Page 13 of My Rogue, My Ruin
What was this, a peace offering? Something more?
Had hestolenthem? The idea that this necklace might truly belong to another lady made her retract her fingers and slam the lid once more.
Her mother bustled back into the salon and harrumphed. “What kind of gentleman sends a gift of this magnitude and expense to a young lady without so much as a note? It is completely improper,” she muttered to herself, taking the box from her daughter yet again. “We will return them the very moment we determine whom they are from. And you willnotwear these rubies under any circumstance.”
“Yes, Mama,” Brynn agreed, silently cursing the sheer nerve of the masked man. How dare that dreadful thief? She didn’t want anything to do with him or his blasted rubies, no matter how exquisite they were. “I’m going to lie down,” she told her mother, casting about for an excuse to leave. “I feel a bit of a headache coming on.”
“Of course, dear,” her mother said, clearly still distracted as she then thrust the box at Brynn instead of confiscating it as she normally would have done.
Hours later in her bedroom, Brynn still couldn’t calm her rattled nerves and flaring temper. Her lady’s maid, Lana, kept darting concerned glances in her direction while she warmed the slipper bath with a scalding pitcher of water. Brynn was of no mind to speak, not even to Lana who had, since becoming her maid six months ago, become more friend than servant. She and Brynn had gotten along well from the start, and the fact that they were near the same age helped. Though her mother often sighed at Lana’s displays of frankness, Brynn loved them. She depended upon them.
Brynn suspected Lana hadn’t been in service for very long. There were moments when she spoke too directly or forgot her place, but Brynn put that down to mere differences between their two cultures. Lana had come to England from Moscow, and while she spoke English fluently, she still had much to learn when it came to English rules. However, Brynn appreciated how Lana never coddled her the way everyone else in the house did.
Brynn eyed her maid, ill-concealed excitement flashing in those transparent green eyes. Lana had no doubt already heard about the mysterious rubies through the ever-reliable flow of servant gossip. She could be trusted with the whole truth, Brynn knew, and she would likely have an edifying opinion on the matter as well. At the very least, confiding in someone would make her breathe easier.
“It’s positively romantic, my lady,” Lana exclaimed, her eyes round with delight after Brynn had finished telling her the tale. “And rubies, no less!”
“Honestly, Lana, it’s not romantic in the least. It’s…barbaric. I have no idea who this scoundrel is, and now he feels welcome to send me gifts, which are likely not even his to give.”
“A gift is a gift, is it not?”
“Not if it’s from a thief.”
“Even better,” Lana said with a mock swoon as she poured a second ewer of hot water into the bath with a sigh. “Can you imagine what he must have risked to send you such an extravagant gift? It’sterriblyromantic, you must see that. You English have no sense of adventure.”
Brynn said nothing as she stepped out of her robe and into the bath. It wasn’t agift. It was a message—one meant for her and her alone. She thought about the brush of the man’s fingers, his seductive half smile as she’d poured their belongings into the pouch at his waist…and then sank her flushed face under the surface of the warm bathwater. She agreed with her mother, for once, and fully intended to give the rubies back somehow. She’d find a way. Brynn racked her brain as she lingered beneath the water’s surface, her skin softening, the fine prickling sensation of the warmth making her shiver.
An idea struck, and she gripped the sides of the tub to thrust herself up, making water slosh over the rim and onto the floor. Could the bandit have been a member of the duke’s house party? The idea was an intriguing one. His smooth palms crossed her mind, too. But what titled gentleman would do such a thing? No. The man had to be a criminal who had followed the wealth out of London and into Essex. That was the only explanation. A member of thetonstealing from his own was an absurd notion.
Once the water had cooled, Brynn stepped from the bath and into the soft robe Lana held out for her. She sat by the fire and waited for Lana to dry and comb her hair. She didn’t have a headache as she’d said to her mother earlier, but she also didn’t have the energy to face Gray and Papa over the topic of the mysterious necklace. Lying was never easy, and keeping it hush-hush that she knew who had sent the rubies would be too difficult. “Tell Mama I’m still ill and won’t be coming down to dinner. Can you ask Cook to send up a tray instead?”
A few minutes passed while Lana relayed the message to a waiting footman. “What are you going to do with the rubies?” Lana asked when resuming her duty of combing Brynn’s long auburn strands.
“Return them, of course.” She hoped Lana hadn’t noticed her slight hesitation. Brynn could not put them on. They were a magnificent piece, yes, but a magnificentstolenpiece.
“Are they very beautiful?”
Brynn tipped her head to the mantel. “They’re over there if you want to have a look.”
She had been prepared for theoohsandaahsthat came from Lana’s mouth as she surveyed the contents of the wooden box. “Fit for a princess,” Lana declared. “A queen, even.”
“Queen of Newgate,” Brynn countered as Lana returned to her place.
“Your secret admirer has exceptional taste.”
Her eyes slid to the box. “Theyarebeautiful,” Brynn said, a wistful note coming through her voice. Lana was right. They were indeed fit for a queen. “But rubies are not uncommon.”
“Not like these. I know something rare when I see it,” Lana said, something intense flashing in her eyes. “And those, milady, are something incredibly rare. They glow so brightly they seem…alive. I have never seen rubies do that, not even Lady Dinsmore’s.”
Brynn, too, had never seen rubies shimmer with such rich color. They must have cost a small fortune. Or been taken as her precious pearls had been. Her lips tightened at the thought of their previous owner, now deprived of her lovely jewels. That blackguard had no scruples whatsoever.
“I’ll hear no more of it, Lana.”
Although they didn’t speak anymore of the rubies or the thief, Brynn could see the fanciful smile on Lana’s lips. It irritated her to no end, but she loved her maid too much to scold her.
After her dinner, Brynn decided to retire early. She’d had enough of the bandit and his presumptuous rubies. But it was as if he had well and truly insinuated himself into every part of her life, even her dreams. And dreams were ungovernable things.
Fighting a fitful sleep, Brynn woke early, her sleep-deprived mind a riotous jumble of thoughts and emotions. She needed to clear her head, and nothing but a fast, cold ride with Apollo on Ferndale’s grounds would accomplish that. Brynn sat up in bed, watching the first streaks of dawn breaking across the tree line. Staying indoors when the sky looked so pink and promising would have been a crime. Her parents wouldn’t be awake for hours yet. She dressed herself simply and sneaked out of the house.
