Page 4

T hea gasped then stood up so quickly she knocked over the inkwell and the abandoned teacup on the desk. Liquids went in two different directions. Both puddles heading for her pages.

She grabbed up the paper before it was too late. Wiping the edge on her gown to clear away the bit of tea that had hit its mark. Her attempt to save it, smeared the ink, but it was otherwise legible. So long as the typesetters could read it, all would be well.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, she faced the man who was waiting for an answer to his question. She considered lying for a moment or two but decided to go with the truth instead. Not because she was beyond deceit, but that it would only delay the inevitable.

It wasn’t as if he would allow her to stay. The only thing she could hope for now was that he wouldn’t tell Stephen she was there.

“Theodora Rockledge.”

“Aye. I know your name. What I don’t know is who ye are.”

“Isn’t a person the sum of their name?” she asked with a tone she could only describe as haughty. Perhaps if she continued to stand her ground she might have a chance of winning.

She looked the man over once more. He was huge. Taller than her brother, wider as well. He had the blackest hair and the bluest eyes. She blinked so not to get caught in them.

He shook his head. “Not even a wee bit. A name means very little. Especially if the name is not recognizable.”

He was not a lackwit like Stephen’s other friends. If he was truly one of Stephen’s friends. For he’d lied to him about coming here.

She let out a resigned sigh. There was nothing for it. She hated to be the damsel in distress, but she would need this man’s help.

“Very well. You know my brother. Viscount Percival.”

If Lord Flemming had tried to hide his look of distaste, he did a poor job of it.

What she hadn’t expected was to hear a gasp and a whimper from the doorway where Frannie stood, looking white as a sheet. What had this man done to Frannie? She was clearly terrified.

Without a second thought, Thea walked closer to the maid standing in front of her. She held no weapon but she would protect this poor girl the best she could.

“Don’t worry, Frannie. I won’t allow him to hurt you,” Thea promised. “What kind of monster takes advantage of his staff?” she accused the man who was staring at her as if she were daft.

When Frannie also blinked and shook her head, Thea thought perhaps she had misunderstood.

“You’re afraid of him?” Thea pointed to Lord Flemming.

“Goodness, no. He’s always been a kind man.”

“Then why do you look so horrified? Who are you afraid of?”

“Ye’re brother hurt Frannie,” Lord Flemming explained. “I would never be inappropriate with my staff, but I imagine ye think all of us Scots are naught but barbarians.”

She shook her head. “I don’t judge you because you’re Scottish, but because you are a man.” She couldn’t help the look of disdain she sent his way.

“I thank ye, for your protection, my lady. But it is hearing your brother’s name that gave me such a fright. Please say he won’t be coming here.”

“No. At least, I have gone to great lengths to avoid such a thing,” Thea said, hoping that she hadn’t caused this woman more harm for coming here.

“Forgive me for saying so, my lady, but he is a right devil. Lord Flemming would never hurt me. He is a good man,” Frannie said earnestly.

Thea glanced over at the marquess and let out a breath.

“It appears we have gotten off to a poor start, my lord. My apologies.” She turned back to Frannie. “I’m sorry for whatever my brother did that caused you this pain. I fled London to escape my brother. He doesn’t know I’m here.” She looked back to Lord Flemming. “He can’t know I’m here. Please.”

This shocked Lord Flemming, at least a little bit. He tilted his head, likely waiting for her to explain. But it was Frannie who spoke up.

“He ruined me,” Frannie said so quietly, Thea wasn’t sure she’d heard her correctly. It took a moment for Thea to comprehend and then she reached for the girl just as she broke into tears.

“I’m so sorry, Frannie. I had no idea.” In truth she hadn’t realized her brother was capable of such a thing, but a man who would drug his sister and sell her off clearly had no honor at all. Thea felt foolish to have been surprised.

The girl swiped at her nose and firmed her shoulders. “He didn’t force me,” she explained. “But I hate him. He pretended to like me. Made promises. I believed him, but it was all lies to get me to trust him. To…” She shook her head. “I thought he was kind, but he used me.”

“That is why he was not invited back. I don’t want him or his kind in my home again,” Lord Flemming said.

It was clear he meant her when he’d said, “his kind.”

“My brother owes a man named Flint ten thousand pounds. He’s sold everything of value in our home. The furniture, the silver. There’s nothing left and he’s become desperate. He planned to give the man the only thing left in the house that might have value.” She swallowed and looked away, hating that speaking it out loud made her feel dizzy.

“You?” Flemming guessed correctly.

Thea nodded. “I overheard his plan to dose me with laudanum and give me to Flint. My virtue to cover part of his debts.”

Frannie was the one to hug Thea this time. “We can’t let him take her, m’lord.”

“Frannie, can you leave Thea and I alone for a few minutes so I can decide what is to be done?”

Frannie backed away but stopped to whisper in Thea’s ear. “He’s big and gruff, but he’s a kind man. You’re safe with him, or I’d not leave ye with him.”

“Thank you, Frannie.” Thea was thankful for the girl’s protection. But Thea thought Flemming would likely think differently of her than he did Frannie. Thea’s blood was tainted.

When Frannie was gone, Lord Flemming began walking around the room as if he were thinking. She would rather hurry this along one way or the other.

“If you wish me to leave, I would understand. I would just ask you to not tell my brother I’m here. I’m seven and twenty, well past my majority, but my brother is still considered my guardian in the eyes of the courts. He would be able to force me back home and I will not face such a fate.”

“I take it you have a plan? Other than living in my dower house for the rest of your days.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. He was willing to listen at least.

“Yes. I have a man who handles my business affairs. In a few months I will have enough funds to purchase a property here, and I will send for him to come facilitate the acquisition. I enjoy the area and would like to live here permanently.”

“Your brother gambles the way he does, yet you have the funds to purchase a property?”

“I will soon enough. I earn my own money.” She couldn’t help but glance at the pages strewn around the room. Lord Flemming must have noticed as well for he picked up the first page from the pile on the table. That was where she collected the pages that had completely dried. But of all the pages he might have perused, that one was the most damning.

She saw him pause and then his blue eyes flared with recognition.

“Theodora Rockledge.” He pointed to the page and smiled. “Theodore Stonecliff.” He laughed. A booming sound of amusement that made her smile. “How clever.”

She remained silent, for if she’d been so clever, he wouldn’t have been able to figure it out so easily.

“ The Case of the Golden Feather .” He looked around the room. “This is a new book?”

There was no sense in lying. The evidence was right there before him.

“Yes. I’m Stonecliff. And yes, this is my newest novel. My publisher will be expecting it in two months’ time. I will be paid when I turn it in, so I’ve been working night and day to complete it. It’s so peaceful here and without the constant distractions of my brother’s debauchery I’ve been able to complete more than half of it.”

“You are one of my favorite authors,” he admitted easily.

“Well, thank you.” She’d never encountered an admirer of her work in the flesh. She found it quite… embarrassing. “I’m sure you’re surprised to learn I’m a woman.”

“Only in that women are not usually allowed to take part in such activities.”

She laughed despite the tense situation.

“Oh, I’m not allowed to do this at all. Thus the nom de plume , and the secrecy. My man of business sees to the delivery of my work and collection of my fees. This,” she gestured to the room, “is the part no one knows about.”

“Except for me.”

She frowned and let out a breath before squaring her shoulders and nodding.

“Yes, Lord Flemming. You now know all my sordid secrets. Including the fate that awaits me if you decide to tell my brother where I am.”

“I have no intention of telling your rotter of a brother where you are. That’s your own business.”

She felt her shoulders drop in relief, that particular weight alleviated.

“And what of my other business?” Again she gestured to the room.

“I’ll tell no one.”

“Thank you.” She glanced at the pages that were surely dry enough now. “Then I shall pack and be away. Please accept my apology for invading your home.”

“What will you do now?” he asked.

“I’ll go to the village to find a room to let until I finish and have the funds for Mr. MacLain to come north to help with the purchase of a cottage.” She hoped someone would rent to her. She didn’t need much assistance from a man in her daily life. But things like this could be dangerous.

“You will have the funds to purchase a home in two months?”

“Yes. I had enough previously but…” She shook her head.

“You paid off Percival’s debts last year,” he said sounding almost accusatory. Or maybe it was as if the answer to a complex puzzle was finally revealed.

“I did.”

“But you won’t do it this time.” It wasn’t a question, but she felt the need to explain anyway.

“I don’t have ten thousand pounds. And I daresay even after this book is done I won’t make that much.”

The man cursed at the sum and she couldn’t blame his surprise.

“I have no idea why this Mr. Flint allowed my brother to run up such a sum. He has to know Stephen has no money. And…” She stopped. The marquess didn’t need to know any of this. Yet, she’d already told him so much and felt she could trust him. What a silly thing to feel when hardly any man she’d ever known had been trustworthy in any way.

“And?” he pushed, seeming very interested in her answer. Maybe it was his sincere interest that compelled her to answer.

“And… even if I had it, I don’t know that I would pay it anyway.” That sounded rather harsh, so she defended her decision. “It isn’t as if paying the debt would make him stop. I don’t think anything can make him stop. His plan to give me to Flint proves how desperate he’s become to keep playing. He is no longer the brother I once knew. I’m worried for him, of course, and I still consider ways I might help him, even after I made a promise to myself not to. This… sickness he has succumbed to is worse than death. For if I had truly lost him, I would grieve and move on. Instead he was taken away from me day by day, hour by hour. Which is torture. I don’t know that helping him, would really help him at all. And if I do nothing and something horrible happens, I fear the weight of the guilt I will bear the rest of my days.”

Her throat grew tight, but she had given up on crying over her brother. There was no use for tears. They did nothing but make her nose run.

“You have a firm grasp of the situation. As you say, it is a sickness. Just as it is when a person has a thirst for gin that can never be quenched, your brother lives only for the thrill of the game. Even when he wins it brings him little satisfaction. For he no longer plays to win. He plays simply to feel that hope of winning. You canna help him. Your money would only prolong his agony.”

His words seemed to provide some absolution, and the freedom brought on the eruption of unwanted tears, and she couldn’t make them stop.