The Desires of a Countess (3 page)

“
Is that all you’re afraid
of?”

Ginny shrugged at her pointed
question. “We both know that the longer he stays, the more likely
he’ll be to find out…”

She trailed off and for a moment the
two women sat with locked gazes. Finally, Harriet broke the
uncomfortable pause. “So where is he now?”

Ginny didn’t answer, but shifted in
her chair.

Her friend stared at her with wide
green eyes. “You put him in the cottage, even though you aren’t as
certain of his motives as you were before?”

“
That was my plan.” Ginny
squirmed under Harriet’s disapproving gaze. “Don’t look at me like
that.”

Harriet shook her head in utter
disbelief. “I can’t believe you’d send him all the way down there
when you aren’t even sure if you have a true reason to fear
him.”

“
I can’t take any chances.”
But even as she said the words, the pang of guilt grew to a
full-blown ache. Perhaps she had made a hasty decision. “I only
need a bit of time to figure him out before I come up with a new
plan to get rid of him.”

Harriet opened her mouth, then shut it with a shake
of her head. Ginny was just as happy. She was confused by this turn
of the situation already, she didn’t need her friend twisting it
even more.

Harriet simply didn’t understand
how desperate she was. She
couldn’t
. After all, the two women
were completely different. Sometimes Ginny was amazed they could be
so close. Unlike her, Harriet wanted to believe the best in people.
Ginny knew better. Simon Webber was probably a devil under those
good looks and calm demeanor. He was waiting for his moment to
strike once she dropped her guard.

“
Would you like my
advice?”

Ginny shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“
You should invite him back
up to the house for supper tonight.”

She stood up with a gasp. “Do you not
remember the plan?”

Harriet rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes.
Bread and water from the kitchen, preferably damp. The cottage.
Make him want to go back to London. But don’t you think that’s a
little obvious? Besides, it will do nothing to endear you to him,
and that’s what you’ll need to do if you want to find out what he’s
really about and what’s the best way to make him go
away.”

Ginny had to admit the wisdom in both
her friend’s statements. “So you’re suggesting a truce just long
enough for me to find out his weaknesses.”

Harriet nodded, though she looked
unsure. “I suppose that’s one way to look at it. Though I’m rather
hoping you’ll find out he’s not an inhuman monster and forget your
whole plan to keep him away.” When Ginny opened her mouth in
protest, she shrugged one shoulder. “Jack needs a male figure in
his life, and this man could even become a friend to you if you
needed one.”

Ginny laughed. Simon Webber, a friend?
Now why didn’t that idea feel as ridiculous as she wanted it to
feel? She didn’t need another friend, and she certainly didn’t need
another man.

“
I doubt that. But I do see
the value in your suggestion. Will you accept an invitation for
supper if I ask him to join us?”

Harriet glanced at the little clock on
the mantle. “I’ll need to dash home for a few errands, but I’ll
come back for supper if you need me. I’m actually quite interested
to see this man whose presence has captured your attention
so.”

Ginny sighed loudly. “I don’t want you
here to size him up! I want you here as a buffer in case he’s more
angry about the state of the cottage than I anticipated. And to
help me procure information from the man.”

“
Very well.” A knowing
smile tilted Harriet’s mouth up at the corners. “I am your servant
for the evening.” She gave Ginny a brief hug then disappeared into
the hall.

Ginny sat back down to stare into the
fire. Harriet was right, she needed more information. Even Simon
had said she should have investigated him. And that’s exactly what
she would do. Once she knew the man better than he knew himself,
she’d surely have enough ammunition to keep him from ever harming
her or her family.

***

“
This is
ridiculous.”

Simon let out a laugh of agreement
before he looked up from the gaping hole in the west wall of the
cottage to stare at his friend. Adam Scott was irate as he stalked
from one structural problem to another. He barely dodged a
waterfall of rain coming from the roof as he turned to
Simon.

“
This
is where she’s putting us for the duration
of our stay?” Adam sniffed. “It’s worse shelter than she’d give a
dog.”

Simon smiled. It was just like his
best friend to be more upset by their current situation than he
was. His protectiveness had come from their years aboard ship
together. Sometimes he acted more like a father or older brother
than a friend, though Adam was only ten years older than Simon’s
own thirty years.

“
Well, this explains that
little smirk she gave me before I left the main house,” Simon said
with a shrug.

To him, this was just one more piece
to the puzzle that was Virginia Blanchard. And he had to admit, he
admired her spirit, even if he didn’t understand why her anger was
devoted to him.

Adam grunted a reply as he crouched
down to examine some of the damage to a wall. The cottage was a
small building. It had two bedrooms and a sitting area with a large
fireplace. Aside from the leaky roof and hole-ridden walls, it
wasn’t a bad dwelling. In fact, Simon wondered why there would be
such an accommodation on an estate like Westdale. The main house
had large servant quarters, so there was no reason for servants to
be housed here. And it was too close to be used for
hunting.

He fingered the damp fabric on the
chaise before the fireplace. It was expensive. This was a place for
someone important to stay. Or had been before it had been damaged
so severely by the elements.

“
Well, I’ll be…”

Simon turned to look at Adam who was
pointing to one of the holes. “What is it?”

“
On purpose!” his friend
muttered. “Some of this damage was inflicted on purpose. As if
someone took a sledge to the wall.”

“
No!” Simon crouched down to
look at the hole. Indeed, it did look purposeful. The wall was
smooth around it, like there had been one blow and nothing else to
damage the surface.

With a soft laugh, he stood back up.
“Well, she certainly has a plan to get rid of me, I have to
acknowledge that.”

Adam pursed his lips. “I don’t see
anything funny about this. We would have fared better aboard
The Keeper
, even in a
hurricane.”

Simon nodded, though he was hardly
listening to his friend as he ran his hand along the damaged wall.
What game was Virginia trying to play with him?

“
I’ll send a post to Havers
right away and see if he can swing her around and put her in port
over in Bridlington.” He lifted twinkling eyes to his friend. “Then
you can have the luxury of familiar surroundings while I attempt to
solve out the mystery of Virginia Blanchard.”

“
It’s too far for me
to be of any service to you.” Adam grinned. “But I can’t say I’d be
sorry to see your ship if
The
Keeper
pulled into port today. But don’t you already
know the cause for Lady Westdale’s behavior?”

Simon wrinkled his brow. At this point
he knew nothing about the Countess except that she was beautiful
and strange.

“
What cause?”

Adam shrugged one bulky shoulder.
“Didn’t your aunt say the Countess was daft?”

Simon let his hand drop from the wall
as he considered that possibility. Again he flashed to the strong
anger and equally intense fear Virginia had shown him that
afternoon in the few moments when her guard was down. But there had
been a purpose behind her emotions, even if it wasn’t one he could
determine. At worst, Lady Westdale was highly emotional behind that
disconnected mask she wore, but not mad.

“
I think my Aunt Cordelia
was merely spouting more of her poison, Adam,” he said with a sigh.
“If Lady Westdale is daft than I’m a saint. No, there’s something
else behind her behavior, I’m almost sure of it.”

Adam shook a stream of water from his
wet coat as he glanced up at Simon. “Then what do you think of
her?”

“
Well, she’s
stunning.”

His friend winked. “Yes, you’ve
mentioned how beautiful her ladyship is several times since you
left the house.”

Heat darkened Simon’s skin. Had he
been prattling on about Virginia’s looks? That wasn’t wise, even
around a friend. Not only would Adam rib him mercilessly about it,
but putting a voice to the feelings she’d inspired in him would
only open him to harm. Desire, when controlled, could be
pleasurable, but Simon hadn’t exactly felt control when he’d leaned
in close to Virginia and breathed in her scent. In fact, he hadn’t
experienced a reaction quite so strong in a long time, let alone
for a woman he didn’t even know.

“
What else, then?” Adam
prodded.

“
Yes, my impressions… I’d
almost forgotten.” Simon sighed. There was no avoiding a question
with Adam. “She’s very complex. She seems to believe I’m here for
some nefarious purpose.”
“Like what?” his friend scoffed. “You don’t want to be here at all.
You get no pleasure from this!”

“
Which I tried to tell her,
but my mention of family duty only seemed to upset her even more.”
He rubbed his chin. He was accustomed to the beard he kept on board
his ship. The smooth shave felt odd. But nothing in his current
situation felt normal. Nothing except that dreaded sense of
obligation to his family. He shook his head. “And there’s one more
thing that troubles me.”

“
What’s that?”

He paused as he considered what he was
about to say. “She isn’t in mourning, Adam. My cousin died only a
few months ago. By the rules of Society, she should still be in
full black. But she wasn’t. She wore a blue gown that matched the
exact shade of her eyes.”

Adam smirked.

Simon winced at the realization that
he’d once again revealed too much to his friend. He shot the other
man a glare, then continued, “Though she mentioned the
household
was in mourning, the look
in her eyes told me plainly that she doesn’t feel Henry’s death is
much of a loss to her personally.”

Adam twisted his mouth.
“Curious.”

“
Yes. It’s just one more
mystery I’ll have to solve while…”

He trailed off when there was the soft
sound of a throat clearing behind the two men. Both turned to see
one of Lady Westdale’s footmen standing in the creaking door of the
cottage. Though the man held an umbrella, he was soaked through and
looked utterly miserable.

“
I beg your pardon,
gentlemen,” he said as he stepped inside and lowered the protective
barrier. When the gash in the cottage roof continued to drop rain
onto his forehead, he lifted it again with an apologetic smile.
“But her ladyship has asked that I bring you a message.”

“
Well, I can’t wait for
this,” Adam muttered under his breath.

“
What is it, young man?”
Simon asked.

“
Lady Westdale has requested
the pleasure of your company for supper this evening. She will
expect you at eight sharp. And your man is also welcome to take a
warm and dry supper in the house.” He gave a short bow. “Would you
like to send a message in reply?”

Simon looked around. The room didn’t
appear to have anything to write with, or even a decent place to
lean. “Even if I did, it doesn’t appear that a missive would
survive your wet ride back to the main house. Please tell her
ladyship that I shall be there at eight and I look forward to
sharing a meal.”

The young man nodded, and with a
glance of regret at the torrent outside, departed for the long ride
back up to the house. Once he was out of earshot, Simon turned to
Adam with a cocked brow. “I thought this ‘household in mourning’
didn’t have formal suppers where I’d be welcome?”

Adam shrugged. “Well, I have never
claimed to understand the ever-changing minds of women. At least it
will give you a chance to tell her what we think about her putting
us in this leaky hole!”

Simon glanced around them once again.
The place really was dreadful, and even worse in the rain. He
thanked his luck that it was early spring and not winter when they
might have frozen to death thanks to Virginia’s
‘hospitality’.

“
No, I don’t think I will
tell her.”

Adam’s eyes grew wide. “Are you
serious?”

“
Absolutely.” Simon put his
hands on his hips as he glanced around the room in a slow circle.
“Virginia put us here for a reason. Confronting her will only put
her on edge. At the very least, I don’t want to give her the
satisfaction of knowing she’s upset me.” Simon shook his head with
a smile. “If we’re asked, neither one of us will act as if there is
anything amiss about our quarters. In fact…” He grinned. “I plan to
compliment her on their comfort.”