The Virgin’s Secret

by Victoria Alexander

“No, I’m not. I would like you to take one of the footman along.” He studied her intently. “The new one, I think. John Farrell.”

  Xerxes? She nodded. “Very well.”

  He raised a brow. “What? No argument?”

  “It seems a reasonable enough request. Now…” She pushed against him. “Are you going to release me?”

  “For the moment.” He gazed into her eyes and her breath caught. “But only for the moment.” He kissed her hard and released her from his embrace. “You should go before someone sees you.”

  She nodded. Why was it that when he kissed her, she forgot everything else? And she wanted nothing more than to stay in his arms forever? She stepped out of Nathanial’s room, crossed the corridor, and opened her door.

  Before she could go in, the door to Quinton’s room opened. “Miss Montini?”

  She winced to herself but adopted a pleasant smile. “Mr. Harrington. I trust you had a pleasant evening.”

  “It was a thrill beyond measure,” he said wryly, then paused. “I have a favor to ask of you.”

  “Oh?” What on earth would he want from her?

  “My brother has never been in love, and I suspect his heart could be easily broken. I watched Sterling’s heart break and should prefer not to see the same thing happen to Nate. I would appreciate it if you would take care that such a thing does not happen.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Mr. Harrington.”

  “No? My mistake. Apparently you are not as intelligent as I have heard.” He nodded. “Good evening, Miss Montini.”

  “Mr. Harrington,” she murmured, and stepped into her room, closing the door behind her.

  Surely he was wrong. Oh, it was obvious Nathanial did indeed have some feelings for her. He wished to protect her, of course, but that was part and parcel of the obligation he had taken on to help her find the seal. He couldn’t possibly…Her heart fluttered at the thought.

  No! She thrust the idea firmly aside. He would have said something by now. He’d had every opportunity. And Nathanial was not the type of man to keep something like that to himself.

  She climbed into bed and tried to sleep. But she couldn’t get the question out of her head.

  What if Quinton was right?

  Twenty-two

  You asked to see me, sir.”

  Nate sat in his brother’s chair behind the desk in the library and studied the footman. Xerxes Muldoon was a big, broad-shouldered man, probably some twenty years older than himself, with a slightly exotic appearance about the eyes. He looked nothing like a footman. Nate wondered why he hadn’t noticed before.

  “Miss Montini insists on doing something I think is exceptionally foolish,” he began.

  Muldoon waited expectantly, the perfect footman.

  “This morning, she is to begin cataloguing the collections of Lord Rathbourne. There have long been rumors about Rathbourne, some of the most vile nature. Whether they are true or not, I don’t know.” He shook his head. “And frankly I don’t care.”

  “Sir?”

  “I think he’s dangerous. I don’t want her at his house without protection.” He met Muldoon’s gaze directly. “I want you to accompany her.”

  “Yes sir.” Muldoon shifted uneasily. “Does Miss Montini know?”

  “She does. She’s not especially happy about it but she’s agreed.” He blew a long breath. “She is the most independent female I have ever met.”

  “She does appear so, sir.”

  “And she thinks nothing of the consequences of her actions.”

  “No sir.”

  “She is probably the most brilliant woman I have ever encountered as well.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “And stubborn.” Nate huffed and shook his head. “Has she always been this stubborn, Muldoon?”

  “Yes sir, she—” Realization dawned in Muldoon’s eyes. “I beg your pardon sir, I…” Muldoon sighed and crossed his arms over his chest in a most unfootman-like manner. “How did you know?”

  “I didn’t until a few days ago. Then I put two and two together. I am not as stupid as I might appear.”

  “You couldn’t possibly be,” Muldoon said mildly. “I have heard of Rathbourne on occasion, when I traveled with Miss Montini’s brother.” He raised a brow. “I assume you know that as well.”

  Nate nodded.

  “I think you’re right to be concerned. You needn’t worry. I won’t let her out of my sight. I have always protected her.” His eyes narrowed and an implicit threat sounded in his voice. “From everyone.”

  “I love her,” Nate said simply.

  “Good.” Muldoon’s voice softened. “I suspected as much. She needs someone to love her.”

  “Didn’t her brother?”

  “In his own manner, I think. He didn’t mistreat her in any way.” Muldoon paused to choose his words. “No doubt you’re aware of Montini’s reputation, the kind of man he was?”

  Nate nodded.

  “He was a very selfish man. He had his work and his own needs. There was nothing left for a little girl.” He shook his head. “He never even noticed when she stopped being a little girl, but others did.”

  “And that’s when…”

  Muldoon shot him a sharp glance. “She told you about that, did she?”

  “Yes.”

  “How interesting.” He studied Nate thoughtfully. “I knew, of course, and my wife and Miss Henry, but to my knowledge she has never told anyone else.”

  “I see.” Nate couldn’t quite hide a smile.

  “I wouldn’t be too confident if I were you.” Muldoon shook his head. “I have known Gabriella much of her life. Even so, I find her to be one of the most confusing people I have ever met. She is convinced that because of the incident she will never marry.”

  “I gathered as much.”

  “She has, as well, a suspicious nature. Trust does not come easily to her.”

  Nate nodded. “I noticed that too.”

  “Nor does love.” Muldoon paused. “My wife and I have often discussed this. We have long been concerned about her.” He cast Nate a wry smile. “We may be in her employ but we have always thought of her with the fondness one feels for a daughter.” He fixed Nate with a hard look. “With the exception of my wife, Miss Henry, and myself, everyone Gabriella has ever truly trusted or loved in her life has left her. It is not a great leap of the imagination to understand that is why she does not trust or love easily.”

  “I would never hurt her.” Nate met the other man’s gaze. “Nor would I ever abandon her.”

  “See that you don’t.”

  “There is another thing that puzzles me.”

  Muldoon chuckled. “Just one?”

  Nate grinned. “No, but I am curious. About her trip to Egypt?”

  “You figured that out too.”

  Nate shook his head. “Again, not until recently.”

  “It wasn’t as difficult as you might think. As pretty as she is, she still makes a passable young man.” Muldoon grinned. “And then of course she had me to make sure nothing went awry.”

  “Even so.” Nate shook his head. “It was a dangerous venture.”

  “As well I know. She threatened to go by herself if I didn’t accompany her.” He shrugged. “And I wouldn’t put it past her to do just that.”

  “I have a number of other questions.”

  “No doubt you do, but I’ve probably said too much already. Anything else you will have to ask her yourself.” Muldoon paused. “Am I to assume I will be allowed to stay here, then? In my position as John Farrell?”

  “For as long as necessary.” Nate nodded toward the door. “Gabriella is probably ready to go. You should join her.”

  Muldoon nodded.

  “Oh, before you do, might I ask what you did with the other John Farrell?”

  Muldoon grinned. “Paid him handsomely to take a holiday and visit his family in the country.”

  “Excellent.” Nate laughed, then sobered. “It m
ight be best, as well, if you don’t tell Gabriella about this chat of ours.”

  “I would never lie to her,” Muldoon said firmly. “However, if she doesn’t ask me directly, I would see no need to say anything. For the moment,” he added pointedly.

  “Agreed.” Nate paused. “Watch out for her, Muldoon.”

  “I always have.” The older man smiled and took his leave.

  Nate chuckled to himself. Secrets, everywhere he looked someone had secrets. He suspected he had only scratched the surface of Gabriella’s. But his talk with Muldoon explained a great deal. If he was going to keep Gabriella in his life—and after last night there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he wanted to do exactly that, not that he’d had any doubts before—he would obviously need all the help he could get. Muldoon might just turn out to be an unexpected ally. The big man had only her best interests at heart. After all, he had known her much of her life and was currently in her employ—

  Her employ?

  Surely he meant her brother’s employ.

  But her brother was dead. What did Muldoon mean?

  Nate got to his feet and started after him.

  The library door swung open and his mother stepped into the room. “Oh, good, Nathanial, you’re here.”

  “I was just about to leave.”

  “No, you’re not.” Sterling appeared behind her, stepped into the library and closed the door behind him in a resolute manner. He had his earl’s face on, which usually meant someone had done something to annoy the staid, controlled structure of his existence.

  “Do sit down, both of you,” Sterling said coolly. He carried a sheaf of papers in his hand and moved to stand behind his desk.

  Nate leaned toward his mother. “What have we done?”

  “I have no idea, dear. My conscience is clear.” She thought for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, completely clear.”

  “As is mine,” Nate murmured. Not that it was ever completely clear, but he couldn’t think of anything he had done recently to which his brother might take umbrage. Of course, Sterling might wish to chastise him for having Gabriella in his rooms last night, but then, Nate knew Sterling would never involve Mother in a discussion of that nature.

  “This…” Sterling tossed the papers on his desk. “Is a report.”

  “How nice, dear,” Mother said with a pleasant smile. “What does that have to do with us?”

  “It’s a report about Miss Montini.”

  Nate and his mother exchanged glances.

  Sterling seated himself behind the desk. “Might I suggest in the future, when each of us feels the need to hire an agency of investigation in regards to the same person, we do so together. Thus incurring only one bill rather than three.”

  “You needn’t take that tone, Sterling.” His mother fixed her oldest son with a firm look. “I had no idea that you would take it upon yourself to investigate Miss Montini.”

  “Regardless of whether or not you knew her mother, did you think I would simply allow a woman who was caught breaking into the house to reside with us without wanting to know more about her?” Sterling drummed his fingers on the desk.

  Mother sniffed. “When you put it that way, it makes a certain amount of sense.”

  He picked up the papers and shuffled through the report. “It seems each of us requested information in a slightly different area. Mother wished to know more about family. You, Nate, wanted her past. And I wanted her current state of affairs.”

  Nate grinned. “We are nothing if not thorough.”

  Sterling glanced at the report. “This paints an interesting picture of Miss Montini. I would say some of it is not unexpected, although much of it is quite surprising. Don’t you think so, Mother?”

  “I don’t know dear,” she said in an offhand manner. “I haven’t seen the report yet.”

  Sterling’s eyes narrowed. “But you know more about Miss Montini than you have thus far mentioned.”

  “She knew Gabriella’s mother.” Nate’s gaze slid from his brother to his mother. “But she told us that.”

  “Well, perhaps one of us should have thought to ask who her mother was, or why Miss Montini looks so much like Emma Carpenter.”

  “There was no need for that to be in the report,” their mother said under her breath. “I knew all that.” She cast her oldest son a stern look. “You should not let them charge you for that.”

  “Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Impatience sounded in Nate’s voice.

  “Allow me to explain, dear,” Mother said. “As you know, Emma’s mother, Lady Danworthy—Caroline—has been a friend of mine since we were girls. She had two sisters, one older, one younger. The younger of the two, Helene—a lovely girl, by the way—was disinherited when she married against their father’s wishes. She married a wealthy man, significantly older than she and, God forbid, Italian.”

  “Montini?” Nate said slowly.

  Mother nodded. “The situation was most distressing. Her father declared that as far as he was concerned, he had only two daughters. He relented rather quickly after Helene married and left for Italy, but what with the distances involved and whatnot, it was too late by then. Helene died giving birth to Gabriella. The family tried to maintain contact with Mr. Montini, but from what Caroline has told me through the years, he had little interest in keeping in touch with them. He died when Gabriella was eight years old and somehow she was lost.”

  Nate drew his brows together. “What do you mean, lost?”

  “By the time Caroline’s family learned of his death, the little girl had vanished. They tried for years to find her. Ultimately they were told the girl had died.” Mother heaved a heartfelt sigh. “Needless to say, they stopped all efforts to find her. It has been one of the great sorrows of Caroline’s life that she wasn’t able to save her sister’s child. And that,” she turned a firm gaze to Sterling, “is why I insisted Gabriella stay here. I did not want her lost again.”

  “Why haven’t you simply told Lady Danworthy that you’ve found her niece?”

  “I had my reasons,” Mother said in a lofty manner.

  “And those are?” Sterling prompted.

  “I am not used to being quizzed like a common criminal by my own son.”

  “My apologies, Mother,” Sterling muttered.

  “You don’t sound the least bit sincere, dear. You need to work on that. First of all, Caroline is in Paris with her sister, and Emma as well. In her most recent letter she said they will be returning in a few days. Secondly, I was not entirely certain of Gabriella’s intentions. After all, we did meet her when she was caught breaking into the house. There is also a sizable inheritance involved. Quite frankly, I didn’t want to tell Caroline about her niece’s existence if Gabriella’s motives were less than honorable. It would quite break her heart.

  “However…” Mother smiled in a satisfied manner. “Aside from a certain penchant for what might be called impulsive, even illegal, behavior, I am quite impressed with Gabriella’s character.” She turn a steady eye on her youngest son. “You could do far worse.”

  Nate grinned. “But I could not do better.”

  “No, darling, I don’t think you could.”

  “According to this,” Sterling waved at the report, “after her father’s death, Gabriella was literally passed from one distant relative of his to another.” His expression darkened. “From what I’ve read here, it was not a pleasant experience for her. She was not especially wanted and was treated more like a servant than a relative.”

  “Oh dear,” Mother murmured.

  “Approximately two years later, Enrico Montini, her half brother from her father’s first marriage, found the girl.” Sterling glanced at his mother. “I assume that’s when Lady Danworthy’s family was told she was dead?”

  Mother nodded. “That sounds accurate.”

  “The trail would appear to end there. However, the report says Montini was thereafter accompanied by a young boy that he claimed was his brother. Howe
ver…” Sterling’s gaze met Nate’s. “Gabriella has no other brother.”

  Nate nodded. “I had come to much the same conclusion, but I hadn’t put this particular piece of the puzzle together.”

  “So you’re saying that Enrico Montini hauled his sister around to all those dreadful, dangerous places you and Quinton frequent on your search for antiquities and pretended she was a boy?” Anger flashed in Mother’s eyes. “How could he? Had he no thought for the consequences of raising a girl that way?”

  Nate shook his head. “Apparently Montini had no thought for anything other than his own concerns.”

  “And there was a significant fortune involved,” Sterling added.

  “Yes, of course,” Mother said thoughtfully. “The inheritance from her mother’s father.”

  “I doubt that he knew about that.” Sterling tapped the report with his finger. “Apparently, Gabriella’s father left her a sizable fortune and it was entirely in Montini’s hands.” He shrugged. “According to this, Montini’s father was not pleased with his son’s choice of vocation and left very nearly everything to his daughter. As long as Montini had Gabriella, he had the means to support his work.” He looked at his brother. “Your Miss Montini is a very wealthy woman, although I suspect she didn’t know that until her brother died.”

  “That explains a lot,” Nate said. “Go on.”

  “Nine years ago, the alleged younger brother vanished and Miss Montini began attending school here in London. She is remarkably well educated for a woman—”

  Nate snorted. “Don’t let her hear you say that.”

  Sterling continued. “She owns a small house in a respectable if not particularly fashionable section of the city and employs…” He flipped through the pages. “A Miss Florence Henry as a companion and—”

  “Xerxes Muldoon and his wife.” Nate nodded. “I recently discovered that.”

  “Well, this is all very interesting,” Mother said.

  “Indeed it is.” Sterling clasped his hands together on the desk, his gaze shifting between his mother and his brother. “Now that I am confident we know very nearly all there is to know about Gabriella, what do the two of you intend to do?”

  “I intend to reunite Gabriella with her family,” Mother said firmly.