Valoree accepted thatsilently. "Haveyou seen your sister since returning? "
"I haveseen her from a distance, but Ihave not spokenwith her, "Meg said carefully. "I had intendedto avoidany functions it was likely she wouldattend, and - "
Valoree waved her to silence."We shall deal with this problem if andwhen it arises. How did you endup as you were when Bull found you? "
Meg gavea dispiritedsigh. "I was robbed.I had hired a hackat thedocks to take me to a nice inn. He hadloadedeverything on topand wastaking meto one whenI spotted...a shop I wished to look in. I hadhim stop, went in totake alook around, and when I came out, he had just drivenoff withallmy things." She shook her head with disgustat the memory."I never should have left the carriage.I should have just waited until Iarrived at the inn - "
"Most likely you never would have arrived, " Valoree interrupted quietly. "It was probably lucky foryou that yougot out. You have tobe carefulabout things like that. Thereare men justwaiting to prey onwomen travelingalone. I heard a story of a similarincidentthe day we arrived in London. A well-bred woman arrived on aship, hired a hack totake herand herservant toa relative's, and they never made it.Theauthoritiesfound both women the next morning - dead. Alltheir belongingshadbeen taken, eventheclothes offtheir back."
Meg paled, her eyes going round with horror. Toput her at ease, Valoree quickly asked, "So you were left without your things.Howdidyour dress getruined and - "
"Oh, " Meg interrupted irritably. "I... Well, I just started to walk. I did notknow whatto do. I was flustered by the fix I found myself in anddid not pay enough attention towhere I was headed.By the timeI did, it was tofind that Ihad made my way back toward the docks." She grimaced and nodded at Valoree's shake of thehead."Aye, Iknow it wasfoolish of me. The area was horribly run-down. The smell alone..." She paused and shuddered, then sighed"Well, I realized my folly at once, and turnedto head backthe wayI had come, buthad barely done so when I was accosted.
"Rightthere, in broad daylight, two youngruffians grabbed me andstarted todragme into an alley.I screamed, and they koshed me over the head. When I awoke, everything was gone: my jewelry, my cape, myreticule withthe last of my money. They hadleft me lying in a pileof filth. I stank and my gown was ripped and filthy. Iwas woozyand weak.I could not see any injuries, butI could feel alarge bumponthe backofmy head. I knew I needed help, and as frightened as I was to leave the relative safety of the abandonedalley where I hadbeen left, my head ached horribly and I feared if I allowed myself to lose consciousness, Iwould diethere. Itried to get to myfeet, butthe worldseemed to spinaround me, so I hadto half crawl, halfdrag myselfoutinto the street. Itwas night by then andthestreets weremuch less busy. Those people stillwalking about simply ignored my pleasfor help. I'msure theythoughtI was justwhat I lookedlike: afallen woman. Then a coupleof young nodcocks, as you would call them, came along. They were drunk and stumbling, and they assumed I was drunkas well. When Iraised a handtoward themto plead forhelp, they thought it was a drink I wanted. They hadsome fine sport emptying their bottle over me andlaughing at my pathetic state before moving on.
"The next person tocome alongwas Bull, " she finished quietly.
"Bythattime Iwasratherresignedto dying, but hestopped and seemed to look me over, thennodded to himself.
"How would you like a handout of the gutter, old girl? ' he asked. When I nodded dumbly, he picked me up and started walking, carrying me in hisarms as he told me what he was about. 'We need ye fer a job, a respectable-type job - chaperoningour captain. If youdoit allrightand proper, there's food, clothes, aplace to stay, and a cottageof yer own at the end of it. Thinkyou could playa lady? ' "
She laughed with real amusementnow andshook herhead."I am not evensure ifI meant to help youat that point. I simply wished to get away fromthe docks atthe time. I was still rather groggy, my head aching, while you and the dressmaker's wife bathed, dressed, and measured me. But in the morning, when I awokeon the ship, I thought it through. I had no money. No home. And fromwhatI could tell, no family. A cottage ofmy own onan estate faraway from court, with thebeautyand peace of the country, seemed afineplace for me to sitand reflect inmy old age."
"Aye, Isuppose it is, " Valoree said, moved. She sighed. Here was another burden for her conscience, another soul whose future it seemednow depended onher.
"If I have answered all your questions, " Meg said, standing suddenly, "I thinkI shalljust - "
"Go ahead."Valoree sat back inher chair with afrownas Meg left the room. She had toget married. She had to regain Ainsley and get Henryhis roses, Pete hisown big kitchen, and Meg a home in which to settle. They alldepended on her. Her mind raced, but she kept coming back tothegossips being her best hope. She simply could not bear another party - or any engagementthat mightresult in another debacle regarding her makeup.She hadno graces to attract ahusband. If astraight-out callsent through thegossipsdid not work ...well, she mightjust have toconsider Thurborne.
"Good morning, Valoree. Your face is looking abit better."
Valoree gruntedin response to Meg's comment as she entered the morningroom. She knew by the expressions on her men's faces, and bywhat she had seen for herself upon awakening, that the woman was lying through herladylike teeth. No doubt she was just tryingto make Valoreefeel better, but Valoree didn't much care how she looked;she had noballs to attendtoday. She was just relieved thattheirritation had gone away.
"Well, eat upquick there, Captain, girl, and we shall head out nice and earlyto the shops, " Henry suggested with bluff good cheer.
Turningasuspicious glareon the man, Valoreedropped into the seat atthe head of the table.Peteimmediately carried in a largetrayof baked goodsthat made her stomachgrowl. "Andjust what would youbethinking we might need to go totheshops for? "
Her quartermaster hesitated, his gaze shooting to Bull and One-Eye, who sat on either side of her. When the two men nodded in encouragement, heclearedhis throatand continued, "Well, yecan't bewearingthat slopye wore lastnightagain, so we'll have to go find you some other muckto - "
"The hell we will, " Valoreesaid in a growl, rising to her feet.
"There will be nothing more on my face. Two such incidents wereenough."
"Now Captain, girl, " Henrytried."Iknow - "
"Ho!" No-Nosehurried intothe room, excitement lighting his eyes."There's threefellers at the door, allof'em looking'to see the captain. Theygave me these."
"Letme see those, Robert, " Meg murmured, holding out her hand for the cards he held. Squirmingunderheruse of his real name, No-Nose handed the cards over and waited along with everyone else as she perused them.
"Lord Chaddesley, Lord Alcock, and Lord Heck-ford, " she murmuredthoughtfully, tappping the cards againstone hand.
"What isit about? " Henry asked, frowning as he moved to standbehind herand peer downover her shoulder.
"I donot know.Lady Thurborne was talking about these three last night.Theyare all friends who gadabout together. Theyare alsosecond sons - they will notinherit and are in need of wives who are wealthy."
Relief flowingthrough her, Valoree chuckled. When everyone turned toher, she shrugged. "I would say they arehere to offer themselves up for marriage, " she proposed. "Meg's littlechatwith the gossips lastnight must have worked."
Meglooked takenaback."Oh, my, ofcourse."Sheturned to No-Nose. "You shall haveto tell them thatLady Valoree is not available today, and to trybacktomorrow. We - "
"What? " every maninthe room, plus Valoree herself, cried out.
Megsighed unhappily, but her responseremained firm. "Just look at herface! Shecannot catch a husbandlooking so. Besides"
- hermouth tightened - "it is always best toplay hardto get."
Valoree made a face and shook herhead."Nonsense. They do not care what I looklike. This is business. No-Nose, show them tothesalonand tell them I shall bealong directly."
"Valoree, " Megprotested, but Valoree ignored her, her eyes narrowing onthehesitating No-Nose.
"You heard my order."
Acquiescing, the man turned and hurried out of the room.
Valoreeturnedto peer at Meg, whose upset was obvious. "This is business, Meg.I am notlooking for ahappy-ever-afterending.
You yourself should know how rare those are. I have seventy-five men and one woman under me, allin need of a home and safe harbor. I cannot afford dreams of a perfect husband or happy marriage.I mustbe satisfiedwith Ainsley, one brat, and a husband whobothers meas littleas possible." Turning herbackon the table, she left the room.
"Son? "
Daniel paused, the tune he had been whistlingdying abruptly as helookedabout. His gazefell on hismother, hanging halfway outof a carriage ontheroad besidehim, waving madly in case he should miss her. Smiling, hechangeddirection andmoved tothe carriage, taking her hand topress akiss to it."Good morning, Mother."
"You seemvery happy this morning."
"Iam."
When he didn't add any furtherinformation, her smile faded.
"Wouldyou care for aride? "
"Nay. Thank you. I felt like walking and sent my driver on ahead." He gesturedup theroad where the Thurborne carriage waited.
"Oh. Well, where are you going? Andwhatisthat parcel? A gift? "
Daniel laughed outright at herblunt questions andshook his head. "You never change, doyou, Mother? "
"Nay, of course not. Why should I? " she asked with real surprise. Hesmiledwryly.
"As it happens, I am headedto see Lady Ainsley."
"Lady Ainsley? " Her eyebrows rose, her eyes filling with speculation."And your package? "
"Oh." He glanced down at it, suddenly embarrassed, and shrugged. "She had a reactionto hermakeup last night.I stopped in at the apothecary to see what theyhadtoofferas aid. They gave me this."
His mother barely glanced at the bundle, her next question alreadytumbling from her lips.'Theladylives around here? I had notrealized thattheAinsley'shad a townhouse in this area."
"Actually, I believe they are renting it for the season from Lord Beecham. Itis just..." He turned to gesture vaguely up the street, only topause and frown as hesaw acarriage stop before the town house in question. A gentleman stepped down - John Lambert, he recognized as the man conversed briefly with a servant in pink livery who rushedforward - then turned to give instructions to his driver before following theservant tothe door of the house. TheLambert carriage had barely pulledaway when another had pulled up in itsplace, disgorging Harry Gravenner.
The servant hurriedbackatonce, gesticulatinga bitexcitedly, then turned tobriefly glare at Daniel'scarriage.
"Hmmmm, " his lady mother supplied thoughtfully as she, too, watched Gravennersay somethingto hisdriver, then hurry up to the house. "It looks asifLadyAinsley ishaving many visitors this morning."
"Aye, " Daniel saidshortly, scowling as the Gravenner carriage drove away only to be replaced by another. "I have to .. ." he began distractedly, but didn't finish the sentence. He turned away fromhis mother's carriage andhurriedtoward hisdestination, his whole mood ruined.
Daniel had woken up ina finestate thismorning. He had not bothered returning to theparty the night before, but had gone to his club for a drinkand some peace. Ofcourse, allhe had done was think about Valoree: her spirit; her wit; her funny littlesmile whereone side curved up andtheothersort of bent downward as ifshe not only smiledrarely, but was afraid to indulge often lest she find her reason for doing so suddenly gone; the way she suddenly slipped into less than stellar speech when she was annoyed; her determination, her passion....
He had tasted her on his lips for hours after she had disappearedover the wall, and still could when he closed his eyes and concentrated. He couldfeel her armswrappedaroundhim, her fingers in his hair, her body moldedto his, could hear her gasps and sighs and groans and moansas he had lickedher eager flesh.
Dear God, justthe memory aroused him, and he had tortured himself with it for hours ashe hadpondered things - likethe fact that he had to marry and produce an heir to gain his grandmother'sinheritance. That she hadto marryand getwith child to gain herfamily estate. Thathecould helpgive her that baby. Over andover again. In bed. Outofbed. Against a garden wall.On astaircase. On his desktop. In one of the chairsbefore the fire in his room.
He was thinking with his nether regions and not his head, he knew, but damn, itmade his nether regionshappy. And really, when it cameright down to it, why not contemplate such things? He enjoyed this woman, albeit inan oddsort of way. He found her awkwardness in the ton endearing, her intelligence enchanting, and her independence refreshing. Of course, he would have tocurb some of that independence, butthe pleasure he anticipated in other areas seemed to make that a small consideration.
He just had toconvince her of the smallness ofthat. Which, he had thought last night, should notbe thatdifficulta chore. After all, she did have to marry to regain her home, and he was a handsomefellow - intelligent, soon to be wealthy, withland of his own, a title, and all those other things that a smart and ambitious young woman soughtin a husband.Just look at allthe girlsandtheir eager motherswho chased him from ball to ball.
They thought he was prime marriage material. And, he had assured himself, it would be little enoughtrouble to convince her of that, too. His certainty was what had had him whistling cheerfully ashe had madehis way here.
But that hadbeen whenhe hadthoughttherewould be littleif anycompetitionfor the woman.Now, ashe hurried alongthe street, watching yet anothergentleman leapfrom his carriage and strideupto the door to rap gaily, he couldn'thelp thinking that perhaps it would not goassmoothlyashe had hoped. And why the hellhadn'the ridden here in his carriage? He would have been here longago had he not decided to walk off some of his excitement along the way.