Deception (21 page)

He did not look back as he took the stairs two at a time but he could feel Mrs. Bird’s seething disapproval all the way to the landing.

The old harridan was an irritating problem but not an insurmountable one, he thought as he went down the hall. He could deal with her.

Jared stopped in front of Olympia’s bedchamber and knocked softly. There was a soft scurrying sound from inside and a moment later Olympia opened the door.

“Good morning, Miss Wingfield.” He smiled at the sight of her in her white lawn nightrail and hastily donned chintz wrapper.

Olympia’s dark red hair was a magnificent cloud of fire around her piquant face. She blushed a delightful shade of pink when she saw him. In the pale light of dawn she was irresistible. Jared glanced at the invitingly rumpled bed behind her.

“Mr. Chillhurst, what are you doing here at this hour?” Olympia peered around around him to check the corridor. “Someone might see you.”

“I am here to return a few personal items that you apparently forgot about last night.” Jared held up the chemisette and cap.

“Good grief.” Olympia glanced at the garments. Her eyes widened in shock. She snatched them from his hand. “I am so glad you remembered to collect them.”

“Unfortunately Mrs. Bird discovered them before I got downstairs.”

“Oh, dear.” Olympia sighed. “Was she terribly overset? She has been extremely concerned about your
presence in this household and now she is likely to think the worst.”

“She does think the worst, but I believe she has enough sense to keep her thoughts to herself.” Jared bent his head and kissed Olympia warmly. “I shall look forward to seeing you at breakfast, Miss Wingfield.”

Jared stepped back and closed the door on Olympia’s flushed features. He whistled softly as he went down the hall to his own bedchamber.

  “Good morning, Aunt Olympia.”

“You are looking very nice today, Aunt Olympia.”

“Good morning, Aunt Olympia. A beautiful day, is it not?”

Olympia smiled at Hugh, Ethan, and Robert who had promptly leaped to their feet as she walked into the breakfast room.

“Good morning, everyone.” She waited as Ethan hastened forward to hold her chair for her. She was still not fully accustomed to the boys’ new manners. “Thank you, Ethan.”

Ethan looked at Jared for approval. Jared nodded slightly. Ethan grinned and took his seat again.

Olympia glanced down the length of the table and caught Jared’s knowing eye. The warm, shimmering happiness that had blossomed inside her last night welled up once more. Her fingers trembled a little as she picked up her spoon.

This was what it felt like to be in love
, she thought. She had realized the truth last night. There had been no question but that what she felt for Jared was far beyond passion.

Love. She had come to believe that she would never experience the emotion. At five-and-twenty a woman of the world had to be realistic, after all.

Love.

The sensation was infinitely more exciting than discovering the secrets of a lost legend or exploring the strange customs of other lands.

Love.

Her life was a cup that was filled to overflowing this morning. The loneliness she had known since the deaths of Aunt Sophy and Aunt Ida was gone. She had found a man whose soul seemed perfectly tuned to her own.

She would not have him with her long, she reminded herself; weeks, months, perhaps a year or two at best if she was extraordinarily fortunate. There was no denying that one day Jared would leave to take up another position in another household. That was the way with tutors. Young boys grew up and their tutors moved on.

But in the meantime, Olympia vowed, she would indulge herself in this great, passionate love that had come upon her in the guise of a man with the face of a pirate.

“Well, then, where are you all off to today?” Olympia hoped her voice was steady and calm. Her insides certainly were not. Joy was a difficult emotion to conceal, she discovered. She knew from the glint in Jared’s gaze that he was well aware of her euphoric mood.

“We are going to visit Mr. Winslow’s Mechanical Museum,” Robert volunteered.

“They say there is a giant clockwork spider there that moves just like a real spider,” Hugh said excitedly. “It frightens the ladies but it won’t frighten me.”

“I have heard that there is also a mechanical bear and some birds, too,” Ethan added.

Olympia looked at Jared, her curiosity piqued. “It sounds very interesting.”

“So they say.” Jared spread jam on his toast.

Olympia pondered briefly. She was suddenly torn between her own plans for the day and the novelty of
touring a mechanical museum. “I believe I should like to go to the museum with you.”

“You are quite welcome to come along.” Jared bit into the toast.

“Yes, Aunt Olympia, do come with us,” Robert said. “It will be great fun.”

“And very educational,” Ethan said wisely.

“I’m sure it will be.” Going to the museum would not only be educational, Olympia thought, it would give her an opportunity to spend the afternoon with Jared. “Very well, then, I shall make arrangements. What time will you be leaving for the museum?”

“Three o’clock,” Jared said.

“Excellent. I have an appointment to view some maps in the Musgrave Institution, but I shall be finished in plenty of time.”

  “I doubt that you will find anything useful in the society’s collection, Miss Wingfield.” Roland Torbert clasped his hands behind his back as he hovered over Olympia. “Very poor assortment of maps of the West Indies here. Now in my own, personal library, I have an excellent collection.”

“I am quite looking forward to viewing them, Mr. Torbert.” Olympia edged slightly away from him. Torbert smelled of a combination of musty clothing, sweat, and the perfume he used in a vain attempt to conceal the other odors. “But I wish to do my research in an orderly fashion.”

“Naturally.” Torbert closed the distance between them. He peered over her shoulder as she unrolled another map alongside the first that was already spread out on the desk. “Do you mind telling me what it is, precisely, that you are seeking on these maps?”

“I am trying to ascertain the correct geography of
the area.” Olympia deliberately kept her answer vague. She had no intention of confiding in anyone except Jared at this stage of her research. “There appear to be some discrepancies in the records of the area.”

“I see.” Torbert assumed a learned air. “Difficult to chart all those islands, y’know.”

“Yes, indeed.” Olympia bent over the two maps comparing them with great care.

There was no sign on either chart of a mysterious, unnamed island to the north of Jamaica. There were one or two small indications of land on the newer map that were not recorded on the older one, but they were not located in the right vicinity of the West Indies.

“Perhaps later today would be suitable,” Torbert said. “I shall be happy to have you call upon me this afternoon, Miss Wingfield.” He watched her roll up one of the maps and set it aside. “I can arrange to have my maps ready for viewing at that time.”

“Thank you, but I shall be busy this afternoon.” Olympia unrolled another map. “Perhaps later this week, if it’s convenient?”

“Of course, of course.” Torbert clasped his hands behind his broad back and rocked on his heels. “Miss Wingfield, I understand that you will also be perusing Aldridge’s collection.”

“He was kind enough to offer me the opportunity.” Olympia frowned intently as she examined the new map.

“I feel I should take this opportunity to give you a bit of advice.”

“Yes?” Olympia did not look up from the maps.

Torbert coughed discreetly. “It’s my duty to tell you that you should be extremely cautious about revealing any aspect of your studies to Aldridge.”

“Really?” Olympia glanced at him in surprise. “Whatever do you mean, sir?”

Torbert cast a swift look around the library, making certain that no one else, including the elderly librarian, was within listening distance. He leaned very close. “Aldridge ain’t above takin’ advantage of a young woman, Miss Wingfield.”

“Advantage?” Olympia wrinkled her nose as the scent of Torbert’s heavy perfume assailed her. “Of me?”

Torbert looked flustered and immediately straightened. “Not of your person, Miss Wingfield,” he muttered. “Of your work.”

“I see.” There was something oddly familiar about that perfume, Olympia thought.

“My dear, it’s well known that you specialize in studying old legends as well as the customs of other lands.” Torbert chuckled conspiratorially. “It’s also a fact that there’s often a hint or two of treasure involved in some of those old tales you publish in the society’s journal.”

“True.” Olympia lifted one shoulder in a tiny shrug and bent over the maps. “But I have never heard of anyone actually locating a real treasure, sir. It is the task of exploration itself that is the reward.”

“Only for those of us who have an intellectual appreciation for such things,” Torbert said smoothly. “For others, I fear, the base lure of gold and jewels is far stronger than the more refined appeal of study and exploration.”

“You are probably quite right, Mr. Torbert, but I doubt if such people would be members of a learned group such as the Society for Travel and Exploration.”

“Sadly, my dear, that is where you are wrong.” Torbert smiled bleakly. “Human nature being what it is, a certain number of rude, uncouth treasure seekers are in our midst.” He drew himself up. “And I regret to say that Aldridge is one of them.”

“I shall bear your warning in mind.” Olympia
frowned as she caught another hint of his perfume. She almost recognized it, she thought. She knew she had smelled it recently. Very recently.

Last night, in fact.

“I say, it’s rather warm in here, is it not?” Torbert pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his perspiring brow.

Olympia stared at the linen handkerchief. It was an exact duplicate of the one she and Jared had found in the garden.

  The large clockwork spider crawled relentlessly across the bottom of the glass case. It moved with a jerky, unnatural stride that was nonetheless fascinating. It pursued a mechanical mouse that moved with a similarly uneven gait.

Olympia crowded close to the glass along with Ethan, Hugh, and Robert. They all peered into the case with rapt attention. Jared stood on the other side and watched the spider’s progress with an indulgent expression.

“I say, it’s awfully huge, isn’t it?” Ethan glanced hopefully at Olympia. “Are you frightened, Aunt Olympia?”

“Of course not.” Olympia looked up and saw the disappointment in his eyes. “Why would I be frightened when I have you three to protect me from the beast?”

Ethan grinned, satisfied. “Do not forget Mr. Chillhurst. He’ll protect you, too. Won’t you, Mr. Chillhurst?”

“I shall do my best,” Jared vowed softly.

“It’s just a mechanical spider,” Robert said with the scorn only a ten-year old boy can affect. “It cannot hurt anyone, can it, Mr. Chillhurst?”

“Probably not,” Jared said. “But one never knows.”

“That’s right,” Ethan said with relish. “One never knows. If it got loose in here, for instance, I’ll wager it could cause all sorts of trouble.”

Robert glanced across the room to where visitors were observing the actions of a mechanical bear. “Just imagine what that lady over there would do if she suddenly felt the nasty limbs of a spider on her ankle.”

“I’ll wager she would scream,” Hugh said. He gave the latch on top of the glass case a speculative look.

Jared’s brows rose. “Do not even consider the notion.”

All three boys groaned with regret and went back to studying the spider.

Olympia glanced quickly around and then moved to Jared’s side. This was the first opportunity she had had to talk to him in private. She was anxious to tell him about her discoveries regarding Torbert’s handkerchief.

“Mr. Chillhurst, I must speak with you.”

He smiled. “I am at your service, Miss Wingfield.”

“Privately.” Olympia moved into another room full of clockwork oddities.

Jared leisurely followed her to a case that contained a mechanical soldier. “Yes, Miss Wingfield?” He twisted the knob on the base of the case. The soldier started to stiffen and stand tall. “What was it you wished to discuss?”

She shot him a triumphant, sidelong glance and pretended to study the clockwork figure. “I believe I have discovered the identity of the intruder. Perhaps of the Guardian himself.”

Jared’s hand froze on the knob. “Have you, indeed?” he asked without any inflection.

“Yes, I have.” Olympia leaned closer on the pretext of getting a better view of the mechanical soldier. “You will never credit this, but it is none other than Mr. Torbert.”

“Torbert?” Jared stared at her. “What the devil are you talking about?”

“I am virtually certain that the handkerchief that we found last night belongs to Mr. Torbert.” Olympia watched as the mechanical soldier began to raise his small rifle. “He used one this morning in the society’s library and it looked just like the one we discovered.”

“Most handkerchiefs look very similar,” Jared said dryly.

“Yes, but this one carried the same scent as the one we found.”

Jared frowned slightly. “Are you certain?”

“Quite certain.” Olympia saw that the mechanical soldier was taking aim with the rifle. “But there is one other possible explanation.”

“What is that?”

“Torbert and Aldridge are apparently fierce rivals. Torbert, in fact, took great pains to warn me about Aldridge this morning. It’s possible that Lord Aldridge deliberately planted that handkerchief in the garden last night.”

“Why in blazes would he do that?”

Olympia slanted him an impatient look. “In hopes that it would make me think the worst of Mr. Torbert, of course.”

“That assumption presupposes that you would be able to identify the handkerchief,” Jared pointed out.

“Yes, I know, but that is precisely what I did.”

“Aldridge could not have guessed it would be so easy for you to recognize it. No, I seriously doubt that he had anything to do with it.” Jared turned toward her with a thoughtful expression. “Olympia, I do not want you getting involved in this matter.”