Snowy Night With a Stranger Read online

  “See,” she said, flinging her arms wide. “Isn’t it cozy?”

  “Yes, but you won’t want to be immured in here for very long,” Ned said flatly. “You have far too much energy, dear girl. You’ll go out of your mind with boredom in two days.”

  She looked at him with a half smile. “I’m assuming you’ll be relieving my boredom occasionally, sir. And providing me with the opportunity for exercise several times a day.”

  “What a wanton you are,” he said, gathering her into his arms, pushing up her chin with his palm. “No one would believe you were a maid but an hour since.”

  “Oh, I have always been a quick learner,” she said, nibbling his bottom lip, then teasing the corner of his mouth with the tip of her tongue. “Shall we test the bed?”

  “For God’s sake, Georgie, it’s nearly morning. You are far too reckless for your own or anyone’s good,” he chided, half laughing but meaning it. “The servants will be up and who knows who else.”

  “Not Selby and his guests,” she said with a moue of disappointment. “They won’t show themselves until close to noon.” She sighed. “But I suppose you’re right.”

  “I am,” he said firmly, turning her back to the door. “Let’s go.” He eased her forward with a hand in the small of her back, enjoying the curve of her spine, the warmth of her skin, and trying very hard not to yield to the resurgent wave of desire.

  At the foot of the stairs, he gave her the candle. “Go now. I’ll follow in a few minutes.”

  She turned her mouth for a farewell kiss. “I won’t appear for breakfast. Come to me this afternoon.”

  “I might be too busy spying,” he teased, kissing the tip of her nose. “Hurry now.”

  Georgiana slipped through the door, turned to blow him a kiss, and then was gone in a waft of silk and muslin.

  Ned waited for close to five minutes, then he stepped into the passage, closed the door quietly behind him, and sauntered casually back to his own chamber. The candles in the sconces were guttering now and he could hear sounds from downstairs as he crossed the galleried landing. Servants would be raking out fireplaces and relighting the fires. He moved quickly back to his own room, closing the door behind him with a definitive click. He had a few hours of peace to think how to go about his part in Georgie’s plan, so blithely allocated to him.

  Maybe, he thought, as he threw off his clothes and climbed into his cold bed, he should start to be a little more accommodating to his host’s demands. String Selby along a little, offering the possibility of capitulation, so that Selby sought out Ned’s company. He couldn’t be a successful spy if Selby didn’t trust him or welcome his company.

  Ned smiled with resignation in the dark. If necessary he would pay the man his two thousand guineas. Georgiana Carey was cheap at the price.

  Chapter Eight

  Georgiana was too keyed up to sleep once she’d attained the safety of her bedchamber. She got into bed and lay propped against her pillows, watching the firelight flickering on the ceiling. Slowly she explored her body, wondering if it would feel any different after those ecstatic moments under Ned’s hands, and she smiled to herself, luxuriating in the slight soreness between her thighs. She recognized that a certain desperation had fueled that flood of urgent desire. The knowledge that she might never again have the opportunity to experience the fulfillment of passion—that she might never again feel the need to do so. She certainly couldn’t contemplate passion-filled experiences with Godfrey, and until Ned Vasey had entered her life, she had had no reason to imagine anyone else would provide the opportunity. But her life was opening up, offering possibilities once again.

  She touched her nipples, and they grew hard under her fingers at the remembered feel of his lips. She felt again the sheer excitement that had coursed through her at the feel of his lips suckling, his teeth lightly grazing the tips of her breasts. Her loins pulsed in memory and her body shifted on the mattress, her legs parting in involuntary invitation.

  Until this evening she had thought only of escape. The future after her escape was too murky to untangle until she faced it. But now she could see a path. And she could see who would walk that path beside her.

  Impatiently she swung herself out of bed. There was too much to do this morning, and very little time in which to do it. Once she was safely up in her attic hideaway, she could indulge in fantasies of the future to her heart’s content.

  -o-O-o-

  Ned was still asleep when Davis entered the chamber a few hours later. The valet set down the jug of hot water on the washstand and drew back the curtains at the windows. The rattle they made awoke Ned. He pulled himself up on the pillows and ran a distracted hand through his rumpled hair.

  “Davis, bring me up a bath, if you please.”

  “Oh, you’re awake then, m’lord.” Davis pulled back the bedcurtains. “Snow’s easin’ a bit, it looks.”

  “About time too.” Ned turned to look at the window. It was as white as before. “A bath?” he repeated.

  “Yes, m’lord. Right away, sir. Should I bring breakfast too?”

  “If you please.” Ned leaned back against his pillows, staring at the window. If the snow was easing, then it wouldn’t be more than a day or two before some of the main roads would be passable. Or at least for a horse if not a carriage. He and Georgie would need horses. She had that pretty mare, Athena, but he had no riding horse with him.

  Well, Roger Selby would lend him one. He wouldn’t know how generous he was being, of course. Ned chuckled. In the cool white light of morning he was beginning to enjoy the prospect of deception and thievery. Not that it would be thievery to take the will. It belonged to Georgie, after all. He was merely restoring property to its rightful owner—and righting a grievous wrong in the process.

  No wonder he felt so full of energy and enthusiasm this morning. Of course, he reflected, getting out of bed, stretching luxuriously, a night of satisfied lust might have something to do with it. That and the prospect of its continued satisfaction.

  He sipped coffee while Davis and two manservants labored with jugs of steaming water, filling the copper tub before the fire. He bathed quickly, ate some bread and ham, and dressed. Then he went in search of Jacobs.

  He found the butler in the hall, examining the tarnish on a pewter bowl on an oak side table.

  “Good morning, Jacobs.”

  Jacobs turned and bowed. “Good morning, Lord Allenton.”

  There was something in the man’s eye that told Ned all he needed to know. “I imagine that Lady Georgiana is unavailable at the moment,” he said casually.

  “Yes, my lord, that is so.” Jacobs rubbed at the tarnish with a soft cloth. “She asked me to tell you that she will be apparently unavailable for the foreseeable future.” He chose his words with care, the slightest emphasis making his meaning clear.

  “I see. Are her guardian and her fiancé aware of this as yet?”

  “No, sir. Not as yet. I expect they will realize it later this morning when they come down for breakfast, sir.”

  “I see.” Ned smiled. “Thank you, Jacobs. You will keep me apprised as necessary.”

  “Of course, sir.” Jacobs held the bowl to the lamplight with a critical frown. “Should you wish to go out, my lord, I will send for your greatcoat.”

  “I have it in mind to stroll around to the stables,” Ned said. “I understand the snow is easing off a little.”

  “Yes, sir. It looks like it. Would you like my son to accompany you?” Jacobs set the bowl back on the table and looked directly at Ned.

  “I think that would be most helpful, thank you, Jacobs.”

  “One minute, sir, and I will fetch him.” Jacobs disappeared, and reappeared in a very few minutes with a stocky young man who carried Ned’s greatcoat. “My son, Colin, my lord. You can be sure he will be of whatever help you need.”

  Ned nodded amiably at the young man, wondering if he recognized him from the ambush, but the visibility had been so bad, he had only reall
y noticed shapes. Colin had a fighter’s shoulders, but he was no heavyweight, more a featherweight, Ned decided. However, he had an air of confidence, a comfort with himself, which was a quality Ned had long appreciated, particularly in those who served him.

  They went out into the snow, taking the same kitchen route Ned had taken with Georgie the previous day. Was it only the previous day?

  “I’m going to need a horse, Colin,” he said without preamble as they traversed the kitchen garden toward the gate leading into the stable yard.

  “Aye, sir,” Colin responded phlegmatically. “Thought as much, sir. You’ll need a mount with a sure step. Paths’ll be slippery and the snowdrifts’ll make for slow going for quite some time.”

  “And Lord Selby has such a mount in his stables?” They entered the yard and Ned glanced up at the leaden sky. The snow was definitely easing and he could swear he caught the faintest hint of blue shifting behind the cloud cover.

  “Several, sir.” Colin paused to look at his companion, running a knowing eye over the tall, lean frame. “Most of ‘em more than up to your weight, m’lord. They’re used to carrying his lordship. I’ll show you the one I have in mind.” He plowed across the snowy yard to the stable block.

  Ned followed him into the warmth of the building, fusty with the smell of horseflesh and leather, sweet-scented hay and manure. He checked first on his own carriage horses, which seemed dozy and contented, and then followed Colin along the line of stalls to one at the rear.

  A bay gelding, raw-boned with strong shoulders, was cropping hay from the manger. “This here’s Magus, sir.” Colin leaned on the half door and clicked his tongue at the horse, who indolently turned his head to regard his visitors from long-lashed brown eyes. “Fine strong animal, he is.”

  “He certainly looks it,” Ned agreed, reaching out an inviting hand to the horse, which after a moment decided to acknowledge the greeting and turned in his stall to put his head over the half door.

  Ned stroked his neck and murmured to him, and the animal pricked his ears and whickered softly.

  “Oh, you and him’ll get on like a house on fire,” Colin predicted. “When Lady Georgie gives me the word, I’ll have him saddled and ready. Him and Athena.”

  “Good.” Ned smiled his appreciation. “I’ll just go and find my coachman and postillions, make sure everything’s still all right with them.”

  He looked for the pony as he walked back up the line of stalls, but there was no sign of the animal. He paused on his way outside Athena’s stall and the mare came up to him readily, as if recognizing him from the previous day’s visit. He stroked her neck, murmured a few words in her ear, and then went on, well satisfied that as far as mounts were concerned he and Georgie would be well equipped.

  He returned to the house just after eleven and went into the dining room, where his host and fellow guests were already at breakfast.

  “Ah, Allenton, thought you’d decided not to join us,” Godfrey said, piling kidneys onto his plate from a chafing dish on the sideboard. “Thought maybe you found the company a little too hot for you.” He sat down, glowering at Ned.

  “Not in the least,” Ned said affably. “Good morning, Selby, ladies…gentlemen.” He helped himself to eggs and sat down opposite Godfrey. There was, of course, no sign of Georgie, and he waited with some curiosity to see what would happen when she failed to appear.

  It took close to half an hour before Selby, who had been consulting his watch at regular intervals, said, “Where the devil has that girl got to this morning? She knows I like to breakfast punctually at eleven.” With impatient vigor he rang the silver bell that sat by his plate, and Jacobs appeared immediately.

  “You rang, my lord.”

  “Yes, where’s Lady Georgiana? Have you seen her this morning?”

  Jacobs looked puzzled, as if trying to remember. Then he shook his head. “I don’t believe I have, my lord. I don’t believe she’s come down yet.”

  “Well, has her maid seen her?”

  “I don’t rightly know, sir.”

  “Well, go and find out, man.” Selby shooed at him with an irascible hand and Jacobs bowed and departed.

  He returned in five minutes with a maidservant. “Lorna tells me that Lady Georgiana hasn’t rung for her this morning,” Jacobs declared. “Tell his lordship, girl.”

  The maid looked terrified, as well she might, Ned reflected, given Lord Selby’s heightened color and the wrath growing in his pale eyes. She curtsied. “I’ve been waitin’ on madam to ring, m’lord. But she ‘asn’t yet.”

  “Well, go upstairs and see why not.” Selby buried his head in his ale tankard. Everyone around the table had ceased eating, eyes bright with curiosity at this mystery. Godfrey Belton, however, continued to chew his way through his mound of kidneys, interspersed with frequent forays into his ale tankard.

  The maid came back in a few minutes, her eyes wide and frightened. She curtsied several times, wringing her hands, before blurting, “Lady Georgiana’s not in ‘er room, m’lord. And ‘alf ‘er clothes ‘ave gone from the armoire.”

  “What?” Selby pushed back his chair, his color ebbing and then rushing back into his florid cheeks. Godfrey dropped his fork with a clatter onto his plate.

  Selby strode from the room, Godfrey on his heels, and the guests at the table burst into excited conversation. Ned ate his eggs, buttered toast, drank coffee, and waited. Within minutes he heard Selby giving orders in the hall.

  “She can’t have gone far in this snow, the roads are deep in drifts,” he was bellowing. “Jacobs, send out men from the stables to cover all the roads and paths out of here. See if there are any tracks.”

  There were no tracks, but that was explained by the constant snowfall throughout the night. However, a pony was missing from the stables.

  That explained that, then, Ned reflected. Presumably Colin or one of his compatriots had taken the pony. No one would believe that Georgiana had left the house on foot in this weather, and the pony was a logical choice for a runaway. A sturdy creature, less valuable and certainly less highly bred than the horses.

  The uproar surged around him. Selby and Belton did not return to the table and Ned waited for a few minutes before casually rising and making his way to the salon. The library door stood open and he could hear Selby’s furious undertone interspersed with a periodic rumble from Belton.

  Ned was alone for the moment and he trod softly to the half-open door, listening.

  “She won’t last half a day out there,” Selby was declaring.

  “But where the hell does she think she can go?” Belton demanded. “There’s no one here about to take her in. They all know who she is; they’ll send her right back.”

  “Yes, but as I’ve told you before, Belton, Georgiana is no fool. She’ll have a plan, so it might take a bit longer to find her. But as long as she can’t get her hands on the will, we have nothing to worry about. When we find her—and we will find her—you’ll be married at once. Her property will pass into your hands and our agreement stands.”

  Ned pressed his eye to the crack between the door and the jamb. He could just see Selby, bending over something on the desk. It looked like a lockbox. He waited, ears pricked for the sound of anyone entering the salon behind him. Selby took a sheet of parchment out of the box.

  Ned moved sideways, and calmly opened the door wide. “Forgive the intrusion, Selby, but the door was open. I’ve had some second thoughts about your proposal,” he said casually as he strolled into the library.

  The two men stared at him. Selby had the paper in his hand, the lockbox open on the desk. “I don’t have time for that now, Allenton,” Selby declared. “You heard that Georgiana has disappeared.”

  “Oh, yes, of course,” Ned said as casually as before. “But I can’t imagine she can have gone far in this weather. I’m sure you’ll catch up with her soon enough.” He regarded his companions with raised eyebrows. “Strange that she should take such an idea into her head though, don�
�t you think?”

  “Just between you and me, Allenton, the girl’s not quite right in the head,” Selby said, carefully replacing the parchment in the lockbox without looking at it. He turned the key in the lock and pocketed the key. “Gets it from her mother. Strange woman. Had some very fanciful notions.”

  He moved away from the desk, forcing a smile. “You’re right, we can safely leave finding her to my men. So, what are these second thoughts.” He took a seat by the fire and gestured to a chair opposite.

  Ned sat down, aware of the glowering Godfrey, whom Selby appeared to be ignoring. “Well, I was thinking perhaps you’re right. Perhaps I am honor bound to honor my brother’s debt. I wouldn’t care to start off on the wrong foot among the folk here.”

  Selby nodded solemnly. “Ah, sensible man,” he said. “I knew you couldn’t lack for sense the minute I laid eyes on you. You give me a draft on your bank for the two thousand guineas, you keep the bill of sale, and we’ll say no more about it.” His eyes gleamed.

  “I need to settle affairs at the local bank before I am in a position to access such funds,” Ned said, crossing his legs, swinging an ankle idly. His smile was pleasant. “But I will give you an undertaking in writing.”

  Selby looked displeased. “I already have one of those,” he stated. “And much good it’s done me.”

  “Ah, but that one is signed by my brother,” Ned pointed out. “By my late brother. It is basically null and void now, as I’m sure you’re aware. However, in the interest of neighborly relations, I am prepared to give you my undertaking.” His smile was suddenly a little less pleasant. “I am sure you will see your way to accepting a gentleman’s word, Lord Selby.”

  Selby’s face was a picture as he struggled with the idea of deferred gratification. But he could not refuse to accept Ned’s word. “Well…well, I daresay that will have to do,” he said finally, grudgingly. “I daresay you’ll be able to continue your journey by tomorrow. The snow has stopped altogether now, and my men will be clearing the local road at least as far as the next village.”