A Bright Particular Star (51 page)

“
Why didn
’t
you
tell me…
write to me?
”
he whispered at last
, his breath searing her lips.

Sophie clasped her arms around his neck to stop her
self from falling to the floor, weaving her fingers through his dark locks.
She felt a
fierce tremor ru
n through him.

He was holding
her
so
tightly
it
was
difficult to breathe, but s
he didn
’t
care.
His
face was intense and passionate above her, his
kisses
, deep and impatient,
turning her blood to fire.
Her finge
rtips
stroked the nape of his neck as she
clung to him
.
“
Because
I thought you were glad to be rid of
me,
”
she managed to murmur
.
“
I was
u
nwelcome disruption in your life.
How could you
prefer
an idiotic,
unsophisticated girl
like me over
the ele
gant ladies
of the
ton
?
”

“
You adorable idiot,
”
he muttered, ravishing her lips again.

She smiled against his mouth
.
“
I didn
’t
think I was the sort of woman you wanted.
”

He pulled her against him
until she
could feel his need for her.
“
I hope you are
rapidly revising that opinion
,
”
he whispered
into the shell of her
ear
.

P
leasure
sliced
through Sophie
.
The pressure and
intimate
warmth
of his body,
the look in his eyes,
his
familiar
scent and
his voice, low and vibrant, dazzled her senses.
H
eat
and sensation swept over her
.
She felt
almost feverish.
This was not how she had imagined being in love would feel
.
She
assumed it w
ould be
pleasant,
enjoyable
, but
this
sensual
intimacy
,
new yet
as necessary as her
own
heartbeat
,
was
earthy, emotional
ly charged
and very
, very
intoxicating.
It was like a new language, one more primal than words, where every touch held a
reverent
promise, every kiss an avowal of greater pleasures to come.

“
Yes
.
”
H
er
voice
seemed
to come from far away.

“
Good, because
you, my darling
, are
the only woman I will ever want.
A lifetime
with you is not nearly enough
!
”

Sighing, she wound
her arms around his waist
an
d pressed her cheek to his shoulder
.
“
You
said
I
was
impulsive
to leave Ludstone as I did—
”

“D
id I say that too?
”
he asked thickly
.
“
I
’
ll have to learn
to think before I open my mouth
.
Deuce take
it,
Freddy
’s
right
—
I’m
useless where
women are concerned
!
”

“
Who
’s
Freddy?
”

“
Never mind, I
’
ll explain later
.
”

“
W
hoever Freddy
is
,
I can
’t
agree with him,
”
whispere
d Sophie
, gasping
as his
mouth traced a molten path down
her neck
.

He gave a husky chuckle.
“
I
may be
useless with words, but
you
’
ll find me
more than capable
of showing how much I love you
.
”

“
I
-
I’m
going to enjoy
finding out,
”
she repl
ied unsteadily,
another shiver chasing
over her
skin.
“
Escaping
was an impuls
ive thing to do
,
but
I could never
regret it
because
I met you, and
fell in love with you
.
T
he
hours we spent together
were
the happiest
of
my life.
”

“
And t
hat
’s
only
the start
,
”
he promised
, tilti
ng up her chin, his lips possessing hers
once more
in a kiss that was both savage and tender
.

****

Luc arrived back at
T
he Angel with his injured carg
o
a short time
later
.
Peregrine was transported with
difficulty up the narrow stairs and
ensconced in one of the bedchambers.
The surgeon, after
he had arrived and examined Peregrine
’s
injured leg, debated
at some length
whether to amputate or try and
fashion a splint.

He declared t
he break to be
one of the worst he had ever seen.
Having made his decision, he
took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves and called for help to hol
d down
the patient.
Peregri
ne, despite
having been
heavily
drugged
, writhed and moaned
during the next half
hour
and screamed
out several times during the procedure
.

When it was done
,
t
he doctor
mopped the sweat from his brow and collected his things before going to speak to Theo and Luc who were conversing in low tones on the far side of the room.
He shook his
head o
ver the severity of the
injury
,
pronouncing
a p
ermanent limp was the best
that could be hoped for.
It was to be
hoped
fever would
not
set i
n
which might
yet
cause a bleaker outcome
, but it would be some days
before that would be known.
In
the meantime, the
patient
must not be moved
.

“
I sent word to Sir Seymour earlier,
”
Theo told Luc when the surgeon ha
d left
,
“
and
the
two Bow Street Runners
he sent
are waiting downstai
rs to watch over
our
guest.
Do you think he
’
ll die?
”

Luc stood ove
r the bed, regarding
the unconscious Peregrine
through
narrowed eyes.
“T
here
’s
a chance, but
more likely
he
’
ll
survive.
He
’s
young and healthy, and
he
received
better attenti
on than he deserved.
He
’s
lucky not to lose his leg.
”
He glanced
at Th
eo.
“
You
realize
there
’s
little
hope of a conviction, or even charges?
The only evidenc
e
we have is that of his
accomplices
…
it
’s
not
enough
.
”

“S
o
he
can
’t
be charged with abduction
either
?
”

“
Miss Devereux
has said she
accompanied him of her own free will
,
”
pointed out
Luc.

The
o sighed
.
“
He deserves
to be punished somehow
, although
from what I have seen
his injuries
g
o a considerable way towards
retribution.
I ought to get Sophie back to London before dusk.
”

Mr
Grey
agreed, adding,
“D
o you plan to return her to Verney
’s
tender care?
”

“
No, dash
it!
”
exclaimed
Theo
.

Luc smiled
.
“
I suspected that
was how matters stood.
W
here do you intend to take her?
”

“T
o
a hotel
,
I suppose
.
I don
’t
like the idea
though.
”

“
Why don
’t
you take Miss Devereux to Grosvenor Square?
I’m
sure
Sir S
eymour an
d Lady Dinniscombe
will
be happy
to have her stay
until other arrangements can be made.
”

“
An
excellent notion!
”
said Theo
, with a grateful look
.
“
But what about you?
”

“
I
’
ll join you shortly.
I’m
staying here until S
loane
wakes
—
there are some things I need to say to him
.
”

T
he grim set of Grey
’s
features and his implacable gaze as it
rested on the man in the bed sent a shiver
up Theo
’s
spine.
He would n
ot care to be in the injured man
’s
place
when he regained consciousnes
s.
The pain from his mangled
l
eg would be the least of Sloane
’s
concerns then.

****

When Theo and Sophie arrived in Grosvenor Square, they were
greeted by Stamford, Sir Seymour
’s
butler, who di
d not turn a hair when
informed Miss
Devereux would
need
a bedchambe
r for the night.
He
bowed as if it were an everyday occurrence for a young lady to
arrive unannounced
and without any baggage, and informed them t
hat Sir Seymour and Lady Dinniscombe
were
in the drawing room
with Miss Sloane and her mother.

“
Her
mother
!
”
echoed
Sophie.

“
Indeed,
miss
.
I understand
Mrs
Sloane arrived
earlier today.
She is staying at Fenton
’s
hotel but, upon sending a note
to her son at
Limmer
’s
to inform him
she would like to see him
, she received word that he was not there.
She therefore decided to visit Miss Sloane.
”
Stamford sniffed disparagingly.
“
Miss Slo
ane had accompanied Lady Dinniscombe
to Bond Street and Sir Seymour was at his club, but Mrs Sloane insisted on waiting.
They have all been in the drawing room
for a short while only
.
”

“
Oh
dear,
”
whispered
Sophie, as she
walked towards the drawing room
with Theo
,
“
Much as I dislike Eudora,
I’m
not looking forward to telling her about Perry.
”

“T
here
’s
no avoiding it
and
,
if she has any sense, she
’
ll acknowledge he
’s
fort
unate not to have broken his neck or be gallows-fodder
,
”
he
replied.

Mrs
Sloane was sitting on one of the
sofa
s
placed
either side of the fireplace.
She sat
next to Lady Dinniscombe
and
Olivia and Sir Seymour sat opposite
.
A tea tray lay
on the table between them
.
Sir Seymour raised his quizzing glass when they came in, observing,

“
Evening,
Miss Devereu
x,
Theo.
I have been anticipating your arrival this past
hour.
Sit
down and tell us your news.
”
He waved a hand in Eudora
’s
direction.
“
As you see,
Mrs
Sloane
has
arrived unexpectedly
.
This is not how I would have planned it, but n
o doubt she would like to hear
what has happened to her son.
I did not think it right to say anything until you returned.
”

The
smile etched on Eudora
’s
features faded
.
S
he sat a little more upright as she
demanded,
“
W
hat on earth
do you mean
, Sir
Seymour
?
Why should anything have happened to Peregrine?
”

Sir Seymour gave her a penetrating look.
“
Madam, I hope
you have a strong
constitution
.
T
he next few minutes are going to pro
ve exceedingly difficult
.
Harriet, my dear, it might be wise to ring for some brandy.
”

The effect of
the
news
upon
Mrs
Sloane was
everything
Sophie had anticipated
, and more
.
Disbelief was swiftly followed by anger
, mostly aim
ed at Sophie.
Eudora initially tried to blame her for Perry
’s
behaviour
, a view
r
ebutted
by Theo and
then
by Sir Seymou
r, who
se
authoritative manner left
Mrs
Sloane in
no doubt
Peregrine was
indeed
the Bath Fox
and he and he alone was responsible for his actions
.
Sir Seymour
also deftly implied that
unless Peregrine
followed his advice, the
force
of the law would be unleashed upon him.

Eudora
’s
anger
was slowly
replaced by fear
.
A
s the full import of Peregrine
’s
double life and its
consequences dawned
, she
shrank visibly
in stature and
in confidence.
T
he ambition
she had invested in her son
had
been shattered
and
the life blood seemed to drain out of her
as a result
.
By th
e time Sir Seymour had finished
,
her complexion had taken on a greyish tinge and
she was
almost hysterical,
babblin
g
incoherently and sobbing into her handkerchief while
being comforted by
Olivia
.

Watching, Sophie felt
surprisingly
moved by Eudora
’s
di
stress.
She
felt no affection for her a
unt
, but it
was not pleasant
to witness
someone
’s
life
falling
down around them
.
A person would have to be made of stone
not to feel
compassion at such a moment
.
Sophie could never recall
seeing
her
aunt cry before
.
She had always been a woman who pri
ded
herself on her self-control
,
as well as
revelling in her control
o
ver others.
Now she was
both
powerless
and distraught
.

“
My
poor
boy!
”
cried
Eudora
, clutch
ing at Olivia
’s
hand
and hiccupping on another sob
.
“
What can you suggest
, Sir Seymour?
What must he do?
”

“
Nothing until his woun
ds have healed,
but
then
he must
go away, out of society,
for i
f
his
activities
should become
known
, my influence will count for nothing.
He must also retu
rn any stolen property
.
I will see it is
discreetly
returned to its rightfu
l owners
.
”

“
Away
?
”
repeated
Eudora in a hollow
voice
, sniffing
.

“
For an extended period
, several years at leas
t,
”
he explained
.
“S
ir Charles Lawson
, an
aide to the Duke of Manchester,
is looking for a secretary to accomp
any him on his posting to Kingston
.
I intend to propose Peregrine
.

“
Kingston?
”
Eudora
’s
expression brightened a little.
“
But that is n
ot too distant
.
A
t least Olivia and I
will be able to visit
often and it
is a pleasant place, I
believe,
near the Thames
—
”

“
My dear lady,
”
interjected Sir Seymour
gravely
,
“
I
do not refer to the town in Surrey.
I am talking about
Kingston, the capital of Jamaica.
In the West Indies.
”

The response was a soft thud as
Eudora
fainted and
toppled
onto the pile of silk cushions adorning the Dinniscombe
s
’
sofa
.