Miss Lavigne's Little White Lie (16 page)

His stern hand on the small of her back made her jump. He propelled her forward and outside through the glass doors lining the veranda, into the darkness, before she realized his intentions.

“
Non.
”

“Just one moment alone, darling. That’s all I ask.”

The constant breeze off the sea lifted the curls cascading down her back, and the scent of jasmine surrounded her, reminding her of his earlier generosity. She stopped resisting and followed him to a hidden corner of the sprawling terrace.

“Well,
are
your wishes more important?” Lisette’s voice lacked the conviction it had possessed a moment ago.

Daniel faced her. The moonlight darkened his eyes to shining pools of black. “Tell me you want to dance with other gentlemen, Lis.” Her body quivered as his arms captured her around the waist. “If that is your true desire, I won’t interfere. But I must hear you say it.”

No part of her desired anyone other than Daniel, but her longings wouldn’t provide the safety her family required.

She backed out of his embrace. “I must go.”

“Must you?”

Lisette bit down on her lip. He was dangerous to her welfare and that of her family. She should go at once, but her feet refused to obey.

Daniel brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her skin. She shivered.

“Answer me, luv. Do you wish to dance with other men?”

Non.
“
Oui
. But I shall save a place on my card for you. A waltz? Minuet? What is it you want?”

“You,” he whispered, wrapping his fingers around the nape of her neck. “You,
ma
chère
.” His breath caressed her cheek, so warm and exciting.

Their lips drifted closer together.

“I should resist you.”

He chuckled under his breath. “Please don’t.”

“Lisette!” Serafine called out from the dark, startling them apart. “Are you out here?”

Lisette suppressed a sigh. Would her cousin ever trust her to do what was best for them all?

Fifteen

Daniel gritted his teeth. Lisette’s bothersome cousin was spoiling his pleasure yet again. He would need to do something with the wench when they set sail. Too bad tossing her overboard was out of the question.

He guided Lisette away from her approaching relative, not wishing to place her in the position of needing to defend herself against her cousin’s judgments. “Use the south doors. I’ll intercept her.”

Lisette hurried toward the light spilling from another set of glass doors then disappeared inside the governor’s mansion. Daniel pulled the cheroot his father-in-law had given him from his jacket, lit it using the flame of the closest torch, and waited for Mademoiselle Vistoire to discover him.

“Lisette,” she hissed. “Where are you, you incorrigible girl?”

Daniel almost felt sorry for Mademoiselle Vistoire. The role of Lisette’s keeper couldn’t be easy, but it seemed a self-appointed position and unnecessary given Lisette’s widowhood.

The lady’s footsteps pattered in his direction. As she emerged from the shadows, the torchlight made her black tresses gleam.

“Out and about with no chaperone, mademoiselle? A risky venture for an innocent. Who knows what unsavory characters you might run across on a dark night?”

Her lip lifted with derision. “Such as yourself, Captain Hillary?”

“Perhaps.” A plume of smoke rose from the tip of the cheroot, swirling into the air. “What brings you outside, my dear?”

“Where is my cousin?”

“I imagine she’s in the ballroom, where you belong.”

Mademoiselle Vistoire’s hands landed on her hips. “She is not. I searched the entire hall.”

Daniel raised a brow. “I question the accuracy of your claim, but it matters little to me. As you can see, Madame Lavigne is not in my company. Do you suspect someone else has captured her fancy?”

She marched across the remaining space and looked up with hardened eyes. “Take
me
.”

Daniel fumbled his cheroot but recovered it before it slipped from his fingers. He hoped he misunderstood her. “Take you? Take you where?”

She scowled. “To your bed, imbecile.”

“Egads!” He tossed the cheroot to the ground and crushed the burning tip with his boot. “You are out of line, mademoiselle.”

“Am I?”

She attempted to throw her arms around his neck, but he captured her wrists. She jerked against his hold, but he refused to release her for fear she’d further disgrace herself.

“We both know you practice no discernment when bedding a woman,” she spat. “I’m familiar with men like you. You have your way with the fools then fling them aside for the next pleasure.”

His jaw dropped and his hold loosened. Her gall was beyond the pale.

Mademoiselle Vistoire extracted her arms from his grip and rubbed her wrists. “Let’s be reasonable, Captain. Lisette’s prospects for securing a proper match once we reach England are better than my own. Rafe and I need her to marry well, perhaps to a titled gentleman. She cannot catch a husband if you ruin her.”

“Ruin her?” The lady was a complete noddy. “Your cousin is a widow. The only thing she’s likely to catch in London is a rake at her back door.”

His fingers curled into a fist. The idea of the blackguards misusing Lisette made him want to pound them.

Mademoiselle Vistoire crossed her arms. “I haven’t the slightest idea as to your meaning.”

He wouldn’t like to explain his meaning either. Daniel rolled his shoulders to lessen the tension between his shoulder blades. He must recall he was in the presence of a lady, even though she behaved with less than ladylike manners.

“There is no denying Madame Lavigne is a beauty without compare. I’m certain she will turn a few heads. But she is a widow with no issue. Her fertility will come into question, and these illustrious
noblemen
you seek require an heir.”

“Lisette is plenty young enough to produce offspring,” she argued.

“Irrelevant point, my dear. The
ton
makes judgments quickly. So unless your cousin has significant financial assets to bring to the union, she has no chance of marrying, and even then her prospects are limited to men in dire need of funds.”

Serafine scoffed. “You have an interesting perspective, sir, but you are mistaken. My cousin is not a widow.”

“Of course she is. Lisette said as much in our first meeting.”

“She allowed you to believe her to be a widow, because that seemed the best course at the time.”

Uneasiness swirled in his stomach. Mademoiselle Vistoire was annoying and interfering, but she didn’t strike him as a liar. “But she wore widow’s weeds.”

Her severe brows arched over her mocking gaze. “Her mourning clothes were made to grieve her father.”

If Lisette wasn’t a widow, he had already overstepped his bounds. Did her cousin expect him to offer for Lisette? “What are you implying, mademoiselle?”

The willowy young woman stepped forward, all aggression dissipating. She grasped Daniel’s hands. “
She
is an innocent, Captain, but I am not. Please, if you must take one of us to your bed, choose me.”

The weary slant of her eyes and downturn of her mouth conveyed no desire for him, simply resignation. Mademoiselle Vistoire considered herself a necessary casualty in the quest to save her family and preserve their future.

“Mademoiselle, I’m at a loss as to how to respond. Thank you for the kind offer, but I must decline.”

“I see.” Tears pooled in her eyes. She released her death grip on his hands and turned away, furiously swiping away the evidence of her distress. “Of course you must decline. Forgive me. I wasn’t thinking.”

Daniel felt like a cur. He hadn’t meant to injure her sensibilities, but how was he to explain his desire was only for Lisette? “You needn’t apologize,” he called to Mademoiselle Vistoire as she walked away.

She lifted her skirts and dashed for the terrace stairs.

“Mademoiselle, wait.”

She kept running and disappeared into the moonlit gardens.

Damnation.
The last thing he wanted was to chase the wench, but she left him little choice. Lisette would be beside herself if harm came to her cousin. He glanced back at the house, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lisette so he might enlist her assistance, but instead found Mr. Ramsey had stumbled out the door.

The perpetually foxed vicar could drink his weight in burgundy, rum, or brandy. Perhaps all three at once. He wouldn’t be the best candidate to assist Daniel, but he was all that was available.

Daniel stalked across the terrace, his boots striking the stone. “Come with me.” Grabbing the clergyman’s upper arm, he dragged the man toward the gardens.

Mr. Ramsey’s shrill scream sounded like a lady. “Don’t hurt me. I’ll give you anything you want.”

“Silence. I have no cause to harm you.”

The vicar released a loud sigh.

“
Yet
,” Daniel added for good measure, earning a pathetic whimper. “When we find Mademoiselle Vistoire, you must escort her inside where she’ll be safe. Her reputation will be less damaged if she is discovered with you. Now, help me locate her.”

Together, they infiltrated the gardens. Daniel called her name quietly. Mr. Ramsey attempted to call to her as well, but his mouth issued a series of slurs before he tripped over a flagstone.

Daniel caught him before he fell. “Perhaps you should lay off the spirits, sir.”

“I only had one drink. Maybe two, but the glass was half empty each time.”

Daniel didn’t care to argue the point. “Try to be of assistance,” he snapped and released the vicar.

If Daniel were smart, he would leave the man in Port Albis. He wouldn’t, of course, not after he had given his word to carry the man to England in exchange for performing the marriage ceremony for his brother.

They scoured the gardens until Daniel was ready to give up, but a rustle in the bushes brought him up short. A soft mewling sound came from the other side of the hedge. He put his finger to his lips to signal for the vicar to remain quiet. Easing around the hedge, Daniel discovered Mademoiselle Vistoire sitting on the ground with her knees hugged to her chest. Her head rested on her arms folded across her knees, and her lithe frame shook with suppressed sobs. Light from one of the garden torches cast her in shadow.

“Mademoiselle, please don’t cry.”

She looked up, but Daniel’s request had the opposite effect of what he intended. The woman dropped her head back down and wept in earnest.

“What the bloody hell?” Mr. Ramsey rounded the hedge in haste and careened into a rose bush. “Damnation! What the devil has me?” A thorn had snagged the man’s coat, and he thrashed like a fish in a net. When the connection was severed, he stumbled forward and plopped to his knees. Another round of curse words not fit for anyone’s ears, much less a lady’s, flew from the vicar’s mouth with amazing clarity given his drunken state.

Mademoiselle Vistoire’s tears had ceased, and she stared at the vicar with wide eyes. “Gracious, Father. Perhaps you should ask for forgiveness as long as you are on your knees.”

Daniel met her gaze. A soft giggle escaped her, soon followed by a full belly laugh. Her reaction caught him by surprise, but laughter was an improvement over her tears.

Mr. Ramsey fixed his blurry eyes on her and frowned. “Father? I’m your father? How could that be? I’ve always been so bloody cautious.”

Mademoiselle Vistoire hooted, doubling over and holding her stomach. Her laughter was so intense she tipped over to lie on the grass.

The corners of Mr. Ramsey’s mouth inched upward. “What’s so bloody funny?” He chuckled. His expression brightened, and he chuckled once more. Mademoiselle Vistoire’s laughter proved to be contagious, and soon the vicar issued hearty guffaws despite having no clue
he
was the joke.

For
Pete’s sake.
They both were insane. And Daniel must have been deranged himself to expect any help from the vicar. Hooking the man under his arms, Daniel hauled him to his feet.

“Mademoiselle, would you lend your assistance? Mr. Ramsey is three sheets to the wind.”

She wiped the tears from her cheeks before pushing to her feet and dusting off her gown. “What will you do with him?”

Daniel clamped an arm around the man’s waist and urged him back toward the house. “Deliver him to his chambers where he may sleep off his fog.”

“How shall I provide assistance?”

He glanced at her over his shoulder. “If you follow us inside, I need not be concerned for your safety.”

She nodded sagely. “I see.” Falling in place, she walked back to the house behind Daniel and the vicar. They passed through a back door and ascended the servants’ staircase. She waited outside Mr. Ramsey’s chamber door while Daniel tucked him into bed.