Ruined by Moonlight (14 page)

“What makes you think…” She started to deny she’d asked such in-depth questions and then sighed, the afternoon sun giving golden highlights to her skin. “Well, I just said you are the most intelligent man I know, so I suppose I can’t be surprised you guessed I’ve been investigating this situation a little. I mean, she
is
my cousin, after all. I love Elena.”

“She is family,” he acknowledged, his horse dancing sideways enough that his booted foot brushed her skirts. “So, then. Tell me what you learned.”

Later he would thank her for the compliment which had been unexpected, but at the moment he didn’t have the words.…Maybe finding Lady Elena would be his form of gratitude.

His wife thought him the most intelligent man she knew. It wasn’t as if he’d ever imagined she’d married him only for his money and title, but it
was
done all the
time and he could hardly ignore his recent banishment from her bed.

Still, the sentiment was flattering, and he would endeavor to live up to the expectations of her request.

Alicia cocked her head to the side, her expression thoughtful, the feather on her fashionable hat tickled by the wind. “He didn’t recall much. I’ve found that human beings in general are not that observant, which surprises me. The accent wasn’t familiar enough for him to recognize but he did wonder enough to ask the footman if he knew the man. The answer was no.”

“But she was abducted from the theater.”

“It seems so.” Alicia pursed her mouth. “My uncle is being deliberately very vague, though, about the incident.”

“He wishes, naturally, to keep it quiet.”

“But his child is gone and there seems to be no explanation.”

Damnation, the luscious curve of her lower lip was distracting, and he’d just as much as admitted he was looking into the matter. On the other hand, the issue of male-to-male camaraderie aside, to whom did he owe more allegiance—his wife or the often stuffy Lord Whitbridge? “I have some connections still that he thought might be useful in gaining information. And I think he is more affected than you know.”

“I certainly hope so.” Alicia’s voice was firm. “Now, this helpful stranger may mean nothing but surely it warrants further investigation. Perhaps he was trying to make Elena think he works for my uncle and was therefore someone she was supposed to trust.”

It was a valid supposition. “Maybe the footman can describe him. I will look into it.”

“And don’t forget there are other avenues.”

“Such as?”

She slanted him a look under the veil of her lashes. “Are you asking me to help?”

That
certainly hadn’t occurred to him. Cautiously he asked, “How so?”

“Women will tell other women things they wouldn’t dream of revealing to a man. I can talk to Elena’s friends. After all, we share many of them.”

As this was already the fifth day since the disappearance, perhaps he should accept the offer. Then again, he felt a certain trepidation in including his wife when it was possible someone unscrupulous was involved in Lady Elena’s disappearance. With each passing day Lord Andrews became more and more the likely culprit in her continued absence, but discreet inquiries had proven the general consensus was that it would have been out of character for him.

Had, for instance, Andrews stumbled on Elena’s abduction, been injured or worse trying to help her, and his body dumped in the Thames or disposed of some other way?

White slavery was a profitable business and the young woman in question exceptionally beautiful. How much would a sultan or a foreign brothel owner pay for a lovely blond English virgin? Quite a lot, at a guess. Ben had sent a reliable man to the docks to inquire if any young woman answering Elena’s description had been seen boarding a ship within the time period of her absence but it had turned up nothing. Of course, it was possible she’d been spirited on board in the dead of night.

That was hardly a theory he wanted to pose to his wife. He had reservations over involving her at all. On
the other side of the coin, she was gazing at him with endearing entreaty, as if a refusal might hurt her feelings. “I think talking to her friends in a very roundabout way to make sure you protect your cousin’s reputation as much as possible would be invaluable.”

“You needn’t worry. I can be subtle.” Her mouth curved into a smile. “And tonight is naturally the perfect time as we will be at the opera.”

“What opera?”

She sent him a reproving look.

He stifled an inward groan. It seemed he was neatly trapped.

But he suddenly didn’t want to leave his adventurous wife to her own devices either.

Alicia took the card, recognized the name embossed on the expensive paper, and frowned. “You say she wishes to see my husband?”

“Quite frankly, my lady, she
insists
on an audience with the earl. She is waiting in the blue drawing room.” Yeats added with no inflection, “If I might suggest it, perhaps I could have tea prepared while you change your attire.”

She stifled a small inner grimace. The butler was a stately man with white hair and an almost regal bearing, and though he never swerved from proper deference to her role as countess it was clear now and again that he felt her youth meant she needed some gentle guidance. Actually he was correct, for running the households of several estates and the London residence of the Earl of Heathton was a bit daunting at times.

Blast it all.

He’d been correct just
now
, for she was intensely curious
to know why one of Lord Andrews’s family members was calling and might have gone to greet the visitor immediately, ignoring that she was still wearing her riding habit. “An excellent suggestion,” she murmured, moving toward the stairs. “I will be down directly.”

A short time later, dressed in a proper day gown of pale green georgette, her hair tidied into a simple chignon, Alicia entered the drawing room to find a dark-haired woman sitting very upright on one of the silk-covered striped chairs. The visitor was hardly in the first bloom of youth but still attractive, with fine bones and a shapely figure, and her gown was modest and not particularly fashionable. That noted, the family resemblance was strong enough that even if she hadn’t seen the last name on the card, Alicia would have known the woman was related to the rakishly handsome viscount.

“Good afternoon.” She gave a small nod. “I am Lady Heathton. I’m afraid my husband is not here, as he had some sort of appointment. We were out for an afternoon ride and he saw me home and then left at once. I wish I could predict when he was going to return but I do not know precisely. Perhaps we can converse instead.”

To say she was wildly curious as to why the woman wanted to see Ben was an understatement. She’d changed so swiftly she hadn’t even bothered to ring for her maid and practically dashed down the stairs.

“I am Janet Raine.” The woman had risen but sank back down when Alicia settled on a settee near her chair. “Lord Andrews is my nephew.”

“And Elena Morrow is my cousin. The disappearances, of course. Is that why you are here?”

“Not precisely, though I am starting to wonder if what I have to show your husband might be related to her
absence also. When he came to see me in Essex at our country estate a few days ago I knew nothing.”

Ben went to Essex to visit the viscount’s aunt?

No wonder he’d been gone all day earlier in the week and arrived home obviously tired and travel worn. Really, the man was too infuriatingly closemouthed. It took some effort to not react. “And what do you know now that brings you here?”

When Miss Raine hesitated Alicia said neutrally, “I have a vested interest also in finding my cousin. She is very close to me. I promise whatever you tell me will go straight to my husband and not repeated elsewhere. You have my word.”

Miss Raine took a moment to consider and then she nodded and removed a bit of paper that had been tucked into her bodice. Alicia had always found that an interesting—and obvious—place for women to choose to hide correspondence. “This came this morning. Before this I was at first mildly concerned at my nephew’s absence and then more alarmed, but now I am convinced something dire has happened.”

Taking the slip, Alicia unfolded it.

It was signed Herman Crepshaw, and the address was in a part of London where the aristocratic neighborhoods
gave way to a less exalted style of living. Not quite a slum but close.

Alicia read it a second time and knew that Ben would be most interested in this unexpected coup. She folded the note back carefully as a maid trundled in the tea trolley, the smell of sweet cakes and lemon tarts delicious, and waited patiently. Alicia had poured two steaming cups of tea when she murmured, “Tell me why this means something dire has happened. Couldn’t your nephew have lost the watch?”

“No.” Janet Raine spoke with complete conviction. “Ran treasured that watch as a keepsake of his father’s life and took it with him every single day. Not to mention that whatever you may have heard about his private life, he is a conscientious guardian to his sister and intensely loyal to his family. My unease with his absence is confirmed by this note. Somehow this odious man asking for money obtained it but it wasn’t through negligence on Ran’s part, I assure you. I questioned my nephew’s valet, who swears it was with him when he left that afternoon five days ago.”

Alicia took a sip of hot tea and then said gravely, “You fear foul play.”

“Oh yes.” The answering smile was thin. “I assure you, my nephew is athletically inclined, quite able to defend himself, and he would not part with his father’s precious possession lightly. He is sentimental under that cavalier exterior. Neither would he just leave without word. Something is wrong.”

“Did he know my cousin?”

“Not that I’m aware of.” Miss Raine took a lump of sugar but no milk and stirred the beverage in her cup, definitively shaking her head. “Naturally, he didn’t discuss
his private life with me often, but I do believe if he were seriously interested in marrying I would have known. He is very protective of his younger sister, Lucy, and wouldn’t have kept a life-changing decision from her either.”

It sounded like the viscount was a bit different from what Alicia had imagined. “You seem fond of him,” she observed.

“Oh, I am. He didn’t want the title so early in his life, but has taken the mantle on with a level of responsibility I did not expect.” Janet looked pensive over the rim of her cup. “Such a wild young man in so many ways when he was at university…I thought his father was going to have an apoplexy over some of his escapades, but they really were essentially harmless. And I can say Randolph has assumed the role of viscount with ease, whether he wished it or not. The scandalous gossip is somewhat his fault, I do not deny it, but I do not believe for a moment he absconded with your cousin to avoid her father’s disapproval. There is no elopement. We need to look past that.”

“It
has
been done before.” Alicia tried to keep her own inclinations toward fairy-tale romances at bay. An impetuous marriage was a universal concept and she was hoping that maybe that was exactly what had happened to Elena.

“He…
wouldn’t
. I don’t know how to put it any other way but to express my conviction that he is not that sort of man. When he finally marries—and she will have to be exceptional—he will deal with it in an honorable fashion.”

Unfortunately, Alicia believed that heartfelt declaration. It made the situation all that more bewildering. “My
cousin would never leave and not tell anyone either. She isn’t that inconsiderate.”

“Then we agree they aren’t together.”

“Maybe not.” Alicia had to admit as unlikely as it was, maybe the disappearances were not related. “However, in the meantime, I think it best if we go visit Mr. Crepshaw and retrieve the watch.”

“Before Lord Heathton arrives?” Miss Raine looked startled.

Alicia took a lemon tart for fortitude, since there was no use in embarking on an adventure half-starved. “Who knows when he will be back? He tells me next to nothing about his schedule, and for all we know the chance to interview this Crepshaw will slip through our fingers if we wait. I don’t think we should let this opportunity pass us by.”

T
he plan had promise, and he couldn’t take any credit for it. Ran, his pose negligent in his chair, ankles crossed, whiskey glass in his hand, casually watched the boy come collect their trays. An unthreatening gentleman if ever there was one…

The barefoot English beauty in the room was the real danger.

He should know.

She was certainly a menace to his peace of mind.

“Dinner was quite lovely.” Her smile was dazzling enough that despite her age and status as a marriageable young lady even the most seasoned rake might take a second look.

And,
Ran thought, I
qualify for that label.
She certainly had him mesmerized.

“Is it possible you could give this to the cook?” With her loose golden hair and delectable form draped only in a thin robe, she was the epitome of seductive innocence, and Ran was not positive that a few more days in captivity together would not overcome the weak restraint he had leaned on in keeping her—only in physical reality—innocent. She tucked a piece of vellum under a
plate on the tray. “I just wish to compliment the food and ask that the chocolate torte of the other evening be included again on our menu if possible.”

The insidious approach is so much more female,
he decided as he sat there and saw the boy’s flush and the dip of his head.

She had proposed that since the food they were being served was certainly sophisticated—for instance, the sauce that had come with the beefsteak the night before had been laced with peppercorns and cream and a drizzle of brandy—the chef could probably read. As it was doubtful any of the other staff had that particular skill, maybe, she postulated, they could communicate to the ruler of the kitchen, who might not realize they were being held captive. It could be the kitchen staff did know and was paid enough to not care if they were prisoners, but worth a chance. Elena had suggested that surely it was difficult to find an entire retinue of servants who approved of locking two people up against their will, no matter how well they were treated.