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Lord Rupert Halliday was rather startled when he received a note from Miss Anne de Bourgh requesting his presence at her uncle's home at precisely three-thirty. He could have sworn that Robin had said he was taking Anne for a ride through the park somewhere close to that time. The first thing he did after receiving her note was walk across the square to the Darcy residence to speak with his friend.
He found Robin in Darcy's study. As he was announced, Robin put down the book he had been perusing and welcomed his friend.
"Good afternoon, Rupe," Robin said cheerfully. "You have caught me at just the right time. I was preparing to leave shortly to call upon Miss de Bourgh."
"What time were you to see her?"
"Four o'clock."
Rupert sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say that."
Robin frowned. "Why?"
His friend handed him a note. "This came for me a short while ago."
Robin looked at the note, swore, and read it again.
Lord Rupert,You would do me a great service if you were to call upon me at my uncle's home at three-thirty this afternoon. I have a matter of urgency to discuss with you. I realize that this is most unseemly but I think we are on good enough terms as to allow it, my dear Lord Rupert. I am certain you shall forgive my impropriety.
Miss Anne de Bourgh.
"Why would she send that note if you were to come?" Rupert asked.
"Because she insists she shall not see me. She intends to use the same tactics on me that she uses on Cassel, and I told her quite bluntly that I shall not be deterred. If she thinks having guests is going to stop me from making her join me for a ride through the park, she is greatly mistaken."
"You believe that to be her plan?"
"I do indeed. Much as I did not want to do it, I talked to some people who know of Cassel's courtship of the lady. She puts him off by saying she shall consider him another day, or is always surrounded by people and cannot possibly be rude to her friends by leaving them behind. The day I arrived in London she poured a pitcher of water on his head."
Rupert laughed. "She did?"
Robin's anger eased for a moment. "I knew she was a sensible girl. I just wish I could understand her resistance to me."
"Much as I feel for you, Rob, this does have a benefit for me. I now have the perfect excuse to visit Lady Cordelia. Indeed, if you keep her cousin occupied and we could find a suitable third to visit Miss Darcy, then I think this could work out well for both of us."
"Invite Lysander. I would wager that he has nothing better to do, and you know how he loves such things. This does put a damper on my plans to get Anne alone, however." Robin thought for a moment. "Unless we were to go on a drive through the park. Do you have one of those death-traps on wheels?"
"Careful, man. You are referring to my pride and joy there."
"I had a feeling you would. And I know that Lysander has one--if it is all the rage, the man has it."
"He has two, in fact." Rupert grinned. "And I think it my duty to inform you that Miss Anne is quite adept at the reins of a phaeton."
Robin's eyebrows rose. "She is? I wonder what her uncle thought of that."
"He was less than pleased the one time we went driving in the park. A woman driving such a vehicle...well, it had plenty of tongues wagging."
"I am sure it did. Do you suppose Lysander would be willing to part with one of his prize possessions for an afternoon? I think a drive through the park might work even better than a ride. After all, I know she is an excellent horsewoman. If I challenge her capability at the reins...well, I suspect she might retaliate by insisting on showing me personally that she can control them."
Rupert smiled. "I have a feeling that Anne de Bourgh does not stand a chance against you. Perhaps I should have taken that bet with Lysander after all."
Robin tapped on the door and waited for the butler to appear. He expected to get the same reaction he had the day before, but the butler had apparently been awaiting his arrival and threw open the door almost immediately. Robin wanted to laugh. Wilberforce had been with the Fitzwilliams for several years but had yet to comprehend that butlers were supposed to be imperious. Robin had known some butlers who had been almost as rude as their employers, and some who were even ruder.
"Good afternoon, my lord," he said, beaming. "I have been instructed by Miss de Bourgh to bring you to the front parlor. They are all assembled there."
"'They?'"
"Yes, sir. Viscount Axelby and a gentleman by the name of Sir Lysander Overton."
"Ah." Robin allowed himself to be led to the front parlor and announced. The moment he walked into the room, he was momentarily stunned by the similarities between the cousins. Two wore blue, the other peach, and he was ashamed to admit that for a split second he was uncertain as to where Anne was.
But it was only a split second, and then he saw her.
Her blue dress was not as elegant as the blue dress Lady Cordelia wore, but it suited her. Anne de Bourgh needed no embellishments to make her beautiful, and he found that it was something else he liked about her. He could not keep his eyes from her, despite the fact that she was almost glaring at him.
"Good afternoon, Lady Cordelia, Miss de Bourgh, Miss Darcy." He nodded to his friends, who nodded back. His eyes then returned to Anne. "It is a lovely day, is it not?"
"It is," Lady Cordelia agreed. "Please, Lord Denby, join us for some tea. We were just having a delightful conversation."
"You were? What about?" Anne was looking quite smug at the moment. Almost as though she thought she had everything under control.
"We were discussing the weather," Anne said.
"And talking about what some might consider scandalous behaviour on Miss de Bourgh's part," Lysander added.
"Oh? I cannot imagine that such a lady as Miss Anne de Bourgh would do something scandalous. She is, after all, the daughter of the great Lady Catherine de Bourgh, a lady bred through and through." Robin noticed that the only available seat would put him next to Lady Cordelia, but he would be across from Anne. Lady Cordelia poured him a cup of tea, which he took with a murmur of thanks.
The smug look left Anne's face as she glowered at him. She knew exactly what he meant. "I did not think what I did was scandalous at the time," she said.
"Did you not?" Robin looked at her intently.
Anne took a deep breath before answering. "No, I did not, though my uncle thought differently. About a year ago, Lord Rupert was kind enough to allow me to drive his phaeton. Word spread quickly, I suppose, and there were some who disapproved. My uncle was among them."
"And so he should have been. You could have been killed."
"I think that is a chance anyone takes when riding or driving a phaeton, Lord Denby."
"Perhaps you are right, Miss de Bourgh. I was just telling Axelby the other day that I do not particularly like phaetons."
"And yet I noticed that you arrived driving one," Lady Cordelia said before her cousin could. "It is a lovely one."
"I borrowed it from Lysander."
Anne looked at him, her brows furrowed. She had apparently remembered that he had intended to take her riding today, not driving.
"I had difficulty enough handling the reins, and although I do not like to brag about myself, I consider myself a fairly strong man. What would happen, Miss de Bourgh, if the horses should bolt? A woman would not have the strength to stop them. Someone could get hurt. I would not like to see that."
"Your concerns, Lord Denby, are legitimate ones," Lady Cordelia said. "I told Anne much the same thing when I heard about it."
Robin looked momentarily at the young woman he was seated near before turning his attention back to Anne. He noticed that she looked slightly disconcerted.
"I think we could perhaps find a better topic to talk about," Anne said coolly. "For instance, we could talk about the St. Cecilia's Ball."
"We could," Robin agreed, "but I think we should get back to your driving a phaeton. Miss de Bourgh, I find it hard to believe that a young woman of your obvious delicacy could handle such a vehicle. I have seen Rupert at the reins and he has trouble handling those beasts he owns with it."
"As I told them before, I think it is easier for a woman to handle the reins since women are known to have a lighter touch with animals."
"A lighter touch has been known to make them think they can run free."
"A lighter but firmer touch. It is difficult to explain, but rest assured that I did a fine job. I do not drive at reckless speeds and have nothing to prove."
"A rather odd statement, Miss de Bourgh, since I suspect the reason you drove Rupert's phaeton in the first place was to prove something to yourself...or to everyone else."
Robin noticed that Anne's eyes kept flickering to her cousin before settling on him again. He could not figure out why Lady Cordelia was causing Anne discomfort. He glanced at the young woman to his left, but she seemed composed.
"I rarely concern myself with what people think, Lord Denby, but you are correct when you said I drove the vehicle to prove something. I bet Lord Rupert fifty pounds that I could drive across the park without incident, and I did."
"Until she reached our house and my father saw her driving," Lady Cordelia interjected. "That, I think, would qualify as an incident."
Rupert chuckled. "I never thought of it that way, Lady Cordelia. Miss Anne, you owe me fifty pounds."
"I only had to drive across the park without incident, not the entire way home," Anne pointed out. "We were well out of the park by the time my uncle saw us."
"I am not certain which occurrence Papa was more upset about--Anne at the reins or the bank draft which arrived the following morning from Lord Rupert as his part of the wager."
Anne and Rupert laughed. Robin felt something clench in his gut, a twist of something that made him want to throw his old friend through a window.
Good God. You need to get yourself together, Denby, or you shall go mad. This is only your first day of courtship.
And reminding himself of his purpose led him to say, "Miss de Bourgh, I wonder if perhaps I might have the pleasure of seeing you drive. You claim to be proficient at the reins. I would like to see you."
Anne looked startled at his request. "I would be honoured to oblige you, but I fear that my uncle would become furious with me again."
"Nonsense. If I am with you, he can have no objections."
"Why don't we all go?" Lady Cordelia suggested eagerly. "I have never driven a phaeton, but do so enjoy riding in one."
"An excellent notion," Lysander agreed. "Miss Darcy? I fear that if Miss de Bourgh and Lady Cordelia insist on riding in the phaetons that you would have to make do with my carriage."
"I think I would prefer that," Miss Darcy said. "I have not the adventurous spirit of either of my cousins. Riding in a phaeton would scare me to death, I fear."
"Then it is settled. Miss de Bourgh and myself shall ride in one phaeton, and Lady Cordelia shall be with Rupert," Robin decided.
He watched as Anne's eyes immediately flew to her cousin. Robin smiled inwardly, knowing that this was not what Anne had had in mind.
"Would it not be better for Anne to go with Lord Rupert?" Lady Cordelia suggested. "After all, you wanted to see how she can handle a phaeton, Lord Denby."
"What better way to see how she can handle it, Lady Cordelia, than being in the same vehicle with her? I could not get a good idea of her skills if we did not ride together. I would have to keep watch over my own vehicle."
"An excellent point," Rupert said. "Shall we?"
Anne looked as though she would very much like to register some sort of objection, but when everyone else rose, she had no choice but to join them.
Georgiana smiled as she saw Anne reluctantly take Lord Robin's arm. He helped her climb onto the phaeton, then got on himself.
"Miss Darcy?" Sir Lysander extended his hand to help her into his carriage.
"Sorry," she murmured, accepting his hand into the carriage. He sat across from her, facing Lord Axelby and Cordelia, who were seating themselves on the other phaeton. "It seems a great waste of time to take three carriages for six people, does it not? Surely we could have made do with two, or possibly even one. I could have stayed behind while the rest of you went off."
"We would not dream of leaving you behind," Sir Lysander said smoothly. He kept looking away from her.
"What are you looking at?" she asked him as the carriage startled moving.
"It is nothing." His gaze wandered off, and Georgiana turned to see what he was looking at. It appeared that he had his eyes set on the petulant Cordelia, who seemed most displeased to be stuck with Lord Axelby.
It couldn't be.
Surely Sir Lysander did not have feelings for Del, did he? Good heavens, just what this tangled situation needed. Bad enough that Cordelia loved Lord Robin, who wanted to court Anne, who would not admit to her feelings for him and was being noble by giving him to Cordelia.
"Sir Lysander, I must ask you something that may seem rather impertinent." Georgiana knew this was none of her business, and she would not be this bold except that she had to know.
"Yes?"
"Are you...have you...what I mean to say is...have you developed a tendre for my cousin?"
Sir Lysander laughed. "Not at all, I assure you. I was just observing that Lady Cordelia does not seem pleased with this idea. I take it she does not like being driven about in a phaeton?"
"She greatly enjoys carriage rides. She was just hoping that..." Georgiana put her hand over her mouth before the rest of it came tumbling out.
Sir Lysander's attention was fully on her now. "Hoping that what?"
"It is nothing," she said.
"It must be something, Miss Darcy, or you would not have said anything."
"I am afraid I can say nothing further."
Lysander Overton looked at the timid young lady sitting across from him and an idea took shape in his mind. "Who did Lady Cordelia wish to share a carriage with, Miss Darcy? Lord Robin or myself?"
Georgiana remained silent.
"May I tell you a secret, Miss Darcy?"
"You probably should not, Sir Lysander. If it is a secret, I do not need to know."
"Actually, it may be of some interest to you. Miss de Bourgh knows, I believe, so it is not a great secret."
Georgiana looked at him for a long minute before she said, "What is it?"
"The person who is in love with Lady Cordelia is Axelby."
Georgiana inhaled sharply. "He is?"
"Yes."
"And you think Anne knows?"
"Your cousin Anne is a very intelligent young woman. I do not doubt she asked him, and as Rupert has never learned to lie with any sort of sincerity, he likely told her the truth."
Georgiana looked at him and thought of Anne's face that morning over breakfast...and her words.
You cannot do this, Georgiana Darcy. It would be disloyal to Cordelia and it would infuriate Anne, because she made a decision on this. You must respect her decision.
But Georgiana could not help remembering the look on Lord Robin's face when he had seen Anne in the parlor...the way his brown eyes had warmed and it was clear as anything that for whatever reason, he cared for her. He had not taken his eyes off her, not even when he had greeted Cordelia and herself.
She gave the problem some thought before finally saying, "Cordelia is in love with someone. Or rather, she thinks she is."
"You do not think she is?" Sir Lysander asked quietly.
"I do not know."
He looked at her, gray eyes searching for something she was reluctant to tell him. "You would not have said anything if she loved me, so I can only presume that it is Robin."
Georgiana nodded, a tear streaking down her face. "Please do not tell anyone I said so. Please do not tell anyone of this...not even Lord Denby or Lord Axelby."
"I think I understand everything. Miss de Bourgh is aware of Lady Cordelia's feelings and that is the reason she refuses to let Robin court her. Is that why Miss de Bourgh arranged for us to be at your uncle's house today? So that she could avoid Robin?"
"Yes. It is what she has planned. She intends to keep Lord Denby at a distance until we retire to Matlock for the holidays. Anne believes that if she can hold out that long, my uncle will give up on his attempts to marry her off and she shall be allowed to wait out the remainder of his guardianship at Rosings. I think she has a fair chance."
"What is your opinion of the situation?"
"I do not think I have a right to one. I am not involved in it."
"Of course you are. Miss de Bourgh and Lady Cordelia are your cousins. One loves Robin, or as you said, she thinks she loves him, while the other one is admired by him. What do you think Miss de Bourgh feels for him?"
"I do not know. I think she is confused by him. She is used to men accepting defeat when attempting to court her, except for Lord Cassel, and she knows why he pursues her. I think that if she allowed him to...well, I think if she would allow him to court her properly, she would fall in love with him." She hesitated before asking, "Do you think Lord Denby loves Anne?"
"Love? I do not know if it is love. Fascination, without a doubt. He is intrigued by her. Miss de Bourgh is certainly an unconventional young woman, and Rob likes that. She clearly has no interest in his title or his future income. I can tell you from experience that that is always refreshing." Sir Lysander smiled briefly. "I think he is as confused by her as she is by him. But what makes you doubt Lady Cordelia's feelings for Robin?"
Georgiana sighed. "I can't explain it. I see the way she has acted so far and it reminds me so much of...a girl I knew. She thought she was in love and she behaved horribly. Cordelia acts in much the same way. She has but one goal and does not care what she has to do to get her way. She lashes out without reason. I do not know if it is love so much as obsession. I spent much of this past summer with her and she never once mentioned Lord Denby. She talked of other suitors. She even mentioned a couple that she said she might like to marry, but she never said she was waiting for someone."
"Could she have been keeping it from you?"
"It is possible, but I think she is remembering a feeling she may have had years ago when she last saw him and is mistaking it for love."
"One could make the argument that Robin is doing the same thing. He met Miss de Bourgh only once, and he did not even know it was her at the time." Lysander expected her to wonder at the meaning of that, but she did not.
"I suppose you are right. Perhaps the only reason he is courting her is because of how they met. He had four years to wonder who she was, to build her up in his mind. But Cordelia...I should not say anything more."
Sir Lysander leaned forward and said, "Georgiana, I think we should be honest with each other. Our friends are making quite a muddle of their lives, and I think we can help them."
"I do not see how we can help them. Anne refuses to hurt Cordelia. Cordelia is convinced she loves Lord Denby, who is determined to court Anne. Lord Axelby...I fear for him the most. He is most likely to wind up with a broken heart, because Cordelia does not love him. I doubt she has given him much thought beyond his being a friend of Anne's."
"What do you see as the best course of action?"
"I...I do not know. I think we should not interfere. We are likely to mess things up and have everyone hating us. We do not know enough of the facts. I could be wrong. Anne could merely be frustrated with the business of being courted. I know she does not want to go through another Season. She wants to go home to Rosings. And Del could truly be in love with Lord Denby. And Lord Denby...well, you said yourself that you did not know if he loved Anne."
"True. Perhaps we should wait and see what happens, and then make plans. What do you think?"
"I think that would be for the best." She looked at him. He was smiling warmly at her. "Thank you," she murmured.
"You are quite welcome. I could sense that you had something troubling you, and it helps to share it with someone."
She nodded quickly. "It does," she said.
"And I think it goes without saying that you may count on my silence in this matter, Georgiana. I shall tell no one of what we have spoken. I am certain I may count on your discretion as well."
Georgiana noticed that he had used her Christian name for the second time in this conversation. She knew she should be scandalised, but she decided that it was probably a slip on his part. Bringing attention to it would only make it seem as though she attached more meaning to it than it had. She instead turned her attention to the phaeton in front of them, which Anne had been driving with great accuracy.
"My cousin seems to be doing well," she noted. Sir Lysander turned to look at Anne and Lord Denby.
"She does, indeed," he replied, and their conversation turned to less stressful things.
Anne kept her eyes on the road, grateful that she had something to concentrate on rather than on the man next to her.
"It was a nice try, Anne," he said quietly.
"Do not speak to me or it might frighten the horses," she muttered. "And I have no idea what you are talking about."
"I mean your attempt to avoid going riding with me."
Anne nearly turned to look at him, but steeled herself and kept focused on driving. "I told you that I was not going to let you court me."
"You did indeed, but you would not tell me why."
It was on the tip on Anne's tongue to shut him up by telling him exactly why she could not accept his suit. But she could not embarrass Cordelia that way.
"I told you, my reason is a personal one."
"Having to do with your cousin, Lady Cordelia."
"I never said that."
"You did not need to."
"I grow tired of this endless repetition of your dilemma, Lord Robin. You need to marry an heiress, and for some reason, you have chosen me rather than waiting for something better to come along." Or even noticing that there is something better right in front of you.
"You and I have both seen the worst of the marriage mart, Anne. Society turned on you during your first Season because you did not know the rules. In your second Season, you turned it on its' ear by refusing to play by them. Before my problems occurred, I was chased by so many young ladies for my title and fortune that I could fill a book with their names. I could fill another book with all of the matchmaking mamas who followed in their footsteps, hoping that they could call their daughter the Countess of Denby. My problem will increase tenfold until my fortune is restored, because now people will know that it is in my best interest to marry, and marry well."
"Is that why you decided to court me? To avoid all of them and snare an heiress in the bargain?"
"Meeting you the other night was the greatest stroke of fortune I have had in a long time."
"How so?"
"You have no idea how badly my life has been going in the past four years."
"I heard you fell in love while you were there, to an Italian girl. That does not seem so terrible."
"I thought myself in love, yes, but I know better now. She reminded me of you."
"You did not even know who I was."
"I did not know your name, but I knew you better than anyone else did."
"What foolishness." Anne came to a turn in the road and made it easily. Robin admired her obvious skill.
"I saw a side to you that no one, not even your mother, had seen. I saw an adventurous spirit that risked getting caught dressed as a boy so that she could see a ball. Your mother never did discover what you did the night of the ball, did she?"
"No."
"How did you explain the loss of her necklace?"
Anne thought it a peculiar question. "I told her I was the one who lost it. I said it must have gotten snagged on something while I stood against the wall. You know, after Georgiana disappeared and I took her place."
"I know a great many women who would have claimed someone had stolen it. Or they would have said a servant had misplaced it. Instead, you took the blame yourself."
"Looking back on it, I could have said with all honesty that someone had taken it. After all, the necklace did wind up in your possession."
"It accidentally broke free of your neck when you ran away from me. If you had not done that, you would still have had the necklace."
"I try not to think of what might have happened had I stayed with you in the garden."
"I would have saved myself a great deal of time. I left England because I did not know who you were, or where I could find you. I went through the entire guest list, but found no evidence of who you might be. Then my mother died and my engagement ended. I thought I would never see you again, so I decided to leave."
"I thought you left to get away from my cousin Fitzwilliam and Mrs. Darcy."
"I told you, any thoughts I had of Elizabeth disappeared when I realized who you were."
"Which, by my reckoning, means you forgot about her two days ago."
"That is not what I meant and you know it." Robin smiled, and he saw that she was smiling as well. "You look like an angel when you smile."
"You would do well not to pay me false compliments. Save them for someone who believes them. I have never looked like an angel in my life."
Robin was beginning to get frustrated. Why did she refuse to believe that she was beautiful? Why could she not believe he was sincere when he complimented her? He set the questions aside for the time being.
"All I am asking for is a chance with you, Anne," he said quietly. "I am not saying you have to marry me. I want only an opportunity, nothing more."
Anne said nothing, keeping her eyes on the road.
"I do not know why you want to lump me in with those fools who rejected you in your first Season, but you must realize that it is unfair to me."
"You are saying that if you had been here, you would have been more than happy to come calling on me? I find that hard to believe. You are a creature of society, Lord Robin."
"No, I am not. If I were, I would have married long ago to please my mother. It is my greatest regret that I did not marry before she died."
"What were you waiting for?"
"I wanted something special. I briefly thought I had found it in Elizabeth--"
"--but her heart belonged to another man."
"Yes. Then I met you, and you far surpassed her."
"It was only the mystery of the whole thing. If I had come out and told you the truth that night, that I was Anne de Bourgh and the reason I was in disguise was so my mother would not know I was at the ball, you would have died of laughter."
"I would not have. I would have told you to put on a dress so I could dance with you."
"I did not know how to dance."
"I would have taught you. I would have spent every dance at that ball with you."
"Which would have looked peculiar as you were celebrating your engagement to another woman. Anyway, I somehow doubt that dancing was all you would have had in mind."
"Why do you think that? Because I kissed you? Or is there something more to your distrust of my motives?"
Anne slowed the horses a bit, for she noticed that they had ventured far ahead of the others. "People seem to think I am unaware of the wagers Lord Cassel has been placing in your so-called gentlemen's clubs." Anne blushed to the roots of her hair.
Robin looked away so Anne would not see his fury and misinterpret it. How dare Evan Brixton subject her to such speculation! "What gentleman told you of them?" he asked, his thoughts turning to vengeance.
"No one told me. I heard it at a ball near the end of last Season. Two gentlemen were discussing me, and the wagers were mentioned. They seemed to think he would be successful." Anne mumbled the last. "It made me realize how fragile my reputation had become, if people thought I would succumb to his dubious charms."
"Which is all the more reason why you should allow me to court you!" Robin pressed his point.
"I would not use you in such a way," Anne said. "I shall handle Lord Cassel in my own way. I have been successful in holding him off so far."
"That will only work for so long, Anne."
Anne knew this, but she had not wanted to admit it to herself. "You courting me does not mean he shall give up," she said.
"Yes, he will." Robin said this with a ferocity that startled Anne. This dislike he had for Lord Cassel went beyond his being her only other would-be suitor. There was something more to it, something personal.
Anne thought on that, as well as on something else. Her plan to match him with Cordelia hinged on one very important thing--his continued insistence on courting her. If she continued to refuse him, she knew that at some point he would give up and court someone else. If she did that, Cordelia may very well lose her one chance to secure his affections.
Anne did not realize that she had stopped the phaeton altogether. Robin took her hands in his. Even through two sets of gloves, she could feel the warmth of his hands.
"Please, Anne. Give me the chance I seek. Say you shall agree to let me call upon you, without playing foolish games like we did today."
Anne knew that if she agreed, she was agreeing to forget about throwing him together with Cordelia by surrounding herself with people. But she could find ways around it, surely.
"Very well, Lord Robin," she said. "But I must make it plain that I still have no plans of marriage at the moment. I do not wish to deceive you on this point."
Robin felt a flood of relief. "Thank you, Anne. I know you have no wish to marry, but I plan to change your mind about that."
Anne prayed he would not gloat over her acquiescence, and was pleased when he said nothing further.
Surprised, but pleased.
Robin walked into his gentleman's club that evening feeling more confident than he had in months. He had made a trip to see his new man of affairs, personally recommended by Axelby, and the plans for his shipping venture were coming along well. When he walked through the room, he knew they were talking of him still, but he hoped now they were thinking that Robin Hamilton's luck was finally changing. He was convinced that his bad luck was gone at last.
He credited Anne with much of that. Anne. He mused on her name for a moment, whispered it aloud, getting used to putting that name with her face and memory. Anne suited her quite well. Ophelia might be more dramatic, but Anne...well, like everything else about her, it fit.
Anne had consented to being courted. The ease with which he had obtained her consent worried him very little. Robin had a feeling that Anne was a woman of her word.
Robin smiled. He did not know if he was in love with her, or if he ever would. He had been half in love with a ghost for four years, though it had been her ghost. But as he knew all too well, the reality of a dream often fell short of the dream itself. Anne de Bourgh might, in the end, turn out to be another Lucia.
He suspected not. If he said nothing else about her, he could say that Anne was loyal, almost to a fault. She continued to refuse to tell him why she had originally not wanted him to court her. He knew it had something to do with Lady Cordelia. Robin wished she would tell him what the secret was, but he could respect the fact that she would not tell him.
Robin was still reflecting on this when Lysander spotted him. "Denby!" he called, waving him over. Robin walked over to the table his friend occupied and sat down.
"I thought you had a pressing engagement," Robin said. "Rupert shall be pleased. He is to join me momentarily."
"My friend was unavoidably detained, and since I knew you would be here, I decided to join you."
"Excellent. Shall we have some brandy?"
"By all means." Lysander gave one of the serving men who passed by a look. Everyone who worked at Business knew that look, and knew what Lysander wanted when he gave it.
A minute later, the two were enjoying their drinks
"You are in good spirits today, Rob."
"Of course. I have spent the afternoon courting a lovely young woman. What more could a man ask for?"
Lysander could think of any number of things.
"I thought she was still refusing you. That is what I had from Miss Darcy," Lysander said.
"She was. We had a talk and have come to an understanding."
"Really?" Lysander felt sorry for Anne de Bourgh. Georgiana had made it clear what her cousin Cordelia felt for Robin. He would not like to be the one to tell her of this new development.
"Yes. She shall let me court her without the others being present. If I cannot get her to consent before Christmas, that shall bring an end to it."
"Will it?" Lysander looked skeptical.
"Of course not. I intend to hound that woman until she agrees to marry me."
"You talk like a man besotted."
Robin hesitated. Was he in love with Anne? He barely knew her. He had been in love before--with Elizabeth and Lucia. These feelings he had for Anne de Bourgh were nothing like what he had felt for them.
He pondered the question. For Elizabeth, he had felt a strong sense of attachment. They had been brought together under his mother's watchful eye during her first Season. Half of the ton had expected them to marry. He had always said he did not let Society make his decisions for him, but in a small way, perhaps he had. After all, had they not been speculating, he might never have considered Elizabeth in that light. When Elizabeth had broken their engagement, however, he had not felt as much of a loss as he thought he might.
His feelings for Lucia, Robin could see, had been different. Unlike Elizabeth, he had not been allowed to see her often. There had been an air of mystery in his courtship of the lovely young woman, or so he had thought at the time. The mystery had intrigued him. And of course, that blinding beauty. Dark, dark hair. Dark eyes. Dazzling smile. Oh, yes, he could remember that her beauty had been quite remarkable at first.
Only now could he clearly see the calculating gleam she would get in her eyes sometimes. He remembered how quickly her smile would fade when she did not get her way. He remembered most of all how she had scorned him on that last, horrible day.
Thinking of his past experiences with love, Robin was uncertain whether or not he wanted to be in love again.
He thought of Anne, and the way she had unexpectedly dropped into his life not once, but twice. He thought of everything he admired about her, and the way he felt as though he would risk public censure if he could just have a minute to kiss her.
With a grin, Robin realized that he was fooling himself. A minute would not be nearly enough to kiss Anne the way he wanted to kiss her, the way she needed to be kissed.
"Rob?"
Robin realized he had not spoken in nearly five minutes. "I do not know what I feel for her. I have been in love, and I do not think I wish to be again."
"Sensible man."
"But what I feel for Anne is strange. I can tell you that for certain."
Lysander wanted to say something, but he noticed Rupert stalking through Business. He stopped short of their table. "She loves you!" he snapped angrily, pointing a finger at Robin.
For a moment, Robin felt light-headed and was grateful he was sitting down. Anne loved him! But then he cleared his mind. Rupert looked furious. If Anne loved him, Rupert would be thrilled.
"Did you know?" Rupert continued. "You must have known. Why did you not tell me?"
"Calm down, Rupe. You'll have the ton gossiping if you do not," Lysander said, standing up.
Robin noticed that Lysander seemed to know what was going on, even if he did not.
"I knew nothing," Robin said. "I do not even know what you are talking about."
Rupert allowed Lysander to push him into a chair and get him a brandy. He lowered his voice, but the anger vibrated strongly.
"I spent a very interesting carriage ride with Lady Cordelia."
"I rather thought that was the idea."
"She spent the entire time talking about you. About our days at Cambridge. What you may have been doing in Italy. Why you chose Anne. What your plans were for the future."
"Perhaps she was gathering information for her cousin." But Robin knew his friend was right. It fit better than anything else did. It explained why Anne had refused his suit initially, and the peculiar looks she had exchanged with Cordelia before they had gone on the carriage ride.
Anne was not protecting Cordelia. She was stepping aside for her.
He had been right to think Anne was loyal. He had had no idea just how much.
What did not make sense to him, however, was that she had agreed to his suit. The only explanation he could think of was that she had feared losing the chance to secure him for Cordelia.
"No. she kept looking at the two of you. She looked furious when she stared at Anne. She looked obsessed when she stared at you." Rupert snorted. "She thinks she loves you. She does not even know you."
"The more I see of this so-called emotion of love, the less I think of it," Lysander said. "You know as much about Cordelia and her character as she knows about Robin. And what Robin knows about Anne is as poor. None of you are in love. Infatuation or lust, perhaps, but not love."
"You are speaking of an earl's daughter, Lysander," Rupert said coldly.
"You think earls' daughters do not feel--"
"I think Rupert finds it disrespectful to speak of his feelings for Cordelia Fitzwilliam in such a manner," Robin said.
"You see? Infatuation. What went through your mind when I said that?"
Robin hesitated a moment. "I thought much as Rupert did, but since I did just a short while ago think that I might not be in love with Anne, I could not object to your thinking."
"At least you are showing some sense, Rob."
"Lysander, you are coming close to meeting me for a duel at dawn," Rupert snapped.
"There will be no dueling," Robin hissed. "If you would calm down, Rupe, you would see that Lysander is just voicing an opinion. Considering that the man has never fallen in love, you would think he would know not to say anything to friends who are, but he is being rational."
"Exactly. What is it about Lady Cordelia that made you fall in love with her? Her smile? Charm? Looks? Intellect?"
Rupert finished his drink, slamming the glass on the table. "I can barely remember last Season after meeting Lady Cordelia. She looked like an angel...she danced divinely."
"What did the two of you talk about during your dance?" Lysander asked. "And do not fob me off by saying it is none of my business."
"We danced more than once," Rupert said. "You are going to give Robin the impression that I followed her around like a babbling idiot, like the rest of those fools."
"You are avoiding my question." Lysander took a drink of brandy. "I have seen many a man fall in love with a beautiful woman only to find himself disappointed when beauty is all the woman possesses."
"There is more than beauty to Lady Cordelia."
"Then what?" Lysander turned to Robin. "What is it you find so fascinating about Anne de Bourgh?"
Robin frowned. "I am trying to stay out of this argument, Lysander. Why drag me in?"
"I am giving him time to compose an answer."
"In that case, I shall tell you. Anne is fascinating to me because she is the first person I have met in quite a while who has not set out for a London season looking for a husband. She does not care about titles or nobility. She does not care about money."
"She does not need to care. She has enough of her own."
"When has that ever stopped a woman from thinking of how rich a man is?"
"True," Rupert said, having hopes that Lysander would lambaste Robin and leave him alone.
"Anne cares about people. Look at the extreme she has gone to in order to make her cousin happy. She is willing to give up her best chance at marriage in order to make Cordelia happy."
"She does not seem to care about marriage," Lysander added.
"She does, though. I see it in her eyes sometimes. I think she would consider marrying me if her cousin were not in the way."
"You are very confident," Rupert said.
Robin shook his head. "Only in some ways. After all, Anne has allowed Lady Cordelia to govern her actions to this point. Despite agreeing to let me call on her, she may still be trying to play matchmaker between us."
"This still does not answer my question. Neither of you has bothered to answer it."
"The reason I like Anne as much as I do is because she is unique. She is not a silly girl fresh from the schoolroom. She has opinions and thoughts of her own." Robin looked at the remains of brandy in his glass. "As to whether or not I am in love with her, I cannot say."
Rupert opened his mouth to say something when someone burst through the doors of Business. The man was ill-dressed and dirt clung to his boots. His eyes darted frantically about the room until they found who they sought.
"Lord Denby, sir!" the man shouted.
Robin looked up to see his Bow Street runner, eyes blazing with fierce light. "Higgins!" He rose from his seat and quickly made his way across the room, escorting the man out the door in order to avoid the entire club knowing his business.
"Milord, I have located Blackstone," Higgins announced.
"You have?"
"Yes. A man fitting his description booked passage on a boat bound for Spain the day after you returned to London. He knew you were coming, milord. He wanted to make sure he was well gone before you arrived."
"You know exactly where he is?"
Higgins nodded. "The man who arranged to get him on the boat was willing to talk for a few pounds."
Robin's eyes went cold. Gone were his frustrating thoughts on a certain obstinate redhead. Gone were his worries that his two best friends were likely to kill each other if he was not able to intervene.
His sole focus was on the man who had cheated him and made him the laughing-stock of London society.
"I hope you don't mind that I took the liberty of arranging passage," Higgins said.
"Not at all, my good man. Let me tell my friends were I am going and I shall be with you presently."
"Very good, milord."
Robin managed to calm his nerves enough to walk back into Business. The members of the club were looking at him with overeager interest, but not one of them would dare have asked him what the problem was. Robin would not have told them if they had.
Rupert and Lysander were waiting with the same eagerness as everyone else. "He has found him," Robin said in a low voice. "Please give my regards to Anne and her family, and...tell her I hope to return before the St. Cecelia's ball."
"I shall," Rupert said.
"And gentlemen?" Robin could not resist a smile. "Try not to kill each other before I return. I should be very displeased with you both if you did."
Several days later, a green-faced Robin emerged from his cabin on Lauren Belle. He would rather have died than admit it to anyone, but long sea voyages played havoc with his digestion. He could handle short excursions on ponds or rivers, but out on the sea or ocean, the thought of being nowhere near land was enough to make him queasy.
He tried to keep his mind off of that by thinking of Anne. He thought of what it could mean if he returned home with most--if not all--of his fortune restored. He knew that part of her reluctance to him was the fact that she saw him as a fortune hunter. Perhaps, if he could regain it, she would see that he wanted her for herself.
When he did not think of Anne, he thought of Blackstone, and what he intended to do when he caught up to the thieving knave. These thoughts were of a less pleasant nature, though they were at times inventive and amusing.
"Are you sure you're all right, milord?" Higgins asked with some worry as Robin stepped off the ship.
"Yes, quite all right."
Higgins tactfully refrained from saying anything about how the sea affected many in such a manner, sensing his employer's pride was at stake. Indeed, after spending several minutes inhaling the warm Spanish air and having his feet on solid ground, his color improved and he was able to focus on something more than his stomach.
"From what my informant told me, Blackstone's holed up somewhere near here. It would make the most sense to be near a seaside town in case he had to make a fast exit." Higgins looked grim. "Milord, I do not know if you came prepared for what may lay in store for us..."
Robin reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a gun. "Do not fear, Higgins. I am well-versed in how to use it."
"I never suspected otherwise, milord. But we left in such haste that I feared you might not have remembered..." The man looked embarrassed. "Sorry."
"There is no need to apologize. I appreciate that you have made such a strong effort to find him. I did not expect results so quickly."
"Thank you, milord." Higgins turned to a dock worker and asked him a question in Spanish, which made Robin's eyebrows raise. Having never dealt with a Bow Street runner before, he had had no inkling of what skills the man might possess. He made a mental note to give the man a good bonus once he had completed the job.
After a few minutes' conversation, Higgins turned back to Robin. "He says that the person who's hiding Blackstone is an Englishwoman by the name of--"
"Kingston. Walter wrote me briefly about her, saying they were keeping company."
"Right. So this Mrs. Kingston moved here about six months ago, very mysterious-like. She rents a cottage and makes herself at home, but keeps to herself."
"But this being a small town, the people were bound to speculate."
"And she was not adverse to occasionally revealing a bit about herself. Seems like she was planning quite a windfall soon...when her husband joined her."
"What nonsense. Blackstone always said he was going to marry a wealthy widow. I remember Mrs. Kingston. Her husband left her nothing but debts."
"The information I got on her is that Blackstone was helping her to pay some of the debts."
"With my money, no doubt," Robin said bitterly.
"Her husband arrived a sennight ago, and according to the gentleman I just talked to, they have been staying at the cottage ever since. It is a bit unusual for her, he said, because she travels into town at least every other day. No one has seen her--or him--since he arrived."
"So they are most likely there."
Higgins nodded, and Robin felt a dull satisfaction in the pit of his stomach.
"Then let us pay a call on Senora Kingston and her husband," he said, walking away from the docks as though he had not suffered at all from the voyage.
The cottage was small, as these things went, Robin thought as he stared at the new home of his former man-of-affairs. In England, a cottage might be two stories with several rooms, but this was little more than a hut, a two or three-room home. Higgins circled the property to get an idea of how they could gain entrance.
"Two doors, milord, front and back," he said when he returned. "I figure that I could come to the front door, knock, and get someone to answer while you sneak to the back door. I figure I'll ask for a drink of water, or something, and get to the back door. When you hear me say, 'gracias, senora,' that will be your cue to come in. If we have him surrounded, he shouldn't be able to escape."
"Perhaps I should go to the front door," Robin suggested.
"No, no. He might be able to see you and try to escape. Better for him to be unprepared than to risk harm to either of us."
"Of course. You have the right of it." With every excellent choice Higgins made, Robin mentally added another bonus. By the time this was over, he thought wryly, Higgins might very well be able to retire.
"Are you ready?" Higgins stuck the barrel of his gun in the waistband of his breeches.
Robin nodded. "Let us finish this today."
Robin circled around the property, watching at the edge as Higgins approached the door and knocked. He frowned as the man waited for a minute, then knocked again.
Robin decided not to wait any longer and continued around to the back entrance. He thought of pulling the gun out of his pocket but decided to be cautious. As Higgins had pointed out, better that no harm come to anyone. He approached the back door carefully, waiting to hear Higgins' voice.
After a minute, he heard two voices. The first he recognized only too well.
"D--n it, woman, I fail to see why you could not send him away!" It was Blackstone.
"He looked so pitiful, Walter. All he wants is water."
"You fool! He could be anyone--he could--he--and you let him in without a thought! Have I taught you nothing?"
"He is harmless!" the woman squawked.
Robin reached into his pocket for the gun. He thought of how humiliated he had been to discover that his one of his oldest friends had betrayed him. He thought of how London had laughed at him. He thought of Anne, and how if he did not recover his fortune, she would always suspect that he had married her for her fortune.
He thought of how easy it would be to burst into the room and shoot the man who had made his life a living hell over the last month. Robin took the gun out, running his fingers over the barrel. He could do it. He could kill Walter Blackstone--gladly. As the shouting continued, Robin tested the doorknob and was surprised to find it unlocked. He could sneak in and do it right then and there, have it over with...
But how could he return to London having committed murder? How could he face Anne knowing what he had done? How could he face himself?
Robin sighed heavily and knew he would not kill the man.
"You are to send him away at once," Blackstone said.
"I shall do no such thing! This is my home, Walter Blackstone!"
"Paid for with my money!"
Mrs. Kingston said something that Robin could not hear, but apparently it worked, because Blackstone yelled, "All right! But do it quickly and get him out of here!"
He reached for the doorknob and waited. After a few seconds, Robin heard Higgins' voice. "Gracias, senora."
Robin opened the door. Just as the door opened, Higgins pulled his gun out of his waistband and pointed it at Blackstone. Mrs. Kingston screamed as Robin walked in.
Pointing his gun at Blackstone, Robin said, "As we say in England, thank you, Mrs. Kingston."
The woman turned pale.
Walter Blackstone stared unblinkingly at the gun in his face, then turned to his former friend. Before he could say anything or react in any way, Higgins had his hands bound securely behind his back.
"I should have known I would never get away with it," he finally said. "Hamiltons care only about the money."
"That's right. You should have remembered that," Robin replied coldly. "And I shall have every cent you stole from me or I shall have your head."
"You would not dare to do me any harm."
Robin calmly punched him in the jaw. Blackstone's head snapped back and he nearly toppled into Higgins, who stood behind him.
"I think he was wrong about that, milord," Higgins said.
Robin only smiled.