Kissing Cousins (7 page)

“
Connected,
”
Salverton said. He reached to shake Mr. Abercrombie
’
s hand, bowed to the lady, and exited on a series of apologies for having disturbed them, and apologies from Mrs. Abercrombie for having coshed him.

“
Well, that was a fine how-do-you-do!
”
Salverton exclaimed in disgust when they were safely outside.

“
You were wonderful, Cousin!
”
Samantha exclaimed, and reached up to plant a quick kiss on his cheek.
“
Thank you for leaving Darren out of it.
”

His look of surprise was for the unexpected kiss. Samantha misinterpreted it.
“
Oh, that
’
s not why you did it
—
to protect Darren, I mean. How foolish of me,
”
she said, her admiration fading.
“
It was Louise you were thinking of. But surely she would understand your helping a cousin.
”

“
Not in this manner. And not such a pretty female cousin.
”

They began the walk down the road to the carriage. Jonathon Sykes kept pace at Samantha
’
s other side.

“
Jealous, is she? If worse comes to worst, you could introduce us,
”
she said.
“
Then she
’
ll see I
’
m harmless.
”

Glancing at Samantha
’
s mobile face in the moonlight, Salverton didn
’
t think Lady Louise would understand at all.

Sykes said in a conspiratorial manner to Samantha,
“
Ladies never understand when their beau goes out of his way to help a lady prettier than themselves, Miss Oakleigh.
”

“
You don
’
t know I
’
m prettier than Lady Louise, Mr. Sykes,
”
she replied with an arch smile that infuriated her cousin.

“
If Lady Louise was as pretty as you, ma
’
am
—
no offense melord
—
the whole world would be talking of her,
”
was his bold reply. Samantha
’
s smile led him on to greater heights.
“
Bonnets would be named in her honor, her face would decorate shop windows, ballads would be composed.
”

Salverton released his ire by saying,
“
It wasn
’
t necessary for you to tell the Abercrombies my name, Sykes. They didn
’
t appear to recognize me at first.
”

“
They would have afore the constable arrived.
”

“
You know that is true, Cousin,
”
Samantha said.
“
And I must say, it certainly turned the tide in our favor. She even apologized for having her servant hit you with the poker. Does it hurt?
”
she remembered to ask.

He fingered his forehead. "Yes, very much.
”

“
I shall put something on it when we get to
—
Where are we going from here?
”

“
We'll try the inns in Brighton.
”

Sykes cleared his throat.
“
Miss Oakleigh must be fagged. The ladies haven
’
t our stamina, melord. They
’
re delicate flowers. It
’
ll be getting pretty late before we
’
re back at Brighton. Why not call off the chase until morning? If you
’
ll give me the description of Miss Oakleigh
’
s brother and his bit o
’
muslin, I
’
ll have a run around town for you. If they
’
re in Brighton, Jonathon Sykes will find them, never you fear.
”

“
What do you say, Samantha?
”
Salverton said. He didn
’
t notice that he had called his cousin by her name this time. His mind was fully occupied in conjuring with the recklessness of visiting some inn overnight with Samantha, sans chaperon. Samantha noticed it, and wondered if that blow had done more damage than he realized.

“
That is very kind of Mr. Sykes,
”
she said with a smile at their benefactor.
“
I am tired. Auntie and I were up at the crack of dawn preparing for our trip, you know. To say nothing of being up half the night waiting for Darren to come home. Actually, I didn
’
t sleep at all.
”

“
Then you shall sleep now, and I
’
ll find Darren,
”
Sykes announced.

Salverton was in the position of having either to take orders from his servant or appear a monster by insisting that Samantha continue searching that night.

“
Take us back to Brighton,
”
he said to Sykes.
“
I shall think about it while we go.
”

Sykes gave Samantha a commiserating glance. Before hopping up on the perch, he went into the road and looked up and down.

“
It is no matter if we
’
re seen,
”
Salverton told him.
“
Mrs. Abercrombie will soon spread the gossip.
”

“
I was wondering if that rider who followed us from Brighton is still on our tail,
”
Sykes replied.

“
What rider!
”
Salverton exclaimed.

“
We picked him up at the detour. Likely he was after us before that, but the road out of Brighton was busy. I didn
’
t notice him until we turned off the main road. I blame myself entirely for not noticing him and taking evasive action. You
’
d expect a mounted rider to pass an old rig like this, but he never did. When I sped up, he sped up. When I slowed down, he slowed down. He was following us right enough.
”

“
Who could he be?
”
Samantha asked in confusion.
“
Surely not Sir Geoffrey, hoping to find Wanda by following us?
”

“
That
’
s possible,
”
Salverton said.
“
Keep an eye out, Sykes. If you see him again, stop. I
’
d like a word with Bayne.
”

“
It was never Bayne,
”
Sykes said with great certainty.
“
Bayne never rides. He
’
s too fleshy and too lazy.
”

Salverton shrugged his shoulders and assisted Samantha into the carriage, away from Sykes
’
s big ears.
“
Sykes
’
s mysterious rider was probably a stray traveler afraid to pass this derelict carriage in case we robbed him,
”
he said.

“
Highwaymen are usually mounted, not riding in a carriage. I wonder if
he
was a highwayman! How exciting!
”
Salverton gave her a damping glare and watched as her smile faded.
“
Why do you want to speak to Sir Geoffrey?
”
she asked.

“
I am hoping that if we repay his thousand pounds, he
’
ll withdraw his charge.
”

“
Darren doesn
’
t have the money
—
in cash, I mean.
”

“
I realize that. I
’
ll lend it to him.
”

“
Oh, would you, Cousin? How kind you are! Naturally he
’
d repay you with interest.
”

“
So I would hope,
”
Salverton said, and again watched the smile fade from her face. Now, why the devil had he said that? He wasn
’
t worried about the money.
“
It
’
s worth a good deal more than a thousand to me to avoid the scandal,
”
he added, which hardly helped matters.

“
I
’
m afraid we
’
ve been a horrid nuisance.
”

“
It
’
s not unusual for provincials to be taken advantage of on their first foray into the city. I
’
m happy you came to me, Samantha, however belatedly.
”

“
I wager you were never taken advantage of, Cousin.
”

A rueful smile softened his harsh features.
“
Now, there you are very much mistaken,
”
he said in a voice of fond remembrance. It was a tone Samantha had not heard him use before.

“
No, really? Tell me about it.
”

Salverton hesitated only a moment before speaking. He had never told anyone of his disgrace. He had managed to forget it for a decade, but he found the memory was still green. The affair with Esmée Labelle had taught him a lesson he had never forgotten. Perhaps he had become too cautious, but it was a close-run thing.

“
Her name was Esme,
"
he said softly.
“
She was a minor actress at Covent Garden. I saw her on the stage and went to the greenroom after to meet her. I had just finished university that spring, and thought I was cock of the walk. She became my mistress. I hired her a little cottage in St. John
’
s Wood, where I set her up and showered her with knickknacks. One night she and her cohort fed me doctored wine. I was unconscious for twenty-four hours. When I came to, she handed me a wedding license indicating we had been married the day before.
”

“
Her cohort? You mean she had another fellow on the string all the time?
”

“
He was her older brother, as it turned out. I still hold him responsible. Esmée wasn
’
t clever enough, or wicked enough, to invent such a scheme by herself. I was petrified that they
’
d show the license to Papa, and paid them whatever they demanded to keep it quiet. They held me to ransom for that whole season. My papa thought I had taken to gambling. That spree went a long way toward killing my father. In desperation I finally went to my cousin Aldred Blythe, a man-about-town, and asked if there was anything I could do short of murdering the pair of them. Even that occurred to me.

“
Aldred nearly split his sides laughing. That stunt was as well-known as an old ballad. It turned out there was no Mr. Spickleton, the vicar who was supposed to have married us, and no church called St. Peter
’
s-by-the-Woods. They had gotten hold of a forged wedding license. I wanted to forget the whole thing, rack it up to experience, but in the end I felt I owed it to society to expose them. I reported them to Bow Street, and appeared in court to give evidence. Society had me branded as not only a lecher, but a fool. Of course I never recovered the three thousand pounds they had gotten from me, but I
’
ve made a point to recover my reputation.
”

“
Was that when you became so
—”

“
When I acquired my overweening ambition?
”
he asked in a thin voice.

“
And your overweening propriety,
”
she added, softening the words with a saucy smile.

“
I expect it is. I certainly wanted to show Papa I wasn
’
t the wastrel he thought me. I did take up my seat in the House at that time, and limited my acquaintances to decent, respectable folks. No one has called me Lord Salty since then.
”

“
I hope Darren
’
s experience has a similar effect. You have certainly lived down your disgrace. I never even heard that story.
”

“
I managed to keep it out of the journals, but it was whispered behind raised hands in society.
”

Samantha studied her cousin in the moonlight.
“
I cannot imagine you chasing after an actress. She must have been lovely.
”
As she gazed at his face, softened by memory, she saw the echo of a younger, more dashing Edward, and wished she had known him.

“
l thought so, at the ripe old age of one and twenty. As a matter of fact, I still think so,
”
he said musingly.
“
Esmée had titian hair and green eyes. She was a lively little thing.
”

“
I feel I know you better after hearing your story, Cousin,
”
Samantha said, Salverton took her hand, squeezed her fingers, and immediately released them.
“
Well enough to call me Edward, I think.
”

“
It was only seven or eight hours ago you pokered up when I called you that. I think this horrid escapade of Darren
’
s has done you some good.
”

“
Perhaps you
’
re right. Recalling my flaming youth, now that I am older, I find I can forgive myself.
”

“
Good gracious! Has it taken you ten years to forgive yourself? I would have thought a hair shirt would wear out long before that.
”

“
So it should, but when you train an animal harshly, he stays trained after the whip is abandoned.
”

“
Poor Salverton,
”
Samantha said, patting his hand.

“
Poor Samantha, saddled with a tartar for a helper.
”