Once Upon a Diamond (17 page)

Devin seemed to relax as he seated himself in the wing
chair. “All right. Go on.”  

Tristan pulled up the fallen chair and sat down. “She
stopped at the inn when her carriage broke down in the storm. And need I say,
she looked like a sick chicken when I first saw her. I gave her a ride into the
village, believing she either had relatives there or was looking for a position.
In fact, I actually thought she was related to the vicar."

 “The vicar?” The corners of Devin’s lips twitched. “It
seems I have to believe you or call you out. And I do have to say that when I
first saw Katherine, I thought she looked like a sick chicken, too.”

Tristan laughed. “You have a hard right, my friend, but
I would rather not be the recipient of it next time you swing. Perhaps you
could try your luck at Jackson’s Rooms next week.”

Devin’s mood quickly changed as he glared at his friend.
“As far as I’m concerned, this doesn’t change things between us. I warned you I
would not flip a coin for Katherine. You can have your choice of the ladies of
the ton, including Lady Helen.”

Tristan snorted. “Is Kate your fiancée?” 

“She’s Miss Katherine Wilcox to you. And no, she is
not.”

“Then she is fair game. Although she is your cousin, by
marriage and not by blood, you have not properly claimed her.”

“But you have no marriage plans as I do,” Devin
protested, his eyes hardening.

Tristan flashed him a devilish grin. “And you know my
mind?”

“Confound it!” Devin slapped his fist into his open palm.
“The past few Seasons every lady you took from me, you wooed, and then shrugged
the poor girl off like an old rag. I will not stand and watch you play those
silly games with my cousin. Do I make myself clear?” 

Tristan caressed his jaw. He was going to have a tougher
time with Devin then he had thought. “You, my dear marquess, have a reputation
about Town. I’ve only honorable intentions.”

“If you have such honorable intentions, why did you walk
into the ice shop with Lady Helen clamped to you like some deuced lobster?” 

Tristan had no intention of discussing that bag of worms.
“I came here to call on the two young ladies of the household. Where are they? I
asked Webster to convey the message when I arrived." 

“My lord,” Webster said, stepping into the drawing room.
Both Tristan and Devin looked up. Webster cleared his throat, tugging at his
jacket. “Lord Lancewood, I am to convey a message to you from Miss Wilcox.”

“Yes?” Tristan said, a hint of uneasiness nipping at his
collar.

“I’m to inform you that the lady shall present herself
in precisely half an hour.”

Tristan grimaced.

Devin bellowed with laughter. “A dose of your own medicine,
eh?”

“It’s divine. Simply divine.” 

Startled, Tristan spun around and glared at the flapping
red beast perched beside the window. “I see Mr. Divine has taken residence here
as well.” 

Devin raised the pitch of his voice and flapped his arms.
“Why Tristan, it’s divine. Simply divine.” 

Webster retreated, hiding his smile.

Kate sat in the drawing room, ignoring Tristan’s amused
gaze as they waited for Charlotte to accompany them. Devin had delighted in the
obvious tension between the two, but to his dismay, he was called away due to
the arrival of his father’s good friend, Sir Percival, who was foxed to the
gills and demanding an audience with the duke who was not at home.

Though Devin was reluctant to leave, he had conveyed to
Webster that under no circumstances were the doors to be closed. Kate was
grateful.    

“A beautiful day, is it not,
Kate
?” 

Kate swung her head around, raising her chin at his
hovering form. “You take your liberties too far, sir. I am Miss Wilcox to you.”

“But Kate was the name you told me at the inn. It’s what
your friends call you. And I do consider myself your friend,” his smile roved
her figure, “after all we’ve been through.” 

Kate’s heart gave a skip. She was all the more
determined to fight her attraction to this man. “I am not Kate, your friend, or
your dear. Y
–
you threw me into the
lake!”

He ignored her complaints with a wry smirk. “I
will
call you Kate. Now, pray tell, what shall you call me? Lord Windbag seems a bit
formal after all we’ve been through.”

His laugh was deep and warm, taking Kate off guard.

“Lord
Windbag?” She turned her head, trying to hide her smile. “I shan’t call you
anything.”

“But Kate, you can do better than that.” He sat beside
her on the sofa and lowered his voice. “Let us call a truce.” 

“Very well then.”  She turned her head and narrowed her
eyes. “If you like, I shall call you Lord Pompous.” 

“Lord
Pompous?” he croaked. “I presume that name may have been warranted on our
previous ride, but now? It seems that under the circumstances, you may call me Tristan
or even Lancewood if you’d like.”  He bent down to glance at her face and burst
out laughing. “Believe me, no one has ever call me a Lord Windbag before and
lived to tell about it. Let me be the first to congratulate you.” 

He
grasped her hand, and she inhaled sharply. “However,” he said, “I do believe
you owe me an apology for that kick about ten years ago.”

Enamored by his candor, Kate joined in his laughter. A
warm feeling flowed through her veins. “Very well, I apologize.”

He moved closer, his eyes twinkling. “Apology accepted.”

Kate leaned toward him and caught herself. Alarmed at
her own reaction, she jerked her hand free, focusing on anything but him. He
made her forget everything when he touched her like that. But he was not the
man for her. He was too powerful. Too daunting. Too despotic. And too obsessive
about that diamond. She pulled at her shawl feeling the heat of his stare.   

“I thought it was a bit cool in here myself,” he said
with a twinge of amusement.

Kate’s heart pounded with dread. Gracious, this man was
twisting her heart like a ribbon on a stick. Matthew and his suitors were
looking better all the time. She lifted her head in relief when Charlotte
walked into the room.

“So sorry to be late,” Charlotte said, her eyes
twinkling. “Mother gave me a list of some things she wanted me to buy on our
outing. One of the maids is to accompany us in the event we are short on time
and I have to make some quick purchases.”

Kate noted the direction of Charlotte’s thoughts and
could have kicked her. It was obvious her matchmaking cousin was going to leave
her shopping with Tristan, and the man in question was grinning like a boy with
his first puppy.

When the carriage finally stopped at Leicester Square
where a wealth of shops awaited them, Tristan stepped down from the carriage,
all too aware of how his desire for Kate had escalated. He lifted his hand to
help Charlotte descend and gave her fingers a squeeze, knowing she would be
giving him time with Kate.

It was amazing how Devin’s sister had turned into a
beauty after a year or two out of the schoolroom. Her smile was both enchanting
and mischievous. Poor Edward probably had no notion of what lay behind those baby
blue eyes of hers.

He gave Charlotte a wink, and after the maid descended
the carriage, the two hastened into a nearby bookstore.

Smiling, Tristan turned to assist Kate from the carriage.
Instead of taking her hand, he circled her small waist as he lifted her to the
walk. A sweet lavender bouquet floated in the air. She was heaven in his arms.

He held her for a moment, then finally released her. He
gazed at her, trying to interpret her next move. But when a deep blush
blanketed her heart-shaped face, it told him all he needed to know. Pleased
with himself, he ushered her into a quaint music shop two doors down the street.

Instantly, Kate’s head bobbed up and down as she
investigated the stacks of papers and books.
Her body swayed down
the aisles with the grace of a princess.
“Goodness,
I’ve never seen so much music in one room before in all my life.” 

Tristan rejoiced in her happiness, especially when she
came toward him, picking up the music sheets one at a time, glancing at him
with a smile that melted his heart.

“I had no idea a place like this existed. Thank you, Tristan.”
She frowned. “I mean, Lord Lancewood.”

She was down another aisle before he could respond.
Tristan.
The sound of her voice wrapped around his heart.
He grinned, thinking
that if he could pat himself on the back right now he would.
Resting his head against the wall, he watched
Kate scurry about the room as excited as a child. He kept his eyes on the tiny
blond ringlets bouncing on the side of her face.

There was a sense of wildness about her that moved him.
She
was independent, courageous, and beautiful. Life with her would never be boring.

A
sense of urgency drove him to make her his, and at that moment, he almost
understood his father’s obsessive quest for the diamond.

The
diamond.
Tonight he would meet with Andrews and see what other
information the Runner had retrieved. And then there was the baron. Whitehall
had spies watching Douberry’s home, but they had no proof of his involvement in
the lost gem, only rumors. But the man could be more dangerous than he appeared.

Tristan
was to circulate in the ton and keep his eyes open for any suspicious activity.
Reports were coming in, revealing that the situation in India was escalating. Not
only money, but thousands of lives could be lost on both sides if the diamond were
not found.

Tristan
narrowed his eyes on Kate and frowned. Could the search for the diamond have
put her in danger, too? 

“Time to go, my little American. It’s getting late, and
I have no wish to meet Devin’s wrath if I bring you home late.”

Kate
approached him, her doe brown eyes pleading with him. “I may not ever get back
here again. Everything is so wonderful. Just a few more minutes. Oh, look! There’s
Charlotte!” 

Tristan
saw Charlotte approach and knew his precious time with Kate was drawing near a
close. “Kate, I promise, you will return here.”
You will come back here many
times after we are married.

A
few minutes later, the ladies made their purchases. Things were going extremely
well until they stepped outside the shop. A vague sense of alarm slid down Tristan’s
back when Kate’s gaze focused on a tall gentleman descending a carriage about a
half block away.

“Captain Gaston!” Without another word, Kate hastened
toward the gentleman. “Captain, I can’t believe it’s you.”

The older man tipped his head in amazement and grabbed
Kate’s hand, lightly kissing her naked wrist. “Why, Miss Katherine Wilcox. Who
would have thought I would meet you here?”

Tristan’s blood boiled at the sight of the older
gentleman pressing his lips against Kate’s skin. Gray hair dusted the man’s
temples and a thin patrician nose gave him a look of importance. He was tall
and well built, if women liked that sort of man. Dash it all. The man could be
her father. And how the devil did he get that scar on his face? 

Kate made the introductions. The man was a captain for
the Wilcox shipping line. It seemed he was here visiting relatives and had
heard she was staying with the duke.

Later, as Tristan’s carriage rolled along the
cobblestone streets toward the duke’s townhouse, Tristan listened with half an
ear while Kate talked about the shopping and the music she’d bought. Charlotte
interjected with questions about Boston.

Tristan smiled and nodded, his thoughts filtering back
to the night at the inn. How could he have missed the beautiful woman hidden
beneath that dull gray cloak? 

He frowned. Yet it seemed the captain hadn’t missed
Kate’s beauty at all.

Tristan had recognized the man’s leering gaze, even if
the women had not. Was the man working solely for Kate’s father as a captain on
the family’s ships or had Gaston been an old flame? Had the captain ever kissed
Kate? Did Kate care for this man? Had she ever loved him? 

The disturbing questions cut through Tristan’s mind like
a knife. Once again a layer of ice began to form around his heart. What did it
matter? Love was for the faint of heart. Courage and loyalty were other matters
entirely.

When the carriage finally stopped outside the duke’s
townhouse, Charlotte allowed Tristan to help her out of the carriage, followed
by the maid and the packages. Devin’s little sister smiled at him, a twinkle in
her brown eyes. “Thank you for a most wonderful time.”  

Tristan gave her a neat bow. “And thank you.” 

Charlotte ran up the steps into the townhouse.

Tristan tilted his head toward Kate as she started out
of the carriage. Thick lashes swept off her cheeks as she glanced at
Charlotte’s escape.

Kate cast him a wary glance. “I do hope to see you at
the Rushting Ball tomorrow.”