A Bright Particular Star (46 page)

Sophie
reach
ed
for th
e pin, but h
e
was too quick
for her
.
Fast as light
ning, h
is fingers
closed around it before she could snatch it
up
.

He studied
the gem
, twisting it
until it caught
the light
and glowed with inward fire
.
“
Bea
utiful,
”
he murmured, almost purring with pleasure.
“
I
shall never tire of
it.
”

“T
ake it if
it means so much to you,
”
she said
,
unnerved by his
increasingly
capricious
manner.
“
I make you a gift of it
.
I
t
’s
not entailed so
there
’s
no need to marry me
to get it
.
”

He frowned
at her
over the pin
.
“T
hat won
’t
do.
I can
’t
guar
antee you won
’t
want it back
.
”

“
I
promise you
I
won
’t
.
”

“
I’m
not prepared to
acce
pt your assurance.
Besides
,
the way things have worked out, it
is better done
proper
ly
.
T
here is
also the legend to consider.
You wouldn
’t
want to see me dead
because
I’m
not the righ
tf
ul owner of this
, would you?
”

She threw
him a scornful look
.
“
Y
ou don
’t
believe that
nonsense
!
You
didn
’t
regard it
when you were trying to steal the Star
from under my nose
.
T
ak
e it
!
I won
’t
tell
else anyone
what has passed between us today
.
”

He shook his head.
“T
oo
late.
C
an
’t
trust you
to keep your mouth shut
.
M
arriage is the only
solution
.
Better it is done, and do
ne quickly
.
M
y mother will
not object as to the manner of it.
Y
ou may do as you please
afterward
.
Take
V
erney as your
lover if you wish
.
I
’
l
l
place
few
constraints upon you
as long
you are
discreet.
And obedient
.
I insist
upon that
.
You will
give me what I
want
,
when
ever
and however
I demand it
.
”

A
n involuntary shudder
ran though Sophie
.
It was
difficult
to reconcile this ruthless
, hard-eyed
stranger
with the
foppish cousin
she had li
ved alongside for three years
.
H
is ne
xt words dashed any remaining hopes she
might have
had that his plans did not extend past Islington
.

“
We
’
ll set off for Gret
n
a at once,
”
he said.

“
B-But your carriage
is not here,
”
she stammered.

“
It
’s
in the stables.
My team
is being hitched up now
.

Sophie
’s
heart sank.
“
But we can
’t
go to Gretna in a curricle!
”

“
We shall go as far as Barnet
and then
hire a post chaise at the Green Man.
”

Ther
e was silenc
e until she declared
,
“
You
’
ve planned it all, haven
’t
you?
”

“
Naturally
.
Once I knew where the Star was, the only difficulty was how to get you away
from Brook Street and y
ou were
obliging enough t
o join me in the hackney
today
withou
t too much questioning.
M
y
powers
of persuasion
are impressive, aren
’t
they
?
”

Sophie
exhaled on a hiss of fury.
“D
on
’t
you mean
lies?
You spoke of a matter concerning Olivia and I w
as stupid
enough to be taken
in
!
Oh,
you were clever!
You played
on the very thing
you knew would conv
ince me
to accompany you
:
my affection
for Olivia.
”

“
I did not lie
.
Tell me,
do you
still
refuse to go
to the border
?
”

“
Nothing
—
nothing
—
could induce me to
leave here in your company
!
”
she said in low, throbbing accents
.

“
Really
?
”
he observed
, his gaze
steady on her face.
“
We must
put that to the test.
Y
ou need to
understand
my friends
from Savernake
have helped me before
.
In fact
they work for me.

Sophie frowned
.
“
Oh?
Doing what
?
”

“
Assisting in
various robberies.
”

An incredulous laugh escaped her.
“
You, a common thief
and housebreaker
?
I don
’t
believe it
.
It is one thing to try to steal the Star from me, quite another to extend the practice elsewhere.
”

“D
on
’t
refer to me as common,
”
he said, eyeing her unpleasantly.
“
I find the word
offensive
.
”

“S
o you don
’t
object to
being called a thief
then?
”

“
No, it is an ugly description and
insufficient to convey my
talent
, but
t
hat is what I am
…
in another life.
”
He
stood up and
brushed a speck of dust from his sleeve.
“
I prefer the adjective
‘d
aring
’
or even
’
reckle
ss
’
, but never common.
”

“
Y
ou speak in riddles!
Are you
a thief
or
are you
not
?

He
executed a
bow
.
“
A famous one
.
Or perhaps
that should be
infamous.
”

“
Indeed?
”
she observed
, drily
.
“
Next you will tell me
you are actually
a highwayman, or pe
rhaps even
the Bath
Fox.
”

“
How intuitive
of you
.
The latter is correct.
”

Sophie stared
.
It was a full minute before
she
could command her voice s
ufficiently to answer with some
composure.

“
Y
-Y
ou are joking, of course
,
”
she stammered
.

When she saw
that he was not
, her eyes widened and she could not contain a gasp of astonishment
.
Fear, ice-cold and pe
rnicious, stole through her
.

“S
urprised
?
”
he said
, in a silky voice
.
A
glimmer of a
smile played
over his lips.
“
Goo
d,
I like to surprise people.
But
I don
’t
like to be crossed.
Now yo
u know my secret
, we will return to the question of our marriage.
”

“
I don
’t
care who you are
,
”
she flung back
,
her mind working
furio
u
sly
,
“
I’m
not going to Gretna.
”

“
You will
when I tell yo
u what will happen if you refuse
.
”

“
Your threats don
’t
frighten
me
.
”

“
No?
I thought that might be your response.
Your spi
rit is admirable, if
ultimately futile
, and
I
’
ll admit
you have nerves of steel.
Still, t
here are less violent ways
to get to you do my bidding.
”
He
sat down again and
pursed his lips, watching
her
.
“
Y
ou
really do
care
about
Olivia
, don
’t
you?
”

“
Olivia?
”
said Sophie, thrown by this
sudden
change of tack.
“
What about her?
”

“
I did not lie when I said there was a
matter that affected
her
.
You, my dear Sophie,
are to be the arbiter of
Olivia’s
fate.
”
He crossed one booted leg over the other and, swinging his quizzing glass to and fro, he continued, speaking slowly and dispassionately.
“S
hould
you refu
se to do as I say
, I
will send word to
some of
my men
.
They
were watching you earlier and informed me of yo
ur visit to Lincoln
’s
Inn
.
T
hey
now
await my
further
instructions.
If you will not do as I ask
, they will be told
t
o snatch
Olivia
at the first opportunity
and
do
as they wish
with her
.
No doubt they
’
ll find it a ple
asure despite
being well paid for their exertions.
They
’
re rough fellows
with no finer feelings
…
s
he
’
ll be half dead
by the time they have
fin
ished
with her
.
”