“What is this?” she asked.
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “It is a letter from a woman I knew when I was quite young. I received it about ten weeks ago. If you would be good enough to read it, I think it will explain itself.”
Victoria could only look on the handsome man seated across from her with amazement. Never had she expected this. Realizing that she was staring, Victoria turned her attention to the letter.
Carefully she opened the wrinkled page, which bore the evidence of having been read many times. The message was simple.
Dear Jedidiah,
I hope you will be able to find it in your heart to forgive me for what I am about to tell you. For that is the one hope that has given me the courage to write to you at all.
You see, I am very ill. I am, in truth more painful to admit even to myself, dying. In order to go to my rest with conscience clear, I must then tell you something that I have kept hidden from everyone, including my husband, for twelve years. You, Jedidiah, are the father of my eleven-year-old son. I ask you not to try contacting him or myself. As I said, all I ask of you is your forgiveness. Please try to find it in your heart to give me that much, though I understand you do not owe it to me.
Nina
Victoria looked up at the man, not knowing what to say. “I take it you are the Jedidiah she mentions?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
She hardly knew what to say. “How very dreadful for you! But I did not understand how I can be of assistance. I do not know anyone by that name. And if you do not mind my asking, how do you know that Fairfield is her surname? She did not sign it on either the inside or the outside of the letter.”
His jaw flexed as he answered her. “I have known the name of her husband for some time.”
Victoria had the impression that he would say no more on that subject, and she didn’t ask. It seemed there were many long-held resentments at work here. Obviously this Nina’s husband was the Squire Fairfield he sought.
She found herself asking. “Do you have any other information that might help?”
He grimaced. “I know that the letter was posted from London.” His wide shoulders drew her gaze as he shrugged. “Other than that, I know nothing. I have no leads, no contacts, not one thing. I only know that to find her I must gain entry into the circle she inhabits. When you asked if you could help me in some way…” He shrugged again.
She looked down at her hands, then glanced back to his face as she wondered why this woman had not told him of the child all those years ago. Had she feared that he would not marry her? Victoria could not even imagine that any woman who could have the man before her as her very own would not do so. Thus, the reluctance had to have been on his part.
Although Victoria felt that Jedidiah McBride was in fact a good and decent man, she also thought there might be a hint of ruthlessness in him. She sensed that he would do nothing against his own indomitable will. And, likewise, that nothing he desired could be denied him.
What would it feel like to be desired by this man? A shiver of awareness raced down her spine and she could only pray that he had not seen it.
She tried to focus on what Jedidiah McBride had said to her. Obviously he was determined to find this woman and his child. Doing so might prove very difficult for him. As he had said he knew no one who might assist him. Though she knew many people socially, Victoria could think of no person she would trust to assist a man like Jedidiah McBride with his problem. She, in her own way, was as isolated from London society as he. The responsibilities of her position made it impossible for her to waste time in the frivolous entertainments the London season had to offer. Truth to tell, Victoria cared more for being at her country manor house, Briarwood. It was where she had spent most of her time as a child, where she had lived with her beloved mother and father.
Previous to this night, she would have believed that nothing would threaten the peace of that existence. This attempt to kidnap her gave evidence to the false nature of her security. It seemed that, without a man to protect her, she was vulnerable indeed.
Her searching gaze ran over the man across from her, taking in the wide set of his shoulders, his strong hands, his confident demeanor. The sea captain would have no need to fear anyone. He wore his strength with an easy grace that made him all the more intimidating.
An idea was beginning to insinuate itself into her mind. It was an idea she could not dismiss, though she did make an attempt. Surreptitiously Victoria studied the man seated across from her. He seemed lost in thought, and the tightness of the hands clenched around his knees gave away the tension inside him, his desperation to find this woman. Was he desperate enough to agree to her plan?
There was only one way to find out.
“Mr. McBride,” she began, feeling his attention come back to her face. “I have a proposition for you to consider.”
She glanced at him and saw that he was looking at her with a puzzled frown. “Yes?” he replied somewhat warfly.
She centered her gaze on the hands she held clasped in her lap. “What has happened this evening has made me realize that there is a matter which I have been putting off for far too long.” She paused and took a deep breath, then went on, determined not to let him see that she was nervous. “The matter of my marriage.” Facing him directly, she wondered what his reaction might be to her blunt statement.
“I see,” he told her. But it was obvious that he truly did not see what connection this could have to him.
Quickly ‘Victoria went on. “I have been quite occupied with running my father’s estates in these past years since my parents were both killed in a boating accident at Bath—” Her voice broke for a moment, as the years between had hardly dulled the pain of being without them. She forced herself to continue in an even tone. “My father was the duke of Carlisle, and…”
He interrupted her, scowling darkly. “Duke—?”
“Yes,” she said, not liking the way he was staring at her now. She continued, wondering what had brought about this reaction. “And as his heir I have been left with a great trust in my keeping. I have realized that I should have married long before this. If I had, none of the events that took place this very night would have happened.”
His expression grew puzzled. “You obviously have a problem,” Jedidiah McBride told her, “but I do not see what it has to do with me.”
A frown marred her own brow. “I am getting to that. It seems clear, Mr. McBride, that I have need of a husband, but it seems equally clear that I have need of a protector until such a man is located. I am asking you, sir, to be my protector.” She hurried on before he could reply. “In return, I am offering to introduce you to London society. There, you would be able to make inquiries about these people, named Fairfield, and your child.”
She raised her head and saw that his face was even more thoughtful than before. He looked up at her, his eyes assessing. “Are you sure that you know what you would be doing here? You do not know me, or anything about me. I have just told you that I fathered an illegitimate child. Doesn’t that concern you in any way?”
She watched him, her gaze never leaving his as they measured each other. The moment stretched on, and she felt a strange stirring inside her as she looked into those clear green eyes, with not even a hint of fear. Feeling an unexplainable breathlessness that she could only put down to her anxiety that he might refuse, Victoria answered him softly. “No, I am not concerned. That was many years ago, and I do not know what happened between you and this woman. But you have come to do right by your child as soon as you learned of his existence. That is not the action of a dishonorable man. In fact, everything that has occurred this evening has made me sure that you would discharge the duty of protecting me with great diligence. I will not judge you by something that must have happened between you and this woman when you were a boy.”
“I was seventeen, and what happened between us was she did not want me,” he supplied dispassionately.
H
eavens, she thought, but he had been little more than a child himself! “More fool she,” was all she said in answer.
He seemed more than slightly taken aback and, dared she think it, pleased by her reply. She soon wondered if she had imagined the look of pleasure, for he shrugged noncommittally. “And how long do you believe this business association would last?”
She said, “I have no idea of the exact timing, but I can assure you that I should be able to find myself a husband from among the eligible bachelors who will be attending the season without a great deal of delay. I am not without assets.” Her wealth and position were well-known, and were the very things that had made her a target of Reginald’s greed.
“I would not deny that,” he said, causing her to look at him again. She flushed when she saw the assessing glance he cast over her. Although she realized the man had misunderstood her comment, she did not feel that she could clarify the matter. Not with him studying her like that, those cool green eyes of his making her feel warm in a way she did not understand.
Victoria decided to simply go on with the rest of what she wanted to tell him. “For your part, I would be willing to give you my backing until your parties are found. You will, of necessity, go with me wherever I go. Thus, you may make your inquiries at will.” She paused, then went on, “We shall say that you are my cousin, come from America.”
He quirked a brow, the side of his mouth turning up at the same time, and her heart tripped a double beat. “Your cousin?”
She squared her shoulders, doing her best to concentrate on the conversation, not on his mouth, or the way it made her stomach flutter. “My grandfather’s brother went off to search for adventure there. We have not heard from him or any descendants he might have, but you see, there is no other way to explain your presence in my home. I simply could not entertain any man who was not a relation to me. It would be completely unacceptable.”
“Of course, your kind would expect you to adhere to all the conventions.” She sensed a hint of disdain in his tone, and wondered at it. An unpleasant flash of disquiet darted through her.
When he went on, she momentarily forgot that faint unease. “I accept your offer. I will watch over you and make certain that no harm is done to you while you find a husband. In return, you will introduce me to the people who can help me find my child.”
She nodded. “It is agreed.”
Yet now that they had settled on it, Victoria could not dismiss the tickling feeling of apprehension that lingered as she looked at him. He was watching her, as well, and she had to force herself not to look away from the intensity of his gaze. It was as though he were searching, trying to see if there was something about her that did not please him.
The mere idea of such a thing rankled, but Victoria did not remark on her suspicions, as she had no reason for them. When she went over his actual words in her mind, there was nothing in them to cause her worry.
The sea captain had been nothing but gallant in his rescue of her, a perfect stranger. But the notion that something was wrong could not be totally dismissed, no matter how she told herself that she was being absurd.
Determinedly Victoria pushed her anxiety down, far into the recesses of her mind. She had found a solution to her problems in meeting Jedidiah McBride and was now reacting to him in this way because it put off her real cause for concern—that of finding a husband who would care for her and her father’s estates as they should be.
Victoria had no illusions about love. That was not something she expected or even hoped to find. The oftlauded excitement and fulfillment of that emotion were not for her.
Duty and responsibility must stand in their stead. Then she realized that even as she told herself this, her gaze had strayed quite unaccountably to the handsome stranger who now sat silent on the other side of the carriage.
Chapter Two
Jedidiah opened his eyes and surveyed the elaborately corniced ceiling with a strange sense of displacement. He reared straight up in the huge four-poster bed. As he took in the blue-paneled walls, the heavy oak furniture and the long brocade curtains at the tall windows, the events of the previous night all came back to him in a rush of memory.
He was at Briarwood. The name of the sprawling mansion had been supplied to him by the liveried manservant who had seen him to his room. Even in the soft glow of the moonlight, Jed had been able to recognize that Victoria’s three-story sandstone manor house was remarkable in size and structure. The main section was decorated by heavy cornice and sculpted window frames. It was flanked by two equally impressive wings that jutted backward over luxurious lawns. He realized that Victoria’s house must certainly rival any of those owned by the queen herself.
Lady Victoria’s manor house, he reminded himself as he threw back the covers, then strode across the room to take up his pants from the beige-striped satin chair where he had left them. He would be wise to keep things on a formal footing between himself and the beguiling mistress of Briarwood manor. When he agreed to protect the woman until she found herself a husband, he’d had no idea what he was getting himself into.
She’d said her father had been a duke, and Jed knew that having a title meant something significant here in England. But, being American, he had not been completely cognizant of the implications of the term.
Seeing the house, the liveried servants, the sheer grandeur of the manor’s interior, which had been obvious even in the dim glow of the candles that lit the way last night, Jed understood that he had stepped into deep water. He had the feeling Victoria Thorn was someone at the very height of her social class. This realization did not please him in any way. Because of what he had agreed to do, he would be forced to mingle with the most arrogant and useless members of English society. In his experience, the more important the wealthy and highly placed felt, the more thoughtless and ignorant they were.
He wanted to find Victoria Thorn and tell her that he’d changed his mind, that she hadn’t made the situation clear. But he knew he wouldn’t do that. He’d given his word, and that was that.
What he could do was get on with the business of getting her married as quickly as possible. Once he helped Lady Victoria find herself a suitable husband, then located Nina, he would be on his way with his son. With that thought firmly fixed in his mind, Jed held out his pants in preparation for stepping into them.
At that same moment, there was a soft scratching at the bedroom door. He looked toward it, then down at his own bare length, with a frown of discomfiture. He called out, “Wait one-”
The door swung open.
A female, obviously a serving woman, judging by her dress and the fact that she held a wide silver tray in her hands, stood in the opening. Behind her, her eyes going wide even as a dark flush rose up to stain her cheeks, was none other than Lady Victoria herself.
Jed hurried to cover himself, but not before he took note of the fact that Lady Victoria’s wide gray gaze came to light on that most male part of him. Even though the expression of curious wonder and amazement in those eyes was short-lived and quickly replaced by shock, his body’s reaction was immediate and unwelcome. He told himself that the forced celibacy of the ocean crossing was the reason for his physical response. It had nothing at all to do with the unseemly fascination in that fleeting glance.
To his further dismay, Jed felt the heat of a blush rise up to color his own cheeks. He had no memory of the last time he had blushed at anything, let alone at having a woman see him without his pants on.
Determinedly he clutched his pants tightly to him, hoping he had moved quickly enough to keep the lady from seeing the evidence of his arousal. He was fairly certain she had never beheld a man in the buff before.
What she might make of it, he had no idea. Judging from her behavior last night, Victoria was not like the women he had known of her class. Her mature manner, undeniable courage, and poise in the face of nearly being kidnapped were proof of that. But he would be willing to bet that she was completely innocent in the carnal se
nse.
Yet what could he do? Jed looked into her face, quirking a brow as he shrugged. “Is there something I can do for you?” This seemed to at last bring her out of her dazed state.
“Oh, dear,” she muttered, raising her hand to cover her mouth, then turning her back to him. “Please forgive me. I had no idea. I did not consider…Clara and I will leave you alone now.”
Jed’s gaze went to Clara, who was watching him with unconcealed appreciation in her blue eyes. For some reason, he had forgotten the maid, who he now saw was quite attractive, with her golden-blond hair peeking out from beneath her mobcap to curl around her fine features. To his surprise, he felt no pleasure in seeing her appreciative reaction to him, only indifference.
This caused him to scowl anew, though he was not prepared to question the cause of his disinterest.
Victoria Thorn spoke again, drawing his attention to her. The rigid line of her slender back was not alleviated by the soft yellow fabric of the gown she wore. “I will await you in the drawing room. The footman at the bottom of the stairs will direct you.”
With that, she grabbed an arm of the obviously reluctant Clara and left without even shutting the door. As Jed moved to close it, he saw the servant throw one last peep over her left shoulder. He slammed the tall oak portal, then leaned back against it as he drew on his pants.
It was only a few minutes later that Jed left the room and made his way down the wide hallway, with growing discomfort. Last night he had had the vague impression of high ceilings and thick carpets. Now, in the light that streamed through the tall windows at either end of the hall, he was struck by the sheer magnitude of the wealth that had bought so much luxury. The walls were lined with fine works of art, which had no doubt been painted by great masters. Grecian statues graced velvet-lined recesses, and rested atop small carved tables that must be considered works of art in themselves.
Lady Thorn Page 3
