by Amelia Grey
The two men circled each other and soon started throwing short jabs and long punches, neither of them very good at hitting their mark. It wasn’t long before the whistle blew, and they retreated to their corners for rest, for water, and for a pep talk from the men waiting for them ringside.
The fourth round started, and it seemed as if Gibby and Prattle were evenly matched in the amount of punches thrown by each of them. Prattle had an eye that was almost swollen shut, and Gibby had blood at the side of his mouth. All of a sudden, Prattle connected with a strong, fast right to Gibby’s stomach, and he doubled over, clearly in pain. Race watched as if in slow motion as Prattle moved in close with his right arm cocked, ready to wallop Gibby and finish him off.
Race, Susannah, and the rest of the entourage sprang to their feet and yelled, “Gibby!”
Sir Randolph Gibson must have heard them, because he straightened and, as he came up, he landed a stunning right uppercut to Prattle’s double chin.
Spittle flew from his mouth; sweat flung from his body as Prattle’s head snapped back. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he landed on the grassy mound with a heavy thud.
Gibby froze.
The crowd fell silent.
The referee bent over Prattle and tried to rouse him.
Race’s heart hammered like a stick on a drum. He looked at the man sprawled motionless on the ground. Was Prattle faking the knockout? If so, he was doing a damned good job of it. Race had seen enough fights to know that it looked as if Gibby had somehow literally knocked the man cold.
The official rose and yelled, “He’s out!”
The crowd went wild with loud cheers and thunderous clapping.
Gibby held both fists into the air and gave a victory shout as the two men who stood with him wrapped his jacket around his shoulders.
Race felt limp with relief. He didn’t know why he had ever worried about Gibby. The man lived a charmed life and was obviously more than able to take care of himself.
Not caring at the moment who in the crowd might see, or what they might say, Race reached down and hugged Susannah to him briefly. She would be his wife soon enough. Somehow, he was going to make sure of that.
Twenty
My Dearest Grandson Alexander,
More proof of why I have always been a great admirer of Lord Chesterfield and his wise words: “To women, you should always address yourself with great outward respect and attention, whatever you feel inwardly; their sex is by long prescription entitled to it.”
Your loving Grandmother,
Lady Elder
THE LARGE DOORS OF THE GREAT HALL WERE OPEN wide so the evening’s cooling breeze could flow through the stuffy ballroom. Music, laughter, and chatter hummed excitedly throughout the room. Hundreds of candles glittered and sparkled off the walls, making the hall bright and cheerful as Susannah danced across the floor with the handsome Lord Westford, who was doing his best to impress her with his charming smile.
Facing Lord Westford in the quadrille, Susannah twirled under his arm, sidestepped, and clapped her hands. She curtsied and smiled at him in all the right places, but her mind wasn’t on the earl. She had thoughts for no one but Lord Raceworth. Her gaze kept straying to the entrance of the ballroom as she waited for him to appear.
Lord Westford seemed very fit and quite intelligent. He would be a suitable catch for any lady, but Susannah felt no spark of romantic interest when she looked at him. Race had already captured her heart. She didn’t know why she hadn’t told him so these past few days. Perhaps she was just waiting for him to recognize, himself, that he had her heart safely in his care.
Immediately after Sir Randolph’s victory, Susannah had insisted Race go with his cousins to follow Sir Randolph to his house. Even though Race was elated the dashing fellow had won, she could see concern for him in Race’s eyes. She knew he wanted to make sure his friend of long standing was going to be all right and have no lasting ill effects from the hard blows he took from Mr. Prattle.
Susannah and Race had quickly agreed to attend the party at the Great Hall before he left with Blake and Morgan.
Finally, the dance ended, and Lord Westford politely escorted her back to where Mrs. Princeton sat chatting with some aging dowagers, but before Susannah could catch her breath, Captain Spyglass walked up to her and bowed.
“Good evening, Duchess. Might I say that you are a painting of beauty tonight?”
Susannah smiled cautiously and said, “Thank you, Captain Spyglass. And how are you on this fine evening?”
Susannah still considered him the primary suspect for stealing the Talbot pearls. Once again, he was wearing more pearls than she had ever seen any woman wear. Tonight, he wore only one earring that consisted of three rather small pearls that fell from a gold stud. Clusters of pearls took the place of buttons on his waistcoat.
“I’m very well, Duchess, but busy. I wanted to make sure I spoke to you this evening, for this may be the last party I’m able to attend. I’ll be leaving London soon.”
Susannah’s heart started pounding. Trying to sound normal, she said, “But the Season is not over. Why would you leave before the last party?”
“I never stay too long in one place. My heart is full of wandering. I have made many friends here and will not hesitate to return to London one day, but for now, I’m ready to set sail for warmer climates. I’ve decided England is too wet for springtime.”
“So, will you be sailing for the South of France, or perhaps Italy?”
He laughed. “No, I won’t be that close by. I will be sailing to much warmer climates than that. I will probably find an island in the Caribbean, though which one I haven’t decided on. Please excuse me, Duchess.” He bowed again. “I see our host for the evening, and I must go speak to him.”
“Of course,” she said, “I wish you Godspeed wherever your journeys take you.”
As the captain turned away, so did Susannah. Where was Race? She had been at the party for at least two hours, and there had been no sign of him or Sir Randolph. She was beginning to worry that something was wrong with Race or the winner of the fight.
She was anxious to tell Race about Captain Spyglass’s plans to leave. Even though Race had runners watching the Captain’s every move, he would still want to know the man intended to exit London soon.
“Your Grace, how wonderful to see you this evening. Your eyes are so bright they could light the night sky.”
Susannah forced a smile and said, “Thank you, Lord Snellingly. How are you?”
“Never better now that I’m looking at your fair face,” he said, holding a piece of paper as well as a handkerchief in his hand. “It just so happens I have a poem here that I wrote for you a few days ago. It’s not long. Only four lines. May I please?”
Maybe if she let him read the poem, he would stop pressing her about it. “All right, Lord Snellingly, please do.”
He cleared his throat and sniffed as he looked down at the paper and read:
“Mere words are inadequate
When candlelight graces your face
I long to tell you of my love, dear one
With a fierceness that clutches my heart like a summer wind.”
Susannah stared at him, speechless, searching for something nice to say about his dreadful poem, when suddenly a man’s hand slid in front of her and gave her a glass of champagne. Susannah turned and saw Race standing so close to her she could feel the warmth of his body.
He smiled, and her heart fluttered excitedly. All her earlier frustrations melted away.
“Excuse us, Snellingly,” Race said and ushered Susannah away from the poet.
“Thank you for rescuing me. He was reading me a poem that was positively dreadful.”
“I’ve heard his poetry, and I agree. But it seems you have been busy tonight. You were talking with Spyglass.”
She gave him a teasing smile. “Well, you know better than I what Lord Chesterfield said about ‘while the cat is away.’”
Rac
e moved closer to her, and in a low voice, said, “The mice will play. And yes, thanks to my grandmother, I know Lord Chesterfield’s poppycock better than I know the back of my hand, and that saying did not come from him, but I do think it fits you perfectly right now.”
“It’s so easy to attribute everything to him, don’t you think?”
“Yes, whether he said it or not.” Race took a sip of his champagne. “Now, tell me, what did Spyglass have to say?”
“As it happens, the captain told me something very interesting. He said this would probably be his last party as he will be leaving London soon.”
The humor left Race’s face, and his eyes narrowed. “That could mean he is already preparing The Golden Pearl to set sail.”
“My thoughts exactly. Mr. Bickerman is going to have to make haste with his plans if the pearls are on his ship, as we suspect.”
“I’ll talk to Bickerman later tonight and tell him about this, if he doesn’t already know about Spyglass’s plans. He’s keeping a tight watch on the ship. But don’t worry, Susannah, I’ll see to it that Captain Spyglass’s ship doesn’t leave port until it has been thoroughly searched, even if I have to get the Thames Police to detain it. Now, I don’t want you worrying about any of this. Bickerman will take care of everything. Understood?”
“Race, I trust you completely.”
His gaze swept lovingly across her face. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”
For reasons she didn’t understand, Susannah suddenly felt shy. “I was watching the entrance for you. I didn’t see you come in.”
“I came in one of the side doors, with Gibby and my cousins. We knew if we came in the front doors, Gib would immediately be swamped with people wanting to congratulate him.”
“How is Sir Randolph?”
“You mean other than the fact he has a cut lip, a black eye, and very swollen knuckles?”
“Ouch!” she said with a grimace.
Race chuckled. “No, really, he’s doing exceptionally well for an old man who went four rounds in the prize ring.”
“I’d like to see him and offer my congratulations on his victory.”
“Let’s go and do it now, as I’m desperate to have some time alone with you.”
They started toward the ballroom. “I don’t think that will be possible tonight.”
His brows drew together as they made their way through the crush of people. “Duchess, that is not what I want to hear from you.”
“You must speak to Mr. Bickerman about Captain Spyglass’s ship.”
“Never fear. That will be done first. But then I’m coming to see you, and I will continue until you come to your senses and agree to marry me.”
Susannah gasped and looked around. “Race, you shouldn’t say that so loud. Someone might hear you.”
He smiled. “So be it. I am not afraid to let people know that I love you, and I want to marry you.”
Susannah’s heart lifted; her hands trembled with expectancy. She stopped in the middle of the room. “Are you really asking me to marry you?”
Suddenly a hand clapped Race on the back, and Blake, Henrietta, Morgan, and Sir Randolph gathered around them. Susannah smiled as greetings were exchanged among the group. There would be time later to talk to Race about love and marriage. But for now, she was so happy he wanted to marry her, she felt as if she were walking on air.
She knew she was not Race’s cousins’ favorite person, but at least they tolerated her in good humor. She liked the fact that it didn’t bother Race, but instead, he reveled in it. Sir Randolph’s face was horrifying. Both his eyes were swollen, as well as one side of his mouth, and there was a cut above one eye.
“Sir Randolph,” Susannah said, “how wonderful to see you looking so well. Congratulations on your victory.”
The dapper gentleman bowed. “Duchess, thank you kindly. There was one time this afternoon I was beginning to have doubts as to whether I would win.”
“I never lost faith in you,” she said with encouragement.
“I want everyone to know that Gibby promised us,” Race said, pointing to his two cousins, “that he would never do anything as foolish as this fight ever again. We intend to hold him to that.”
“I gave my word,” Sir Randolph added.
“And we all know what your word means to you, don’t we?” Henrietta said.
“Indeed, we do,” Susannah agreed. “I believe he once said something to the fact that, if a man loses his wealth, he’s lost nothing. If he loses his good health, he’s lost something, but if he loses his honor, he’s lost everything.”
“That is exactly what Lord Chesterfield said, and I believe it and live by every word of it,” Sir Randolph agreed.
Morgan chuckled. “I think one or both of you have added words or taken words from Chesterfield’s actual quote, but you are probably close enough.”
Susannah noticed, as they continued to chat, that the noise in the room slowly got quieter. Suddenly, she saw the people in front of them stepping aside, parting as if to let someone pass. Gasps and soft whispers rumbled throughout the room.
Race gave Susannah a questioning glance. “I wonder what’s going on.”
“I have no idea.”
“Maybe the prince came in to offer his congratulations to Sir Randolph,” Henrietta offered.
“Can’t be,” Gibby said. “He’s already sent me a congratulatory note. Besides that, the prince always has someone announce him. But I don’t know of anyone else who would bring about this kind of hush in such a large crowd.”
“Damnation,” Morgan said and then looked at Race. “It’s not the prince, but who the hell is she?”
Morgan pointed to the entrance to the ballroom where, on the landing, stood a regal, older lady dressed completely in black except for five strands of pearls that circled her neck and fell to her waist.
Race’s chest tightened as he stared at the pale woman surveying the faces in the ballroom.
“Who is she?” Blake whispered.
“I have no idea,” Race murmured. “I’ve never seen her before, but I have seen those pearls around our grandmother’s neck many times.”
Susannah swallowed a lump of fear that lodged in her throat and took her breath. Slowly she stepped forward. “I know her. She is my mother, Mrs. Madeline Parker.”
Race whipped his head around to Susannah and she groaned. She saw doubt and distrust in his eyes once again. What was her mother doing walking into the ballroom wearing the pearls?
“Race, let me explain,” she whispered.
His eyes were wide with disbelief. “You took the pearls and gave them to your mother?”
His accusation stung. “Race, no.”
“You told me you didn’t steal the pearls, and I believed you.”
“I didn’t,” Susannah insisted.
His gaze held fast to hers, as if he searched for answers. She couldn’t believe this was happening after their relationship had just begun to heal.
“Are you telling me your mother stole them?”
Susannah gasped in shock. “Of course not. I asked her to send them, not bring them and wear them. Let me explain.”
“There’s no time for that, Duchess,” Morgan said. “Spyglass and Winston are descending on your mother right now, and she looks like she’s about to faint.”
“With those pearls around her neck, she could be in danger,” Blake added. “I don’t trust either one of them. They might try to grab the pearls and run. We’ve got to get her out of here.”
“Morgan is right. You can explain at your house, Susannah,” Race said. “Right now, we have to get your mother home. I’ll go with you and ride up front in the carriage with your driver.”
“You are not leaving without us,” Blake said to Race. “Morgan and I will be right behind you in my carriage, just in case Spyglass or Winston decides to follow and cause trouble. Henrietta, you ride with Gibby, and I’ll see you at Susannah’s house.”
“Let’s go,” Race s
aid. “They’ve reached her.”
Like horses heading for the barn at feeding time, Race, Susannah, Morgan, Blake, Henrietta, and Gibby all waded through the crowd toward the entrance of the ballroom.
By the time they arrived, Spyglass and Winston were standing in front of Susannah’s mother, admiring her and the pearls. She was backing away from them, her eyes sweeping from one to the other in fear.
Susannah rushed up to her and the words starting tumbling past her lips. “Mother, how did you get here? What are you doing here? You don’t look well.”
“I don’t feel well either, Susannah. Thank God you are here.” Her voice trembled and her eyes darted fitfully from side to side. She grabbed hold of Susannah’s arm and held tightly.
“How did you find me here?”
“Your maid told me where you were, but I was beginning to doubt her information.”
“This lovely lady is your mother?” Spyglass asked Susannah.
“Yes, I can see the resemblance now,” Winston added. “We were just welcoming her to the ball.”
Captain Spyglass stepped in closer. “And, Madame, may I be so bold as to ask about the exquisite pearls you are wearing?”
Susannah’s mother lifted her chin disdainfully and turned her pale face away from Spyglass in contempt. “No, sir, you may not.”
The Captain turned to Race. “Lord Raceworth, I know you have the Talbot pearls, so these must be Bess of Hardwick’s pearls. I’m told the two collars were similar in length and rarity.”
Before Race could speak, Susannah’s mother clutched the pearls to her chest and said, “These are not Bess’s pearls, sir. Susannah, who are these gentlemen? Is this the sort you have been cavorting with while in London? I’m astonished and can see I have arrived not a moment too soon.”
Mrs. Princeton appeared, as if from out of nowhere, and stood close to Susannah’s side, watching every man around her charge as if she was a vulture and they were her dinner. “Mother, I was preparing to leave. I need you to accompany me.”
“I’ll call for your carriage,” Race said, throwing a quick glance at Susannah. “You get your wrap.”
