A Gallant Gamble (3 page)

Charlotte nodded thoughtfully. She was fully aware of Geoffrey’s position in the household but she couldn’t believe that he would turn down betterment so easily. Didn’t he want to raise his status in life? There weren’t many people she could think of who would turn down a duke, whatever he thought fit to give.

“So why doesn’t he accept your offers. Is he afraid of his own abilities or is there a greater obstacle that sits in his way. He’s obviously well educated so I cannot imagine what other problem there could be.”

Alexander patted her hand.

“His education has never been in doubt. His father was a clever man and taught him well and he spent half his youth in the schoolroom with me, but there is an almost insurmountable problem that I have no idea how to overcome. You are a woman of many ideas, Charlotte. Perhaps you can help me remove it.”

“Me? How can I help you if I don’t even know what the problem is? I cannot see any fault in him. It appears as if he’s a man of the highest calibre. What possible difficulty could there be to overcome?”

Alexander’s lips twitched up into a smile.

“I’m afraid it’s something huge for a man to conquer. He may never be able to do it.”

Now Charlotte huffed in annoyance.

“For goodness sake, spit it out Alex. You’re driving me mad with wanting to know. What is this huge problem?”

Alexander shook his head and spoke softly as they carried on back into the castle.

“Nothing much, Charlotte. Only his pride.”

Chapter Two

Decisions and Diamonds

Geoffrey rubbed the back of his head and ignored the lump he’d just given himself as he tried to make his brain function properly. He must have mistaken the words that came from Alexander’s lips only a few seconds previously. The idea was so preposterous that he almost forgot that he had banged his head on an open stable door and went back to his original task, but that was before his employer coughed and spoke again.

“Well, aren’t you going to say something?”

Geoffrey narrowed his eyes and rubbed his head some more. Alexander really had spoken, but surely he couldn’t have meant what he said. He wiped his sweating palms down his breeches.

“Say something about what? I’m not sure that I heard you correctly.” He picked up the pail that he had previously dropped and began shovelling the spilled oats back into it.

Alexander tapped his foot in frustration.

“You heard exactly what I said, Geoff. Stop being such a stubborn arse and just say that you’ll do it.”

Geoffrey stopped scooping the grain. He stood up and looked Alexander right in the eye.

“It’s not that I wouldn’t do as you ask,” he lied blatantly. “But I can’t do it. My mother needs me. There’s a problem with her roof that I have to attend to this week. Giles should go with her anyway, it’s not my responsibility. She’s his ward, not mine,” the irritation was obvious in his tone.

Alexander shook his head.

“He knows this, Geoff and he’ll be there a couple of weeks after you arrive, but it’s going to be prime lambing season. Giles needs to be on hand at Caithwell. They’ve only just begun seeing a profit and he can’t let that go just for a few balls that my mother wants Charlotte to attend. I can send one of the men to attend your mother’s cottage. I don’t know why you didn’t mention that she had a problem before.”

Geoffrey raised an eyebrow.

“You know that she doesn’t like to take advantage. She feels bad enough that she is living in the place rent free, but that is beside the point. You should go with them. Olivia is your mother after all. Take Lily and Lillian and have a holiday with your mother and Charlotte. You haven’t left Ormond for months. The change would suit you all.”

The Duke of Ormond frowned deeply.

“I tried to persuade her but Lily says that she won’t go. She’s happy here and wants to keep Lillian away from the bad air. I can’t say that I’m in disagreement with her. The London fog can be vile in spring.” He didn’t mention the fact that Lily had simply refused to go. Though she hadn’t said as much, he knew that she was too afraid of wagging tongues. Even with the famed Ormond jewels about her slender neck, she didn’t think that the matrons would forgive her poor parentage, her lack of hearing or her strange speech, and although Alexander tried to convince her otherwise, he privately agreed with her decision. The whispering tongues of the ton could be vicious over the least indiscretion let alone something as disgraceful as low birth, deafness and an impaired voice.

Geoffrey looked wary. Alexander was his friend as well as his employer, but he just couldn’t trust himself with what the man had asked. The proximity would be too much for him to bear.

“Are you ordering me to go or don’t I have any say in what I do around here anymore?” he asked churlishly.

Alexander shook his head. He knew that he had to choose his next words carefully.

“I’d never order you to do anything, Geoff. You should know that by now. I thought that you...well, I thought that you would want to go what with it being Charlotte.”

Geoffrey leaned against the doorframe. His forehead creased and his brows became a solid dark line.

“What’s that meant to mean? Why does it make any difference who it is? I thought I was meant to be an escort while they are on the road. You said that Giles is sending Callum to drive them.” His irritation was obvious.

Alexander stepped back and held up his hands.

“Nothing, it doesn’t mean anything. We thought that it might be a good idea, that was all. You know how impetuous Charlotte can be. Mother won’t stand a chance in hell of changing her mind if Charlotte gets some outrageous idea in her head. She listens to you, Geoff, far more than she does anyone else. Giles doesn’t trust her with anyone but you.”

Geoffrey rolled his eyes. His thoughts were far from trustworthy around the beautiful young woman, but he wasn’t about to tell Alexander that.

“If she’s that headstrong maybe Giles should forbid her from going to London, but in any case, your idea is flawed from the outset. She has never paid one minutes worth of attention to anything I have ever said and I have barely seen her since Starlight was born last summer. I can’t see her taking any notice of me at all.” His heart thumped erratically as he thought of how often he had avoided her, removing himself from the stables if she came to see the horses, finding other work that could have easily waited. He’d even visited his mother for a whole week when Giles and Anne had brought baby Marcus Geoffrey and Charlotte with them for an extended stay.

The night the foal had been born had proven to him that he couldn’t trust himself around the exquisite young woman. She attracted him like no other ever had, and he’d nearly gone out of his mind seeing her partially clothed beauty revealed to him in ways that he had never imagined possible.

His chest heaved at the memories of the way his body had responded to her half clothed innocence, but he was not a ravisher of maidens and it was hopeless to think of her in the only other way that he could ever have her.

As his wife.

His heart thumped madly at the very thought, but it took only a few seconds for him to regain his self-control. He was working himself up over the impossible. He’d been over it in his mind a thousand times since he had first met the alluring young woman, but nothing had changed. Not a single, damned thing could alter the fact that his status was so far below hers that he would be laughed out of Ormond for even dreaming of it.

His heart twisted inside his chest and pain lanced through every part of his body as he imagined why Alexander was asking this favour of him, of why she was going to London in the first place. The only reason any country Lady would need to go. To find a husband. Preferably one with a title as glorious as her own.

He couldn’t bear the thought. If any man came within twenty feet of her he’d want to tear them limb from limb and that wasn’t fair either. It was easier to stay right out of her way than to torture himself in her presence. He knew that the strategy worked as he had tried it every time she came on her frequent visits to Ormond. Bitterness stole his breath for a moment and he kicked at some hay until he found the strength to face Alexander again.

“From what I hear and what I have experienced myself, she always does exactly what she wants when she wants and that’s apart from the fact that I’ll stand out like a sore thumb in London. I’m not about to become either her escort or a laughing stock. I’m not one of the upper crust however much you try to ignore my upbringing. Those wagging tongues would rip me to shreds in an instant.” He was about to turn away when Alexander heaved out a great sigh and shrugged his shoulders in apparent defeat.

“Oh well, I said that I would try and persuade you. There’s nothing else to be done. We’ll just have to leave her under the care of my mother and hope for the best...it’s a pity that she has become so fond of her gin. She’ll probably leave the balls and routs early due to her dizzy spells after imbibing more than she should. I expect Callum will be able to see to Charlotte’s safety. Giles says he’s coming on really well. He’s seventeen now, quite the young man. I just hope that he’s up to taking care of Charlotte late at night.” He averted his eyes as he brushed some non-existent dirt from the lapel of his coat before he lifted his head again and raised an eyebrow at Geoffrey. He cleared his throat. “Mother was telling me only last night that Rookwood and Latham are attending the season. She’s good friends with Latham’s...” He didn’t manage to finish his sentence before Geoffrey dropped the bucket of oats again and loomed up in front of him, arms folded across his expansive chest and a nerve ticking hard in his jaw.

“What? Those scum are going to London this year? And Giles is even contemplating allowing her to go anywhere near the place? Good God, man! Has he forgotten what they attempted to do to her barely eighteen months ago?” He spluttered as he resisted the urge to punch a hole through the nearest wall.

Alexander shrugged as if he scarcely cared about the incident that nearly cost Charlotte her innocence and Giles his life. He turned as if to leave the stables, but spoke over his shoulder.

“Oh, not to worry. I suspect that Giles was making too much of it all. She’ll only be alone for two to three weeks at most. I’m sure that a resourceful girl like Charlotte will be able to handle herself for that length of time. Giles and Anne intend to join mother’s party as soon as the spring lambing is over. He assures me that his man can take care of the farm after the first rush of births. Charlotte and mother will barely have had time to settle in. They’ll probably go to one or two of the theatres around Drury Lane...” Alexander let his words linger in the air as he waited for some kind of reaction.

He didn’t have to wait long. Geoffrey looked as though he had swallowed a grate of hot coals while sucking on a lemon. His face grew red and his hands balled into fists at his sides.

Geoffrey held on to the last thread of his temper. Though he had never been to a proper theatre, he’d seen the travelling players who performed for the local crowds and he’d heard plenty of tales about the goings on around London’s stages. They were clearly the worst dens of iniquity where men and women could consort in darkened, curtained recesses. Secret rustlings were ignored and trysts apparently encouraged for the rapture and delectation of the gossiping masses. The very thought of Charlotte being anywhere near such a place without proper protection was too much. His usually placid temper flared white-hot in an instant and he punched the stable door.

“Alright! I’ll accompany them!” He yelled furiously at Alexander as he stormed about the stable, breathing hard while he bit back his riotous emotions. He waved his finger at his friend. “But I won’t put up with acting as their servant and I absolutely refuse to do any dancing either!” He added nearly as loudly as he flexed his battered knuckles.

Alexander coughed into his hand to hide his grin and nodded quickly to secure his victory.

“Never expected you to do either of those things, as it happens. It will just be a case of standing at the edge of the ballroom drinking the wine, eating the canapés while looking fierce when necessary...nothing too strenuous, I assure you. Mother will make sure that you are invited to everything as their companion and escort. I am pretty sure that Charlotte is taking that fabulous diamond with them too. You know how keen she is to put her own money into the breeding programme. She’ll need your help finding a genuine purchaser...” He took a deep breath and rubbed his cold hands together, relieved that he had Geoffrey’s promise before reminding him of Charlotte’s other plans. “Well, I am sure that you will work it all out when you get there. I’ll give you a list of the best jewellery houses to try...” His voice faded as Geoffrey’s glower deepened and Alexander carried on before Geoffrey had chance to change his mind. “Well, this is excellent. Knew we could rely on you, Geoff. I’ll let Giles know that she’ll be as safe as houses in your hands. He’ll be extremely relieved.” Alexander slapped his friend on the shoulder and strode back towards the castle with a decidedly jaunty gait.

Geoffrey stared after the man and groaned in frustration. He knew that he’d been goaded into taking on the task, but the way Alexander had brought visions of Charlotte being molested into his head, had been impossible to ignore.

He closed his eyes for long moment and took some deep, calming breaths before he opened them again and stooped to pick up the dropped bucket of oats once again. He looked up as he heard the stomp of hooves and an impatient neigh. Midnight, Alexander’s prize stallion, made his hunger known.

Geoffrey moved down the stalls until the huge horse came into sight. Midnight stuck his head over the stable door and snorted blowing clouds of condensation into the cold air. Geoffrey pushed the horse back and tipped the bucket of oats into a trough just inside the stall. Midnight snorted again before plunging his nose into the food.

Geoffrey leaned against the rail and leaned in to stroke the horse’s neck while he wondered how he would be able to restrain himself when watching the vivacious Charlotte meet potential suitors every day for two or three blasted weeks. Even in the cool air of the stables sweat beaded on his brow at the mere thought and he swiped it away roughly.

He knew that he’d avoided her ever since Starlight had been born. He’d had to for the sake of his own sanity. After barely sleeping for weeks after the event, his dreams filled with visions of a scantily clad Charlotte beckoning him and tempting his resolve every time he closed his eyes, he’d almost told Alexander that he was leaving Ormond. He had enough money set aside to rent a small house and he’d already decided that it was probably his best course of action when Alexander had suddenly brought two mares in for Midnight and Lightning to service. The owner wanted his animals to remain at Ormond until the resulting foals were born while he travelled the continent for a year. Their new groom, Jonathon, wasn’t ready for the challenge of two extra horses plus Star Gazer’s foal that Lady Anne had decided to leave at Ormond while she and Giles had the stables at Caithwell renovated. Geoffrey had felt compelled to remain until the new foals were born.