In the Heart of the Highlander (4 page)

“Arden. Mary Arden,” Mary whispered. It did not require much acting to feel faint and overwhelmed at the moment.

“They’re opening the doors now. You won’t be disappointed with the food or the company, I promise. I’ve been here a few days while my estate is being renovated and I wager I’ve gained half a stone.”

“Do you think this is wise?” Mary asked in a low voice, as the people swarmed noisily around them.

“Bauer is a predatory fellow. If he thinks you’re of interest to me, he’ll be anxious to remove you from my side. Have I seen you before on the stage? You look familiar.”

Even Oliver had not recognized her when she revealed herself, and he’d spent every day in her company for a year. “I doubt it. This is my f-first job.”

“Fallen on tough times, eh? Well, I hope that old trout Mrs. Evensong is paying you well. She’s charging me a fortune.”

Mary bristled. “I assure you you’ll have no complaints. Now, no more talk of business. If you’re pretending to woo me, do it properly.”

Lord Raeburn gave her an assessing look. “I shall do my utmost. You are a fetching little thing for all the sharpness of your tongue. Who’s the boy with you? Isn’t he that secretary at the agency?”

“What part of ‘no more talk of business’ did you fail to grasp, my lord? You’ll ruin everything before the fish course.”

Lord Raeburn threw back his head and laughed, causing quite a few more people to glance in their direction. He led them to the end of one of the tables, and instead of sitting opposite, plunked himself down next to her.

The dining room was filling, yet it seemed the guests were reluctant to join Mary and Lord Raeburn. His reputation was with him always. If he hadn’t intervened in the argument with Oliver and spirited her away, he’d probably be sitting alone. A group of sporting gentlemen took their seats several chairs away, but did not acknowledge them.

Mary wondered how Lord Raeburn had spent days here so far. She would have to warn him in no uncertain terms not to interfere.

Though perhaps he had a point. Men were territorial, and often coveted what was not theirs. As much as she didn’t wish to be a bone tussled over by two handsome bearded men, Mary thought it would suit her purpose.

She wanted to laugh herself.
Two men.
Never in her life had she been as close to an attractive man as she was this evening. She could smell the cologne he wore—Blenheim Bouquet, her very favorite—and could count the threads of silver in his neat beard. His thigh brushed hers and she inched away.

Fleet-footed waiters emerged from the kitchen and began laying down white china platters. Meals were served family-style, though there was no one close enough to ask to pass the dish of glistening oysters.

Mary eyed the empty chairs separating them from the others. “Should we move down?” she asked.

“We should, just to make the bas—fellows nervous. But we won’t.” The baron raised his finger, and a freckled young waiter appeared instantly.

“We’ll need our own platters, lad. See to it.” Lord Raeburn slipped some coins into the boy’s gloved hand. In a minute a plate was placed before them with more oysters than two people could possibly eat.

Or so Mary thought. Lord Raeburn served her and made quick work of the rest. His appetite was certainly unaffected by the snubs all around them. Mary craned her neck to look for Dr. Bauer. The senior hotel staff ate with the guests, and she spotted him making conversation with a gray-haired couple across the room.

Lord Raeburn noted where her eyes were straying, and wiped his mouth on a linen napkin. “He’ll be around before coffee is served. He goes table to table greeting his patients, and he won’t like it that you’re sitting with me. In fact,” he said with a cheerful grin, “he tried to have me barred from the hotel. But Prescott loves his pounds above all things, so my reservation stood.”

More food arrived, but Mary felt too enervated to eat much. “This must be very awkward for you. Being . . . shunned.”

“It will all be worth it if I can catch Bauer making love to you.”

Mary’s cheeks warmed. “It will not come to that, I hope. But your friends—has no one stood by you?”

“My brothers don’t think I’m a villain. But then, they’re so wild themselves their opinion doesn’t matter. Enough about me and my nefarious plans. Tell me about yourself, Miss Arden.”

Mary took a sip of water. The hotel did not serve spirits, although judging from their roar, the sporting gentlemen had indulged before dinner from flasks in their suitcases.

“There is not much to tell. My family owns a small chain of grocery stores in Oxfordshire. I worked in one of them until I came down to London.” There was no point in trying to disguise her background—Mary wasn’t ashamed of her parents, or even her aggravating, ambitious brother.

His dark brow raised. “A grocery store? That’s a long way from the stage.”

“I told you, I’m not an actress.” Which was rather a fib when it came right down to it.

“How did you come to Mrs. Evensong’s attention?”

“Shh. Don’t even say the name. Many of these people will have heard of the agency. I wouldn’t be surprised if we—um, they—hadn’t placed servants in half their houses.”

“The old girl is rather well-known. Why is she here?”

Mary stared at her fork. “She prides herself on personalized service. The situation intrigued her.”

“And the secretary?”

“It’s always easier to travel with a man.”

“He’s not sweet on you, is he?”

“Oliver?” Mary choked back her laughter. “Oh, no.”

“That’s all right then. I wouldn’t want you to have to juggle three males, since this is, as you say, your first job.”

“Well, I did help out in the store for years.” Far too many of them. “One gets to know a lot about people when one is filling their shopping list.” Mary wondered what would be on Lord Raeburn’s—it would take a lot of food to fuel someone of his stature. He had to be almost six and a half feet tall. While he didn’t seem to have an ounce of extra fat, he was broad where it counted, and the tailoring of his evening clothes showed his shoulders to great advantage. She had admired his muscular calves when he’d turned up in his kilt, but really—if she was going to get through this dinner, she would have to stop thinking about the various parts of the man’s body.

That just might prove to be impossible.

Chapter

4

T
o his surprise, Alec was enjoying himself. Miss Arden was not like his usual flirts—in fact, he’d take her for an innocent virgin, just like the role she was playing. Her fair skin flushed when he teased her too far, and though she appeared to understand his every double entendre, she refused to acknowledge them.

Her primness was intriguing—however, he’d fallen for a prim woman before, and look where that had gotten him. Alec had been foolish enough to think he could thaw Edith out, but for four years he’d failed miserably.

Someone
had
succeeded, and he was on his way across the dining room. He covered Miss Arden’s gloved hand with his. “Don’t look up, but our prey is headed to our table.”

“Let go of my hand, my lord.” She would have hissed if any of the words had an
s
in them.

“Not a chance. He’s been looking at us all night. Let him think you’re easy to conquer.”

“You have it all wrong. A man like Bauer wants to know he’s the first one. It may amuse you to stir his jealousy, but it will doom our project if he thinks you’ve plowed the field first.”

“Miss Arden! Such imagery! You shock me.” Nevertheless, he released her hand.

Miss Arden immediately coughed into it, then picked up her water glass, her hand shaking.

“Good evening, Miss Arden. Are you quite well?”

“I—I—” The woman appeared quite breathless. Her bountiful bosom was heaving over the ruffles of her low-cut dress. Alec quelled the urge to tug the fabric up so Bauer wouldn’t get such a show. “I am sure I’ll feel better tomorrow.”

“Perhaps your dinner companion has upset you.”

Alec had to bite his tongue as Miss Arden cast her eyes down to her empty coffee cup. He waited for her to condemn him. “Oh, not at all. Lord Raeburn has been m-most k-k-kind. My brother—” She coughed again, managing to look adorable as she did so. “—abandoned me. I’m sure he found much more amusing company.” She looked up at Bauer, her eyes wide and innocent.

“I’m sure no one could find a better dinner partner than you, Miss Arden,” the doctor said in his damned oily voice. “Allow me to escort you in tomorrow evening. The hotel’s clientele are usually la crème de la crème, but every once in a while, there are exceptions.”

“You cannot mean Lord Raeburn, surely. He has been a complete gentleman.” Her lashes fluttered.

Now Alec knew Miss Arden was an accomplished liar. He’d rubbed up against her skirts to feel her plump thighs and looked down her pastel dress enough to disabuse the most naïve woman of his honorable intentions. He told himself it was all part of his plan to anger Bauer, but he’d had more fun than he expected. She was a seductive little package, wrapped tight in silk and sweet innocence.

“Indeed, Bauer. I was about to ask Miss Arden to sit with me again,” Alec said.

Miss Arden’s eyelashes fluttered some more. “Oh, Lord Raeburn, you know that’s against hotel rules. We’re all meant to m-mingle. I find that to be very democratic, Dr. Bauer. I get to meet so few people at home. Oliver and Aunt Mim must be quite sick of m-me.”

“I’m sure that’s not possible, Miss Arden. You are a very charming girl.” Bauer bowed, picked up her gloved hand and grazed her knuckles with his lips. She was hardly a girl, but Alec knew that pointing it out would not aid his cause. He imagined Miss Arden’s sharp elbow piercing his ribs.

All that Continental folderol had made Bauer successful with the ladies. The slight Viennese accent, the golden hair, the bright blue eyes—Alec wanted to stab him with a fork.

“Th-thank you, Dr. Bauer.” Miss Arden was blushing again. By God, could the woman blush at will? What an actress. She’d been wasted in the grocery store.

Suddenly Alec wanted to know where else she might make herself blush. He pictured flushed breasts and pink earlobes, then his mind’s eyes traveled to its natural conclusion. Soft belly, fiery hair between her parted white thighs—

“Did you say something, Lord Raeburn?” He heard the warning in her voice.

Och, he must have grunted aloud. It was his turn to take a sip of water. Better that he dump it into his lap.

“Frog in my throat,” he growled.

“I find Fisherman’s Friend drops are very helpful for that,” Miss Arden said. “I’m sure Dr. Bauer knows all the best medications.”

“As we shall discuss tomorrow at your appointment, Miss Arden. I’ll give you a thorough examination.”

Alec would just bet he would. The thought of Miss Arden stripped and bare to Bauer made his stomach knot. He rose, happy to tower over his enemy. “Since Miss Arden needs her rest, I’ll escort her back to her room.”

“I c-can find my own way back.”

“Nonsense,” Alec said, not wanting to let her go off on her own. Who knew what could happen? “This hotel is like a rabbit warren.”

“I say!” Bauer objected. “It is the finest hotel in the British Isles. In all of Europe!”

“Is it, now?” Alec sneered. “I wonder if your patients would agree.”

“They have nothing to complain about,” Bauer said, smug. “They get first-class service. In
every
respect. Your late wife took the cures and was very grateful. I daresay she was as happy here as she’d ever been before her . . . unfortunate . . . demise.”

Alec’s fists bunched at his sides. He wasn’t going to be goaded into pummeling Bauer in front of all these people. And what the doctor had said was damnably true—Edith’s diary was proof of that—before she realized she was just another one of Josef Bauer’s conquests.

“Oh! Lord Raeburn, I was not aware you were a widower. My condolences on your loss,” Miss Arden said, standing up between the two men as if she anticipated trouble. She was a brave little thing.

“Miss Arden, I regret to inform you that Raeburn has the blackest of reputations. No decent woman—or man, for that matter—is seen in his company. As you have been so ill and isolated at home, you would not know. I’ll make sure to exonerate you amongst the guests. But if you will take my advice, you will not allow him to escort you anywhere.”

Miss Arden looked from one man to the other, rather like a trapped fawn between two hunters. She covered her mouth with a gloved hand and coughed, a noisy racking spasm that was not adorable at all. Alec felt every eye in the room focused on them.

“See what you’ve done, Bauer? You’ve frightened her and made her ill!”

“She should be frightened. Come, Miss Arden, I’ll take you upstairs.”

Alec opened his mouth to argue when Miss Arden’s “brother” sprinted across the room.

“What mischief have you gotten into now, Mary? I can’t leave you for an hour without you making a scene. Sorry, gentlemen, but my sister’s completely clueless when it comes to men. Whatever she’s said to upset you both, I’m sorry for it.” He was towing Mary away, grumbling all the way to the dining room doors. Miss Arden looked chastened and stared down at her rapidly moving feet. She gave one desperate backward glance before young Mr. Arden propelled her out the door.

Bauer smirked at him. “Well. I’ll make sure Miss Arden’s brother knows all about you.”

“What makes you think I won’t do the same?” Alec asked.

“You can’t, Raeburn. Your pride and honor will stop you from dragging out your wife’s dirty laundry. And who would believe you anyway? After all, you pushed her out her bedroom window in a jealous rage.”

Alec wished a window was handy now. “You know why she died.”

“Do I? I’m a doctor, not a miracle worker. She was very unhappy. I did the best I could, but not every treatment is successful. You must know I offered to relieve her of her little problem, but she refused.”

If Bauer had seemed the least bit penitent, Alec might have changed his course. But there was no true sorrow in Josef Bauer. He had dismissed Edith’s death with a shrug and a few glib words.

“I don’t care what you say about me. We both know the truth. If I were you, Bauer, I’d watch my step with any future patients. Like poor Miss Arden.”

“She’s rather sweet, isn’t she? She’ll do nicely for the next week or so—it’s slim pickings yet. The best people come in August. What’s today, Thursday? I estimate she’ll be in my bed Sunday at the latest. You’d best not interfere.”

There—that was what Alec had aimed for, wasn’t it? But the thought of Bauer’s hands anywhere on Mary Arden was sickening.

“Don’t touch her,” he growled.

“You can’t stop me.” Bauer gave him a wolfish smile. “Even if her brother finds out, I don’t believe he’ll care—there’s no love lost there.”

“She has an aunt.”

“Who’s so consumed with her own affliction she has no time for her niece. Yes, I’d say Mary Arden is just what the doctor ordered.” Bauer chuckled at his own joke.

If Alec stayed in the dining room one more second, he would bloody Bauer’s nose. The end result would be his ejection from the hotel, and he had promised Mrs. Evensong that he’d protect Mary Arden.

So he turned on his heel and left, hearing the whispers and sighs of relief as he quit the room. Sometimes retreat was necessary to win the war, though it galled him to leave Josef Bauer standing unscathed. He would have to warn Mrs. Evensong that his plan was succeeding all too well.

He’d inquired earlier—she was in one of the tower rooms a floor below his. Was it too late to call upon the old woman? He hoped not, for Mary’s sake.

He bounded up the stairs, thinking he was getting more than his share of exercise here even if he didn’t use the rooms designated for the purpose. Coming to the end of the corridor, he knocked gently on the door with his still-clenched fist.

Instead of a maid, it was Mary herself who answered the door. She grabbed his arm and dragged him inside.

“Are you insane? What the devil are you doing here?” she asked, clearly furious.

“Invite Lord Raeburn to sit down, dear,” Mrs. Evensong said. “I was getting bored with your lack of details about dinner.”

Miss Arden—Mary—turned scarlet. “There is nothing to tell, Aunt Mim.”

“Ho, that’s not what I’d say.” Oliver was presiding over a decanter of brandy in a corner of the sitting room. “Care for a libation, my lord?”

“He is not staying,” Mary said.

“I’d be delighted, Mr. Arden,” Alec replied, earning daggers from her.

“Call me Oliver, please. I might not answer to the other.”

“You’d better!” Both Mrs. Evensong and Mary admonished the boy in unison.

“All right, all right. Just teasing, y’know. All this havey-cavey stuff is a bit new to me.” Oliver grinned and poured everyone a drink. “Cheers! I’d say we’re off to a smashing success, what?”

Alec accepted his drink and sat down in a striped chair without being invited to by Mary. “I came up to tell you just that. Bauer is bragging that he’ll have you in his clutches by Sunday.”

Mary blanched. “Wh-what?”

“He has picked you to be his latest victim. I felt sure if he saw you with me, it would be like waving a red flag in front of a bull, and I was right.”

“Sunday is just two days away. Surely I should not be quite so easy a conquest,” Mary muttered.

“He’s convinced you have no champions. But he shouldn’t discount me.”

“Lord Raeburn, if I may interrupt.”

He turned to Mrs. Evensong, realizing suddenly that she was already in a figured robe, night rail, and lacy nightcap. One foot was wrapped in linen and raised upon a hassock. “Do forgive my intrusion at this hour,” Alec apologized. “I just thought I should inform you.”

“At this hour? The sun is still shining this far north, is it not? It will be hours yet before I can fall asleep. All this excitement. Quite like the old days. All you young people.”

“Umm, yes.” At thirty-five, Alec had not thought of himself being young for years.

There was something different about Mrs. Evensong, though Alec could not put his finger on it. She still wore her tinted spectacles, and gray curls peeped from under the fringe of lace. She seemed older, less brisk than she had the day he’d come to Mount Street. Not quite as businesslike, almost as if she were enjoying herself at his expense.

Which, by God, she was after what he’d paid her.

“May I make a point? If you become Mary’s champion and deter Dr. Bauer, you will spoil your own scheme.”

Alec took a measured sip of brandy. She was right, of course.

“You cannot keep following me,” Mary added crossly. “It will ruin everything.”

“I wasn’t following you. I came to speak to Mrs. Evensong.” He’d been as surprised as she when she’d yanked him into the suite.

“Whatever you want to say to her you can say to me.”

“Forgive me, Miss Arden, but you are merely the hired help.”

Green fire flared in Mary’s eyes, but vanished in an instant. “Yes, my lord.”

Oliver snorted but wisely said nothing.

“So,” Mrs. Evensong smiled, “tell me about tonight. I believe Mary omitted all the most interesting things.”