Her Secret Fantasy (31 page)

“And I’m supposed to believe you now?”

“Yes! Lily, you’re the reason I’m doing all this,” he exclaimed, gesturing toward the pub behind him. “I’m trying to get to the truth so that I can protect you! I brought Lundy here to get him drunk in the hopes that I could catch him in an unguarded moment and find out what the hell is really going on!”

“Did it work?”

Hands on hips, he heaved a frustrated sigh and shrugged. “Sort of. You’re not marrying him, Lily. You’re just not.”

“I hardly need your permission.”

“For God’s sake, woman—listen to me. Wouldn’t a shortage of funds explain why he hasn’t asked you to marry him yet? As of tonight, I believe it’s because he knows he might need to change course and wed Bess Kingsley for her dowry, not you.” He paused while Lily stood there, at a loss, stunned, and struggling to absorb his revelations. “Considering how much you guard your reputation,” Derek added, “personally, I’d suggest you start distancing yourself from Lundy as much as possible in Society. His troubles aren’t over. In fact, they may be just beginning.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I can’t tell you.” When she rolled her eyes, he relented slightly. “Lily—it has to do with that committee that he serves on. The one I testified in front of, for the army. You’re going to have to trust me on this. It’s bad.” He hesitated. “Very well, I think he migh have stolen some money from the fund.”

Quite in shock and feeling much too vulnerable, she folded her arms tightly across her waist and turned away, shaking her head. “Well, isn’t that just the old Balfour luck.”

“Sweetheart—” Derek reached for her, but she pulled away.

“Leave me alone.”

“I’ve been going out of my mind trying to find a way to keep you from getting dragged down in all of this.”

“How can I be sure if you’re telling the truth this time or if this is just some sort of sick game?” she demanded. God knew she had been through that before.

Indeed, this whole incident had called back much too vividly all the anguish and betrayal she had felt when she had learned that her “beloved” Lord Owen Masters was nothing but a two-faced fraud.

“A game?” Derek’s cheeks had flushed with anger. “If I don’t find that money, I don’t get my post back! Do you really think I’d play games when my whole career is at stake?”

His words drew her up short, reminding her anew of his firm decision to go back to India—and her own foolish hopes in seeking him out earlier this evening. “No, Derek, I don’t suppose you would,” she replied in a taut voice. “I can’t imagine anything that would make you risk your career.” She shook her head and turned away, starting back toward the carriage. “I have to go.”

“Lily, wait!”

She ignored him. “Please do not tell Edward we were here. I doubt he’ll have any memory of it, but this has all been quite humiliating enough, as I’m sure you’ll agree. Major, are you coming with us?” she clipped out, glancing past Derek to the elder Knight.

“I’ll stay with my brother,” Gabriel answered from a few yards back.

“I’m sorry to have dragged you out like this, Major,” she added. “It seems my fears were quite unfounded.”

“Can I call on you tomorrow?” Derek asked urgently, taking her arm to try to prevent her from leaving. “The day after?” he pursued at her unwelcoming look.

“I don’t know,” she replied.

He looked at her for a long moment, then shook his head. “Hold on,” he muttered. “I had hoped to do this under better circumstances, but—here.” He reached into his pocket. “Put out your hand.”

“What is it?” Warily, Lily did so.

“I was keeping these with me for good luck, but since you’re here…” Derek opened his fist and dropped her diamond earrings into her waiting palm.

Startled, she looked at them and then at him. Lifting them closer, she confirmed in a glance that they were indeed her great-great-grandmother’s earrings that she had bargained away to Coachman Jones. “How did you…”

He gazed into her eyes. “Still think I’m playing games?”

She barely knew how to respond. “I need to think,” she forced out, avoiding his searching gaze. “You’ll hear from me when I’m ready to see you.”

With that, she reached for the carriage door. Derek opened it for her and stood aside as she climbed in. Mrs. Clearwell slid over to make room for Lily, but the matron glanced at Derek through the window and shook her head at him in disappointment.

He dropped his chin and closed the carriage door for the ladies.

At once, Lily rapped sharply on the chassis to signal Gerald, the driver. A moment later, the barouche rolled into motion, leaving Derek behind, standing in the cobbled yard.

“Damn it,” he whispered, then turned to his brother.
“What were you thinking?”

“Don’t take that tone with me. How was I supposed to know what you were about?”

“Why in the hell would you bring her here?”

“She was worried about you! She thought you were in danger—and when she explained it to me, so did I!”

“Damn it, Gabriel.” He rubbed the back of his neck and turned toward the tavern once again, shaking his head.

“You know something, you’re a fool if you go back to India when you’ve got a woman here who—” Gabriel’s words broke off abruptly. He dropped his gaze with an exasperated huff. “Never mind. I’m not getting in the middle of it. Here.” Reaching into his waistcoat, he pulled out a letter. “Aadi bade me give you this when I told him I needed to find you. It just came today. It’s not from Colonel Montrose, but Aadi said you’d want it right away.”

Derek took the letter with a terse nod of thanks and moved closer to the feeble lamplight that glowed by the tavern’s front door.

The sender’s name was not marked on the outside, but when he cracked it open, he saw that the very short note was from trusty Charles, his accountant.

Major,

I found something. My search has led to a local ne’erdo-well by the name of Phillip Kane. When you return, please call on me and I will elaborate.

Yr Servant, etc.
C. Beecham, Esq.

“Good man,” he murmured under his breath. The news was no doubt another nail in poor old Edward’s coffin.

Gabriel looked at him in question as Derek folded the note and pocketed it.

“Come on,” he said in an easier tone, clapping his elder brother on the shoulder and nodding toward the pub.

“Are you going to buy me a pint?” Gabriel asked wryly.

Derek looked askance at him. “After you help me get Lundy off the floor.”

CHAPTER

         
FIFTEEN
         

“I
’m here to collect the sorrel mare,” Lily said to the grooms at the Althorpe’s stable the next morning. She lifted her chin. “Major Knight gave me permission to take the horse out for a canter whenever I wish.”

The pair of young grooms on duty heard the note of authority in her voice, glanced at her smart riding habit, and leaped to obey.

“I’ll saddle the horse for you, Miss.”

“Thank you. Are the Majors Knight at home?”

As one groom hurried off to saddle the mare, the other glanced into the empty stall usually occupied by Derek’s big black stallion. “I don’t believe so, Miss.”

Good.
If Derek had not showed up yet, then in all likelihood Edward would not have made it home by this early hour, either.

After all of Derek’s shocking revelations last night, Lily intended to use this slim window of opportunity to find out for herself exactly what was going on. She had stewed and simmered all night long. By God, she would not be played for a fool. By morning, she knew what she had to do. Mere words, claims, from either man were not going to convince her anymore. She needed proof.

While Edward was still away, she devised a scheme to slip into his house, break into his office—the same feat Derek had failed to accomplish during the garden party—and either confirm or disprove the major’s theory that the nabob was broke. If Edward was indeed going to jilt her in favor of Bess Kingsley, as Derek predicted, then this might be her last chance to find the truth.

As she paced the stable aisle restlessly, waiting for the groom to bring out her horse, she knew she was in a unique position to carry out this task. Long identified as Edward’s future bride and lady of the house, the army of servants and all of his rugged henchmen would not be overly surprised to see her, just in case she was spotted; however, she was not going to allow that to happen.

She knew how to get into his monstrous castle-house unseen, and she knew where he kept his private papers. It was risky, but she was angry enough to try her luck. She craved answers. She had played the obedient young lady for much too long and could not stand it anymore.

Having shaped her scheme before breakfast, she waited until Mrs. Clearwell left for a morning call. Then she eluded the servants, letting them think she was still resting in her chamber behind its closed door. Meanwhile, she had slipped out the back, clad in her riding habit.

“Here she is, Miss. Neat and nice, fed and watered, groomed and shod and ready to go.”

Lily turned around as the rhythmic click of hoofs sounded in the aisle behind her. Her jaw dropped when she saw the horse that Derek had promised her as a gift. She could barely believe her eyes. By God, it was a miracle!

After barely a week of Derek’s skilled and tender care, the formerly battered, run-down horse glistened with rejuvenated health. Her red coat was as smooth and burnished as a new copper penny; her blond mane was braided with a bit of red ribbon in it to match the thick red saddle blanket, as soft as a cloud, which bore the monogram “MN.”

Mary Nonesuch. Her namesake.

A wry smile played at Lily’s lips as she ran her gloved hand along the horse’s smooth, strong neck. “What a good girl. Do you remember me? Yes, you do, don’t you? I gave you all those lovely carrots and apples,” she murmured. “He’s taken good care of you, hasn’t he? You look like the belle of the ball now.”

Derek had bought soft new tack for the mare, as well as a lady’s side-saddle of fine quality. Red embroidery adorned the rich brown bridle. Lily took a moment longer to let the horse get used to her, caressing her rounded cheek and scratching the now-bright white star on her forehead.

The sweet, calm, trusting expression in the mare’s big, liquid-brown eyes belied the suffering she had endured.

With a tug at her heart, she nodded to the groom to let him know she was ready to mount up.

He assisted her into the side-saddle. Lily smoothed her skirts and gathered the reins, but was taken off guard by the incredibly empowering feeling of having her own horse beneath her.

When she was a little girl, she’d had a chubby dapple-gray pony to ride around Grandfather’s acreage, but it had been years since she’d had the means to go where she wanted to go whenever she pleased. She could feel new strength and confidence rush into her. Where had it been all these years?

“Why, it’s a match in heaven,” the first groom said with an admiring smile as he took off his cap and raked his fingers through his tousled blond hair.

The other boy offered her a riding crop, but recalling the ruthless coachman’s whip, Lily shook her head. “I think we’ll get along just fine without it.”

“You won’t have her out too long, will you, Miss—?”

“Balfour.”

The groom nodded. “Miss Balfour. Major said it’s best to take it slow until she’s stronger.”

“I’m not sure how long I’ll be, but I’ll take care to rest her frequently along the way.” With a gentle bump of her heel, Lily signaled the mare to go, but she looked back over her shoulder as Mary the Mare ambled down the stable aisle. “If you see the Major would you tell him I said—thanks.”

“Will do, Miss.”

Ducking out of the stable, they emerged into the day’s golden sunshine, and leaving the Althorpe’s yard, Lily took her easygoing mount out into the streets of London.

Free!
Her heart soared inexplicably. Except for the absence of a groom or chaperone, she looked every inch the part of the fashionable young lady heading to Hyde Park for a genteel canter. But that was not her destination, so she lowered the veil that draped her smart riding hat to help conceal her identity in case she rode past anyone she knew.

Soon she was on her way, cantering the smooth-going sorrel mare out of the bustling city, toward the serenely wooded and garden-clad outskirts of London, where mansions like Edward’s lined the Thames.

Along the way, she debated with herself a bit nervously about what she should do on the off chance that Edward arrived home during the course of her mission. She supposed she would think of something, but given the condition she had found him in upon walking into the pub, he’d probably need to spend the whole of today recovering in his room upstairs at the inn.

She hoped he was miserably ill. The lout deserved it.

Before long, Lily reached the tall metal fence that rimmed Edward’s estate. Locating a section of fence that offered plenty of woodsy cover to hide her horse, she tethered her mount to one of the horizontal bars of the fence. Then she got up on the horse again and stood on the saddle, gingerly climbing over the barrier’s tall wrought-iron spikes.

Jumping down neatly onto Edward’s land, she fixed her skirts again, then began prowling toward the house, her heart pounding.

With both the master and his mother away, the staff must have been taking their usual tasks at a leisurely pace, for instead of the usual buzz of industrious activity everywhere, outside, the place was quiet.

Approaching nearer, she spotted a few of Edward’s henchmen loitering by the stable wall, smoking and talking and playing cards. They didn’t see her.

She darted around a large flowering shrub, making her way through the garden, toward the one door that she knew was probably open. The conservatory door, which led out onto the garden’s flagstone terrace, was usually left propped open because in summer the glasshouse grew uncomfortably hot. Mrs. Lundy had often complained about the heat spreading to the rest of the house.

Sure enough, once she had the terrace gained, she was able to slip inside, dodging behind an enormous planter when a maid went hurrying by. The uniformed servant girl bustled past, heading toward the kitchens. Lily waited and listened, remaining crouched behind the planter until she was sure the girl had gone.

Once more, she was on her way, tiptoeing past the great hall, where two more maids were chatting idly as they dusted, and giggling over which of the footmen was handsomest. Padding through the empty dining room with all its glistening gilt, Lily turned the corner into the same silent corridor down which she had trailed Derek during the garden party.

Now that she knew his true intention that day, she was impressed to see how far he had actually come before she had so inconveniently interrupted him. Edward’s private study lay straight ahead, at the end of the hallway. She spotted its closed door. But then she stifled a gasp, whirling into the same curtained alcove where Derek had accosted her, as one of Edward’s fierce-looking henchmen crossed the intersection down the hallway.

She believed it was Mr. Bates.

Lily pressed herself against the wall, her heart pounding. Oh, perhaps this whole mission was a bit mad on her part—but it was too late to back out now. Her chosen destination was in reach, just a few yards away.

A wary peek around the corner of the alcove assured her that Bates had moved on.

Leaving her hiding place, she swept past the parlor where Derek had done such delicious things to her. An involuntary shudder of remembered pleasure raced through her, but she did her best to thrust it aside, intent on her mission. Moving with unhesitating stealth, her footfalls making barely a whisper over the polished floors, she reached the door to Edward’s study. Opening it with ginger care, she peeked through the cracked door with one eye.

Empty.

Skirts whirling around her, she rushed inside and pulled the door shut, quickly locking it. Pressing a hand to her chest, she breathed a sigh of relief. Her heart was hammering so loudly she wondered how the noise of it did not alert the entire staff that they had an intruder. The only one who seemed to notice anything amiss was Edward’s ferocious fight dog, Brutus. She could hear the black beast barking viciously from all the way outside in his cage next to the stable.

But other than a loud, impatient
“Shut up!”
nobody paid the barking dog any mind. Well, that hellhound’s constant clamor was nothing unusual. Lily was only glad that they never let Brutus out of his cage. If he could kill his canine opponents in minutes, she would have hated to see what he could do to a person.

She wasted no time dwelling on the morbid question. The thick velvet curtains over the windows cast a shadowy midday pall over the room despite the brilliant sunshine outdoors, but the gloom was not dark enough to obscure the various places she’d need to search. She scanned the dusty, oak-paneled study with a glance.

A glass-doored cabinet housed the series of red leather-bound folios tied shut with black ribbons containing Edward’s files—business correspondence and records and such. These ledger books were neatly alphabetized, each with a gilt-tooled letter on its spine.

But then her gaze homed in on the large metal safe by the wall. Now
that
was the logical place where Edward would store his most sensitive documents. She hurried over to check, but of course it was locked. The formidable iron door refused to budge.

Speeding silently across the room, she got right to work searching the grand baronial desk for a key. Edward’s desk was cluttered with an array of everyday items: a small hourglass, a supply of unsharpened quills, jars of indigo and sepia ink, wafers of sealing wax, a silver tray of powdered drying sand, a letter opener, a few writing pads, extra candles, and a large brass oil lamp.

With the mantel clock above the empty fireplace relentlessly tick, tick, ticking away the minutes, her search grew ever more urgent.

Aha!
She suddenly discovered a small key tucked under the little tray of drying powder. She rushed back over to the safe, but before she could congratulate herself on her spy skills, she frowned.

The key didn’t fit.
Well, what’s it for, then?
It had to open something.

She turned and swept her gaze over the entire office again. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of a folded piece of paper sticking out from beneath the leather desk pad.

It had been hidden before, but she must have moved the pad in her search, for it was visible now. At once, she strode over and slid the paper out from underneath it. She unfolded the paper and discovered that it was a tender farewell letter to “Eddie” from his doting mama.