“Giles … You are hurting my arm.”
The petulant wail did little more than harden the already grim expression on Giles’s dark countenance as he half-led, half-dragged the reluctant woman toward her waiting carriage.
“Be relieved that it was your arm I chose to grab and not that lovely neck,” he snarled in a low voice. “It was a definite temptation.”
“Such passion.” She gave a toss of her head, surrounding them in a cloud of cloying perfume. “Do you honestly imagine that milk-and-toast fiancée of yours will be woman enough to fulfill your insatiable needs?”
A surge of disgust rushed through Giles. It seemed impossible to believe that he had ever been attracted to this woman, or that he had once believed he could be satisfied with a relationship built solely on lust. Now he couldn’t rid himself of her and her frivolous friends quickly enough.
“My needs are no longer your concern, Lavania,” he informed her in icy tones. “And be assured, this is the last time you will attempt to embarrass me or my fiancée.”
She gave a sharp laugh that didn’t hide her bitterness. “Are you so certain she is still your fiancée, Giles?” she mocked. “She was looking distinctly uncertain when we left. Of course, no woman would like to think she is about to tie herself to a callous rake.”
His grip tightened until she gave a small gasp. “I have no doubt you came here to create trouble, Lavania. And if I believed for a moment that I genuinely hurt you, then I might forgive you for coming here tonight. But this little display was no more than a vain need to revenge your pride. You are a shallow, selfish and grasping woman and, if you did manage to convince Roma that I am untrustworthy, then I will spend the rest of my life attempting to prove how wrong you are.”
“Do not tell me you had the poor taste to fall in love with the chit?”
“Yes, I love her. And even though I am quite certain I do not deserve her, I am going to do everything possible to win her love in return.”
A bleak, almost forlorn expression momentarily flitted across her beautiful features.
“I do not believe you. How could you possibly fall in love with a nobody without rank or fortune? You could have any woman in London.”
“Roma possesses much more than mere rank or fortune,” he informed her, unable to stir pity for the woman’s brief regrets. She had long ago turned her back on love for the wealth and social position gained in a hollow marriage. “She has an unquenchable spirit and a generous nature that make every other woman I have encountered fade into insignificance.”
“Please do not expect me to wish you well,” Lavania retorted, her full lips twisted into a sneer.
“All I expect is that you treat Miss Allendyle with respect,” he retorted, the warning in his tone unmistakable. “The next time you attempt to harm her, you will not be let off so easily.”
She gave a disdainful sniff, but allowed Giles to bundle her into the waiting carriage without argument. Hopefully his warning would be enough, but Giles was fully prepared to do whatever was necessary to protect Roma from this woman’s malicious nature. At the moment, however, he was more intent on ridding himself of the unwanted intruders so that he could return to Roma. He knew she was upset, not only because of Lavania’s ill-timed entrance, but also because it followed on the heels of the consuming kiss that had left them both shaken. He had never intended things to get so out of hand; in fact, he hadn’t meant to touch her again until he had confessed his love.
But the moonlight and the scent of her warm honeysuckle skin had effectively destroyed his stern discipline, and unable to resist temptation, he had given in to his burning need to taste the nectar of her soft lips. Her instant response had only inflamed the fires that smoldered whenever she was near, and before he’d known what was happening, he had discovered himself taking swift advantage of her unexpected vulnerability.
Now he had no doubt that she had scampered back behind her antagonistic shell of indifference. He could only hope she would at least be reasonable enough to listen to him. After tonight there would be no more games. He would tell her that he loved her and damn the consequences.
He was so anxious to return that he Ignored Lavania’s mocking farewell and even shoved aside one of the younger men who instantly paled at the thought of annoying such a famed marksman. He needn’t have worried, however, as Giles strode past him without so much as a glance and, with a determined pace, circled the brightly lit house to return to the terrace.
But his desperate hope that Roma had chosen to wait for his return was instantly dashed as he crossed the garden to discover Claude standing alone in the shadows.
“Damn …” He heaved a sigh of exasperation, crossing toward the man who was clearly waiting to speak with him. “I suppose Roma has returned to the guests?”
“You suppose wrong,” the young man surprised him by answering, his boyish face set in lines of accusation. “She decided it would be better if she slipped away quietly. And I must say I don’t blame her. Whether your engagement is real or not, these people are Roma’s friends and neighbors, and they believe you are her fiancé. How do you think she feels knowing that tomorrow they will all be discussing how you spent the entire evening flirting with every woman in the room, and to top it off, your mistress barged into the party and made a spectacle of herself? She is bound to be humiliated.”
“I had no notion that Lady Hoyet would appear here tonight,” he said, his tone unconsciously defensive. “And while I will freely admit that I am not, and never have been, a saint, I can assure you that I do not keep a fiancée and a mistress at the same time.”
Claude gave an inelegant snort, clearly unimpressed “And what of your behavior tonight? You all but ignored Roma while you played the role of the callow flirt.”
Giles responded with a restless shrug, the emotions boiling through his blood making it difficult to remain placidly standing on the terrace. He wanted to scream out his frustration or, better yet, gallop across to Greystead Manor and convince the exasperating woman once and for all that she needed him in her life. But he could do nothing but wait until the morning when he could decently make a proper call. Their relationship had strained the rules of convention enough without adding a midnight visit to his sins.
“If you must know the truth, I have avoided your cousin quite simply because she is far too shrewd not to guess that my emotions have become entangled.”
There was a short pause; then a wide smile suddenly split the younger man’s face.
“The devil you say. I had hoped the wind blew in that direction, but Roma was so adamant it was all no more than a sham I began to accept that she must be right.”
“As far as she is concerned it is all a sham,” Giles admitted, wry amusement at his self-made dilemma momentarily softening his grim features. “I have convinced her that she needs my help to locate her brother, but I seem remarkably inept at persuading her that our destinies lie together.”
Claude’s chuckle was filled with sympathetic understanding. “As I mentioned she can be annoyingly stubborn when she chooses.”
“So I have noticed.” He rolled his eyes at the understatement. “She is also sharp tongued, short tempered and thoroughly unpredictable. I have little doubt that any man foolish enough to take her on as his wife will find himself led on a merry dance. He will also be the most fortunate gentleman in the world.”
“Well, if anyone can tame that willful cousin of mine it is you,” Claude said. “Of course, we first must convince her …”
His relieved words trailed away as the sound of running footsteps echoed through the garden and both men turned to discover a man dodging through the rosebushes, his harsh breathing clearly audible as he rushed onto the terrace.
“My lord … you must come at once.”
Puzzled by the intruder’s bizarre behavior, Giles eyed him with wary suspicion, wondering if he were in his cups.
“Come? Come where?”
“Tomkins sent me,” he panted, clearly exhausted from his long run.
Giles frowned. “Tomkins?”
“Miss Allendyle’s groom.”
A swift, all-consuming fear rushed through Giles as he realized that the man was speaking of the servant he had hired to keep a watch over Roma.
“Where is he? Has something happened?” Barely aware of his actions, he reached out to grasp the front of the man’s uniform, nearly yanking him off his feet in his haste to discover what was wrong. “Is Roma hurt?”
“I do not know, my lord,” the man stuttered, thoroughly intimidated by the wild-eyed nobleman. “We were taking the miss home when another carriage suddenly jumped into the road blocking the path. We didn’t have no choice but to stop, it was that or turn the carriage over for sure …”
“Yes, yes … Just tell me what happened,” Giles barked impatiently.
“I am trying to, sir. As I said, we had to come to a stop, and before we knew what was happening, a man suddenly leaped from the dark and pulled Miss Allendyle from the carriage.”
Giles battled the mind-numbing panic that threatened to overwhelm his ability to think in a coherent manner.
“What man? Could you recognize him?”
“Not for certain, but …”—the man paused to swallow the lump of fear in his throat— “the crest on the carriage belonged to Lord Scowfield.”
“Freddie?” Claude breathed in shock. “Good God, what the devil has gotten into him?”
Giles ignored the younger man’s interruption, his concentration rigidly focused on discovering exactly what had become of Roma.
“What did he do once he had taken her from the carriage?”
“He forced her into his own carriage, and they took off. Tomkins is following them, but he sent me here to tell you what had happened.”
“Good man.” Giles loosened his hold on the shaken servant, his mind racing. At least Tomkins was in pursuit, and now he could join in the chase. Together they would save Roma. He had to believe that or go mad. “Do you know what direction they were taking?”
“The road that leads to the cove,” he answered promptly.
“Very well …” He forced himself to pause and consider his options. It would do little good to rush about without some semblance of a plan. Roma’s safety depended on his reacting in a sane and sensible manner. “Claude, I want you to go with this young man to the inn. My groom, Jameson, should be there, and hopefully Jack Howe. I wrote and asked him to come. Tell them to meet me at the cove.”
“But why should Scowfield abduct Roma—”
“Not now, Welford,” Giles snapped. “Your cousin’s safety depends upon how swiftly we can locate her.”
The urgency in his voice must have communicated his leashed fear, for Claude gave a sharp nod of agreement.
“Let us go to the stables. That brute of a stallion of yours should have you caught up to those carriages before they go another mile.”
Less than a quarter of an hour later Giles was galloping down the shadowed road, indifferent to the chill wind that whistled past his ears or the discomfort of riding in his tightly tailored evening gear. Instead, he desperately attempted to hold back the horrifying images of Roma hurt, perhaps even dead …
No, he wouldn’t believe that, he told himself grimly, urging his horse to an even faster pace. He wouldn’t accept that he could be too late. Even if Lord Scowfield was responsible for William Allendyle’s disappearance as he suspected, that did not necessarily mean he intended to harm Roma. He might very well have planned this stunt to simply frighten her, or perhaps to warn her to halt her search for her brother.
But why would he take her to the cove? a taunting voice demanded from the back of his mind. And why risk abducting her in front of the servants when he was fully aware she rode unaccompanied every morning?
The questions pounded ruthlessly though his confused mind, plaguing him with a sense of urgency that made him toss aside all caution and plunge down the dark road at breakneck speed.
It seemed like an eternity, though he knew that it couldn’t have been more than half an hour since he had left the Welford estate when he detected the distant sound of water breaking over the rocky coastline and knew that he was rapidly approaching the secluded cove.
With a wary frown he slowed his weary mount, realizing that he should have caught up with the two carriages by now. Was he even farther behind than he had suspected? Or had the carriages pulled off the main road and taken one of the paths that crossed the numerous fields?
Seething with frustration, he narrowed his eyes, attempting to penetrate the heavy darkness as he slowly wound his way down the treacherous path to the crescent-shaped cove. He knew if they had turned off the road he didn’t have a prayer of following them tonight. He could only hope that they were still somewhere ahead of him.
With instinctive caution, he edged his way onto the open beach, his initial glance almost missing the vague outline of a small boat at the edge of the water and the two forms that turned in startled surprise at his arrival. Looking for two large carriages, Giles was caught off guard by the sight of the men, and it wasn’t until they swiftly headed toward him that he wondered if he might have stumbled into a dangerous situation.
Bringing the nervous stallion to an uneasy halt, he quickly considered his options, but even as he prepared to bolt to safety, the moon reemerged from behind a flimsy cloud and the unexpectedly familiar man nearest to him held up an urgent hand.
“Lord Carlton, hold a moment,” Thomas Slater called, his tone commanding.
Startled by the unexpected encounter, Giles gazed down in puzzlement. “Mr. Slater, what brings you here?”
The man stopped next to the horse, tilting his head backward. “That is precisely the question I was about to ask you.”
His words abruptly reminded Giles of what had brought him to the cove, and realizing that this man could be of considerable help, he forced himself to explain Roma’s plight as concisely as possible.
The man listened in silence, but it was clear from his stiff stance that he was surprised they had discovered the traitor who had kidnapped William and even more surprised that Roma had now disappeared. As Giles finished, he gave a disbelieving shake of his head.
“A truly amazing tale, Lord Carlton,” he said.
Rather taken back by the mockery he sensed below the casual words, Giles sent him a thunderous scowl.
“Amazing or not, Miss Allendyle is in danger. We must go in search of her.”
“Unfortunately that is not possible.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh … I had fully intended to deal with the troublesome Miss Allendyle, but if what you say is true, then it seems someone has already taken care of one problem for me,” Thomas Slater drawled. “And now I only have you to rid myself of.”
Far too late Giles became aware that the second man had covertly moved to stand almost directly behind him. The initial sense of danger he had foolishly shoved aside returned full force, but not in time to save him from the obvious trap.
“What do you want, Slater?”
“Want?” The man gave a mocking laugh, the sound eerily echoing through the cove. “I want my very profitable business to continue. Do you know the money that can be made by selling the most trivial of information to the enemy? You see, unlike you, I was not born with the means to live the life I have always wanted, so I was forced to do what was necessary to achieve my goals. Unfortunately, my business sometimes includes dealing with overly curious individuals who poke their noses into things that are none of their concern. I have already taken care of William Allendyle. Now, Lord Carlton, I believe that you will have to join him at the bottom of the cove. A tragic waste, but quite necessary, I assure you.” His smile was perfectly polite, but as his arm slowly rose, Giles saw moonlight glint off the barrel of his gun. “Now, if you would be so good as to dismount, we can get this unpleasant business behind us.”