Promise Me (8 page)

“
Where had he been?”

“
To see his mistress.”

“
He admitted this?”

“
He had to. The woman forced his hand by threatening to publicly expose their liaison.”

“
Did he tell you her name?”

The silence stretched.

Didn’t she know by now she could trust him? If he showed her the letters, would she still deny Adrian’s son?

“
Most women would not hesitate to demand her rival’s name,” Nicolas remarked.

Her chin inched upward. “I am not most women, your Grace.”

“
No, I can see that. Please...go on.”

Emotion clouded her expression. “Adrian begged me to forgive him, but I couldn’t. All my anger rushed out in a flood of horrible words, and I ended our betrothal because I could not accept his betrayal. I didn’t know he’d followed me until I heard him shout.”

Nicolas held his breath.

“
When I turned my mare, I saw a frightening flash of light. Adrian’s horse reared, and he fell.” She shuddered. “I raced back to him, but...” She bolted from the chair. “There was nothing I could do.”

He followed her to the window. “You visited the cemetery this morning and placed the rose on my brother’s grave.”

She nodded. “Yellow was his favorite.”

Nicolas wanted desperately to mend her broken heart, but there was nothing he could say to ease her pain or change the past. He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around. He wasn’t sure how it happened, but somehow she ended up in his arms.

Her tears came softly, and she shivered as she clung to him.

“
Miss Sheridan, my brother adored you. In the letters he wrote me, Adrian’s devotion to you was apparent.”

“
Then…why did he take a mistress?”

Nicolas lifted her quivering chin. “Because sometimes men do foolish things.” He caught the last tear before it rolled down her cheek. “Things they later regret with all their heart.”

She bit her lip. “Your Grace…there’s something you must know.”

Suddenly the door burst open, and a gentleman stumbled inside the room. He saw Leah and promptly halted. “Well, shoot,” he drawled. “This ain’t my room.”

American. One of Irma Crandle’s spies?

“
Wait here, Miss Sheridan.” Nicolas approached the man. “No, this is not your room.”

“
Yeah, I can see that now. Well, I’ll leave you good folks to whatever you were doing.”

“
Allow me to escort you out.”

“
Thanks, but I can find my own way.”

“
Can you?” Nicolas grabbed him by the collar and pushed him into the corridor, making sure the door closed behind him. “Do you know who I am?” He shoved the man’s face against the wall. “Do you?”

“
The Duke of Chase?”

“
Very good. And you are?”

“
Trinity O’Connell, your Grace. I’d shake your hand, but you’ve got it pinned uncomfortably behind my back.”

“
Is that a clever attempt at humor?”

“
No, that was a hint that I’d like my arm back.”

“
In good time. What you just witnessed in my room, Mister O’Connell, was a distraught lady in need of a friend. Do you understand?”

“
Sure, at times I’m fairly needful myself.”

Nicolas knocked the man’s forehead against the wall. “That lady is not a trollop.”

“
I never said she was.”

“
Tell Miss Crandle we had a bargain, and I expect her to keep her end of it.”

“
Who?”

“
You’re not very bright, are you, O’Connell?” Nicolas spun him around, this time banging the back of his head against the same spot on the wall.

“
I wish you wouldn’t keep doing that, your lordship, cause my head ain’t as hard as you might think.”

“
Tell her.”

“
Yeah, I’ll pass along the message, but you know Irma. She’s a stubborn old woman.”

Nicolas pushed the man down the hall.

“
You wouldn’t be thinking of beating the tar out of me and throwing me down those stairs, now would you?”

“
I might.”

O’Connell grinned. “Still angry about the Revolutionary War?” He glanced over his shoulder. “Mind telling me where I’m going?”

“
Outside.”

“
Whoa, Friend.” The American pivoted around and pointed. “My room’s back there.”

“
Is that so?” Nicolas quipped. “Well…not this evening.”

Chapter Five

Leah placed her ear to the door. The duke sounded angry. Would his name soon find its way into the
Standard’s
gossip column along side hers?

As the voices outside the door faded down the hall, she plucked the vial of laudanum from her bodice, her fingers trembling, and hurried over to the table beside the window. A bottle of uncorked brandy stood beside the food tray. A kettle of tea rested on the tray itself.

Leah touched the porcelain pot. Cold. She pried open the vial and held it over the bottle of brandy.

No, this is wicked!

She straightened her spine, but her resolve to commit this despicable act, her very purpose in coming to the duke’s room, disappeared like a puff of smoke. Chase was arrogant and often rude, but drugging his brandy was cowardly. Before the stranger had intruded upon them, he had actually been kind to her, and she considered going against Anne’s advice and telling him about Edwin.

She understood her friend’s reluctance. Like most gently bred ladies, Lady Ashburn feared the scandal of illegitimacy would tarnish her family’s good name, but Edwin was a child in need of a family. Not a mistake to be hidden away indefinitely.

Leah closed her eyes. She could smell the duke’s scent. A faint mixture of chamomile and spice. When his strong arms had closed about her, she’d felt truly safe for the first time in a very long time. How was that possible?

A noise outside the door brought her to her senses. She set about replacing the vial’s stopper but in her haste, she dropped the tiny cork. It fell to the floor, and she lost sight of it in the rug’s flowery pattern.

Forget the stopper! Get rid of the laudanum!

If the duke caught her with it, he would have no trouble figuring out what she’d planned to do. And he would never believe she’d lost her nerve or changed her mind.

She lifted the lid of the teapot and quickly emptied the laudanum into the pot just as the door opened.

He stood in the doorway, his gaze locked with hers. “Forgive my manners. I should’ve offered.”

“
Pardon?”

Chase glanced at her hands.

Leah did as well. Lord, she still held the lid to the teapot! And in the other hand…

“
This establishment serves herbal teas,” she explained as she casually replaced the lid while tucking the hand holding the vial behind her. “I thought perhaps I smelled cinnamon.”

“
Cinnamon? No.”

He walked toward her and the closer he got, the faster her heart beat. Did his handsome face cause such discomfort, or was her guilty conscience the culprit?

“
You look a bit faint, Miss Sheridan. Would you care to sit down?”

She shook her head. “That gentleman…his clumsy entrance into this room was no accident, was it?”

“
No. He works for Irma Crandle.”

Afraid she might swoon, Leah changed her mind and sat down.

“
You’ve no cause to worry. Mister O’Connell…that’s the man’s name…he and I came to an understanding before we parted. I doubt he’ll cause us any more trouble.”

“
How can you be sure?”

One corner of his mouth twitched. “Trust me, Miss Sheridan.”

“
I do.”

He stared at her for several seconds before he offered a genuine smile.

To Leah, it was as if the very sun had entered the room.

Leave now before you throw yourself into his arms! Again!

“
I should not have come, your Grace.”

“
No, you shouldn’t have.” He placed his hands lightly upon her shoulders. “But I’m very glad you did.”

Like a rodent caught in the gaze of a deadly cobra, Leah stood captivated. His touch brought a quiver to her insides but when his hands slid down her arms, she quickly realized his intentions and flicked the empty vial backward.

He drew both her hands in front of her. The left one he raised to his lips.

His warm breath against her skin created a tingling sensation. Was it her imagination or did desire smolder in his dark gaze?

“
Miss Sheridan...” It must have suddenly dawned on the duke where they were, for his tender expression became detached. He released her hands and backed a few proper feet away. “I cannot pretend to understand Adrian’s misdeeds, but I am certain he loved you. One day I pray you will forgive him.”

“
I already have. Truly.”

“
I’m glad then.” He steered her to the door then reached around her and opened it. “If you ever need anything from me or my grandmother, please do not hesitate to ask.”

“
Thank you.”

“
Good night, Miss Sheridan.”

“
Good night, your Grace.”

The sudden urge to touch him, to smooth the lines from his brow, strayed into Leah’s thoughts. The very idea of his lips pressed against hers caused her knees to tremble.

Stop staring or he will think you are daft!

A strange, new emotion unsettled Leah. One she could not easily explain. Confused, she dashed from the room.

###

Irma closed the well-worn pages of her father’s leather bound Bible. Surely God does not grant clemency to murderers, so why did she continue to bother Him?

She leaned against the sofa cushions. Far too many lonely and silent hours stood between dusk and the coming of dawn, but she despised lying abed, yearning for Godfrey’s touch.

Irma clutched the locket hanging about her neck. “We had such good times, did we not, my love?”

Until that woman.

Her throat tightened. If only Godfrey hadn’t betrayed her...hadn’t dismissed her as though
she
were the harlot instead of his beloved wife. Stupid old man.

The parlor door creaked.

She sighed. “Come in, boy.”

“
I swear, Granny, you must have Shoshone mixed in with that English blood of yours.” Trinity strolled across the room toward the liquor cabinet. “How’d you know it was me and not Uncle William?”

“
Willie sought his bed over an hour ago. And don’t call me granny. Makes me feel old.” Irma set the Bible on the sofa beside her. “Did you see her?”

“
Yeah.” He poured a glass of whiskey. “And she was almost where you said she’d be.”

“
And the child?”

“
No sign of him.”

“
Did you get inside her room?”

“
Not exactly.” Trinity sat down in the chair across from her. “The door was locked, but I didn’t hear any sounds coming from inside. At least the normal sounds a child makes. However…” He downed half his glass before adding, “I did see something rather interesting.”

“
Boy, if you tell me you spied a lady in her underclothes, I’ll put a strap to your backside.”

“
Last time you did that was twenty years ago, and I ain’t been the same since.”

“
You cannot blame your simple mind on me,” Irma declared with a chuckle. “Say, what did you mean Miss Sheridan was almost where I said she’d be?”

“
That’s what I was about to tell you. You’ll never guess where the beautiful lady ended up.” He winked at her. “In the Duke of Chase’s room. Or rather, in his arms.”

“
I knew it.” Irma slapped her knee with enthusiasm. “I knew all along what I saw in that devil’s black eyes wasn’t my imagination. He’s aiming to bed his dead brother’s fiancée.”

“
And why not? Lord Adrian’s got no use for her.”

“
Watch your mouth, heathen. Bad luck comes to those who poke fun at the dead.”

“
Step down from the pulpit, Reverend.” Trinity leaned forward. “Tell me something, Irma Lou. Why’d you strike a deal with Chase?”

“
I’m fond of his grandmother, but I’d also like to see if he’s got the same straight backbone as his grandfather.”

“
But if Chase is willing to protect Miss Sheridan’s reputation, wouldn’t you say that’s backbone enough? Hell, I’d call that decent of the man.”

“
Few noblemen are rarely decent without a motive, and I’ve no cause to think Chase is any different until he proves me wrong. He might be one of those gents who protects his family’s good name with a sword in one hand and fondles a young servant girl with the other.”

“
You sure you’re not talking about Grandpa Godfrey and--”

“
Do not speak her name, Trinity. You know very well it’s forbidden. Tell me more of Leah Sheridan.”