The Heiress (14 page)

Richard nodded and started to move. Daniel followed, calling out a warning to his driver as he went. The driver immediately urged the horses he’d been inspecting onto the grassy verge and then moved back to the edge of the road with his lantern and lifted it in the air to swing it back and forth to get the attention of the approaching vehicle.

“A coach and six,” Langley said as a vehicle careened into view on the moonlit lane.

Daniel nodded, relieved when the oncoming coachmen spotted his driver and swerved to miss the man. The carriage didn’t slow, however, but continued past at high speed.

“Wasn’t that—?” Langley began.

Daniel heard Richard’s grim, “Yes” to the unfinished question, but hadn’t needed it. He too had recognized the three faces pressed to the window as the coach had sailed past. He shook his head as the Radnor carriage rode out of sight around the next bend. It had been Suzette, Christiana, and Lisa, all gaping out the window at them.

“I did tell you they would not take our leaving sitting down,” Langley pointed out, sounding amused.

“You didn’t say they would follow,” Daniel said dryly.

Langley laughed and shrugged. “Why spoil the surprise?”

Daniel was shaking his head at the words when he became aware of the sound of another approaching carriage, this time coming from the direction the Radnor carriage had gone. It was no great surprise to see the Radnor coach now returning at a much more sedate pace.

“Time to face the music,” Langley said dryly, heading for the door when it didn’t immediately open to allow the women to spill out.

Daniel merely grunted. He suspected it wasn’t a good sign that the women were staying quietly inside the carriage, and not coming out to see that they were all right. Sighing, he turned his attention to his driver and ordered him to tie the leads of their horses to the back of the Radnor carriage and then join the driver on the front. He supposed they’d have to stop at the next inn to leave the horses and his driver. The man would have to arrange for someone to collect the broken carriage and see if it could be fixed before following them back to town.

“Hello, ladies.”

Daniel glanced back to the carriage at that cheerful greeting from Langley and was in time to see the other man disappear inside the vehicle to a chorus of polite hellos. Silence fell immediately after those were said, however, and Daniel watched as Richard now approached the open door. The man glanced in, sighed at whatever he saw, and offered a more subdued “Hello, ladies,” as he entered as well.

One eyebrow rose on Daniel’s forehead at the lack of response this time. Grimacing, he supposed he too would be met with less than pleasure at this point. No doubt Suzette and Christiana would hold him and Richard accountable for dumping them at Radnor. It appeared they weren’t holding Robert accountable, however. Shrugging, Daniel decided to get it over with and offered a “hello, ladies” of his own as he reached the door. He wasn’t terribly surprised to be met with silence, so merely took a moment to see that Robert, and Richard were on one bench seat with an angry-looking Christiana squeezed between them, leaving a sour-faced Lisa and Suzette on the other. He then got in to settle between the two women.

The carriage started off at once, jolting them about, and Daniel grunted as he got an unintentional elbow in the stomach from Suzette. She murmured an apology and he nodded, but then, noting that Richard had lifted a protesting Christiana onto his lap to make more room on the opposite bench, decided it was a good idea and caught Suzette by the waist to lift her onto his own lap. He had half expected Suzette to argue the move like her sister, so was pleasantly surprised when she settled comfortably there, simply shifting so that she sat sideways and could place one arm along his shoulders.

At least it was a pleasant surprise at first, until he found himself staring at her cleavage, which was right in front of his face now. It immediately recalled him to the last occasion on which they’d been in this position and how he’d bared her breasts and made free with them, licking and suckling and—

A pinch on his earlobe recalled Daniel to where he was and the fact that his face had apparently been swooping toward Suzette’s cleavage. At least, he suddenly found himself just inches from the sweet curves of the tops of her breasts. Made aware of it, Daniel straightened at once and glanced around to see if his near slip had been noticed, but everyone else appeared to have their attention on Christiana and Richard as she reprimanded him for leaving the women behind at Radnor . . . Everyone but Suzette, that was, Daniel realized, as he noted the completely evil smile on her face as she watched him and then gave her behind a little wiggle in his lap. It occurred to him then that this was the reason she had not fought his taking her on his lap. Suzette had realized how it would affect him and was using it as punishment for his own part in the defection.

“Little minx,” he whispered.

Smile widening, Suzette shifted and wiggled about on top of him again, inadvertently leaning her breasts briefly closer to his face as she appeared to try to find a more comfortable position. He suspected the action was more to torture him than out of any true desire to get more comfortable and was proven correct when she murmured, “This reminds me of the first time we were alone in a carriage together, my lord.”

Daniel closed his eyes against the view of her breasts not even an inch from his face as she twisted her upper body in his lap. Damn, she was so close that if he stuck his tongue out, he could run it across the top curves along the neckline of her gown, he thought. But then his eyes popped open again when she shifted once more and added in almost an undertone, “As I recall, we didn’t reach our destination then either.”

They hadn’t been headed anywhere that night, though she hadn’t realized it. But he still suspected Suzette was speaking of something other than Gretna Green when she said destination. At least,
he
was thinking of something else and was suddenly recalling kneeling between her legs, rubbing himself against her as he’d prepared to enter her before being recalled to George’s presence in the carriage had brought an end to things.

Damn, the little witch was brutal, Daniel decided as he felt himself growing firm under her bottom. And the rest of the ride to town was going to be complete hell.

“What? George was poisoned?” Suzette asked suddenly, stiffening in his lap and withdrawing her arm from around his neck to cross both arms on her chest in an annoyed fashion that drew his attention to the conversation taking place around him.

Apparently they’d been discussing George and the blackmailer as well as the murder, Daniel realized as Christiana explained, “It seems George may have been poisoned. Daniel and Richard smelled bitter almonds by his mouth.”

“Almonds aren’t poisonous,” Suzette said at once.

“Bitter almonds are used to make cyanide,” Lisa explained. When everyone glanced her way, she shrugged and said, “I read a lot.”

“She does,” Suzette said dryly and then turned to Christiana. “What else don’t we know?”

“You know everything I know now. And I only found out about the poison after the wedding. I just hadn’t had a chance to tell you,” she added apologetically.

Suzette nodded and then turned a glare on Daniel. “What else?”

He sighed, aware that she was now annoyed with him again, thinking he’d kept more information from her, but he’d assumed Richard had told Christiana about the poison and that she in turn had told Suzette and Lisa when she’d explained everything else. However, he didn’t say so, but merely assured her, “That’s it.”

“And why didn’t you tell me yourself before this?” Suzette asked.

Daniel did consider explaining that he’d thought she’d known, but decided that was too much like pushing the blame on to Richard for not telling Christiana when he’d explained everything else, so simply said, “It wasn’t my secret to tell.”

Suzette didn’t take it any better than he’d expected, asking in dry tones, “Where have I heard that before?” She then shifted on his lap to face forward again. On the bright side, it appeared Suzette was now annoyed with him to the point she couldn’t even be bothered to torture him anymore. On the not so bright side, it appeared she was now annoyed with him to the point she couldn’t even be bothered to torture him anymore . . . and he missed it. Who knew he had this masochistic streak?

“So we have a murderer as well as a blackmailer,” Lisa said, drawing his attention away from what Suzette was no longer doing. He glanced to her as she asked, “Or do we think they are the same person?”

When Richard immediately glanced his way, Daniel shrugged helplessly. He was finding it difficult to think at the moment. While Suzette was no longer wiggling about on top of him, she was still on top of him, a firm weight on his semi-erection. On top of that, his hands were at her waist, just inches below her breasts, as well as inches above her bottom too. How was a man to think at a time like that?

“They don’t know,” Suzette said when neither man spoke.

“Well . . .” Lisa frowned. “Surely it wouldn’t be easy for someone to get poison inside the townhouse without being discovered?”

Daniel did try to consider that, but Suzette chose that moment to shift sideways in his lap once more, apparently returning to her original torture. He once again found himself gritting his teeth against the feel of her wiggling about on top of him, and staring at the top curves of her lovely breasts where they rose out of her gown. The conversation going on around him was suddenly a very uninteresting buzz in his ears as he watched Suzette’s breasts move with each inhalation of breath. At least it was until he heard his name again as Richard asked, “Do you have any idea, Daniel?”

His gaze shot to Richard, but he hadn’t any idea what the man was asking until Suzette ducked her head and whispered, “Do you know who George trusted enough to admit to killing Richard and taking his place?”

Daniel shook his head at once, and then cleared his throat before saying, “I have been stuck at Woodrow since Uncle Henry died last year, trying to bring the estate back up to scratch. I only left just before receiving your letter from America. I didn’t even know you—or George pretending to be you—had married. I have no idea what he’s been up to this last year or with whom.”

“It shouldn’t be too difficult to find out,” Langley put in. “There’s nothing the ton loves more than a good gossip. A question here or there should tell us who George considered a trusted friend.”

“So we need to question the staff, as well as nose out any gossip we can about what George was up to this last year and with whom . . . and I need to make arrangements for the money.” Richard paused and glanced around at them all. “Can anyone think of anything else we might do to solve matters?”

When no one else spoke up, Daniel said, “I guess we shall have to start with that and hope we uncover some useful information.”

When Richard nodded, Christiana suddenly leaned forward on his lap and retrieved a large basket from beneath the bench seat.

“What’s that?” Langley asked curiously as she began to dig through its contents

“We had Cook pack some food for the journey while we waited for the carriage to be readied,” Christiana answered.

“Food?” Richard asked hopefully.

“Yes.” Christiana glanced over her shoulder at her husband. “Did you three not think to have a basket prepared before sneaking off like thieves?”

Watching the pair as he was, Daniel was taken by surprise when Suzette suddenly shifted in his lap and leaned forward to reach for something under their own bench seat. He recovered quickly, however, and under the guise of keeping her from falling off his lap, caught her by the hips, and spread his legs a bit even as he shifted her so that she was on only one knee, riding it astride. An evil smile of his own curved his lips when he heard her gasp, and felt her grab at his calf to balance herself. As she worked to retrieve what turned out to be a second basket, he—again under the guise of preventing her falling—drew her backward along his upper leg, in a completely intentional caress.

Daniel was quite pleased with her breathless and flustered state when she straightened, and was satisfied that he’d just established that two could play at her torture game. Unfortunately, in the next moment that contentment gave way to shock when Suzette proved that she was better at it than he was, by using the basket as cover as she dropped one hand down, slid it beneath her bottom and squeezed him through his trousers.

It was then Daniel acknowledged that the wench was going to drive him mad until he got her wed . . . and probably for the rest of his life. But as she squeezed him again, he admitted that his ride to bedlam would be an enjoyable one.

Chapter Eight

I
shall wait in the parlor.”

Suzette glanced to Daniel as he said that in response to Richard’s announcing he needed to change as they all left the breakfast room. They’d arrived back at the townhouse a little after four that morning and had all thought of little else but finding their beds for the night. Despite a short nap in the carriage, Suzette had been so exhausted on reaching her room, she’d barely responded to the light kiss Daniel had given her at her door before following Langley to the room the two men were to share. She hadn’t even bothered to strip before falling on her bed and passing into sleep.

Her poor gown had shown the abuse and been a terrible mass of wrinkles when she’d woke this morning. That being the case, Suzette had been glad, if a little surprised, to find her maid Georgina there with her chest of clothes, ready to help her start the day. Apparently, the maids’ carriage had made good time and reached the townhouse directly behind them. Georgina said the Radnor carriage was still in front of the house when theirs had arrived. Suzette supposed they’d managed to catch up because the Radnor carriage had been twice as heavy after taking on the men, so had been forced to travel more slowly. Aside from that they’d had to stop so Daniel could see to his driver and the horses as well as to arrange for his carriage to be collected and seen to.

Suzette watched Daniel turn into the parlor as Richard jogged up the stairs and then she moved up beside Christiana and touched her arm to get her attention.

“When do you want to start interviewing the staff?” she asked, watching Daniel settle on the settee in the parlor. They all had assignments for the day. She and Christiana were to question the staff and see what they could find out about who might have been bribed into poisoning George’s whiskey. Lisa and Langley were going to make the social rounds in town and see what gossip they could dig up about George’s habits the last year, while Daniel and Richard were supposed to be going to arrange for the money to pay the blackmailer. Richard was hoping to catch the blackmailer rather than pay him, but wanted to be prepared for any eventuality.

“We will wait until everyone leaves,” Christiana decided. “Why do you not go keep Daniel company? I want a word with Richard about how he wishes us to proceed with the staff anyway.”

Suzette smiled. It was exactly what she’d hoped to hear. She slipped into the parlor, pulling the door closed as she went.

The soft sound drew Daniel’s attention at once and his eyes narrowed. “What are you up to?”

“Whatever do you mean, my lord?” she asked innocently as she crossed the room. “I merely thought to keep you company while you wait for Richard.”

“Hmm. You don’t need to close the door for that. In fact, you should know better than to close it at all,” he pointed out, and stood to move past her to reopen it.

“Wait, I—” Suzette gave up on a sigh as the door opened, revealing Lisa in the hall, hand out as if she’d been reaching to open it herself. Muttering under her breath with irritation, Suzette dropped onto the settee and scowled at her sister and Robert as the trio came to join her. “I thought you two were going to make the social rounds?”

“Yes, but it seems rather early for that,” Lisa said with a shrug. “So we thought we’d wait a bit. Besides, you two shouldn’t be left unchaperoned in a closed room.”

Suzette scowled at the gentle reprimand, and thought that sometimes having a younger sister was truly a pain in the behind. She listened silently as the other three started chatting about their plans for the day. None of them seemed to mind or even notice that she didn’t join the conversation, but managed to keep up a steady stream of chatter without her contribution . . . until the sound of banging drew them to a halt and made everyone glance toward the ceiling. The sound appeared to be coming from upstairs, a steady
thump thump
.

“What on earth could that be?” Lisa asked, her expression mystified as she continued to peer at the ceiling.

“Er . . . perhaps someone is hammering something,” Langley muttered, but the glance he exchanged with Daniel said something entirely different.

“Oh, that can’t be hammering. It sounds like a piece of furniture hitting the wall.” She frowned as the banging began to pick up in speed and stood up. “Perhaps I had best just go see what it is. If—”

“No, no. We have to go,” Langley said, sounding panicked as he got to his feet and caught Lisa by the arm. “We really need to start on our inquiries.”

“But—”

“Now,” Langley insisted, hurrying her toward the parlor door.

Suzette watched them go and then turned to Daniel, who was avoiding her eyes to concentrate on picking imaginary lint off his trousers.

“Perhaps I should go check then,” Suzette said, getting to her feet as the banging increased in speed.

Daniel glanced at her sharply, but something in her expression made him relax and shrug. “If you like.”

Suzette grimaced. She’d rather hoped he’d try to prevent it and give her the opportunity to kiss him. She was sure that was all it would take before this prim attitude of his crumbled. She didn’t understand the need for it anyway, they would marry soon. Besides, she would like their wedding night to be a pleasant memory in her mind, not the pain-wracked and blood-soaked event she’d read about. But for that to happen she had to ensure they got her maidenhead out of the way before they reached Gretna Green.

Of course, the parlor was no place for that, but Suzette had rather hoped to convince him to slip away from the room he shared with Langley and join her in hers that night to tend the matter. She’d only hoped to gain a kiss or two from him first to bolster her courage so she could make the suggestion. It appeared, however, Daniel was not going to indulge her. She would have to just blurt it out to him, Suzette realized, and almost did right then, but recalled that the door was still open. She quickly moved to close it and then returned to sit beside him, rolling her eyes when he immediately stiffened and shifted to put more space between them.

“Really, my lord, there is no need to act the frightened virgin. I am not going to attack you,” she said with exasperation.

“Act the what?” he asked with amazement and then scowled. “I—”

“I should like our wedding night to be a pleasant one,” Suzette interrupted before he could get too angry.

Daniel blinked, and then smiled faintly. “Well, so would I, and I promise I will do all I can to ensure it is pleasant for you.”

“Good, then come to my room tonight and—”

“No,” Daniel interrupted firmly.

“Please,” Suzette begged. “I don’t want my memory of our wedding night to be that of streams of blood and enough pain to make me faint.”

“Streams of blood?” he asked with dismay. “Who told you there would be streams of blood and so much pain you would faint?”

“I read,” she reminded him dryly. This time it didn’t silence him, however.

“Yes, well I think it’s high time you explain just what it is you are reading that you talk about maypoles and the breaching,” he said grimly.

Suzette shifted with irritation. “I do not recall the name of the book. It was Lisa’s.”

“Sweet little Lisa?” Daniel asked with horror, and then muttered, “I definitely have to talk to Richard about the girl.”

“Someone gave it to her,” Suzette said with exasperation. “Actually, it was one of several books she got from someone passing through the village, but I have only read the one and it was about a young country girl who comes to London and through tragic circumstances is sort of tricked into becoming a prostitute. She tells all about her life during that time before she is reunited with her love, who was also her first lover.” She frowned. “The first time for her was a wounding and she actually fainted and when she woke she was so sore she could not walk. Her name is—”

“Fanny,” Daniel snapped.

“Oh, you’ve read it too,” Suzette said with surprise.

“No, I haven’t, I just recognize the description from someone else who did read it,” he assured her firmly. “It is a banned book. How the devil did Lisa get her hands on it?”

“I told you, someone gave it to her,” she said impatiently.

“Who?”

Suzette frowned. She had known it was a banned book, but that had just made her more curious to read it. Lisa had refused to say who gave it to her, probably because it was banned and she hadn’t wished the person to get into trouble. Suzette suspected she knew who it was, but for the same reason was reluctant to reveal her suspicions to Daniel, so merely said, “She would not tell me.”

When Daniel narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, she scowled and said, “Stop looking at me like that, you are not my father.”

“Too right, I’m not,” he said at once.

“Then stop acting like you are and get back on topic, my lord. Will you or will you not visit my room tonight so we can get this blood and pain business out of the way so I am healed ere we get to Gretna Green?”

Daniel frowned and then took her hand and said softly, “I assure you, Suzette, it is not going to be like that. There might be a hint of blood, but certainly not streams, and I am sure there will be little pain.”

Now her eyes narrowed. “Have you deflowered a virgin before, then?”

“Good Lord, no!” he said at once with an abhorrence that was more than convincing. It also made Suzette roll her eyes.

“Then you don’t know, do you?” she asked dryly.

While Daniel frowned at the truth of that, Suzette crawled onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She didn’t even try to kiss him, but merely laid her head next to his and whispered, “Please, Daniel. I don’t wish every anniversary to be a reminder of a painful first experience when I know it could be one of pure pleasure if we just remove the barrier to it beforehand.”

Sighing, he slid his arms around her. “It is so hard to think clearly with you close like this,” he murmured, ducking his head to inhale deeply by her neck.

“Then don’t think,” Suzette whispered, and when he straightened, turned her head and caught his earlobe with her teeth before sucking it between her lips.

Daniel let his breath out on a hiss and turned sharply, catching her mouth with his own. Suzette smiled and responded to the demanding kiss he gave her, and then shifted to straddle his thighs on the settee. When her skirts hampered her, Daniel helped by pulling them up and out of the way. Suzette felt cool air touch her naked bottom, and then Daniel continued to hold the skirt up with one hand, but dropped the other to clasp and squeeze one round cheek. He then broke their kiss, used his hand at her bottom to urge her to rise up a bit and then closed his mouth over one nipple through her gown as soon as it rose into range.

Suzette groaned and clasped his head, then bit her lip as the hand on her bottom dipped between her legs, but stiffened as she heard a throat being cleared behind her.

Daniel released her breast and dropped her skirts at once. He then leaned to the side to look toward the door as Richard said, “Well, it appears I arrived just in time.”

Suzette groaned and dropped to sit in Daniel’s lap so that she could press her flushed face into his neck. She heard him sigh and felt him pat her back soothingly, but then he stood up, taking her with him, to set on her feet. Suzette felt him brush a kiss to her forehead and move away, but stayed where she was. She didn’t embarrass easily, but really, Richard had just got an eyeful of her bare bottom and she would just rather not have to face him at the moment, so she remained where she was with her back to the door until she heard the parlor door close and the murmur of their voices moving away. The moment she heard the front door close, however, Suzette dropped onto the settee and buried her face in it, both embarrassed and frustrated.

“W
ell . . . that went well too,” Daniel commented as they stepped out of the tailor’s some hours later and started up the walk in the direction of the Radnor carriage. It was the second stop they’d made, and both had been very successful. He and Richard had only planned to make arrangements for the blackmail funds when they’d left the townhouse earlier and had managed the task with little trouble. However, Daniel had taken note of Richard’s discomfort in his brother’s clothes as they’d arranged the transaction, and upon leaving had suggested a quick stop at the tailor’s before returning home. It hadn’t taken much persuasion to convince Richard. The man had returned to England with little in the way of clothing befitting an earl and had been forced to choose from George’s wardrobe. George had always had terrible taste, preferring bright colors more fitting on a peacock.

Fortunately, the tailor had been quick and efficient about his work, the task ending as successfully as the trip to the bank had gone. Noting the satisfaction on Richard’s face, Daniel smiled and added an optimistic, “Perhaps we shall be lucky and arrive back at the townhouse to find that everyone has had such a successful day and the identities of the blackmailer and poisoner have been discovered so that we need only round them up.”

“We should be so lucky,” Richard said wryly.

“Was it not you who said just as we entered the tailor’s that we were both lucky men?” Daniel reminded him with amusement. They had been discussing the women at the time.

Richard glanced around at his comment and opened his mouth as if to respond, but no words came out. He just stood there frozen for a heartbeat, and then in the next second grabbed Daniel by the arm and sent them both crashing to the side. It was so unexpected, Daniel didn’t even have a chance to try to break his fall; he was just suddenly slamming into the ground amid a cacophony of screams and shouts as the people around them scrambled to get out of the way.

It was only when he heard the loud thunder of horses’ hooves and the trundle of a carriage’s wheels as they raced past that Daniel understood that Richard had been trying to get them out of the way of an oncoming vehicle. A faint breeze as the carriage passed told him how close they had come to being trampled and Daniel lay still and closed his eyes as he waited for his heart to stop racing.