Cloaked in Danger (8 page)

The phrase was becoming her personal mantra.

Adam’s mother reached out to place a hand on Aria’s shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. “It isn’t an ideal situation, I understand, but I assure you, my son will do the honorable thing.”

“Honorable thing?” Aria blinked back tears, as the unending panic stole her breath, made it impossible to breathe.

Blythe pushed the door open. She held a gown Aria didn’t recognize.

“I...accidentally stepped on the hem and ripped the gown,” Blythe said, her gaze never leaving Aria’s. “I apologize for that. Here is one of mine.”

By Blythe’s look of horrified shock, she had assumed the worst. His sister thought Adam had forced himself on her. This situation was getting worse with each passing minute. And Aria had spent enough time thinking the worst of Adam. She wouldn’t allow someone else to do it for even a second.

Aria took the gown from her. “It’s not what you might think, Lady Ashton. There is an explanation for all of this.”

“We will hear the explanations,” Adam’s mother said, “but that will have little bearing on the outcome. Please get dressed. We’ll be downstairs.”

Blythe gave Aria one last measuring glance then followed her mother out the door. Before they closed it, Aria heard, “It looks like we’ll have another wedding to plan.”

Chapter Nine

A wedding to plan.

Aria moved into the corridor, dressed in Blythe’s simple gown of green muslin. But the words ran through her mind in circles, over and over again, playing havoc with her nerves.

She couldn’t marry Lord Merewood. That was absurd.

She wouldn’t marry Patrick either, but he expected a betrothal, despite her adamant response to the contrary.

And good God, what would he think of her now? She didn’t want to hurt him. But she’d done nothing but lie to him for weeks, and Patrick would be devastated. Would it have been so terrible to ask for his help? To ask for anyone’s help?

Aria followed the murmur of voices, turned the corner into the front parlor, and found Adam, his mother and sister conversing softly.

At her appearance, Adam immediately leapt to his feet. “Aria, why do you believe your father is in danger?”

Panicked, Aria looked from face to face. She didn’t want this out. “Perhaps I misspoke...”

“Danger?” his mother said, as if Aria hadn’t spoken. “Aria, come in. Sit down. We’d best start at the beginning.”

The scene was so domestic, with Blythe pouring tea as if they were having a cozy visit.

“I can’t do this. If I leave now, no one will be the wiser. A wedding is not necessary.”

“We can discuss that later.” Adam waved his hand to push the topic aside. “If your father is in danger, let me help.”

Aria had to physically force her feet to stay put even as every muscle wanted to propel her forward, to run. Escape. The basic survival skills her father taught her at a young age wanted to take over: Fight or flight.

But how did you fight your way out of a gathering with tea and scones?

“There is no need.” Aria let her foot inch sideways toward the door. “I’ve managed to keep this quiet, and I think that’s best for now.” She turned to Adam. “I need to go. And Lord Merewood, I assure you, I will not divulge your secret.”

“Your secret?” Adam’s mother echoed.

Adam’s mouth thinned. “Thomas.”

“What about Thomas?” Blythe sat still, her teacup just below her lips. “What else did that man do?”

“Blythe, I will return your clothing,” Aria said softly, relieved no one paid attention. Another inch. And another. The door loomed closer.

Adam spoke. “This is not about Thomas, Blythe. Don’t worry.”

“Thank the heavens. I shudder at the thought of him wreaking havoc on my life from the grave.” She glared at him, then added, “And no comments about Michael.”

He set the tray down. “I wasn’t going to say a word.”

“Of course you—”

“Aria, where do you think you’re going?” Adam’s mother asked.

Aria put her hand on the doorway. She was two steps away; she wasn’t turning back now.

“You need to sit down. Have a cup of tea.” The motherly tone brooked no defiance.

“It is late. If I leave now, all can be restored to rights.”

“Your carriage is sitting out front, Miss Whitney,” Adam reminded her. “If word has not spread of that already, it will the moment the rooster crows.”

Her carriage.

The room shrunk to the size of a cage, and to Aria’s horror, tears bubbled into her throat. She would
not
cry in front of these people.

Blythe grabbed a teacup filled to the brim, walked it to the sideboard, and added a liberal dose of spirits. At the same time, Adam’s mother was by Aria’s side, curling an arm over her shoulder, propelling her toward the couch. Her gentle, but firm push landed Aria on the cushions, and Blythe stuck the cup in her hands. “Drink. You will feel better. We are family now, or will be soon enough after the wedding. We’ll help you.”

“No.” Panic roared. “I don’t need the earl to marry me.”

“Of course he’ll marry you.”

“This can remain between us. I wasn’t...I mean, Adam didn’t ruin me. We didn’t even—” They had kissed. Was that enough? She mentally combed through Emily’s etiquette books, trying to recall. She looked at Blythe. “I ripped my dress, not him. He did nothing wrong.” She bounded her gaze between his mother and sister, willing them to believe her. “He did not hurt me in any way.”

“He may not have taken your virtue, but he did plenty,” his mother replied. “You’ve been truly compromised, Miss Whitney. If your carriage parked out front wasn’t proof enough, servants gossip, and you made quite the racket. I won’t have my son dragged into such a reputation, and I won’t have you ruined over this. My son will marry you.”

“I can’t marry the man I thought was—” She stopped, gave in, took a liberal sip. The warmth exploded in her throat, all the way to her belly. “I have made so many mistakes. I will not add to them. Thank you, but none of this matters. I don’t care—”

“You might not care, but I do.” Adam stood to the side, legs apart, arms crossed. Aria recognized his sailor’s stance as one taken when battling the elements of nature. “I allowed this to come to this point, and I will take responsibility for that. There is no discussion.”

He walked closer, until he loomed over her. “Now tell me about your father and why you thought I had anything to do with it.”

His autocratic nature set her teeth on edge, so she put her cup down, stood up. “My father disappeared in March,” she told him, not exactly eye to eye, but with her shoulders squared. “You were out of London for the length of time it would take to get to Egypt and back, and no one would confirm your whereabouts. You refused to discuss any of it with me.”

“He’s too blasted stubborn for his own good,” Blythe muttered, grabbing a biscuit from the tray.

“So my name was on a list? That has been your grand plan?” Adam looked mildly pained and infinitely irritated, as if he realized how a simple answer could have solved so much.

“I still need to find him. I need—I have wasted so much time.” Her hands jerked in beat with her words. “What if I’m too late? What if—” The cup and saucer clattered out of her hands and hot liquid spilled onto the carpet. “Drat!” She grabbed a napkin and blotted at the mess.

Adam bent down next to her, grabbed her hand. “Stop. We will sort everything out.”

“I won’t marry you.”

“Yes, you will. But we can deal with that later.”

Her world spun farther and farther out of her control. She couldn’t help her father. She couldn’t keep her life in order. And while she was happy to know that her heart hadn’t betrayed her, that this man was as good, as strong as he seemed, she couldn’t marry him.

“I do not understand something. Why would you assume me, of all the men in London?”

“You blackmailed me, for God’s sake, and told me to stay away from your family. You were acting quite suspicious.”

“Blackmailed?” Blythe questioned.

Adam shot a gaze at Blythe. “I found her in Ravensdale’s rooms the night of your betrothal ball. After you told me she was a title hunter—”

“Which I am not.” Aria looked from face to face. “I didn’t want this. I don’t want this.”

“You believed she was going after Michael,” Blythe finished Adam’s sentence.

“At first. And then because she was acting suspicious and quite focused on the time things happened with Thomas, I began to fear she was after something worse.” His shoulders slumped. “And it wasn’t blackmail.”

“You threatened to ruin my reputation. And my father’s,” Aria replied. “In fact, that was the moment I believed you were involved in my father’s disappearance.”

Adam opened his mouth, then shut it with a snort of disgust. “What a bloody mess.”

“What exactly happened to your father?” Adam’s mother asked.

“My father made a tremendous discovery. He’d found crates of pottery and jewelry that—”

“This is over jewelry?” Adam interrupted.

“Not random pieces of jewelry. Cleopatra’s jewelry. There were written accounts of one of her most treasured possessions, a necklace rumored to be given to her by Marc Antony. But it was stolen and never found. It would be priceless, and a find that would establish my father’s work, his name in history.”

“And your father found it.”

“According to John, they believed so, yes. They had been searching for years.” She frowned. “You’re an investor—didn’t you know of this?”

Adam shook his head. “I invest in the work in general, not specific digs. He may have sent updates, but those are forwarded to my solicitor, who sends me an accounting of all my investments combined. I didn’t notice anything particular. Perhaps he made a list of previous investors, people to readdress later for another purpose.”

Her hands clenched and unclenched in her lap. “In any case, men arrived at their camp that night, torched it, left most of the men for dead and took the crates they’d discovered.” The words were flat. “My father was gone when his partner woke. There has been no word or sign of him since. John barely made it out alive.”

“And your goal has been, what, poke at sleeping bears until you find the one who might bite back?” Adam paced the room. “Do you realize how dangerous that is? Do you even know what you are looking for?”

“John told me one of the investors was there, in Egypt. He argued with my father.”

“Good Lord, Aria, do you realize how thin that is? You don’t know who he was, who he worked for. You have nothing to go on here, other than putting yourself in harm’s way.”

“I cannot let my father die!”

“Your father may be —”

“He is not dead!

“He may not even be in trouble.”

“He hasn’t come home.” That was proof in Aria’s mind. She crossed her arms.

“I can’t imagine your father would want you putting yourself in danger,” Adam’s mother added softly.

“He wouldn’t want me to give up.” Aria’s words were painful, choked by shards of anger that made it difficult to speak.

Adam approached, then crouched in front of her. “Aria, look what your choices have already wrought. We’re betrothed.”

“For which I offer my everlasting regret,” she snapped. “I am sorry you are forced to this. You don’t even like me. You’ve made that abundantly clear.”

Adam sighed. “If that were true, it would have made this entire situation so much easier.” Before she could question that statement, he continued. “Give me the names left on your list. Though I question this entire thing, we’ll look into them.”

“I don’t need your help.”

“Really? In your infinite wisdom, you’ve ruined your reputation. Without our betrothal and without my interference, you will never have access to these men again.”

And that thought sat like a slime-covered rock in her stomach. “Fine. I have six left.” She gave him the names of the remaining men.

He nodded. “I am acquainted with them. And I will determine their whereabouts in March, but you are not to be involved in this anymore.”

“If you think I shall sit and embroider something and wait patiently, you are sorely mistaken.”

He grabbed her hands. His fingers wrapped around hers, infusing them with his heat. “I will find out if these men are involved. I will also send an investigator to where your father was last seen, to look for anything that might prove helpful there. But I need to trust you are not going to put yourself in further jeopardy, otherwise I’ll feel the need to tag along behind you everywhere you go.”

She was so unused to sharing the mantle of responsibility. What if he didn’t care enough? What if he failed?

But she’d already failed, she realized. And without him, she had nothing to work with.

“I have a condition,” she reluctantly agreed.

“Which is?”

As much as she enjoyed their physical attraction, she couldn’t see marrying him when this was done. Living this life. Ever being accepted into his world.

“I don’t want anyone to know of our betrothal.”

“No.”

“I am not a title hunter.”

“And yet you’ve captured the title,” Adam said, a little cruelly. “But I went along willingly.”

“Willingly?” She stood. “I followed you home. And I will not trap you. I don’t need this life. Once my father is found, then...” She stopped, suddenly unsure. Her father had planned to stay. So what did that mean for her?

But how could she agree to marry Adam when every part of her screamed to leave?

She glanced at his mother or Blythe, certain she would see displeasure. Disgust. Instead, she saw strength. Kindness. “He shouldn’t be expected to give up his entire life because of my choices.”

Adam grasped her hand and tugged her around to face him. “When you arrived, I could have walked inside and closed the door. I didn’t. I didn’t have to take you up to my bedroom, but I did.”

“That was so we wouldn’t—”

He placed a finger over her mouth. “I chose. You didn’t force me.” His fingers joined together and he gave her cheek a quick caress that sent bolts of heat through her. “I have a responsibility to you now.”

Aria winced. She didn’t want him to see her as just a responsibility.

That was confusing and unsettling all at the same time.

She looked at Blythe. “You must hate me.”

“I understand how fear can make someone react, and you’ve been trying to find your father.” A smile curved her lips as she looked at her brother. “In fact, I was attempting a bit of my own matchmaking between you two. Apparently I needn’t have bothered.”

By all rights, Adam should despise her for what she’d done. His family should be equally disgusted.

She had no idea how to respond to their kindness.

“So are we in accordance now?” Adam’s mother asked. “We can announce the betrothal immediately and post the first banns this Sunday. I believe that will put us in fine standing. If neither of you object, we can schedule the wedding after Blythe and Michael’s wedding at the end of the month. Adam will settle details with your family tomorrow, and I believe the next day, we shall come over for a nice long visit.”

Aria felt herself nodding. What had she agreed to? A wedding? In a month. That gave her precious little time to find her father, because the idea of marrying without him present...she refused to consider it.

“We will find him,” Adam said, as if he could read her thoughts.

Moments later, Aria stood on the quiet street with Adam in front of her carriage. As far as she could tell, not a soul was about. What if all this had been for naught? If no one had seen them?