by Aileen Fish
He couldn’t be allowed in the birthing room. It simply wasn’t done.
There was also the problem of Laurel. One look at Graelem, and she’d climb out of bed to put her arms around him. Honestly! The pair were as stubborn as donkeys. Would she and Gabriel ever be this ridiculous? Surprisingly, she hoped so.
She met Graelem’s scowling countenance and let out a sigh. “I’ll try to convince Mrs. Peebles to let you in.”
“Just get me in there. I’ll take care of Mrs. Peebles.”
Thoughts of bludgeoning and murder swirled in Daisy’s head. Graelem would do anything to remain by Laurel’s side. She eyed him warily. “How?”
He cast her a wincing grin, seeming to read her thoughts. “Nothing violent, I promise. Doubling her fee ought to persuade her. I’ll triple it, if I must.”
Within the hour—though it was a long, unsettling hour—matters were once more under control. The maids had cleaned up the mess on the stairs and hallway, and Graelem’s ankle was bound.
Graelem was now seated by the hearth, but in full view of his wife’s bed. “If you move from there, I’ll beat the stuffing out of you,” George warned, then started for the door.
Daisy followed after him. “Uncle George, where are you going?”
He patted her gently on the shoulder. “I’ll be snoring in the guestroom should anyone need me. Graelem will be fine now that his leg is properly set and I’ve given him enough laudanum to dull his pain. As for Laurel,” he said, pausing to run a hand through his hair, “wake me in a few hours if the babe isn’t born yet. I’ll need to relieve Mrs. Peebles and it’s best I do it with a clear head.”
Daisy’s heart leapt into her throat. “I’m frightened.”
He sighed and patted her shoulder once again. “I know it’s taking a while, but there’s no reason to fear. The signs still point to a healthy birth. The babe’s a bit reluctant to leave the comfort of his mother’s womb, that’s all.”
She nodded.
“Why don’t you girls try to get some rest as well.”
Daisy was exhausted, but she was too distressed to sleep. No doubt her sisters were just as overset. “We couldn’t.”
“Then have Mrs. MacTavish fix you the light repast you ought to have had hours ago. Keep up your strength, or you’ll be of no use to Mrs. Peebles or to me.”
“I am a little hungry,” she admitted “The twins must be, too.”
Since the household had quieted once more, she decided not to bother the staff. Most had returned to their beds by now and she knew her way about a kitchen well enough to manage on her own.
As she stepped into the hall and started downstairs, she saw Billings at the foot of the stairs, looking perplexed.
She cast him an assuring smile. “Why are you still awake, Billings? You mustn’t worry. His lordship and her ladyship will recover.”
“I have faith they will, what with you and your uncle close at hand. But begging your pardon, Miss Daisy, there’s someone here to see his lordship, claims to bring news of vital importance. Waiting until morning may be too late, this person insists.”
Daisy wasn’t certain what to do. Graelem was in no condition to see anyone right now, but what if the vital news concerned Gabriel? “I’ll see the gentleman. Show him into the library.”
Billings shook his head, now appearing quite distressed. “The visitor isn’t a gentleman.”
“A lady?” She frowned. “At this late hour? Very well, show her in.”
“Can’t very well call her a lady either. She isn’t the sort one would allow into one’s home. I’ll send her away. I shouldn’t have troubled you, but she mentioned Lord Gabriel—”
Daisy gasped. “Bring her into the library at once.”
“But—”
“Do as I say, Billings.”
Daisy hurried to the library and lit the oil lamp perched atop Graelem’s desk. She decided against ordering the servants to light the fire, for she doubted the visitor would stay long. Now anxious, she busied herself by clearing off a space on the desk and fumbling in the drawers for quill pen and ink. She wasn’t certain why she’d thought to pull out paper stock and writing implements, only that they might be useful. In any event, she was on edge and needed to do something to keep her hands from trembling.
Laurel’s life and that of her baby were in danger. Graelem was injured and in a laudanum-induced stupor. Uncle George was exhausted and probably snatching a desperate hour of sleep. She was exhausted, hungry, and about to face a stranger delivering bad news. Very bad news.
Daisy uttered a silent prayer that Gabriel was unharmed, but she feared it wasn’t so. Was he hurt? Captured? Dead? He’d only been gone a day or so. Too soon to have engaged the French, unless Napoleon’s agents had followed him and Edgeware, attacking them on a quiet stretch of road.
A gentle knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. “Come in.”
Billings entered, followed by the most beautiful woman Daisy had ever beheld. She was tall and slender, and had lush red hair and smoky, cat-like eyes. Even in the harsh lamp light, she appeared to have perfect skin and a peach complexion.
“Lady Laurel?” the woman asked once Graelem’s butler had closed the door behind him to lend her some privacy.
“I’m her sister, Daisy Farthingale. Er... um...” I’m Lady Dayne now. Oh, well. It seemed irrelevant at the moment. “And you are?”
“Ah, I see,” she said with a surprisingly wistful laugh. “My name is Desiree St. Claire. I’m a friend of Lord Gabriel Dayne.”
“A friend of Gabriel’s?” Daisy gripped the corner of the desk tightly. She recognized the name and knew Desiree was more than a friend. She was Gabriel’s mistress. Don’t cry! Don’t be a ninny and cry!
She had been told such women were brazen, tawdry. But this beauty was graceful and carried herself with regal bearing. She dressed in the latest fashion, her gown a shimmering, sapphire blue made of the finest silk, and the matching fur-lined cloak was of the finest quality. Gabriel had spared no expense on his amour, she realized with dismay. “You have news concerning him?”
Desiree nodded. “I do,” she said in a refined French accent, “but I think it best that I speak to Lord Graelem.”
“What possible interest could his lordship have... er, in any way relevant to your position with his... er, cousin?” she finished lamely, not sure why she hadn’t just come out and told Desiree that she was Gabriel’s wife. In truth, it hurt that this woman knew Gabriel better than she did. It quietly tore her heart to pieces that Gabriel liked this woman better than he liked her.
“Please, let me speak to him.” Her accent grew thicker with dismay. “There’s no time to delay. The message is confidential—”
“Gabriel keeps no secrets from me.” Liar. “Kindly get to the point of your visit, or leave.” Daisy held her chin up, retaining her composure, but inwardly, she was an utter mess. Her heart pounded through her ears, her hands trembled, and her blood ran cold with fear. She was no match for this exquisite beauty. How could she ever compete with Desiree for Gabriel’s affections? Desiree was the exquisite mistress who indulged his every pleasure.
“A woman in my position must live on the generosity of men,” Desiree said, regarding her curiously, no doubt because of her comment about Gabriel keeping no secrets from her. It was a lie and Desiree obviously knew it. “Some are kinder, more generous than others.”
Oh, don’t tell me! I don’t want to know!
“Lord Gabriel is one of those men. That’s why I had to come here despite the risk. I think he’s in danger.”
A chill ran up Daisy’s spine. “What sort of danger?”
Desiree hesitated.
“Miss St. Claire, it isn’t possible to see his cousin tonight. You see, he’s injured his leg and is quite incapacitated.”
“Oh, my!” She put a hand to her mouth, appearing sincerely distressed.
“So you’ll just have to tell me what this is about.”
She withdrew a parch
ment from her reticule. “I wrote the words exactly as he’d mumbled them. You see, I was with a certain gentleman of high position who visited me earlier this evening. Oh, he was quite drunk and unpleasantly persistent. I fear my coming here will have consequences, especially if he finds out that I was the one to warn Lord Dayne.”
Daisy took it without comment.
She cast Daisy a weak smile. “I’ll protect myself if the need arises,” she said, a sudden cloud of sadness shrouding her gray eyes. “I’ve had to all of my life.”
“I see.” Though she didn’t really. Women such as Desiree were much sought after and understood the power they wielded over men. They traded their bodies for protection, their sexual favors for lavish gifts. They lived charmed lives, or so Daisy had thought until this very moment. Desiree looked scared and lonely.
“Please go on,” she said politely, no longer willing to judge the beauty for entering into one of civilization’s oldest professions. “Tell me what this man said.”
She took a deep breath. “He was drunk and making threats against Lord Gabriel that frightened me.” She stared at the parchment Daisy held in her hand. “Lord Graelem must read it at once. But before he does, please tell him that this gentleman offered to become my benefactor.”
Daisy shook her head in confusion. “I don’t understand the significance. You must receive many such offers.”
“There is a strict protocol to such arrangements, a gentlemen’s code of honor.” Her cheeks were flaming as she spoke, for it was obviously an uncomfortable topic and Desiree couldn’t have imagined she’d be explaining it to Gabriel’s wife. Not that she realized she was speaking to Gabriel’s wife. “Since Lord Gabriel has paid a six-month advance, I’m obligated to him until the time expires. For another gentleman to engage my services is a grave insult to Lord Gabriel.”
“You make it sound rather like a contract,” Daisy muttered with disgust, “and this gentleman was interfering with the terms and conditions.”
“It’s more serious than that. Men die over such disputes of honor.”
Daisy only saw the sordidness of the arrangement, women treated as concubines and routinely abandoned as they aged, their protectors moving on to more youthful amusements.
“This gentleman would not have risked approaching me unless he thought Lord Gabriel was not coming back.”
Daisy’s hands began to shake, so she tightened her grasp on the parchment. “You mean, not coming back to you.”
“No, I fear he believes that Lord Gabriel will not come back at all. That’s why you must take what I’ve written to his cousin at once. He’ll make better sense of the words.”
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Daisy read the note as she hurried upstairs, her mind awhirl with questions, especially since the note contained only one line:
Confirm N. will have welcome party for guest arriving at Boulogne.
The words could have been said by a friend, confirming that ‘N’—didn’t have to stand for Napoleon—had made arrangements for the arrival of a certain guest. But Gabriel was on his way to France and she feared the welcome party was a French regiment prepared to shoot him on sight.
Women had a sense about such things, even “‘bad” women such as Desiree. And what of her? She was French and could very well be one of Napoleon’s agents.
Daisy entered the bedchamber that was now serving as an infirmary. There was no help for it, she’d have to rely on Graelem’s judgment. Fortunately he was as alert as one could possibly be in a laudanum-induced stupor, sitting up with tears streaming down his face as he gazed intently at Laurel.
Her uncle was back in the room, and he and Mrs. Peebles were beside Laurel, her uncle’s medical bag open while he rubbed a foul-smelling liquid on a metal implement that looked like an instrument of torture. The hot, dank room reeked of foul alcohol. Rose and the twins were standing quietly in a corner, their hands clasped together. Oh, no! Oh, no!
Daisy knelt beside Graelem. “Take a look at this note. Please, it’s important.”
“Not now, Daisy.”
“You must.” She knew he was despondent over Laurel. “Please. It concerns Gabriel. He may be in danger.”
“Damn, I’m so fuzzy-headed.” A savage expression crossed his face as he took it from her hands and read it. “Where did you get this?”
“Desiree St. Claire.” Daisy felt her cheeks heat. “She’s here, in your library. Can she be trusted?”
He glanced at the parchment again. “How did she get it?”
“She wrote it down, claims she overheard... a certain gentleman visitor seeking to become her new benefactor.”
His expression turned hard as stone. “Help me to my feet.”
Daisy forced him back in the chair. “Are you mad? You can’t walk.”
“Help me,” he ordered. “You don’t understand.”
“I do. If Gabriel’s in danger, he needs to be warned.” Assuming it wasn’t already too late. “You’re in no condition to do it.”
“I must. Blast it! Hand me a cane.” He tried to stand, but his face contorted in pain and he fell back with an anguished yelp.
“Can she be trusted?” Daisy repeated. “I’ll deal with the rest.” She tried to sound confident and efficient, but didn’t know quite what to do. Should she report the matter to the Prince Regent? Or was Desiree part of the trap?
Graelem nodded. “She can be trusted.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. I may have said my brain was fuzzy, but this note sobered me up fast. Tell Billings to wake the groomsman and saddle my horse. Help me up. I have to warn Gabriel before his ship sails for France.”
Daisy once again forced him back in the chair, ordinarily an impossible feat, but Graelem wasn’t at his best just now. “How do you propose doing it? By hopping across England like a demented frog with a busted limb? I’ll go. He’s my husband.”
“You can’t go. You’re just a girl, and there are dangerous men on the road, ruffians and cutthroats who are just as dangerous as any French spy.”
She glanced at her uncle, studying him as he worked with the midwife. “It has to be me. Uncle George can’t be spared.” She refused to say aloud what they were all fearing, that Laurel would die without him at her bedside. “Amos will accompany me.”
“Fetch me paper, ink, and pen,” Graelem ordered. “Wait! Bring Desiree up here, too.”
Daisy’s eyes rounded in horror. “Graelem! Think of your wife!”
“I’m thinking of her and the safety of every Englishman.”
“I don’t know what you two are bickering about,” Mrs. Peebles said with a glower, “but if ye think ye’re going ta bring one more person in here, yer sadly mistaken. M’lord, I’ll toss ye down those stairs m’self if ye utter a word of protest.”
Graelem sighed. “Who was the gentleman with Desiree this evening?”
Her heart sank into her stomach. “I didn’t think to ask.” In her own defense, Desiree’s appearance had rattled her.
“Well, ask her now. Quick.”
She hurried back to the library, hoping Desiree hadn’t grown skittish and fled, but she needn’t have worried. Desiree was standing in the same spot she’d left her, and now she was wringing her hands. The strain showed in her porcelain cheeks.
“His lordship wishes to know who came to see you.” She ought to have been jealous of this woman and the intimacy she’d obviously shared with Gabriel, but it all seemed inconsequential at the moment.
“Auguste Malinor.”
Daisy gasped. Auguste? Of course, she ought to have guessed. The blackguard meant to destroy Gabriel, first proposing to her and now trying to take Gabriel’s mistress. But was he merely jealous of Gabriel and eager to see him hurt, or did he plan to betray England as well? She hurried back to Graelem, who already appeared to be instructing her sisters as he related the news to them. He set to work at once, scribbling several letters. “Rose, as Lady Emory you’ll be granted an audience
right away. I need you to take this letter to the Prince Regent. Use my carriage and take two of my footmen for protection.”
“What about the other letter?” Daisy asked.
“That one’s for Gabriel. One of Prinny’s men will carry it to him.” He rubbed his hands over his eyes. “Christ, everything’s happening so fast. I don’t know if he’ll reach the ship in time.”
“Rose can go to the palace, but give me that other note. I’ll saddle Brutus and intercept Gabriel before he sails. As I said, Amos will escort me.”
Graelem’s eyes rounded in horror. “Are you mad? Yes, of course you are. You’re a Farthingale. Even so, you can’t go.”
“He’s my husband and I have no intention of becoming his widow.” She wasn’t going to let Graelem win this battle. “As you said, there’s no time to lose. I’m the best rider and Brutus is the fastest horse. Come on, Graelem. We’re wasting precious time. Where is Gabriel and what shall I tell him?” Graelem had already sealed the letters.
“I must be mad. He’ll string me up by my... never mind. Oh, hell.” He grabbed her hand and clasped it in his. “He must not sail to Boulogne. Napoleon’s men know he’s coming and have been told the name of the ship. They’ll shoot him on sight. Probably blow up his ship as soon as it tucks into one of the nearby smugglers’ coves. He must find himself another vessel. The one we chartered is no longer safe.”
Despite his pain, Graelem smiled at her. “You never believed Gabriel was a coward, willing to abandon all to pursue his own pleasures while England stood on the precipice of war. You may as well know all of it now. You’re his wife, after all. Prinny sent him on a raiding mission to France. His orders are to slow Napoleon’s progress and give Wellington as much time as possible to muster our forces and coordinate with our Continental allies. It’s damn dangerous, but he’s been doing similar work for years and has managed to stay alive even under impossible conditions. I know my cousin well, and he won’t let anything get in the way of his coming home to you.”
