An Improper Companion. Anne HerriesЧитать онлайн книгу.
least Miss Travers is safe enough with Lady Isadora—but I have vowed to help Charles Hunter find his sister, and to discover what I may about Forsythe’s affairs. What I need is proof.’
Daniel stared moodily into his tankard. He had hardly touched his ale; when he thought of the possible fate of Sarah Hunter, he was sick to his stomach with anger. She had been but a child, sweet and pretty and trusting. Several times he had been on the point of forcing a duel on Sir Montague, but he had fought his natural desire for revenge, knowing that one man alone could not be responsible if something evil was afoot. He must wait, watch and listen until the time was right.
Elizabeth rose early as was her usual habit, washed and dressed in a plain grey skirt and a pretty white blouse with a high neck, which she fastened with a gold brooch. She looked elegant despite the plainness of her dress, her hair swept back from her face into a knot in the nape of her neck.
She knew that the household would hardly be stirring, but she wanted to begin her duties. It was not likely that Lady Isadora would have need of her before eleven, for she did not come down until noon. That meant Elizabeth would have some free hours in the mornings, which she might spend in one of several ways. She could walk down to the church with flowers, tend the vases in the house—or begin work on the library.
She had decided to make a start in the library, for she thought it would be best to consult the gardeners before raiding the garden for flowers. She knew from experience that it was unwise to pick blooms without first consulting the man who tended them, who could often be fiercely protective of his flowerbeds.
As she went downstairs she met one of the maids, a young girl dusting in the hall, who looked startled when Elizabeth smiled at her and asked if she might borrow one of her feather dusters.
‘Have I missed summat, miss?’ the girl asked, looking puzzled.
‘Oh, no, I am sure you have not,’ Elizabeth said. ‘I am to work in the earl’s library and I wish to begin by dusting some of the books.’
‘Are you sure, miss? Only none of us is allowed to touch ’is lordship’s books.’
‘I promise you that I have permission,’ Elizabeth said, hiding her amusement as the girl reluctantly handed over one of her feather dusters. She made her way to the library, feeling a tingle of excitement as she entered the long room.
She looked round her with satisfaction, thinking about where she wished to make a start, for it would be best to plan her work rather than rush into it and find that she must begin again. Noticing that there was a shelf with rather fewer books on it than the others had, Elizabeth decided to investigate. It was at the far end of the room, and it was only as she reached the shelf that she realised that someone was lying on the sofa, which faced it. She halted, her heart catching as she saw it was the earl, and he looked as if he might have been drinking the previous evening. There was an empty decanter of brandy on a small wine table beside the sofa and his glass had fallen from his hand. He looked vulnerable, younger in his sleep, and, as she bent to retrieve his glass from the floor, he murmured a woman’s name and moaned as if in some distress. He opened his eyes and looked at her just as she was straightening up, his face on a level with hers.
‘Good God,’ he said in a voice of what she took to be revulsion. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’
‘Forgive me,’ Elizabeth said, embarrassed. ‘I did not know you were here, sir. I was about to make a start on dusting some of the books before putting them into order.’
The earl sat up, groaning as he felt the pain in his head. He remembered his foul mood on returning home the previous night, the frustration he had felt at being unable to get any nearer to finding Charles Hunter’s sister. He had foolishly started drinking brandy, and this was his just punishment.
‘I shall go,’ Elizabeth said as he gave her what she thought was a look of dislike. ‘I am sorry…’
‘Why? It is I who have reason to be sorry,’ Daniel said, uttering a muffled curse. ‘I had forgotten where I was as I woke. Please do not go. I thought myself in my bedchamber and it startled me when I saw you bending over me.’
‘Oh…’ Elizabeth was relieved—he had seemed so angry at seeing her. ‘I see. It was to retrieve the glass only, but…it would be rather startling had I come to your bedchamber at this hour, sir.’
Daniel caught the hint of mischief in her voice and looked at her sharply. Her eyes were bright with laughter and he realised that underneath her slightly prim manner lurked a wicked sense of humour.
‘Just a little,’ he said wryly, ‘but it has happened, Miss Travers. Let me assure you that you would not be the first, especially when I was in Spain with the army.’
‘I dare say you have been much plagued by eager ladies, sir?’
‘As it happens I have,’ Daniel growled, a little piqued by her manner. ‘You would not believe how often a young lady feels faint when I am near.’
‘If you look at them so severely, I should not be at all surprised, sir.’ Elizabeth’s eyes sparkled, and for the first time Daniel realised that she was something out of the ordinary.
‘You have a ready wit, Miss Travers,’ he acknowledged, ‘but you must excuse me if I do not respond in kind—I am not at my best this morning. I must go upstairs and make myself ready before Mama sees…’ He glanced at the beautiful gilt mantel clock. ‘Good grief! What are you doing up at this indecent hour?’
‘I always rise early,’ Elizabeth said. ‘And I thought it a good time to begin the task I have promised to undertake for you. I dare say Lady Isadora will not need me for some hours yet.’
‘I should think not.’ He pulled a face at her. ‘It is but ten minutes past the hour of seven. I like to rise early when I have not spent the night hours indulging in too much brandy—but I seldom leave the house before eight.’
Elizabeth laughed huskily. ‘Oh, dear, I am so sorry. It is a custom I formed when young. I used to ride with my brother before our governess was ready to begin the day’s lessons, and I fear the habit has stayed with me.’
Daniel nodded thoughtfully. ‘So you ride, then? I shall inspect my stables and discover if I have a suitable mount for you.’
‘Oh, no, that is too kind,’ Elizabeth said. ‘I have not often ridden since Papa…Our horses were deemed part of the estate, you see, and Lord Wentworth had nothing in his stable that I cared to ride…’
‘Not a good judge of horseflesh?’ Elizabeth shook her head and he gave a snort of laughter. ‘I shall be on my mettle, shan’t I?’
‘Oh, I did not mean…’ She looked flustered and his eyes gleamed in triumph for she had lost her air of unconscious command, which, with a head that felt as if it contained a thousand working hammers, he had found daunting. Now he was back in charge, which was his usual status with ladies.
‘No, of course not. Nevertheless, I shall expect you to ride with me tomorrow morning at eight, Miss Travers. You will not refuse me, otherwise I shall know that you think my cattle not worthy of your skill.’
‘I think you like to mock me, sir.’ Elizabeth gave him a reproving look.
‘My mother says I suffer from an excess of levity,’ Daniel said, though the gleam faded to be replaced by a disturbing expression that sent a little chill down her spine. ‘But this is a cruel world, Miss Travers. If a man may not find something to make him laugh sometimes, it would hardly bear the living.’
He nodded to her and walked from the room, leaving her to stare after him and wonder what had brought that look of near despair to his eyes.
It seemed to her that the Earl of Cavendish was a man of many parts, and she was not sure which was the real man.
Chapter Three
After two hours of uninterrupted work, during which she had become rather dirty, Elizabeth went back to