Читать книгу A Warriner To Protect Her - Virginia Heath - Страница 14

Chapter Six

Thirty days and twelve hours left...

‘Violet Dunston?’ Jacob exclaimed and then appeared frustrated when all of his three brothers stared back perplexed. ‘Seriously? Do you three never read the newspapers?’

‘I don’t have time to read the newspapers.’ By the time Jack finished his never-ending round of daily chores, he could barely stand, let alone read.

‘Scarcely a week goes by without a mention of society’s darling Miss Dunston. She is the Tea Heiress.’

Jack was losing patience. ‘Spare us the dramatics, Jacob. Surely it is quite apparent none of us knows what you are blathering on about. Kindly put us out of our misery, Little Brother.’

Jacob leaned forward on the scarred kitchen table as if imparting some great wisdom. ‘The Dunston family were serious tea importers and by serious I mean they made oodles of money from it. Or they did, before old man Dunston sold the business for a king’s ransom. I believe he died a few years ago. Violet Dunston is an only child; heiress to it all. Lock, stock and barrel. She is a renowned beauty and now that I’ve seen her I have to concur.’ Watching the twin smiles of male satisfaction appear on Jacob and Joe’s faces caused Jack to experience an unfamiliar pang of jealousy, but he held his tongue. His siblings all had eyes, after all, except the thought of his brothers sharing the magnificent spectacle of Letty’s legs particularly bothered him. He needed to find her more suitable clothing as soon as possible. Something shapeless, large and concealing. Something that would put a stop to his brothers’ wayward gazes. Begrudgingly, he turned his attention back to his youngest brother.

‘The gossip columns are filled with speculation about whom she will choose to marry. It is all anyone can talk about. The gentlemen of London are falling all over themselves to court her.’

Jamie, always the least impressed by anything, was scathing. ‘Hardly a surprise when the girl is obscenely rich. I should imagine, just like her uncle and the Earl of Bainbridge, they would be delighted to get their hands on all of that lovely money. She could have a face like a horse’s behind and they would probably still want to marry her.’

‘True,’ agreed Jacob, ‘but it is not only fortune hunters who are courting her. There are a few wealthy peers too. I read something about the illustrious Duke of Wentworth throwing his hat into the ring, and he is as rich as Croesus and has his pick of the ladies. She’s famously charming—in fact, Miss Dunston is viewed as a diamond of the first water. An incomparable.’

An incomparable! If ever Jack needed proof that his misplaced lust was barking up the wrong tree, there it was. Letty had queues of eager, solvent suitors and would never look twice at a humble Warriner for anything more than necessary protection. She was so far out of his league he would need a stepladder to reach her. Perhaps twenty stepladders. Not that he had hoped for more, of course. Lust was a natural, human response to such a beautiful woman. Even bruised and dishevelled, Letty was a beautiful woman, so his instantaneous and physical reaction was also, therefore, quite understandable. Besides, Jack was too pragmatic, too wise to be disappointed in the ways of the world and too burdened already to even consider something beyond the carnal. These overwhelming feelings of protectiveness towards her obviously stemmed from the unyielding and irritating sense of responsibility he had been cursed with since birth. She was a damsel in distress. Ever since his mother, he had a soft spot for them. He had found Letty stumbling in on the road to his house, therefore, until he could take her safely home to Mayfair, it stood to reason she was also his responsibility, just as his mother had been. Another one. To add to the thousands he already had and didn’t need.

Lucky him.

‘We will need to get her back to her people in London as quickly as possible if her life is in danger. There must be another relative there who can keep her out of harm’s way while this uncle and Bainbridge are brought to justice.’ And out of his sight.

‘It’s too soon to make her travel yet.’ Joe immediately leapt to her defence. ‘Yesterday she was still burning with fever. She needs a few days to properly recuperate.’

‘Nobody is planning on moving her yet. With that Layton and his cronies still at large in the village, a trip now might arouse suspicions. I will not put either her life or any of yours in danger by acting rashly. Once the dust has settled and I deem it to be safe, I will return her.’ Although how Jack was going to pay for an unforeseen trip to London without their finances suffering too much, he had yet to work out. All of the spare money left over from last year’s harvest had already disappeared in new lead for the decrepit roof on the east wing. Every other penny had been accounted for. He supposed they could overnight in one inn on the way there and on the way back he could find a quiet barn somewhere...

‘You will not be making the trip alone. It’s too dangerous. I will be coming with you,’ Jamie announced. Nobody dared point out that Jamie was lame and in no state to endure such a long and demanding ride south. However, he had apparently already considered it himself. ‘I might be useless on my feet, but I can still sit on a horse and shoot straight, should the need arise.’ And nobody commented on the peculiar arsenal their brother now housed in his bedchamber either. Not after Jacob had found out the hard way that the former soldier slept with a knife under his pillow. ‘Do any of you know how to cover your tracks or live off the land?’ He scanned their faces and shrugged smugly. ‘I thought not.’

As always, Jamie made a valid point. Despite his physical limitations, he would be useful to have around. Especially if the Earl of Bainbridge’s men decided to follow them. ‘All right then. It’s settled.’ He pointed at Joe and Jacob. ‘You two can stay here and convince those scoundrels all the Warriners are where they should be, in case they come calling. Layton has nothing to link us to the girl as yet—I would prefer to keep it that way. Jamie and I will escort her back to London.’

‘You most certainly will not!’

Letty had become increasingly anxious waiting for Jack Warriner to return to her room and appraise her of her fate, so she had wrapped herself in a blanket, hobbled down the creaky wooden staircase and followed the sound of male voices. Now, it seemed, she had timed her arrival to perfection. ‘I cannot go to London until the fourth of January!’

Jack stood and glared at her. ‘Your family will know how best to keep you safe.’

‘To the best of my knowledge, my entire family only consists of one treacherous uncle. To return me to him is tantamount to signing my death warrant! I am too well known and there are too many people who would sell me down the river for a reward.’

‘Surely there must be someone else you can go to?’ He was looking at her as if she was clearly stupid and his patronising tone rankled.

‘I believe, sir, I would remember if I possessed any other living relations. Do you think I have mislaid them somewhere?’ Her head had started to spin, but she ignored it. ‘For the time being, I would prefer to hide, just for a few days while I decide what to do next. Perhaps I could remain hidden here?’ Without thinking she cast her eyes around the shabby room and smiled kindly. ‘I can pay you, if it’s money you require.’

The three younger Warriners all exchanged a telling look. Joe winced. Jamie shook his head and Jacob simply closed his eyes.

‘I don’t need your damn money, woman!’ Jack stalked towards her in outrage. ‘We are not paupers, Miss Dunston, and I resent the implication. Whilst you are here, you will remain as our guest and that is that. Taking you safely home as soon as possible is the right thing to do. I find it hard to believe there is nobody in London who is worried as to your whereabouts and would be a more suitable guardian for you than myself. There must be somebody—a cousin, a close friend, perhaps?’

She had to make him understand. ‘The Earl of Bainbridge and my uncle will find a way to silence me if they have any inkling I am alive. I know of their nefarious plan, remember? They will be in fear for their own lives now. Don’t you see? Desperate men like that will resort to desperate measures. Travelling anywhere, even in the dead of night, will put my life in danger.’ The toll of the last few days had made her body weak. Her knees threatened to buckle so Letty locked them to stand proudly in front of this domineering man who thought he knew best. ‘You have witnessed already the lengths they are prepared to go to. Not only will my life be in danger, yours will be too.’

‘Then that settles it. You will remain here for the entire month,’ Jack decreed.

An entire month! Here? ‘Once I am fully recovered I will seek sanctuary with the local authorities of my own accord. I will not be held responsible for putting you and your brothers at risk.’

‘I do not hold the authorities in Nottingham in particularly high esteem. Once they know you have been here, with the Warriner family, I doubt they will act with the necessary diligence your circumstances demand. I believe I am quite capable of protecting you and my brothers against any threat for a month, Miss Dunston.’ Letty went to interrupt and he stayed her with his hand. ‘It is settled. My decision has been made. Until I can return you to London and alert the proper authorities there as to what danger you are in, you are now my responsibility and will abide by my rules.’

‘But you are four men, Mr Warriner! Four men and I am a woman alone.’ Letty had intended to sound reasonable, but the words came out in a screech. She had only thought to stay here for a few days, not several weeks. If she were ever to be discovered here her good reputation would be in tatters.

‘Yet you are safer here than you would be out there!’

A very valid point. She remembered the huge gates and walls. The isolation. Nobody knew she was there. The idea had merit, but she had to be in control. ‘Only on the condition that I recompense you for your services.’ Surely her money would give her the upper hand against this domineering man she hardly knew?

Jack’s thunderous expression said it all. ‘Out of the question.’

Letty shook her head stubbornly, a movement which brought about a wave of dizziness so intense she had to grab the doorframe for support. ‘I will not be in your debt, sir. You have already done so much and I can well afford it.’

The three seated Warriners all stared at their feet in silence. Clearly she had said the wrong thing again, because Jack was looming over her now.

‘I do not require money for doing a good deed, madam. As the master of this house, it is my responsibility to keep you safe, and after what you have told me, I honestly believe the best way to do that is to hide you here. You will not return back to London until I deem it safe to do so. It is decided.’

It took a great deal of pride not to burst into frustrated tears at his dictatorial tone. ‘Decided? Am I to have no say in my own future?’ Such a concept was beyond ridiculous. Letty always got what she wanted. He stared back, his steely blue glare unmoved. ‘I am not a child or a chattel, Mr Warriner. I am perfectly capable of looking after myself. You have no authority over me!’

As parting shots went, she was quite proud of it. His intense blue eyes narrowed as he digested her words and Letty decided now would be the opportune moment to make a well-timed exit. The walls of the room had begun to sway and tilt quite ferociously as she turned smartly to storm back upstairs. Letty took two steps forward, then the floor began to list too. Her grand gesture of defiant independence collapsed the moment her knees did and she found herself crumpling woozily to the floor. Most irritatingly, it was Jack’s strong, capable arms that caught her. He lifted her into them as if she weighed practically nothing, with a distinctly paternalistic, put-upon expression on his face.

‘Joe?’

‘She’s still weak from her ordeal—she shouldn’t be out of bed. No wonder she swooned.’

Jack did not even bother responding to his brother, he merely turned with Letty still in his arms and began to walk briskly towards the staircase. It was disconcerting being held so close by him—yet bizarrely not in a bad way. She felt safe, protected and stupidly impressed by his strength and undeniably manly physique. And he smelled positively sinful. Some sort of spicy, fresh, male smell which Letty wanted to inhale deeply while she burrowed her face into his neck. His overbearing, single-minded, irritating neck. ‘You can put me down. I can manage.’ There would be absolutely no burrowing. Not while he was being so...domineering and non-compliant.

His irritatingly beautiful, blue eyes flicked to hers for a second. ‘We can’t have you swooning now, Letty. Can we?’ The very idea of it seemed to amuse him, which of course, seriously rankled.

‘I am not a woman known for swooning, Mr Warriner. Anybody who knows me will tell you that.’ Not that there was anyone left alive who truly knew her. Her parents had. Everybody else saw what they wanted to see and Letty found it easier to hide behind that convenient façade than allow anyone to see she was lonely and unhappy. ‘Had I not been forced to wander in a freezing forest for hours in the rain, after being bound, gagged and abducted, it would not have happened today.’

He stared ahead, apparently bored. The dark stubble on his chin tempted her fingers to touch it, so she clasped them ineffectually across her middle as he started up the stairs.

‘Are you too proud to let me pay for your services?’

Silence.

Clearly it was time to become the confident Violet Dunston. Whenever she met a brick wall, and Jack Warriner was definitely a big, thick, brick wall, Violet’s charm had never failed to quietly knock it down. Men, especially, were particularly responsive in her experience. She could not spend a month being dictated to by this stubborn man. She would run mad.

Letty unclasped her hands and rested one palm gently over his heart, moistened her lips to give them some gloss and peeked up at him through her lashes in the manner which she knew all men found utterly delightful. ‘Perhaps I could fund your brother’s medical studies, Jack?’ For good measure she blinked a little erratically so he could see just how long and lovely those lashes were and how very upset she was by his insistence on being in charge. ‘Surely you would allow me the pleasure of doing that one, small thing out of gratitude.’ Something which would keep this infuriatingly dictatorial male in check.

He glanced down at her face and she was certain she felt his heartbeat speed up beneath her fingers, but when his jaw hardened and those dark eyebrows came together in a forbidding line, she realised she might have seriously misjudged the situation.

‘You might have my brothers falling all over themselves to do your bidding, Letty, and I am sure you are quite used to getting your own way in practically everything with your fêted beauty and piles of money, but your pouting and flirting will not sway me. You can stay here for as long as I am prepared to be your keeper—and once I decide it is safe to take you back to London, then you will go. In the interim, you will do as you are told, Miss Dunston, because I am master of this house and you would do well to remember it. No amount of pretty eyelash fluttering is going to change my mind.’