Clockwork Blue (18 page)

Ramsey grasped her by the arm.
"
What happened last night?
"

"
Nothing.
"

"
I demand to know what that scoundrel did to you.
"

"
The Earl? He only
followed
me home
to make sure I arrived sa
fely. He didn't trust the barrel
about to arrive without breaking down,
"
she added as she wryly recalled his words.

"
I can
'
t believe that. The man is vindictive. Believe me,
I
know firsthand.
"

Alarm prickled
Nicola
'
s spine.
"
What? He beat you?
"

"
No. I wish he had caned me. It would have been much more bearable than what he
'
s forcing me to do. And he
'
s having his servant follow me as if I
'
m untrustworthy.
"
Indignation peppered his tone.

"
Well, you are.
"

Bristling, Ramsey stiffened his spine with a jerk of his head
.
"
I beg your pardon.
"

"
Not to me, but you are in the Falcon
'
s
eyes
.
"

He sniffed.
"
I shouldn
'
t have to suffer his cruelty.
"

"
What is he doing to you?
"
Eyeing
him closely, she noticed his clothing was as impeccable as ever and his cravat had been tied in the usual intricate design. With an inward grin, she knew her cousin had a melodramatic, youthful bent to his nature—perhaps because he was young, being
only sixteen
ye
ars of age
, and so passionate in his zest for the underprivileged. Affection pricked the backs of her e
ye
s.

"
It
'
s foul.
"
His nose wrinkled, reminding her that he was
five
ye
ars her junior.
"
He
'
s forced me to muck the stables. But that
'
s a moot point.
"
He scowled at her.
"
Answer me,
Nicola
. What hap
pened after I left you last eve
ning?
"

"
Nothing happened.
"

"
The notion of you with him in the dead of night makes my skin crawl.
"
He frowned.
"
I
'
ll have to challenge the cad.
"

"
You'll do no such thing.
I
'
ll do the challenging if need arises.
"
She suppressed a smile.
"
Besides, I
'
m the one who protects you,
brattling
.
"

"
You
'
re still trying to be my mother.
"

"
I
'
m the only semblance of a mother you
'
ve had for
fifteen
ye
ars now.
"
If his mother hadn
'
t died in the carriage accident along with her own, how different would they be today? Had she in some way made him impulsive and reckless? From a very young age, she had involved him with the stockingers
'
families and their plight. Even now, he visited families who had suffered misfortunes, brought gifts and sent servants to see to their needs. He had developed such responsibility that when the Luddites evolved, he had been a natural to join them.

"
And when are you going to notice I
'
m full-grown? Besides, you
'
re the one who needs a mother. You
'
re older but not wiser. You
'
re too trusting.
"

If he was so wise, he never would have gone to Falcon
wood
'
s
workshop
and smashed the loom. Then neither of them would be in this predicament. But to voice her thoughts now wouldn
'
t help their situation. Instead she followed him upstairs, hoping to assuage his discontent.
"
I always assume the best in people unless they prove undeserving.
"
Entering her cousin
'
s bedchamber, she noted the chambermaid had recently replaced the bouquet of daffodils and roses on the bidet cabinet. The tent bed appeared freshly laundered with its jade and gold chintz hangings drawn.

Ramsey strode to the wardrobe and retrieved a small satchel.
"
That
'
s your problem. You only see good in people. Why, the man is
not only
a womanizer,
he's
a murderer.
"
He froze with his hand in a drawer.
"I
f he laid a hand—
"

"
And I
'
m telling you, he was the perfect gentleman. When I asked him to show compassion and assign you to muck out stables instead of the gaol, he bowed to my wishes immediately.
"

Ramsey groaned.
"
I should have known this was your idea. G
ive me a
ye
ar locked away rather than scoop out horse droppings for a week.
"

"Deportation, not gaol."

But his nose wrinkled and his lips curved downward.
He appeared so disgusted that
Nicola
patted his shoulder.
"
Don
'
t worry. You won
'
t have to clean them for long,
"
she declared, thinking she would send word to Mr.
Hamilton, Ramsey
'
s former teacher, to get Ramsey out of the country.

"
That
'
s for certain. I plan to escape.
"
He moved to the whitewashed table and began collecting his shaving equipment.

Alarm bells rang.
"
How? And to do what? You can
'
t come back here. It will be the first place he
'
ll look for you. And you certainly cannot just hide in the woods. Where would you sleep? What would you eat? How would you live?
"

Staring with
yearning
at his bed, he lifted his chin.
"
The forest leaves will be my mattress and my hunting skills are nothing to laugh at. It would be a grand adventure.
"

She gave an undignified snort.
"
It would be folly.
"

"
Why do you say that?
"
He
threw her a surly look.

"
Because Falcon won
'
t relent in his search for you. I
'
m sending you far away.
"

"
Ah. You do sense danger in him. Admit it.
"

"
He
'
s merely strict.
"

Ramsey
'
s
eyes
gleamed.
"
Malice and revenge suit him better.
"
With force, he snapped shut his satchel and walked out of his chambers.
"
Where would you send me then, hmm?
To get me out of the Earl's reach?
"
He continued down the hallway with the peach-and-blue-striped
papered walls, and the octagon-
designed carpet that had been woven on looms.

Close to
his heels,
Nicola
descended the stairs
with him
.
"
I
'
ll post a missive to Mr. Hamilton. He always goes abroad with his students. You could go with him.
"
Although the thought of not seeing Ramsey for a
ye
ar caused her throat to thicken, she knew she had to convince him to go.

He stopped on the bottom step, causing Nicola to bump into him. The collision didn't faze him; he took the last step down and turned.
"
Why, that would take me away from Nottingham for a
ye
ar. I can
'
t leave the Luddites for that long.
They
need
me.
I
'
ll hide
in one of the neighboring villages, but I
'
m not leaving England.
"