Forsters 04 - Romancing the Runaway Read online

  “Then why not request the use of a carriage?”

  “I wouldn’t put you to the trouble. Not after everything you’ve already done for me.”

  His upper lip curled, almost as though he was resisting the urge to snarl, for which she could scarce blame him. As explanations went, hers was woefully inadequate.

  “All right, even supposing I accept that lame explanation, if you had legitimate business to conduct, why not tell me so this morning?”

  She mangled her lower lip between her teeth, truly conflicted. “You put me in a difficult position, Lord Gabriel. I gave my word, you see.”

  He levelled a sardonic gaze on her face. “And you don’t trust me to respect your confidence?”

  “A promise is a promise.” As a gentleman, he had no right to press her—not now that she’d told him she’d given her word. Miranda’s quick temper—a definite character flaw she hadn’t yet managed to master—was in danger of getting the better of her. “I realise I’m not a lady in your eyes, but even so, when I make a promise, I keep it.”

  His face was an unreadable mask. “I hardly assumed it would be otherwise.”

  “I suppose you’re worried that I might have been seen returning to the Hall, a young lady alone when it’s known you’re here without your family. Your reputation might suffer, in which case I’m very sorry. I hadn’t stopped to consider matters in that light.” She lifted her shoulders. “Still, it hardly signifies. I’m of no consequence and no pressure will be brought to bear upon you should the truth of our situation come to light.”

  “You little fool!” He whirled away from her, giving her a close-up view of his impossibly broad shoulders.

  “Unlike some of my school friends, I don’t harbour unrealistic expectations.”

  He turned back, reached towards her and grasped her arm, his eyes burning with an emotion Miranda found impossible to interpret. “If you think for a moment that I’m worried for myself, then…”

  Their gazes locked and remained that way as the silence stretched between. The air left Miranda’s lungs in an audible whoosh and a small gasp of surprise slipped past her lips. All sorts of conflicting emotions spiralled through her as she felt the full force of his fiery gaze eating into her features. Fear gave way to…well, to something. That fizzing had definitely returned to her insides, and she momentarily lost track of her thoughts as it streaked through her bloodstream, heating her face as well as other places. Lord Gabriel’s expression was fierce and intense. He looked as though he wanted to say something but didn’t actually speak. Instead, with a heavy sigh, he released her arm and turned his back on her again.

  “I can assure you that Mr. Peacock wouldn’t waste precious money setting someone to watch for me in a small village like Denby,” she said in a commendably even voice considering what had just passed between them. What had passed between them? “I was perfectly safe.”

  “Then how do you suppose I knew what you’d done?”

  She shrugged. “Presumably the kind gentleman who gave me a lift back to the Hall mentioned something in the servants’ hall.”

  “That kind gentleman is the boson on my brother’s boat. I specifically asked him to keep an eye out for strangers loitering in the village.”

  “Oh.”

  He turned her way again and fixed her with a stern look. “Oh indeed.”

  “It doesn’t mean that anyone was actually there looking for me. I’m sure they were not,” she said, not being sure of any such thing.

  His scowl filled her with the irrational desire to kiss away the frown lines that marred his beauty, which in turn made her angry with herself. Miranda never wasted time with impossible daydreams. She left that sort of thing to Charlotte, who had every expectation of turning such dreams into deeds before she got too much older.

  “Then how do you explain that there were two strangers in the tavern this afternoon?” Lord Gabriel’s strident tone recalled her from her reverie, which was really just as well. Besides, her imagination didn’t stretch to what occurred between a gentleman and lady once they got past the kissing. And the fizzing, of course. Even Charlotte had been vague when questioned on the point. “They saw you in the street and were on the point of accosting you. Thanks to Wright’s quick thinking, he was able to prevent that from happening.”

  Miranda shook her head, too shocked to speak for several moments. “I can’t believe my guardian is as desperate as all that,” she said when she was in command of herself again. “The two men were presumably employees of his.”

  “That’s my understanding.”

  “Then he must be paying them to do nothing except look for me, which is most out of character.” She cast a supplicating glance Lord Gabriel’s way, completely mystified. “My situation becomes increasingly bizarre. What do I have that he desires so very much?”

  “It’s not just those two looking for you. According to Fisher, there are—”

  “Fisher?” She glanced up in surprise. “Bill Fisher?”

  “Yes. I assume from your reaction that you know him.”

  “He’s a foreman at Mr. Peacock’s warehouses.” Desolation swept through Miranda. “He’s been with my guardian for years and Mr. Peacock trusts him…well, as much as he trusts anyone, which isn’t very much at all. If he’s relieved him from his duties in order to find me, then he really is determined.”

  “Then let’s not dwell on how close he came to achieving that ambition.”

  “Yes, definitely.” Miranda nodded with grim determination. “Let’s not.”

  “According to Fisher, six men are scouring the coast in search of you. And your guardian’s son is in London doing the same thing.”

  She shook her head in total bewilderment. “But that makes no sense at all.”

  “He’s applying to Miss Frobisher for the names of your friends.”

  Miranda managed a brief laugh. “Then he will come away disappointed. If I know anything about Miss Frobisher, she will have nothing to say to such a man. She will probably frown at him if he dares to split his infinitives in her presence, which he undoubtedly will, not knowing a verb from a pronoun, you understand. And being on the receiving end of Miss Frobisher’s disapproval is not for the fainthearted.”

  Lord Gabriel’s severe expression gave way to a reluctant smile. “Let’s hope you’re right about that.”

  “Even if he spins some sort of tale and she does speak to him, she knows nothing of my friendship with Charlotte. She only came to the school during my last term, so it wasn’t generally known that we were as close as we actually are.”

  Lord Gabriel fell into contemplation for a moment. “If what you say about Peacock’s love of money is true, it makes even less sense that he’s offered a twenty-guinea reward to anyone who captures you.”

  She gasped. “Twenty guineas! But that’s a fortune.”

  “Precisely.” Lord Gabriel regarded her with a combination of severity and sympathy. “Now perhaps you understand the seriousness of your situation and will have the goodness to tell me what business took you into Denby.”

  “I can’t, I—”

  “I can easily discover who lives in the cottage you called at, but I would prefer to hear it from you.”

  He was right. She’d only known him for a few days, but she owed him her life, which was no small consideration. He could have sent her packing as soon as she recovered, but that thought didn’t appear to have crossed his mind, even if by being here she was putting him in an awkward situation. Since she had regained her wits he’d done everything he could to be of service to her, asking nothing in return other than her cooperation. It must now seem as though she’d let him down, and he couldn’t be blamed for considering her the most ungrateful creature on God’s earth.

  She instinctively understood he wouldn’t betray her confidence. She hadn’t behaved well and the very least she could do was be honest with him, especially since he appeared determined to take an interest in her affairs. Not many people in his posit
ion would adopt that stance and so he deserved to know as much about her sorry circumstances as she herself did.

  “Very well.” She paused to assimilate her thoughts. “As I told you before, it was always my intention to return to the Wildes when I finished at Miss Frobisher’s establishment. It was only as I neared the end of my final year there that I turned my mind to practicalities, namely money. I can hardly start my business without funds but I won’t come into my inheritance until my one-and-twentieth birthday. The alternative was to remain with the Peacocks for another three years, which was out of the question.”

  “Quite so.” Lord Gabriel flipped his coattails aside with an elegant movement of his wrist and finally sat opposite her, saving her from gaining a permanent crick in her neck by continuously looking up at him. “Did you discuss your plans with the Peacocks?”

  “No, they never asked.”

  “What, they just assumed you would remain with them, or spend your time flitting between your friends?” He seemed angry again, but this time she sensed that anger wasn’t directed at her. “Did they take no interest in your welfare at all?”

  “None whatsoever. I always felt I was a burden to them, but Mr. Peacock could make a profit out of me, so that made the arrangement satisfactory from his point of view. Not from mine, however. I needed to know the precise terms of the guardianship and under what circumstances I could legally return to the Wildes before reaching my majority. To do so I needed to apply to the other trustee, Papa’s solicitor, Mr. Nesbitt. But when I saw Mr. Nesbitt, he told me there was nothing I could do to take possession of the Wildes before the appropriate time. He more or less told me not to waste his time. I found him disagreeable and most disobliging.”

  “He didn’t let you see the trust deed?”

  “No.” Miranda wrinkled her nose. “He treated me in a most condescending manner, and told me to go back to the Peacocks’ and forget all about it. I was furious.”

  A ghost of a smile flirted with his lips. “I can imagine.”

  “The only good thing that came out of those two visits was the friendship I struck up with his articled clerk, Matthew Blake. I explained my difficulty to him and he promised to try and gain access to the trust deed and let me know its contents. I planned to write to him when I was again in London and arrange a meeting. He’d told me not to contact him at his work since he could be dismissed from his post if anyone found out he was trying to help me. So he gave me his mother’s address instead.”

  “Ah, now I begin to understand.”

  “Before I could return to London my guardian demanded my presence at his home, told me I was to marry his son and has held me a virtual prisoner ever since.”

  “Blake?” Lord Gabriel fell into momentary contemplation. “I know that name. Those cottages in the village belong to Hal and, if memory serves, we have a tenant by the name of Blake.”

  “Yes, Matthew’s mother. He comes down to Denby to see her for two days in the middle of every month. I’ve been unable to contact him since being held prisoner and was most anxious to know if he’d managed to gain access to the trust. I can’t move forward with my plans until I know what the trust says, you see.”

  “Yes, I do see. Was Blake able to reassure you?”

  “No, unfortunately not. He conducted a thorough search but the trust isn’t in his employer’s office along with his other papers.”

  Lord Gabriel quirked a brow. “How extraordinary.”

  “Precisely my thought. He keeps his most important documents in a strongbox and Matthew doesn’t have access to the key.” She glanced up at Lord Gabriel and frowned. “But why on earth would anything to do with the Wildes be important enough to be kept locked away?”

  “Why indeed.”

  *

  Now that Gabe knew the truth, he found it easier to forgive Miss Cantrell for her impulsive actions. Her secrecy had been necessary out of concern for Nesbitt’s clerk. Her headstrong deeds had been governed by an urgent need to gain control of her property. The solicitor’s unwillingness to tell her anything about the trust was worrying, although men of Nesbitt’s ilk often refused to discuss anything to do with business with a woman, assuming the female mind didn’t have the capacity to understand anything remotely complex. But his keeping the trust document under lock and key put a very different complexion on matters, and Gabe’s suspicions were now on high alert.

  “I shall have to leave here tomorrow,” Miss Cantrell said, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. “Fisher will tell my guardian that I was seen here, and Mr. Peacock will probably come to Denby himself and search for me. It’s only a matter of time before he concludes that I’m hidden away here at the Hall, which would visit trouble on your entire family.”

  “Actually, I don’t think Fisher will admit to having seen you.”

  She blinked back her confusion. “Why ever not?”

  “Because he failed to accost you, which will likely cost him his position.”

  “Yes, you’re probably right.” She brightened considerably. “Mr. Peacock doesn’t possess a forgiving nature.”

  “It seems to me that your guardian’s interest must lie in the Wildes.”

  “Yes, I’ve reached the same conclusion, but why? It’s a small manor house, urgently in need of refurbishment. The roof leaks, the walls are damp, the chimneys smoke…however, that’s not the issue. Besides the house, there’s just fifty acres of ordinary land. Nothing more.”

  He smiled at her. “What activities in Looe would engage the attention of your avaricious guardian, I wonder.”

  She returned his smile. “Apart from smuggling, you mean?”

  “I doubt if he would go somewhere so far afield to obtain smuggled goods from France. It that’s his business, there are many landing places much closer to his warehouses that would serve him better.”

  “And pilchards, of course.”

  “Ah yes, the famous Cornish pilchard fishing grounds.”

  “The industry suffered badly during the war with Napoleon. Really, I wonder if that irritating little man appreciates the trouble he caused to honest folk. The townspeople patriotically formed a blockade to defend us against attack by the French.” Her lips quirked. “Unfortunately, in their fervour to serve King and country, they failed to take into account that they were also keeping the Looe fleet from reaching their fishing grounds. Their actions put considerable pressure on the town’s economy and, of course, it was all for nothing since Napoleon didn’t invade.”

  “Somehow I doubt whether it’s the humble pilchard that has Peacock so animated.”

  She screwed up her nose. “Animation is an emotion which eludes my guardian.”

  But not his ward. She looked delectable when roused. Her cheeks were a becoming shade of pink, her eyes flashed with fiery indignation, and that damned gown he’d pretended not to notice made it hard to concentrate on the subject under discussion. Its neckline was high—no fichu required to protect her modesty on this occasion—but the outline of her body was graphically displayed beneath the thin silk. Too damned graphically for his comfort. Perdition, this wouldn’t do! She was little more than a child and he wasn’t in the habit of pursuing innocent females.

  “I’m thinking this must have to do with copper mines,” he said, striving for a languid tone.

  “The area’s riddled with them, but I’m not aware of there being any copper beneath the Wildes’ land. I don’t see how anyone else can think so either, and even if they do, it would probably cost more to extract it than it would fetch when sold. It’s not exactly a rare commodity.”

  “Quite so.” Gabe rubbed his chin. “It’s a conundrum. Is the Wildes close to the coast?”

  “Less than a mile. Two miles from Looe itself. The property in on a bluff and there’s a whole network of caves beneath it. I explored them extensively as a child and never found anything to particularly engage my interest.” She sent him a curious glance. “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking t
hat your guardian badly wants control of the property.”

  “Yes.” Miss Cantrell looked glum. “And even if I manage to get to Cornwall, he will eventually think to look for me there and bring me back again. Since it appears I have no business to be in my own home legally, there’s nothing I can do to resist him. Besides, if Fisher does admit to having seen me, I won’t even get that far.” She straightened an already rigidly erect spine. “I’ve trespassed on your hospitality long enough and must insist on leaving tomorrow. I’m sure Bianca’s fetlock will be up to taking me to Brighton and I’ll be quite safe at Charlotte’s for the time being.”

  Gabe shook his head. “Out of the question.”

  “You intend to abduct me too?” She raised an indignant brow. “I’d like to see you try.”

  “No, m’dear. I mean to escort you to Cornwall.” This time his smile was intended as a challenge. “You’ve excited my curiosity and I’m keen to know what secrets your property is hiding from the world.”

  She gasped. “Why would you do that? You’ve already been too kind to me and all I’ve given you in return is trouble.”

  Why indeed? All Gabe knew was that he couldn’t let her go alone, which was what she would attempt if he let her leave here unescorted. She was feisty and impulsive, badly in need of guidance and protection.

  His guidance and protection.

  “Don’t worry about your reputation,” he said. “I’m sure Jessie would enjoy an excursion to Cornwall too.”

  “But even if I agree to accept your company, my guardian will have people watching for me at the posting inns.”

  “But not on the sea.”

  She gasped. “What do you mean?”

  “My brother’s boat is sitting idle here off Denby.”

  “It’s your brother’s boat, not yours.”

  “I sent him an express yesterday, advising him of your unexpected arrival at the Hall.”

  “You did what!”

  Gabe laughed. “I explained your problems and he replied at once, agreeing that we ought to get to the bottom of things. Are you a good sailor, Miss Cantrell?”