The Daring Exploits of a Runaway Heiress (16 page)

“Oh, but she is. At least it feels as if she is.” Cam blew a long breath. “I don’t quite understand it myself, but somewhere along the way this stopped being something I was pretending and became a real obligation. I’m not sure how or why—”

“I have my suspicions,” Phineas murmured.

“But I feel honor bound to make certain Lucy—”

“Lucy is it?”

Cam ignored him. “Comes to no harm.”

“Because?”

“Because that’s what she expects of me.”

“And?”

“And I don’t wish to disappoint her.”

“Because?”

“Because I care for her, damn it!” The import of what he said slammed into him along with equal parts panic and denial. “What I mean to say is that we have become friends. And of course, one has a certain amount of affection for one’s friends.”

“Of course.”

“Do not read more into my words than I intended.”

Phineas scoffed. “Never.”

“She’s a friend, almost a . . . a sister,” Cam said staunchly.

Phineas snorted back a disbelieving laugh. “A sister?”

“A sister,” Cam said firmly. “Nothing more than that.”

“I never imagined otherwise.” The twinkle in his friend’s eyes belied his words. Cam ignored it.

“The question now is how do I get back in her good graces?”

“That’s the question?” Phineas shook his head. “And I thought the real question was why.”

“I have answered that,” Cam said sharply.

“Not to my satisfaction, and I suspect not to yours either.”

Cam opened his mouth to reply but Phineas waved him off. “Regardless as to the why, if you insist on continuing your relationship, such as it is, with Miss Merryweather, you must take the path every man in such a situation has taken from time immemorial.” Phineas paused. “You must apologize, promise to do better and, of course, grovel.”

Cam scoffed. “I’m not going to grovel.”

“Unless you prefer to observe her from a distance and not be privy to her plans and intentions . . .” Phineas shrugged. “There is no other way. And you know it as well as I.”

Cam thought for a moment, then blew a long breath. “You’re right. There is no other option.”

“I know I’m right.” Phineas smirked. “I am very nearly always right.” He thought for a moment. “Admittedly, there is one other choice.”

“And what would that be?”

“You could tell her the truth.”

Cam grimaced. “Yes, I suppose I could.” He drew a deep breath. “And I should. I don’t like deceiving her.”

Phineas grinned. “You do like her then.”

“I said I liked her.”

“You more than merely like her.”

“Don’t be absurd.” Cam ran his hand through his hair. And when it came right down to it, wasn’t that really the crux of his dilemma? “Possibly, I suppose. I don’t know.”

“I’ve never seen you unsure about your feelings for a woman before.”

“I’ve never encountered a woman like Lucy Merryweather before.” He shook his head. “I’ve never had the desire to protect a woman before. Nor have I ever had so much as a twinge of conscience at not being completely truthful with a woman. And I’ve certainly never cared whether I disappointed one or not.”

“And now you do.”

“Bloody hell, Phineas.” Cam sank into a chair and stared at his friend. “I do at that.”

A sharp knock, followed immediately by the sound of a key in the lock, caught their attention.

“Oh, this will add to the discussion.” Phineas chuckled.

Cam winced. He didn’t want to see Miss West any more than Phineas did. “Were you expecting her?”

“I am never expecting her. But it’s been more than two weeks since she was last here, so I suppose I should have.” Resignation sounded in his friend’s voice but it didn’t strike Cam as entirely legitimate. Was it possible that Phineas actually missed the woman?

The door opened and Miss West sailed into the room. “Good day, Mr. Chapman.”

Both men rose to their feet.

“Good day, Miss West,” Phineas said. “What a delightful surprise.”

She scoffed, then turned her attention to Cam. “And Mr. Fairchild as well. Excellent.” Her eyes narrowed. “It will save me the trouble of running you to ground.”

“Clara.” A warning sounded in Phineas’s voice. She ignored him.

“And good day to you too, Miss West,” Cam said.

Miss West cast him a withering glance. “Do sit down, gentlemen.” She pulled off her gloves. “I have something to say to Mr. Fairchild and I don’t want the two of you looming over me while I do it.”

As neither man was more than a few inches taller than Miss West, looming seemed impossible. Still, Phineas and Cam exchanged glances, then obediently sat.

Miss West glanced around the room. “Have you insulted Mrs. Wiggins again, Mr. Chapman?”

“I would never insult Mrs. Wiggins,” Phineas said indignantly. “But she does have a tendency to be rather thin-skinned. I simply told her there was no longer any need for her to waste her time in this room.”

“Of course you did.” Clara rolled her gaze toward the ceiling. “Well, I haven’t the time to waste on you at the moment either. I don’t intend to stay long.”

“For which you have my undying gratitude.”

“No doubt.” She settled in the chair behind her desk and turned her attention to Cam. “I shall be brief. I have decided to tell Miss Merryweather the truth. About everything.” She met Cam’s gaze firmly. “I cannot continue to deceive her. It’s simply not right.”

“I see.” Cam thought for a moment. The truth about everything would include his deception. He couldn’t allow Miss West to reveal that. “And which truth would that be?”

“What do you mean
which truth
?” Her brow furrowed. “The truth is the truth. Period.”

“It’s not quite as cut and dried as that.” He studied her. “You say you cannot continue to deceive her.”

She nodded. “Nor do I intend to.”

“Yet, it seems to me you have already told her the truth about your experience as a companion. Have you not?”

“Well, yes but—”

Cam continued. “And are you or are you not legitimately employed as her companion?”

“I am but—”

“Has anyone else employed you to watch or protect her?”

Miss West’s gaze shifted to Phineas, then back to Cam. “No, of course not, but—”

“Does your business relationship with Mr. Chapman, past or present, have anything whatsoever to do with your current employment?”

She paused. “Other than leading me to the position in the first place, no, not really.”

“Then I don’t see deception on your part at all.”

“He’s got you there,” Phineas said.

“Perhaps you’re right, in some sort of convoluted, morally questionable way,” she said. “But the fact remains that you are deceiving her and I am a party to your deception.”

“Point to her,” Phineas murmured.

“I know and I apologize for putting you in that position. And, as much as I hate to admit it, you’re right as well.” Cam heaved a heartfelt sigh. “I am deceiving her and I too have decided it’s not right.”

Suspicion shaded her tone. “You’ve decided that, have you?”

Cam nodded. “I have. It has weighed heavier upon my conscience with every passing day.”

“He was just saying as much before you came in,” Phineas said helpfully.

“Was he?”

Cam drew a deep breath. “Are you going to tell her about me?”

“I fully intended to but . . . the fact that you have a conscience at all is something I didn’t expect.” Miss West drummed her fingers on the desktop. “She likes you, you know.”

“Does she?”

“Quite a lot, I suspect.” Miss West blew a frustrated breath. “I would like to tell her but I have no desire to be the one to inform her that this man she regards as honorable and a gentleman is in fact only interested in the stories he can write about her.”

“That might have been true in the beginning but . . . I like her as well.” Cam shrugged in a helpless manner. “I beg you not to tell her.”

She studied him closely. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.”

He met her gaze directly. “Because I should be the one to tell her.”

She narrowed her eyes. “When you say you like her—”

“She is the most remarkable woman I have ever met,” he said simply. “She has worked her way into my, well, affections I suppose.”

“I knew it.” Phineas cast him a smug smile.

“And I do not want to lose her.” Even as he said the words he realized the truth of them. Blast it all, could he possibly be in love with the maddening American? Surely not. Still, he’d never been in love before and it did explain why he was so determined to save her from herself.

She stared at him for a long moment, no doubt assessing his sincerity. “I have absolutely no reason to believe you.”

“No, you don’t.”

“And yet . . .” She threw her hands up and sighed in resignation. “It seems I do.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, don’t thank me.” She shook her head. “I am the least of your problems. If you don’t think of some brilliant way to get out of this mess, she will never forgive you.”

“I realize that.” At once it struck him that he would do very nearly anything to prevent that. If this was indeed love, one would think it would be far easier.

“One can only hope, my lord, one can only hope.”

“Yes, well—” He stared for a long moment, then drew a deep breath. “How long have you known? Did Chapman tell you?”

“I would never!” Phineas huffed, then stared at Miss West. “How did you know?”

She cast them both a pitying look. “There was no need for Mr. Chapman to tell me. I discovered your true name and position shortly after I met you. It wasn’t especially difficult.”

“I told you she was brilliant,” Phineas said in an aside to Cam.

“Indeed you did,” Cam said under his breath. And she would make a far better ally than enemy. “That’s probably something else I should confess to Miss Merryweather.”

“I would think so.” She eyed him closely. “As I see it, you need to reveal everything to her as soon as possible, before she finds out some other way. She already realizes you’re not exactly who, or rather what, you say you are. You have my word I will not tell her the truth about you.” Her gaze locked with Cam’s. “But I will not lie to her if she asks me a direct question.”

“Something like, ‘Do you know Mr. Fairchild is a reporter and the son of a duke?’ you mean?” Phineas asked in a deceptively innocent tone.

“Sarcasm, Mr. Chapman, is not appreciated.”

“On the contrary, Miss West. Sarcasm is always appreciated.” Phineas smirked. “At least mine is as it is infused with wit and tempered with wisdom.”

She stared at him for a moment, then shook her head in a long-suffering manner and continued. “You might also wish to reconsider any stories you may be planning to write about her.”

“Stories I may be planning?” Cam said slowly.

“You told me at the start of all this you were going to write stories based on Miss Merryweather.” Her brow rose. “Dare I hope you have found a more appropriate subject?”

“No, I haven’t.” Cam resisted the urge to trade glances with Phineas. Apparently Miss West was not aware that four installments of
Daring Exploits
had already appeared, including one in today’s
Messenger
. “Nor would I imagine I could ever do so.”

“No, Miss Merryweather is indeed unique. And while she hasn’t been especially secretive about her activities, she does not want them shouted to the world either. If you do intend to pursue her affections”—she pinned Cam with a hard look—“I would suggest you find your inspiration elsewhere.”

“Although he had planned to write his stories strictly as fiction,” Phineas said mildly. “He is surprisingly skilled at his craft, Miss West. I daresay he is good enough to make certain no one would identify Miss Merryweather as the lady in his stories. Should he write them, that is,” he added.

“I imagine Miss Merryweather would.” Miss West shook her head. “While you may well be able to explain your deception thus far and gain her forgiveness, I doubt that she would ever be able to forgive you using her for your own purposes. She would see it as a betrayal of her trust.”

“I shall keep that in mind,” Cam said slowly. She was right, of course.

“Very well then.” Miss West rose to her feet and started toward the door. “One more thing.”

Cam stood. “Yes?”

“Do not take my willingness to keep your secrets and allow you to tell her the truth as so much as the slightest encouragement as to some sort of match between you and Miss Merryweather. I still do not trust you. However, as you pointed out”—her assessing gaze slid over him—“you are not substantially worse than any other man, although I do think she could do better. But she is a grown woman and well capable of making her own decisions. And when it comes to affairs of the heart, even the most intelligent among us usually refuses to listen to reason.”

“The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt Lucy,” Cam said staunchly.

“What we want does not always reconcile with how things turn out in the end, my lord.” She pulled on her gloves. “You should know she expects you to apologize for your high-handedness last night.”

“And I fully intend to do so.” Cam nodded. “However, I also reserve the right to tell her the truth when I think the moment is most opportune.”

“It’s not something he can just blurt out, you know,” Phineas pointed out. “Timing, in a situation like this, is crucial.”

“Nonetheless, the longer his deception continues, the less likely she is to forgive him.”

“There is that,” Phineas murmured.

“Very well then.” She stepped to the door. “I anticipate seeing you soon, my—Mr. Fairchild.”

Cam nodded.

“As for you, Mr. Chapman.”

Phineas got to his feet. “Yes?”