Page 28 of Devil at the Gates
9
Harriet wasn’t sure how long she had slept, but when she woke, she was alone on the fainting couch. Redmond must have draped a blanket over her and cradled her head with a soft blue velvet pillow. Redmond’s scent was still there, that faint hint of the woods and snow. She breathed in deeply and blinked slowly, rubbing her eyes with her fists.
She was usually such a light sleeper, so she was surprised that she hadn’t woken when Redmond had slipped her off his body. Where had he gone to? He probably had more ducal estate matters to concern himself with, but nevertheless, she missed him.
Stretching her limbs, Harriet dropped the blanket from her body and took stock of her appearance. Her gown was dreadfully wrinkled, and her hair was quite mussed, but did it matter? No one was here to see her or judge her other than the servants, and she knew that they liked her. More importantly, they liked her being with Redmond. Their time together was changing him for the better. Mrs. Breland had confessed the previous week that he was finally starting to act like the man he’d been seven years ago. That thought alone made Harriet’s heart fill with joy.
Harriet felt wonderful, spectacular, better than she had ever felt before in her life, though that probably had something to do with their rough-and-tumble lovemaking against the bookshelf. She bit her lip to stifle a fit of giggles when she noticed the massive pile of books that had fallen off the top shelf. Their lovemaking had been earth-shattering.
She climbed off the fainting couch and walked over to try to clean up the chaos. After putting the books away, she stepped back and looked at the shelf in satisfaction. No one would guess what she and Redmond had done here. She exited the library to find Devil waiting for her just outside.
“Well, hello there. Are you looking for Redmond?”
Devil rose from a seated position, holding a long knotted piece of rope, and then he crouched defensively, clearly ready to play.
“Oh, I see. Redmond is busy, and so you’ve come looking for me.” Harriet laughed, catching the end of the rope and tugging it hard. Devil thrashed his head back and forth, trying to shake her hold free, just as he did with Redmond. After several minutes, Harriet was breathless as she let him at last have his triumph and pull the rope free of her hand.
He trotted to the far end of the corridor and paused to eye the end of a runner rug before he dug furiously in an attempt to bury the rope. Then he returned to her, a decidedly smug canine expression on his face, as though he was convinced he’d successfully hidden the rope from her. He continued to follow her around the house as she explored Frostmore room by room once again. It was a vast house, with many darkened chambers and locked doors. Servants bustled around her when she came upon them, and they offered warm smiles. She’d come to fit into life at Frostmore in the last few weeks.
Harriet paused in the long picture gallery, admiring Redmond’s portrait. She preferred the real duke in person, but while he was busy in his study, she found this portrait of him comforting. She shook her head and looked down at Devil.
“I am unaccustomed to wishing to be with someone so much, especially a man.” She scratched the dog’s folded ears, which felt soft as velvet. She felt like she could confess anything to her attentive companion. “I’m in love with him, you see, and when I’m with him I feel strong and brave. Does that make me silly?”
The dog cocked his head to one side, as if considering her question. Then his tongue flopped out of his mouth, destroying the thoughtful expression.
“Not so silly, then?” The dog barked once, and she giggled. “Where is your master? In his study, I suppose. Does daylight offend his demon sensibilities?” She’d come to call him her demon lover sometimes, because he had been so wicked upon their first meeting, and now… She was spellbound by his carnal hungers and couldn’t resist teasing him for them.
Devil licked her hand.
“Let’s go bring him some tea and biscuits.” She gave Redmond’s portrait a lingering look before they left the hall of Redmond’s ancestors. She felt a dozen gazes coming through the centuries of painted oil faces as she passed them by. She only hoped the ghosts caught within the canvases would find her worthy of Redmond.
Redmond held the letter from George Halifax again, staring down at the words that had sent him running to find Harriet a few hours ago. Then he cast it into the hearth across from his desk and watched it burn.
Grindle appeared in his study doorway. “Your Grace… You have a visitor.”
“Oh?” Redmond straightened in his chair. He wasn’t expecting anyone. “Who?”
“Mr. George Halifax.” Grindle’s somber expression warned Redmond that Grindle recognized the name and was as displeased as Redmond was to hear it. He’d shared with Grindle just a short while ago that Halifax was Harriet’s stepfather and that Redmond didn’t trust the man at all. He’d confided in Grindle that he could even pose a danger to Harriet.
“Bring him to me. But first, find Harriet. Take her to my bedchamber and keep her there. I do not want him to know she is here.”
“A wise decision, Your Grace.” The butler left, and Redmond rubbed his temples as his head began to ache behind his eyes. All he wanted was to be back with Harriet in the library. He regretted leaving her sleeping so sweetly without him. When they had lain there together, she had snuggled up against him so tenderly, it was as though she meant to keep him as close to her as she could. Whenever he’d taken Millicent to bed, she’d always wished to return to her chamber afterward. It had wounded him to be denied the intimacy of holding her in his arms, feeling connected. Now he had found that connection with Harriet, and if he wasn’t careful, it could all be stolen from him.
George Halifax was soon shown into Redmond’s study. The man was tall and muscular, but fairly thick and most likely not in peak physical condition. Redmond couldn’t help but measure himself against the man, and he decided with certainty that he could best him in any form of combat. He stood up and nodded for Halifax to take a seat.
“Thank you for agreeing to see me, Your Grace. I know we have not been formally acquainted, and I hate to impose upon you, but I sent you a letter a few days ago. Did you receive it?”
“I did, though I confess I only just read it this morning.”
“So you know that it concerns a grave matter. My ward, Miss Russell, is missing. Her mother has passed away, and I find myself in the position of being Miss Russell’s sole guardian. I have been worried sick over her whereabouts. You are a bastion of strength to Dover. I knew I could trust you to help me once you heard of my plight.” Halifax’s expression was earnest and open, but Redmond had learned long ago that people could pretend to be something they weren’t. Still, even if the man was full of lies, those lies might unwittingly reveal a truth.
“I am listening, Mr. Halifax.”
“I married Miss Russell’s mother six years ago and raised her daughter as my own. She was a willful child, and while I admire spirit in young ladies, it was clear my Harriet was far more spirited than is tolerable.”
Redmond curled his hands into fists beneath his desk when Halifax said “my Harriet,” but he let the man continue.
“Her mother fell ill and has only just passed away, but before she died, Harriet ran away and stole my coach and driver in the process. Her mother wished for me to continue as her guardian until after her birthday, but I fear it may have to be longer than that. She is vulnerable, and I believe prone to fits of madness.”
