Lady Olivia To The Rescue (18 page)

“Not at all. Dear Richard has always been so very persuasive,” she said with a leer that caused Olivia to blush and stare at him.

“It was nothing,” he said, using his finger to loosen his cravat. “I told her basically what you want to do, Olivia, but you will have to explain the details.”

“I am only too happy to do so,” said Olivia, losing all her nervousness as she warmed to her theme. “Sir Richard has most likely explained that I want to help girls who have fallen on hard times, who have been forced into…prostitution,” she said, managing not to blush at this forthright speech.

“Not all of these girls have been forced,” said the hardened mistress.

“Not forced? But…oh, I see what you mean. Very well, I want to offer these girls help. Whether they take my help is their own choice.”

This seemed to satisfy Miss Divine because she nodded. “There are some who never get used to it. They are the ones who could use your help. Them and the ones who are fresh from the country, looking for a new, exciting life here in London.”

“Yes, yes, that is exactly the type of girl I want to help. I had asked Sir Richard if going to a brothel…”

“You, my lady? In a brothel?” The light skirt was clearly shocked. “No, you mustn’t consider it. Why, you, an unmarried lady in a brothel? It is unthinkable.”

“Then will you help?”

Miss Divine considered it for a moment and then said, “I will help, but I am not going into any brothels either. No, what we want is to beat the old abbess at her own game.”

“Abbess?”

“What they call the woman who runs the brothel,” said Sir Richard.

“Some of them have people who scout the posting inns around London, looking for fresh faces from the country. If a girl arrives and there’s no one to greet her, these so-called gentlemen offer their help. Before she knows it, the girl has been taken to a fancy house.”

“How dreadful,” murmured Olivia. “What happens next?

Evelina Divine looked to Sir Richard as if for guidance. When he nodded, she continued.

“Sometimes they are drugged. Sometimes they are whipped into submission, but submit they must. As virgins, they are sold to the highest bidder.”

Olivia shivered, her heart going out to these victims. “We must help them,” she said quietly. “What do we do first?”

“First, I will send an agent out to see which inns would be the best locations to send our own scouts. While we are waiting for his report, you will need to figure out what we will do with the girls when and if they decide to accept your help.”

Olivia smiled. “I have already purchased another house and have had it cleaned top to bottom. There are five large rooms with four beds in each one. I have hired two former housekeepers to instruct the girls in service, if that is what they want. If they prefer learning a trade such as sewing, I have people who would be willing to do that.”

“You are a wonder,” said Miss Divine.

“I could do all this and it would be for nothing without your help, Miss Divine. Together, we will make a formidable team.”

“Call me Evelina, my lady.”

‘Thank you.”

“I think we should call it a day,” said Sir Richard.

“Very well. Will you check to make sure it is safe for me to go out through the front? You had best knock to get out of the room. I left Harold standing guard outside the door,” said Olivia.

He left them alone, and Olivia said, “If I can do anything for you, Evelina…”

The woman laughed, the sound soft and inviting. She shook her head. “Goodness no, my lady. I have no need of your help. I am quite content the way things stand for me.”

“But do you not want to be…free?”

“My lady, I am free. I haven’t a care in the world.”

“But some day, surely, you will tire of this life. It cannot be pleasant to be the subject of someone else’s whims.”

“You have this all wrong. I know I am not a proper lady like you, but I command a great deal of respect. I can come and go as I please. I was gone this past week to Paris.”

“By yourself?”

“Yes, by myself,” she said with another laugh.

“My sister lives there, and I paid her a visit. I have been home two days by myself.”

“But what if your…protector tires of you?”

“He will not be the first. But I have my own house and my own carriage and jewels. And they are real,” she added, lifting the heavy gold necklace with its rubies and diamonds. “Can you say the same?”

Olivia, who wore only a simple strand of pearls, smiled. “Yes, these are, but I know many people wear paste when they go out because they are afraid to lose their real jewels.”

“You see, I don’t have that worry. If these should be stolen or lost, I will simply ask for more. So please, my lady, if we are to get on, you mustn’t try to right the wrongs in my life. I would only be annoyed.”

Olivia chuckled and promised to limit her crusade to the innocents.

“When can we meet again?” she asked.

“Thursday morning? I would like to see the facility you have, if you don’t mind. We could meet and go from here. After that, I may even have other news by then.”

“Thursday morning is fine with me.”

“What time?”

“At eleven o’clock,” said Olivia. “If you should need to change it, just send a note to Sir Richard. He has agreed to be our go-between.”

“I am amazed that you managed to persuade him to help,” said Evelina. “In my experience, Sir Richard Adair has always been singularly unhelpful. I have never known him to go out of his way when there was nothing in it for him.”

“I merely asked.”

“Ah, I see how things stand,” said the woman of the world.

Olivia giggled and hastened to say, “No, it is nothing like that. As a matter of fact, there is someone else who...but I do not wish to say too much on that head. I thought Sir Richard agreed because of you.”

“Me? No, there is nothing like that between the handsome Sir Richard and me. Whatever his reasons, I am glad he thought to approach me. I think I will enjoy our little enterprise.”

“I am glad. It has already been quite an education for me. Here I was thinking an abbess was like a mother superior.” They shared a laugh. Then Olivia sobered and said, “Evelina, thank you.”

“You are quite welcome. Good day, my lady.”

Richard opened the door and signalled to Olivia that it was safe to leave. She pulled her veil into place and left the private parlour. With a wave to Miss Divine, Sir Richard followed Olivia out of the coffeehouse and into her carriage.

“What do you think of Evelina?” he asked when they were under way.

“I think she is a godsend, Sir Richard. Thank you for finding her.”

“You are very welcome, my lady. Now, can I tempt you with an ice from Gunter’s?”

“No, I have an appointment with my hair-dresser. Shall we drop you someplace?”

“In the park. There I should be able to blend in. Wouldn’t do to simply get out anywhere, not when we have been in a closed carriage together.”

“Yes, just the three of us,” said Olivia, glancing at the opposite seat where Harold was watching the practiced rake with a wary eye.

“I see what you mean. Nevertheless, I think the park would be the best place to discharge me.”

“Have you seen Lord Sheridan this morning?”

“No, I haven’t. Have you?” he teased.

“You know I have not. I was a little worried about him. He disappeared quite early last night without saying goodbye.”

“Sheri was ever a peculiar sort,” he replied, twitching the curtain back from the window to see where they were. “He is spying on me, you know.”

“What? Why on earth would he do such a nonsensical thing?”

“Probably because he is insanely jealous over you, my dear Lady Olivia, and he thinks that I am out to seduce you.”

“Ridiculous!”

“Thank you so much,” he replied.

“Oh, you know what I mean, and I cannot believe it. Why would he think such a thing?” she asked.

Richard grinned and said, “Possibly because I admitted as much to him myself?”

“I think it is all a hum. You are making it up. Besides, why wouldn’t he have people spying on me, too?” she asked.

Harold cleared his throat.

Frowning, Olivia demanded, “What do you know about this, Harold?”

“I believe his lordship made an attempt to spy upon you, my lady. Fortunately, he chose to bribe Rattle, who told Mr. Pate immediately. Mr. Pate told me about it, but there didn’t seem to be any reason to raise a fuss over it as none of us would ever betray you, my lady.”

“I am surrounded by intrigue,” she muttered. “Why did you not tell me?”

“We didn’t want to worry you none.”

“So he is spying on me, too! I have a good mind to demand an explanation. I think I will have Mr. Pate turn this carriage around and go straight to Lord Sheridan’s house.”

“No!” exclaimed both men at once.

“Listen, Olivia, you don’t need an explanation. I mean, can you not guess why? Sheri is a fool, but he is a fool in love.”

“I cannot credit it. Why would he not just come right out and tell me?’

“We are talking about the same marquess, are we not?” asked Sir Richard. ‘The one I am talking about married when he was little more than a boy, only to regret it since the day it occurred. I am talking about the one who has sworn never to have anything to do with another woman as long as he lives.”

“Then how can he possibly be…you know.”

“You have only to look in a mirror for the answer to that.”

“What drivel you do spout, Richard!”

“Drivel? I give you a lovely compliment, and this is the thanks I get. I am immeasurably hurt,” he put a limp hand to his forehead.

“Pray, do not be silly. Very well, thank you, but please do not continue to practice your flirting on me. You know it hasn’t the slightest effect—except, perhaps, to annoy me.”

“Point taken.”

“So if I cannot confront my Lord Sheridan, then what am I to do?”

“Nothing. He will soon realize the error of his ways.”

“And that is?”

“That you and I are not, alas, having an affair, not even a minor one. You will forgive him for being a complete flat, and you and he will do the happily-ever-after thing like in the fairy tales.”

She heaved a doubtful sigh.

“Have faith,” he whispered, tapping on the roof to ask Mr. Pate to stop the carriage. “Will I see you tomorrow?”

“No, I am spending the day with a friend in Islington who is in her confinement.”

“Until Thursday at eleven then,” said Sir Richard, blowing her a kiss before leaping nimbly to the ground.

Olivia hardly noticed his departure, she was so wrapped up in her thoughts about Sheridan. She smiled and wondered what she would call him. Sheri? My lord? Or simply Drew. Yes, that was the one. It felt so right to think of him in those terms.

She frowned. If only he were not such a paper skull, they could be planning their nuptials at that very moment. All this, of course, if Sir Richard was right.

Oh, how she hoped he was right!

Chapter Ten

“I
have no desire to lounge about on the grass and ruin my new gown,” grumbled Lady Thorpe, squinting up at the bright blue sky.

“Now, Maddie, we must enter into the spirit of Pendleton’s
al fresco
breakfast,” said Sheridan, offering his arm.

Maddie put up her parasol, and they walked to the back of the Italian-style villa, following the red carpet that had been unfurled on the grass.

“I do not understand this penchant people have for dining out-of-doors. The only thing I want to do out-of-doors is go for a drive—and that, through a civilized park. This business of living in the wilds…”

“Richmond is hardly the wilds,” said Sheridan with a chuckle. “Pendleton has all the comfort of living in the country, but he is close to London. Not a bad arrangement, if one is forced to endure the rigors of the Season. I might consider it myself when Rebekah has her Season. Perhaps my mother might even be persuaded to come.”

The house stood on a small rise and the green lawns sloped gently to the bank of the Thames. To the left, a large tent in green-and-white stripes had been erected.

“A spectacular view,” said Sheridan, feeling his cares slip away as the scene filled his soul, sending him back home again.

His companion was less than enthused and said, “I can see that you will be positively repulsive all day in your gentleman farmer guise. I am going to find a glass of something to dull my senses.”

Maddie left him there, and Sheridan wandered down to the lawn where other guests reclined on the grass on blankets or sat at one of the small tables that dotted the landscape. On the river, several energetic guests were rowing small boats while a few were punting. One small group played at shuttlecocks, and yet another played croquet. Under the tent were the older guests. Sofas and chairs had been arranged in clusters as if they were inside a drawing room.

Not recognizing any particular friends, Sheridan followed Maddie toward the tent. There, he fell into conversation with his host, who was holding court with eight or ten older ladies. When Sheridan spied Amy Hepplewhite enter, he turned away. Until he had a report from Butters, he had vowed that he would avoid Olivia and that meant avoiding her aunt, too. Amy had seen him, however, and was coming to speak to him. He could not very well give her the cut direct.

“Lord Sheridan, I am so happy to see you. Where have you been of late? You should come to call more often, like your friend, Sir Richard.”

His hackles raised, Sheridan gave a cold shrug. “Unlike my here-and-there friend, I have business to attend to, estates to see to. I cannot be forever languishing over some pretty face.”

“My, we have got a bee in our bonnet,” she said, taking his arm and practically dragging him away from the others. When they were seated on a small sofa together, she said, “Now, tell Amy all about it. Have you had a quarrel with your friend?”

“Miss Hepplewhite, I…”

“Oh, this is dire indeed if I am once again
Miss Hepplewhite
. Have I managed to offend you, too? Have I?”

Since she would not leave well enough alone, he said, “No, you have done nothing. I am annoyed with your niece and my friend, and it is churlish of me to take it out on you. I humbly apologize.”

“Oh, good. Then we can be friends, but I take it you do not wish to divulge what sin Olivia and Richard…oh!” she exclaimed, and he could feel his face turning red. “But my dear Sheri, what can you expect when you have not made the least attempt…” His darkling glance silenced her.

“I know that she is unaware of my…regard. She is practically unaware of me.”

“No, I assure you that she is aware of you, but perhaps not in the manner you would like. Dearie me, this is a dilemma.”

Sheridan managed a smile. “Not at all. I am not one to throw myself at a female. I will simply bow out.”

“It might be for the best. Mind you, Olivia does not appear to me to be interested in Sir Richard in that manner, though she has been spending a great deal of time with him. And he is charming. There is no denying that.”

“Never mind,” came his flat comment. “We still have each other, you and I. Unless your good doctor is lurking about in one of the corners.”

“No, he had patients to see, drat the man.”

“So, are you going to put him out of his misery?” asked Sheridan.

“I have not decided yet. It will not be anytime soon, I can tell you. I have waited a lifetime. I can wait a bit longer. Now, enough of this depressing tattle,” said Amy, getting on her feet and taking his arm. Glancing up at him, she said, “Shall we stroll on the lawn and laugh at all the young men making cakes of themselves over the ladies? If we are lucky, perhaps one of them will actually fall in the water.”

“I am at your service,” he replied. They wandered away from the tent, their path taking them ever closer to the river.

“Only look at that young man trying to punt along the shore.” They watched the youth push away from shore with a long pole, leaning out farther and farther as the boat slipped away.

“If he is not careful, he’s going to come a cropper,” said Sheridan.

Amy laughed. “Why I think it is Mr. Campion. I am surprised his mother is not sitting between him and the young lady. Oh, dear. Look how the boat is wobbling.”

Sheridan chuckled and pointed to the long, narrow punt. “So it is, and I fear young Mr. Campion is not content with only upsetting his own boat.

“Look out!” called Sheridan, running toward the shore as the young man managed to pluck the long pole out of the mud, losing control as it flew overhead. It fell with a resounding crack across the bow of another punt.

Her voice shrill, Amy shouted, “Sir Richard! Watch out!”

It was too late. Richard, who was standing in the other punt, lost his balance. Clinging to his pole, the punt shot out from under him. While he held onto the pole, the punt rammed the shore, sending its lone passenger into the shallow water.

“Olivia!” screamed Amy.

Sheridan plunged into the chest-high water and gathered Olivia into his arms. Richard finally let go of the pole and stood up, sloshing through the water to shore.

“Of all the ham-fisted things to do,” snapped Sheridan.

“Are you speaking to me?” demanded Olivia while she struggled to get free.

“No, I am speaking to that gudgeon there,” said Sheridan, depositing her on the shore with a grunt. He turned to help his friend out of the water. “Letting a little pole upset you. You’ve lost your touch.”

“At least I once had a touch. You don’t go near the things because you know you will end in the river.”

“One time!” shouted Sheridan, beginning to enjoy himself.

“One time you would admit to. What about when you took your fancy piece…but I am forgetting myself. Are you all right, Olivia?”

Servants with blankets rushed up, wrapping the warm woollen cloths around their shoulders, but Sheridan didn’t notice. Richard’s use of Olivia’s given name made him remember his complaint with his friend. “If you will excuse me.”

Sheridan turned away as Olivia said, “Drew,” but people were crowding about them, and the disgruntled marquess didn’t hear.

“Leave him be,” said Richard, tugging on her arm to lead her to the house. “There is time enough to worry about him. At the moment he is too jealous of me to see reason.”

“I begin to doubt it, Richard,” she whispered.

“Then you must try harder to believe me. Let him stew in his own juices a few more days. Then, when he decides it is time to make his declaration, you can tell him what a lobcock he has been. Trust me on this.”

“I am trying to, Richard, but it is becoming more and more difficult. The hurt in his eyes when he saw me in the boat with you—it was almost unbearable.”

While servants were dispatched to their various houses for clean clothes, Sheridan, Olivia, and Richard waited in separate bedrooms. Hot baths were drawn.

Being the restless sort, Richard was soon fidgeting with knickknacks, staring out the window, and finally, opening his door to see if he had heard someone in the hall.

“Damn,” he muttered. A door opened, and he pulled his to, peering through the narrow aperture.

“Will there be anything else, m’lady?” asked a maid as she left the room next door.

Richard waited for the maid to leave, and then he tiptoed down the hall. A gentle knock brought a muffled, “Come in.”

He pushed open the door and entered, shutting it silently behind him.

“What is…Sir Richard!” gasped Olivia. Clutching the loose neckline of her dressing gown, she said, “I thought the maid was returning. What are you doing in here?”

“I was bored. Do you have any cards? We could play a hand of piquet to pass the time.” As he spoke, he wandered toward her, looking about him.

“Certainly not!” she said, backing toward the bed as he came closer. This was a tactical error, and she began to back toward the door to the adjoining room. Was she fast enough to zip through the door and lock it from the other side?

Stopping, he gave a quiet laugh. “Surely you are not afraid of me, are you?”

“Not afraid,” she breathed. “But how would it look to anyone coming in? You don’t wish to compromise me, do you?”

“Who would come in?”

“My aunt, for one,” said Olivia, still edging toward the door.

“I just spied her down by the river talking to Maddie. Look, no one is going to find out. I am bored,” he whined. “I need someone to entertain me.”

“If you think Lady Olivia is going to entertain you, Richard, you will have to come through me first.”

For the first time in her life, Olivia swooned. Sheridan, slipping inside the room from his adjoining one, caught her handily before she hit the floor.

“Now see what you have done,” said Sheridan, carrying her easily to the bed and laying her on it. He tucked her dressing gown around her legs. Looking at her pale face, he smoothed some blonde tendrils of hair from her brow before turning to his friend.

Richard was still chuckling as he said, “Me? She was quite conscious when she was speaking to me. You are the one who caused her to faint. Bully!”

Sheridan, however, was deadly serious. “Get out, Richard, before I call you out.”

Richard fell silent. His nostrils flared and his lip curled. He glanced away. When he looked back, the usual gleam was in his eyes and he said, “I would not accept, Sheri and you know it. I would be signing my own death warrant because I would refuse to fight, and you would have to kill me. Then you would be put to death, and it would be such a terribly messy affair. Neither of us wants that. Why don’t you go back where you came from, and l will do the same? No one will be hurt.”

“Go on. I’ll leave when I have made certain she is unharmed.”

Richard shrugged and backed out of the room.

Sheridan heaved a sigh of relief. His friend might be a rogue, but he was still a man of honour and occasional good sense. Richard was wrong about one thing, however. Drew knew he would never have been able to fire either.

He went to the basin and wet a cloth. Returning to Olivia, he began bathing her face.

The foolish smile faded, and Sheridan cursed himself for a fool. What was he doing? Was his first forced marriage not enough? All he needed was to compromise Olivia and force her to wed him. She would not be with child like Anne had been, but if someone discovered him in her room, both of them half-dressed, the result would be the same.

Besides, am I really so sure that she was backing away from Richard? Perhaps she was merely going to check to see that the door to his room was locked.

No, that couldn’t be it. She had looked afraid.

But of whom?

“She called me Drew,” he said aloud.

And she called him Richard earlier
.

“Hell and blast,” Sheridan muttered through clenched teeth.

Olivia’s eyes fluttered and opened. She caught his hand and tried to sit up. He pushed her down gently.

“It was not what you thought, Drew.”