How odd.
The clock ticked the seconds, and Delilah shivered despite herself at the ominous sound. It was a monotonous countdown to the final moments of her life. And then it clicked. Her slow, shock-addled brain made the connection at last. “You were behind the carriage incident.”
Her stepmother smiled as though Delilah were a dull student who’d finally gotten the right answer. “Yes, that was me. Well, that was me and Everley.” Her smile turned affectionate. “He and I make for a wonderful partnership. At long last I’ve found someone who respects my intellect and understands my worth.”
Delilah nearly choked on bile at the thought of her stepmother and Everley plotting her murder together as some sort of romantic interlude.
Her stepmother’s smile faded. “But again with the melodrama. You would not have been killed.” Her lips curved in a momentary sneer. “I would not have cried if you were, but it was not part of the plan.”
Delilah forced herself to refrain from reacting.
“No,” her stepmother said with a weary sigh. “We could not have you die before Everley got your dowry, otherwise all that money and the land Everley needs would end up being passed along to your father’s heir.” She leaned forward. “Even if you’d died, I would still not get what I deserved.” She narrowed her eyes. “Your father never knew what he had in me. He married me and then treated me like I was the hired help. I was your nursemaid and then his.” She trailed off with a sound of disgust.
“If you did not intend to kill me…” Delilah started.
“Well, we could not have you prodding about and stirring up trouble, now could we?” The baroness made it sound so normal. So reasonable. Like they were discussing what dessert to serve at their next soiree. “They would not have killed you, dear.” Her lips curved up slowly. “Though they might have ruined you.”
Delilah fought a shiver at the sheer delight in her stepmother’s eyes.
She’d never fooled herself into thinking her stepmother loved her. She’d never even believed she liked her.
But she’d had no idea the baroness hated her.
“I’ll admit, it would have been a treat to watch the spoiled, perfect daughter be ruined in society…” She sighed regretfully before leaning forward eagerly. “But perhaps you were?” Her eyes lit with an eager glow. “We never did find out who saved you that day, only that he looked like a ruffian.” She clasped her hands together gleefully. “Your precious Miss Grayson might have lied on your behalf but my spies told me you never returned to the school that night. So tell me, princess…” She sneered the nickname that her father had given her as a child. “Did my dreams come true? Did the precious princess finally suffer?”
Finally? Finally? She swallowed down a wave of rage that felt blessedly good after being so frozen in fear. Did this woman truly think she’d never suffered?
She’d spent a lifetime in a household that held no love, and yet her stepmother believed that she’d gone through life without hardship?
She might have been spoiled with material goods, but she’d have given all of that up for a kind word from her stepmother. For a hint of attention or affection from her father.
She shoved the bitter thoughts aside and focused on what mattered.
Rupert.
She might have been caught by her stepmother, and she held little hope of escaping with her stepmother’s men on the prowl. But Rupert was out there, and he would stop Everley, and more than that…
Her stepmother did not know who he was.
He was not in imminent danger so long as he stayed at the docks and dealt with Everley.
Her spine stiffened as she faced down her stepmother as she had a million times before. Delilah could handle the baroness, just so long as Rupert was safe.
Her stepmother was waiting for an answer. “I hate to disappoint you, but the man who rescued me proved to be a gentleman at heart. Far more of a gentleman than the man you’ll be marrying upon my demise.”
She said it sweetly, serenely. For once her sharp tongue and haughty manners served her well.
Delilah caught a flare of fury before her stepmother could cover it.
Had she always been this angry behind that cool façade?
Had she always been so…insane?
She suspected yes. Although, perhaps this was the result of years’ worth of mistreatment at the hands of her father. She, too, had been ignored and undervalued.
Even so, Delilah couldn’t quite summon up any pity, what with her life being threatened and all.
“You have no idea what sort of man Everley is,” her stepmother said once she’d regained her composure. “He is a true nobleman—he takes what he wants, and he uses his power to help those he loves.”
The way her eyes shone made it clear that she believed he loved her.
Delilah leaned forward. “Tell me, my lady, has it ever occurred to you that your precious Lord Everley might just be using you to get to me?”
Her stepmother blinked and then that cold façade slipped so fast Delilah stiffened in shock. She didn’t move away quickly enough though, and her stepmother’s instant fury came out with a swift slap to her cheek that left her head reeling. The side of her face throbbed but even so, a stab of satisfaction had her grinning.
“How do you know he will keep his promise and marry you?” she continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted with a slap. This time she moved back, out of her stepmother’s reach. “How do you know he will not leave you even more desperate and alone than you already are?”
Her stepmother’s face turned a motley red as she lunged out of her settee—the composed baroness nowhere to be seen as she reared toward her. “You ungrateful little—”
Her words were cut off with a screech and Delilah lowered the hands she’d held up in defense as she watched her stepmother be unceremoniously picked up off her feet, her arms and legs swinging wildly as she shrieked.
“That’s enough of that,” Rupert said mildly.
Delilah’s jaw went slack and her eyes grew wide at the sight of Rupert towering over her, her stepmother dangling from beneath one arm like she weighed nothing at all.
His furrowed brow and darkened eyes were filled with a devastating fury. “Are you all right?”
She nodded quickly. “Y-yes.”
His gaze fell to her cheek and his eyes narrowed. He seemed oblivious to the shrieking going on just beneath his arm as her stepmother cried for help.
“I wouldn’t bother,” Rupert responded. “Your men have been dealt with.”
Delilah let out a sigh of relief and pointed to her guard. “Your man, is he…?”
With one foot, Rupert rolled him over and the man groaned. “He will live.”
“And you?” she asked, her voice high and uncertain. “What happened with Everley? Why are you here? How did you know?” The questions came tumbling out.
He gave her a small smile filled with affection. “I will tell you all just as soon as you are home and safe.”
She nodded. Home. Her mind called up an image of his parlor, of his arms wrapped around her. Her breath caught in her throat. That was her home…
She glanced up at the big brute who was carting her still-shrieking stepmother out of the room.
Her home was with him.
She just hoped that he knew it.
16
Rupert was certain this dreadful night would never end.
He watched Delilah closely as he, Tolston, and his men rehashed the events of the evening and put a plan of action in place to ensure the baroness was punished for her part and Everley was caught.
The first light of dawn was starting to stream through the School of Charm’s windows when he walked over to where Delilah sat, surrounded by her friends.
She looked tired, but otherwise unharmed.
His hands clenched at his sides as rage threatened to consume him again. The entire ride to her home, he’d panicked about what he might find. His mind had raced incessantly, imagin
ing every hideous scenario, every heartbreaking ending to a love story they had not yet written.
When Rupert stopped before her, he saw her friends exchange a meaningful look before making their excuses. Once alone, she looked up at him with a wan smile before patting the seat beside her.
He sat and his heart warmed when she leaned slightly so she was resting against him.
He tucked his head to hide a grin. She was comfortable with him, of that there was no doubt. She felt safe with him, and that fact he adored.
But did she know that she was loved by him?
“How are you holding up?” he asked. He ached to slip an arm around her shoulders and pull her closer still but despite the bizarre circumstances, they were still surrounded by people and there was only so much scandal she could weather in one night.
She sighed wearily. “Do you mean, how am I holding up now that my fiancé and stepmother failed to marry me off for my fortune and then murder me?”
He winced at hearing her say it aloud like that. “Yes, that’s what I meant.”
“I suppose I am doing as well as one could hope.” She tilted her head back to smile up at him. “Have I thanked you yet for rescuing me from my wicked stepmother the way you did?”
He laughed. “One or two times.”
In truth, she’d thanked him no less than twenty times on the carriage ride back to the school. The moment her stepmother and her men were trussed up to await their punishment and they were alone, she’d thrown her arms around his neck and the thanking had begun.
He’d enjoyed it, no doubt, but it wasn’t her gratitude he wanted.
“I wonder if my father was aware…” she said softly.
He reached for her hand. “I went up to his room while questioning his servants.” He shook his head. “I do not think your father was aware of anything going on around him. And who knows how long he’s been like that.”
She pressed her lips together. “I should have known.”
“How could you have?”
“I should have suspected. The fact that my father never left his rooms, that she never allowed me to see him, that she handled every correspondence and managed the household…” She sighed. “I thought he just did not wish to see me.”
He stayed silent as she got lost in her thoughts. “I always knew the baroness was unhappy. I understood she did not like me. I just didn’t realize she hated me quite so much.”
This time Rupert did give in to the urge to comfort her. Ignoring the others in the room he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her close. “You deserved better. As a child and as a young lady, you deserved so much more.”
Her smile trembled a bit. “Thank you, but…I don’t know that that’s true.” He watched her with concern as tears welled up in her eyes. “How do you know what you’re worth, what you are owed, what your value is when all you’ve ever been worth was the sum of your dowry and the appearances that will surely fade?”
He opened his mouth to reply but stopped when she shut her eyes tightly and shook her head. “Do not answer that. And please, don’t listen to me. I’m being maudlin.” When she opened her eyes again, they were wet with tears and a tremulous, rueful smile was back in place. “I suppose learning about one’s planned murder will do that.”
He gave a choked laugh at her gallows’ humor. “I suppose so.”
She shifted so she was facing him head-on. “What of Everley?”
“He has been caught.” That was one of the reasons they’d been up all night, waiting and coordinating.
Her sigh of relief had her shoulders slumping forward and he tugged her close. She stiffened for only a moment before relaxing against his side, her head on his shoulder.
“Rest, my love,” he murmured into her hair. “You are safe now.”
“We should not…the others…” She started to stir and he kissed the top of her head.
“The others are studiously looking the other way,” he informed her truthfully. Even Miss Grayson was making a show of calling for the servants and asking what refreshments everyone needed. “If ever there is a time propriety could be thwarted, this is it.”
He felt her laugh more than heard it. “Says the man who’s made a life out of thwarting propriety.” Her tone was filled with amusement, and no heat, but the truth of it still stung.
He had given up propriety along with everything else when he eschewed the honorary title and his place within society.
At the time he’d given no thought to marriage, or that one day he might meet a lady who cared about such things. Who might deserve more than a hired investigator as a husband and a life on society’s sidelines.
Regret hit him in the gut. Could she be happy with a man such as him?
Would he want her to sacrifice her dreams for power in society and balls and gowns and whatever else it was young ladies of the ton wished for?
He’d said it before and his words rung in his ears now. She deserves more.
His thoughts were cut short by the feel of her hand tentatively touching his chest. “I cannot believe that you left without Everley.” She shook her head as if in disbelief, pulling back to look at his face. “You have spent so many years trying to make that man pay, and you had your chance—”
“He will still pay,” Rupert cut in shortly, his voice choked with emotion that she worried about something like that. That she could think for one second that his quest for revenge meant more to him than she did.
He reached a hand out to gently cup her chin. “Everley will pay, and dearly, for all that he did to you, what he planned to do, what he’s done to so many others…he will pay for what he did to Alston.”
“You could have had him,” she said. “He was right there, along with the evidence. You could have had him and you walked away.” She licked her lips, her voice tremulous. “You walked away for me. To save me.”
“Of course I did.” His response was quick, short, and more gruff with unchecked emotion than he’d anticipated.
Her eyes grew wide and her lips parted in surprise.
“Never doubt for one instant that you mean more than all of that. You wonder at your value, but I need you to know…” He stroked her cheek as his chest tight with emotions. “To me, you are more precious than anything else. You mean more than any revenge or any professional goals. You are…” His voice dipped as her eyes darkened. “Delilah, to me, you are everything.”
Her eyes were so wide and so…tear filled.
Terror shot through him that rivaled anything he’d ever felt while working an investigation. Was it possible she did not feel the same?
Or perhaps things were different now that she was no longer dependent on him for safety, now that the threat she faced was gone…
Perhaps she was realizing that she was no longer promised to Everley, that she might be able to step into the light where she belonged.
She could have her pick of men once the scandal subsided. Gentlemen of the ton who would give her the life she’d always wanted.
“Rupert, I—I—”
“Your man has arrived!” Tolston shouted this news from across the room and it startled Delilah so badly that she shot out of his arms, scrambling backwards to put some distance between them as the others turned to stare.
His man. It took a moment for the words to register. His man who’d captured Everley and sent word that he’d be bringing him here.
“Go,” she said, prodding him with a little shove to his arm. “Go see if you got your man and the justice you’ve been seeking.”
He lingered, torn between staying with Delilah, making sure she was all right, and going off to make sure the man who would harm her was under his control along with his wretched partner.
“Delilah will be in good hands, Mr. Calloway,” Miss Grayson said, coming to stand beside Delilah and placing a hand on her shoulder.
His heart begged him to stay, but his mind told him it was time to leave. To walk away.
He would be back to wi
n her heart, but not until she was rested and healed and…
Well, she might never be ready to hear what he had to say. But he could at the very least resist the urge to push her on the matter until she’d had the chance to sleep.
“Take care of yourself, Delilah,” he murmured as he leaned down to kiss her hand.
Take care of my precious heart.
17
Take care of yourself.
Delilah jabbed her needle into the fabric with more force than was absolutely necessary. Take care of herself.
For how long?
She stirred restlessly, unreasonably irritated by the calm contentedness of the friends who surrounded her.
The Beaumonts were hosting a ball tonight and by all rights, everyone here should be getting ready to attend. But Louisa, Addie, Prudence, and Miss Grayson had all declined without a question just to be here with her.
Delilah might have been able to go, but with all the chaos going on this week surrounding her stepmother and Lord Everley…there was no saying just how badly her reputation would be affected.
The gossips would be hard at work trying to sort out what exactly had happened that sent the baroness out of the country a ruined disgrace or why Lord Everley was being hauled off to prison.
The truth would undoubtedly come out in the newspapers soon enough, and Tolston had assured her once again earlier today that her name would be kept out of it as much as possible.
That was a good thing, she supposed. Perhaps she would get through to the other side with just a bit of scandal clinging to her name and not outright ruination.
She jabbed her needle once more. Yes, she should be very grateful, all things considered.
She should be pleased beyond reason that the entire ordeal was over and done with. Lord Tumberland had taken it upon himself to ensure that her father was being properly cared for and that his estate was being managed by reputable, trustworthy solicitors. Tolston had assured her that he still had men keeping an eye on the school on the off chance that Everley had accomplices who might seek revenge.
The Miseducation of Miss Delilah: A Sweet Regency Romance (School of Charm Book 3) Page 12
