Chapter Sixteen
Reuben had arrived early for his meeting with Farrah and enjoyed watching her natural elegance as she approached the empty cottage.
She looked adorably windswept, yet mindless of her appearance, and the compelling picture she managed to present in such unorthodox circumstances sent a disturbing jolt of awareness spiralling through Reuben’s bloodstream.
Interacting with a lady who didn’t take extensive care of her appearance was a novelty for Reuben.
Volunteering to meet with her alone was an almighty risk and certainly not a suggestion he would have made had she been anyone else.
Farrah probably hadn’t spared a thought for the proprieties and would not, he instinctively knew, attempt to exploit the situation for her own advantage.
Her sole intention was to locate her errant father.
Even so, he realised, they could just as easily have met in his drawing room, or hers, beneath the watchful gaze of their servants.
Or worse, her mother.
Reuben shuddered, reminded of why he had not chosen the conventional course.
Farrah’s shocked reaction when she showed him the path that her steward had used, proving that he could only have been visiting Templeton, tested his resolve to keep her at arm’s length.
The vulnerability she was sometimes unable to conceal reinforced his determination to be of service to her.
Reuben watched now as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking dismayed as she tried to come to terms with this latest show of disloyalty by a man she had known and trusted for her entire life.
Her cheeks were pink against her otherwise pale skin, and he could sense her internal struggle as she attempted to find a plausible explanation for Freeman’s behaviour.
‘What on earth has Papa got himself involved in?’ she asked no one in particular.
‘What indeed? But perhaps a better question would be to ask why he has also involved his steward.’
‘I agree.’ Farrah acknowledged the point with a tilt of her head, her expression strained.
‘I believe our coachman is in league with them too. I caught Freeman and our driver in whispered conversation on our first day back here. I did wonder then how they had come to be on such good terms. Our coachman is always with us and is therefore not often in the same part of the world as Freeman.’
‘If whatever your father is doing involves the movement of merchandise and perhaps the storage of it, then it would better explain the collaboration.’
‘True.’ Farrah sighed. ‘Besides, they are here and Papa is not. We can surely make them tell us what they know. And where he is, come to that. They must have some idea.’
Reuben shook his head. ‘The chances of them telling you anything at all are at best remote.’
She sent him a mischievous smile. ‘Me, possibly, but they would have to tell you.’
‘Ha! Do you imagine that being a duke precludes one from being lied to?’
Farrah wrinkled her nose. ‘No, I suppose it does not. But at least we now know that Papa is involved with Templeton and that in all probability the mysterious Mrs Armstrong is the driving force behind whatever it is they are up to.’ She frowned.
‘We really do need to know what it is that Armstrong did to earn his fortune. Then we will have a better idea where to look for answers – although we could, I suppose, ask Mrs Armstrong directly.’ She offered him a compelling smile that he reacted to in the time-honoured fashion.
Dear God, what was the chit doing to him? ‘Or more to the point, you could.’
‘Out of the question!’
‘Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a feeble woman.’ Farrah placed fisted hands on her hips, tilted her head and fixed him with a combative look.
‘Farrah!’ Reuben let out a long sigh, charmed by her willingness to goad him.
‘There has to be some advantages to being a duke. Besides, why wouldn’t she willingly offer that information if asked nicely?’
Reuben chuckled. ‘Use your sense. If she is breaking the law, then the last thing she’s likely to do is incriminate herself – to me, of all people.’
Farrah pouted. ‘Then what?’
‘Patience.’ He chuckled at her affronted expression. ‘Rome was not built …’
‘I just feel so useless, not knowing.’ She threw up her hands.
‘Time is not on my family’s side. Our creditors will not wait indefinitely.
Whatever Papa has done, he was motivated by desperation, of that I have no doubt.
Mind you, he is responsible for his own problems in many respects.
He has never been a fastidious manager of his affairs, trusting far too much in those around him.
Even so, I cannot help but think that he has become involved in something that is beyond his control.
Why else would he have permitted all this to …
’ Her arm arched to encompass the rundown estate as her words trailed off.
‘Let my people see what they can discover about Armstrong. His widow is clearly the controlling party, on that point we are in agreement. By the time you attend my mother’s tea party I should know more.’
She acknowledged the point with another tilt of her head, clearly frustrated by the delay. ‘Thank you. You are very kind.’
Reuben chuckled. ‘Kindness has nothing to do with the matter. I am more than happy to be of service to you.’ He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, the only physical contact with her that he would allow himself. ‘I look forward to seeing you again in two days’ time.’
‘I am anxious to meet Mrs Armstrong, I won’t deny it. If she attends.’
‘It’s highly unlikely that she will decline a duchess’s invitation.’
‘Presumably such a thing is unheard of,’ Farrah said with another of her mischievous smiles.
‘I cannot recall a time when that situation has arisen without a valid reason, I’ll grant you,’ Reuben replied, valiantly struggling to keep a straight face.
‘Well anyway, I shall be interested to see how she reacts to me when she realises who I am. I find it hard to believe that she will be able to hide her reaction if she and my father are involved in something untoward,’ Farrah said.
‘Surely their attachment cannot be of a romantic nature.’ She glanced up at him, her expression full of uncertainty. ‘Can it?’
Reuben had no idea and certainly didn’t wish to engage in a discussion of that nature with a lady who increasingly occupied his thoughts. ‘I very much doubt it.’
‘I mean,’ Farrah said, speaking over him, ‘Mama is not the most dutiful of wives and I think Papa regretted marrying her. It would account for the way that he always seemed … seems ? I must not speak of him as though he is dead ? disinterested in family life.’ Her cheeks bloomed with colour.
‘But even if he is taken with the lady, surely he wouldn’t neglect his family and property simply to be with her?
If nothing else, he is inordinately conscious of the family name and title.
’ A tremble passed through her body. ‘You surely don’t suppose that he has abandoned us, turning his back on a rundown estate and a mountain of debt?
I cannot believe he would act so dishonourably, but then if his situation seemed so very desperate there would still be one honourable way out for him. ’
‘Now you’re being fanciful,’ Reuben chastised her gently, unwilling to increase her anxiety by admitting that the same possibility had occurred to him.
‘Am I?’ She fixed Reuben with a look of deep concern.
‘He would not be the first aristocrat to blow his brains out rather than face up to his responsibilities. We would know if he had taken that course, though, so it follows that he has left us for a wealthy widow.’ Farrah ground her jaw.
‘On balance, I think I would prefer it if he turns out to be engaged in criminal activity.’
‘You cannot mean that.’
‘I don’t know what I mean anymore.’ She brushed impatiently at an errant tear. ‘In fact, I barely know my own mind. Anyway, if Mrs Armstrong does not attend your mother’s tea party, then my suspicions will be confirmed. If she does, you can be sure that I will speak with her.’
‘Be careful not to alert her to our suspicions.’
Farrah looked affronted. ‘It may surprise you to learn that I know how to conduct myself in a drawing room. Even one as stately as your lady mother’s.’
Reuben’s features remained set in stone.
‘I am deadly serious, Farrah. The lady could be dangerous. She almost certainly is if Templeton accepts her chastisements without rancour. I do not want you dragged into her shady machinations. Besides, in the unlikely event of her being romantically involved with your father, she is hardly likely to make that admission.’
‘I will be able to tell.’
‘You have a history of romantic liaisons and will notice the signs?’
‘No, of course not, but …’ Farrah seemed a little taken aback by his intensity.
‘I appreciate your concern, sir, but I am not a simpleton. Mrs Armstrong, if indeed she is a criminal mastermind and not just a marriage-wrecker, will have proven that the weaker sex is not necessarily the less intelligent. And in me, just possibly, she might have met her match,’ she added, looking starkly determined.
Reuben, watching the gamut of emotions flashing across her countenance, could see just how set she was on finding answers.
Since her family’s entire future rested upon those answers, he could understand her singlemindedness but still did not trust her not to act recklessly.
The strength of his own determination to keep her safe both surprised and concerned him.
It concerned him because he could no longer pretend that he was motivated solely by a desire to keep his part of the country free from criminal enterprise. His primary concerns, he was disconcerted to accept, were Farrah’s safety and a burning desire to win her gratitude.