Page 45 of A Rake's Revenge
She had to bite the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing. Stephan sounded so sincere…but then maybe he was doing just that. Maybe she had been wrong that she thought he’d been about to kiss her in the shadows of the garden. But she wasn’t about to look at this gift too closely. “I should indeed feel safe with you as an escort, my lord.”
“Then it is settled,” Stephan said. “Shall we proceed?”
“No.” Tisdale nearly snarled the word. “We are returning to the Pavilion.”
Stephan smiled genially. “As you wish.”
Tisdale snorted and turned the carriage tightly. The horse didn’t need any urging sensing which direction was home.
“He is not going to get away with this,” Tisdale muttered as Stephan followed behind the carriage.
“Get away with what?” Caroline asked. “Lord Kendrick simply offered—”
“I know exactly what he damn well offered.”
Caroline narrowed her eyes. “Are you accusing him of compromising me?”
Tisdale spared her a quick glance. “Has he?”
Caroline considered how to respond. If she said yes, it might convince Tisdale to drop his suit, but it might also force Stephan into a marriage he didn’t want. If she said no, it might only encourage the earl. She decided to quote Shakespeare instead.“A woman may be made a fool if she had not a spirit to resist.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Caroline sighed. She should have known Tisdale wouldn’t understand. “It means that I do not want to be asked questions about Lord Kendrick.”
“Well, it does not matter. I already have answers to questions about Kendrick. At least, some of them.”
Caroline felt a cool shiver slip down her spine. “What isthatsupposed to mean?”
“The last pirate’s raid,” Tisdale said smugly. “I think Kendrick had something to do with it.”
Caroline widened her eyes. “What are you talking about? Ste—Lord Kendrick—was at dinner the night that raid happened.”
Tisdale shrugged. “I followed him three days later. He met with a man in Newhaven that looked like a Viking.”
“So? Perhaps Lord Kendrick had business to attend.”
“And what kind of business?” Tisdale asked. “It was the same man I saw near the docks in Kent when I went to check onLa Mer Esprit. Coincidence? I think not.”
Caroline tried to keep her voice neutral. “The marquis has a fishing fleet he maintains at Whitstable. No doubt he knows many seamen.”
“Defend him if you will. Think yourself infatuated with the man. It matters not to me,” Tisdale said. “I will have your hand in marriage.”
“You will not.”
Tisdale shrugged. “Your opinion is not needed. If I can prove Kendrick is tied to the piracy, the marquis will either hang or rot in Newgate.”
“You will never prove that.”
“No? I am close. Close enough, in fact, that I do not care if you tell Kendrick. It is too late for him to cover his tracks now.”
Caroline twisted her hands in her lap. Tisdale was lying. He had to be. The cold that crept down her spine earlier clenched her stomach like an icy hand.
But what if Tisdale managed to implicate Stephan somehow? She wouldn’t put it at all past him to stoop so low. He had the right aristocratic connections—including the prince regent—to make that happen.
Now she had two men to worry about—Lord Kendrick and the Midnight Marauder.
Chapter Fifteen
