Page 20 of How to Court a Rake
‘But you cannot always be with me.’ Although how wondrous it would be to have such a champion.
‘Can’t I?’ He chuckled. ‘We’ll see about that.’ The curtain went up and she felt Caine’s hand slide around hers in the privacy of the darkness. For the first time since coming back from the failed house party in May, she felt safe, which was ridiculous, because Caine Parkhurst was anything but.
Chapter Eleven
Caine escorted Mary to the Earl’s carriage under the glowering gaze of Carys himself whose countenance made it clear he would have preferred it if the Marquess of Barrow had made his goodbyes at the box. But Caine was determined to stay with Mary as long as possible and to offer her all the assurances of safety he could, including the promise of calling on her the next day. He helped her into the carriage with a covert squeeze of her hand while the Earl glared over her head.
‘If you do call tomorrow…’ the Earl said coolly once the women and Amesbury were inside.
‘WhenI call tomorrow,’ Caine corrected with a wolfish smile, prepared to go on the attack. He’d been waiting for Carys’s warning since the moment he’d arrived.
Carys cleared his throat and then proceeded with his customary sternness. ‘As you say,whenyou call tomorrow, I would appreciate a conversation. In private, Barrow.’ It was probably all the politeness he would get from Carys. That was fine. He wasn’t looking to be friends.
‘I would welcome it,’ Caine returned with a steely gaze to match Carys’s tone. For many reasons. He would bring his persuasion to bear any way he could to champion Mary’s cause of freedom, or at least freedom from Amesbury’s attentions. It seemed that the modern world had not moved on from medieval arrangements when it came to marriage. Such arrangements were alive and well and just as barbaric as ever.
Oh, he wasn’t an idealist by any means. He didn’t think the aristocracy would stop marrying for money and power any time soon. They couldn’t afford to. But hehadthought the arrangements were made on slightly more amicable, consensual grounds, that blatant force had dropped out of the equation. Mary’s case suggested otherwise. This was outright coercion. Subtly managed, certainly. Mary would have no case to plead. Society would say Carys was doing what any good father would do: finding a suitable match for his daughter who’d been out several Seasons.
No one would think marrying a daughter to a duke and all the benefits that came with it was coercive. But Caine had seen the look in her eyes at the theatre tonight, felt the tightness of her grip on his arm, seen the trembled construction of her words in the short note she’d sent. Amesbury frightened her—a woman who did not frighten easily. That was intolerable in Caine’s estimation. Yet the duality of his own situation was growing intolerable, too. Soon he’d have to act on behalf of the Horsemen and that would possibly change everything.
You’ve become quite invested in Lady Mary Kimber’s situation, more so than your own circumstances warrant, his conscience nudged.Remember why you started this: To repay her for a social debt, long before you suspected Carys’s involvement in the Greek business. But now that debt is paid and you need to think of your own cause. You need entrance to Carys House for Stepan.
Tomorrow, he’d get a first-hand look inside Carys’s study, which would be useful for conducting a more in-depth look through that study later in the hopes of finding paperwork that might connect Carys to the sabotage. Or perhaps in hopes of not finding anything at all even if meant they would be back to step one in finding the saboteurs.
His own carriage pulled to the kerb at last, having made its way through the post-theatre traffic and Caine gave instructions to go directly to Parkhurst House. He wanted to talk to Kieran. Between the two of them, perhaps they could figure out who Amesbury was.
For a man like himself who lived in town more often than not, it was strange to run across someone so entirely new. Even newcomers had reputations that preceded them so that they were known, expected, before they arrived. But Amesbury had materialised as though from thin air.
Lights stilled burned in the drawing room windows of Parkhurst House, but the tenor was much more subdued than when he’d left. Westin’s party had moved on and only a few men remained, playing a quiet game of cards at a corner table, Kieran keeping them company. Jackets had come off; sleeves were rolled up. Caine recognised the men, all of them involved in some level of diplomacy. Such men came to Parkhurst House often. It was a place where deals could be unofficially discussed, information unofficially learned and passed.
It was moments like this when Caine felt the loss of Stepan even more keenly. Stepan was usually the one who saw to the guests in their drawing room club, who signalled for more drinks to keep a man talking or a fresh pack of cards to keep men playing. When men were enjoying themselves, tongues loosened intentionally or unintentionally. Kieran looked up and caught his gaze. Caine gave a jerk of his head, indicating the study down the hall before he disappeared, knowing his brother would follow.
‘Well, how was the theatre?’ Kieran drawled, sprawling on the leather sofa in the study and accepting a tumbler of brandy. ‘Good enough for drinks, eh?’ he joked.
‘It was enlightening. Worrisome.’ Caine took the chair opposite his brother and rested his feet on the fireplace fender. ‘The good news is that I have been asked to have a private word with Carys tomorrow at the house.’
‘Let me guess.’ Kieran swirled his brandy. ‘The bad news is the reason for it?’ He took a long swallow and let out a satisfied sigh.
‘Lady Mary’s situation is untenable. Which makes me suspicious. She is an attractive, intelligent, well-dowered, titled young woman. She does not need to be manhandled—for lack of a better word—into a marriage. There are plenty of suitors she could choose to make an appropriate match with. I saw them first-hand. The drawing room was crowded with them. Yet, her father is forcing the Duke of Amesbury on her.’
‘So you’re wondering—’ Kieran took up the thread of thought ‘—why does he need Amesbury badly enough to override his daughter’s desire to choose a match from an acceptable, well-vetted pool, which would meet both their needs.’
‘Yes, exactly. Surely you and I are not the only ones to see how this situation could be remedied amicably with both parties getting what they want. Yet Mary says her father has already decided on Amesbury.’
Kieran studied the liquid in his glass. ‘She is entirely opposed to the Duke? It’s not just stubbornness because he is a duke? Perhaps she’s feeling a bit rebellious after the last two.’
Caine flashed his brother a strong look. ‘I believe her words were, “he is vile”.’ There’d been no time for details, but her words and the way they were delivered had raised Caine’s hackles to be sure. Had the man importuned her in some way in her own home? Had he spoken to her crassly? A man’s vocabulary indicated much about his thought patterns and behaviours.
Kieran grimaced. ‘That bad. Hmm.’
‘Do you know the name? Amesbury? I have to admit the man was a stranger to me.’
Kieran shook his head and sat up. ‘I don’t know, butDebrett’swill.’ He set aside his glass and strode to a bookcase. ‘And Lucien would know, of course, but he’s not here.’ The brothers exchanged a look of mutual concern.
‘Father’s with him, helping him sort the library.’ And, no doubt, helping Lucien sort his feelings, his grief along with it. Father was good at things like that. He knew how to come alongside a person in their time of need with a story or a piece of advice. ‘I miss him, too. It’s been a long time since it’s just been the two of us.’ He gave Kieran a rueful grin and swirled his own brandy. ‘Thirty-four years, in fact.’
Kieran laughed. ‘Do you remember the time we bundled up Stepan and took him sledding? It was only the second time we’d ever seen snow ourselves, but we were convinced we were experts.’
Caine nodded. ‘We sent him down the hill behind the stables all by himself. He must have been…four? But he had no fear. He laughed the whole way down. He was still laughing when we pulled him out of the snowbank at the bottom. I thought Mother was going to kill us. But Stepan just wanted to go again.’
