He broke off the conversation he’d been having, said good-bye to the gentleman he’d been talking to, and took Helena aside. “Don’t worry,” he said softly. “She’s with Haye.”
“Not worry?” she gasped. “Being off somewhere with him could be fatal to her reputation!”
The earl laughed. “In the ordinary way, possibly. But not here. I saw them go outside to the garden. Don’t worry, rackety he may be, but Leland knows I have her under my wing, and he wouldn’t do anything to harm her in any way.”
“But being seen alone with him would harm her,” Helena insisted.
“He can’t be alone with her, because half the party has been out that door in the past half hour, if only to breathe. It is deucedly hot in here. Would you care to come out with me, to find them?”
She shook her head. “Thank you, my lord, but I wouldn’t presume. I’ll just step out by myself.”
“No,” he said, taking her hand and putting it on his arm. “Come with me. There’s no need for you to go alone.” He smiled at her. She wore a neat blue gown with long sleeves, her hair was arranged primly, and the only ornament she wore was a golden locket at her throat. Still, if she hadn’t been a companion, he thought, she’d have gotten a companion for herself by now. Helena Masters was a fine-looking woman, and a gentle-spoken, intelligent one, too.
“You take your duties seriously,” he said, as they strolled toward the door to the terrace. “That’s good but not necessary, here at least. Daisy may be young and inexperienced at social matters, but she’s got a fine head on her shoulders.”
She nodded. “But the viscount, while a friend of yours, is a man with a certain reputation, and after meeting him, I quite understand how he got it. That’s all I worry about.”
He stopped. “Never say Lee’s got you entranced, too? The man has half the females in London ready to eat crumbs from his hand, but I thought you’d be able to resist him!”
Her eyes crinkled as she smiled, making her look much less severe, transforming her entirely, in fact, he thought. “No, no such luck,” she said, laughing. “I haven’t been enraptured in many a long year.”
“Leland didn’t beguile you?” he asked in mock amazement. “Now, that is too bad. We have to find someone who does. Maybe I’ll give it a try. What are you looking for in a gentleman?”
She saw that though he was joking, he was concerned. Her smile became sad. “I look for the impossible, my lord, because no man looks at me.”
“Untrue!” he said. “Or if true, ridiculous. At least to me, if only because I’ve so recently come from a land that, for all its faults, recognizes a man or a woman for who they are rather than for what they’re worth in pounds and shillings. You, Mrs. Masters, could name your price in rubies, were you to go to the colony at Botany Bay.”
“Really? What do you suggest I steal to get there, then?” she asked.
He’d been smiling, but now his smile was arrested, and he looked at her as though he’d just seen something new in her.
She held her breath.
And then, as though called, he looked up.
Daisy and the viscount were coming back into the room. And then the earl appeared to forget everything except that Daisy was smiling at him.
While everyone else in the room turned to stare at Daisy, with sudden avid interest.
Chapter Thirteen
Leland frowned at his naked knees. Folded up as he was in his bath, he couldn’t help seeing them. He had a large tub, but he was larger than most men. His knees were unlovely, but not the source of his rage. He washed quickly, stood up, and took the towel his valet handed him. He stalked into his bedchamber. There were things he had to do this morning, and if he had to hoist people up out of their beds to do it, he would.
“Don’t fuss,” he told his valet. “This is fine, thank you.”
He looked at himself in the glass and considered the result of his hurried toilette: one tall, thin man, dressed in correct morning clothes. His boots shone, his breeches were without a wrinkle, his neck cloth was pristine and tied just carelessly enough to make him the envy of every young blade in town. Much he cared this morning. But everything was as it should be. Except for the long face. He stared at himself in the glass. He looked like a murderer about to select a victim, and fast.
His mother’s butler stared at him.
“I’m not a frequent visitor,” Leland said in clipped tones. “But surely, you know me. Kindly tell my mama that I wish to speak with her.”
The butler took a step back. “Indeed, I know you, my lord, but we were not expecting company this morning. The household went to bed quite late last night, and your mama is still sleeping.”
“Doubtless she didn’t go to bed until dawn,” Leland said. “It makes no matter. I wish to speak with her.
“I shall bring word to her. If you would care to wait?” the butler asked, showing Leland the salon.
“I would not care to wait above five minutes. Tell her that,” Leland said, and went into the room to pace.
It took a full fifteen minutes for the viscountess to come down the stair. Leland was astonished that it took so little time, and realized he must look even more murderous than he felt.
“Haye, what has happened?” his mother said from the doorway.
“I had thought you could tell me that,” he said.
She wore a robe over her negligee; her hair was simply dressed, and though she looked well, the morning sunlight wasn’t kind to her. It wasn’t that she looked ancient, in fact she looked uncommonly young; her fair complexion was smooth even without powder. He supposed that was because she seldom laughed or scowled, and so her skin had remained relatively free of wrinkles. She took constant care of herself; he could still see the faint sheen of whatever cream she used on her skin. But her eyes showed her age: They were cold and too knowing. This morning, the effect of them staring out of her smooth face was unsettling.
“Sit down,” she said. “And tell me your grievance. Because now I see it isn’t an emergency, it’s only that you’re angry at something you wish to lay at my door. That’s nothing new. But I don’t know what crime it is this time.
He didn’t sit, but only stood facing her. “Do you not?” he said. “Odd that you could forget so quickly. It was only last night.”
Her cheeks showed a faint flush of pink, but she stared at him defiantly.
“You told everyone about Daisy Tanner while she was out of the room, did you?” he asked, though her reaction had given him his answer. “I only wonder what you told them.”
“They might have guessed she had been a convict,” he went on. “The earl never made a secret of his past, nor did any of his ‘sons,’ including my brother Daffyd. If your guests heard she was a friend of the earl’s from Botany Bay, I imagine they could have supposed as much. But there had to be more to account for the sudden stir she made. We came in from the garden to find she was suddenly the center of attention. The party came to a dead halt, and she was gaped at. No one said a thing to her, but no one looked away. I fancy myself a brave fellow, but even I was taken aback. Obviously someone had said something appalling about her. I’m here to find out what it was.
“She was transported for her father’s crimes,” he said. “Anyone knowing that might have been shocked, but certainly not so much as they seemed to be last night. We had to get Daisy away before it broke her heart, but I need to know what you did so that I can undo it, swiftly.”
“So it’s you who has an interest there?” she asked, with what might have been a real smile. “Beware, Haye. If she’s the earl’s friend, he won’t allow you to toy with her. Or you’ll be caught. Have you remained single all these years so that you could find a convict bride?”
