Page 10 of To Claim the Long-Lost Lover
Colyford harrumphed. “I cannot think it suitable, Lady Sarah, an unmarried lady like yourself having charge of a child like that. One would commend the duke for providing appropriate support for such a child, but making the brat the responsibility of a maiden lady is hardly appropriate.”
Sarah was finding the man less attractive by the minute. She didn’t bother asking him what he meant by ‘such a child’; his attitude answered the question. “Elias ismyward, Lord Colyford, not my uncle’s.I‘took him in’, as you put it. His Grace has been good enough to support my decision.”
Colyford stopped in his tracks and turned to her, so that she had to drop his arm or be indecorously close. He picked up her hands, and gave his most charming smile, softening his voice to coax rather than hector. “Now, my dear, I do not mean to scold you. Of course, at your age, you want a child to care for. That is perfectly understandable. But this is not the way, my lady. You have been poorly advised, I can see. His Grace, while a very good sort of man, does not understand English Society, and who can wonder.”
Sarah, struck speechless by the sheer arrogance of the man, did not reply, and he took her silence as consent, tucking her hand back into his elbow and patting it with his other hand as he led her towards the house.
“You must have noticed that I have been particular in my attentions, Lady Sarah. Or may I call you Sarah, perhaps? I think I have the right to advise you that you must be prepared to give up your ward. Your uncle has the means to keep him, if he so wishes. Indeed, given the example of the Duchess of Haverford, it is a wonder we are not overrun with people of the most shocking origins, all of whom we must treat as if they are worthy of respect. Even marrying among us!”
He chuckled, and patted her hand again, and Sarah contemplated hitting him with it. “Well, Lord Hamner is a fool. The younger Miss Grenford is a better prospect, perhaps. At least we may be permitted to believe her mother to be of a more elevated position, even though of unfortunate morals. And she has been raised as a lady, at least, as has Lady Hamner. They say your little ward was found in a workhouse!
“I must tell you, Lady Sarah, that my wife must be above reproach. I have to think of poor Maria’s daughters, but even were that not the case, I could not bring shame upon my name by taking to wife anyone whose virtue could be questioned. Why, those with scurrilous minds are even now suggesting that you would only have taken the little boy in if the relationship was closer than nephew or brother.”
Sarah managed to extract her hand. “Lord Colyford, I am appalled by your attitude to an innocent child, one whose birth circumstance can in no way be blamed upon him. I can see that I have been mistaken in thinking we might share similar opinions of matters of importance. I wish you well on your search for a suitable mother for your daughters.”
Colyford looked more puzzled than indignant or grieved. “Do try to be reasonable, my dear. The sins of the fathers are visited upon the children. Everyone knows that. I am not blaming the child, but facts are facts, Sarah.”
“I have not made you free of my name, my lord,” Sarah reminded him.
“Sarah?” It was Drew, striding towards them from the house.
Relieved, Sarah told Colyton, “I have no further need of your escort, Lord Colyton.” She swallowed some of her annoyance and added, “Thank you for being honest with me.” After all, even if that was two out of three suitors gone, at least she would waste no further time on someone so totally unsuitable to be Elias’s new father.
She pushed down the recurring and stupid hope that Nate would seek to be considered for the role.He left. Disappeared without a word.Charlotte had told him he’d have the chance to explain, and she would not make her sister foresworn.I will listen to his excuses, then give him his quittance.That was the wise course, was it not?
* * *
“I will be back in a day or two,” His Grace of Winshire told his niece, the only one of the immediate family in residence. Not that he was leaving her unchaperoned or unprotected; quite apart from the English servants, he had assigned several of his personal retainers to the protection of each of his family members.
Still, he was not comfortable leaving Charlotte in London without himself or one of his sons. His retainers were fiercely loyal warriors, to a man and a woman, but the political and social challenges the Winshires had faced since their return from Central Asia usually didn’t lend themselves to solutions at the point of a sword.
Charlotte stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I have a meeting tomorrow afternoon, Uncle James, and the next day I am joining Sarah and Drew in the country. I will be well escorted, and you are not to worry.”
“Don’t take any risks, my dear,” he begged her. His blood ran cold when he remembered how she used to walk to the boundaries of one of the worst slums in London with no more escort than her maid and an unarmed footman. Of course, the ragged school she had founded, and in which she taught, needed to be close to where its students dwelt.
She was her mother’s daughter. Indeed, all of the Winshire womenfolk were actively involved in what his dear departed wife, a devout Christian in the ancient Aramaic Church of Persia, would call the Works of Mercy.
“Yahzak will not allow me to go into danger, Uncle,” she pointed out.
Yahzak was commander of her personal guard. A good man. Winshire had shared with Yahzak the latest inconclusive reports that made him so edgy about leaving Charlotte behind in London.
He hadn’t told Charlotte, not wanting to alarm her. In the back of his mind, he could hear his wife’s dear voice, scolding. Or perhaps it wasn’t Mahzad but Eleanor, the Duchess of Haverford and once his dearest love. Both strong-minded women would insist that knowledge was power and ignorance risk. They were right, of course.
“Charlotte, there may be no cause for alarm, but we have reports to suggest that the former Lady Ashbury and her brother did not leave England. Our cousin the Weasel may have been sent off with a couple of decoys to disguise the fact they are still in the country. Possibly in London. When we took Wharton down, we knew another villain would rise to the top. But we now believe that one of the main contenders for mastery in the St Giles slums may be Wharton in a new guise.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened. Wharton and his sister had carried out several attacks on the Winshires in the past two years, culminating in a kidnap attempt that had ended in a pitched battle where they were defeated and sent for trial. “And Lady Ashbury?”
“If our identification of Wharton is correct—it is currently based on a similarity of physical type and certain unpleasant personal tastes that I will not discuss with a lady—then he runs a gambling hell that is associated with a brothel. The woman in charge of the brothel is always masked. But she could be Lady Ashbury.”
He shrugged. It was all conjecture. His investigators were exploring leads, looking for proof.
“Be careful, Charlotte,” he said again. “I do not expect trouble. Even if it is them, they are wanted on capital crimes. They would be foolish to attack us again and disclose their identities.”
“Hatred can make people stupid, Uncle James,” Charlotte said, wisely. “And they hate us. I promise I will be careful.”
6
Since all he could do about Lady Sarah was wait for her to return to London, Nate bent his mind to serving in the Ashbury Clinic, and was pleased when an interview concluded with an invitation to volunteer. He contracted to make himself available during the day on two days a week and for one evening, his need to keep his activities secret from his father prohibiting a deeper commitment.
