Page 43 of Fit for a Duke
‘Ha! That is where you are quite wrong. The more someone attempts to manipulate me, the harder I fight back. He will not overpower me. I know how to defend myself.’
‘Really?’ Ezra shook his head. ‘Against a man at least twice as strong as you?’
‘Certainly. All men have weak spots.’
Ezra shuddered and knew he should let the subject drop, at least for now. But she should not be wandering about alone, taking risks. On that score he was fiercely determined. ‘Remind me never to get on your wrong side,’ he said.
He felt her tremble as her own arms left her sides and wound their way around his neck. Only then did the perilous nature of their encounter dawn on Ezra. He really should have kept himself in check. This was wrong on so many levels, and yet having her in his arms felt like the most natural thing in the world. Why did he not make an excuse, conduct her back to the house in a gentlemanly manner and then steer well clear of her in future, leaving his servants to watch over her and ensure that Salford didn’t make unwanted advances?
Because his thoughts at that moment were anything other than gentlemanly, he knew. The feel of her supple body pressed against his was playing havoc with his self-control and if he didn’t release her now, immediately, whilst he still retained a modicum of sense then he would very likely ravish her there and then in Lady Fletcher’s orchard. Which would make him little better than Salford.
With a sigh of regret he gently disentangled her arms and released her. ‘We ought to return to the party before we are missed,’ he said, tweaking the end of her nose.
She sent him a look of mild rebuke. ‘Naturally we ought…’ She abruptly stopped talking and cocked her head to one side. ‘Someone is in the stables,’ she whispered urgently. ‘I can hear a lady speaking.’
Ezra listened too, grateful for the distraction from an enticing situation that he had never been completely in control of, and identified his mother’s voice asking her driver to harness her curricle and to be quick about it. Since when had the mater issued those sorts of instructions herself? he wondered. Ordinarily, she would send a servant to carry out such a menial task and wait in the house for the conveyance to be brought round. Where was she going in such secrecy?
They watched in silence until the vehicle was driven away at a brisk trot with the veiled duchess seated inside of it.
She was alone.
‘Where can she be going?’ Clio asked.
Ezra firmed his jaw, his amatory interest in Clio replaced by graver concerns. ‘Most likely to visit Lord Brennan.’
‘Does he live in the district?’
‘No, but there is nothing to prevent him from taking lodgings close by.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Clio said, frowning as they turned together towards the house. ‘Presumably she is free to see him at any time of her choosing. She is, after all, a widow.’
‘A widow living beneath my roof, almost completely dependent upon my largesse.’
Clio looked up at him. ‘She imagines you would disapprove?’
‘Brennan is more than a decade younger than my mother and has already buried two wives. He is also a notorious gambler and is always short of funds. I will not have the man in my house and voiced my disapproval of his lifestyle in my mother’s hearing, even though she has never admitted to the affair and I have never asked her about it. I wish her joy but at the same time I don’t want to see her exploited.’
‘You think a lady of your mother’s comparatively advanced years will not recognise him for what he is? For what the attraction to her must be?’
Ezra smiled as he considered his mother’s likely reaction to an accusation of being of advanced years. ‘She has limited funds of her own, and it will not have occurred to her that he is desperate enough to kill us off one by one in order to get his hands on the greater prize.’
‘Ah, I see.’ Clio nodded emphatically and the flowers arranged in her hair slipped to one side. Ezra lifted a hand and gently pushed them back into place. ‘Well then, Brennan is obviously the most probable assassin. Given what you have just told me, I am surprised you suspected anyone else. But now, the question remains, what shall we do about it?’
‘Nothing.’ Ezra nodded to a lone horseman who had just left the stables. ‘Leave it to me, Clio. I will not have you putting yourself in danger. Besides, since Brennan has not been invited to this party, there is nothing you can do.’
‘Foolish man! We have already agreed that he doesn’t carry out the murders himself. He will have someone here to do it for him and I will notice anyone watching you. A servant, perhaps, or even a fellow guest. No one will suspect me, but the guilty party will be watching you like a hawk. Perhaps even now.’ She instinctively glanced over her shoulder. ‘Who was that, leaving the stables on horseback? You have someone following her?’
‘I put someone to watch the stables, expecting an uninvited guest. I did not anticipate that my mother’s passions would drive her away at such an hour,’ Ezra replied in a grim tone. ‘But at least we shall soon know where she has gone and if we have correctly guessed whom she meets with.’
‘Could you not just confide in her?’
Ezra took his turn to emphatically shake his head. ‘We do not have the type of relationship that invites confidence. Without definitive proof, my mother will simply say that I am imagining things. I wish she was right, but I doubt it. Besides, her affections are engaged and she would probably run to Brennan and tell him of my suspicions.’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, slipping her hand into his. Ezra gave it a reassuring squeeze and did not release it again until they reached the terrace.
‘We should go in separately,’ she said. ‘People will notice.’
‘People can go hang themselves!’ Ezra replied impatiently, tired suddenly of keeping up appearances.
