Tempting Her Reluctant Viscount (15 page)

Laughing at her emotional state, Hope dried her eyes and announced with a bright grin, “I am more than ready, my lord.”

And truth be told, Hope felt as good as she had in a long while. Perhaps everything was going to be all right, after all.

On the way to Brook’s, Michael took full advantage of the quiet solitude of their carriage. Hope was sure his behavior was still in preparation for their roles that evening, but Michael was positively amorous. There was much hugging, kissing, and whispered sweet-nothings, and Hope found that, as they pulled to a stop a block away from the popular gentlemen’s club, she was beyond breathless and feeling very much a woman.

However, that would not do for the task at hand.

“Michael,” she admonished, “what have you done to my hair? And my shirt!”

Hope was astonished to find that many of the fine garment’s buttons had been undone. When had he done that? Hope was baffled by her lack of restraint or even basic comprehension skills while under the spell of Michael’s romantic attentions.

She was very thankful that he was enough of a gentleman to not take her virtue entirely. Surely, if the last twenty minutes were any indication, she would be completely unable to say no, should the time for saying no arise.

…

The gentleman in question, on the other hand, was as frustrated as hell. He could not seem to stop himself from exploring every inch of Hope’s exquisitely rounded form—her ample breasts were a particular and pleasant surprise—and delving into the honeyed depths of her mouth whenever the opportunity presented itself, regardless of the very painfully aroused state in which it left him. So far, he had been able to stop before any permanent damage to her innocence could occur, but he was not sure how much longer he would be able to do so.

Frankly, he needed to work on his self-control. This was all supposed to be an act, but for the life of him, he couldn’t stop himself from
playing
whenever the urge struck him. He was beginning to think he was falling for the girl. Oh, that would not be good. Despite Hope’s rather eager responses to him, she very clearly saw his courting as a ruse only. Surely she would just laugh at him if he suddenly told her he would rather it were real. Besides, what happened to him not being ready for a wife? For a split second, Michael heard a small voice remind him that a marriage is really nothing more than a partnership and that he worked well with Hope, didn’t he?

The voice sounded suspiciously like Elizabeth’s.

Looking at Hope with boyish chagrin, Michael reached over to help her refasten her bindings and rearrange her hair so that she might pass as the gentleman they needed her to be while at Brook’s.

Seeing her kiss-swollen lips and still passion-hazed eyes was almost his undoing, but he steeled himself the best he could and they finished the job in record time; however, he was more than grateful for the chilly air that enveloped him when they were finally able to exit the vehicle. Honestly, taking a dip in a snowdrift had more appeal than he would like to admit.

“I don’t think we should take long carriage rides alone anymore,” Hope sighed. “Whenever I am around you, my usually infallible modesty flees out the nearest window. It isn’t at all ladylike.”

“I rather enjoy the fact that you are not all prim and proper with me, my dear Miss Stuckeley,” Michael confided slyly.

Hope looked at him reproachfully.

With a sigh, Michael had to admit that Hope had a point about their being alone. “Very well then, we will do our best to avoid long carriage rides by ourselves, and when it cannot be avoided, I will try to employ more willpower…but you will need to try and make yourself less appealing, please.”

Hope looked at Michael with stunned amusement. “I am dressed as a gentleman, Michael. How much less appealing can I be?”

Again, she made an excellent point. In her current get-up, he certainly shouldn’t find her so mouth-wateringly delicious.

Putting aside his pent-up desires, Michael led the way into the club. Looking around, he spotted their quarry across the room. He grabbed Hope’s arm and whispered, “There he is.” Lord Cochrane was a distinguished-looking gentleman, sitting alone at a corner table staring absently at the ceiling. Michael weaved his way through the smoky, crowded room until he was standing in front of the man.

Cochrane, apparently sensing he was no longer alone, changed his focus from the ceiling to look at Michael and Hope.

“Hello, gentlemen. Is there something I may do for you?”

“Yes, sir, there is. May we sit?”

Lord Cochrane gestured toward the empty chairs magnanimously. “By all means…”

“Thank you.” Michael nodded to Hope, who took the chair by the wall, and then he settled into the seat next to her.

Cochrane watched Michael closely and then said, “You look familiar, sir. Have we met?”

“Yes, we have. Though only once or twice in passing,” Michael replied respectfully. “I am Michael Ashmore, the Viscount Lichfield.”

“Lichfield. Yes, of course. I remember now.”

Michael acknowledged the remembrance and then motioned to Hope. “And this Mr. Van Keppel, a colleague of mine.”

Hope inclined her head. “Lord Cochrane, sir.”

Cochrane returned the greeting with a slight frown. “What is it I can do for you, Lichfield?”

Michael leaned forward slightly, kept his voice low, and got straight to the point. “There was a crime against the stock market recently, and I have been told that you were involved.”

Beneath his tan, Lord Cochrane appeared to pale slightly. “Just what have you heard, man?”

“Well, there is a committee who has been investigating the incident and according to their records, you made a tidy profit on the stocks in questions. Also, they have in custody a man named De Berenger, who has named you as a conspirator.”

Lord Cochrane definitely blanched when he heard the name De Berenger. Looking around anxiously, he said, “We shouldn’t talk here.”

“Fine,” Michael replied in a clipped, even tone. “We have a carriage down the block. There is plenty of privacy there.”

“Good, good. Let’s go.”

And with that, the three of them stood and, as casually as possible, left the club. Michael made sure to stick close to Cochrane in case the man decided to make a break for it. He needn’t have worried, though, for it was clear once they all were safely bundled into the carriage that Lord Cochrane was eager to have his say.

“About a month ago, my financial advisor, Richard Butt, came to see me. He told me about a hunch he had regarding a couple of government stocks. Butt is prone to such hunches, but they rarely ever pan out. However, in this instance, he was more adamant than usual, so I allowed him to invest in one of them with the instructions to sell if the price rose to one percent. He did so and I made a tidy profit. Later, when I read about the scheme in the papers, I was shocked to learn the trades being investigated were the same stocks presented to me by Butt.”

Michael was silent for a moment. “So, you were not aware that Butt was colluding with your uncle to defraud the Stock Exchange?”

“Defraud the…Wait. Did you say my
uncle
?” Cochrane repeated with much surprise. “Why, no! I had no idea about any of this. Which uncle, exactly…?” then Cochrane shook his head in disbelief. “It wasn’t Uncle Andrew, was it?”

Michael narrowed his eyes. “Yes, it was, actually.”

“Of course. That greedy bastard…” Cochrane muttered under his breath. Then looking up at Michael, he said with conviction, “Rest assured, I had no idea my uncle was in on this scheme, nor would I be involved in anything to do with that man.”

“If you were completely unaware of the plan, why did De Berenger name you as an involved party?”

“I am acquainted with De Berenger, yes, but I had no knowledge that he was working with Butt and my, er…uncle, as you say.”

“When did you last see De Berenger?”

“Just a few days ago, actually. He came to my house, ah, Tuesday afternoon I believe, requesting passage to the United States aboard my new command the
HMS Tonnant
. I told him I would take it under consideration and then he left.”

“Tuesday, you say?” Michael said thoughtfully.

“Yes, Tuesday. Does that mean something to you?”

“Perhaps,” Michael mused. “Do you remember what he was wearing, by any chance?”

Taken aback by the seemingly random question, Cochrane paused a moment to recollect. “Ah, a sharpshooter’s uniform, if I remember correctly. A green sharpshooter’s uniform.”

Michael turned to Hope. “I followed De Berenger there…to Cochrane’s place. He stopped there before he met up with the other men.”

“But I don’t understand,” Hope replied. “If De Berenger stopped there, presumably to arrange his escape after the scheme, why did he implicate Cochrane in the actual crime?”

“I believe I can answer that,” Cochrane offered angrily. “De Berenger was not happy that I did not immediately grant him passage aboard my ship, so he would have his own reason for accusing me; but also, my uncle is not well-pleased with me. We have differing political ideals…
vastly
differing. It could be that he planned to incriminate me in the scheme all along. In fact, it would not surprise me if he intends to attach the blame entirely upon me for the crime. The Tories would
love
the opportunity to see me hang.”

“Political differences?” Hope cried. “And for that, he is willing to see you arrested, possibly convicted, for a crime in which you had no part?”

Cochrane took another close look at Hope, her outburst a bit too much to ignore, and a light appeared in his eyes.

Michael also saw the folly of Hope’s words. Looking at Cochrane, Michael thought with alarm,
He knows!
He knows that Hope is a woman
.

Drawing Cochrane’s attention, Michael gave him a look that broached no misunderstanding. Cochrane was to say nothing of his discovery, to Hope or anyone else for that matter.

Cochrane simply shrugged. Clearly, it was no matter to him that this female was portraying herself as a man. Michael was sure all the man was concerned about was convincing the two of them of his innocence.

“Lichfield, what do you suggest I do?”

“Lay low, Cochrane. Van Keppel and I will see what we can do to confirm your story. If it is as you say, I will talk to the committee on your behalf.” Michael gave Cochrane a diffident look and he added, “I cannot guarantee it will do any good, but it is the best I can offer.”

Lord Cochrane shook his head. “No, I understand. I will take your advice to heart. Thank you for whatever you are able to do.”

Watching the older man disembark the carriage, Michael sincerely hoped that wherever it was the gentleman went, it was in heed of the advice given to him and not back to the club or other popular haunt; for if Michael and Hope were trying to find the good lord, it was very likely others were not far behind.

Chapter Sixteen

A smile is reward enough for any good deed that has been done for the right reasons.

~The Duke of Lancaster

Despite finding that she was again alone in a carriage with Michael, Hope wasn’t tempted to do much more than sit…and think. Having directed the driver toward their next destination, Cochrane’s house, she knew in a very short time Michael would have to begin the questioning all over again.

Frankly, Hope was stunned by everything she had seen and heard that day. She wondered briefly if Lord Cochrane was the person Cochrane-Johnstone had alluded to as “backing out”. She doubted it, as it sounded as if he planned to pin the entire crime on his nephew’s shoulders all along, as appalling as that was to Hope. However, it did provide a glimmer of hope that her father was the man to back out, but Hope did not have much enthusiasm for that idea, either.

With a long sigh, Hope decided she was tired; too tired for someone her age to be. She looked over at Michael. He was lost in his own musings, staring blankly at the carriage window. Hope knew that he was not really seeing anything, for he hadn’t even pulled back the heavy muslin curtain blocking the worst of the cold wind whipping past them.

Hope took the opportunity to examine him unobserved.

He really was a very handsome man. His hair, thick and wavy, just begged for fingers to be run through it, and his deep, unimaginably intelligent blue eyes, when turned upon her with warm desire, never failed to have Hope melting at the knees. His broad shoulders and imposing frame made her feel safe and protected as no man ever had before. And beyond all that, his innate good manners and kind heart made it impossible not to love him. Hope was rather surprised that all the women of the
ton
were not vying for his hand…and heart.

Of course, there were always young girls being tossed in his path by their marriage-minded mothers—he
was
a wealthy young viscount, after all—but the other, more seasoned debutantes gave him wide berth. Hope had heard that they were unimpressed by his desire to be involved in his land holdings and properties. He was not content to leave their care to others, but rather wanted to oversee the work and tenants himself. There were whispers that he was no better than someone working in the trades.

Hope found all of the gossip silly and ridiculous, and absolutely of no concern to her. Personally, she liked that Michael was not the frivolous sort; that he cared enough about his estates and the people living on them, that he wanted to be involved. Hope was sure his industriousness came from being born a second son and from his time in the service. It was only by chance that he became viscount. Why should he be expected to stop being a contributing member of society simply because he was given free license to be idle?

No, all the scandalous rumors just made Hope like Michael all the more.

Spurred into action by her thoughts, Hope moved over to his side, slid her hand through his arm, and laid her head on his shoulder.

…

Michael looked over at the lovely creature by his side and smiled softly. Wrapping her hand tighter about his arm and holding it firmly, he took strength from her.