Truly Yours

Chapter Twenty-five

Lady Royce's plan-one of her plans, anyway-appeared to be working. Soon invitations to the countess included ones for Miss Amanda Carville, and their escorts, of course. All but the highest sticklers welcomed the party from Royce House, and one or two of those who refused to countenance the countess's questionable guests actually canceled their evening plans altogether, rather than offend Lady Royce. She was on too many charitable committees, behind too many worthy foundations, too big a contributor to political causes. Besides, as her son was quickly learning, too many people actually liked his… mother.

As for the others, what a coup it was for a hostess to have the latest scandal broth brewing right on her doorstep. The ladies vied to have their invitations accepted, sending round notes and reminders. They stopped inviting Sir Nigel after the countess declared she would not attend any function where the barrister was present. No one wanted to be excluded from her ladyships's elegant dinners; no one wanted to be in her black books. An official of the high court was nothing to a peeress of the highest social standing.

The beau monde was happy enough to have the dangerous cousins and the killer among them. Then, too, if Lady Royce claimed Miss Carville was innocent and not bachelor fare as they'd heard, they would believe it, also. The countess was known to be the most upright of matrons, with nary a whisper of wrongdoing in all the years apart from her peculiar husband. Loyal to a fault, she would never hear a word against Lord Royce, either, the ton had soon learned. What, believe that scurvy, scrimping Sir Frederick instead of one of their own? Never.

Amanda was treated with courtesy, if not warmth. She sat beside the countess and made pleasant conversations without being pushing. She did not encourage the gentlemen, would not dance or go off alone, and she wore somber colors. The polite world agreed that she was a prettily behaved miss. But they had always thought so, they told each other and the countess.

Everyone watched to see Rex's behavior toward the young lady. He felt as if he were a canary in a flimsy cage surrounded by hungry cats, all of whom were sharpening their claws. He could not dance with Amanda, take her out to the balconies, or find hidden paths through darkened gardens. He could not sit beside her all night, keeping her safe from the tabbies and the gossips. He could not stare at her, admiring her poise, her charm, her luminous beauty. He could not even tuck an errant blond curl back under her bonnet, not without having the banns called.

So he took a page from Daniel's book and disappeared as soon as he saw the ladies seated at whatever affair the countess decreed they attend. That is, Rex tried to escape the scrutiny and the speculation. Instead, he found himself swamped with gushing misses, all wanting to declare they had not killed Sir Frederick, just so they could be thrilled and chilled by looking into his startling eyes. Young men wanted to know what he called the knot in his neckcloth. He called it a knot. They dubbed it the Rexford Knight Fall, in honor of his quest to rescue the lady.

Older men pressed him to join their political parties, their committees to reform this or to bolster that. He nodded politely without committing himself. Older women met the same fate: no promises, no encouragement. They bored him to tears, every one. Worse, he was wasting time, Amanda's time. The men on his list of suspects or conspirators did not attend the same gatherings as the countess. Lydia Burton certainly did not.

Daniel went where the countess directed, but was better at finding the card room or the refreshments table or an empty library with comfortable sofas for a nap. He had no title, no fortune, so had no metaphorical bull's-eye painted on his back. Every time a female spoke to him, he found a new itch to scratch.

"Why the devil can't they tell the truth?"

"What, they should say your neckcloth is a shambles, your dotted waistcoat is dotty, your conversation is dull, and dancing with you is a torture that their poor feet will never recover from? Be happy they lie and say it was a pleasure."

After a few days of this, both cousins rebelled. The countess allowed them to attend the theater instead of a rout party, where Daniel enjoyed the farce, and Rex enjoyed watching Amanda laugh as if she had no cares in the world. And he got to hold her hand where no one could see. They also went to view the Egyptian Exhibit and the new waxworks, where no one told lies. Of course, no one was alive, but Daniel and Rex found that a relief. On pleasant afternoons the cousins dutifully accompanied the ladies' carriage to the park, but both gentlemen rode off as soon as Lady Royce's friends gathered around, halting the flow of traffic behind them.

Rex's elusiveness seemed to add to his appeal as a man of mystery, a dashing soldier with a doubtful reputation. His pursuit by matchmaking mamas and their desperate daughters was merciless, which amused Daniel as much as the mummies had. Showing as much sympathy as his cousin, Lady Royce reminded Rex that a betrothal announcement in the newspapers would end the chase immediately.

Amanda decided she had been seen enough. She'd rather stay at home with a book, one with a happy ending.

Almost every morning Rex had a real gallop in the park, before the fog lifted, and before the paths were clogged with the dandy set showing off their ensembles, or Corinthians showing off their highbred horses.

After his ride Rex often went to assist Inspector Dimm. Daniel disliked going to Bow Street, saying he had rashes for hours afterward, but Rex found the work interesting, the criminal mind a fascinating study. As for Dimm, the Runner was thinking of taking a holiday, his first in dog years, because the crime rate was so low. He was winning commendations and collecting rewards for all the convictions, plus making the streets of London safer. If he could only figure out how Rex could tell the guilty from the innocent, he said, he'd be a happy man.

No news came from the Aide, or Major Harrison, or whatever name the man was using that week. No messengers accosted the viscount; no messages awaited him at McCann's. All Rex could do was go over his list and call on the last remaining names, with little success.

Robert Vincent, Esquire, was indeed another lawyer, a solicitor who freely admitted drawing up some papers for Sir Frederick Hawley's prospective investors, but he did not recall the names or the amounts. His clerk had handled the petty details. No, the clerk was no longer in the lawyer's employ. He had emigrated to Canada. And no, Mr. Vincent did not have a copy. Lord Rexford could show all the warrants he wanted, his large cousin could glower until the cows came home, but a recent fire in the office had destroyed all of the files. Yes, he had invested some of his own money to finance a sailing venture.

"For what? Surely you must have asked what the ship was fetching?"

"I believe it was gold. Stolen gold. Gold from a sunken pirate ship that was recently discovered."

"You gave your gold to find gold?" Daniel was incredulous, but he was not itching.

"Hawley had the charts and records of the sightings, official ones, from the navy. It was all a hum, of course. No one knows where the Black Speculator went down."

With the name of the ship, Rex and Daniel could return to some of the people they had questioned before. Lydia Burton's door was closed to them, of course, but White's was not, and Lords Havering and Hove were both still dining there nightly.

Havering admitted he'd invested. Hove slapped his knee and laughed. He'd turned down the opportunity to bring back doubloons and bullion that existed only in a madman's pipe dream.

George Cuthbert had met with a hunting accident and was being sent to recuperate at his family's plantation in Jamaica. Now that Rex knew the right questions to ask, he discovered that Cuthbert was suspected of stealing maps and charts, old ones at that, from the Admiralty offices.

Joseph Johnston of the shipping business would not see them. He left by the back door of his office when they went in the front. He took refuge in his house, with six dock-workers guarding every entrance. No matter, one of his captains enjoyed the rum the cousins bought for him. What else was a sea dog like him to do, stuck in harbor? Yes, rumor had it they were to sail on some secret mission, but he was never ordered to outfit the ship for a journey, so here he sat, growing barnacles instead of rich. The Black Speculator! He laughed so hard he almost spilled his drink. Who would believe that old legend?

The banker, Breverton, had gone on a sudden vacation in Scotland, and Lysander Cord had moved out of the Albany, without a forwarding address. At least Roger Vandermere was still in Fleet Prison, but had no more information to add.

Bowdecker, the belligerent drunk, had been struck by a coach last week and was not expected to recover. Added to Cuthbert's injury and the fire at the law offices, Bowdecker's accident was looking highly suspicious.

By now Rex was having a hard time deciding which were the pigeons being taken, and which were the hawks doing the plucking. He could not tell the honest investors, if there was anything honest about the shady transaction, from those who had helped concoct the scheme. All he knew was that they were all left with nothing by Sir Frederick.

Then Murchison related a bit of information he had unearthed in the emigre community. Sir Frederick's former valet, Brusseau, not only had a brother, but the brother was known to travel to France, by the light of the full moon.

"I knew it! I knew they were involved with smuggling."

Daniel swore when Rex told him at breakfast the next day, forgetting all of his other theories. "With all that money and havey-cavey treasure hunts, there was bound to be a French connection."

Rex knew Daniel would blame the constant rain on the French if he could. "But how can we prove it, and prove Sir Nigel and the others were part of it?"

"I say we find the brother and beat the tar out of him."

"You are forgetting that we are gentlemen now."

Daniel swallowed the rest of the kippers and looked around to make sure the countess and Amanda were busy at their own breakfasts, discussing the day's plans. "Um, coz, no offense intended, but I don't think gentlemen go around creeping into ladies' rooms in the dead of night."

"I did not go into her room. I was merely checking on Miss Carville's whereabouts, lest she escape out the window or something."

Daniel scratched his nose, and grinned. "Um-hum."

"And how did you find out I was in the hall anyway? You were fast asleep. I heard your snores."

"Dodd had it from the footman stationed in the hall. I gave both of them a coin to keep mum."

"So did I. The servants here will all be wealthy by the time we leave."

"When will that be, do you think? I love your mother and all, stands to reason, she's my aunt, but I have to tell you, I ain't much for the opera and the art gallery, and less for dance parties." He leaned closer to Rex. "And she's talking about taking Amanda to Almack's."

Rex fed Verity his suddenly unappetizing breakfast. "Hell. We better get to the bottom of this mess soon, and not just because that court date is looming. Too bad Murchison's sources had no idea where the brother can be found."

"Then what if we find the valet and choke the information out of him? Oh, I forgot, we are gentlemen."

"Not by half, not when the alternative is Almack's. We'll try for him soon. He's bound to leave Johnston's place sooner or later." He posted watchmen outside the house, who watched the guards, who were watching for Rex. He also sent another note to McCann's Club, relating his latest findings.

Brusseau never showed his face, to Amanda's disappointment. She did not know what the cousins intended, thank goodness, but she knew they were running out of suspects, and out of time.

Rex tried to reassure her, not liking how her eyes had shadows under them and how she barely tasted the food set in front of her. They were getting closer, he swore. Soon they would unravel all the loose ends and find what Sir Frederick was truly doing with the money. Perhaps they would find he'd cheated others with his far-fetched tale of a lost pirate ship filled with gold waiting to be hauled up from the ocean floor. One of those men had to have killed him.

What kept coming back to haunt Rex was the notation N.T. Nigel Turlowe was the only name the Aide had supplied for those initials, and the only likely one among everyone Rex encountered at the men's clubs and the social gatherings. He and Daniel even scoured banks for officials with those initials, and looked over rosters at the Admiralty.

Sir Nigel, unsurprisingly, refused to speak with them, which was telling in its own way.

Rex had a worse problem. Charles Ashway came to call. Amanda's former beau brought a huge bouquet of flowers, an abject apology, and his sister to prove he did not think Amanda a bad influence. A gentleman never introduced his kin to a ladybird, did he?

Rex glared, refusing to leave the room to give the jackass privacy to renew his suit.

As managing as always, Lady Royce demanded Rex show the sister the portrait gallery, while she consulted with her cook.

"This one died in battle. That one died of the plague. Great-great-grandfather choked on a cherry pit. Your brother must be ready to go home."

He was, rather than face Rex's obvious hostility. As soon as the door was shut behind Ashway and his sister, but before the countess could return to chaperon, Rex tugged Amanda out the rear door, to the gardens. "I don't care if it's too cold. I have not had you to myself in years, it seems."

Amanda laughed and grabbed her cape from its hook on the way out. Rex found a bench sheltered from the wind, and out of sight of the windows. He sat beside Amanda on the bench and put his arm around her, in case her cloak was not warm enough, he told himself. She sighed and leaned against his shoulder. Soon they were both warm enough to melt the stone bench.

"I take it you did not accept his offer? He was too quick to leave for a newly betrothed suitor."

She sighed again when he kissed the top of her head, then her ear. "He asked if he could pay his addresses once the legalities were disposed of. I told him I would speak to him then. He is a very nice man."

"He is a clod." He kissed her neck, touching the back of it with his tongue.

"His family is pleasant." She rubbed her hand over his chest.

"The sister had no conversation." He stroked her back, through the cloak.

Her hand found its way beneath his coat and waistcoat to his thin shirt, where she could feel his heart beating. "He offers security, a home, a family of my own."

Rex withdrew his hand. "Do you love him?"

"No, I never did."

He put his hand back, only this time under the front opening of the cape, to touch her heart, and her breast. "He did not believe in you at first, so he is not worthy of your affection." Rex thought about how his father never trusted his mother. "You will not be as secure as you might hope, because he will always have doubts."

"I know. But I will always doubt him, too, for being so ready to believe the worst. I had not expected love, but hoped for loyalty."

He started to unfasten the ties at the back of her gown. "You deserve both. Did he at least profess his love for you?"

She gasped when his hand touched her bare skin. "He never used that word, but he never used the word 'homicide,' either. He did mention diamonds and how there are none in his family. And that his sisters will be needing presentations at court, perhaps under Lady Royce's aegis."

"Mushroom."

"That is the way marriage is done these days." She was loosening his neckcloth.

He paused. "Will it be done? Will you accept him?"

Amanda stopped her hands too, to look into Rex's eyes. "I cannot imagine making love to him. How could I let him touch me the way you did? Kiss me as you do?"

Which deserved more than a touch, a kiss that was more than a meeting of lips. When Rex could breathe again he said, "Good. I'd have to kill the man if he tried. But…"

She pulled out of his arms and pulled her cape closer around her to ward off the sudden chill. "But I know, you will not offer for me."

Rex jumped up and started pacing in front of her. "Gads, what a cad I am. My mother is right." He supposed he was getting used to calling her that. "I am truly the dog in the manger, wanting to keep others from you, while I cannot have you for myself. I cannot force myself to keep away, though. I tried. I know right from wrong. I know we should not be doing this!"

"I know it, too. And I know we should not be alone together because the same thing will keep happening despite our good intentions." She stood, holding her wrap tight against her with one hand in case her gown was loosened. She raised the other hand to his lips. "I just wish you would tell me why you will not marry."

Rex touched the collar of her blue cape, the one so easily identified in the park at night. "I wish I knew who you met when you went out."

Neither spoke again as they returned to the drawing room.

Amanda went upstairs to cry. Rex left the house, knowing he would find no peace within its walls. He decided to go check on the watchmen he'd hired to be on the lookout for Brusseau at the shipping magnate's house. Daniel was at a prizefight at the outskirts of town, so Rex took Verity along, to the disgust of Lady Royce's fussy driver. Rex dismissed the carriage some blocks from Johnston's town house, and got out and walked, or limped, the better to gather his thoughts, to find a way out of the conundrum of his conscience. He wasn't really paying attention, this far from his goal, or listening for footsteps or clamoring instincts. Verity was, fortunately. The fur on the back of her neck stood up, while her head went down. She growled, low in her throat.

Rex slipped the blade from his sword stick. "What is it, girl?"

The better question was what good a flimsy sword was going to be against a man throwing bricks at Rex's head.

The answer was: not much.