Heart of the Diamond (40 page)

“Shelby, hurry! Simms will return soon.”

Her brother opened the door, then turned to pick up his box. Nicki retrieved a pillow cover filled with Shelby's necessities from the floor and followed him to their father's study. “It takes twenty minutes to get everything set up. I'll need your help to run the trip wire.”

Nicki glanced into the hall before she eased the door closed. “Can you direct the spray to do as little damage to the furniture as possible?”

Shelby peered out from under the desk. “I'll try. Come here and hold this wire.”

As her little brother worked efficiently, Nicki followed his instructions with a sense of awe. Before her eyes, Shelby transformed from a young, troublesome imp to a brilliant young man confident in his accomplishments. Feelings of sadness and loss overwhelmed her, and she had to swallow a lump in her throat.
Everyone grows up,
she chastised herself. No matter how Mina or Shelby changed, no matter if they became spouses and parents, then grandparents, they would always be as special to her as they were right now.

“Nick! Stop gathering wool and hand me the jar from the bag.”

Nicki did as she was told, still uncertain as to the accuracy of the spray. “You know your mother will make a pillow cushion of you if you ruin one piece of furniture.”

“Ah, leave off, Nick! Em suggested sherry. It'll still spray across the burglar and the smell should be easy to follow. I think she felt sorry for Simms having to go about looking like a big plum.”

“Sherry? I suppose that should not do too much damage. Papa may become intoxicated from the fumes for several weeks. We may never see him leave this room.”

Shelby crawled from beneath the desk and took his contraption to a tall cabinet used for old papers. He cleared several journals off the top and set the box in their place. This made the contraption slightly higher than Nicki's head.

She had another twinge of doubt. “Shelby, what if the person we are seeking is short. Will the sherry not pass right over their head?”

He grinned as he pulled a chair to the cabinet and stepped onto it to gain a better view of the box. “I've got the machine set to spray out in a five foot circle. That should get anyone from my height to . . . to the earl's.”

That comment sobered them both. Nicki's chest tightened. No. After the revelations he had made that night in the tree, she would not believe Blake capable of anything so dishonorable. No matter how angry he was with her father, he would not have anything to do with such despicable acts.

She watched her brother work for several more moments. “I must go, Shelby. Are you finished?”

He shook his head. “It's taking longer than I thought. You go outside and keep watch. I'll leave through the window.”

“Just be careful getting back into the house.” Nicki shivered as she recalled her brush with disaster Wednesday night. If anything happened to Shelby, she would never forgive herself.

After first checking the hall, Nicki slipped from the study and stood as casually as possible outside. Moments later, she saw Mina peek in from the drawing room doorway and motion toward the end of the hall. As her sister ducked back into the drawing room, Nicki spied Simms returning.

She experienced a jolt of surprise at the sight of the butler, his face a glowing oblong of blue. He approached her with his usual stiffness. Arriving well before him was the overpowering, bitter scent of vinegar. Nicki's eyes started to burn and then to tear.

“Lady Nicki, I regret that the poultice was not a success.”

How could she keep from laughing? Shelby had called him a big plum, but now he was a blueberry. She summoned a serious thought. “Simms, I am so sorry. But perhaps the color was beginning to fade. You must attempt the poultice again later tonight. I realize you are anxious to return to your duties at the moment.”

Simms turned his watery gaze to her. “I believe I shall wait for the dye to fade on its own, my lady. If I continue changing colors, I shall be accused of having strange powers.”

“I must say the blue is quite striking on you, Simms. A very handsome color.”

A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. “Thank you, Lady Nicki, that is indeed comfort.”

Nicki moved aside and Simms took her place near the door to the study. She listened, but could hear no sound. Perhaps her brother had finished. “I had best return to the dancing. I believe I have missed several and shall have to make them up. I am sorry the poultice did not work, Simms. I had such high hopes.”

“As did I. But no matter. We tried, did we not?”

She nodded. “Yes, we did.”

Blake scanned the drawing room. His attention paused on Mina, but none of her companions possessed hair of the palest gold shot through with pure sunlight. Damn, where was the little minx? She had given him the slip earlier in the evening and he seriously doubted her actions were coincidental. Another suspicion rose to the fore of his thoughts, unbidden and unwanted. His gaze once again swept the room, then paused on a figure in emerald green. There was that popinjay, Teddy, but Nicole was nowhere about.

Bartholomew caught Blake's look and raised his wineglass in a sarcastic salute. Manners required that he respond, so Blake raised his hand briefly before turning his attention elsewhere.

Then he saw her. Standing in the opposite entrance to the drawing room, her cheeks flushed the color of rosebuds and her eyes sparkled until they threw every gem in the room into shadow. She was lovely. Ethereal.

And she had obviously been up to something.

He crossed the room in long swift strides and caught her before she could move from the doorway. The brilliance of her smile filled him with a sense of awe that a creature of light and joy could find such pleasure in his company.

“And where have you been hiding? If I were a jealous man, I might believe you had been trysting with a lover.”

She turned her head slightly, giving him a crooked smile. “You know full well you have nothing to fear. If anyone should be worried it is I.”

With a quick step to the side, Blake came around Nicole and looked into the hall. The only occupant was a tall, slender man. “Good Lord, who is that?”

Nicole touched her finger to her lips. “It is Simms. Who else?”

“The man is as blue as the uniforms of the castle guard!”

She tugged on his arm insistently, dragging him from the doorway. “Shhh! He will hear you!”

Blake followed for several steps, then halted, pulling Nicole up short. “Is he not aware he is blue?”

Obviously exasperated yet again by his apparent obtuseness, Nicole sighed. “Of course he knows, but he is rather sensitive on the subject.”

“And well he should be. He resembles an oversized blueberry.”

“I . . . I think it is a vast improvement over his earlier skin tone. Shelby called him a plum.” She tugged him between two groups of guests, smiling distractedly as a young man shouted a greeting. “It will wear off eventually, but why bedevil him over it in the meantime?”

He eyed her curiously. Such a magnificent brain hiding under all that glorious hair. He imagined he could hear the incessant buzzing of schemes forming. “I promise I will behave as though nothing is untoward.”

“Good. Now I want to dance. I believe you owe me at least three.”

Blake was agreeable to any form of exercise in which he might hold Nicole close. “Very well, my dear. Lead the way.”

She set out for the ballroom with single-minded determination. He followed, deep in thought. Tomorrow this lovely creature would belong to him. With her came that strong sense of loyalty and unbending devotion to those she loved that he found so intriguing, because she included him in her circle of family.

She had said she loved him. Even now the memory of those words sent his heart soaring. No one had said those words to him since his mother. He had told himself time and again he did not need the love of another, that when love came it brought unbearable pain in its wake. But he found he wanted Nicole's love. No, he craved it. And he would do anything to keep it. Anything.

She glanced over her shoulder. Seeing that he followed her through the crush, she offered a bright grin. He smiled in answer. God, he had not smiled so much since . . . he could not remember.

Nicole took both his hands and pulled him into the throng of dancers, coming into his arms with the lightness of air. But there was nothing transparent in the feel of her slim waist under his hand. “No matter how you turn your nose up at Angelica's teachings, she did a wonderful job. You dance like an angel.”

A charming flush tinged her dusky cheeks. “The lessons were tedious, but this clumsy country miss can hold her own amidst the
ton.
Angelica knew what she was about.”

“It is a wonder she still has her sanity. If you had fallen out of that tree or been knocked from one of those great beasts you love, you might have been killed or maimed.”

The gaiety left her face. “Angelica cares only for what is proper, not the injuries.”

Blake forged ahead, knowing he tread upon dangerous soil. “She has known you for, what? Twelve years, thirteen? That is a very long time. It must have been difficult for her to remain aloof with two such delightful girls.”

“I . . . I suppose I was not so delightful where she was concerned. If she said the day was cold I refused to wear my cloak and muff. If she said the red gown flattered me, I changed into the yellow.”

“Ah. Contrariness. You must have been a great challenge to her.”

Nicole's gaze met his steadily, bright and shining with unshed tears. “Perhaps I have been. When my father brought her into our home only a few short months after my mother died . . . I could not welcome her.”

“Even if it made him happy?”

She shuddered slightly, then seemed to summon a control from deep within. Blake knew the tactic well, as it was one he practiced quite often. “The battle between Angelica and me has been a subtle one. My father is oblivious.”

“You preach forgiveness to me, my little Nicole, but where is yours?”

The tears disappeared to be replaced by the glint of anger. “I have not set out on a campaign to ruin Angelica, or inflict pain. My behavior has not caused her any hardship.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Of course. Emotional revenge is much kinder than attacking a person's finances.”

“Why are we discussing Angelica when I want to talk about our wedding? Tell me, my Lord Diamond, are you pleased at all that tomorrow you shall give up all your freedom to become a married man?”

Blake grinned. “Once I thought the gallows preferable to standing at the altar to take a wife. But by marrying you, I shall have the best of both worlds. Is life not grand?”

Her sublime grace disappeared and she trod heavily upon his foot. Blake winced, eyeing her suspiciously.

Her lips curved sweetly. “It certainly is, my lord.”

“Nicki, I think the dosage is several drops. We do not wish to kill him!” Mina glanced out the kitchen door, then returned her attention to Nicki.

“Simms is quite tall, Mina, therefore I am certain he needs a larger dose than most people.”

Mina stared at the cup before them wide-eyed. “He's tall, but not robust.”

Nicki straightened and frowned at her sister in impatience. “This was your idea. If you think you can do better, then by all means take over.”

Mina blanched, her blue eyes widened as she looked at the bottle Nicki held. “No. No. I took the laudanum from Angelica's room, you do the rest.”

With a sigh, Nicki finished tidying the tea tray. “Of course, you do the thieving and leave the murder up to me.”

Both girls glanced around the clean kitchen. Em and her staff had long ago retired for the evening and they found Simms’ tea tray awaiting him, just as they knew it would. The round teapot sat wrapped in its quilted cozy with a small silver dish containing sugar to the left of the cup and saucer. A silver spoon rested upon a linen napkin. Nicki slipped the vial of laudanum into a hidden pocket in the folds of her gown.

“Perhaps I should take the tray to Simms. He may become suspicious if you are too solicitous,” Mina suggested.

Nicki nodded. “That is a good idea. Tell him it was Papa's suggestion, since it is by his orders that Simms must watch the study.”

“That would be good.”

As Mina appeared to be rooted in the doorway, Nicki picked up the tray and carried it to her. “Remember to pour his first cup. He must not see the laudanum in the bottom.”

“Nicki, are you certain about this?”

She was not sure at all, but she also would not quit now. “He will be fine. In fact, this will likely be the most restful night's sleep he has had in years.”

“I hope so. Poor Simms. He shall never forgive us. First Shelby dyes him purple, then you turn him blue, and now I am poisoning him.”

Nicki took Mina's shoulders and turned her around. “You are not poisoning him, you are drugging him. And if you do not hurry, the laudanum will not take effect before morning.”

“This is just dreadful, Nicki. What would Charles think?”

“He would think what a brave girl you are. Now run along! If I do not return to the party someone will come looking for us.”

Mina's gaze locked on the tea tray and Nicki guided her way with a light touch. “I wanted you to meet Charles. He leaves for London soon, and you'll be married after tomorrow.”

“If he is that tall blond gentleman with the gorgeous smile I saw with you earlier, I shall take extra pains to ensure he and Blake rekindle their familial relationship.”

A dreamy smile touched Mina's lips. “He's very special, Nicki.”

Nicki grinned. “If his personality is anything like his looks, he must be charming indeed. I had begun to worry about your taste in men when you found Blake too frightening, but you are right about your Charles. He is very handsome.”

“There you are, Nick. I've been looking for you everywhere.”

Mina gasped and would have dropped the tray if Nicki had not reached out to steady it. Fighting down irritation, she faced him. “Teddy! You could cause an accident sneaking up on a person like that!”

Looking from the trembling china to Mina's white face, he finally fastened his gaze on Nicki. “Have all the servants come down with Simms’ affliction?”