Page 47 of Fit for a Duke
She looked up at him with hostility. ‘I do.’
‘My, but you are outspoken.’
‘For which you only have yourself to blame. If you had come here without first implying to Lady Fletcher that there was an understanding between us, I would have received you in a more civil manner and listened to your declaration, even though it is unlikely that anything would have persuaded me to accept it. Not even your assurances of my father’s approval.’ She paused. ‘If indeed he did approve of you. I hear tell that you and he were not on the best of terms immediately before his death.’
‘How on earth…’ His gaze drifted in Ezra’s direction and his expression darkened. ‘Do not believe everything you hear.’
‘Send your letter up and I will read it. That is the only promise I am willing to make. Good night.’
She turned on her heel and headed for the stairs, conscious of Ezra standing to one side, watching her go. She desperately wanted to look his way in search of reassurance but knew he would see the conflicting emotions she was too disturbed to conceal writ large across her countenance. She absolutely could not afford to lean on him, she reminded herself, especially not after she had so brazenly takenhishand.
Salford’s claims on her affections were hers to resolve alone.
It took every ounce of Ezra’s self-control not to follow Clio up the stairs. It was still early, the party would go on for hours yet and he wondered why she had felt the need to retire so soon. He sensed that her withdrawal was not temporary and that she required solitude in order to…to what? She had looked disconcerted following the trampling that her toes had endured during the quadrille, which was an event in itself. Silas never danced, as evidenced by his inability to recall the steps, and yet he had invited Clio to stand up immediately after Ezra himself had taken to the floor with her, which was concerning.
He was up to something.
Clio had then been accosted by Salford and he had no idea what had passed between them, although from a distance they appeared to be having a disagreement. Ezra had tried to edge closer but Salford had taken her to the opposite side of the room and Ezra’s progress across it had been hampered every step of the way by females keen to engage his attention. Good manners required him to bestow just a little of it upon each of them.
By the time Ezra reached Clio’s side of the room she was already heading for the stairs, looking angry and discomposed. Ezra knew with absolute certainty that the party would lose its appeal for him if she was no longer a part of it, and the urge to chase after her, to take her in his arms and dispel the hurt that he’d seen swirling in the depths of her eyes was compelling.
Ye gods, was he in a very different kind of danger than the one he had anticipated when accepting this invitation? Admiration for the chit’s lively individuality was one thing, but he had not consciously thought beyond that point. She was a child, twelve years his junior, who knew absolutely nothing of the adult world.
‘Damn!’ he muttered, excusing himself from the females surrounding him and walking away. He had lost his taste for dancing too.
Assuming that Godfrey must have returned from the village by now, he took the stairs two at a time and retired to his room. A tug of the bell rope brought Godfrey to him surprisingly quickly.
‘What news?’ he asked, throwing off his coat, then his neckcloth.
‘Seems Lady Walder stayed at the Oak a week ago for two nights, but not under her own name. She travelled with a maid and registered as a Mrs Francis. She was recognised when she came through the village again to join us here. Of course, her true identity is now known and it’s an endless cause for speculation. The locals think it their right to know why she came as someone else the first time around.’
‘Most likely a tryst,’ Ezra remarked, throwing himself onto the window seat. ‘Either that or she wanted to be close to Lady Fletcher for some reason. But why? They are acquaintances. She could simply have called.’
‘You haven’t asked who else was seen in the area at about the same time,’ Godfrey said, looking uncharacteristically sombre.
‘I have not but it’s clear you want to tell me. Out with it, man!’
‘A gent answering Lord Brennan’s description, is who,’ Godfrey replied.
‘What the devil…’ Ezra ran a hand through his hair, totally perplexed. ‘Those two are in it together? Why? And if they are, why did they need to meet to discuss their plans in a tavern? Brennan still has a place he calls home in Surrey, even if it is mortgaged to the hilt and he’s in danger of losing it. Why risk showing their hand for no obvious reason?’
‘Well, that’s the question.’
‘She has done her very best to sweet talk her way into my good graces this evening.’ Ezra paced the length of the room as he thought the matter through, watched by an adoring Merlin who flapped his tail every time Ezra came in reach of his position stretched out in front of the empty fireplace. ‘That is not the behaviour of an assassin.’
‘It is if the assassin in question wants to gain your trust.’
‘No, we overheard her telling Salford that she was determined to win my affections. There was no mention of ulterior motives, which there would have been if they were in a partnership and meeting to compare progress. But if they are partners in crime, why is she meeting him for a romantic liaison if she is involved with Brennan, my mother’s lover?’ Ezra scratched his head. ‘This is getting damnably complicated.’
‘We?’ Godfrey flexed a brow in the impertinent manner that was second nature to him. Godfrey was no respecter of Ezra’s elevated status, which was one of the reasons why he endured in his employ. That and the fact that he had proved his unswerving loyalty time without number.
‘Miss Benton and I.’
‘Ah, of course.’ Godfrey grinned.
‘We know why Brennan wants me out the way and I suppose Lady Walder could be hedging her bets. If I take her up on her not-so-subtle invitation I get to live. If not…’
‘That’s no kind of choice. Besides, if she’s thrown in her lot with the devil, she won’t be able to back out. Whoever’s killing your family off is too clever, and has laid his plans too well to permit accomplices a change of heart.’
