Page 73 of One Perfect Dance
He fell silent.
“And what were they saying?” Ash prompted.
“Mr. David Deffew was complaining that you were not dead. Except he called you Ash Boy. He said that you had stopped him from fu—ruining a woman to force her to marry him. He must have meant Mrs. Paddimore, because he said she would have given in to save Padders. The Paddimore pup, he said.”
Ash knew dozens of expletives in seven different languages and could not think of one that would relive his feelings.
Regina commented, “You said arguing. What did the older brother say?”
“He blamed his brother for insisting on courting the lady. If Mr. David Deffew had forced the lady when she first came out of her blacks, they’d have had their hands on her money early last year. And the pup’s too, after they got rid of him.” He turned to look at Wakefield. “I figured it out later,” he said. “They were going to kill Padders. That’s what they meant, isn’t it?”
“And attempted to do so this morning,” Wakefield agreed. He addressed the room. “Muggworthy stayed on the ledge until they left, then crept back to his room and waited to be let out.”
“After Chalky let me out,” said Muggworthy, “I went home to my mother’s place. I didn’t want to be part of it anymore. But the more I thought about what the Deffews said, the worse I felt. So last night, I went to talk to Chalky. I was going to ask him to get his father to stop it, because Mr. Deffew usually does what Lord Snowden says, but he wouldn’t listen. He said we were going to have a wild time. Then Defter arrived, and they both told me I had to go to a meeting.” He lapsed into silence again.
Wakefield stood to pace the room. “Muggworthy found himself hobnobbing with a gang of miscreants Deffew had recruited in the slums and on the docks. Some of the criminals would invade the house, Deffew assured the young gentlemen. Their only job would be to run messages between those watching the front door, and those watching the back. But Muggworthy, already uncomfortable, became more so when he heard Deffew instructing David Deffew on where to stand for a clear shot.”
Muggworthy spoke up. “He said they couldn’t waste any more time on the widow, because she had Wakefield and Wakefield investigating. They needed to cut their losses, but he was damned—” he blushed. “I beg your pardon my lady, Ma’am. He said he wanted to make sure Mr. Ashby and Mrs. Paddimore did not win even if they had to lose.”
Wakefield gave Muggworthy the first approving nod the boy had received that afternoon. “Muggworthy took the first opportunity to drop away from the group as they marched on your house, Mrs. Paddimore, and came to find me. And the rest you know.”
“Mr. Wakefield said he won’t let them get to me,” Mr. Muggworthy explained, gazing worshipfully at Wakefield.
“Then we owe you our thanks, Mr. Muggworthy,” said Regina, graciously.
Ash could not bring himself to be quite so pleasant to the youth who had kept Paddimore drugged and helpless, so he changed the subject, asking, “So the two Indians had nothing to do with it?”
Wakefield laughed. “Shall you tell them, Mrs. Wakefield, or shall I?”
“We soon found why they were watching your household, Mr. Ashby,” Mrs. Wakefield explained, “and particularly you, Lord Arthur, and Lady Arthur. Once it was clear they had no connection with the Deffews, I walked up to them and asked them what they were doing.”
She grinned. “Lady Arthur, your brothers have followed you here to England to make sure you are well. I have told them to call on you at your townhouse. They were a little concerned that your Maharajah might object, but I assured them Lord Arthur would be pleased to meet them.”
Rithya leapt up, clapping her hands together. “Ajay and Sanjith? How wonderful! Rex, can we go home now? I want to show them my children, and my house, and my husband!” She shifted to Hindi in her excitement, then remembered her manners as Rex bowed to Lady Deerhaven. “Thank you for your hospitality,” she said.
She inclined her head to the two enquiry agents. “Thank you for saving my friend Ash and my friend Regina. I am so glad no one was shooting at my husband.”
The couple left, Rithya back to telling Rex, in Hindi, how excited she was that her brothers had come to see her.
Ginny stood. “Mr. Ashby needs to rest,” she announced. She summoned the footmen who had carried him chair and all down from his bedchamber, and they did the trip in reverse. Ash didn’t object. He was sore and tired, and besides, he couldn’t wait to have Ginny to himself again.
Chapter Thirty-One
The next day,Regina and Elijah were moving to separate houses. Elijah was returning to Rex’s townhouse, and Regina and Geoffrey had been invited to make their home at her brother’s place while her own house was being repaired and refurbished.
In fact, Geoffrey had already moved in with William and Mama, and was going to stay on after the wedding, at least until he went back up to Cambridge. Cousin Mary had gone with him. She and Mama had become great friends, and—since both treated William like a favorite grandson—William was sure to have a marvelous time.
Regina regretted she had allowed her pride and her sense of hurt to keep them apart all these years, but when she once again said that to her mother, Mama had insisted it was all her fault. “I should have reached out to you years ago, my love. But we are a family again now, so let us agree to let the past lie, and enjoy the next eight days getting to know one another again.”
“It will be wonderful,” Regina assured herself as she moved quietly along the deserted passage towards the bachelor bedchambers. It was only eight days, and she was looking forward to the time with her mother.
She was not looking forward to being separated from Elijah. Since his rescue the day before her birthday, she had seen him several times a day, often for much of the day, usually at every meal. Even here at the Deerhavens’, she had spent time in his bedchamber the first two days of their stay, chaperoned by Cousin Mary or her mother.
They insisted on guarding her reputation by accompanying her everywhere even once Elijah rejoined the household, insisting he was well enough to move around on his own feet with a little help from a crutch.
And that was the rub. When he kissed her, she felt desired and desirable. Away from those drugging kisses and mesmerizing caresses, she worried about how she would compare to all those foreign lovers he had mentioned.
She had hoped for more tonight, with her kind guards both out of the way. Then Elijah insisted on going with Lord Arthur and Deerhaven to the Bow Street Magistrate’s Court. Mr. Wakefield had sent to tell them that Lord Snowden had somehow managed to convince the magistrate to hear the case against Chalky and his friends in the evening and with little notice.
