The Reluctant Viscount

by Lara Temple

  CHAPTER TEN

  Adam stopped outside the cottage door. Nicholas was lounging against the garden wall, polishing an apple, and he glanced over as Adam approached, but didn’t speak, just fell into step with him. Adam was grateful for the silence. At the moment he didn’t want to talk with anyone. About anything. He felt that if he opened his mouth, he would say something he would very much regret about that impossible…

  He forced down the confusion and frustration that threatened to take over as he thought of what had happened at the cottage. He was more furious with himself than at her. Someone was trying to kill him and he was more concerned with her rejection and unwillingness to back down.

  He had to focus on what had happened earlier and what he was going to do about it. It seemed fantastical, unreal, but he could not afford to indulge in the futile hope that the accidents and the attack on Moresby were just an outrageous coincidence.

  He knew it had been pure chance the whole scene had taken place at the White Hart again. But standing there, surrounded by some of the same people who had been present for his very public shaming ten years earlier, it had been hard not to feel the bite of betrayal once again. But this time whatever pain he felt at the ease with which these people were willing to condemn him had been swiftly trampled, first by fury, and then by the need to focus on action, just like all the other times he had found himself facing danger these past years. The last thing he had expected had been her intervention.

  The moment she’d stepped forward everything had shifted. Like a drop of dye into water, her intrusion had spread through the scene and changed it irrevocably. He did not even understand how it had all happened. One minute he had been trying to figure out how to avoid a charge of murder and then suddenly it was as if they were all watching another show, like a seamless transition from tragedy to farce.

  And the crowd had followed her. It amazed him that none of the people there, not even Sir James, who should know better, had really doubted her. She had stepped forward and spoken and they had backed down like children before a strict nanny. Even he had fallen into line and followed her lead.

  He realised with some surprise that she had lied easily and without apparent compunction, something which did not seem to accord with her rigid sense of integrity. In doing so she had risked everything she had in this little community. And he hadn’t even had the decency to thank her. Not really. What was wrong with him?

  Worse, he had repaid her with mistrust and accusations. What was so wrong about having someone come to his aid, expecting nothing in return? He knew, fundamentally, that what she had said was true. She would have done the same for Percy, if the need had arisen, as much as she disliked the rat. Which was ironic, since it seemed it was probably Percy who was responsible for this whole mess.

  Nicholas held out a whole five minutes before he spoke.

  ‘So, what’s the plan?’

  ‘I find out who doesn’t like me. And stop him.’

  ‘Ah, simple. And the engagement?’

  ‘That is my concern.’

  ‘So it is indeed. You know, for a man who swore he would never fall into a parson’s mousetrap, you don’t seem to be too concerned she might be entrapping you,’ Nicholas said curiously.

  Adam smiled cynically.

  ‘Hardly. She doesn’t want to go through with this engagement any more than I do. She’s a crusader on a mission, that’s all. Now that her silly cousin has left the field, she needs another cause célèbre, but as soon as the danger is over she will be the first to cut the cord. She might well have done the same for Percy if he had been in my shoes. You saw what she is like.’

  ‘So I did. The girl’s a general manqué. I can’t get that image out of my head—infiltrating the inquest in breeches. Good lord.’

  Adam frowned.

  ‘Don’t dwell on it too much.’

  Nicholas tossed the apple up in the air and caught it.

  ‘I’ll try not to. It’s almost a pity she doesn’t want to become Lady Delacort. She would lead you a very merry dance, old friend. But since she does not appear to have fallen victim to your fatal charm, I will have to forgo the pleasure of watching her bring you to heel.’

  Adam shrugged. He did not particularly want to continue the conversation. He was still too raw from everything that had happened that morning. Blast, it was almost afternoon already. In just a few hours everything had changed.

  Right now the only thing that mattered was finding out if it was Percy or someone else who had tried to kill him, frame him, and was possibly responsible for the death of his cousins. He also needed to make sure Alyssa was not harmed by coming to his aid. He half-smiled at himself. It was a sign of the absurdity of the situation that right now that last point seemed to take precedence.

  Whatever the case, he did not like being in anyone’s debt, though it was somehow not quite so bad being in hers. Like Nicholas, he did not feel she was angling for any return on her action. It would almost be easier if she was. He could repay her and move on. But she was acting solely out of friendship and that almost aggravating sense of duty she had.

  She had been very clear she wanted nothing to do with his offer. It was not as if he wanted to get married either. Actively inviting dependence and responsibilities which he was bound to only fail at, when he had been so opportunely freed from them, was to fly in the face of providence.

  Still, if he could not in honour get out of this engagement without damaging her reputation, despite her rather sanguine belief in her ability to do so, he could think of worse fates than having to marry her. Because the fact was that beyond the desire she aroused with such aggravating ease, he respected her.

  The problem was that she had a seriously obstinate streak, and if she decided not to do something, she probably wouldn’t listen to reason. The same wild, tormenting girl that surfaced so tantalisingly at the promise of physical passion was inextricably tied to the proper girl waiting foolishly to love her prince. She would not marry for convenience, no matter how many problems such an alliance would solve for her.

  For a moment he contemplated trying to make her fall in love with him. With women in the past the first signs of any real emotion towards him had always been his cue to move on. There was no pleasure in remaining in an emotionally unequal relationship, only a sense of oppression and sometimes guilt. But with her… But then again he was not at all certain he could achieve it. She knew him too well, in a way.

  Once again Nicholas broke through his thoughts and Adam was almost grateful for the interruption.

  ‘I wonder what she was really up to at the inquest,’ Nicholas mused. ‘That was over a year ago and she remembered it down to the tiny details. There’s something strange there.’

  ‘Nothing she does surprises me at this point. But I meant what I told her, Nick. I don’t want her involved in this. Something is very wrong here. It will be hard enough to unwind this engagement without causing her too much damage. The last thing I want is to put her at any real risk.’

  ‘And you think she’ll sit back idly and wait for us to resolve this? I suspect she is much more likely to go off ferreting out information on her own account. It might be safer if we keep her inside the circle rather than exclude her.’

  ‘I hate it when you make sense,’ Adam said morosely after a moment of silence.

  ‘You make it sound like such a rare occurrence. Well?’

  ‘Fine. I’ll talk to her tomorrow. You’re right—on her own she’s a loose cannon and the last thing I want is for her to get into any more trouble because of me.’

  ‘Well, I don’t see how you are going to avoid that once you terminate the engagement. Just out of curiosity—just how will you terminate the engagement?’

  They had reached the drive leading to the stables and Adam stopped.

  ‘She’ll think of some
thing. Or she might get lucky and whoever is after me will succeed in getting rid of me and she won’t have to do a damn thing. Come, I want to talk to Jem. We need some eyes on the ground here and frankly he’s the only one I trust.’

  ‘Ah, good. Swell our ranks a little.’

  ‘A motley crew. Two rakes, a groom and a crusader.’

  ‘A very pretty and clever crusader. I put my money on her.’

  Adam forced himself to keep walking. He knew Nicholas was toying with him on purpose. If he thought for a moment that his friend was really attracted to Alyssa or had any intention of exploring a flirtation with her…

  ‘A very off-limits crusader, Nick,’ he said curtly and his companion merely smiled and shrugged. Adam pushed down on an unfamiliar urge to make his point more vividly to his mischievous friend. He shoved open the door to the stables and the activity in the large building froze for a moment before everyone bent back to their various occupations, but this time there was almost absolute silence. Only Jem seemed unfazed by the intrusion.

  ‘Good afternoon, My Lord. Mr Beauvoir.’ He nodded.

  ‘Jem, I need your advice on something.’

  ‘Certainly, My Lord. Follow me. Jacob, fetch us some ale from the kitchen and some tankards, please.’

  A young man with a striking resemblance to Jem nodded and headed off as Adam and Nicholas followed Jem through the back of the stable, out towards the small building attached to it.

  ‘Was that your son?’ Nicholas asked and Jem nodded.

  ‘My eldest. A good steady lad. This way. I gather you would like to talk privately, My Lord, and not up at the Hall. I would think my kitchen would be nice and warm and we won’t be disturbed. If you have no objection, of course.’

  Adam assented and Jem led them to a kitchen where a great wooden table had pride of place at its centre. The groom motioned them to sit, not in the least perturbed by their presence in his home. Jacob appeared promptly with a jug and three tankards and after pouring out a measure of ale to each he nodded and left.

  ‘Well, My Lord, it looks like you’re fixed in Mowbray for a while yet at least,’ Jem said laconically as they each took a tankard and Adam looked at him with amusement and understanding. He knew the servants were understandably worried about what would happen to the estate once he left and he knew the only way to allay their fears would be through the test of time.

  ‘You make it sound like a good thing, Jem. This is a hell of a way to get me to stay.’

  ‘We shall just have to make the most of it, My Lord. There’s always more to be done around here. And there will be a great deal of to-do about the betrothal.’

  Nicholas directed a look at Adam and then back to Jem.

  ‘What’s the word in the kitchens, Jem?’ he asked comfortably and the groom raised his bushy brows at him.

  ‘I am not one to indulge in kitchen gossip, Mr Beauvoir. However, the under-grooms are well provided with all the news. Naturally there is a great deal of excitement at the prospect of Miss Drake becoming Lady Delacort. She is a great favourite in these parts. For all she’s of Lady Nesbit’s stock, she is true Mowbray and always ready to show kindness or interest wherever there’s a need. You couldn’t have chosen better, My Lord.’

  ‘Well, then,’ Nicholas said comfortably and leaned forward to raise the jug in Adam’s direction. ‘More, Adam?’

  ‘No, thank you, Nicholas,’ Adam replied with emphasis, without any real hope it would do any good. When Nicholas had the devil in him, he was unstoppable. He turned to Jem.

  ‘Thank you, Jem, but for the moment the most important thing is that Miss Drake has offered to help try to unravel this mystery. If you are willing, I would like to ask for your help as well. Before you reply I want you to understand that if you feel this is not something you can become involved in, it will make no difference at all to your position here. I give you my word on that. Perhaps you should take some time to consider before you commit yourself.’

  ‘Well, that’s much appreciated, My Lord, but there isn’t much to be considered. I’ve told you before it’s in my interest to keep you alive and well. Now, what’s to be done?’

  ‘Can you discreetly make enquiries about Percy’s activities yesterday evening?’

  Jem did not bat an eyelid; he merely nodded.

  ‘I’ll look into it, My Lord. Most nights when there’s no society do he’s to be found at the Duck and Dragon over on the Oxford Road. You wouldn’t think so to look at him, but he’s one for the cockfights. It might be advisable to have someone keep an eye on him, discreet like, for the moment. If you like, I’ll have Jacob do so. He’s solid and won’t ask questions.’

  Adam breathed in. He didn’t like the idea of widening the circle, but he had to admit he wanted Percy under steady observation and it would be better to have someone local do it than to bring in a stranger.

  ‘I don’t want your son put at risk.’

  ‘Jacob can mind himself, don’t you worry. Is there anything else?’

  Adam hesitated.

  ‘Yes. You were here when Timothy and Ivor died. I want to learn more about what happened to them.’

  For the first time Jem’s eyes lost their stoic focus and he frowned.

  ‘Is that how it is, My Lord?’

  ‘I don’t know, Jem. Miss Drake told us of Dr Hedgeway’s concerns at the time. Or perhaps they were just the imaginings of a medical man?’

  Jem leaned his head slowly from side to side, rather like a curious rooster.

  ‘I can’t rightly say, sir. It was no surprise that Master Ivor got himself tossed. He always threw his heart over a hedge first, his mind following a bit more slowly, if you get my gist. And that horse was a brute. But I know bones and I know spills and it was in my mind at the time that the good doctor had a point about the leg and the neck and the crack on the skull. If he had been tossed down a gully, well then, but it was open field by that hedge. Still, I’ve seen all kind and can’t tell.

  ‘As for Master Timothy…well, I can’t help much there. It was a bad winter and there were more sick than well. I was laid up myself or I might have been up serving in the hall. The ones what were well took care of the ill with no distinction of rank or position, let me tell you. Bodley—he was Ivor’s man—and Libbet were the only upper men not afflicted and they had the care of Masters Timothy and Ivor and Percy, who were all ill, from bringing food to clearing chamber pots. There was no standing on dignity that winter. But who’s to say that even being ill would have stopped a man’s mission?’

  Adam nodded. It was still hard to believe his dandyish cousin had managed to cleverly eliminate his two cousins without raising suspicion and was now hanging around the woods and the estate, stringing up ropes, weakening scaffolding and, most audacious of all, trying to implicate Adam in an attack on Lord Moresby. The lack of method and difference between the attacks indicated someone who waited and looked for opportunities. A quiet, patient determination and willingness to get one’s hands dirty, qualities he would never have associated with Percy.

  Still, it was possible. Percy was the only one who would reap any real benefit from his death. He could easily have made a move against Timothy in those circumstances, and since he was living at the hall at the time of Ivor’s accident, he might have come across him after his fall and added to his injuries. Perhaps Adam had completely underestimated his fashionable cousin. There would be no way of finding out what had happened in the past. The only way to go forward was to try to find out what Percy was up to now.

  ‘Thank you, Jem. Let me know what you and Jacob find out, but please be very careful. Gather what you can and we will decide tomorrow how to go forward.’

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  ‘It’s Lady Nesbit, miss,’ Betsy announced, her voice an octave higher than usual and her eyes expressing a mix of terror and glee. Al
yssa dropped her pen. She had heard the gate and had frozen in anticipation and nervousness. She knew Adam would come as promised, but it was still rather early for a morning call. But Lady Nesbit… The last time she had come to Drake Cottage was a very brief visit after Alyssa’s mother had died. She frowned, wondering if she had perhaps misheard.

  ‘Lady Nesbit?’

  ‘In the parlour, miss.’ Betsy nodded and giggled, clearly enjoying all the excitement.

  Alyssa carefully stacked her handwritten sheets of paper. It was not as if she was getting anything done anyway. She didn’t know why she was even bothering with the pretence of work, except that she was afraid of where her mind would go if she didn’t keep it busy. She stood up and followed Betsy to the parlour, very much on edge. But when she entered the room, some of her wariness was replaced by concern. Lady Nesbit was seated in the best armchair, her hands resting on her cane, and she looked haggard.

  ‘I hear congratulations are in order?’ she barked out as Alyssa entered, her voice in sharp contrast to her looks, and Alyssa breathed deeply. She knew that Lady Nesbit’s reaction to the engagement would set the tone for the entire neighbourhood. Everyone would be waiting for her verdict and Alyssa braced herself for what was to come. Her elderly cousin would undoubtedly demand her pound of flesh.

  ‘Thank you, Cousin Harriet, you are very kind.’ She sat down on a chair opposite Lady Nesbit and waited for the next stage of the attack.

  ‘Rowena won’t eat,’ Lady Nesbit said flatly and Alyssa blinked.

  ‘I beg your pardon?’

  ‘She won’t eat. Dr Hedgeway says she must. But she won’t. She just sits next to Moresby’s bed and stares at the wall. Even though the doctor says he is hopeful the man is going to recover. I told her it wasn’t seemly.’

  It took Alyssa a moment to reorient herself.

  ‘I am so sorry,’ she said hesitantly after a moment. ‘Is there anything I can do?’

  ‘I want you to speak with her!’ Lady Nesbit banged her cane hard on the floor and the sound echoed off the walls of the parlour.