The Wedding Runaway (10 page)

Amelia played a wrong note on the spinet.

Victor turned and Lydia backed away to the far side of the table.

Sophie cast a knowing glance in Amelia
'
s direction.
"
No wonder you look so green about the gills. The only time I have ever—
"

Victor glared at her.

"
—was when I mistook you for Keene. No
,
silly
,
I want you to buy a horse for me. A hunter
,
well, if it has half the spirit of its sire it shall be a grand horse. I mean I shall keep Daisy for town use
,
but Squire Ponsby is offering the two-year-old he bred from Salamanca—remember the horse that threw me
,
the one I kept calling Grace? He is offering the horse at Tattersall's and I want it. He won
'
t sell to me directly
,
but if it is auctioned at Tatt's
,
as my agent
,
you could purchase him for me.
"

"
You want me to buy you a horse?
"
asked Victor.

"
Yes
,
oh, he is a sweet goer. I saw him when visiting my parents and I offered for him then
,
but Mr. Ponsby was there when Grace
,
I mean Salamanca
,
threw me and he refused to sell me the colt. I should imagine this horse could take a seven-foot wall
,
he has such beautiful lines. If you won
'
t purchase him for me
,
I shall have to steal your clothes again and sneak into Tatt's and buy him myself.
"

Lydia sucked in air. Was Sophie on to her?

"
Sophie
,
my dearest
,
even in my clothes
,
you never passed for a man.
"
Victor glared in Lydia
'
s direction.

He scanned down her body
,
and she resisted the urge to shrivel. In fact, as his gaze seemed to rest on her special appendage sewn in her drawers
,
Lydia held back the urge to check and make sure it was properly positioned
,
not that she had been that aware of that portion of a man
'
s body and how it should be positioned until she
'
d attempted to correctly wear her own fake member.

She kept her eyes down as she needlessly shoved a chair further under the table. Well
,
and then she couldn
'
t help but look at that area of Victor
'
s body
,
and she shouldn
'
t have
,
because heat coursed madly through her blood. She plunked down in one of the chairs.

"
Leonard!
"

What? Oh, heavens. Sophie still stood.
"
Sorry.
"
She slid out of the seat
,
hoping that her embarrassment over her social gaff accounted for the rise in her color
,
and she surreptitiously checked that her fake parts were still in position. A prickle of curiosity for what a man
'
s private parts really felt like made her shift. What did Victor
'
s private parts look like
,
feel like?

Victor scowled ferociously in her direction. Maybe she hadn
'
t been inconspicuous enough. Heavens
,
when she was rude in a way that bothered him and might cause him to reject her
,
she couldn
'
t stand to continue. Lydia stared at the chair. Did she dare sit back down?

"
Oh
,
sit
,
do. Do not stand on ceremony with me
,"
Sophie said.
"
Please
,
Victor
,
say you will do this little favor for me
,
before Keene returns and I have to do something drastic.
"

"
Sophie
,
I—
"

"
You would do it for me
,
would you not
,
Leonard? If you had a sister and she was a very good horsewoman
,
you would help her to buy a horse worthy of her?
"

"
I don
'
t know anything about buying horseflesh
,"
muttered Lydia. Not to mention
,
horses scared her.

"
Have Keene buy the horse for you.
"

"
He won
'
t because
I
'
m breeding.
I
'
ll promise not to ride him until after the baby is born. Quick
,
promise me you will purchase him for me
,
before he returns.
"

Amelia turned from the spinet.
"
How can you afford a top-of-the-trees hunter
,
Sophie?
"

Sophie let out an infectious laugh.
"
I know it quite astounds everyone
,
but I am quite good with accounts. I have enough set aside for him.
"

Lydia looked up to realize that Victor was staring at her.
"
What do you mean you don
'
t know anything about buying horseflesh
,
Lenny?
"

She didn
'
t even know how to ride. She was a city dweller year round in Boston. She could sail a small sloop
,
but there was never any moving back and forth between country and city
,
so she never had a need to ride a horse. She rode in a carriage to any destination that was outside of walking distance. Lydia swallowed a sick feeling. Another shortcoming in her man tricks.
"
I have never had a reason to buy a horse.
"

The door opened and Keene walked in, holding two decks of cards.
"
For God
'
s sake
,
Sophie
,
you are not talking about that dratted horse again.
"

"
I thought Victor might be interested in him.
"
Sophie jutted out her chin.

"
Without a habitable country estate
,
I doubt I shall be doing much hunting. However
,
since Leonard needs lessons in horseflesh
,
I believe we shall visit Tattersall's on Thursday.
"

Sophie bounced up and gave Victor a peck on the cheek. Once again Lydia felt a surge of jealousy. And damn, she seemed to be embroiling herself deeper and deeper.

"
What is Tattersall's?
"
asked Lydia.

"
The premier auction house for horses. It is also the place to go to settle or collect on racing bets
,"
Keene answered as he set the decks of cards down on the table. He turned and crossed the room to stare out the window.

Lydia felt caught in a situation beyond her understanding. These people were obviously old friends of Victor
'
s
,
but there were moments when tension thickened like overcooked porridge.

"
Shall we play?
"
Sophie
'
s gaze followed Lydia as she sat down. She offered Lydia a conspiratorial smile.

If Sophie was on to Lydia
,
was she keeping her peace?

Once again
,
Victor leaned over Amelia at the spinet. He was whispering to her
,
and Lydia was surprised at the bloodlust she felt. Sophie she liked; Amelia made her feel gauche.

And Victor
,
no matter her clothes and studied mannerisms
,
made her feel like a woman
,
but she would just bet he had that same affect on Amelia
,
too.

~*~

Victor stared out the window as his carriage moved down the street with his valet escorting Leonard. Was the man who had dressed and bathed him for the past half dozen years enamored of the boy? Victor rubbed his forehead.

Victor and Keene had stepped into the library for a nightcap.

Keene handed him a glass of brandy.
"
I meant to surprise Sophie with that horse
,
you know."

"
Didn
'
t know
,"
said Victor, taking a drink.
"
Shall I tell her I lost it to another bidder?
"

Keene smiled enigmatically.
"
Perhaps that would serve best. She grows too used to getting her way. And I shall rather miss the fights over who rides Brutus.
"

Victor dropped the drapery he
'
d been holding back. His carriage had long ago passed into the darkness.
"
I won
'
t miss the matrimonial discord.
"

He wouldn
'
t miss it at all. Although he suspected Keene and Sophie
'
s disagreements had a rather enjoyable conclusion
,
his and Mary Frances
'
s fights had never led to anything so pleasant. Nothing in their marriage had ever led to anything so pleasant.

"
Mr. Hall is an odd project for you.
"

"
I
'
m not sure I understand it either
,"
said Victor.
"
But my valet assures me it is better for me to rejoin the living by my interest in him
,
than to sit in darkened rooms
,
drinking myself to a stupor.
"
He lifted his glass in a mock toast.

"
There is something off about him
,"
said Keene.
"
But Sophie appears fond of him.
"

"
She
'
s not always the best judge of character.
"

"
No
,
and she is more maternal right now. My biggest fear is that she
'
ll feel an overwhelming need to crawl out on a roof to rescue a kitten or some such. Do tell your Mr. Hall to stay off roofs
,
if you please.
"

"
I
'
m not sure if he needs rescue or a thrashing. You do agree that he is not of age
,
don
'
t you?
"

Keene tilted his head to the side.
"
I
'
m not certain. There is a maturity to him I would not expect in a youth.
"

"
He doesn
'
t shave yet. I would give him no more than fourteen summers. Gave me a tarradiddle about Indian blood and Indians not growing whiskers.
"

"
Ask Sheridan. If he doesn
'
t know about Indians
,
he will know someone who does.
"

"
Mmm
,
there
'
s an idea. Does he still offer
discreet
investigations?
"

"
Very discreet. But I was thinking of his military days. He is bound to know an officer or two who has served in North America.
"

"
Does he still have our pistols?
"

"
They
'
re his now. He bought them. I never wanted them after I knew how inaccurate they are.
"
Keene shook his head.
"
Tried to shoot you in the leg and damn near killed you. He found some Spanish writing under the lining of the box
,
and he
'
s been trying to decipher the curse.
"

Victor waved off thoughts of the cursed dueling pistols.
"
I
'
m half tempted to put Leonard on a ship and send him home.
"

"
But?
"

"
He might have had a valid reason for fleeing.
"

"
Mmmm
,"
said Keene.
"
As a parent
,
I
'
m not sure I would agree with his complaint.
"
Keene stared into his glass.
"
Whatever it is.
"

"
You would send him home?
"
asked Victor.

"
Most like. Unless he offered up evidence of abuse or mistreatment.
"

"
He resents my interference.
"

"
Do you want his friendship or his best interests?
"

"
Both
,
but too many times the two are mutually exclusive.
"
Victor felt a wave of sadness wash through him. When had he ever been good for anyone?
"
I shall see if I can convince him it is in his best interests to return home.
"

~*~

"
Oh, thank the Lord
,
a fire.
"
Trevor Hamilton stuck his hands out toward the flames roaring in the common room of the inn. He had been chilled to the bone so deeply the last three months that he
'
d never be warm again.
"
Remind me never to sail from Boston to England during the winter ever again.
"

Oscar Sullivan gave him a despairing look.

"
Never fear, we
'
ll find her. At least we know she made it here.
"
But they
'
d known she booked passage to Plymouth before they left. Finding out how she
'
d left Boston had been fairly easy. All ports kept detailed logs of passengers and cargo in case a ship went down.