Kaleidoscope: A Regency Novella (11 page)

“Well, since we know David has at least one of the gems, there’s every reason to think he knows where the rest of them are. We just have to ask him.” Tremaine’s smile was feral.

Luke uttered a filthy curse. “Yeah, we just ask him. I don’t think there’s much chance that we’ll get an answer.”

Tremaine hadn’t moved at all, but something about him shifted from seeming like a cat asleep in the sun to one waiting patiently for a bird to land in striking distance. “There’s asking—and then there’s
asking
.”

“As in…?” Luke raised one eyebrow quizzically.

“As in, I hire some muscle, and we snatch David and apply a bit of pressure until we get answers.”

“Good Lord, Tremaine, David’s a thief, but he
is
my brother. No one wants to know the truth more than I do, but we can’t use torture to get it.”

Tremaine laughed. “There’s torture and then there’s the threat of torture. Most people are afraid of the idea of pain more than the actual pain. All you have to do is make them think they will be hurt, and they’ll disclose all but the most closely held secrets. Every time I’ve laid a razor against a man’s privates, he’s told me everything I wanted to know, and I’ve never nicked a one. Well, no worse that his valet might have done to his face.”

Luke wondered if he really knew his friend. And perhaps more importantly, if he wanted to. “And just how many times have you held a razor, eh, there?”

“Four or five times. And I can guarantee that it has always worked.”

“Heavens. I assumed you worked for king and country, but this sounds like you’re a collector for an unscrupulous moneylender.”

Tremaine straightened in his chair and shot Luke a look of disdain. “I did indeed do all sorts of questionable things for king and country. Most of it while you were a lad hiding from his tutor and stealing sweets from the kitchen. If I hadn’t done those things, there’s a good chance that you’d be speaking French as your native language. But since I’d learned the skills…” he suddenly shrugged and smiled. “What can I say? I get bored. I still do the occasional favor for Whitehall, but I also take private commissions. Case in point—I’ve been trying to help a friend find a hoard of jewels. Does that sound familiar?”

“Of course it does. And I appreciate your efforts. It’s just that there seems to be a great distance between skulking around and pommeling someone.”

Tremaine scowled at him as if he were a none-too-bright schoolboy. “First of all, what you refer to as ‘skulking’ most often involves breaking and entering, a much more dangerous activity that is guaranteed to get the blood flowing in one’s veins. And I already told you, I never pommel anyone. I threaten—and that is usually all it takes.

“In your half-brother’s case, I suspect it won’t even take threats.” Tremaine’s smile was not pleasant. “He’s always been a coward. I bet he’ll fold the minute he’s grabbed. Don’t you want to get your hands on your legacy, or do you want to spend the rest of your life taking money from women like the pretty widow Rydell?”

Luke felt his hackles rise. He’d never taken a penny from Carolyn Rydell. He’d eaten her food, that was true, and they met at her house. But what else could he do? He could hardly bring her to his bachelor quarters. While the address was good enough, the interior bordered on shabby. No, he could never bring her here.

And he certainly couldn’t expect her to marry him until he had a decent income and wasn’t a pauper. The very idea of seeming to be a fortune hunter stuck in his craw. So, yes, if he were honest, he was willing to do anything to get his legacy back. Even if it included a tiny bit of judicious torture and pain.

“I’ll go along with frightening the truth out of David,” he said, wondering if Tremaine could tell this was an understatement.

“Good.” Tremaine looked delighted. “Tomorrow night would be ideal. He always visits his mistress on Tuesdays and leaves around eleven. Your brother is—”

“—half.”

“Your half-bother,” Tremaine corrected, “is a creature of habit. I’ll arrange for some bullyboys and an anonymous hack. We can meet here around nine and then wait outside his little love nest until he leaves.”

“You want me to come with you?” Luke asked. Tremaine had previously rejected his help. He’d said Luke’s inexperience would probably get them both caught.

“Of course. I think this is one time you need to be included. If you don’t speak, he’ll never know you’re there. And this way, you can hear exactly what he has to say.”

Luke felt his heartbeat speed up. Yes, this was something he definitely wanted to be part of. “I’ll be ready at nine.”

“Good. Wear old, dark clothing. Imagine you’re going to clean out the stables and dress appropriately.” Tremaine laughed. “It’s my hope we get rid of a lot of shit tomorrow night.”

He got up and clapped Luke on the shoulder. “I’ll take my leave now. It’s about time for you to visit your light-o-love and since you’ll be missing your assignation tomorrow, you need to make the most of the time you have tonight.”

Tremaine sauntered out the door. He was a slender, graying man who could easily be overlooked in a crowd. Tremaine was obviously someone who made a better friend than an enemy, and Luke was happy he counted as a friend. The fact that Tremaine not only knew David’s schedule, but Luke’s as well, was disconcerting, however.

Of course, his visits to Carolyn’s house were hardly secret. He’d tried to be discrete, but there was little doubt that her staff knew what was going on. Perkins certainly did. If looks could kill, Luke would be dead. Obviously, the man thought Luke was taking advantage of Mrs. Rydell.

Luke hoped this wasn’t the case. Lord, how he loved the woman. He wanted only her happiness—and he truly thought being married to him could give her this. But only if he were in a financial position where people couldn’t whisper that Caro had had to buy an aristocratic husband. As tarnished as his reputation was, he was still accepted by the ton, and foolishly, she was not.

If tomorrow night’s mission changed his fortune, he would no longer take no for an answer to his proposal. He felt he was wearing down her concerns about her heritage. He smiled. The act of changing her mind was mutually enjoyable. Very enjoyable indeed.

 
  

Caro kissed the side of Luke’s neck and ran her fingers through the soft, tawny hair on his chest. She loved the springy texture, which seemed as alive and full of energy as did Luke himself. She enjoyed these quiet times after passion had spent itself. She relished the closeness she felt during these relaxed moments. They gave her an opportunity for contemplation that the blinding delight of their lovemaking didn’t afford.

“What are you thinking about?” Luke’s sleepy voice came from above her head. “I can hear you thinking.”

She pushed up on one elbow and looked down at his face. “You can’t hear anyone thinking.”

“I can hear you,” he said with a grin. “You make this low hum, kind of like the sound of a light rain on the window. That’s your thinking sound. You make other ones, of course. I’m particularly fond of the noise you make right before you come—”

She placed her hand over his mouth. “I don’t need to hear a catalogue of my strange sounds.”

“Ere na ange.” His lips vibrated under her fingers, and she laughingly moved them away.

“As I was trying to say,” Luke continued, “I love the noises you make, and they’re not strange. But when I hear the thinking sound, I know to pay attention. So, what’s on your mind?”

“Nothing all that important. Just an irritant. Sanjeet told me today that Gerald, my slimy nephew-in-law, has shown up at the Blackwall Yards where our new ship is being built. He’s been acting as if he has some control over Rydell Shipping and has made suggestions for changes that would add months to the completion, not to mention adding hundreds of pounds to the cost.

“Sanjeet has assured the shipyard manager that Gerald has nothing to do with the company, but it’s hard for the manager to ignore someone with a title. Especially when the real contacts are an Indian and a woman.”

“I thought Kelton had disappeared after you made it clear his threats about your marriage were useless. Of course, we have taken care of that ‘inconvenient virginity’ problem, should that ever come into question.” Luke wiggled his eyebrows and grinned lasciviously.

She playfully gave some of his chest hairs a quick jerk. “Any villager in India could tell you that just because you can’t see the cobra doesn’t mean he’s not lying in the deep grass waiting to strike. We only thwarted Gerald’s plan to try to prove my wedding to his uncle was invalid. And beyond the matter of my virginity, I do need your help.”

Luke was immediately serious. “What do you need?”

“I’d like you to go to the shipyard with Sanjeet tomorrow and introduce yourself as one of Rydell’s principal investors—and then make it very plain that Lord Kelton has nothing to do with any of our projects.”

He laughed. “What you want me to do is have Lord Lucien Harlington out-lord Lord Kelton, probably by mentioning my father the marquess a number of times. Do I have it right?”

Caro felt embarrassment heat her face. “Yes. I hate to ask you do to this. My word should be all that’s needed, but that’s not the world we live in.”

She waited for Luke to see her words as an opportunity to again press her to marry him. As Lady Lucien, she would have more clout than plain Mrs. Rydell. To her surprise, he said nothing. Perhaps he’d become satisfied with just being her lover. Oddly, Caro wasn’t sure if this made her feel better or worse. It was, after all, what she said she wanted.

Luke had been coming to her bed for over a week now—and it had been wondrous. She now wished he’d lied about a marriage not needing to be consummated to be valid. If he’d supported her misconception, they could have been enjoying this incredible relationship for much longer. Luke had awakened something within her she hadn’t known existed, and she felt like a flower finally coming to bloom. Luke’s presence filled in all the blank spaces inside her, holes in her life she hadn’t even realized existed.

When it quickly became apparent that he would be visiting every night, the excuse of his coming to dinner had to be dropped. His coming twice weekly had already been noted and questioned by some of her gossiping neighbors. And so he now arrived well after the dinner hour, coming in through the tradesman’s entrance at the back of the house. This way, his horse was hidden in the mews and he could use his own key without alerting her staff.

Not that the servants were fooled, but they were willing to pretend she’d suddenly developed a need for brandy and a cold collation to be left in her office. She wondered if she should have the drink and food delivered to her bedroom and eliminate the meeting in the office completely, but she felt that Luke enjoyed finding her there, supposedly working. Maybe he also thought the more neutral area would allow her to say no if she wanted.

At this juncture, she couldn’t imagine wanting that. She could not get enough of him as it was. Acting on this thought, she dropped her head to follow the motion of her hand across his chest. When she came to one of his nipples, she swirled her tongue around its flat surface, watching in fascination as it tighten just as her own did.

Luke gave a low groan. She wondered if he realized he too made specific sounds at specific times. To check her hypothesis, she visited his other nipple and elicited the same noise. A giggle burst from her mouth. A giggle? Now that was a sound she would have sworn she never made. “You do realize you’re making noises yourself?” she asked.

“Of course, but that was a don’t-stop sound, so what are you doing stopping?”

Smiling, she again applied herself to discovering if he would make different sounds in response to different activities. He did. And then she did, since Luke quickly caught on to the game and began using hands and lips as well. They eventually ended in a tangle of sheets, sated and laughing.

When he slid away from her and began to dress, she felt tears gather behind her eyelids. This was the part she hated—when he kissed her on the forehead and repeated the litany that husbands stayed but lovers had to leave.

She realized this behavior was more effective than his asking her to marry him over and over. Because she did not want him to leave. Ever.

Tonight was different, however. After a soft kiss, he said, “Don’t wait up for me tomorrow. I have something I need to take care of. If I am able to come by, it will be very late. I’ll look for you here, warm in bed.”

And then he was gone, leaving her feeling more alone than ever and cursing the circumstances that meant Luke would eventually be harmed if she married him.