortune in jewels, as you well know. She has said she would turn them all over to you if you showed the slightest bit of interest. Which you never have.” His gray eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What piece of mischief are you up to now, hornet?”

  “No mischief, you silly great looby.” India’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “I simply find I have a sudden yearning to buy a diamond. An extraordinary diamond. Who deals in such things?”

  “As if I had any experience in buying jewelry! Ask me about dueling pistols or horseflesh and I could answer you. But diamonds?” He shrugged.

  “Never mind. It was just a passing thought.”

  Ian studied his sister suspiciously. “Don’t try and fob me off. I’ve seen that look on your face before, minx, and it means nothing but trouble.”

  India’s expression could have melted the heart of the very sternest misanthrope. “I, cause trouble? My dearest brother, you must be quite mistaken.”

  ~ ~ ~

  “You’re late.”

  Helena Marchmont pursed her well-rouged lips as she peered into the darkness of her boudoir. “You! I didn’t know you were coming tonight.” There was an edge in her voice. “When did you get here?”

  The man seated in the wing chair before the dwindling fire smiled lazily. “Late enough to wonder what was keeping you, my dear.”

  “But you weren’t supposed to be here until tomorrow. You said you wouldn’t—”

  Behind the countess there was a low laugh and a man appeared in the doorway. “My dear, luscious, Helena, I do hope you mean to make this evening worth my wait. After that sultry carriage ride, I am in unbearable pain.” He frowned suddenly as he saw the shadowed figure in the wing chair. “Who are—?”

  The countess spun around and pushed him back toward the door. “I’ve changed my mind after all, Richard. Go away. I’m in no mood for—”

  The man in the wing chair pushed lazily to his feet, his eyes dark and expressionless. “My dear Helena, it would be rude to send your guest away now. Show him in, do. I shall fix him a sherry.”

  Helena Marchmont stood poised, one hand to her throat, while her eyes flickered uneasily between the two men.

  “I’ve seen you before.” The countess’s ardent companion stared in shock at the man before the fire. “But what are you doing here? I could have sworn that you—”

  Firelight glinted off the polished butt of a perfectly balanced pistol. “How unfortunate that you have recognized me. For that particular mistake, you shall pay dearly.”

  The pistol cracked. A wisp of smoke drifted from its barrel.

  Lady Marchmont’s stunned suitor grabbed at the spot where a part of his chest had disappeared. Blood welled up over his fingers. “But you — Helena said that you were — were her brother—” He pitched forward with a groan. His big, muscled body convulsed once, then lay still against the rich Aubusson carpet, out of place among the dainty cabbage roses.

  The countess sighed. “You do have a penchant for making simple things untidy. What in heaven’s name am I to do with him now?”

  “Heaven has very little to do with it.” The man before the fire gave a lazy wave of his hand. “I leave the details entirely up to you, my dear, as always.”

  “You are a most unnatural brother,” Helena Marchmont snapped. “First you come back without warning, and now you leave me this — this nuisance. You think of no one but yourself!”

  “Of course. It is what makes the two of us so much alike.” His thin lips lifted in a sneer. “But then again I am not your brother, am I, Helena? I am only your stepbrother. So very convenient, is it not?” He stood back, his shoulders to the mantel. The firelight clearly exposed the rising evidence of his desire.

  The countess watched, entranced. Her tongue slid delicately around her lips with anticipation. Her companion smiled, his eyes sweeping over the lush curves perfectly visible beneath the gown of dampened silk. His hand went to his cravat, loosening its knot. “Come here,” he ordered softly.

  Helena frowned. “But don’t you want to know about Thorne? About what happened at Vauxhall?”

  He smiled very coldly. The cravat hit the floor. “Later. Much later.”

  CHAPTER 21

  The next morning India awoke with faint shadows beneath her eyes. She had not slept well, her rest broken by a succession of dark dreams. The events at Vauxhall had left her shaken, worried about Thornwood and his three wards. Too many questions had been raised without an
swers. And then she frowned, remembering the diamond.

  Quickly, she pulled a bird’s nest from its shelf beside the bed. Digging deep into the moss lining the nest, she found what she was looking for.

  An extraordinary, blush-pink diamond. In the morning sun its glorious red facets winked and snapped on her hand. Whose was this stone of beauty, of incredible rarity? And how had the monkey at Vauxhall come to possess it?

  India turned the jewel slowly, watching sparks play over her palm. A gem such as this had to have a history, but how was she to find it?

  There was a soft tap at the door. Her dresser entered, lips pursed. “There’s someone below who wants to see you, miss. Said as how he’s a friend of your brother Luc’s.” The pursed lips grew even tighter.

  “Dear Hawkins, you never approve of any man over the age of twelve and under the age of eighty.”

  “Not a bit of it. I only disapprove of men that are not your equal.” Her lips twitched. “Which is to say any man between the age of twelve and eighty. Besides, there’s something strange about this fellow. His eyes are different somehow — or maybe it’s just that he’s different. Something in his attitude — an air of silence and confidence.”

  “Connor MacKinnon!” The description could fit no one else. India shoved back the covers and jumped from the bed. “Do stop worrying about me for once and help me dress, Hawkins.”

  ~ ~ ~

  At that moment Connor MacKinnon was lounging in the sunny front drawing room. His broad shoulders filled the perfectly cut jacket by Weston, his polished riding boots were mirror-bright, and his hair, although longer than fashionable, lent a softness to the long and unusually chiseled planes of his face. Connor MacKinnon was indeed a friend of India’s brother Luc, but few woman could have resisted the wish to make him more than a friend. Fortunately India, having seen too many women’s hearts broken by one look, remained comfortably immune to his charms.

  Pushing open the door, a vision in primrose muslin with a deep navy sash that brought out the clarity of her eyes, India stood tapping her toe as she studied her exotic visitor. “Come to check up on me, have you?”