Chapter Seven
Lina watched Alex stroll back along the terrace and disappear inside the house and slowly willed her body to relax. Carefully she raised her hand to her hair and touched the comb again, running her fingers over the intricately decorated surface and feeling the tears spring to her eyes.
‘Don’t be a fool,’ she whispered to herself.
The words she had said to Alex were true: this was the most beautiful gift anyone had ever given her.
Needing some time and space to clear her head, Lina carefully lifted the skirts of her dress and descended the steps into the garden. She would return to the house in a few minutes, but first she needed a moment or two to regain control of herself.
She was being foolish, spinning fantasies out of thin air. She tried to tell herself it was only natural to feel some sort of attraction for Alex. He was both good-looking and good company, and they were spending large amounts of time together. Tonight she’d even fancied he had looked at her once or twice with desire in his eyes, but Lina knew that was probably only wishful thinking. What she did know was that her own heart pounded when he stepped close and she’d barely been able to breathe as his fingers brushed against her skin.
‘Stop it,’ she admonished herself. Even if he did desire her physically, nothing could ever happen between them. Their differences went so much deeper than just status and lifestyle.
‘Fancy seeing you here.’ The voice from the bushes made Lina jump so much she let out a shout that she only just managed to muffle at the last minute.
‘Uncle Tom?’
‘Unless you’ve got another rendezvous planned?’
‘I hadn’t planned one with you,’ Lina grumbled.
‘Now, that’s not true, my dear. Remember our deal.’
Lina felt the nausea rise in her throat as she remembered the terms of the latest deal she had made with her uncle.
‘You’ve had plenty of time to scout the place out,’ Uncle Tom prompted.
She shook her head, wondering how to get rid of him, knowing he wouldn’t be satisfied until she gave him something. For a second her fingers darted to the comb in her hair, but immediately she dismissed the idea of trying to buy some time with it. Alex would notice if she returned to the house without it—besides, she wanted to have a proper look at it before she gave it away. Lina knew she wouldn’t want to part with the comb, but she would have to be practical in the end if it meant getting rid of the debt she owed Uncle Tom.
‘It’s a fine house,’ Uncle Tom said, gripping her arm and pulling her off the grassy path and into the darkness. ‘Lots of money kept inside for wages and the like, I’d imagine.’
‘I’m not stealing for you,’ Lina said, pulling her arm from his grasp and stumbling backwards a few steps.
‘I’m not asking you to steal, I’m happy to do that part myself.’
Lina felt the rage building inside her. This was why gypsies had a bad name. Men like her uncle Tom who were prepared to do anything to make a quick profit.
‘Raul wouldn’t like it if he knew what you were doing,’ Lina said. She saw the flash of anger in Uncle Tom’s eyes at the mention of her brother. Raul was respected in their troupe and, despite his relatively young age, it was her brother who made the decisions as to where they went and when they moved on. He had the power to exile Uncle Tom from their travelling group and Tom knew it.
‘Well, he’d better not find out then,’ Tom snarled. ‘We had a deal, Lina. You shouldn’t have accepted the terms if you weren’t happy with them.’
‘Let me just pay you instead, when I get the money.’
‘Why are you protecting this toff? After what his kind did to your father I’d have thought you’d be more than eager to get your revenge.’
‘My father brought his situation on himself,’ Lina said coldly. ‘It has nothing to do with Alex...Lord Whitemore,’ she corrected herself quickly.
Tom threw his head back and laughed heartily. ‘I see what this sudden reticence is about—you fancy that you have feelings for this lord! Following in your father’s footsteps after all.’
‘I don’t have feelings for anyone,’ Lina said, taking a deep breath to maintain her composure. ‘I just don’t believe in stealing.’
‘He’s not going to look twice at you,’ Tom gloated. ‘At the very most he might use you for a quick roll in the hay, but then you’ll be out on your ear and he will have moved on to someone much more suitable.’
Lina felt the tears building in her eyes, but refused to let Tom see her cry. She didn’t even know why she was upset, it wasn’t as though she wanted anything to happen between her and Lord Whitemore. She’d seen first-hand how lives were ruined when someone dallied with a person of superior rank and status, she knew what heartache that brought. No, the last thing Lina wanted was for any romantic involvement with Lord Whitemore, even if her heart did pound and her throat constrict when he was close by. The physical attraction she could resist; all she had to do was remind herself how her father had been broken by his short affair with Lady Farrien nearly a decade ago.
‘Someone will come looking for me soon,’ Lina said, turning to walk away. She felt Tom grab her by the waist and before she had chance to twist out of his grip he had her pinned up against the nearest tree.
‘Consider where your true loyalties lie, Lina,’ he whispered in her ear, his warm breath making her shudder as she felt the specks of saliva hit her neck. ‘And remember the terms of our deal, my dear. If you do not get me my fifteen pounds and the information you promised me, you won’t like the consequences.’
Just as he dug his fingers into her wrist, Lina managed to slide down the trunk of the tree and, with a quick twist, wiggled out from under his arm.
‘Send me a note next time the house will be empty and make sure you include details of where this toff of yours keeps his money. I don’t care about vases and statues and jewellery, it needs to be money.’
‘The house is never empty, there are dozens of servants.’
‘But servants retire early if their master is out for the evening.’
Knowing she had some difficult decisions to make, but unsure how she could even start to untangle herself from the mess she was in, Lina turned and darted back towards the house before Tom had chance to say any more. It went against every moral fibre in her body to betray Lord Whitemore to her uncle, but if she didn’t come up with an alternative solution soon she might have no choice in the matter.