The Wicked Heir (Blackhaven Brides Book 12) Read online

  Alban nodded. “And The Albatross?”

  “In good hands. Repairs are still in progress, but she’ll be as good as new.”

  Alban lifted one eyebrow. “And your own affairs?”

  “My father appears to be well. It seems he only recently got wind of my association with you and used the opportunity of being in Blackhaven to summon me.”

  “Then you are reconciled?”

  Jon shrugged, rising restlessly to his feet. “Sort of. Not really.” He glanced at Alban and blurted. “He’s old.”

  Alban set down his pen. “Take some time, if you wish.”

  “I should be ready to go by the time The Albatross is.” Jon gave a lopsided smile. “Actually, I came to ask a favor. Might I borrow your wife?”

  *

  Jess found herself secretly hoping that by the time she returned with Lord Viscral from the pump room, Jonathan would have arrived. He hadn’t.

  Hiding her disappointment, she settled her uncle by the fire with his book and set about finishing the new hat she was making for Crabby. In fact, inspired by the fashions she had seen in Blackhaven, she was eager to get on with a slightly more dashing model for herself, although it would hardly match the rest of her dull wardrobe.

  Beside her, Crabby pored over her latest travel books, occasionally drawing her attention to pictures or reading aloud the most interesting snippets about the fauna of the Amazon regions.

  “Cousin Jonathan is sailing to South America,” Jess observed.

  Crabby blinked. “When did he tell you that?”

  Jess tried not to blush. “It must have been during our walk,” she said hurriedly.

  “I hope he is not going too soon,” Crabby murmured. “Although I must say, I envy him.”

  “Perhaps he takes passengers,” Jess said lightly. He had offered to take her and Claud.

  Crabby smiled. “You are silly.”

  A knock on the door interrupted them. Jess saw his lordship glance up immediately, as if he, too, hoped it was his son. Holmes came out of the old gentleman’s bedchamber and answered the door. Jess’s heart beat fast in anticipation.

  “Good morning, Holmes, is he in?” asked a familiar voice.

  “He is, sir.” Holmes stood aside, but it was a lady who walked in first, with Jonathan close on her heels.

  Jess’s first dismayed thought was that this was his wife, that he really was married after all. The woman was young, perhaps in her late twenties, pretty in an unconventional kind of way—she wore spectacles for one thing—and expensively if casually dressed in a brimmed bonnet and a loose pelisse under several shawls that didn’t quite hide the fact that she was enceinte.

  Izlan? Jess wondered wildly, for there was nothing exotic or African about the woman. She looked distinctly north European.

  Remembering her manners, Jess jumped to her feet to greet the guests, but his lordship was before her.

  “Lady Bella, allow to me present my father, Lord Viscral,” Jonathan said. “Father, this is Lady Arabella Lamont.”

  The lady smiled and offered her hand. “I’m Mrs. Lamont, really, but old habits… How do you do, sir? I am delighted to make your acquaintance at last.”

  “Madam,” Lord Viscral said, uncharacteristically bewildered, as he took the outstretched hand.

  “My father’s ward, Miss Fordyce,” Jonathan said as Jess approached and found her hand taken as well.

  Mrs. Lamont had fine, brilliant eyes behind her spectacles, but they were slightly unsure, shy eyes. She shook hands with Jess, too, and then, to Jess’s further approval, with Crabby.

  “I hope you’ll forgive my barging in,” Mrs. Lamont said once they were all seated, and Holmes had been sent for refreshment. “But Barnaby…that is, Mr. Tallon, led me to believe you might do me the favor of accompanying me to the theatre tonight?”

  “The theatre?” Jess repeated with awe.

  “I dislike the theatre excessively,” Lord Viscral stated. “A lot of noise and nonsense, and it’s always too hot. Besides, no one pays a dashed bit of attention to the play, which is usually rubbish in any case.”

  Deflated, Jess cast an apologetic smile at Mrs. Lamont.

  “Yes, but Jess may go, may she not?” Jonathan said. “With Miss Crabtree and Lady Bella. I shall escort them.”

  Lord Viscral’s gaze focused on his son. “Shall you?”

  “Of course.”

  The old gentleman’s eyes hardened. “You’ll forgive an old man,” he said to Mrs. Lamont. “But I have no idea who you are and no better notion how my scapegrace son comes to be acquainted with a titled lady.”

  Jess wanted the ground to swallow her up, for his tone all but accused the lady of inventing her title. Jonathan cast his eyes to heaven, but the lady herself uttered a genuine laugh.

  “Of course, you have not,” she said kindly. “You and your son have not met for some time, I gather. I’m the Duke of Kelburn’s youngest daughter, and my husband is Alban Lamont—whom you may have heard of as Captain Alban. Your son has sailed under him for several years.”

  Silence greeted this announcement. Jess couldn’t take her eyes off the eccentric lady, except to glance at Jonathan who met her gaze with a comical twitch of his eyebrows, which made her want to laugh. She looked hastily away in time to see her uncle’s Adam’s apple wobble.

  He cleared his throat. “Excuse my rough manners. I have been too isolated from society. My ward will be honored to accompany you. If my son’s escort pleases you.”

  “Oh, I am quite used to Barn—Jonathan’s escort. He is my husband’s most trusted friend, and has often looked after me in quite dire situations, you know.” Her quick smile dawned. “More dangerous than a bad play.”

  If this was news to Jess, it seemed to flabbergast his lordship, who peered at his son quite closely, as though to see if he was the same boy he remembered.

  “No, I didn’t know,” he managed. “I can see I have much to learn of these last years.”

  Lady Arabella sat beside Lord Viscral, and under cover of their conversation, Jess drew Jonathan to the window.

  “What are you up to?” she demanded. “Why am I going to the theatre with Lady Arabella Lamont?”

  “I thought you would enjoy it.”

  She searched his eyes, which were veiled behind their customary amusement. “I don’t know if you are being kind, or simply manipulative for reasons I can’t yet comprehend. But it’s very clever of you. He can’t refuse to let me go with her. Or you, since he wants me to marry you.”

  “Then make the most of it. Lady Bella is not the most sociable lady in Blackhaven, but she knows everyone who is.”

  Quite unexpectedly, a breath-taking new world was opening up to her. She smiled at Jonathan. “Thank you, Cousin.”

  He blinked, as though taken aback. And then, in response to his father’s call, walked back to answer him.

  *

  Inevitably, Jess wore the new evening gown for the theatre. Since she had no lady’s maid, it was Crabby who did her best with Jess’s hair, pinning it up somewhat more loosely than normal, which gave her a softer look.

  “It needs to be cut properly to make you fashionable,” Crabby mourned.

  “Nonsense,” Jess said bracingly. “It’s perfect. You know, I wish I had dunned his lordship for a new gown for you, too.”

  “I’m merely the furniture, my dear, nothing to be noticed. I will enjoy the play whatever I wear.”

  Jess expected to be summoned by the hotel staff when Lady Arabella’s carriage arrived, but in the end, it was Jonathan who strolled into the room to escort them downstairs. Lord Viscral was at his most amiable, his fierce old eyes gleaming with triumph as Jess took his son’s arm.

  “Oh, dear,” Jess murmured guiltily as they descended the stairs ahead of Crabby. “He really believes you are obliging him, and seriously considering marrying me.”

  “It’s a less heinous crime than trying to force us into marriage,” Jonathan replied.

  Her eyes wi
dened. “You’re punishing him.”

  “Aren’t you?”

  “I don’t know any more,” she said ruefully.

  “Relax,” Jonathan advised. “Simply enjoy yourself.”

  This turned out to be easy advice to follow. Even in the short journey between the hotel and the theatre, Mrs. Lamont, responding to Jonathan, showed herself to be unexpectedly witty in a rather charming, understated way. Together, they made Jess laugh and join in. Even Crabby smiled, which was unusual in public.

  Mrs. Lamont warned her that Blackhaven’s theatre was small, but Jess, who had nothing to compare it with, was awed by its brightness, its splendor, and the dazzling beauty of the audience in the rows of boxes around the stage. Excitement gripped her, even before the curtain rose.

  At first, being so busy watching everyone else, she was not even aware of the interest she inspired within the theatre, until she noticed two young men in the pit with their quizzing glasses raised in the direction of Mrs. Lamont’s box.

  “That seems a little rude,” she observed to her hostess. “Do they always stare at you so?”

  “Lord, no. I’m afraid they are looking at you. No, try not to notice them.”

  “But why are they gawping at me?” she wondered, self-consciously touching her hair and worried she had the remains of dinner on her chin.

  “Because you’re young and pretty, and they’ve never seen you before.”

  “Allow me,” Jonathan said behind her. He leaned forward, gazing straight down at the insolent men below, who almost instantly dropped their quizzing glasses and faced the stage instead.

  “Well done, Mr. Barnaby.” Lady Arabella sounded both pleased and amused. Then a faint frown tugged at her brow. “Though perhaps we should start using your real name?”

  Jess glanced from one to the other. “Won’t people find it odd?”

  Lady Arabella shrugged. “They seem to accept it in my husband, who is still largely known as Captain Alban, even though they know his real name. In Barnaby’s—Mr. Tallon’s—case, I don’t believe I’ve ever had cause to introduce him to Blackhaven society.”

  Jess, who had imagined him quite at home here, regarded him with fresh, curious eyes. But the curtain was rising, and the play began.

  *

  Jess was mesmerized. Her surroundings faded. She forgot all about rude staring and beautiful gowns and head dresses. Her whole world was the stage. She laughed with delight at the jokes and the ridiculous antics of the characters and, when the curtain closed, applauded with such enthusiasm that her hands stung.

  “This is such fun,” she exclaimed to her companions. “Thank you so much for bringing me!”

  Lady Arabella looked slightly taken aback.

  Jonathan, a faint smile playing on his lips, glanced at her. “You might not be so grateful in another moment. If I’m not much mistaken, Hector is on his way.”

  “Hector is here?” She sighed. “Oh, well, it is a public theatre.”

  In fact, as it turned out, Hector was somewhat diluted by the presence of several other visitors to the box, including a Mr. Muir, a Lord and Lady Sylvester, and two army officers whose names she failed to catch. To Jess’s surprise, the interval was fun, too. While she met and talked to all these amusing people, Jonathan went off and returned with refreshments, and then their visitors vanished and another play began on stage.

  *

  It was a magical evening for Jess, who at one point, had to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye before it spilled down her cheek. As she caught it on her glove, her gaze met Jonathan’s. It was probably embarrassment, but her heart gave a funny little thud, drawing her away from the tragedy unfolding on the stage, and into the depths of his curiously dark eyes. For an instant, the noise in the theatre faded. She didn’t seem to breathe as she wondered what thoughts filled his head, what tragic events could have happened to him in the years he had been away from his family.

  And then he looked away. She dragged her gaze back to the stage, awash with a new excitement that centered on a desire to know her “cousin”.

  Presumably to cheer everyone again, after another interval, a group of dancers and singers spilled onto the stage. Jess leaned against the rail, peering, for one of the dancers seemed vaguely familiar. It took a moment.

  “The girl in the red dress!” she exclaimed.

  Of course, no one knew what she meant, for none of the entertainers below wore red. But Jonathan cast her a fleeting smile with a warning lift of one eyebrow.

  The girl had clung to him at the gaming club. He had given her a mind-boggling amount of money without a second though. Was the girl his mistress?

  Even Jess was not naïve enough to ask him. Ladies did not acknowledge the existence of such women, let alone inquire about them. Besides, a twist in her stomach told her she didn’t really want to know. She pressed her lips together and said nothing. Instead, she allowed herself to enjoy the sweetness of the singing and the grace of the dancers.

  And then the curtain came down for the final time that evening, and it was time to go home. There was a bit of a crush on the stairs and in the main foyer, so when they finally spilled into the open air, Jess found the chilly March wind quite welcome.

  Jonathan drew them out of the surge of patrons walking from the theatre while he sent for Mrs. Lamont’s carriage. Lady Arabella, in fact, looked just a little droopy with tiredness, causing Crabby to ask gruffly if she felt quite well.

  “No, no, I have had a wonderful evening,” Lady Arabella replied warmly. “In fact, my spirit is willing to have supper at the hotel before I go home, even if my flesh is wilting feebly for sleep. In another few weeks, I shall have much more energy.”

  “Then this is not your first child?” Jess asked.

  “No, I already have a son. You must come and meet him…if you like,” she added anxiously. “I know babies are not to everyone’s taste.”

  “I loved the dairymaid’s child,” Jess recalled. “I was the only one who could persuade her to stop crying!”

  “Then you will be doubly welcome in our house,” Arabella said with a quick smile.

  Jess gazed beyond her to a woman without a wrap who stood in the shadows of the theatre’s side wall. Jess thought only that she must be cold, until the woman stepped further into the light, and she was sure it was the same dancing girl who had been at the gaming club. A figure detached itself from the swarm at the theatre door and swept toward her—a lover, perhaps.

  Jess had already begun to look away when the man glanced over his shoulder. The torchlight from the wall sconces struck him and Jess’s mouth fell open. With an exclamation, she hurried several steps nearer him.

  “Claud?” she said in amazement. “Claud, that is you, isn’t it?”

  Chapter Five

  Hearing his name, the man turned in bafflement, his eyes raking the crowd until they fell on her and moved on without recognition. A young, handsome man, he had not changed so much in seven years, though obviously Jess had.

  “Don’t you know me?” she said ruefully.

  He frowned, bringing his impatient gaze back to her. His eyes widened. “Jess? Good God!” He turned at once, striding directly to her.

  A purist might have thought his anxious face unloverlike, his expression more appalled than delighted, but Jess did not take offence. He had come.

  “What on earth are you doing here?” he demanded. “Who are you with?”

  “Me,” Jonathan said flatly, materializing at her elbow. His smile was not quite friendly. “Do join us, Mr.…?”

  “Darcy,” Claude said with a quick, slightly embarrassed bow.

  “Tallon,” Jonathan said, offering his hand. “You must be Claud.”

  Claud’s eyes widened. Glancing from Jonathan to Jess, he looked just a little hunted. “Tallon? You are some relation to Lord Viscral, perhaps?”

  “His son.”

  “Well, I am very pleased to make your acquaintance…”

  “Oh, and let me present you
to Lady Arabella Lamont,” Jess said, remembering her manners. “And Miss Crabtree, my old governess. And my cousin, Hector,” she added reluctantly as he strolled up to join them.

  Claud was perfectly polite, but even Jess could see that he was in a hurry to be gone. Squashing the inevitable hurt, she said hastily, “We’re staying at the hotel. Lord Viscral will be delighted to receive you.”

  “Until tomorrow then,” Claud said, bowing with barely concealed relief before striding away, back toward the theatre.

  “Oh, Claud!” She ran after him as though she had forgotten something, and when he spun around in alarm, she breathed. “Come to the hotel, the coffee room to the right of the front door, at midnight. Don’t fail me!”

  Without waiting to see his reaction, she hurried back to her own party.

  “Really, Jess,” Hector scolded. “Such hoydenish behavior will not do, you know.”

  “Oh, stuff,” Jess said rudely, for her reunion with Claud was not what she had hoped for at all. She thought at first, he had followed her to the theatre, but his surprise on seeing her had surely been quite genuine.

  “Neither will such language,” Hector said stiffly.

  “Nor such interference from you,” Jonathan pointed out. “You’re not her governess, you know. Ladies, here’s the carriage, shall we go?”

  Jess was delighted to abandon Hector and climb into the carriage, facing the direction of travel with Mrs. Lamont, while Crabby and Jonathan sat opposite them. Lost in her own thoughts, she gazed out of the window in silence for most of the short journey.

  Once, she became aware of being observed and glanced across the coach to the opposite seat. Crabby was gazing out of the window, too. Beside her, half in shadow, Jonathan kept looking at her.

  Only a moment later, the carriage pulled up at the hotel. Jonathan jumped out and handed the ladies down, walking with them into the hotel. He shook hands with Crabby and then with her.

  “Goodnight,” Jess said, remembering her manners. “And thank you for this evening. Lady Arabella is delightful, but I know it was your doing.”