Conspiring with a Rogue (20 page)

“Spoken like a true American,” Cadogan snarled. “You foreigners are a hotheaded lot. How do you mean to stop nature from taking another of your vessels?”

“Nature has nothing to do with it. I’ve come to suspect there is a man behind my troubles of late.”

Cadogan did not so much as twitch, but his eyelids dropped a fraction and then he turned sharply away. “You Americans are so suspicious.” The man strolled a few steps and turned, his face cast in shadows that masked his expression. “I don’t suppose you have any
real
leads?”

“A few, but nothing I’ll share just yet. I don’t suppose you know where Saint Ambrose is?”

“Three more doors down. You must call on me if you need help with your merry chase. I find I’m fascinated with the idea of catching this fiend, if there is one.”

Drake would call on the man, all right, but not for help. He forced a smile. “I’ll be sure to keep you in mind.” Dying to forge ahead, he had to force himself to move slowly away at a less suspicious pace, until he heard the creak of Cadogan’s door opening, then the thud of the door closing.

Drake stopped in front of the large dark wooden door of the room Rutherford occupied. If he was lucky, Whitney would be in there. Drake threw open the door and stumbled over a chair that had been pushed close to the entrance of the room. Floundering, he fell against the bed instead of the floor, and rolled deftly to his back to find Rutherford standing above him, shirtless, dripping sweat and holding a long, jagged-edged dagger.

“Interesting bed play,” Drake said as he searched the room for Whitney or for the demirep Rutherford might have brought in here. He saw no signs of either. “Are you alone?”

Rutherford scraped the dagger over the stubble of his beard. “Unfortunately, my mind did not want to cooperate with my body tonight.”

“You mean to say you could not perform?”

“I did not say
that
.” Rutherford pointed the dagger at him. “That’s your particular problem, not mine.
I
did not
want
to perform. The offensive truth is there’s another woman on my mind. But as you can see, I’m in the process of exorcizing her.”

“Exactly what in God’s name are you doing?” Drake demanded, noting the chair was not pushed haphazardly near the door as he previously thought. It was placed carefully, along with five other pieces of furniture in a staggered line.

Rutherford reached past Drake, grabbed his shirt off the bed and shoved his dagger into a holder underneath his trousers. “I might ask the same of you, Sutherland. Why are you in my room?”

Drake surged to his feet and punched Rutherford square in the nose. “For that.”

God, that felt excellent. Now that retribution was taken care of, he’d tell Rutherford to go find his cousin. Half expecting Rutherford to retaliate, Drake tensed and prepared to fight, but the man grabbed his nose with one hand and struggled to withdraw a handkerchief from his overcoat.

“What was that for?”

“Lying to me about Whitney.”

“I suppose I deserve that,” Rutherford said and pressed the handkerchief to his nose, then wiped it across his face several times before stuffing the bloodied linen back into his coat.

The man’s calmness served to take the boil out of Drake’s anger. He could almost feel his body cooling.

“Have you a handkerchief to lend?” Rutherford asked. “My nose seems to want to continue bleeding.”

Drake smothered a laugh at the sight of the pompous man with a line of blood dripping down his aristocratic lip. “You deserve a little blood, probably more.”

“Probably. But I cannot leave the room dripping blood. Too many prying eyes.”

Faced with sound logic, Drake reached into his pocket for his handkerchief, and as he did, Rutherford’s fist flew through the air and cracked into Drake’s nose with a splitting pain that ricocheted over his entire face. He withdrew his handkerchief and pressed it to his own nose as Rutherford grabbed a towel from the floor and wiped away the remaining traces of Drake’s punch.

“You don’t fight fair,” Drake said, stuffing his handkerchief away.

“I fight to win. Whether that’s fair or not, I can’t say.”

“I deserved to hit you. You had no right to return the blow.”

Rutherford’s brows came together in a frown, then relaxed. “True. I apologize. Call it a reflex. I’ve never taken a facer without returning it in kind.
This
should have been the exception.”

That was as close to an apology as Drake was going to get from Whitney’s cousin. Still, he wanted answers if not an actual apology. “How could you let Whitney come
here
to this
place
?”

“
Let her
?” Rutherford’s eyes narrowed to slits. “I didn’t let her do anything, my friend. I didn’t know she was here until the moment we saw her in the tunnel.”

“But you knew she was Jezebel, didn’t you?” Drake advanced toward Rutherford until they stood face-to-face. “I should beat you to a bloody pulp.”

“You could try,” Rutherford offered with a slight smile. “Perhaps you’d succeed. Then again, perhaps you wouldn’t. My ability to defend myself might surprise you.”

Drake didn’t doubt it. He had always suspected Rutherford hid some secret. The man disappeared for months on end, often returning haggard and bearing some new scar. Rutherford did not scare Drake, but a fight between the two of them would have to wait. Whitney had to be warned about Cadogan’s desire for her, whether she wanted the warning or not.

He studied Rutherford for a moment. “I considered you a friend. You’ve proven me wrong.”

“Careful with your accusations.”

“
You
be careful,” Drake bellowed. “Have you known where Whitney was all these months?”

“Of course not. I would’ve told you if only to save you from embarrassing yourself with your pitiful behavior.”

“Your concern for me is touching.”

“Despite what you believe, I am your friend. Though, truth be told, I am my cousin’s keeper first. And as her protector, I would have told you her whereabouts had I known.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Your disbelief doesn’t make my words untrue. I would have told you for
her
sake.”

“Her sake?” Drake threw his head back and laughed.

“She loves you. I’m sure of it.”

The audacity of Rutherford’s statement stopped any merriment Drake had felt. He wasn’t about to let the man stand here and defend Whitney to him. “She loves some impotent man named Jonathan. She used me moments ago
for sex
. Pleasant news delivered straight from her rosy lips to my burning ears. A dagger would have felt less painful.”

Good God. He wished he would cease blabbering. He clamped his mouth shut.

Folding his arms across his chest, Rutherford shook his head. “She’s lying.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Drake shoved past Rutherford toward a chair. Angry, he fell into the chair and glared at Rutherford, daring the man to disagree.

“Don’t be such a simpleton,” Rutherford muttered.

“Why shouldn’t I believe her?” Drake leaned forward in his seat. “The words came straight from her mouth. And she
did
leave me. Do I need more proof?” The fact that he sounded a hell of a lot like a whiny woman unnerved him.

One of Rutherford’s dark brows arched. “If you need more proof, I can give it to you.”

Though he should just say no and be done with Whitney and her cousin, Drake could not ignore the immediate curiosity that filled him. “How?”

“Whitney is Wentworth.”

“Beg pardon?” He could not have heard correctly.

“Try and stay with me,” Rutherford snapped. “She’s been pretending to be Wentworth. She’s been hired to find her missing friend, Lillian Lloyd.”

“
Why would she do that?”

“
Which?” Rutherford asked. “Pretend to be a man or try to find her friend?”

“Pretend to be a man,” he ground out, positive Rutherford had known exactly what Drake meant.

“How the blazes should I know?” A deep line appeared between Rutherford’s brow. “Women are perplexing.”

“I had no idea Lillian Lloyd was missing.” Drake stared at his hands, the feel of Whitney’s silken skin so fresh. He didn’t know her. Maybe he had never really known her. “I need to go.” He shoved out of his chair, only to be grasped by the arm.

“Where to?”

Drake raised the arm Rutherford gripped. “Do you mind?”

“Sorry,” Rutherford said, releasing him.

“Lloyd is my friend and business partner. I import his coffee. My ships are sinking, which hurts his business too, and now his daughter is missing on top of his other troubles.”

“What about Whitney?” Rutherford demanded. “You can’t just leave her.”

“Let’s not forget who left who.
Twice
,” Drake snapped. “She’s your concern now. And she needs to be warned. Cadogan’s going to try and find her. I mean Jezebel. Tell her…tell her I’ll never bother her again. She need not hide from me, if that’s what she was doing.”

“Tell her yourself.”

Drake’s anger surged, boiled, threatened to erupt and consume him. He’d been played a fool, an idiot, a numbskull because he had allowed himself to love her as he’d never loved anyone, and Rutherford wanted him to continue to play on. “Your cousin
just used me for sex, and you want me to be concerned for her?”

“There are worse things to be used for.”

Drake didn’t bother with words. He growled at Rutherford.

“Fine, fine. I see you’ve lost your sense of humor.”

“Completely,” Drake concurred.

“Then by all means, believe what you will.”

“Thank God I have your approval.”

Amusement filled Rutherford’s gaze. “I’ll solve the mystery of my cousin myself.”

“Rutherford,” Drake said in warning.

“An Englishman would at least seek revenge.”

Drake refused to be drawn in by Rutherford’s ploy.

“I can imagine nothing sweeter than turning the tables on the woman who wronged me, managed to seduce me, then left me,” Rutherford said in a deceptively innocent voice.

The man did have a point, Drake conceded, though doing so made his jaw clench with frustration.

“
I
would show her a wicked courtship she could not begin to conjure in her wildest imaginations,” Rutherford continued merrily. “What is this world coming to? Whatever happened to an eye for an eye?”

“I’m sure you’ll tell me,” Drake said drily.

“If it were me, when I was finished with my revenge, the woman would be on her knees begging me to stay, begging me to service her one more time.” Rutherford’s mouth turned up into an amused smile. “But of course I’m English, and we do things differently than you Americans.”

Drake refused to be baited.
“You talk too much. Don’t think to manipulate me into trying to win your cousin back, so you may be amused through the winter to come.”

“
I wouldn’t put it quite like that.”

Smothering a laugh, Drake regarded Whitney’s cousin. “I’m sure you wouldn’t. However you would put it, revenge is exactly what I need. But not to reunite me with her. I’ll wipe her from my mind forever.”

“
A lofty goal.”

“
I don’t know why I didn’t think of revenge.”

Rutherford shrugged. “I’ve a far superior mind than most. It’s a curse.
Sometimes
.”

Drake stood and walked to the door.
Damn Whitney’s fathomless eyes. He would never beg for her love. He would never beg for anything. He was not his father. But when Drake was through with Whitney, she would
beg
for his love and then…then he would leave her alone and miserable, just as she’d left him.

“You better run along.” Rutherford waved a hand toward the door. “No doubt Whitney is waiting for your return with bated breath. On the other hand, she may be quite irritated that you have not returned yet. Women are so unpredictable.”

Rutherford was damn annoying. Drake grabbed the man’s lapels and hauled him near. “You’ve not been listening. I am going to
seduce
your cousin and
break her heart
.”

“Yes, yes. I’m quivering with fear for her.” Rutherford chuckled. “I’ll warn her posthaste, as soon as you let go of my overcoat.”

“You’re an irritating man.” Drake shoved Rutherford away. “You don’t believe me now, but you will. Never let it be said by you, your brother or her brother-in-law that I did not warn you, that you did not have a chance to save her.”

“I’ll never let such an atrocious lie be uttered. You have my word.”

“You’ll regret your inaction.”

Rutherford nodded. “I may. Now cease your warnings and go get her.”

“I would if I could.” Drake frowned. “She’s disappeared.”

“What?” Rutherford asked, astonishment clear in his voice.

With Drake’s anger finally cooling, concern hit him straight in the gut. Suddenly, the act of breathing normally seemed difficult. “I left her to find you,” he said, swallowing. “Thought better of it, and when I went to retrieve her, she was gone.”

“Then why have you been standing here exchanging barbs with me instead of searching for her? She could be in danger.”

Drake forced himself to shrug, though alarm raced through his body and sped up his heart and his breathing. He had almost convinced himself he was overreacting about her safety, but Rutherford’s stricken face said otherwise. “I’ll search up above, and you search down here.” If anything bad happened to Whitney, he would never forgive himself.