To Desire a Wicked Duke (27 page)

“I cannot help it,” she said with a sigh. “I am worried for him.”

“I know, sweetheart. It is in your very blood to care.”

He snuffed the lamps and joined her in bed. Expecting her to be too preoccupied for any sort of lovemaking, Ian drew Tess against him, intent on merely holding her. But she raised her face eagerly for his kiss.

The sweet passion she showed him during the following hour did not seem to be based on gratitude, either, but sincere desire.

They both managed to sleep afterward, but Tess rose well before daybreak, which meant Ian had to rise also.

Ned’s fever was down and he looked much heartier than the previous evening. He ate a thin gruel with appetite and asked for more. Even so, his nerves were
so raw that he started at any sudden movement or sound. And he was still exceedingly nervous about any mention of Jolly Banks.

Eventually, though, they drew out his confession, with Ned admitting that he’d acted as a lookout for Banks and his crew when they robbed more than a dozen houses over the past summer and autumn.

At least Ned claimed to know when Banks planned to return to the caves to retrieve the chests full of stolen loot—on Sunday night, three days hence, since Sundays were when the Revenuers were the least vigilant.

“Jolly would ’ave waited for another sennight, till the dark o’ the moon, but ’e was worried about what the duke might do”—Ned cast a wary glance at Ian before continuing—“and so decided to move it forward.”

When Tess and Ian left the room so that Ned could sleep, she gave vent to her anger. “It is so unfair,” she exclaimed, her eyes dark with outrage. “They used him for their own foul ends, and now he could be imprisoned or even hanged.”

“He will not go to prison,” Ian promised.

“How can we prevent it? Ned could perhaps testify against Banks, but given his diminished mental capacity, his word alone may not be enough to make the charges hold. And Banks could even lay all the blame on Ned and leave him with no defense.”

“If the information Ned provides helps us to apprehend the thieves, then the courts will show him leniency.”

“But what if he cannot help us?”

“Stop fretting, Tess. A duke has extensive powers,
and I will put them to good use. I also have a fortune at my disposal. At minimum, I will persuade Banks’s victims to leave Ned out of it. They are likely to be more forgiving if I can recover their stolen property and if I offer to reimburse them for any distress they suffered as a result of the burglaries.”

Her anger arrested, she looked up at Ian hopefully. “You would do that for Ned?”

“No, I would do it for you.”

Tess raised herself up on her tiptoes and kissed him warmly on the cheek. “I
knew
you were not as heartless as you always pretend.”

With a semblance of her usual cheerful optimism, she turned and headed for the kitchens with the invalid’s breakfast tray, leaving Ian with a dry smile hovering on his lips.

At least he seemed to have made progress convincing Tess he had a heart. More surprising still, he found himself
wanting
her to believe he had a heart, when for the past four years, he had been intent on proving just the opposite.

If Ned was right, they had only until Sunday night to prepare to capture Jolly Banks and his band of thieves, so there was little time to lose.

Ian, along with Tess, met first with Vicar Potts, then Sir Thomas Greely, the magistrate who meted out justice in that part of Cornwall. Upon deciding to call in the militia, Ian traveled to Falmouth—the closest large city and naval seaport—to make an official request of the Lord Lieutenant and was granted two dozen troops to aid in the effort.

In addition, he alerted the local Customs preventative officers to ward off any accidental interference. If Banks failed to appear Sunday night, they would have to devise another strategy, but for now they hoped to catch the thieves red-handed, in the act of retrieving the stolen property or breaking into the Duke of Rotham’s castle.

They also attempted to discover Banks’s current location in order to keep an eye on him, but he hadn’t been seen in his home town of Polperro for
several days. It was possible that he was scouting out another great house to rob. Since wealthy estates were widely scattered over the district, he would have to range farther than when operating in shires closer to London.

In the meantime, they continued to guard the cave below the castle and swore the Falwell servants to secrecy.

As for Ned, his health improved significantly with proper care, and with his fever gone, he was more lucid, almost in his right mind, in fact. But they refrained from mentioning their scheme to trap his cohorts in crime. It was doubtful Ned could keep any confidences secret from the castle staff, and they didn’t want Banks to be warned off, or Ned to make himself a target for revenge.

Tess had appointed herself the veteran’s guardian angel and was more optimistic that he could avoid incarceration of any kind. Moreover, she’d learned that the most recent victims, Lord and Lady Shaw, had offered a reward for the return of their jewels, and she was determined that the funds would go to Ned in reparation for helping expose the thieves.

Ian did not argue with her. In past years, he’d reluctantly been drawn into supporting Tess’s causes, but this was one battle he would fight for her willingly—in no small part because her good opinion had become annoyingly important to him.

He was, however, somewhat surprised that she trusted him to deal with the complex arrangements involving government forces and wasn’t afraid to tell him so.

“Truthfully,” Tess confessed when he returned from Falmouth, “I am glad you are in charge, since I wouldn’t know where to begin. I have every faith you will foil Banks and his men.”

They generally agreed on the major points of the plan. The biggest bone of contention was the extent of Tess’s participation on Sunday night. She wanted to take part in the thieves’ capture, but although Ian was impressed by her tenacity and courage, he was not about to expose her to danger.

When she complained that he was being dictatorial and overly protective again, he remained adamant. “Your safety is my one condition, darling. You will remain behind in the castle. If you won’t agree, then I will end this entire enterprise at once.”

Tess sent him a look of frustration. “Why is it that women are never allowed to be of any use? It is hardly fair that
you
get to have all the excitement while I must be coddled and protected.”

“You can watch the cove from the castle battlements.”

“It will likely be dark, and I won’t be able to see a thing.” When that argument failed to sway him, she added crossly, “So what am I to do while you are off playing the hero, your grace?”

“You can keep Ned out of trouble. If something were to happen to you, who would take care of him?”

That argument at least gave Tess pause. “You have a point. Very well, I will agree to stay behind.”

Ian eyed her suspiciously, wondering if she was being truthful with him. Still, from her sparkling eyes,
he could tell she was relishing the challenge of bringing a gang of thieves to justice, and he enjoyed seeing her enthusiasm.

Their relationship seemed to be improving daily. They were no longer at daggers drawn, as they’d been for the past four years, yet there was still a measure of spirited opposition between them. And in the bedchamber, their heated physical relationship had become something of a sexual rivalry. It was a game they played, to bring each other to gasping pleasure. Ian was a master at it, but Tess held her own in the battle to see who could arouse the other best. Neither wanted to admit defeat.

By late Saturday afternoon, as they rode home from yet another conference with Sir Thomas Greely and Lord Shaw, Tess’s spirits seemed quite high. When they reached the bluffs above the Fowey harbor, she drew her mount to a halt and waited for Ian to help her down, then stood beside him drinking in the splendid ocean view.

The recent rains had ceased, and a glorious sunset tinged the sky with rosy light. Seeing the glow bathe her lovely profile, Ian felt another fierce stab of desire for Tess. Watching her was a pure pleasure, yet seeing her delight was an even greater pleasure.

“Such power and grace,” she murmured with reverence. “The sea is so beautiful, especially at this time of day.”

“Not as beautiful as you are,” he said without thinking.

Turning to eye him, she arched an eyebrow. “You said as much this morning when you seduced me, but I take such comments with a grain of salt.”

Thankfully, she saw his compliment as mere flirtation, a weapon he used in their battle for supremacy.

“I’ll remind you,” Ian returned in that same bantering tone, “that this morning, I was not so much seducer as seducee.”

A catch of laughter escaped her, and Tess leaned into him, more to tease him, he suspected, than because she needed support.

“I realize I have not properly thanked you for trying to spare Ned,” she said huskily.

“You are free to do so now,” he invited, smiling down at her.

She smiled back, and Ian felt a strange lifting beneath his heart. Her smile was a lethal weapon, he thought not for the first time.

When she tilted her head back, inviting him to kiss her, he responded by sinking his tongue into the welcoming richness of her mouth. Like many of their recent encounters, the kiss began as a taunt, but quickly turned tender.

It was that tenderness more than anything that unsettled Ian. He was beginning to lose his self-control, he realized, no matter how determinedly he fought against Tess’s enchanting allure.

Heeding his warning instincts, he ended the kiss more abruptly than he’d intended and stepped back from her. And for the remainder of their ride home, he stayed on his guard. Yet his thoughts were churning at the alarms going off in his head.

His most powerful instinct was to protect Tess, to keep her safe from harm, but how could he protect himself from
her
?

*   *   *

Unexpectedly, he faced that question again upon arriving home. Tess went directly to the kitchens to check on Ned, while Ian retreated to his study to finalize some details of his plan.

He was writing at his desk when Fanny Irwin knocked on his study door a few minutes later.

“Forgive me, your grace,” Fanny murmured. “I hoped I might have a private word with you.”

Setting down his quill pen, Ian invited her to take a chair in front of his desk, which she did.

“I wished to thank you, your grace. I am more grateful than I can say for your kind hospitality.”

“Think nothing of it, Miss Irwin. You are a friend of Tess’s, and as such, you are a welcome guest in our home.”

When Fanny remained silent, Ian raised an eyebrow in query. “Is there something else you wished to say to me?” he prodded.

She looked oddly on edge. “Well, yes. The thing is … I saw you with Tess from my bedchamber window this afternoon. And well … Do you love Tess, your grace?”

His stomach muscles tightened; it was a question Ian didn’t want to ask himself. His first instinct was to deliver a sardonic retort, but he settled for drawling mildly, “That is hardly your concern, is it?”

The courtesan hesitated, then offered a conciliatory smile. “I know I am vastly overstepping my bounds with my presumption,” she admitted, resorting to her famed charm. “But as you said, I am Tess’s friend,
and I care for her a great deal. I only want her happiness.”

“As do I, Miss Irwin.”

“Is that so?” she asked softly, searching his face. Whatever Fanny saw in his expression must have satisfied her, for she nodded. “I thought you might. I cannot help but notice how you look at Tess sometimes … as if you harbor some deeper feelings for her. If that is true, then I may be able to help you.”

Curiosity warred with irritation inside Ian. “Help me how?”