‘That’s the spirit, darling. Play them at their own game.’
‘I’m severely tempted but we mustn’t forget that we are here primarily for Megan’s benefit, and if I did something so crass it would not reflect well upon her.’ Olivia sighed dramatically, her lips twitching as she attempted to hold back a smile. ‘There’s no help for it. I shall just have to bide my time before putting the gossips in their place.’
‘I wish I could tell them what a lucky reprieve they’ve earned themselves.’
‘Well, you know what they say about revenge and the best temperature at which to serve it.’
Jake laughed as he glanced around the crowded room. The smile left his lips when he noticed Miranda standing to one side, watching him with a rapacious expression. Hepplewaite’s son spoke animatedly to her but she didn’t seem to be paying him much attention. Gowned in scarlet silk that was guaranteed to get her noticed, Jake considered that the choice reflected her true character. For the only time in his recollection he had reason to be grateful to his worthless brother. If Edward hadn’t tempted Miranda away from him, simply out of spite, Jake would by now most likely be stuck in a mésalliance of epic proportions.
‘Is that her?’ Olivia asked, turning her eyes in Miranda’s direction.
‘Hmm.’
‘I thought as much.’
‘I wonder how you knew.’
‘Well now, let’s see. She is outstandingly beautiful. I would say that is a prerequisite for any woman who attracts your interest, but for the fact that it would make me sound vain.’
‘Or truthful. And just so that you know, Miranda couldn’t hold a candle to you.’
Olivia smiled up at him. ‘I also knew it must be her since of all the females glowering at me and looking longingly at you, she is the only one I have observed who has eyes exclusively for you. Be careful, Jake.’ He sensed a fine tremor pass through her body. ‘She’s out to make trouble for us.’
Jake patted the gloved hand resting on his sleeve.
‘Ah,’ he said as the opening stanza of a waltz drifted above the cacophony of noise. ‘May I have the pleasure?’
‘Indeed you may, my lord.’
There was a smattering of applause as Jake swung Olivia into his arms and onto the dance floor. They had it to themselves for a moment or two but were soon joined by enough couples to block Jake’s view of Miranda.
‘I don’t believe we have ever danced before,’ Olivia said musingly. ‘I wonder why not.’
‘Our interactions have always involved kidnappings, chasing murderers or running blackmailers to ground. This is probably safer.’
The sea of bodies around them momentarily parted, exposing a view of Miranda still standing on the side lines. Jake wondered why she wasn’t dancing, unable to believe that no one had asked her. The fact that she preferred to constantly glower in his direction made him uneasy. People would notice. Those with long memories would recall that he and Miranda had once been close and her avid interest in him tonight would fuel their speculations about Jake’s choice of a bride.
‘I am unsurprised to discover that you dance superbly,’ Olivia said. ‘I feel as though my feet are floating above the floor. Then again, perhaps I constantly trample on your toes and it is they that lift me up.’
Jake laughed as he swung her into a turn. ‘My toes remain untrampled upon, thus far.’
The dance came to an end. Isaac and Eva, who had also waltzed, joined them as they left the floor and joined Megan and Charles.
‘I saw you with the Cantrells,’ Olivia said. ‘How did it go?’
‘Charles was marvellous and reduced them to a state of speechless disbelief,’ Megan replied, smiling broadly.
‘Megan didn’t do so badly herself,’ Charles replied with undisguised pride in his tone. ‘Joseph didn’t know how to respond. And,’ he added, choking on a laugh, ‘she addressed the dowager countess as “Mama-in-Law”.’
Olivia and Eva both burst into peals of laughter.
‘Well done, Megan!’ Olivia cried. ‘She will probably need to lie down in a darkened room to recover from the shock.’
‘Oh I do hope so,’ Megan replied. ‘She really does despise me, you know. I had hoped that given time…’ She sighed. ‘However, at least now I know for sure.’
‘She doesn’t deserve you,’ Eva said.
The conversation turned more general and Jake, scanning the crowd for a sign of Thorndike, took little part in it. The man didn’t have a great deal of time for social activities but was unlikely to miss this one, especially if Jake’s suspicions about him were correct. He noticed Thorndike’s tall, angular body positioned where he expected to find it, standing in a corner, sipping occasionally from the glass he held in his hand as he faced outwards and watched the throng. He had a good view but no one could creep up behind him and stab him in the back. A wise precaution. He’d crossed swords with many of the gentlemen in this room at various times and more than one of them wouldn’t be sorry to see him quit the political scene.
Permanently.
Jake had to speak with him before Miranda had an opportunity to say or do something to his and Olivia’s detriment.
‘I shall be but a moment, if you will excuse me,’ he said to Olivia. ‘Stay with Charles and Isaac, my love,’ he added, nodding towards Thorndike for his friends’ benefit.
Charles inclined his head. ‘Naturally,’ he said.
Jake had almost reached Thorndike when Miranda blocked his path.
‘Good evening,’ he said politely.
‘Is it?’ She twirled her fan by its strap. ‘That rather depends upon whether you have considered my proposition.’
‘Oh that.’ He flapped a negligent hand. ‘I didn’t take it seriously.’
She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘A stupid error. The woman must have turned your head since I never thought you lacked wits.’
‘I do not give in to blackmail, Miranda,’ he replied tightly. ‘And in case you were thinking of approaching Olivia, I would advise against it. I told her all the particulars of our recent conversation and she has nothing to say to you. She knows you represent no threat to us because I have no personal interest in you.’
‘How sweetly naïve of her.’ But Jake noticed a flash of anger pass through her admittedly lovely eyes.
‘Since you cannot hold any damning evidence against me because none exists, and since I shall not hesitate to sue for defamation of character if you attempt to spread any rumours to the contrary, you had best find another man to irritate.’
‘An irritation, am I?’ Jake inwardly cursed. Knowing just how vain she was, he ought to have chosen his words with greater care. ‘Don’t underestimate me, Jake. You wouldn’t be the first man who did so and lived to regret it.’ She closed the distance between them and tapped his chest with her fan. ‘Your family are in my debt and I fully intend to collect.’
Jake’s temper was in danger of erupting and he didn’t trust himself to respond. With an abrupt nod he turned on his heel and left her without a word, glad to see Thorndike still standing where he had last seen him. Unsurprised to observe that he had also been watching Jake’s exchange with Miranda.
‘Torbay.’ Thorndike’s hooded gaze never once stopped scanning the crowd as he acknowledged Jake’s presence. A tall, exceptionally thin man with sharp, pointed features and deep-set eyes, he always wore the plainest of black, putting Jake in mind of a rangy crow.
‘I was not aware that you were acquainted with Miranda Southcott.’
Jake’s opening gamut succeeded in drawing Thorndike’s full attention, even though the bland expression on his bloodless face gave none of his inner thoughts away. Thorndike’s expressions never did, which was one of the reasons why he was so good at what he did. Jake sometimes wondered if he possessed any natural feelings whatsoever. He had never seen him escorting a woman, hadn’t heard rumours that his predilections ran in unnatural directions, or that he frequented whorehouses. Jake didn’t even know where he li
ved or who his family were. He had just always been there, protecting his political masters with a tenacity that Jake sometimes admired but usually found annoying.
‘Whatever makes you suppose that I am?’
Typical Thorndike. Always question everything. Never give anything away. Unfortunately for him, Jake was fully acquainted with the rules of that particular game and played it almost as well as Thorndike.
Would almost be enough?
‘Call her off,’ Jake said laconically. ‘If you require my services and think that threatening my reputation is the best way to secure them, then you don’t know me half as well as you think you do.’
‘Does Olivia know?’ he asked after a prolonged pause.
Jake released the breath he’d subconsciously held in. The fact that Thorndike didn’t pretend to misunderstand him was highly suspicious. What was he up to? It was unwise ever to relax in Thorndike’s company. He so enjoyed his games of cat and mouse, lulling an opponent into a false sense of security until he relaxed his guard. And then pouncing.
‘About Edward? Every sordid detail.’
‘Edward?’ Thorndike frowned, giving a convincing impression of confusion. ‘I meant does she know that you and Miranda were once so intimate?’
Jake was furious when he permitted his surprise to show, thereby giving Thorndike the upper hand. ‘Why did you drop hints to Miranda about Edward’s death?’ he asked.
Thorndike’s surprised reaction was so fleetingly that Jake would have missed it had he not been studying his adversary quite so closely and had he not known him quite so well. At that moment he looked as close to being human as Jake had ever seen him. ‘Miranda approached me about you. She’s residing with the Hepplewaites, I had occasion to call there to discuss certain government business with Hepplewaite, and your name came up during the course of general conversation. She made a point of asking me when we were briefly alone if I thought you were serious about wedding Olivia.’ He lifted his bony shoulders. ‘Why she imagined I would know, or have any opinion upon the matter even if I did, I cannot say. But I did recall there was some unpleasantness when Edward took her from you and…well, I‒’
‘You sensed an opportunity to use a little persuasion.’ Jake permitted his disgust to be apparent in his tone. ‘You really must be desperate. But wasn’t raising any suspicions at all about the nature of Edward’s death dangerous? Especially considering that Miranda couldn’t keep a secret if her life depended upon it.’
‘There was no danger to me. I wasn’t there.’
‘Of course you weren’t. Parker and I can attest to that fact,’ Jake said, his voice hardening. ‘Or not.’
‘You forget that there were three other witnesses who would see it my way.’
Jake shot him a venomous look. ‘One’s dead, one’s taken holy orders and would never lie. It’s a sin, you know…although you probably don’t. And the other is in the Indies. Don’t oppose me on this, Thorndike. Just call her off.’
‘I said nothing to her about the nature of Edward’s demise. I thought you knew me better than that.’
‘Excuse me if I don’t believe you.’
He clutched a hand to the left side of his chest. ‘You pierce my heart with your insults.’
Jake grunted. ‘You have no heart to be pierced.’
‘Ouch!’ Thorndike, his heart still in perfect working order, took a sip of his drink. Jake would be very surprised if it contained any alcohol. Alcohol caused men to lose their senses and Jake had never seen Thorndike out of control. ‘About that business we discussed. It really is a vital matter of national security.’
‘Blackmail has failed you, so you attempt to call upon my patriotism.’ Jake shook his head, at a loss for words. ‘Just call her off,’ he said, walking away.
As he made his way back to Olivia, pausing to acknowledge acquaintances as he went, he had an unsettling feeling about Thorndike’s responses. He had denied outright saying anything to Miranda about Edward, and had actually allowed his mask to slip for a moment or two when Jake had made the suggestion. Thorndike seldom gave direct answers and never, in Jake’s recollection, made outright denials. Was he innocent? And if he was, where had Miranda come up with the idea that Edward’s death had not been accidental?
His anxiety increased as he squeezed past wide skirts and inconveniently clustered matrons, all of whom appeared to have something to say to him. Words of advice to which he was obliged to listen with polite inattention. He noticed Thorndike crossing the room and entering into animated—well, animated by his standards, manifested in the occasional wave of a hand—with Miranda. Jake felt the full force of Miranda’s angry glower directed towards him. He was oddly disappointed to have it confirmed through his actions that Thorndike actually had imparted a little of the information he held against Jake.
Disappointed but not surprised.
***
Olivia tried not to permit her attention to continually drift towards Jake as, with his back to the room, he engaged in concentrated conversation with Thorndike.
‘He knows what he’s doing,’ Isaac said, probably sensing her unease. That unease didn’t dissipate when Isaac too kept glancing Jake’s way.
‘I certainly hope so.’ She smiled at Megan. ‘How are you enjoying your first society ball?’ she asked.
‘I feel like a pariah,’ she replied, shuddering.
‘She is doing splendidly,’ Charles replied at the same time.
‘It’s insufferably hot in here,’ Olivia said, fanning her face violently. She also felt increasingly queasy. It had been the same when she’d been carrying Tom. Most ladies suffered from discomfort in the mornings. For her it occurred when she was in crowded places or was required to stand for long periods of time. She hadn’t confided in Jake, of course. He would most likely have tried to stop her from attending tonight if he’d been aware of her mild difficulty.
‘You do look a little flushed,’ Isaac said. ‘There is an ante-room over yonder that’s a little less crowded and you can probably find somewhere to sit.’
Olivia suppressed a smile. Eva had obviously told Isaac her secret.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘That’s very considerate of you.’
‘We shall continue to circulate,’ Charles said. ‘I don’t want Megan to give the impression that she’s hiding.’
‘Go ahead,’ Olivia said. ‘And good luck to you.’
Olivia linked arms with Eva as Isaac guided them in the direction of the room that he’d noticed. They passed a door on the way there that led to the ladies’ withdrawing room. It was a facility that Olivia’s pregnancy required her to use frequently and she excused herself for that purpose. Two other ladies, engaged in animated conversation, stopped talking abruptly when she walked in, leading Olivia to suppose that she had been the topic of their conversation. She used the convenience and then washed her hands, wondering where the attendant could possibly be, and why no other ladies had come into the room.
One of the cubicle doors opened and she noticed a flash of red silk in the periphery of her vision.
But that was all Olivia saw.
The next moment a thick shawl was thrown over her head, a strong hand grasped her upper arm hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. She was pushed forward with so much force that she almost fell. Only the man’s fingers digging harshly into her flesh kept her on her feet.
‘What the devil do you think you’re doing?’ she demanded, her voice muffled by the shawl. ‘Release me at once.’
He responded by giving her another hefty shove. Olivia’s natural reaction was to fight. Passivity didn’t come naturally to her. She was furious at the man for having the temerity to handle her in such a brutish fashion…or to handle her at all. Then she considered her unborn child and the desire to fight left her. Instead she became docile, putting up no physical resistance at all as she walked docilely in the direction the man wanted her to take. But her mind continued to work at a frantic rate. Her abductor had somehow got rid of t
he attendant, prevented other ladies from entering the room and managed to smuggle a man into it.
How?
The answer became apparent when the man, cursing and complaining beneath his breath, dragged her in the opposite direction to the one Olivia had expected him to take.
‘Get the door,’ he said tersely.
She felt cool air touch her bare shoulders and arms and realised that the withdrawing room must have an outside door that led directly to the terrace. Before she could assimilate what was happening to her, she was lifted from the ground and thrown into a carriage. The door slammed shut behind her and it moved off at a fast pace. With a sinking heart she realised that by the time she was missed and a search had been mounted, it would be too late to rescue her.
She was on her own.
Chapter Sixteen
Jake glanced back at Thorndike and Miranda as he crossed the room and called himself all sorts of a fool for almost being taken in by a master manipulator. Of course it had to be Thorndike who had let slip particulars of Edwards’ death. The co-conspirators were standing close together and appeared to be arguing. Young Hepplewaite, Miranda’s devoted shadow, was still at her side and tried to intervene. He was ignored by them both.
‘You called Thorndike’s bluff?’ Isaac asked as Jake reached him.
‘Without mentioning the document.’
‘How did you manage that?’
Jake snorted. ‘I tried emotional blackmail.’
‘Good heavens! Whatever put the idea into your head that Thorndike has emotions?’
Jake lifted one shoulder. ‘I will not be coerced, no matter what the consequences. Olivia would have my hide if I allowed Thorndike to get the better of me. As she puts it, she’s weathered one scandal and can do so again, if necessary. Besides, it’s a matter of principle. If he doesn’t call Miranda off then I will tell him about the document that already exists and the one that I plan to draw up and lodge with my lawyers, stating that if anything suspicious happens to me or anyone close to me, then Thorndike should be looked upon as prime suspect.’ A muscle in Jake’s jaw flexed and hardened. ‘But I don’t think it will come to that. Thorndike is nobody’s fool.’
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