Sandra Owens

by The Letter

  She had a special smile for their son, and it hurt each time he saw it because it excluded him. How many times during the eleven years he had missed, when they only had each other, had they found the simplest of reasons to smile or laugh, to share in a moment of happiness? Too few, he feared.

  Michael lifted off the floor and moved to sit beside Diana, setting aside the book she had been reading. Rain beat on the windows, and there were red and gold autumn leaves plastered to the panes, reminding him of stained glass.

  A roaring fire kept the room warm and cozy. He could think of no other place he would rather be on a cold Sunday afternoon than with his family.

  Listening to Jamie, Michael thought his son was of above average intelligence. Did all fathers think so of their young? Not having experience with children, he could not say, but he didn’t believe other boys ten years of age were as bright of mind. A father should know these things. He would ask Mr. Denton for an assessment of Jamie’s intelligence.

  “My lord, His Grace, the Duke of Aubrey is here to see you.”

  “I wonder what he wants,” Diana said.

  “I suppose I will go and find out.” What could he tell her after Aubrey left? The last thing he wanted was for her to know Serena, if it was Serena, had sent someone to follow him.

  When he entered his study, it was to see Aubrey had helped himself to the brandy, and was now standing at the window.

  “Even the ducks have taken cover today.”

  Not a man one could sneak up on. “Should I apologize that you are not at home cozied up to your lovely duchess?”

  Aubrey turned. “If you wish, but it will not keep me from getting my due when I meet you in the ring.”

  God help him. “You are not going to kill me, are you?”

  A rare smile appeared on the duke’s face. “No, but you may wish I had.”

  “Well then, something to look forward to. Did your man catch whoever was following me?”

  Aubrey made himself at home by pushing aside some reports and perching on the edge of Michael’s desk. He could not imagine doing the same in His Grace’s study. “Of course. It was as I said, one of Serena’s footmen. According to him, until this morning, his only instructions were to report your activities. Apparently, she did not take kindly to being hauled off by your American friend and the game has changed. His new instructions are to follow your lady.”

  “Sweet Jesus. Why?”

  “He doesn’t know, but when he does, he will come and tell me.”

  “Why would he?”

  There was that grin that would terrify any sane man. “Because he now works for me.”

  “You need not involve yourself any deeper in this, Your Grace.”

  “Allow me my fun, Daventry.” Aubrey finished his drink and stood. “The interesting thing is, Marlowe stayed the night with Serena so one would think her attention to you and yours diverted.” He shrugged. “Perhaps American men are not so skilled in bedsport as we English.”

  Michael laughed. “How could they be? We have hundreds of years of practice ingrained in us. The Americans are mere babes.”

  Michael saw Aubrey out and then returned to the family parlor. He debated what to tell Diana. Now that Serena had focused on her, he wanted Diana aware of the possible danger.

  What the bloody hell was Serena up to?

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “I am going to take Jamie to visit my parents this afternoon.” Diana resisted the urge to shift her gaze away. It wasn’t a lie, but only the partial truth.

  Michael looked up from his perusal of the paper. “Take Gordon and Rory with you.”

  Her new, strapping Scottish bodyguards were even now standing outside the door of the breakfast room ready to defend her at the drop of a hatpin. They had given her fierce scowls when she said it wasn’t necessary for them to sleep on the floor outside her bedroom.

  “Do you really think I need to? It is only a few blocks to my father’s house.”

  He set down the paper and inclined his head at the footman. The man left, closing the door behind him. Michael stood and walked behind her chair, turning it.

  She grabbed onto the arms. Heavens, he was strong. He braced his hands on the back alongside her head and leaned his face close to hers. Every nerve in her body tingled with excitement.

  “The lads will go with you anytime you walk out the door of this house, even if you are only going to the bottom of the steps and back.” He kissed her. “I will not take chances with your safety.” He kissed her again. “Why do you think that is?” Another kiss. His intense gaze bored into her.

  Lord above, he scattered her brains. “Why?”

  “Je t’aime, Myana. Je t’aime.”

  The breath swooshed from her. He loved her?

  Again, he kissed her. “If anything happened to take you away from me again, I will turn berserker and then end up in either Bedlam or Newgate. Is that what you want for me?”

  She shook her head. He loved her!

  “Then you will obey me in this?”

  Obey? A word she didn’t like, but he loved her and wanted her safe. She couldn’t think past his declaration, and he’d said it in French the way he used to. What she planned to do this afternoon suddenly didn’t sit well.

  “Diana?”

  “Yes?”

  “You will obey me?”

  “Sometimes.”

  He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her, holding her above him. “Sometimes? What the bloody hell does that mean?”

  My, he really was strong. “I will.”

  “Excellent.” He set her on her feet and turned for the door.

  “When I think you are right.”

  Very slowly, he pivoted, spearing her in place with his glare. “I am always right.”

  She burst into laughter. He frowned. Heavens, she had never been happier. The arrogant beast loved her. “Except when you aren’t.”

  “I. Am. Always. Right.”

  He stalked her like a barn cat after a wayward mouse. She backed up and pushed her chair between them. His lips twitched, but he kept advancing on her. She turned and ran around the table and right into his arms.

  “Not fair. You were supposed to chase me, not lay in wait.”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest. “It matters not how I caught you, only that I did. You are up to something, Diana, I can see how you try to hide it. You had best tell me now.” He kissed her long and hard.

  How did he always know her so well? She wrapped her arms around his neck and stared into his eyes, looking for the truth. Was his love true?

  Michael put his mouth next to her ear and bit her earlobe. “Tell me. What are you about?”

  She felt his bite in her most private of places. How was that possible? Her ear was nowhere near her middle. She moaned and pushed against him, feeling the hardness of his erection on her belly. He slid his fingers up her arms, taking her hands from his neck and pressing her palms over his buttocks. She gripped his taut bottom and pulled him tighter.

  “Sweet Jesus, Myana.”

  He pushed the china aside, lifted her onto the table and spread her legs. One hand cupped her cheek while the other unbuttoned the placket of his trousers.

  She had a moment of panic when she realized her skirts were up to her thighs, but he kept his gaze on her face. The hunger in his eyes was all that mattered. She forgot about knives, torn flesh and burn marks when he slid into her and buried his face into her neck.

  He loved her.

  ****

  Diana paced the hallway in front of Michael’s study, her brawny Scotsmen’s eyes following her back and forth. “Should I tell him?”

  “Aye,” Gordon said. “If it has ye flitting aboot like a twitchy honey bee, it canna be good. Best tell him, lass.”

  Well, she hadn’t really been asking him, but Gordon was right. She had managed to evade answering Michael at breakfast, and now, she was having second thoughts. He would be furious she
hadn’t obeyed him.

  “Obey is such a stupid word.” She waved a hand in the air. “I am having a conversation with myself. No need for you to answer, Gordon.”

  Her guards exchanged uneasy looks.

  She turned and walked to the door. If Michael continued to forbid her, she would go anyway. Just because he claimed to love her didn’t give him the right to make decisions for her. At least, if she told him she was going, he couldn’t accuse her of sneaking off behind his back. She lifted her hand to knock.

  “His lordship has gone out.”

  Where had Smedley come from? “Do you know when he will return?”

  “No, my lady.”

  Well, she had tried. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t told him a few days ago she was going. She collected Jamie and Fanny and set off for her parents, Gordon and Rory trailing behind. Jamie, fascinated by the Scotsmen, stayed back with them. She was glad the weather had cleared so she didn’t have to take the carriage.

  “Are you sure his lordship approves of this, my lady?”

  Not in the least. “I told him we were going, Fanny. Stop your worrying.”

  On arrival at her father’s house, she installed Gordon and Rory in the kitchen, visited with her parents for thirty minutes, and then asked them to watch Jamie for a few hours while she and her maid ran a few errands. She walked to the corner with Fanny and caught a hackney. Turning her face to the window, she hid her grin. She was off on an adventure.

  ****

  Michael left the meeting with Derebourne and Marlowe, satisfied with the outcome. It was said, if you put a farthing in Derebourne’s hand and he closed it, when he opened it, there would be a golden guinea in his palm. Michael was aware the marquess also managed Aubrey’s investments. If Derebourne decided to invest in Marlowe Shipping, then Michael’s instincts would be confirmed. It looked good, Derebourne saying he wanted to discuss it with His Grace, but that Marlowe could expect a yes.

  Derebourne had invited Michael and Diana to dinner next week, Aubrey and his duchess the only other guests. That would please Diana, and he looked forward to getting home and telling her. He removed his watch from his pocket to see it was only three. She would still be at her parents so he directed Jaspers to Lord Rotharton’s home.

  He arrived to chaos. The Scots almost sent him to the floor on their way out as he entered. A crying Jamie was wrapped in Lady Rotharton’s arms. Lord Rotharton rushed over.

  “She said she had a few errands and took her maid with her. I am sure all is fine, but your men think otherwise. They claim that earlier she was as agitated as a wee mousey finding it took a wrong turn and ended up on a piping hot stove.” He grimaced. “Their words, not mine, I assure you. They said she wanted to tell you something, but you were not at home. Now, she has disappeared.”

  The air left his lungs.

  “Papa!”

  Michael glanced around and then back at his son, who held out his arms. To him. Sweet Jesus, Jamie wanted his papa. He took him from Lady Rotharton and held his boy close. “Hush. I promise you, I will find her. Listen. I need you to stay here with your grandmamma and grandpapa.” Michael lifted a chin at Rotharton. The old man came and took Jamie from him.

  “Papa!”

  It was the last word he heard as he grabbed Gordon and Rory’s necks with his hands and pushed them ahead of him out the door. “Why the bloody hell are the two of you here and she is not?”

  Two of the biggest Scotsmen he had been able to find hung their heads and shuffled their feet. “The lass hoodwinked us, my lord. We didna think she was a devious one. We mighta been wrong,” Gordon said.

  The lass was very, very good at hoodwinking. When he found her, he would tell her so after he put her over his knee for nearly causing his heart to stop beating. Today was Wednesday and something about that bothered him.

  “Did you say her maid was with her?”

  “Aye, my lord.”

  Wednesday. Fanny’s half day. Christ’s Hospital. The Blue Coat School. Bloody hell. “Jaspers. Newgate.”

  Gordon and Rory squeezed onto the coachman’s seat and Michael jumped into the carriage. What the devil was she thinking? He had told her she might be in danger, had told her what it would do to him if something happened to her.

  Obviously, she didn’t give a damn. When he found her, he was going to lock her in her chamber until they married and he had the right to do whatever necessary to keep her safe.

  It seemed to take forever to reach the school. He looked out the window. The closer they came, the more dilapidated the buildings they passed, the more sordid the men walking down the street. By the time the carriage rolled to a stop, Michael’s anger was heating his blood.

  He descended and marched up the steps and into the school. The first three rooms he looked into were empty. Heading for the next one, he saw a man walking toward him.

  “Excuse me, sir. I am looking for someone, a lady of quality who has come here with her maid.”

  “Try the second floor, Mr. Mason’s room. His sister is a maid and comes here on Wednesdays to read to his boys.”

  Michael was halfway up the stairs before the man finished his sentence. He found his disobedient ladylove in the second room he searched. She sat with her back to him, four children at her feet as she held a schoolbook in front of her, pointing to the words she slowly said.

  He listened to her voice, heard her joy. The boys, in their blue coats and yellow stockings, gazed upon her in awe. One pointed to the page and said a word. Even though she faced away from him, he could almost see the smile on her face as she praised the lad.

  Bloody hell.

  Reluctantly, he backed away and returned to his carriage, standing alongside it while waiting for her to appear. He tried to temper his anger, but she had gone against his wishes and put herself in danger. He would handle this reasonably, however. They would discuss the error of her ways and he would explain how worried he had been. She would apologize and promise never to do it again.

  A man stumbled up to him smelling of blue ruin, his clothes nothing but filthy rags. “Guv, spare a man a penny?” He swayed and put his hand on Michael’s chest to keep from falling.

  Gordon grabbed the man’s arm. “Best not be touching his lordship. Off with you, now.”

  Michael handed him a coin, his gaze following the man as he staggered down the street to the nearby tavern. What if he had not been here and this man had accosted Diana?

  Within the hour he waited, he was approached three more times, two of them by whores. Even he would not have been comfortable here without the Scots. By the time Diana exited, he had worked himself into a state, had surpassed any hope of being reasonable.

  He handed Rory some coins. “Find a hackney and take Lady Brantley’s maid home. Gordon, get up on the bench with Jaspers.”

  Diana saw him and stopped. When Fanny spied him, her face drained of color. “You said he approved, my lady.”

  “No, Fanny, I said I told him I was coming and I did.”

  So, she had also hoodwinked her maid. “Fanny, go with Rory. He will see you safely home.”

  “Yes, my lord.” She hurried away.

  “Get in the carriage, Diana.”

  When she turned to follow Fanny, he stepped in front of her. “My carriage. Get in my carriage. Now.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so. You are obviously angry. I think you should go to your club and have a few drinks until you are calmer. Then we will talk.”

  He picked her up and carried her inside, then tapped hard on the roof. She scurried to the opposite seat and hugged the corner.

  “What the hell were you thinking? No, you obviously weren’t so do not bother answering. I expressly forbade you to come here, Diana. Look at me when I am talking to you, dammit.”

  “I have no desire to look at you or talk to you right now, my lord.”

  “Then just bloody listen. Do you have any idea what could have happened to you? While I waited for you, I was accosted four times.
If your bodyguards had not been with me, I would have feared for my own safety. Yet, you sneak away from them and come traipsing down here alone.”

  She turned and glared at him. “I was not alone. Fanny was with me.”

  “Oh, of course. She is going to fight off some foxed to the gills ruffian who decides he wants a taste of you. You are being stupid now.”

  The look she gave him was one of disgust. “We’ve had this discussion, my lord. You are not my husband. I don’t have to obey you.”

  He took a slow, deep breath striving for calm. “You do if you are going to continue to make foolish decisions regarding your safety.”

  The carriage rolled to a stop. “You are a donkey’s bottom, Michael.” She pushed the door open and ran into the house.

  Michael punched the seat with his fist. “Lord Rotharton’s, Jasper,” he called, tapping on the roof. He wanted Jamie, needed his son’s cheerful presence.

  ****

  “No, Fanny, those stay here. Give them to me.”

  Diana took the jewelry she had worn to the ball and spread the pieces on the vanity. She stared at them, tears burning her eyes.

  “My lady, if you would only apologize, I know—”

  “No, I did nothing wrong. If you are finished packing, go up and see if Mr. Denton is ready to leave.”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  It would be easier this way, with Jamie already at her parents. She stroked her finger over the earrings. A tear fell down her cheek.

  Was she doing the right thing? If she left, it would truly be over for them. In a few minutes, she would go downstairs and tell him she was moving to her parents’ house. He would get angry at not having his way and yell at her again. That he had been right about going alone to the school no longer mattered.

  If he had stayed quiet and given her a chance, she would have told him she had made a mistake. She had erred in not taking Gordon and Rory with them. Fanny, obviously being a servant, had been ignored, but Diana had not. She shuddered, thinking of the two men who had made indecent remarks to her. It was not a safe place to be without protection. Next week she would definitely take her guards with her.

  She touched the necklace she had not worn. “I do love you, Michael, but I can’t live with you.” She had lost herself once under Leo’s rule. Michael wasn’t Leo, he wasn’t cruel, but he wanted to control her life. If she let him, she would fade away to nothing again.