by Valerie King
Evelina wanted to press him, but there was such a look of genuine concern in his eye that she chose instead to honor his wishes. “Very well,” she said quietly. Giving the subject a turn, she said, “Miss Ambers tells me you are having some of the gentlemen to your house tonight.” “I am,” he said.
She could not help but smile. “I take that as a sign of progress and I confess I am very well pleased.”
* * * * * * * * *
Rotherstone took great delight in the warmth and contentment on Lady Evelina’s face. From the time he had stepped out onto the terrace, he had become fully aware that she was recovering from her ordeal exceedingly well. He felt in that moment a great deal of admiration for her and, yes, affection.
He might have agreed to take Lord William angling again, but he was not so certain his motives were entirely pure. After all, an opportunity to see that the lad had some amusement in the company of someone other than his nurse or his sisters and mother held the decided advantage of allowing him to converse with Evelina again. That he wished to converse with her, indeed, that a day without her company somehow seemed sadly flat, were circumstances that might have troubled him had he allowed it. He was not looking for love or even a wife. No, he had greater concerns than setting up his nursery.
From the time that he had learned of Sir Alfred’s perfidy, an act that had been sanctioned by the gentlemen of the neighborhood, he had been committed to avenging the wrong done to his father. For five years, from the time of his death, he had had but one objective. Ironically, it was because of the lady before him that he was very near to succeeding in his plans.
Guilt pierced him suddenly. He knew Evelina was coming to trust him more and more. He also knew that he valued her trust, her belief that he might just be in possession of a proper character after all. What would she think of him, therefore, if she knew his true intentions in having allowed himself to be drawn into the local society? Worse still, what would she think of him were she to know his purpose in bringing the gentlemen together tonight?
He felt a powerful urge to tell her all, both the truth about what had happened so many years ago and just what his intentions were now.
“What is it, Rotherstone? You seem suddenly distressed. If you are concerned for me, I beg you will not be. I am quite well, I promise you.”
So strong was the impulse to speak that he opened his mouth and was ready to begin when William suddenly said from the terrace. “I have proper shoes on now.”
He came running at a gallop. Rotherstone rose to his feet, an immense feeling of relief washing over him that he had been spared telling Evelina the truth.
“So you do,” he called back. To Evelina, he turned, smiled and said, “I confess I have been worried, but I will no longer be if you promise you are truly recovering as well as you seem.”
The sweet smile that overspread her lips and that was reflected in her sparkling green eyes caused a powerful feeling to take hold of his chest. He felt a strong urge to touch her, to hold her, and if Will had not been racing toward him he might have possessed himself of her hand, kissed her fingers, or perhaps kissed her full on the lips.
How grateful he was that Will had arrived and was picking up the rods. He bowed to Evelina, took the tackle basket in hand and told Will to lead the way. He watched as the boy cast his sister a broad grin, and on a happy step they set off to the west in the direction of Scrag Stream.
* * * * * * * * *
Two days later, Evelina was in the library on the first floor of Wildings studying the map. The ancient document had suffered badly in the attack. Besides being torn, more of the edges had crumbled away, and because Rotherstone had stood on it while in the ditch, dirt had been ground into the center, nearly obscuring the place where Halling Stream joined the River Rother.
She had found a new piece of velvet, red this time, upon which to lay the map. For the past hour, she had been reviewing her last conversation with Mr. Creed. They had been discussing the fact that the rivers and streams formed an S, when he came to understand the map’s meaning. However, she could not place the smallest significance on this fact. She did not see how the position of the local waterways could possibly affect the location of the treasure.
She recalled that he had turned the map, so she did as well, only this time she carefully shifted the velvet instead, keeping the map safe. One turn, two, three and back again—she saw nothing that gave her even a hint as to where the treasure might be buried. Blacklands was still Blacklands, only why did the riddles not seem connected overly much to the map?
If only Rotherstone had not forbidden Mr. Creed to tell her what he knew.
She had not spoken with the earl since the day before, when he had again taken Will fishing. She wished he had been willing to discuss the matter with her then, for he had seemed quite happy to see her. She smiled, recalling how light and easy their conversation had been. He had brought roses and had expressed concern for her recovery.
Just before Will had emerged from the house wearing proper shoes, however, the earl’s expression had grown rather grim. His thoughts had been drawn inward, so she could not know precisely what he had been thinking. She supposed he had been worried for her health. Once Will had returned, the moment had passed.
She breathed a heavy sigh. Rotherstone had been on her mind a great deal of late. No matter how hard she tried, she could not seem to reconcile his good parts with his bad parts. He was kind to her family in every respect and attentive in ways that none of her neighbors had ever been. Yet he was a gamester and was known to frequent the East End gaming houses. On the other hand he had probably saved her life by carrying her all the way back to Wildings when she had fainted from the attack. At the same time, he could be so deucedly mulish, particularly where the hunt for Jack Stub’s treasure was concerned. On that score, he had been resistant from the very beginning.
As she perused the map again, she was a little surprised by the sudden appearance of Bolney in the doorway. “Forgive me, my lady, but Lord Rotherstone has arrived and wishes to know if you are receiving company.”
Evelina felt her heart leap. Since her mind had been so full of thoughts of him just now, she was certain Providence had brought him to her door. Now she could address with him the matter of Mr. Creed’s knowledge of the map’s secret. She felt certain that given the recent attack, and therefore the need to find the treasure as quickly as possible, Rotherstone would be reasonable.
The moment he appeared in the doorway, she said, “This is a bit of a chance, for if you must know I have spent the past two hours looking at Jack Stub’s map, reading and rereading all the riddles, and still I have not the smallest notion what it was Mr. Creed saw. He must have told you by now that he believes he knows where the treasure is truly buried.”
Rotherstone, who had been smiling warmly, now began to frown. “I see you are fully recovered, for you have not even greeted me as would normally be considered proper.”
Evelina blinked. “I do beg your pardon. You are quite right. How do you go on?”
“Very well, thank you.” He eyed her suspiciously.
“And how is your health?” She clasped her hands in front of her as if to hold back her impatience.
“I am in excellent form.” He moved several paces into the chamber, but he was still watching her carefully. “And you? I have come to inquire if you are indeed well and whether or not you still mean to attend the ball tomorrow night.”
Evelina moved to stand before the map. “I must confess I had not given the ball a single thought for the past day or so, but yes, I will be attending with my sister Mia.” She glanced at Rotherstone and saw that he was regarding her intently. “Is there something else you wish to say to me?”
“Let the treasure lie,” he said quietly. He stood opposite her, the table and the map separating them.
She was shocked by the suggestion. “How can you say such a thing when you must know how close we are to discovering it?”
“What g
ood can come of continuing the search even if there is a fortune to be had? You have already been hurt once because of the treasure. Perhaps Mr. Creed and I had been joking you about a curse, but I am come to believe there is always a curse attached to those who pursue any object greedily.”
Evelina found her temper rising. “You think me greedy? Is that what you are saying?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Well, are you?”
Evelina watched him for a long moment. She was angry that he was so completely hostile toward the treasure hunt and had been from the first. “I do not understand you at all, only this time I will say to you what you once said to me: You must determine for yourself if my prior actions prove whether or not I am a woman of character, a woman to be trusted.”
He remained silent.
She chose to address a different aspect of the subject. “However, if you are still concerned that we will encroach further on your lands, I can relieve your mind on that score. I am persuaded the X marked on the map is a ruse of some sort. I no longer believe the treasure is on your property.”
“The possibility that the treasure may have been buried somewhere on Blacklands might have been my concern at the outset,” he stated, “but no longer. I am persuaded you are in danger. You should give this up now, before something else befalls you.”
“Nothing will happen to me,” she said forcefully. “We have all taken care to see that it will not. I have already promised not to go abroad alone until the treasure is found, and if you would but listen to reason and order Mr. Creed to inform me of what he knows that I do not, then we may be done with this hunt on the instant. You have that power in your hands even now.”
She watched a stubbornness enter his eye. She knew the answer before ever he spoke.
“No,” he stated. “I have been opposed to this hunt from the first, and a sennight past, when I was forced to find a woman in a ditch whom I happen to . . .” He paused as though searching for the right word.
“To what? Despise? Loathe?”
“I have grown to care for you,” he said sharply. “As a neighbor and as a friend.”
She leaned forward, placing her hands on the table. “Then prove yourself a good friend, a good neighbor, and give permission to Mr. Creed to enlighten us all, or do you know the solution to the puzzle yourself?”
“I do not. I was not in the smallest degree interested.”
“You seem unreasonably set against this. I vow I do not comprehend you in the least. I never have.”
“And I do not comprehend why you must be so set on this course.”
Lady Chelwood and William suddenly appeared in the doorway. “My dears,” she called out, maneuvering her chair to the doorway. “Your voices can be heard to the rafters. Do calm yourselves.” She glanced meaningfully at William, who was clearly overset.
“Oh dear, were we so very loud?” Evelina asked. “I do beg your pardon.” She glanced at Rotherstone. “I fear his lordship and I have been having this argument for the past three weeks now.”
Rotherstone shook his head. “This was quite unforgivable. I do beg your pardon, my lady, Will.” He bowed to them both.
“I do as well,” Evelina added. To Rotherstone she said, “I am sorry for what I have said. I believe I spoke in my frustration. Forgive me?”
“Of course.”
Evelina could not help but smile. “You have been so kind to me and my family, and my demands have been unreasonable. I shan’t press you further on the subject.”
Lady Chelwood, nodding her approval of their conduct, asked Lord Rotherstone to stay for nuncheon. He agreed, and the remainder of his visit was quite pleasant. Of course, they both gave the subject of Jack Stub’s treasure a wide berth.
When he was ready to go, Evelina chose to walk with him to the door and once more apologized for coming the crab.
He frowned anew as he regarded her. “I am sorry you have just said so.”
“I beg your pardon?” She looked into his dark eyes and wondered if he had just gone mad. “Do not tell me you intend to begin brangling with me anew.”
“That remains to be seen,” he said quietly. “I have been pondering since the attack just how I might make the situation safer for you, and my conclusion is this—for the second of the three demands you agreed upon over a fortnight past, I must insist you give me the map.”
She felt dizzy, almost as though she would faint. “Th-the map?” she asked, unable to credit her ears.
“Yes. Though I do not need to offer even the smallest explanation, I shall do so. If it is known that the map is in my possession, whoever tried to hurt you will not do so again; there will be no need. You will then be perfectly safe, and more persons than just myself can be at ease.”
Evelina knew he was speaking sensibly, but she felt like bursting into tears. Naturally, she would not consider for a moment becoming a watering pot in front of Rotherstone, so instead she asked, “Even if your motivation is my safety, how can you require this of me when you must by now have some sense of what the map means to me?”
“How you feel about the map is wholly unreasonable,” he countered in a whisper, clearly not wanting to disturb the family again. “It is just a map and probably a fraud at that, and I mean to have it no matter how many arguments you put forth.”
She clamped her lips shut for the longest moment. They had already overset both her mother and Will with their brangling, and she did not want to do so again. Besides, there was little point in trying to argue him out of his position. By all that was honorable, she had to forfeit the map to him. She had promised to give him three things upon request, and so she must, but never would she have thought he would demand the map of her.
“One moment, then.” She turned on her heel and mounted the stairs. Once in the library, she carefully rolled the map up in the red velvet and secured the resulting roll with two ribbons.
Returning, she handed him the velvet case. “I just want you to know that I have this map memorized in every detail, so do not congratulate yourself on any score that you have separated me from my objective, for you most certainly have not.”
He did not give her answer but merely bowed as if to take his leave.
“Do you not wish to see if the map is truly within?” she asked angrily.
At that, a crooked smile twisted his lips. “No. I trust you.”
“At this moment, I consider that an insult, but there is something more I would say to you. You think my interest in the map unreasonable, but do you not understand that for the first time in my life I feel fully and truly alive?”
His expression grew arrested, and a flash of understanding passed over his face. A moment more, however, and the fleeting expression vanished. He bowed again and was gone.
* * * * * * * * *
On the following morning, Evelina had been deciding which gown to wear to Colonel Carfax’s ball when she received a surprising visit from Lady Monceaux and Mary Ambers.
She knew something must be afoot because Lady Monceaux should have been fully engaged in helping Colonel Carfax’s housekeeper prepare for the ball. She had her butler, Bolney, show them into the library and at the same time requested tea for them all.
When she entered the chamber, she was careful to close the door. “That we might have a comfortable coze,” she said, smiling. “Do sit down.”
The ladies took up seats beside one another on a settee of rose silk damask. Evelina sat down opposite them in a winged chair of striped cream silk. Lady Monceaux glanced at Miss Ambers before beginning. “I suppose you must be wondering what has brought us here today.”
“Of course I am surprised, since the ball is but a few hours away. However, you both seem rather distressed. May I ask the cause?’
Still neither lady spoke. Miss Ambers watched Lady Monceaux carefully while her ladyship sighed heavily several times.
Evelina said, “I hope you do not think me easily offended and are thereby refraining from offering a criticism by which I might rec
eive some benefit.”
“No, no, not in the least,” Miss Ambers said, leaning forward in her seat. “Indeed, this subject has so little to do with you that we both feared we were succumbing to a terrible piece of gabblemongering in bringing this particular information to your notice.”
“Well, I hope one or the other of you will now relieve me of my suspense, for I vow I am all curiosity.”
Lady Monceaux said, “Very well. You know that on Saturday night Lord Rotherstone held a party just for the gentlemen.”
“Yes, I thought it quite generous of him to have done so.”
“Indeed, that is what Miss Ambers and I believed as well, but an alarming report has come to our attention through Sir Edgar.”
“Sir Edgar?” Evelina queried glancing at Miss Ambers. “He confides in you, then?”
She nodded. “I do so hope that I am not breaking his trust, but indeed, you and Lady Monceaux are the only two people I would even consider consulting. I hope I may rely on your discretion.”
“Of course.” Evelina grew uneasy. She could not imagine what next she was to hear, but she could think of nothing of a happy nature that would have brought either lady to her door this morning. “Pray continue.”
Miss Ambers nodded to Lady Monceaux. She picked up the thread of the subject. “Sir Edgar said the party quickly turned to gaming, hazard in fact, but that at first the stakes were unexceptionable. However, the more the port, brandy and rum punch was passed round, the stakes increased until every roll of the dice at hazard was for ten pounds—”
“Ten pounds,” Evelina said. “Good God.”
“There is worse,” Miss Ambers said. “Before the gentlemen quit Blacklands—” She could not continue.
Lady Monceaux intervened. “Before the festivities drew to a close, my husband was wealthier by five hundred pounds. But that is not all. Mr. Crookhorn by three hundred and Colonel Carfax by another two.”
