Beyond the Duke's Domain: Ducal Encounters Series 4 Book 4

by Wendy Soliman

  ‘Perhaps, but even so…’ She glanced up at Raph. ‘What happens now? He has to be stopped.’

  ‘They all have to be stopped, although I can appreciate your personal desire to see Cutler brought to justice. He could be taken in charge easily enough, but unless he is caught red-handed, then he will slip the net as far as the worst of his crimes are concerned. Besides, we have learned from your experience that this is a well-organised gang that treats exposure as a minor inconvenience. It didn’t take them long to resume their trade after your escape and the capture of the then ringleaders, who were clearly expendable.’

  ‘One of them was the duchess’s brother-in-law from her first marriage, did you know that?’

  Raph flexed a brow. ‘I did not even know that she had been previously married.’

  ‘He was a diplomat too. The duchess was very young and her family forced her into marriage. Anyway, her husband’s brother was a constant irritation; lazy and manipulative, which I am told is one of the reasons why he was a perfect person to take all the risks for Lord Basingstoke. Anyone who held a grudge against the duke made a perfect bed-fellow, one supposes.’

  ‘He was short of funds?’

  ‘And resented the duchess because she inherited all of her husband’s property when he died. The brother thought it should have gone to him. I have heard it said that the duchess compensated him, when she need not have done, but the man—Seymour St John, his name was—had designs upon the duchess herself. Needless to say, the duchess had more sense, so if Basingstoke heard of his ill-feeling towards the duke he would have been an easy person to persuade to take all the risks.’

  ‘Why does Basingstoke resent the duke? Do you know their history?’

  ‘I have heard things.’ Ariana stared at the view. Pagan had reappeared, as evidenced by reeds that were swishing when there was little breeze to agitate them. A mother duck gave a warning quack and her babies paddled out of the cat’s reach. ‘Basingstoke’s father almost gambled his estate away and Basingstoke had to work hard to restore it. I have heard him described as aloof and miserly. None of his servants is especially loyal because he pays them so poorly, and he is not popular locally. He fenced in grazing land that had been in common use for decades and had his keepers fire warning shots at anyone attempting to encroach upon it.’

  ‘Hardly the best way to endear himself,’ Raph remarked.

  ‘Quite. Anyway, he fell in love with a lady who declined to marry him, despite the fact that Basingstoke had bought up her father’s vowels and agreed to tear them up if the marriage went ahead.’

  ‘And the father promoted the match?’ Raph shook his head. ‘Outrageous.’

  ‘Quite so. The lady was the dowager duchess’s goddaughter. She came to stay here and fell in love with the artist engaged to paint the duchess’s portrait. Basingstoke saw them together, was enraged to think that she preferred a near penniless Irishman to him and organised a riot in the district, impugning the duke’s honour by attempting to put the blame on him.’

  ‘It’s little wonder that they despise one another, in that case. And such a man had you in his sights, only to be thwarted by the duke for a second time.’ Raph stared off into the distance, watching the ducklings paddling about in the centre of the lake, as though taunting the cat. He understood things much better now and had a double reason to best Basingstoke. ‘I don’t like this, Ariana. He sounds utterly ruthless in the pursuit of both his ambitions and his desire to ruin the duke. You must promise me that you will not leave the estate unescorted until this business is settled. The duke thinks it won’t take much more than a few days.’

  ‘Where would I go?’ she asked vaguely, failing to offer up the required promise. Raph probably noticed the omission but didn’t press her on the point.

  ‘I don’t trust you to behave yourself,’ he said lightly.

  ‘Hmm.’ Ariana plucked abstractedly at her lower lip, feeling the pressure. Suppose she had got it wrong and the voice she had heard had not been Basingstoke’s? Suppose the duke believed her because he wanted it to be so? She would feel foolish and appear ungrateful if she had inadvertently misled them.

  ‘Have the courage of your convictions, little one,’ Raph said, squeezing her hand.

  ‘I suppose you are going to take a look at all the places where the girls might be kept. I want to come.’

  ‘You can’t.’ He raised a hand to cut off her protest. ‘Lord Amos and I will blend in.’ He chuckled at Ariana’s put-upon expression. ‘Trust me, you would stand out like a beacon.’

  ‘I can disguise myself.’

  Raph gave a slow shake of his head. ‘Allow Lord Amos and me to be of service to you. The locations are in rough areas. We ourselves may not be safe. A lady of quality wouldn’t be seen dead in such areas, and if one is foolish enough to venture into them, even in broad daylight, she will be considered fair game.’

  Ariana pouted, unable to see any flaws in Raph’s argument. He had cleverly made her feel as though she would be an impediment. ‘Very well, it seems that I have no choice, but I insist that you keep me informed and don’t try any more of your well-intentioned attempts to protect me.’ She looked away from him, a strand of long hair blowing across her face in the gentle breeze. She pushed it back behind her ear. ‘I saw our mother being repeatedly raped and then murdered, Raph,’ She dashed at an errant tear with the back of her hand. She had cried for days after that dreadful experience and had vowed to cry no more. ‘I saw it with my own eyes and I was powerless to save her. Can you imagine how that made me feel? Well, I expect you can. You have probably seen worse massacres, but this was our Mama and Papa and I failed them.’

  ‘There was nothing you could have done against marauding soldiers,’ Raph replied, grinding his teeth. He gently arrested the progress of another tear that slid down her cheek. ‘You would have suffered the same fate if you’d showed yourself, and so would Martina. Your quick thinking saved you both, so don’t ever blame yourself for something that wasn’t your fault.’

  ‘I hate war!’ she cried passionately. ‘No one ever seems to learn that it’s futile and no one ever really wins.’

  ‘Precisely,’ he said softly. ‘Which is why I have been attempting to mend the damage in our country and encourage the different factions to make peace.’ He looked away from her. ‘I just didn’t realise that in so doing I would put you and Martina in an impossible position.’

  ‘You couldn’t have saved our parents either, if that is what you are thinking.’

  ‘Even so, I should have said no when I was repeatedly asked to undertake just one more mission.’

  ‘I have recurring nightmares,’ Ariana said softly. ‘I hear Mama’s screams and see Papa being cut down when he tried to save her. Does it ever go away?’

  ‘I’d like to reassure you, but I won’t lie. I am sure the dreams don’t come as often as they used to. Am I right?’ She nodded. ‘At times like this when it’s all raked up again, it’s reasonable to suppose that they will come back, but you are safe now and I aim to keep it that way.’

  ‘I have never told anyone about the dreams, but I knew you would understand.’ Ariana slipped her hand into Raph’s and he gave it a reassuring squeeze. ‘You must have seen some dreadful things, and I am sure your demons claim you as well.’

  ‘Sometimes.’

  ‘Well anyway, I expect you to tell me what you see and what you think about the likely locations for Basingstoke’s operation. And to keep me informed of any news about Cutler returning to England. I need to know about that as well. You must give me your word, Raph.’ She clutched his hand so tightly that her nails dug into his palm and fixed him with a look of deep determination. ‘If you feel any guilt about the situation that Martina and I found ourselves in, then you owe me at least that much.’

  ‘I don’t suppose there will be a great deal to tell. We will frequent the taprooms in the respective areas—’

  ‘How tiresome your duty must sometimes feel,’ she said, grinning.<
br />
  ‘You have no idea! Anyway, a lot of useful information can be overheard or purchased in such establishments.’

  ‘True. It is a method that Mr Adler frequently uses, I’m told.’

  Told by whom, Raph wondered. But he decided against asking. ‘We will learn whether there has been any unusual activity in the respective locations, any strangers seen loitering, and then we will be able to make an educated guess and keep the favoured location under observation.’

  ‘Why not observe them all?’

  ‘We very well might. That will be the duke and Lord Romsey’s decision.’

  ‘Very well, annoyingly protective brother,’ Ariana said, kissing his brow and then standing. ‘With that I shall have to be content.’ She allowed a significant pause. ‘For now. But if I even think you are holding out on me…’

  Raph stood too, smiling as he held his hands up defensively. ‘I wouldn’t dare.’

  ‘I should think not. Come, the children will be asking for me.’

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lucy’s party had continued into the early hours, and she slept late the following morning as a consequence. When she made her way downstairs, Petra was in the drawing room but the children were not with her.

  ‘Ah, you are up.’ Petra looked up from the letter she was writing and smiled. ‘Good morning, my dear. Did you enjoy your party?’

  ‘Very much so.’ Lucy bent to kiss her sister’s brow. ‘How could I not when everyone was so very kind, not to mention generous.’ Lucy fingered the silver locket that the duchess had given her and which she hadn’t removed from her neck before going to bed. ‘I didn’t expect anything nearly so extravagant.’

  ‘It was less than you deserved,’ Petra replied, abandoning her letter and seating herself beside Lucy. ‘I am so very proud of the person you have become, and I am not the only one. Our aristocratic neighbours hold you in high esteem.’ Petra chuckled. ‘So, it seems, do some of their more eligible friends.’

  ‘They were pleasant enough, but I have no interest in fortune hunters,’ Lucy replied dismissively. ‘As to the rest, I have you to thank for what I have become. You are the one who made me fit to be received by a duchess.’

  Petra flapped a hand. ‘Oh piffle, you earned that right all by yourself.’

  ‘I know how many sacrifices you made for my sake, and how hard you tried to shield me from the unpleasantness with Papa. I can’t even begin to imagine how worried and alone you must have felt, but you never let it show. I don’t think I’ve ever properly thanked you.’

  ‘If the circumstances had been reversed, I know you would have done the same for me without a second thought.’

  ‘Unquestionably, but that is beside the point. You gave up so much…’

  ‘Things happen for a reason, Lucy. I was as dubious about entering into marriage as you now appear to be. I found it difficult to trust anyone, you see. But then we came here because of Papa’s situation and everything changed. I met Cal, my doubts fell away and I am blissfully happy, so don’t go through life thinking that I’m some kind of martyr.’ She grinned. ‘I deserve no such accolade.’

  ‘Have you had any news of Papa from India recently?’

  ‘Nothing since the last letter from his wife, which arrived three months ago.’ Petra sighed. ‘I resented her when I first learned of her existence, but I think of her very differently now. She was worried for her own life—’

  ‘Because her horrible son was trying to kill her so that he could get to her fortune.’ Lucy wrinkled her nose. ‘He sounds odious.’

  ‘Indeed he does.’ Petra shuddered. ‘But I have got to know Papa’s new wife—our step-mama, I suppose—better during the course of our correspondence and I actually think she is genuinely fond of our father.’

  ‘So she should be,’ Lucy replied, unmoved. ‘He saved her life.’

  ‘And now she is doing the best she can to ensure that he is comfortable for what remains of his own. He is barely lucid, I gather, but she doesn’t go into detail and I don’t ask her for clarification. Papa abandoned us, and although part of me is aware that the balance of his mind was disturbed and he wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing, I still cannot entirely forgive him.’

  ‘Do you think she’s telling the truth about his state of health? I mean, he has never once written to either of us. Could she be exaggerating because…well, I don’t know why she would keep him from us. But then again, she must be aware that she would be shunned if she came to this country calling herself Lady Boyd, so she probably prefers to flaunt her title in her own country, where she will receive more respect.’

  ‘She is Lady Boyd now, darling, whether we like it or not.’ Petra lifted a shoulder. ‘Anyway, short of travelling to India, we have no choice but to accept her word for Papa’s state of health.’

  Lucy nodded, thinking her perspicacious sister must realise that she had hoped to receive word from their father on her birthday. She wondered why she had entertained such a ridiculous desire. Had the past few years taught her nothing? Papa hadn’t communicated directly with either of them since losing his senses. Even if he recalled that he had two daughters, she imagined that remembering their namedays would be beyond his reduced mental powers.

  ‘I no longer bear him any ill will,’ Lucy said. ‘Poor Papa. I think his patriotic loyalties were scandalously exploited by the Foreign Department and that they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.’

  ‘You miss him?’

  ‘Not really. He was never at home that much even before his breakdown. Anyway, how can I resent him when his neglect has resulted in us living comfortably here, and being on intimate terms with a duke and duchess, no less, to say nothing of your own happy circumstances?’

  Petra’s expression turned pensive. ‘You probably think I spend too much time with the children and neglect you.’

  ‘Not at all. I am grown up now, and perfectly able to amuse myself. Your priorities have changed and it’s only natural that you should shower your children with attention. You know how it feels to be neglected.’

  ‘Cal tells me that I am a natural mother and that we should have a dozen children.’

  They both laughed.

  ‘Goodness. You will need a larger house and earplugs. Anyway, that will keep you occupied.’ Lucy flashed a mischievous smile. ‘Or could it be that Cal is simply thinking about the process of creating the children in question?’

  ‘Lucy! What a thing to suggest.’

  Lucy laughed harder. ‘Well, that is what occupies most gentlemen’s minds, is it not?’

  ‘Whom have you been talking to?’

  ‘No one in particular, but I have ears and eyes.’ She tapped her fingers against her knee. ‘Either way, I hope Ariana’s brother won’t allow himself to be manipulated by his own government in the same way Papa was by ours.’

  Petra smiled. ‘That is the second time that you’ve mentioned Mr Sanchez-Gomez’s name to me recently. I do believe that you like him.’

  Lucy blushed and waved the suggestion aside. ‘I am barely acquainted with him.’

  ‘He waltzed with you.’

  ‘Which does not make us joined at the hip.’ Lucy laughed. ‘Leave the poor man alone. He is a complex individual with problems of his own to wrestle with, and whose thoughts will not be turning in the same direction as yours apparently are.’

  ‘It isn’t me who is captivated.’

  ‘Is that what you suppose I am?’ Lucy leaned her chin on her cupped hand, surprised by the suggestion. She hadn’t thought that she had allowed her partiality for Ariana’s compelling brother to show. ‘I find him interesting and very worldly, but he is here to reacquaint himself with his sisters, not to be distracted by her friends.’

  Petra raised a brow. ‘Who is to say that he cannot do both?’

  ‘Leave it, Petra,’ Lucy said, sighing.

  ‘I only want the best for you, which is what I have always wanted. I feel responsible for your wellbeing, and as a mature marrie
d woman of experience, I feel it incumbent upon me to offer you guidance.’

  They shared a look and simultaneously burst out laughing.

  ‘Concentrate on making lots more babies and leave me to find my own path.’ Lucy smiled to take the sting out of her mild reprimand. ‘I am enjoying my freedom and don’t want to think beyond the here and now.’ She paused. ‘Everywhere I go I find myself surrounded by happily married couples, which is most discouraging. I mean, how am I supposed to live up to such high standards? It is all very confusing.’

  ‘You think word of your fortune will circulate and you will be pursued for that reason?’

  ‘Well won’t it?’ Lucy stretched her arms above her head and sighed. ‘At least Papa provided for us, albeit in an unconventional manner. Take Mr Cartwright and his friend. They competed for my attention last night but left Ariana alone. It doesn’t require a stretch of the imagination to figure out why. I mean, which of us is fairer of face?’

  ‘Ariana is lovely inside and out, but so are you.’

  ‘Loyally said, Petra, but we both know that my friend is beyond compare. But as far as anyone is aware, she is also penniless—unless of course, her brother has salvaged some of their wealth in Spain. If he has, I don’t think he’s told Ariana about it. She hasn’t mentioned anything. Anyway, your example of marital fidelity has made me quite determined to avoid that institution unless I fall helplessly in love.’

  ‘Very wise,’ Petra said, clearly trying not to laugh.

  ‘I am glad to see that you are taking me seriously,’ Lucy replied, miffed. ‘But I mean what I say. I am not ready to bear responsibility for children. Perhaps I never will be. The prospect petrifies me.’

  ‘But you adore other people’s children; you always have. I can recall how enchanted you were with the duchess’s baby daughter when we first came here. And you are a very attentive aunt to my two.’