Silver Sea (14 page)

"You know that he is, my lady." Adrienne smiled. "Isn't it a beautiful day? Can you smell the fragrance of the garden?" She wandered over to the window and pushed open the leaded casement. There, below her, was Nathan Essex, strolling through the overgrown boxwood maze.

"June is my favorite month, I think," Lady Thomasina agreed.

"Why don't you rest for a few minutes, and I'll dash outside and pick up a bouquet for your sitting room. So many flowers have begun to bloom just in the past day!"

"I do feel rather sleepy. Where is Hunty? If he returns, send him to me."

"Yes, my lady."

Out in the corridor, Adrienne lifted her skirts and hurried down the broad staircase, pausing in the conservatory to get a basket and shears. For two days she and Nathan had been searching for a moment alone to talk, but fate had conspired to keep them apart ever since the night she had visited his bedchamber. Emerging onto the terrace, she saw that he had walked over to a small apple tree. A nest with eggs in it lay on the ground, and Nathan sat back on his heels and took it gently in one strong hand.

"Poor little things," Adrienne murmured as she approached.

He glanced up. "At last. I thought you'd never see me and come outside." Rising, he put the nest back into the leafy branches. "They're willow warbler eggs, ready to hatch. I think they'll be all right."

"Won't they die now that a human has touched the nest?"

"When I was a boy, my father showed me how to care for injured birds and animals, and none of them was rejected by its mother." He shrugged. "It's a myth as far as I can tell."

She inclined her head, eyes lively with interest. "Where did you grow up? What sort of family was it?"

"I don't really think that we have time for a chat about my childhood." Nathan began to walk rapidly away toward the garden maze, speaking over his shoulder. "Come on. We need to talk."

Adrienne hurried after him. Orange-tip butterflies were on the wing in the soft light, and she was delighted to see how many flowers were in bloom. Most were growing wild, even between cracks in the stone walkways, as if nature had found a way to triumph over Harms Castle's general state of dilapidation. "Oh, Nathan," she marveled, "have you ever seen a prettier twilight?"

Having already revealed more of himself than seemed wise, he hesitated before replying. "This is the gloaming, you know. One of those rare times when the light is brushed with gold."

Her heart beat in a way she now recognized. "How very poetic you are. Why don't you tell me your plans for Frakes-Hogg while I cut flowers to take inside to Lady Thomasina. That way, if anyone sees us, they'll think you're just keeping me company."

"I've just returned from Winchester." He spoke casually, strolling past her as she bent to snip ox-eye daisies and dusky cranesbill. "I've been paying the butcher's son, Dickie, to keep an eye on our quarry, and when I met him today, he had some interesting information. It seems that yesterday Frakes-Hogg went into the White Ostrich Inn with a handsome young man Dickie couldn't identify. They had drinks and talked for a long while."

Adrienne moved on to a clump of honeysuckle while Nathan stared thoughtfully at the distant meadow. "Perhaps he's simply made a friend during the time he's been in town," she suggested. "Would that be so unusual? He's probably bored."

"Mmm. Yes, you're undoubtedly right. It's just that the other possibilities are so much more intriguing. A plot and all that..."

"I think you're giving Frakes-Hogg too much credit. What else did Dickie tell you?"

"He said that Frakes-Hogg has developed one regular habit. When the weather is fair, he goes for a walk at about four o'clock—past the cathedral, then around the wall of Wolvesey Castle that skirts the River Itchen." Nathan paused, waiting until Adrienne turned with a few bright buttercups in her hand. He held her gaze and continued, "I think that would be our best plan for putting you in his way. It would be outdoors, in broad daylight, so I'll be absolutely certain no harm can come to you."

She made a fetching picture in her high-waisted muslin gown, a wide basket of tumbled blooms anchored in the crook of her arm. As she considered his words, Adrienne's eyes slowly began to sparkle. "Yes. Yes, I think you're right! In fact, why don't I take the offensive and approach
Walter
? I'll march up to him and demand to know why he's been threatening me, and why he's in Winchester!"

"Dear chit, let us not forget that he is a large, evil man and you are a slight, though feisty, female. I think we'll have a better chance of getting him to misbehave if you pretend to be shocked to see him. He should think that he can take the opportunity presented to him to do whatever it is he's been dreaming of doing. I'll be armed and hiding nearby—you'll know where—and as soon as he lays a glove on you, I'll appear and that will be the end of Frakes-Hogg."

Her brow wrinkled. "What do you mean by that last bit? You aren't going to just kill him outright for accosting me, are you? You could end up going to the gallows yourself!"

"No, I won't kill him, though I wish I could. If he tries to harm you, it may come to that." A shadow seemed to pass across his face. "I do hope to have him taken into custody. I have all the evidence, including some of the notes he wrote you. I mean to make certain that Walter Frakes-Hogg won't bother you again."

"And then your job will be finished?"

Nathan regarded her delicate back as she reached down to cut red campion. The nape of her neck looked sweetly damp; soft chestnut tendrils had fallen loose to decorate her hairline. He felt a sudden throb in his groin and stepped backward. Have a care, Raveneau, he thought. She's more dangerous than she appears! When he spoke, his voice was husky. "I think that depends on the outcome of our adventure. I cannot leave unless I am satisfied that Walter Frakes-Hogg cannot harm you."

"Well, then," Adrienne said brightly, "for both our sakes, I will hope that you get your wish. If only there were a way to remove him from the lives of his daughters as well...."

"Shall we agree to act on Thursday, then? Better to wait until market day is past—"

"Fine!" She put on a smile, dimpling for added emphasis. "I should go in now. Her ladyship will be looking for me. Ever since the night she had that dream, I've felt very sympathetic toward her." As they walked, Adrienne added, "I always get myself into trouble this way. I begin to care for people, like Frakes-Hogg's children, and everything becomes complicated...."

"That reminds me—" He took the gathering basket from her as they emerged from the boxwood maze. "Do you have an answer for me about Frakes-Hogg's motivation in all this?"

"I told you already, he's a bully."

He sighed. "Would you be kind enough to enlighten me further?"

"It's as if he has no heart—and certainly no respect for women. When I rejected his more subtle advances, he felt challenged, as if it were some sort of game, like the fox hunts he so adores! He enjoyed stalking me until he realized that all his methods were useless. He tried kindness, cajolery, then veiled threats, more insidious activity like rattling my doorknob in the middle of the night, and finally physical attempts to make me yield. It was humiliating for him to be bested by me in that situation."

"I don't suppose you're going to elaborate?"

She shrugged. "I was prepared. I had a knife, and I used it to lock him in my dressing room. And then I took the girls and escaped." The color ebbed in Adrienne's cheeks, but her voice grew stronger. "It sounds mad, but I think all of this—the time Frakes-Hogg has invested, the chances he's taken with his reputation, and the other risks—all of it is rooted in a compulsion to make me submit, to hear me beg for his mercy—"

Nathan reached for her trembling hand just as they were about to enter the castle. "Don't. I never meant to put you through any more suffering... but I do understand now." It came to him that she truly despised Walter Frakes-Hogg, and he was reminded of his own nagging hatred for Xavier Crowe. "What is it about evil men that drives them to try to bring down other people?"

Something in his tone gave her pause. "Jealousy, perhaps. And I
do
think that they are bullies. When they meet people who are strong and good, and who won't submit to their foul tactics, they're—driven, as you say, to break us. One hopes, in this case, that Walter Frakes-Hogg will die trying."

Just then Huntsford Harms came striding toward them through the gallery, his boot soles cracking on the marble floor. He wore his many-caped driving coat and beaver hat, carried his whip, and narrowed his eyes as he identified the two figures silhouetted against the sunset.

"I say, are you going out or coming in?"

Nathan closed the glass doors to the terrace behind them and Adrienne gestured toward her flowers. "I was just picking these for her ladyship while she enjoys a brief nap. She has been looking for you, my lord."

"Isn't she always? What sort of flowers are those? They look awfully like weeds, don't they?" He laughed. "Lovely weather! I've just come from Winchester myself. Looking at the cathedral! Jolly little town, don't you think so?"

"Indeed," Nathan said affably, glad for the chance to begin setting their plan in motion. "In fact, we were just planning an outing to Winchester on Thursday afternoon. Miss Beauvisage is going to take some of her ladyship's worn books to the bookbinder's to be repaired."

"You don't say!" Huntsford blinked and began fingering his whip. "But, as it happens, I am going in myself that day. Let me stand in for you, old chap! I should like nothing better than to act as guardian to the beauteous Miss Beauvisage!"

Chapter 8

"I received your message." Walter Frakes-Hogg was clearly annoyed. "I hope it is momentous news that moved you to alter the plans I laid out yesterday. I must add that I am very unhappy that you chose to pay a messenger to fetch me today. The fewer people who know about the link between us, the better."

"That footman is just a dimwitted boy. I highly doubt that he remembers your name!" Flushing, Huntsford Harms looked around the White Ostrich and drank half his glass of madeira. "I had no choice, and I'm certain that you'll agree when you hear my news."

"Do lower your voice!"

Huntsford had never seen him in such foul temper. Stuttering nervously, he spilled out the story of Adrienne's plan to come to the bookbinder on Thursday, with Essex, and his own intervention. "I insisted that I be allowed to accompany her! Could any plan be more brilliant?"

"And how are you going to throw her together with me? Or did you think she'd come willingly to my rooms?"

"I—I—" He swallowed hard. "Must you stare at me so venomously, old chap? I'm on your side, after all!" Harms lifted his glass again, all the while racking his brain. "I happened to see Miss Beauvisage as I was leaving to come here, and she mentioned a yearning to go walking around Wolvesey Castle, along the river, when she's finished at the bookbinder's. Said she hoped I wouldn't mind, but she'd like to go alone...."

Frakes-Hogg slowly lifted his head, arching his neck as if he were beset by sensations of intense pleasure. "How deliciously ironic! She won't need you to accompany her, my boy, because I shall be there...."

* * *

Adrienne was at her wit's end as she went into Lady Thomasina's dressing room. She and Nathan had yet to find a moment to rearrange their plans, and now Hortie was ill and Adrienne had been enlisted to act as her ladyship's abigail.

"Which headdress do you want?" she called.

"I just told you, Miss Beau—the green velvet toque, with the silk roses! Do me the courtesy of
listening!"

Muttering under her breath, Adrienne searched the dark, cluttered little room. To get more light, she opened the door leading to the main corridor and caught a glimpse of Nathan Essex as he entered his chamber.

"Psst! Come here a moment!" Adrienne could scarcely contain her excitement, but Nathan looked unconcerned. She pulled him into the dressing room and began whispering furiously. "
Now
what are we going to do?"

"Are you referring to Huntsford Harms's intention to accompany you tomorrow?" he inquired.

"Of course I am! Speak quickly!"

"I hope you'll be calmer tomorrow, chit." He gave her a measuring look, then continued, "You'll have to let him drive you, allowing time to visit the bookbinder well before four o'clock."

"I told him this morning that I want to walk along the castle walls...."

"Did you? Good girl." His smile softened her mood. "Then it's fixed. I'll borrow a horse and come on my own, and I'll be there well in advance. There are some ruins of the old Roman wall along Riverside Walk. I'll be hiding in the lilac bushes nearby, watching—"

"Miss Beau?" Lady Thomasina's tone was querulous. "What's keeping you?"

"I'm coming, my lady!" She grabbed for the headdress. Limp silk roses hung precariously from the folds of velvet. "I really must go—"

"Don't worry," Nathan whispered. "Even if we aren't able to talk before tomorrow morning, there's nothing to worry about. I won't let any harm come to you; you have my word."