‘It’s really them!’ Lady Samantha smiled. ‘Oh, I’ve been so looking forward to seeing Lady Howard again.’
She moved down the steps, Adaira beside her. And, I noticed, they weren’t the only ones. Mr Ambrose stepped up beside them, almost instinctively, it seemed. The son of the house, greeting guests. I felt a tug at my feet, wanting to follow him. Clenching my teeth, I suppressed the urge and stayed right where I was. My place was not beside that man.
With a crunch of gravel, the coach rolled to a stop in front of the steps. The footmen jumped down, extending the steps for the lady passengers and opening the door.
‘Ah, Lady Howard!’ Stepping forward, the duchess smiled fondly and curtsied in front of the other middle-aged lady, who was just descending out of the coach. ‘Such a pleasure to see you again - especially since this must mean your husband has recovered.’
‘Alas, no.’ The lady gave a sad smile. ‘Rupert is still languishing in bed. But he was so sad to see my daughter sitting alone at home with Christmas approaching, and when an old friend dropped by and offered to escort us, he insisted that we come without him.’
‘Oh, that’s just like him. He was always such a generous soul. And there is little Rebecca! My, my, how you’ve grown!’
‘And here’s our escort, who was kind enough to offer us his noble company,’ Lady Howard beamed, gesturing at a shadowy figure in the carriage. Suddenly, I felt a prickling sense of unease. But why? ‘I hope you do not mind an additional guest?’
‘Not at all, not at all. Come out and be welcome, Sir.’
‘Sir?’ Lady Howard giggled. ‘Pardon me, Marchioness, but I have to correct you.’ At that moment, the door of the coach swung open, and in the sinking winter sun, golden light shimmered on golden hair. Behind me, I could feel Mr Ambrose go stiff as a rod of iron. I sucked in a sharp breath. ‘It is “my Lord”. May I introduce our friend, Lord Daniel Eugene Dalgliesh?’
Blast!
Silent Warfare
In an instant, everything changed. From one moment to the next, the peaceful winter wonderland around us transformed into a warzone, swords waiting to be drawn, the hounds of death salivating to be unleashed. Mr Ambrose’s hand instinctively jerked to the place where he kept his revolver hidden - only to freeze when Dalgliesh leisurely brushed his tailcoat aside, revealing a holster, and glanced at Lady Samantha.
‘By all means,’ his steel-blue gaze was saying. ‘Go ahead.’
Mr Ambrose’s hand moved back to hang at his side, clenching and unclenching. Instinctively, I reached out, squeezing his hand from behind. He squeezed back, and suddenly everything between us was all right again.
Now if we only survived to enjoy it…
Mr Ambrose’s stare bored into his enemy with a force that would have made any normal man freeze to death. ‘Lord Dalgliesh…What a surprise to see you here.’
‘Oh, I couldn’t stay away.’ A broad smile spread over His Lordship’s face. The kind of smile unfortunate swimmers in southern waters might see, topped with a grey fin and rapidly approaching. His eyes wandered over the assembled Ambrose family. ‘I had heard that the son of the house had returned to the fold. How could I miss such a unique event?’
For the first time, I dared to take my eyes off him and glance over at everyone else. Lady Samantha’s face was white as a sheet. Adaira’s lips were pressed into a thin line. The rest of the company, however, didn’t seem to have picked up on the subtle threat of murder and mayhem under the polite, polished words that were being exchanged. Whatever had happened between Lord Dalgliesh and Mr Ambrose in their mysterious past, the secret had been locked away more tightly than an ancient Pharaoh’s tomb.
And Lord Dalgliesh was playing on that exact fact.
‘Well?’ His smile hardened the tiniest bit. ‘Won’t you invite us inside?’
I glanced around. Nearly everyone was smiling, waiting, expecting to go back inside. The eyes of the world were watching. Mr Ambrose knew it, and he had to act accordingly.
‘Certainly.’ The word was steel and ice. ‘Only let me call the servants to take care of your luggage. Mr Linton?’
His hand shot out, taking hold of my wrist in a grip that was almost painful.
‘Mr Linton, please fetch the servants - especially my trusted servant Karim. I think I might have need of him ere long.’
‘Yes, Sir.’
‘And then stay inside. There are a few things His Lordship and I need to discuss in private.’
I opened my mouth to object - but the look in his eyes stopped me. Besides - there was no time for objections. I had work to do!
Whirling around, I marched back up the steps. The moment I was out of sight, I started running. My feet slapping hard on the cold stone floor, I passed several startled servants before I reached the room somewhere between the servant and guest quarters in which Lady Samantha had situated Karim. When I skidded to a halt in front of the open door, the huge Mohammedan was just cleaning his sabre. Never had I been so happy to see so scary a sight.
His head snapped up the moment he heard my footfalls. ‘What is it?’
Panting, I got out only one word - but it was enough. ‘Dalgliesh!’