The Wolfe Wager (27 page)

The door opened beneath Vanessa’s cautious fingers. She stared at the fly-specked gray walls. An iron bed with a thick coverlet was set next to a stand holding an empty pitcher and bowl. A knock on the half-open door was her only warning before a broad woman bustled into the room. Rosy-cheeked, with her graying hair drawn back beneath a starched mobcap, the large woman carried a bucket of water.

She splashed it into the bowl and filled the pitcher as she said, “Mayhap it be none of my business, milady, but I was ’earin’ what yer menfolk be sayin’ down in the tavern. Ye lookin’ fer a friend?”

Vanessa took off her bonnet and poked at the drenched flowers. They were all to pieces … just like her dreams. Tossing the hat onto the bed, she sat on the lumpy mattress. “We are looking for my fiancé, but we missed his sailing tonight. There is no hope of following him until the morrow, and that may be too late.”

“La!” the woman said in a burst of sympathy. “Yer man be gone ’cross the Channel to those frogs?”

“Yes.”

“Bad sort they be. So’s I hear.” Pulling a towel from beneath her apron, she put it on the stand and asked, “Does yer man speak that parleyvoo?”

“What—?” In spite of fear, Vanessa smiled weakly. “Oh, you mean French. I have no doubt Ross has mastered French as he has everything else.”

“Includin’ yer heart.” The old woman chuckled and backed toward the door. “Yer sup will be waitin’ fer ye when yer ready fer it, milady.”

Vanessa forced another smile, which lasted only until the door closed and she was left to confront her fearful thoughts. This was completely her doing. She wanted for sense as much as Sir Wilbur and was as manipulating as Mr. Swinton.

Going to the glass over the table, she saw fright clouding her eyes. Her fingers rose to brush her hair back from her face. They paused as she lowered her gaze from her own recriminations, but there was no escaping the truth. If she had been brave enough to believe her heart, which had urged her to believe Ross, she would be sitting, snug and happy, in her aunt’s parlor as they toasted Corey’s return with smuggled French brandy.

Hoping that Captain Hudson or Lord Greybrooke would have good news to share—although she could not fathom what it might be—Vanessa washed tearstains from her face and went down. She followed the sound of familiar voices to the other side of the narrow, stone corridor. Rafters crisscrossed the dining room from the huge hearth to the door. A pair of windows, with diamond mullions, were awash with rain. At one of the trio of long tables, her brother sat with the earl and Captain Hudson.

The men set themselves on their feet as she entered. Her opaque hopes collapsed when she saw their somber faces. They were silent while she walked across the narrow room to their table. Captain Hudson stepped aside to motion for her to take the sole chair.

“I found no one who was willing to set his boat upon the waves before the storm comes to an end,” he said before she could ask what he had learned. He inclined his head toward the earl who was refilling his glass from a brandy bottle in the middle of the table. “His lordship had no better luck.”

“Good fortune has kept her favors for Ross,” Vanessa said softly. When her brother asked her what she had said, she was spared from answering by a door opening.

Aromas of a roasting joint preceded the innkeeper. The nearly bald man carried a huge platter in his thin arms. He offered Vanessa a smile as he set the platter with its steaming collection of meat and vegetables in front of her. “Milady, a glass of wine?”

“Yes.” She nodded her thanks when a young girl set it beside the platter. Tempted to ask for the full bottle to sand away the rough edges of her pain, she listened while her brother spoke with their host.

“Bad blow,” the innkeeper said. “Surprised any of the lads was willin’ to set sail tonight. Yer friend must have a large purse of gold or the cap’n a burning greed to get his sea-coal from France. Some milord must be anxious for his brandy.” He blanched. “Beggin’ yer pardons, milords. Meant nothin’ by it, I did.”

Corey stabbed a slice of the juicy meat and set it on the trencher before Vanessa. “No insult taken, my good man. We will be wanting another bottle later.”

“Aye, Milord Wulfric.” The innkeeper backed away from the table, shooing the young girl ahead of him into the kitchen.

“I wonder how long it will take before I grow accustomed to hearing that said to me,” Corey mused darkly, then shook himself. “This meal looks just right for us after our soaking.”

Vanessa watched as the men served themselves. They ate with relish, even as they began to debate what they would do in the morning.

“You cannot seriously be contemplating crossing the channel yourself, Lord Greybrooke,” Captain Hudson said to deflate the earl’s grandiose plan he was spinning between sips of brandy. “I shall go. I am a military man. I shall find him in a pig’s whistle.”

“But you have seen no action more dangerous than a runaway cart in Covent Garden. In France, you could hang by the eyelids,” argued Lord Greybrooke. “Ross is my friend, and I am beholden to him to save his bacon myself. What think you, Wulfric?”

“I think I should go.”

“No!” Vanessa gripped the edge of the table, but lowered her voice as she added, “I shall not allow you to go back to that horrible country until Boney is defeated once and for all.”

His eyes sparked, and she thought he would howl with fury as her father had when his wishes were thwarted. The other men grew silent when Corey looked at them, but Vanessa braved his glare. She was not afraid of the fierce Wolfe temper.

“There is no use quarreling when we have no idea how long the storm will last.” Lowering his voice, Corey said, “You must eat, Nessa. You do not want to insult our good host, do you?”

She looked across the room to see the door was ajar. The broad tips of the Boniface’s fingers gripped it. She doubted if many guests of quality came to this tiny inn of courts.

Lifting her knife, she put it back onto the table. “I fear I shall embarrass all of us if I try to swallow a single bite.”

Corey rubbed her trembling hand and murmured, “I wish I could tell you that it would be all right, but—”

“Please say no more. If you give voice to what I fear in my heart, I do not believe I could bear a moment more of this horror.” She blinked back hot tears. “Why did I insist that he go on this madman’s quest?”

Lord Greybrooke said, “Be strong, my lady. Ross Hogarth is a resourceful man and full of pluck.” He smiled gently. “After all, he won your heart when every other man in London despaired of achieving such a feat.” His smile became a scowl when cool air blew into the room, followed by the slamming of a door beyond the dining chamber. “What sap is abroad on a night like this?”

“Other than us?” Corey asked wryly as he chewed a bite of the meat.

As the men began to discuss anew what they would do on the morrow, a tall shadow unfurled in the doorway. Vanessa’s heart cramped with desperate hope as she stared at it.

“Ross!” she gasped.

Rain sprayed from his redingote as he charged across the room. Fury hardened his face. He grabbed her arms and jerked her to her feet. “I did not believe it could be true! I did not want to believe you could be so stupid!”

“You are alive,” she whispered, touching the salt-stained sleeves of his coat.

His anger did not diminish as he snapped, “Not only did you chase after me, but I have no doubt you planned to catch the next available boat to the continent.”

“I thought I would never see you again.” Her fingers swept up his muscular arms. She had to touch him to assure herself he was real.

“When are you going to accept that you gave
me
the rôle of the knight errant? You are supposed to be the lady guarding over her castle while I slay French dragons.” He shook her gently. “Vanessa, I vow I shall see you locked up in the most inaccessible tower of Wolfe Abbey before I take another chance of you following me into that blasted war.”

“Wolfe Abbey does not have any towers.”

“A true shame.” His lips twitched, but his eyes still blazed with the emotions she found so beguiling. With his voice no longer echoing among the rafters, he said, “You are the most blasted woman I have ever known.”

“And you are the most incorrigible man I have ever known.”

He laughed as he swept her to him and caressed her lips with the longing that ached within her. Holding him, unable to believe a second miracle had occurred, she whispered his name softly when he raised his mouth from hers. She touched his face, which was roughened with whiskers, and smiled.

“What are
you
doing here?”

At Captain Hudson’s startled question, Ross looked past her, his frown returning. “Are you a part of this, too? I should have known you would prove you have more guts than brains. And Edward! This is quite a surprise after your tales that I am about to become a public man without a farthing in my pocket.”

“A misunderstanding,” Lord Greybrooke said, flustered.

“Ross,” Vanessa said softly, “we all worried for your safety.”

“You needed have no worry.” He shrugged off his coat and tossed it on the back of her chair. “The storm was even too much for even the best interloper. We turned back before we were set awash.” He brushed his hand against her cheek as he added, “That was when I learned you were searching for me, Vanessa. I should have known I would break yet another vow when I finally caught up with you.”

“What vow?”

Devilment twinkled in his eyes. “I swore before half the crew that I would give you a lacing like the one your father should have given you long ago. Not a man among those brave lads doubted that you might not deserve a taste of leather.”

She rested against his broad chest, delighting in the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her ear. It quickened as she whispered, “But you decided on another punishment? What scold am I due because I love you so much that I would dare the wrath of Boney himself to see you safe?”

His hands encircled her face as he drew her head back. Just as he was tilting her mouth toward his again, he froze at the sound of a throat being cleared.

Vanessa laughed as she saw Corey’s face was bright with amusement. “Ross, this is my brother.”

“Your brother?” he choked. “I thought—”

“You should have had more patience,” said Corey with a laugh. “With your pestering questions added to Nessa’s, I fear any government’s bulwark of bureaucracy was doomed to fall before you.”

Ross held out his hand. “This is a meeting I have anticipated greatly, Lord Wulfric. I must own I had not expected it to be under such comparatively pleasant conditions.”

“I owe you more than I can ever hope to repay.”

“Grant your blessing upon the marriage of your sister to me, and all debts shall be null.” He laughed when Vanessa blushed. “Am I assuming too much, Vanessa, by believing that your avowal of love means you are once again willing to become my wife?”

Vanessa glanced uneasily at the other men. Lord Greybrooke mumbled something and motioned for the captain and her brother to join him in the contemplation of the fire on the hearth. When they were out of earshot, she said, “I would as lief ask if you are willing once more to have me as your wife? With Corey’s return, I have no claim to Wolfe Abbey or to my father’s legacy.”

Bringing her to him, he whispered, “What will it take to persuade you that I love you, not that blasted fortune.”

“You love me?” She was sure her heart would burst with happiness on the very next beat.

“Would I have asked you to be my wife otherwise?” He laughed and put his finger to her lips. “Nay, do not answer. Listen instead. I swear I have loved you since the first. I must have been on the wrong side of the hedge when brains were given away to convince Franklin and Swinton to take part in that blasted wager.”

“No,” she said slowly as she lowered herself to the bench. When he took a piece of meat off the platter before he sat next to her, she smiled and pushed the plate closer to him. “I was determined to let no man turn my head with his gentle words until I could rid myself of the burden of the legacy that was truly Corey’s.”

“As I was determined to let no woman intrude on my life.” He touched her cheek lightly. “I fear you changed my mind for me, sweetheart.”

“My mind was changed by your resolve to win both my heart and your wager.” She laughed. “How much did you win?”

“In addition to your heart?” He snagged another slice and chewed on it before saying, “A pound from each of them.”

“Only a pound?”

He laughed. “Would you have preferred me to put a century on the table?”

“No, because the money is not important to me. I will love you if you are as poor as a Job’s turkey.”

His amusement faded as he ran his finger along her lips, sending swirls of joy through her. “Your sentiments are charming, Vanessa, but rumors of my coming bankruptcy are only prattle. My bank is in bang-up prime.”

“But Lord Greybrooke said you were so seldom at your club that he became distressed.”

He picked up a generous piece of meat and took a large bite. “Perhaps we both have learned a lesson in trusting others.” He downed half the wine in her glass. “Excuse me, Vanessa, but I’ve had nothing to eat since breakfast.” With a grin, he said, “I have a wolf in my stomach as well as in my heart.”

Longing to surrender to that teasing grin, she resisted. “But about your club? Lord Greybrooke said—”

“How would I have had time to enjoy an evening at the table of green cloth when I have been busy for the past month badgering everyone in the government to find me the answer I prayed would bring a glitter of happiness into your eyes?”

“The past month?”

His nonplussed expression belonged to a naughty child. “I peeked into the letter you sent my uncle, for I doubted you would have been doing something as commonplace as inviting that old boor to a party. Although he wished to have nothing to do with your quest, I was block enough to try.” His finger twisted a tendril of her hair as he said softly, “It is true that, at first, I thought only of using the information to best Franklin and Swinton at our game. I had no idea when I first suggested that blasted bet to entertain us, I would end up spending less time at my club, because I became resolved that I would discover the truth for you.”