How to Seduce a Bride

Chapter Eight

“Ready to go see the fireworks?” Geoff asked Daisy when he returned to their table.

“Go?” Daisy blinked and turned her head from the viscount’s steady gaze, feeling her face grow warm. Geoff’s words cut into the strange daze she’d been in as she’d gazed into the viscount’s eyes. She felt as though she’d been caught doing something illicit.

“Oh. Yes,” she said, snatching up her wrap and bolting from her chair as though it had started burning. “But why go?”

“Because though they can be seen from here, they can be seen better from elsewhere,” the earl said. “I didn’t mean to rush you, but I saw Daffyd and he said he’d be here directly. We have to wait for your companion though. By the way, shouldn’t she be back by now?”

“Blast me for a fool!” Daisy exclaimed. “She should be! She went to the lady’s withdrawing room, wherever it is, and didn’t come back, and I didn’t notice. Give a dog a good meal and it forgets the streets,” she muttered. “No female ought to walk alone at night, here or anywhere. At least not one as gently bred as Helena. What was I thinking? Come, who’ll go with me to find her?”

Leland looked at her with surprise. “I would if you had to. But you don’t. Don’t worry. They keep the rabble out of this place; she’ll be fine.”

“The rabble isn’t what I’m worrying about right now,” Daisy snapped. “You gentlemen do your share of mischief, you know. And Helena’s a fine-looking woman. Let’s go.”

“I’ll come with you,” the earl said. “What was she wearing?”

“Lavender, she always wears lavender,” Leland said.

Trust him to know that, Daisy thought, and said, “Not as of tomorrow, she won’t,” she said, scowling fiercely. “She’s got a lovely saffron frock coming, and a red one, too.”

“Wait,” Leland said, raising his head to see over the top of the crowd. “I see her coming now.”

Helena walked into the torch-lit circle, and Daisy immediately rushed over to her. “Where have you been?” she demanded, hands on hips.

“I’m sorry I took so long,” Helena said breathlessly, and then, seeing them all standing, looking at her, her face flushed. “There was such a long line. Pardon me if I delayed you.”

“No need to ask pardon, just don’t go alone again,” Daisy said gruffly.

“You’re not angry?”

“Well, I was,” Daisy said as she pulled on her gloves. “But not at you. I’m sorry I let you go alone. I don’t know what I was thinking. Forgive me.”

“It’s not my place,” Helena began, but Daisy cut her off sharply.

“Bother. It is so. You work for me, but really with me, and I should look after you.”

The earl smiled to see the diminutive Daisy claim she was looking after her taller, older companion.

Leland didn’t. He stood watching Daisy, head to the side.

“She’s wonderful, isn’t she?” the earl asked him softly. “After all she’s suffered, still fresh as the daisy she’s named after.”

“So it would appear,” Leland said. “Ah, here’s Daffyd. Shall we go?”

They strolled away from the outdoor café.

“Wave ‘ta’ to Mama,” Leland told Daffyd. “She’s watching us go.”

“She’s watched us all night,” Daffyd grumbled, but nonetheless raised a hand in farewell.

“Nicely done,” Leland said. “You made her look away for the first time in an hour.”

“Why the sudden fascination with us, do you think?” his half brother asked.

“Us, or Mrs. Tanner? Or Geoff, or the fact that we’re all together? One never knows what interests her, or why, except for the fact that whatever it is, I’d bet that it’s something she thinks will benefit her. Never mind, she won’t follow us. She only spies if she can do it casually. I know a good place to watch the fireworks from,” he said more loudly to the earl and Daisy, who were walking ahead of them.

“Lead on then,” the earl said.

“No,” Leland said. “Let’s keep to protocol. An earl leads this pack. We trail behind. Mrs. Masters, take my arm, if you will.”

“Thank you, but it isn’t necessary,” Helena said.

“I must differ,” Leland said, offering her his arm. “This is a public place, and the public, as you know, comes in all guises. Once out of the charmed circle of torchlight, anything may happen. I like to playact as a hero, please indulge me.”

Helena put her hand on his arm and they paced down the path.

Leland had been right, Daisy realized. The paths were crowded with Londoners of all classes and conditions. The fireworks display was free, and always spectacular. But that wasn’t the whole lure. As with fairs and public masquerades, many came because of the rare chance for all the classes to mingle. It wasn’t only that the poor wanted a glimpse of the rich; some in the upper classes also enjoyed the opportunity to freely mix with those they never could meet socially in ordinary circumstances.

That accounted for the legion of prostitutes patrolling the grounds tonight in all their tawdry splendor. They weren’t the only ones looking for spontaneous employment: pickpockets were there, along with cutpurses. And there were those who were there in hopes of other, less obvious ways to make money from the event.

Footmen who had spent their quarterly wages on clothes were there, openly ogling unfortunate-looking wealthy young ladies famous for holding up the walls at Society dances. They were looking for a chance to pluck a wallflower off the wall, take a stroll down a dark lane with her, and then maybe for a ride up to Gretna Green and a walk down a different aisle. Fortune could smile on anyone here. Young, overly pomaded clerks were openly eyeing aging Society dowagers, and often being considered with interest in return.

Satisfying lust or making money wasn’t the only attraction. Saving it was, too. Young gentlemen who had gambled away their allowances sought shopgirls they might impress, and in return receive romance for nothing.

Families were there for a rare treat of an evening out. Vendors carrying merchandise on trays hung around their necks offered sweets and meat pasties, hot chestnuts, and flavored ices for their pleasure.

“Hands on pockets, gentlemen,” Leland said. “As the crowd thickens, so do the pickpockets.”

“Yes,” Daisy said. “And many we knew in the old days, eh, Geoff?”

“Too many,” he said. “Poor fellows. It’s a chancy occupation. If they get a gold coin instead of a penny, they hang instead of cooling their heels in Newgate.”

“Some of them,” Daffyd commented. “Some are lucky, like me. They get a chance to tour Botany Bay.”

“At least we won’t see anyone we know from there tonight,” Daisy said. “That’s a world away.” She stopped walking abruptly, and shuddered, her hand flying to her mouth.

She’d seen a shape of a man in the crowd that reminded her of a nasty fellow she’d known in Port Jackson.

“What is it?” the earl asked. The viscount and Daffyd tensed and looked at the crowd.

“Lord!” she said, her hand on her rapidly beating heart. “I could swear I just saw Oscar Wilkins. Tanner’s friend!”

“It’s because of what we were talking about,” the earl said.

“Aye,” Daffyd said. “Couldn’t be Oscar. He wouldn’t have wasted a second before he said hello. You’re traveling in good company now, Daisy, and he was ever one to seize the moment.”

“Well, he tried that already,” she said nervously. “Wanted to marry me when Tanner passed, could you believe? I said no and then had to shout it. He gave me the shakes just looking at him. I told him not to pester me again, and that I’d have the law on him if he came back to bother me. I could count on Lieutenant Lamb at the jail to chase Oscar if I asked him to, if only because he himself had a fancy for me.”

She saw Leland staring at her, bemused. Her chin went up. “There aren’t enough females in Port Jackson,” she explained. “A mare could get a marriage proposal if she wore a rose behind her ear.”

Leland looked at her, standing there, a slender figure glowing in the dim light, her skin pale as moonlight, her sunset hair sparked by torchlight. “My dear,” he said sincerely. “They could have had females from coast to coast standing three feet deep in rows, and still you’d have gathered proposals.”

Daisy heard the admiration in his voice, and her heart rose because of his praise. But she didn’t believe it, or him. “Maybe,” she said. “But remember I had money, too, after Tanner passed. That’s rarer than looks, wherever you are.”

“She doesn’t know,” the earl said with a touch of pride, “and won’t hear of it.”

“Know what?” Daisy asked suspiciously, afraid she was being mocked.

“You’re lovely,” the earl said, “and Lee here was only saying that.”

“That, and that you’re charming and clever, too,” Leland said. “A rare combination, in any country.”

Daisy tossed her head. Compliments annoyed as much as flattered her. They came too easily to most men to impress her. But Geoff seemed sincere. She wouldn’t have trusted what the viscount said if he’d told her her name was Daisy.

“Let’s move on,” Leland said in amusement, as though he knew what she was thinking. “Mrs. Tanner wouldn’t believe me if I told her she was standing on this path. And we must move smartly now because night’s falling, and the fireworks will soon be rising.”

Daisy put her hand on the earl’s arm and walked at his side again, just as she had in her dreams all the way to England. But now she couldn’t ignore the man who walked behind them. She wished she could. His presence addled her. When he was pleased, he was as easy to talk with as any female, and fun to be with. But now that she knew he liked women, he also made her feel like one-toward him. That alarmed her.

“Go toward that enormous tree straight ahead,” Leland said, “then down the lane to the left. It’s dimly lit and keeps turning, but keep on and we’ll be at the lake. The reflections in the water will make the fireworks look even more spectacular; the torchlight everywhere else will ruin the view. I know they don’t light up the sky, but they diminish the effect. It won’t be as crowded there, either, if anyone’s there at all. The lane doesn’t look as though it goes anywhere, but it leads straight to the water’s edge.”

“Trust you,” the earl said. “I wouldn’t have thought of it, but of course you’re right. How do you know about it?”

“I live in London,” Leland said simply.

“Yes, but I can’t picture you roaming the parks at night. I thought you spent most of your time with the ton, at balls and the theater and such, or at private parties. How do you know so much about good places to see fireworks?”

“I don’t spend all my time at high-minded or expensive activities. Some of the best treats are the most common ones.”

The earl laughed. “Lord, talk about common! How do you make the most common things sound salacious?”

“It’s his talent,” Daffyd said. “Close your ears, Daisy. Pardon him, Mrs. Masters. I don’t know how he does it, either. But he can make a butterfly sound lewd if he tries.”

“Butterflies are salacious creatures,” Leland said mildly. “All that flitting from flower to flower, pouncing on a beauty, staying on long enough to sip sweet nectar, then flying away to a brighter blossom? Don’t get me started or I’ll make poor Mrs. Masters blush.”

Helena laughed. “I didn’t know you studied insects, my lord,” she said.

“He knows everything,” Daffyd said. “Or so he wants you to think.”

“Well, maybe he does. Would you look at this?” the earl exclaimed.

They’d come to the end of the lane and found themselves standing on a closely cropped lawn that looked out over the lake. The view across the water was clear, or would be if there was anything to see. Twilight had finally ceded to nightfall, and it was a dark, starry night. The moon was a sickle; the only light came from torches across the lake and their mirrored reflections dancing on the water. The only sounds were those of far-off music drifting on the air.

“Lee, my hat’s off to you,” the earl said with admiration. “This is the best place to see fireworks in all of London, I think.”

“No,” Leland said. “The view from the balcony in back of the palace is perfect, marred only by the host. It’s difficult to watch fireworks or anything else from there because Prinny hates attention being paid to anything but him. So. Everyone comfortable? There’s only one bench, and we’ll have to wipe off the dew to spare the ladies’ gowns, but at least no one is occupying it. Ladies?”

“I’d rather stand,” Daisy said. And then, as a comet suddenly launched from the earth across the lake and soared up to splinter into golden pieces high in the sky, she clapped her hands and cried, “Oh! Look!”

Soon, silver shells were bursting in air, and green ones, scarlet and blue, some thumping and pounding like artillery, some screaming as they ascended before they burst into sparks and flowers and sizzling spinning wheels high in the sky overhead. The night was shattered with explosions of light, and the dark lake below glittered, echoing the spectacle.

Daisy was thrilled. Her upturned face was rapt. At one point, each of the three men was looking at her when they noticed the others doing the same, and they couldn’t help exchanging small secret smiles of pleasure at her obvious enjoyment.

The last shell had exploded and its sparkling lights long since faded into the blue haze of gunpowder that hung in the air before anyone spoke again.

“That,” Daisy said with enormous satisfaction, “was worth the price of admission.”

“It was free,” Leland reminded her.

“Not for me,” she said. “I had to travel across an ocean, and I’d sworn never to set foot on a ship again. But that made it worthwhile. Well. Thank you, gentlemen. When are they doing this again?”

“We’ll find out, and go,” the earl promised her, laughing.

“Good,” she said.

Leland raised an eyebrow, and then exchanged a look with Daffyd.

“I can’t,” Daffyd said, “I’m going home tomorrow. Fireworks are fine, but my Meg’s finer to my eyes. When you come visit us, Daisy, I’ll order up some for you. Until then, you’re on your own.”

“Not at all,” the earl exclaimed, “She’ll see more. Spectacles are common in the summer in London.”

“Oh,” Daffyd said. “So, you’re going to skip your usual trip to Egremont, stay on in London for the summer, and be her constant companion here, are you, Geoff?”

There was a significant silence, and then the earl smiled down at Daisy. “Why not? Does that suit you, my dear?”

“Oh yes,” she breathed.

“Lovely,” Leland remarked sourly to Daffyd when they reached the main road again, and Helena Masters had thanked him and went to stand by her charge. “That’s set the seal on it. Well done. Or was it quite enough, I wonder? Maybe you’d prefer to come right out and say, ‘She’s all alone, will you protect this beautiful, vulnerable creature forever, Geoff?’ ”

“Damn,” Daffyd said. “I just wanted to know. Suppose I could have been more subtle. Well, what can you do?”

“You, my dear little brother, nothing. But I’ll continue to try. Her getting Geoff is like trapping a fish in a barrel. The man’s lonely, and she’s done everything but move in on him. I’ll be here to find out why and perhaps prevent that from happening.”

“For his sake?” Daffyd asked.

He got no answer.

The earl paused at the end of the lane, at the edge of the crowded road. “Here we are in the thick of things again,” he said. “What a mob. Shall we wait, and have an ice or some such?” he asked Daisy. “That way we can let those in this crowd who are bent on leaving right away do so. Most of them have to work tomorrow morning; we don’t. We can let them go first if you’d like. My carriage is waiting. We don’t need to hurry.”

People crowded the paths, moving forward like a living river, the crowd surging toward the exits to the park. Daisy hated being jammed in with a crowd. Anyone who’d been in Newgate prison would feel the same. She looked up at the earl. But before she could answer, she saw movement from the corner of her eye. The viscount came lunging toward her. She gasped and shrank back.

Leland had seen a man plunging toward Daisy and dived forward to intercept him. He felt a shove as the fellow pushed against him, and reached out to grab him. But the man ducked and spun, and ran away too fast for him to get hold of.

Daisy felt a sudden lightness on her arm. “My purse!” she shouted, looking down, “the bastard cut the strings and nicked my purse! Stop thief!” she shrieked. “Stop him! The bloke with the red kerchief ’round his greasy neck. The bloody bugger clipped my purse!”

Then she picked up her skirts and plunged into the steam of humanity, shouting as she ran after him.

If there was anything Londoners liked better than a fireworks display, it was a chase, especially one in defense of a gorgeous lady. This lady cursed like a trollop and ran like an athlete, but that only added to the theater of the moment. They loved theater, too.

Leland usually enjoyed a spectacle, but not tonight. His long legs ate up the distance between him and the thief, whose red bandana was like a beacon urging him onward. Too soon, Leland felt his strength draining. Still, he kept on, frowning as he did, pushing people aside with no ceremony, wasting no breath on apologies.

The culprit heard the ruckus behind him and looked back to see a sea of Londoners chasing him, shaking fists and shouting curses. The little beauty whose purse he held ran after him, screeching. He put on a burst of speed, leaving her behind. The tall, lean gentleman who had been with her cut through the mob, bloody murder clearly written on his face.

The thief flung the purse he’d cut into the crowd, causing them to part and scramble, fighting like spinster bridesmaids to be the one who grabbed the bouquet. He bent double and barreled through the crowd ahead of him, pushing any hapless people who blocked his passage. When he came to a thicket at the side of the road, he ran away down a dark path.

“That’s it, oh, thank you,” Daisy managed to pant when a rumpled red-faced fellow who looked like a grocer on holiday proudly presented her with her reticule.

The earl came along a few minutes later. He was clearly winded, but recovered his breath enough to delight the crowd by presenting a golden guinea to the fellow who had retrieved the purse.

“He’s gone,” Daffyd said in disgust, as he emerged from the dark path the thief had taken. “There’s another path it led to, and a few hundred people on it, but not a sign of him.”

“Let him go,” the earl said. “No sense pursuing now. He did throw it back. Anyway,” he said, still catching his breath, “wouldn’t want to see a fellow face a noose for trying, would you?”

“Aye, you’re probably right,” Daffyd said regretfully.

After much mutual congratulation, the crowd slowly melted away, and went back to pushing toward the exits again.

“Don’t brood. You almost had him, Lee,” Daffyd said, seeing a peculiar expression on the viscount’s face. “He was ahead by a long shot but you were gaining on him. Then you slowed down and he took off. But it was a near thing.”

“Well, yes,” Leland said. “It’s hard to run in evening shoes. Had I been wearing my boots, I’d have gotten him.”

“You look very pale, my lord,” Helena said with concern. “Are you all right?”

“Pale as a sheet,” Daisy pronounced. “Sit down.”

“No,” Leland said. “I’ll do better standing.” He put a hand to his heart in his usual gesture of sincerity, but then lifted it, looked at it, and frowned. His hand was covered with blood.

Daisy gasped as she saw the widening stain on the front of his jacket.

“I see the fellow was after more than your purse,” Leland said as he stared at his gory palm. “It appears he tried to take my life as well. If I sit, I doubt I’d stand again. So, shall we go?”