Chapter 10 #2
“Rex thinks you are very young and very beautiful and he is surprised that I am your protector.” Cliff shrugged.
“That is all?”
“That is all. However, I do have news. It is really good news, so you must take it as such.”
Amanda was instantly uneasy. “What is it? Is it about my mother?”
“No. My stepmother, my sister-in-law and my sister are in residence. They are out taking tea.”
Amanda turned and walked over to a beautiful love seat striped in pale blue, ivory and gold, where she sat.
A small fire burned beneath an ornate and carved wood mantel, but she did not see it.
Everything was happening too quickly! She wasn’t ready to meet the countess, his sister or the woman who would one day become the next countess of Adare. Her stomach heaved.
Cliff walked into the room. “Amanda. They are not like the ladies you have met in Kingston. I swear it. They are kind and generous and they will be delighted to meet you.”
Amanda shook her head. “I am doomed, before ever meeting my mother.”
“I thought you trusted me.”
She looked up. “I do. But they can’t possibly be kind. They may pretend to tolerate me, but they will look down on me.”
He clasped her shoulder. “I won’t try to tell you again that you are wrong. I’ll introduce you tonight if you wish, so you don’t worry yourself all evening.”
Amanda stood, facing him. “I’ll wait until the morning.” She couldn’t form a smile.
Amanda heard footsteps. Cliff turned. A beautiful and elegant young woman was passing by her open door. The tall woman halted, staring in disbelief. “Cliff?”
He dropped his hand. “Speak of the devil,” he teased.
The lady glanced at Amanda, her eyes growing wide, and a gleam came into them as she walked in. “I see you have brought home a guest?” she asked too sweetly.
He snaked his arm around her and pulled her very hard to his side. “Yes, I have, a guest I hope you will befriend.”
She shrieked in protest and pulled free, punching him in the chest. Then she smiled at Amanda, her topaz eyes filled with interest.
Amanda flushed uneasily.
“Ow. Come back here.” Cliff caught her by her ear and this time, pressed a kiss to her cheek.
She hugged him hard. “Who is the devil in this room?” she laughed, releasing him. Then she faced Amanda again. “Hello! I am Mrs. Sean O’Neill and this cad is my brother. Sometimes I love him very much and sometimes I dream of ways to throttle him. He can be hugely annoying.”
“Do not listen to her. I am charming and pleasant—unless provoked.” Cliff laughed. “Eleanor is the little sister I have told you about, except she is really an ,” Cliff said by way of introduction. “Mrs. O’Neill, do meet Miss Amanda Carre.”
Amanda trembled, uncertain of what to think.
Clearly brother and sister adored one another.
She had never thought to see a real lady punch anyone, not even her brother, and this woman was a lady—she was beautiful and elegant and the daughter of an earl.
Mrs. O’Neill had definitely remarked her breeches and boots.
“Hello,” Amanda began, almost hoping that the sister would vanish. She waited for the inevitable sneer.
But Eleanor smiled. “Call me Eleanor, everyone does! How do you know my rakehell brother? How is it you are his guest? Have you been riding in the rain? And how old are you?”
“Eleanor!” Cliff objected, but he laughed.
“He has kindly brought me to London to meet my mother,” Amanda said breathlessly. “And I am not much of a horsewoman. We just arrived—I am from the islands.” She waited for his sister to laugh, but she didn’t; she continued to smile, as if they were already friends.
“How interesting. My brother is many things—handsome, wealthy, brave, selfish, a boor—but he is not kind.”
Amanda stiffened. “He is very kind! He brought me here from the West Indies when I had no way to pay for my passage.”
Eleanor gave Cliff a disbelieving look.
Cliff scowled at her. “Amanda’s father recently died. She had no one else to turn to.”
“Oh, so you have rescued a damsel in distress,” Eleanor said slowly. She seemed perplexed.
“Actually, that is exactly what I have done. And by the by, I have brought Ariella and Alexi here.”
Eleanor cried out in delight. “And I have brought Michael and Rogan—they are in the nursery with Lizzie’s three hellions.”
“Then the cousins may have already met,” Cliff said, appearing pleased.
Amanda took the moment to sit down hard on the closest chair. Was his sister actually going to accept her presence in their home as if it was a usual occurrence? Didn’t she care that Amanda was scandalously attired? Did she know that her father had been a pirate, his fate death by hanging?
Cliff turned toward her. “I have to go out. Before I do so, is there anything you need?”
Amanda hated the idea of his leaving her alone in the house with his family. “I am fine,” she lied, feeling ill all over again. Where was he going? It was almost suppertime. She couldn’t help wondering if he was visiting one of his lovers, but that thought was too painful to contemplate.
He hesitated and sat down beside her. “I won’t be gone for long. Do you want to meet the countess and Lizzie before I go?”
“I think I am going to rest,” Amanda said warily. “I can meet them tomorrow.”
Cliff stared closely, his gaze searching. Amanda gazed back, wishing they were on the deck of his ship. “We’ll do some sightseeing tomorrow,” he finally said.
Instantly she smiled. “That would be wonderful.”
Cliff smiled back and stood. He gestured at his sister, who pretended not to understand. “Amanda is tired from the voyage.”
“But I was going to ask for some tea and sandwiches, so we might become better acquainted.” Eleanor grinned, appearing a bit mischievous.
Amanda was alarmed.
Cliff clasped her shoulder. “You will have plenty of time to become acquainted with Amanda,” he said.
She snickered. “You do mean Miss Carre, don’t you, Cliff?”
He pushed her out the door. “You remain as impertinent as always,” he said.
“And I wonder if you remain as impossibly roguish as always?” She returned sweetly. “Naughty Cliff, to be alone in a lady’s room at this hour!”
Cliff turned to Amanda. “Ignore her. I will check on you later.”
Amanda had an idea of what his sister had been implying, but she hoped she was wrong. Or did his sister think they were having a lover’s affair, right under the countess’s roof?
But Eleanor waved at her and disappeared, as if she did not mind the notion at all.
“She is a very bold woman,” Cliff said, shaking his head. “And outspoken—perhaps more so than you. She also wears breeches, by the way. I will see you later.”
Amanda gaped as he closed her door.
IT TOOK HIM A SCANT ten minutes to reach Belford House, and by the time he arrived, it had begun to rain.
Four handsome coaches lined the street, so he knew he was interrupting a supper party, but as it was only seven, the guests had probably just arrived.
It was not fashionable to call as he was doing, but he did not care, and no one in society expected him to behave in a proper manner, anyway.
He rang the knocker. Everyone except for Belford would assume he was sniffing after his wife.
Belford seemed oblivious to his wife’s escapades.
A butler ushered him in, ogling his gold earring and the spurs he wore in spite of his tan trousers. He had also donned a beautiful shirt, tie and navy-blue jacket—his concession to fashion. Cliff smiled. “Is Belford at home?”
“His lordship is in Scotland,” the servant returned, more interested now in the sheathed dagger at his hip than at the transparent question.
“Then I am in luck,” Cliff returned, handing the man his business card. “Please inform Lady Belford that I have an urgent matter to discuss with her.” He said.
The man vanished.
Cliff paced the round foyer beneath a crystal chandelier, overhearing male conversation sprinkled with feminine laughter.
The entry was sparsely furnished. A beautiful but very worn Oriental rug was underfoot and two ruby-red chairs were at the hall’s end, the seats faded.
A lampshade that should have been ivory was the color of parchment.
Looking around, he realized that the Belfords were in an economic pinch.
As he had guessed, Lady Belford did not mind the interruption. She appeared within minutes of her butler’s exit with his card.
He stared as she came into the entry. Now, he could not mistake the resemblance between mother and daughter. They could have been sisters, although Dulcea was a far less striking version of Amanda, and most strangers would think them related.
Considering the scheme at hand, he wasn’t all that pleased.
Dulcea was obviously happy to see him. She wore a sleeveless burgundy gown with a faint gold floral pattern, a ruby pendant at her throat and she was smiling as she approached.
“My lord de Warenne!” she cried. “This is the most welcome surprise. But I should have so wished for advance notice—I would have set an extra place at the table.” Her hand fluttered up and down his sleeve.
Her desire to bed him hadn’t changed, he thought, repulsed, but he smiled slightly and bowed. “Thank you for receiving me, Lady Belford. I am aware the hour is an inopportune one.”
“It is never an inopportune hour for you, my lord,” she said, her lashes lowering as she curtsied.
She was socially far superior to him, and he found her use of a courtesy title obsequious. “Then I am very fortunate.”
“Have you just arrived in town? Would you care to join us for supper? We have only just sat down.” She smiled, touching his arm.
“I am afraid I cannot stay long,” he said. “And I do not wish to keep you from your guests. But there is an extremely urgent matter that we must discuss. I beg you for a private word.”