by Amelia Grey
“There’s nothing to take care of, Miss Swift.” Mr. Chambers grunted in disdain. “The dog was lost, but now I’ve found him.”
From the corner of her eye, Esmeralda saw Lady Sara and Mr. Lambert approach them. “I’m going to need more of an explanation, sir.”
Mr. Chambers patted Napoleon’s head and the dog licked him again. “I told you. He belongs to my granddaughter, Gracie. She and her family were here visiting with me from Manchester about a year ago when Spook ran off chasing a cat. He never returned.”
Another cold shiver shook Esmeralda. She and Josephine had found Napoleon wet and shivering by their door just about a year ago.
“We searched the area from morning until evening for several days and couldn’t find him. Now I know why. He was locked behind your garden walls.”
“That’s not true!” Josephine said defiantly, crossing her arms over her chest with jerking motions.
Rigid with fear, still trying to process what was happening, Esmeralda’s fingers dug into the top of her sister’s bony shoulders. “Quiet and let me handle this.”
“I had no idea he was only a few streets away until mere moments ago,” the man continued, ignoring Josephine’s outburst.
“We don’t live here, Mr. Chambers. We are only visiting.”
He harrumphed. “Then it was fate that had me walking to the mews at the right time. I saw this girl walking with Spook outside your yew hedge. When I called to her, Spook recognized me and started barking straightaway. He wanted to greet me.” He looked down at Josephine sneeringly while running a thick short hand down Napoleon’s long coat. “But she grabbed him and ran inside. And then locked the gate against me!”
“You probably scared her to death,” Lady Sara said, speaking up for the first time. “A big man like you running after such a little girl. Have you no shame?”
The man huffed at Lady Sara as she looked at him contemptuously.
“Josephine?” Esmeralda whispered her name. “You disobeyed me and went outside the garden?”
She looked up at Esmeralda. Tears had collected in her big, scared green eyes. “I had to,” she sniffed. “I threw the stick over the fence, and Napoleon wanted to go get it.”
“And it’s a good thing she did,” Mr. Chambers added. “Otherwise, I might never have known that you’d taken Spook as your own.”
“His name is Napoleon,” Josephine demanded fiercely, not giving up an inch of ground. “Your granddaughter lost him. She didn’t take good care of him. I found him. That makes him mine.”
“You can say that as often as you want but I’m afraid this has no bearing on the fact that the dog is rightfully my Gracie’s. As you can see, the dog knows who I am.”
Yes, Esmeralda could see that Napoleon knew the man, but how could she let him take Napoleon from Josephine? She had to think, and that meant first things first.
She turned to Mr. Lambert and Lady Sara. “I’m sorry for interrupting your afternoon together, but I’m going to have to ask Mr. Lambert to leave. I have to take care of this matter right now and can’t be available to the two of you.”
“I understand, Miss Swift,” Mr. Lambert said softly. “But perhaps I should stay. I’m willing to help in any way that you ask.”
The young man’s sweet words made Esmeralda feel like crying. “That’s very kind of you, Mr. Lambert. Thank you for offering, but I’ll manage fine. Sparks and Lady Sara will see you out. I hope you’ll be able to come another afternoon.”
“I will, Miss Swift.”
Mr. Lambert, Lady Sara, and Sparks walked away. Esmeralda turned back to Mr. Chambers. “I must ask that you reconsider your position on this. I would assume your granddaughter has already adjusted to the loss of Napol—Spook—and while she would—”
“Say, no more, Miss Swift,” he said, holding his hand up to stop her. “Gracie loved this dog. She was heartbroken when we couldn’t find him. I shall return him to her.”
“It’s heartbreaking, I know, for two girls to love the same dog, but I can’t let you take Napoleon from my sister.”
“There’s nothing you can do to stop me. He is my granddaughter’s property. I’m taking him back to her.”
“He’s been mine for over a year now.” Josephine’s voice was shrill, harsh, and loud. “You can’t take him.”
“I refuse to respond to a child,” Mr. Chambers said.
Napoleon woofed a couple of times and struggled to get down, but the man held him firmly. He had been happy to see the man, but now it was as if he sensed exactly what was being said and he wanted to get down and go back to Josephine.
“I’m sure we can come to terms about this. I will be willing to pay you whatever—”
Mr. Chambers snorted derisively. “That is insulting, Miss Swift.”
She gave him a hard stare. “Be that as it may, I’m not going to let you take Napoleon away from my sister.”
“You have no choice. You know the law will be on my side concerning this. I hope you don’t let it come to that.”
He whirled on his heels and started stomping down the corridor. Josephine jerked away from Esmeralda and ran after Mr. Chambers. Catching up with him in the vestibule, she started hitting him in the back with her small fists and kicking the backs of his legs with her feet while screaming, “No! You can’t have him! He’s mine! Give him back!”
Napoleon yelped again and scratched to get down.
Esmeralda grabbed for Josephine’s thrashing arms and fists while Lady Sara tried to pull the man’s coat from Josephine’s grasp. As soon as she did Mr. Chambers rushed past Sparks, flung open the door, and disappeared.
“He’s my dog!” Josephine cried. “Bring him back! Bring Napoleon back to me!”
Shaking from anger, Esmeralda wrapped her arms tightly around Josephine and held her. “Shh, don’t cry, my darling.”
Josephine cried even harder. “He’s mine! I want him back. He’s mine!”
“I know, I know,” Esmeralda answered as soothingly as she could, but her heart was breaking too. She rocked back and forth trying to calm her sister. If only Griffin were there to help her know what to do. Surely, he could have kept Mr. Chambers from taking Napoleon.
Josephine’s slim body shook and trembled with rage and brokenheartedness. Esmeralda felt helpless to lessen her pain. Her sister had been just as upset when she’d lost her father. It took days for her to calm down and stop crying. Esmeralda looked from Sparks to Lady Sara, but knew they couldn’t help either. Their faces showed they were upset by what happened too.
Her throat and chest ached with unshed tears.
“It will be all right, my sweet,” she whispered again, brushing Josephine’s damp hair away from her face. “We’ll find a way to get Napoleon.”
Lady Sara laid a comforting hand on Josephine’s shoulder. “I do hate to see you so upset. Maybe the duke can help us get Napoleon back for you.”
Esmeralda gave Lady Sara an appreciative smile. “We can ask him and see what he thinks. He might be able to.”
When Josephine’s screams and crying finally quieted, Esmeralda loosened her hold.
“I’m going to get him back now!” Josephine said and tore away from Esmeralda’s arms. Sparks reached for Josephine but missed as she swung open the door and went flying out.
“Josephine! Come back!”
Esmeralda hurried after her sister but Josephine was already down the steps and out to the street. The man was nowhere to be seen but that didn’t stop Josephine. She simply started running down the road.
Esmeralda picked up her skirts and rushed after her.
Chapter 25
Don’t let sudden anger rule your actions. Do be sedate in all reactions.
MISS MAMIE FORTESCUE’S DO’S AND DON’TS FOR CHAPERONES, GOVERNESSES, TUTORS, AND NURSES
Griffin hopped up onto the seat of his curricle and picked up the ribbons. He clicked the strips of leather on the rumps of the horses a couple of times and they took off with a rattle of harness and
rumble of wheels.
The visit with Sir Welby hadn’t yielded anything new, except maybe that he’d been more guarded with Griffin. He really couldn’t blame the man. It was the third time Griffin had been to see him about what he’d overheard that night at White’s. And for the third time Sir Welby had remained firm that he’d heard the young bucks suggest that someone needed to teach Griffin a lesson and ruining his sisters seemed a good way to do it. Griffin was doubting the truth of Sir Welby’s tale because there’d been no trouble, and the gossip about it had almost dried up. It wasn’t that Griffin wasn’t grateful that nothing had happened. He was, but he didn’t like the thought of being the center of a hoax either.
The Season would be over in a couple of weeks and Griffin couldn’t wait. Whether or not either sister would be off the marriage mart was anyone’s guess. Vera certainly had her hankie set for Lord Henry, and Mr. Lambert could hardly leave Sara alone in the evenings. Neither sister seemed to be making much progress in that area, but several engagements had already been announced from the new flock of debutantes.
There was no one ahead of him on the street, so he flipped the ribbons again, forcing the horses to pick up their pace. He wanted to see Esmeralda. No, he wanted more than just to see her. He wanted to hold her, feel her soft body in his arms again. Tightly. He wanted to kiss her thoroughly. He desired her. No question about that. He desired her to the point it distracted him from all the things he needed to be doing. All he could think about was being with her. Often. No question about that either.
And, he’d finally come up with a plan on how to make that happen.
Vera had finally accepted a ride in Hyde Park with Lord Henry so he didn’t have to worry about her being at Mayfair. Lambert was visiting with Sara at Mayfair, but what young blade could resist the opportunity to be seen in a brand-new curricle? Griffin was going to suggest Lambert take the curricle for a jaunt around the neighborhood and have Lady Sara accompany him. That would give him a few minutes alone with Esmeralda.
A young buck on an older curricle went racing by Griffin. The horses kicked up a cloud from a road that hadn’t seen rain in several days. Griffin smiled and muttered an oath. He slowed his horses so he wouldn’t have to breathe in the dusty air as it settled on his hat and shoulders. It amused him to think he used to be just as careless and reckless. Now, instead of thinking about how fast his horse could run or if he’d win the next wager, he was thinking about Miss Esmeralda Swift.
Somehow, for the past few days, he managed not to seek out Esmeralda when she was alone. It’d been damn hard, though, and he’d finally reached his limit of endurance. He was counting the days until she was no longer in his employ. At the parties, he continued to engage with Miss Froste, Miss Waldegrave, and other young ladies by dancing and talking with them. They were all lovely, acceptable, and available, but not a one of them interested him.
Esmeralda was the only one who consumed his thoughts, and left him aching to see her again. Every evening he’d watch other men looking at her. Some, like Rath, had even tried to get her to dance with them. She always declined. Was she doing that because she was as intent on Griffin as he was her, or was she merely saying no because of her position in his house?
Griffin stopped the curricle in front of his Mayfair house and jumped down. After tethering the horses and securing the ribbons, he reached back onto the floor of the small carriage and picked up a bouquet of flowers for his aunt. He would see her before he left.
Griffin opened the door of his home and stepped inside. The day had been warm enough he hadn’t needed his cloak, but he left his hat, gloves, and the flowers on the vestibule table. Usually Sparks could hear the front door open and come running, but all was quiet in the house.
He walked down the corridor, rounded the entranceway to the drawing room, and stopped dead still. Sara was wrapped in the arms of Mr. Lambert and they were kissing madly. Her dress was off one shoulder. Griffin glanced around the room. Esmeralda was nowhere in sight.
“What the devil is going on here?” he asked striding into the room.
The two separated like a rock shot from a sling.
“Griffin?” Sara gasped, pulling her dress back onto her shoulder.
Anger rose up in Griffin. It was Lambert all along. He was trying to ruin Sara’s reputation. Where was Esmeralda? He’d hired her just so this wouldn’t happen.
“Your Grace,” Lambert said. “We—we’re glad you’re here.”
If Griffin hadn’t been so angry at the moment, he would have laughed. That was about the stupidest remark the man could’ve made. “You’re glad I’m here. Well, that’s good because I’m glad I’m here too.” He glanced at Sara. “And it looks like I got here just in time.”
“Don’t be upset, Griffin,” Sara said, nervously working the neckline of her dress. “It was just a little kiss.”
“Little?” He inhaled deeply, thinking he wasn’t nearly as upset with Sara as he was with her chaperone. “Where’s Esmeralda?”
“She went to find Josephine,” Sara answered with tears pooling in her big blue eyes.
Josephine?
Esmeralda left his sister alone in the house with a man to go to her sister.
Griffin’s anger grew. It wasn’t that he was so angry about the kiss between Lambert and Sara. Hell, he’d kissed more than his share of innocent young ladies. It was that Esmeralda had left them alone. He’d trusted her to watch after his sisters. Esmeralda betrayed him. Betrayed his faith in her.
“The kiss just happened, Your Grace,” Lambert said, taking a nervous step toward Griffin. “We didn’t—I mean I didn’t plan to kiss her. I swear it. Don’t be angry with Lady Sara, Your Grace.”
Griffin advanced on the man. “Don’t tell me what to do, Lambert.”
“Yes, Your Grace—I mean no, Your Grace. I won’t tell you what to do. But I don’t want you angry with Lady Sara either. If you are going to be angry with anyone it should be me. It was my fault.”
“All right, I’ll be angry with you.” Griffin grabbed the man by the bow of his neckcloth. “You’re damned right it was your fault.”
“Griffin, no!” Sara exclaimed. “It was mine! Don’t hurt him. It was all my fault.”
The blame lay squarely at Esmeralda’s feet.
“I’d like to explain what happened,” Lambert said. “There was this—”
Griffin let go of him with a shove and said, “I don’t want to hear what you have to say. Get out of my house before I do something we’ll both regret. And don’t let me see you near either of my sisters again.”
Sara grabbed Griffin’s arm. “You can’t tell him that.”
He didn’t take his gaze of Lambert. “I just did. Now get out.”
“Your Grace, if you’d let me or Lady Sara explain.”
Griffin didn’t want to hear from anyone but Esmeralda. “Leave Lambert. Now,” he said quietly.
“Yes, Your Grace.” He looked at Sara and hurried from the room.
“You are a horrible brother, Griffin. If I can’t speak to Mr. Lambert ever again, then I will never speak to you again either.”
“You’ll change your mind about that once you realize all that he really wanted was to ruin you for marriage to any other man.”
“That’s not true,” she declared. “I don’t want any other man. I want to marry him.”
“Has he asked you to marry him, Sara?”
Her eyes blinked rapidly. She didn’t answer.
“Has he asked you to marry him?”
“No,” she said, her anger at him suddenly changing to sorrow. “But he will. I know he will.”
“But he hasn’t.”
Sara’s bottom lip trembled.
Griffin hated seeing her upset, hated treating her so coldly, but she needed to face a few facts about men. They don’t get as emotional about a few kisses and it doesn’t mean they want to marry whomever they were kissing.
That might happen only if Griffin decided to force Lambert into it.<
br />
Esmeralda came rushing into the drawing room. “Your Grace, Lady Sara, I saw Mr. Lambert leaving.”
“Griffin is an ogre,” Lady Sara cried. “He’s the worst brother a sister could ever have. I’m never going to speak to him again.”
Griffin was aware of Sara running from the room, but his gaze never left Esmeralda’s face. She was flushed and out of breath, as if she’d run a long distance. Tendrils of her hair had fallen from her chignon and framed her face. Even though she’d let him down, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
“What is going on?” Esmeralda asked.
She looked worried. No, more than worried—panicked. But then she had good reason to panic. She’d been caught neglecting his sisters. “If you’d been here, you would know.”
She blinked rapidly. “I had to go to Josephine.”
“So I heard. You had to go to your sister while you are being paid to watch mine.”
He heard her suck in a deep breath. “That’s not fair.”
“Is it true?”
“Yes. I left Lady Sara to go after Josephine, but Sara was fine when I left her.”
At least she wasn’t denying her guilt.
“When I came in she was wrapped in Lambert’s arms with her dress off her shoulder. Thankfully I arrived before things went too far.”
Her eyes widened as she took a step toward him. “But how did that happen?”
“Do you really want to ask that, Esmeralda? We know how quickly things can go too far, don’t we?”
Her gaze dropped to the floor. “Yes, we do. Was she harmed?”
He knew his harsh words had stung her, but she’d left Sara vulnerable to something far worse.
“It doesn’t appear so, but obviously he was out to harm her. I guess you were wrong about Lambert’s intentions.”
“Yes, I must have been. I’m sorry. I should have been here.”
She looked up at him with those gorgeous golden-brown eyes, full of remorse, pain, and tears. Something moved inside him that he’d never felt before. He didn’t know what it was but he knew this woman was the last person on earth he wanted to hurt. He almost reached for her, but his anger was too raw.
