Page 37 of Fit for a Duke
‘I get all the tough assignments,’ Godfrey replied affably.
‘Don’t get pie-eyed and forget why you’re there.’
‘I will do my humble best.’
Ezra snorted at his man as he walked through the door that Godfrey opened for him. ‘There’s nothing humble about you,’ he remarked.
Ezra was one of the last to go down, and he found the rest of the party assembled on the terrace. Clio was unrecognisable from the hoyden who’d tried to stick a paring knife through his eye less than two hours previously, and looked demure in pale pink silk, with a headdress of fresh flowers flowing through her coiffure. Her ensemble was simple and unfussy but her svelte body made her stand out amongst the more sophisticated styles that dominated the terrace. He nodded in Clio’s direction and she returned the gesture with a miniscule inclination of her head before returning to her conversation with her cousin.
Lady Walder drifted up to his side and he almost choked on the overpowering perfume that exuded from her body. She wore a red silk gown that left little to the imagination and did absolutely nothing to engage Ezra’s interest.
‘Your grace,’ she said, slipping her arm through his. ‘We were beginning to despair.’
‘What on earth about?’ he asked disinterestedly. He couldn’t abide predatory females and there was an air of desperation about this particular one. At close quarters he could see that her face was heavily if artfully painted, but fine lines still showed around her mouth and eyes. She would hate to know that her age was showing almost as visibly as her desperation. He wondered how well situated Walder had left her. The man had been a gambler, often in debt to his fellow officers, and he sensed that Lady Walder would have been high maintenance.
‘Why, you gentlemen of course. You all disappeared and left us ladies to our own devices. We were in danger of squabbling amongst ourselves for want of some better way to occupy our time.’
Ezra hoisted a brow in disdainful response, barely civil. ‘You have something against the company of your own sex?’
‘No, silly, of course not, but still…’
Her words trailed away and she looked rather foolish because Ezra hadn’t responded to her light, flirtatious manner in like fashion. They reached Lady Fletcher’s party and Ezra managed to abandon Lady Walder in the middle of a group of men who seemed perfectly willing to flatter her in the way that Ezra had not.
‘We are to have impromptu dancing later,’ Lady Fletcher told him before he could make good his escape. ‘I hope you will take to the floor, your grace?’
‘I shall certainly dance with you, Lady Fletcher, if you will have me.’
‘Silly boy!’ The lady flapped a hand. ‘You should save your energy for the young things. My dancing days are behind me.’
‘You will be forever young, ma’am,’ he said, strolling away and joining Henry Fryer.
‘Still alive then,’ his friend remarked cheerfully.
‘Glad to see that you’re taking the matter seriously.’ Ezra had given Henry a brief outline of his concerns earlier that day, aware that his friend would keep his eyes and ears open on his behalf. ‘Although the Lady Walders of this world make me wonder if it’s worth the effort.’
Henry chuckled. ‘Making a nuisance of herself, is she? Well, what else can you expect, you being a rich, eligible and supposedly handsome duke? You’ve brought it all on yourself, so don’t expect any sympathy from this quarter.’
‘I have had it thrust upon me, Henry, as well you know.’ Ezra’s calm exterior showed a brief crack before he put his defences back into place.
‘Of course, old chap, my apologies.’ His friend acknowledged the fact with a rueful grin.
‘Did you notice anyone acting suspiciously at the tavern?’ Ezra continued, lowering his voice.
‘I didn’t see anything, but I did hear someone in the taproom remark upon Lady Walder’s lively disposition.’
Ezra sent his friend a concerned look. ‘In what respect? She would have no reason to visit the tavern. She would not have changed horses so close to her destination, so why else…’ Ezra took a moment to consider and scowled as a possibility occurred to him. ‘You don’t suppose she could be involved in this business to wipe my family out?’
‘Can you think of any reason why she would be?’
‘Money, of course. Isn’t that what motivates everyone?’ Ezra paused to consider. ‘She could be the assassin’s go-between, I suppose. No one would suspect a thing, but if she’s been sent here to tempt me into a liaison in order to get me alone and defenceless then she is destined to failure.’
‘You might consider going along with her plan,’ Henry remarked.
Ezra nodded. ‘Play into her hands and have people standing by when the assassin attacks, or fight him off myself.’ He again fell to contemplating. ‘Risky, but plausible. Lady Walder has sufficient faith in her own charm to assume she’d be able to pull it off.’
‘The prospect of a roll in the hay with an experienced widow would be sufficient to tempt most men.’
‘I am not most men.’
