To Tempt An Angel (Book 1 Douglas series) (22 page)

“No, of course not.”

He was telling the truth. She could read it in his expression. On the other hand, he was an Emerson and adept at lying.

“Has someone tried to eliminate you?” she asked.

Alexander nodded. “Twice, at least.”

“How provoking.” Angelica walked away, wondering who would want both Robert Campbell and Alexander Emerson dead.

“I want to go home,” Angelica said, approaching her aunt. “This whole incident has given me an upset stomach.”

“Yes, my darling heroine, we’ll go home immediately,” Aunt Roxie whispered, guiding her toward the duke’s carriage. “I wonder how we’ll stop the gossip about this.”

Angelica looked at her in confusion.

“Ladies usually do not carry daggers or execute men, no matter how frequently they are provoked,” Aunt Roxie explained.

“You sound like the mad marquess,” Angelica replied.

“I am as sane as you are,” Robert said dryly, materializing beside her. “I want to thank—”

“Stay away from me, you sniveling son of a swine,” Angelica warned, rounding on him. “I want nothing to do with you.”

Angelica climbed into the carriage. She averted her gaze while the others, excluding the marquess, climbed inside.

“Someone has been trying to kill Alexander Emerson,” she told the duke as the carriage started away.

“This is not my concern,” Duke Magnus said.

“It should be,” she replied. “These assassination attempts could be related.”

Duke Magnus nodded. “You may be correct. I’ll have it investigated.”

*    *    *

Late the following morning, Angelica sat on the chaise in front of the hearth in her bedchamber and plucked the strings of her harp. She wondered in frustration who would want both Robert and Alexander Emerson dead. If she knew them better, she might be able to guess at a few possibilities; however, she knew nothing about Alexander and next to nothing about Robert.

You love him
, an inner voice told her.

Angelica banished that disturbing thought to the shadows of her mind. Thinking about him aggravated her. She couldn’t condone his never seeing his daughter or his callousness concerning Lucille’s abuse of the child.

“Enter,” Angelica called, hearing the knock on her door.

“Enter,” Jasper called.

The door opened. Samantha and Victoria walked into the room.

“Hello,” the macaw called.

“Hello, Jasper,” her sisters said in unison, and then sat beside her on the chaise.

“Whom do you think is trying to kill Robert?” Samantha asked.

“And Alexander Emerson,” Victoria added.

“I don’t know,” Angelica said with a shrug. She looked at her youngest sister. “You should not have danced more than twice with Alexander. Tory, the man is an Emerson—”

“He doesn’t seem like a villain to me,” Victoria replied. “Besides, Samantha danced more than twice with Prince Rudolf.”

 “Samantha should not have danced so many times with the prince,” Angelica said. “However, refusing a prince’s invitation is not an option. I’m afraid Aunt Roxie must be disappointed with our behavior.”

“To tell you the truth, I’ve been bored since arriving at the duke’s,” Samantha said.

“Except for last night,” Victoria qualified.

“We miss the freedom and excitement of our old life,” Samantha said.

“You want excitement?” Angelica asked, smiling. When her sisters nodded, she continued, “I have a pressing problem. As you know, Lucille Dubois abuses Daisy. The little girl is Robert’s daughter—”

“What?” exclaimed her sisters, again simultaneously.

“I was surprised, too,” Angelica admitted. “Robert has never seen Daisy, nor does he intend to see her. I want to steal Daisy and bring her to live with us.”

“What about Duke Magnus?” Samantha asked. “Will he allow it?”

“I can handle His Grace,” Angelica said with confidence. At their skeptical looks, she added, “His Grace owes us for not coming to Father’s rescue, and I intend to use that fact to get what I want.”

“We don’t know where Lucille lives,” Victoria said.

“Good morning, my darlings,” Aunt Roxie called, breezing into the bedchamber

“Darling,” Jasper mimicked.

“Hello, Jasper,” Aunt Roxie cooed to the macaw. “You beautiful baby bird.”

“Hello.”

Aunt Roxie turned to them. “Samantha and Victoria, you should not have danced more than two times with the same men. Angelica, your executing that man was quite unladylike, albeit necessary for the marquess’s continued good health.” She smiled at them, adding, “I’m positive we’ll have many callers today, especially in view of the entertainment Angelica provided, but I have instructed Tinker that we aren’t receiving visitors.”

“Why did you do that?” Victoria asked.

“The unattainable is always more desirable,” Aunt Roxie answered, affectionately touching her youngest niece’s cheek. “I forget how young you are and how much you need to learn.”

“Daisy Dubois is Robert’s daughter,” Angelica blurted out.

“Yes, I know.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You never asked,” Aunt Roxie answered, making her two younger nieces giggle.

“I told Robert about Lucille’s abuse of his daughter, but he doesn’t seem to care,” Angelica informed her aunt. “I have decided to rescue Daisy but don’t know where she lives.”

“I know where she lives,” Aunt Roxie said. “I have a plan.”

Angelica bit her bottom lip. “Do you think Robert will be angry?”

“He’ll be furious,” Aunt Roxie answered, giving her a feline smile. “How divinely delicious . . .”

At three o’clock that afternoon, Angelica locked Jasper in his cage and hurried downstairs to the foyer. Aunt Roxie and her sisters were waiting for her.

“See how popular you have become,” Aunt Roxie said, gesturing toward the foyer table. Calling cards filled the crystal dish that had been placed there.

Angelica rolled her eyes. “Our association with His Grace has gained us entree into society.”

“Perhaps society wanted another look at the freaks,” Samantha said, making her sisters laugh.

“Do not disparage yourself and your sisters,” Aunt Roxie replied. “Tinker, please tell His Grace—”

“Tell him yourself,” called a voice behind them.

Angelica turned around, as did her aunt and sisters. Duke Magnus, Robert, James Armstrong, and Adam St. Aubyn were descending the stairs to the foyer.

“The girls and I are going out in the carriage,” Aunt Roxie told the duke.

“Where?” Robert asked.

“Here and there, no particular destination,” Aunt Roxie answered. “We’ll return later for tea.”

“Have an enjoyable outing,” Duke Magnus said.

“Angel, I want to speak to you,” Robert said.

Raising her disarming blue gaze to his, Angelica said in a haughty voice, “Leave your card with Tinker.”

James and Adam burst out laughing, earning themselves a glare from Robert. Duke Magnus coughed, apparently to cover his chuckle, and her sisters giggled.

Angelica turned her back on him and walked out the door. She bit her lip to keep from laughing when she heard Tinker say, “Would you care to leave your card, my lord?”

And then Angelica reached the sidewalk. She climbed into the duke’s carriage, and her sisters climbed in behind her.

“We won’t be needing your services today,” Aunt Roxie told the driver. “I’m driving.”

“With all due respect, my lady, I refuse to lose my job over a female’s whim,” the coachman told her.

“What is your name?”

“Willie.”

“Do you know to whom you are speaking, Willie?” Aunt Roxie asked, assuming a haughty attitude. “I’m the Countess of Melrose’s aunt.”

“Do you know who
I
am?” Willie returned. “I am the man in charge of His Grace’s carriages, and you aren’t taking this one out alone.”

Aunt Roxie gave him a dimpled smile and reached for her reticule.

“And I don’t take bribes.”

“I wouldn’t dream of trying to bribe you,” Aunt Roxie purred. “I’ll give you these coins and allow you to drive us if you promise to remain silent about our destination.”

“I can keep a secret but don’t want your money,” Willie told her.

“Consider it a gratuity for a job well done,” Aunt Roxie said, placing the coins in his hand.

Willie nodded. He helped her into the carriage and closed the door.

“Portland Place,” Aunt Roxie instructed him. She settled herself into the coach beside Angelica. “When we arrive, you and your sisters will walk down the alley behind the town house and wait outside in the garden. Once inside, I’ll tell Lucille that the stars insist Dairy should wait outside while we discuss an important matter.”

“What if she sends Daisy to her room?” Victoria asked.

“Trust me, darling,” Aunt Roxie said with a mischievous smile. “Lucille will obey what the stars foretell.”

“The urgent matter to discuss must be something plausible,” Angelica told her.

“How about the fact that someone tried to assassinate Robert?” Aunt Roxie asked. “If he dies, her funds could be terminated.”

“I cannot think of a more urgent matter than having one’s funds terminated,” Samantha said.

Her aunt’s remark reminded Angelica that someone was trying to murder the man she loved. She had considered Alexander Emerson the most likely culprit, but now that she knew attempts had been made on his life, she needed to reconsider the whole situation. Not only that, but her argument with Robert and the attempt on his life had destroyed an opportunity to ruin Drinkwater or Mayhew.

“Angelica, are you feeling well?” Aunt Roxie asked, intruding on her thoughts. “You look pale.”

“I’m fine,” Angelica answered. “I have a butterfly stomach from nerves and my argument with Robert.”

“You’ve suffered from a queasy stomach for several days now,” Aunt Roxie said, reaching out to touch her forehead. “You seem a little warm, too. I hope the excitement isn’t making you ill.”

Fifteen minutes later, Aunt Roxie called out for the carriage to stop and then turned to her nieces, saying, “Hide at the corner of the alley. When you see me go inside, walk down the alley to Lucille’s garden.”

Angelica, Samantha, and Victoria climbed out of the carriage and hurried to hide. Fingering her diamond pendant for luck, Angelica peered around the corner and watched her aunt climb the front stairs. The door opened before she reached the top, and Lucille Dubois stepped outside, apparently on her way out.

“Madame Roxanne, I’ve been looking for you,” Angelica heard Lucille exclaim. “Where have you been?”

“I must speak to you on an urgent matter,” Aunt Roxie answered.

“Come inside,” Lucille said, and the two women disappeared into the house.

“She’s inside,” Angelica told her sisters. “Let’s go.”

The Douglas sisters hurried down the alley. Entering the Dubois garden, they hid behind an enormous evergreen shrub and waited for the little girl to arrive. Daisy appeared five minutes later in the company of an older woman.

“Her nanny is with her,” Samantha whispered. “What will we do?”

“We’ll take the nanny with us,” Angelica said in a whisper, lifting the edge of her gown to draw her last-resort dagger.

“What if she screams?” Victoria asked.

“I’ll threaten her with my dagger before she does,” Angelica answered.

“Won’t that frighten Daisy?” Samantha asked.

Angelica bit her bottom lip and considered her sister’s words. Finally, she lifted her skirt and returned the dagger to the sheath attached to the garter on her leg.

“Stay here until I call you,” Angelica instructed them. “The woman won’t cry out once Daisy recognizes me.”

Angelica stepped out from behind the shrub and started across the garden toward the little girl, who sat on a stone bench with her nanny. “Daisy, I’ve come to play with you,” she called, fixing a smile on her lips.

Startled, the nanny whirled toward her but relaxed when the child cried out, “Lady Angel,” and raced toward her. “Have you brought Jasper?”

“No, but my sisters are here,” Angelica answered. She gestured to her sisters, who appeared from behind the shrub and crossed the garden.

“Why were you hiding?” the nanny asked, her expression mirroring confused suspicion.

“We didn’t want to startle you,” Angelica answered, hoping her smile would calm the woman. “My aunt is inside visiting Lucille.”

“This is Lady Allegra,” Daisy told her, holding a doll out for her inspection. “My father sent her to me, but I wish he brought her himself.” She brightened when she added, “Do you want to watch the clouds make pictures?”

“Lady Allegra is quite lovely,” Angelica replied, taking a seat beside the nanny while her sisters positioned themselves behind the woman. “Your father loves you very much.”

“Yes, he does, but—” Daisy leaned close and whispered, “I’ve never seen him because he’s too important and too busy to visit me.”

Angelica felt her heart wrench at the girl’s words. She could have throttled Robert and his former paramour.

“Sit on my lap,” Angelica said.

Daisy climbed onto her lap and rested her head in the crook of her neck. Angelica put her arms around the girl protectively and glanced over her shoulder to give her sisters a pointed look.

Victoria drew her dagger and touched its cold steel to the back of the woman’s neck. At the same moment, Samantha turned her body diagonally to block Daisy’s view of it

“Keep silent and nothing will happen to you,” Victoria whispered against the side of the woman’s head.

Angelica smiled at the woman’s frozen expression. “What is your name?” she asked.

“Ethel Sweeting.”

“Mrs. Sweeting?” Angelica echoed in surprise, recalling Webster’s information that Robert had brought the former Douglas nanny out of retirement.

Angelica smiled at the woman’s blank expression. “Mrs. Sweeting, I am Angelica Douglas. Do you remember me?”

“My Lord, I never thought to see you again,” the woman exclaimed. “You are a grown woman. I didn’t recognize you.” She glanced over her shoulder, adding, “These young ladies must be Samantha and Victoria. How are the earl and countess faring?”

“Both are dead,” Angelica answered. “Mrs. Sweeting, you must have noticed the bruises on Daisy’s arms.”