Page 2

Chapter One

The hackney drew to a halt, rousing Zeke from an uncomfortable slumber. He peeled open gritty eyes and peered through thick evening fog.

There it was, the familiar outline of Claybourne Hall. His birthright. His home. Eventually.

He tossed the driver some coins and dropped to the curb, flicking a glance at the starless sky. God, he hated the London haze.

He chuckled to himself as he opened the iron gate and started up the walk. Already grumbling and he hadn’t even been ashore—how many hours now? What time was it, anyway? Well past his grandfather’s bedtime, of that he was sure. He’d hoped to arrive earlier.

The massive front door opened as he cleared the top step.

The earl’s butler, still in full servant’s garb appeared. “Lord Thurgood, welcome home.”

“Smethwick, good to see you.” Zeke crossed the threshold. “I suppose the earl’s abed?”

“Indeed, no, my lord. He’s in the den.”

“At this hour?”

“Playing a board game with Kit, I believe.”

“Kit?” Zeke handed off his gloves and hat.

“The earl’s hired a young companion. Shall I announce you?”

“Think I’ll surprise him.” Though travel weary and sorely in need of a hot soak and soft bed, a broad smile covered his face. He’d missed the old man.

The door to the den stood open and a soft glow of lamplight from the room’s interior spilled out over the marble corridor.

“I can’t believe it, Kit. You’ve bested me again.” The earl’s crusty voice.

A soft laugh reached Zeke’s ears. A young errand boy, then. The earl had gotten himself a tiger.

He rapped his knuckles sharply on the doorframe. “Hello, anyone here care to welcome home a long missing son?”

He spotted his grandfather looking relaxed and contented in his favorite armchair near the hearth and waited for his reaction.

His grandfather’s face lit with joy, followed by an odd expression Zeke couldn’t quite discern, before an ear splitting grin took its place.

The earl hoisted himself out of his chair. “Zeke, why didn’t you send word you were coming home?”

Chuckling, he crossed the room to meet the earl halfway, where he allowed himself to be thoroughly embraced. “There wasn’t time, unless you wanted me to go to my apartments first.”

“Of course not. This is your home. Let me look at you.” His grandfather grasped his shoulders and leaned back to scrutinize him. “Hair’s a bit too long. Face too tanned. But otherwise seemingly none the worse for wear. Brandy?”

“Please.”

“Sit, sit, I’ll get it,” he said, already heading for the credenza.

Zeke made his way to the seating area the earl favored. Only then did he realize the scamp with whom his grandfather had been playing chess had disappeared.

His brows knitted with disapproval. “Where’s this tiger I heard you’d employed? Don’t tell me he dashed out of here without even bothering to clean up the game.”

Zeke studied the board. “Not a bad strategist, eh? Clever check there.” He pointed to the boy’s well-placed queen.

“I’ll say. Squarely beaten again,” his grandfather said, his voice muted as he fished a decanter out of the cabinet.

Mission accomplished, he filled two snifters and returned with one in each hand. “Here you are.”

They clinked glasses and took their seats. Zeke’s was still warm from the absent servant’s behind. How had the lad sneaked past him? He must be more tired than he realized.

He shook his head, and swirled the amber liquid beneath his nose. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, enjoying the rich scent before taking a healthy swallow.

“Ah,” he said on a sigh and let his head loll back on the plush velvet cushion. “It’s good to be home. I say, you’re looking well.”

His grandfather preened a bit. “Thank you. But I can’t take all the credit. Kit’s regimen is paying off.”

“Kit?”

The earl brandished a sly grin. “My assistant. Companion. Helper.” He shrugged.

Zeke snorted. “A tiger who’s also an exercise prescriber? That’s a new one. You’re getting eccentric in your old age.”

“Old age? Speak for yourself. And it’s not eccentric to enjoy having someone with whom to share the long days of summer.”

Zeke shifted in his seat, a stab of conscience pricking him. He met his grandfather’s eyes, expecting to see accusation in their faded blue depths, but found none. It didn’t banish the sting of guilt, however.

“What of Caden? Tell me he’s in London.”

The earl arched his brows. “Your brother? Of course not. It’s summer. He’s currently at a house party in Marlboro.”

Zeke frowned. He’d hoped to spend time with his younger brother before he sailed again. Too, he liked to think he kept an eye on their grandfather in Zeke’s stead.

“Tell me about this African diamond mine. Was it what you expected?”

Zeke rubbed his palms together. “And then some, my lord. Kimberley is already paying dividends.”

“Loaded with diamonds, is it?”

“It is. As usual, my biggest problem is finding a reliable foreman. There’s more than enough willing and able labor to do the digging. Staying to oversee the operations—and thereby ensure our profits didn’t walk off the site, was the main reason my stay lasted so long.

"But my time paid off. Matter of fact.” Zeke fished in his waistcoat pocket. “I brought back a sample, freshly cut and polished.”

He loosed the velvet pouch and shook the contents onto his palm, not bothering to hide his pride in the stone.

The earl leaned forward in his chair. “Magnificent. May I?”

“Please.”

The earl took the diamond between his thumb and pointer finger and whistled low. “How many carats?”

“Approximately six.”

“Oh, ho, m’boy. Now here’s a gem with which to woo a lady. Should I take this to mean you’re finally planning on settling down now you’re back?”

Zeke snorted. “Hardly. Besides there isn’t a woman alive whose finger is big enough to wear that rock.”

His grandfather’s mouth twisted in a sardonic half grin as he returned the diamond to Zeke.

“Perhaps you should have brought home a more manageable size, then, Ezekiel Thurgood. You are hardly a boy just out of leading strings. It’s well past time you got serious about starting a family—”

“Egad. I’m only nine and twenty—”

“No need to act as if I’ve suggested the guillotine. I got the impression you enjoyed the ladies, and from what I’ve heard tell, you’re quite popular with the fairer sex.”

“I adore women. Especially when they’re flat on their—”

His grandfather’s sudden wheezing fit cut him off.

He sat forward to whack the earl on the back. “How long have you had this cough?”

The earl blinked and wiped moisture from the corner of his eye. “I’m quite well. M’ brandy went down the wrong pipe.”

He studied the earl with a critical eye. He looked fit, as previously noted. Still broad of shoulder, not all slumped over like some of the old man’s peers.

Zeke relaxed back in his chair. “Where were we?”

“We were discussing your family—or lack thereof.”

“Ah yes. Brought on by my careless exhibition of the diamond.” He dropped the stone back into its pouch and tightened the drawstrings. “But as to your protesting my lack of a family, need I remind you I have one. Namely you and Caden.”

The earl scowled. “I won’t be here forever.”

“I’m well aware of your views, old man, and I plan to marry. But don’t forget I’m soon to sail for America to buy into that gold mine I researched. Perhaps you recall I’d planned to go after the completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad.”

“Which transpired a bit over a month ago.”

“Precisely.”

The earl rolled his eyes.

“I suppose I could look for a bride who won’t mind being left to rusticate in the country with a brood while I ensure our family’s financial future.” It was an option.

“You’re always planning a trip somewhere. You and your damned mines. And I hate to point out the obvious, lad, but if you never manage to produce an heir, procuring the family’s so-called financial future seems a bit moot.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Time to change the subject. He drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “Have you any idea if Randall’s about? Or is he off visiting one of his country estates?”

“Last I heard, your co-conspirator fled the heat in favor of the coast.”

“Pity.”

“You’ll have to make do with me,” his grandfather said, blue eyes twinkling, momentary irritation over Zeke’s lack of a spouse apparently forgotten. He leaned back in his chair and swirled his brandy. “Now let’s hear about your trip. Leave nothing out.”

“I have a tale for you, as a matter of fact, concerning the diamond.” Zeke gestured toward the pouch on the table between them. “Did you happen to notice the stone’s unusual coloring?”

“My eyes aren’t what they used to be.” The earl picked up the pouch, loosed the stone, and moved toward a wall sconce.

He held it before the flame. “Now I see the coloring you mention. Very unusual, and quite beautiful.”

He returned to his seat and set the diamond back on its pouch. “Doesn’t color denote inferior quality? As I always understood it, the less color the better.”

“Not in this case. This diamond is rare.”

The diamond’s center was filled with a perfect sphere of pale, bright green, interspersed with flecks of gold that glowed when held to the light.

“According to the journals and experts I consulted, Kimberley has produced only one Tiger’s Eye diamond. This one.” He grinned. “I named it.”

“You”—the earl frowned in confusion—“named it?”

“Evidently when they’re as rare as this one, it’s what’s done.” He rubbed a hand over his stubble-rough jaw. “I called it Tiger’s Eye. Want to guess why?”

“The diamond’s markings resemble the animal’s eyes?” the earl offered dryly.

“Brilliant deduction. I had a little help, actually.” He broke off.

He didn’t need to get into all that nonsense about the dream he had before discovering the diamond, whereby an older man in full military garb came to him with a tiger cub.

Without saying a word, he let Zeke know he meant for him to guard the thing.

The next day, when Zeke held the diamond, he couldn’t help comparing the stone to the tiger’s eyes in the dream.