Improper Pleasures (The Pleasure Series #1) (17 page)

“Mr. Rudd?” James called but no one answered. He crawled
on his hands and knees toward the large windows. His progress was halted by
something warm and solid. Instantly he knew he’d found a body. Some of the
smoke began to clear through the open door and James waved his hands to help it
along so he could access the victim. Mr. Rudd’s lifeless features were pale but
he didn’t seem to be burned. A quick glance toward the sitting room’s fireplace
revealed not even a hint of a flame. James coughed, then held his breath as he
hauled Mr. Rudd up and over his shoulder then lumbered from the room.

James stumbled down the hall, desperate for fresh air. He
laid Mr. Rudd on the ground, picked up a chair that was much heavier than it
looked and bashed out a window. James dropped to his knees beside Mr. Rudd but
could do little more than cough.

“My God, James, are you all right?” asked Wesley.

James pointed to Mr. Rudd but found he could not speak.
The housekeeper stepped from behind, dropped to her knees and began to open Mr.
Rudd’s starched neck cloth. James collapsed to the floor, apparently taking in
more smoke than he realized.

“Water,” he croaked. James rubbed his bleary eyes and
focused on getting air past his burning nose and throat.

Before anyone could answer his request, James heard the
sound of running footsteps.

“I brought water. Where is the fire? Where is…?”

James heard Astra’s voice and turned so he could see her
dashing toward him followed by three groomsman carrying buckets.

“I think the fire might have started in James’s room,” he
heard Wesley as he directed the groomsman.

“No,” croaked James. “No,” he tried again, his voice more
forceful. “Just smoke. Water here.” As much as James needed the water, he knew
Mr. Rudd needed it more. That is if he were alive at all. He pointed to Mr.
Rudd again. “Water.”

James met Astra’s gaze through the waning smoke that
filtered through the shadowed hall. Panic shone clearly in her eyes, but her
outside demeanor was calm and in control. She took a heavy bucket from the
groomsman, not noticing the water that spilled on her gown as she tried to
balance the weight. “Check to make sure the fire is out in Lord Keane’s room.”

James closed his eyes, relieved that Astra had arrived.
She would know what to do. He heard splashing and a violent round of coughing.
Mr. Rudd sounded to be alive.

The first cold compress to his cheek made James jerk. He
opened his eyes to find Astra kneeling beside him. She had dipped the hem of
her robe in water and dabbed soot from his face.

“Are you burned?”

He shook his head slightly, trying to remain still so she
could tend to him. “Just smoke. Hard to breathe. Mr. Rudd?”

“He’s coming around.” She scooped water into her hands and
dribbled the cool liquid over his lips. Grateful, James opened his mouth to let
the water slide down his throat. “What happened?”

James had the sudden urge to grab her hand and hold it,
then noticed Wesley stood over them. Astra wore the silk gown he only vaguely
remembered removing. Well, actually, he remembered taking it off in vivid
detail but what lay beneath had interested him more than the garment. Wesley on
the other hand, seemed to find enormous interest in Astra’s flimsy gown that
would no doubt be translucent if not for the layer of the equally flimsy robe.

James forced himself to sit up. What could he say to
explain what had taken place? He feared he might give away an erroneous detail.
If he said he was in the library, perhaps someone else had been in that part of
the house and would dispute his story. And then there was the locked door. He
glanced at Mr. Rudd, who was a man of few words anyway, but right now, he
didn’t appear capable of any. His violent coughing had turned his face redder
than usual.

One of the groomsmen who had gone into the room, returned
rubbing bloodshot eyes. “There wasn’t much of a fire but lots of smoke. We put
out what was still smoldering and opened the windows, my lady.”

James suddenly felt the chill from all the open windows
and secured his loose robe. He caught Wesley’s gaze and his cousin hardly had
time to soften his glare. Wesley immediately turned away. “Very good, then. Everyone
off to bed. We shall deal with the mess tomorrow.”

“You could have been killed.” Astra glanced at the door
and the broken window. Her troubled gaze showed clearly she was thinking that
he would have been if he had not been with her.

“But I wasn’t,” he said, fighting his urge to reach for
her. When she turned back to him, his words only seemed to upset her more. She
appeared to be trembling.

“But you almost were,” she whispered, her voice on the
verge of breaking.

“Mr. Rudd saved my life. I must have fallen asleep. He
came in to rescue me,” James said before any speculations arose as to why the
door was knocked in from the outside.

“Wesley,” Astra said as she turned away from him and
stood. “Please alert the others that it is safe to return to the house. Lady
Phillina will catch a chill outside.”

Wesley bowed, and James noted how alert he was for having
been awakened in the middle of the night. His thick robe was neatly tied and
his light brown hair perfectly groomed. “O’Donald, would you be so kind to do
as Lady Keane wishes. I’ll stay and see to his lordship.”

James felt Astra’s troubled gaze on him and he managed a smile.
“You think quickly, sending half the house to safety while I almost slept
through it all.”

She shrugged but almost smiled at his coded reference to
what he’d actually been doing while the fire broke out. “With a small child,
you have to be alert to every danger. And I always worry about Lady Phillina
being bedridden. I’m glad my actions were overly cautious in this case.”

“I think you’re actions were prudent and correct. Again, I
am in your debt.” James stopped himself from saying more. A quick glance to
Wesley’s stiff jaw and averted profile hinted his tone had perhaps given too
much away.

Wesley studied the broken window. “I hate to inform you
that this will be very expensive to replace, James. And the door as well.”

For once, Eastlan’s upkeep was the last thing on James’s
mind. “Well, we’re going to have to find the money for the window as well as
other repairs. When was the last time the chimneys were swept?”

“It wasn’t an accident.”

James turned to find Mr. Rudd sitting up. He used his
sopping neck cloth to wipe his sooty face.

“I don’t recall, James. It must have been before I arrived
and that has been at least five years.” Astra wrapped her arms around herself,
shivering from more than the open window. “The whole house could have been
burned to the ground.”

“Eastlan’s built of solid stone.” James rolled to his feet
with as much grace as possible considering the movement made him seriously
lightheaded. The wood flooring and roof could have killed them all, but he
wanted to erase Astra’s fears. He could no longer help himself. He wrapped a
solid, comforting arm around Astra. “It’s just a bit of smoke. I fear Mr. Rudd
got the worst of it.”

“Yes, but if Rudd came to your rescue, James, why did you
carry him out?” Wesley strolled to the door and examined it with too much
enthusiasm for James’s liking.

Mr. Rudd was sitting up and looking not much worse for his
experience. Thankfully, his surly silence worked in James’s favor.

Astra too quickly pulled from his embrace. He thought it
was innocent enough considering the circumstances, but he was mistaken.

Not liking the surprise jab of her quick withdrawal, James
leaned over to examine Mr. Rudd. “Mr. Rudd must have collapsed while trying to
drag me out. I’m a heavy fellow. I was roused by the fall and finished the job,
aye, Rudd?”

Mr. Rudd met James’s gaze and struggled to his feet. “All
your bleeding new clothes will be ruined. We’ll have to start all over
again.”Mr. Rudd’s voice sounded painfully hoarse but then again, it always did.

“I won’t give you any trouble this time. I promise. After
all, you saved my life.” James offered his hand to Rudd in confirmation of
their secret pact. Mr. Rudd no doubt knew James was not in his room as he claimed.

Mr. Rudd clasped James’s hand in a bone-crushing grip.
“You were the one who saved my life and don’t you think I’ll be forgetting it.”
Mr. Rudd’s statement sounded more like a threat than a declaration of
friendship. He was obviously not pleased with the turn of events.

James had an odd sensation. Perhaps it wasn’t an accident.
Mr. Rudd would be the most likely candidate to wish James foul play. But a
staged accident was not Rudd’s style. The man was too confrontational.

“If you’ll excuse me, my lord. I’m in need of a wash.
Unless you would like me to fetch you one first?” Mr. Rudd asked, though he
appeared slightly wobbly on his feet.

James knew better than to mention any perceived weakness
in his valet. “All I want is a bed. I have a splitting headache.” James rubbed
his brows, realizing that he did indeed have a horrible headache. Though it must
be from the smoke, it actually felt more like the beginning of a raging
hangover.

“If all is fine here, I’ll see to Lark and Lady Phillina,”
Astra gazed at him cautiously. He sensed she did not want to leave his side,
but to linger might cause undue speculation.

“I hope your daughter wasn’t frightened.” James suddenly
felt fiercely protective of the residents of his household. “Perhaps I should
help you reassure the others. We’ll have a chimney sweep out here tomorrow. I
promise you that.”

Wesley brushed past James and took Astra’s arm. His
gesture was politely formal but it still smacked James as a little too
assuming. “I shall accompany you, Astra. I’m sure James is frazzled by his
experience. Mr. Rudd, could you show James to the blue room. It should be far enough
away from the smoke.”

“But that’s still in the guest wing. I’m sure the bedding
has been permeated by the smoke. James should sleep in the family wing,” Astra said,
then appeared thoughtful for a moment. “Put him in the room next to Mother’s.
It’s a little small, but it will be comfortable for tonight. Perhaps I should
show him myself, Mr. Rudd, you seem a bit pale.”

“Not at all, Lady Keane.” Mr. Rudd stood at attention.
“I’m quite fit to direct Lord Keane to the pink room.”

With a last glance back at James, Astra allowed Wesley to
escort her down the steps to the first floor. James followed Mr. Rudd in the
direction of Astra’s room. Family wing? Wesley had not mentioned that fact when
he had offered to move from the master suite back to his old room. At the time,
James had not exactly been planning on settling in and had chosen to take the
empty room. James had liked the fact that the room was in a separate wing of
the house but he did not realize what that meant until now. Things were going
to change. James would have been the last to anticipate that his role as lord
and protector of Eastlan would so abruptly take on greater meaning.

Suddenly, he found it not only imperative that he reside
in the family wing, but quite appealing.

Mr. Rudd slapped a pile of singed twigs on James’s desk.
“It wasn’t an accident. Found this stuck in the flue.”

“Could be a bird’s nest.” James picked up Mr. Rudd’s
evidence and it shed black ash all over his clean ledger. “I understand that
room had been unoccupied for some time.”

Mr. Rudd shook his head. “A bird didn’t lock the door.
Explain that, I dare you. I opened it just fine when I entered your sitting
room.  The bedroom door was locked too.”

“I have a right to lock my door if I choose to, Mr. Rudd.”
James tried to stare down Mr. Rudd who only stared back.

“Bah,” Mr. Rudd straightened. His raspier than normal
voice shamed James for trying to dismiss Rudd with such transparent lies. He’d
be honest with him if he could but he wouldn’t risk exposing Astra. Besides, he
was sure the whole event was an accident brought on by a sorely neglected
household. The long unused lock could stick and all the chimneys no doubt
needed cleaning.

“I don’t care where you were, Lord Keane.” Mr. Rudd
studied James as if reading his thoughts. “But I do know you escaped certain
danger. Somebody walked over your bloody grave last night and I mean to see it
don’t happen again. Someone wants you dead.”

“Perhaps that someone is you. We certainly didn’t get off
to a good start.” James tried to look at Mr. Rudd suspiciously, hoping he’d
drop the subject. “And how did you get past that locked door?”

“Alright then.” Rudd nodded. “I suspect I know who you’re
protecting. Smelled the smoke from the floor above. Could hardly make it
through the sitting room. Your bedroom door was locked, but I always carry a
key. As we both know, you weren’t in your bed, but the smoke was even thicker
in there. I stumbled back out to the sitting room, searching for you but I
succumbed to the smoke myself. Never made it to the other door, but we both
know someone locked it behind me, hoping I wouldn’t be able to drag you out.”

“Maybe I was on the floor and you tripped over me,” James
suggested. The only person James blamed for the fire was himself. After all, he’d
been expecting to loot his inheritance like the privateer he’d once been and
promptly return to America a wealthy man. In hindsight, he should have viewed
Eastlan as he would have a ship he’d purchased, having the thing inspected to
ensure it was seaworthy. He should have done the same with Eastlan.  “And in
old houses like this, doors swell in the heat, as well as locks.”

A knock on the door rescued James from further
explanation. “Come in,” James called.

Astra peered around the door. “Excuse me, Lord Keane, but
I thought you wanted to see me. I shall return when you’re free.”

“Mr. Rudd and I are finished, I believe.” The incident
with the smoke last night had plagued James far less than what had come before
it. “Again, Mr. Rudd, thank you for saving my life. As long as I’m the baron,
you will always find employment with me.”