Heart of the Diamond (34 page)

She was doing it again, that inexorable power of will that no one could resist. “I am sorry, too.” Nicki glared at Blake.

“For a couple about to be wed in a few days, you behave a good deal like spoiled children.”

“And this particular brat owes me two dances. I have come to collect the debt,” interposed Teddy's voice, filled with suppressed laughter.

“I was just thinking the same thing, Teddy.” With a pointed glance at Blake and a sweet smile for Angelica, Nicki took Teddy's hand and allowed herself to be lead onto the dance floor.

“I was curious about something.”

Nicki hooked her arm in Teddy's and they turned once, then reversed. “What is it?”

Teddy's answer waited as they backed away from each other and the lead couple danced down the aisle created by the dancers. When they came together again he leaned close to her ear. “How you can allow this engagement to continue after what Dylan has done.”

Alarm at the force of his sudden anger stiffened her movements. “And what, pray tell, has he done?”

“Good God, girl, are you so blind? He killed your horses. You heard Andrew. The earl's man was the only stranger about the place.”

“You are mistaken.” Nicki struggled to concentrate on the turns. “Blake had nothing to do with that gruesome incident.”

Teddy glanced about before dancing her through several lines of couples and toward the open balcony doors. Moments later, they moved hand-in-hand down the steps of the veranda to the graveled path leading through the stark winter garden.

At the small summerhouse not far from the Hall, Teddy stopped and took Nicki's shoulders in his hands. She shivered, not certain if it was from the chill in the air or the fury that added a bitter hardness to Teddy's features even the incandescent glow of the moon could not disguise.

“What hold does he have over you that you should defend him even in this?”

Nicki tried to pull away, but his hold was too strong. “I know him, Teddy, and he is not capable of such actions.”

As though with a supreme act of will, Teddy softened. “If not he, then who? Who else has any motive for destroying your father's animals? There is no one else, Nicki. You must accept what he is and demand your freedom.”

“No! I have no clue who is the guilty party, but I am positive it was not Blake.”

“Did he tell you he did not do it?”

Nicki jerked her arms away to wrap them about her body. It was a defensive gesture. She wished she could say that Blake had denied everything, had justified his actions and reassured her of his innocence. But he had not, and she could not lie. She shook her head.

Teddy reached for her again, but Nicki flinched away. He sighed. “Your blind faith is commendable, but undeserved where this man is concerned. He'll use you to destroy your father. What will you do then? I know you. In using you as his instrument of destruction, he'll crush you as well. Will you allow that to happen?”

Nicki spun from the words, staring miserably into the darkness. Neither the soft chirping of a night bird nor muffled strains of orchestra music drifting hauntingly through the night could lighten her heart. “If I thought he was hurting Papa in any way I would not stand by and allow it to happen.”

“How will you stop him? You could not prevent what has already happened.”

Cool air turned the tears on her cheeks to ice water, and she wiped at them impatiently. “I could not prevent it because it was not Blake. I will find out who is responsible, and they will pay for what they have done.”

Teddy took her upper arm and pulled her around to face him. “This foolish adulation must cease! You know there is no one else who would wish to hurt your father. Only Dylan. Somehow he has charmed you into believing he is something he's not.”

“I want to help him. He has been hurt so badly—that was the reason for his actions in the past. With my support, he can overcome his anger.” Nicki glanced back toward the lights, longing to return to the warmth and comfort of the house. “You do not know him as I do.”

“Still so naive! He has no intention of forgiving or forgetting. His anger won't be appeased until he's ruined every last one of us.”

Her shivering halted and Nicki looked up at Teddy sharply. “Us? Whatever is this absurd mystery? Blake says I must ask Papa. Papa says I must ask Blake. And now you hint that you are aware of whatever it is Blake must avenge, and are somehow involved. Please tell me!”

“I agree with your father. Blake must be the one to tell you.”

“Men! Must you all be so close-mouthed about things?”

Teddy released her and stepped back, his face guarded. “It's a delicate matter. It would be inappropriate for me to speak of it.”

“Nonsense! You have never stood on ceremony with me, Teddy. Why should you begin now?”

One corner of his mouth lifted in a melancholy grin. “Because you became engaged to another.”

Her heart shrank from the pain in his voice. Teddy was her friend. She hated hurting him, but deep in her soul she knew she could not chose him over Blake. He should quickly learn the love of childhood had not survived to adulthood.

She loved Blake, perhaps foolishly and hopelessly, but with all her being nonetheless. “I shall add you to my list of those I would convince that Blake is a kind and decent man.”

“And is Blake on that list as well?”

Cold wind swept around her body and she wrapped her arms tightly about herself. “As a matter of fact, he is at the top.”

Blake's hands tightened on the rail. The night, black and starless, seemed to have swallowed Nicole and Teddy. The chill of the air did little to cool the red-hot fury that coursed through him. It brought to mind the wispy Grecian gown Nicole wore. She would freeze. That is unless she had someone to warm her. Damn Bartholomew.

“What brings you out into this ghastly night, nephew?”

He awaited Sophia's approach before returning to his vigil over the garden. Carefully, he schooled his features into the familiar mask of indifference. “Curiosity draws me outside.”

She paused at his side and her gaze, so similar to his own, searched the meticulously pruned evergreens amidst the bare branches of other shrubbery. “I wasn't aware you had a taste for gardening.”

“Not normally. But tonight there is a single rose I have a particular interest in.”

“Ah. Might we be speaking of a certain wild rose who has cracked the surface of the diamond?”

He slanted her a wry grin. “Scratched, perhaps. Roses do have thorns, you know. But I would prefer discussing another topic.”

Sophia turned to rest her lower back against the rail. “I hope your melancholy turn of mind is not due to the contents of the box. I read only the first few letters and believed the contents would please you. Barrett was such an undemonstrative man. The letters proved he was concerned for you.”

Blake tensed. “The contents of the box are something I shall deal with in my own time, in my own way. You needn't worry about me.”

“Someone must. I once thought you should have been my son, and Harry should have been Barrett's. Harry would have been much better suited to my brother's coldness.”

That earned a surprised glance. “Why, Sophia, I am flattered to learn you think so highly of me.”

“I once did. I am not certain Barrett did not spoil all that was good in you. You remind me of him so strongly at times; then at others, it is like seeing a shadow of Phoenix. I think it is at those times that I care for you most.”

“You knew my mother well?”

Sophia's gaze reflected the bright light filtering from the ballroom. She smiled softly. “She was my closest friend. That is how she met Barrett. At first he thought her a horrible nuisance. He was somewhat older and thought me and my friends to be nothing more than silly children.”

“What was she like? I remember so little of her.”

“Her parents were quite unusual. They traveled a great deal and settled in London for Phoenix's first Season. She had the most beautiful laughter—like a music box. And she laughed often. How she adored life! Barrett was so serious. When she told me she had decided she would marry him, I could not hide my surprise. How could someone with such joy and vitality wish to spend their life with a person who was their complete opposite? But if Phoenix was anything, it was determined. I watched in amazement as she skillfully drew my brother to her, like a moth to flame. When he was with her, he was a different person. He smiled and joined in any shenanigan she plotted. She made him exquisitely happy.”

Blake's chest tightened until he thought he could not breathe. “She sang to me. It was like magic.”

Sophia covered Blake's hand where it clenched the railing. “She was magical, Blake. It was a tragedy to lose her.”

He stared into the darkness and struggled to remember. “I was so young when she went away. All I have left are feelings—images. Nothing substantial that I can call to mind.”

“I often thought that Phoenix was like a sprite, flitting this way and that. Perhaps you do not have a solid image because she could not leave one. When I think of Phoenix, I am reminded that when she was in a room, there was not a face that did not smile.”

Blake dropped his head back to stare into the black sky. “You could almost be describing Nicole.”

“I suppose I could be. She certainly has that same vibrancy.”

“She came out here with Teddy, and I followed. He is her friend and I want to think he would never purposefully hurt her, but . . . ”

“But you are jealous and protective. It is perfectly natural, Blake.”

He released the rail, turned, and strode toward the glass doors. Sophia caught up to him and placed a restraining hand on his arm. He glanced down at her impatiently. “It is not natural. Those emotions would mean that I care for her. I refuse to allow myself to fall into that trap.”

“What trap, Blake? Loving someone is not a trap!”

He turned slightly, just enough to cause her hand to drop from his sleeve. “To me it is. And I will not fall into it again.”

“But you are marrying her. How can you spend the rest of your life with a woman you refuse to love?”

“That, Sophia, is none of your business. I think I have bared my soul enough for one night. Good God, enough for the rest of my days. If you should see Nicole, tell her I await her in the drawing room.”

Sophia nodded wordlessly. He could see he had hurt her with his anger. Well, it served her right—dredging up memories best left in the past, making him want something that could never be his. He turned from her and strode into the brilliant noise of the ballroom.

Nicki found Blake once again lounging against the mantle of the fireplace. But this time a young girl stood at his side, her face turned up to his in blatant adoration.

Deuce take it.

She set her jaw in determination and approached the pair. “Wonderful evening, is it not? Have we met? I am Nicki Langley, the earl's fiancée.”

Lovely cornflower blue eyes widened in a heart shaped face framed by short curls the color of ripe wheat. Nicki disliked the girl immediately. “With so many people here, we have not been formally introduced. I saw you speaking with Cecilia earlier. I am Catherine, her youngest sister.”

Nicki's sympathy for Cecilia's plight deepened. “Of course. You are to have your coming out this year. My sister, Wilhemina, shall have her first Season as well. Have you met Mina?”

“No. I don't believe I have.”

Surveying the room, Nicki nodded in the direction of the door. “There she is now. The dark-haired girl just leaving the room. If you hurry you can catch her up. The two of you should have a great deal to talk about.”

Catherine followed Nicki's gaze dubiously. “Well . . . I . . . of course. It was a pleasure meeting you both.”

“Likewise,” said Nicki.

As the girl struck out in search of “a dark-haired girl," Nicki turned her full attention to the earl. “I cannot leave you alone for a moment!”

Blake arched one dark brow. “I do not believe I was the one venturing into the garden with Bartholomew.”

“Oh, that. He had not been able to speak with me and wanted a private word. It was harmless.”

“As was my discussion of Byron with Miss White.”

Nicki grimaced. “Byron? 'She Walks in Moonlight' is one of Mina's favorites. I suppose it is rather romantic and all.”

He eyed her strangely. “I suppose it is.”

“Please tell me you are not jealous of Teddy. I promise you I think of him only as a friend.”

“I am not jealous by any means. I was merely concerned about appearances. It is not at all the thing for you to go off alone into the darkness without a cloak, and to stay gone for close to half an hour.”

“You were jealous!” She smiled with pleasure.

Blake scowled as he turned to set his champagne glass on the mantle with a sharp thunk. “I have not a jealous bone in my body.”

She cocked her head slightly to survey him. “I suppose you do not. I merely thought that since I intensely disliked Catherine speaking with you, that perhaps you felt the same about another man speaking with me. Foolish of me.”

“Exactly so. And you need not be jealous of any other woman. I quite have my hands full with you.”

A shriek from the opposite end of the room interrupted Nicki's next reply. She turned to see Grampa Giles clearing a path through the mob of people with his cane. He swung the stick with such vigor that one lady did not have time to make her escape. She kicked desperately at the offending object, but it appeared to have become quite firmly entrenched in the hem of her gown. The more she struggled, the more agitated Grampa Giles became, and the higher her skirts raised.

Teddy, standing nearby, hurried forward and knelt at the lady's feet. With deft efficiency, he removed the tip of the cane from the thread at the hem of the gown. He rose, his cheeks flaming. “You should be more careful with that thing, Giles!”

Grampa ignored him and continued on his way. Obviously, his objective was the draperies. Nicki leaned toward Blake. “Mina said he has caused quite a good deal of trouble. It seems he has not been the same since the Napoleonic wars. He feels it his duty to prod about every room he enters to ensure the enemy is not hiding. He broke several of Angelica's figurines when he thought he had someone cornered under a table. It turned out to be his shadow.”