Chapter Ten
“And then he tied her bag to the back of the mount and they rode away. Neither of them saw me down the block. Mrs. Kelly, the housekeeper, would only say she’d gone out of town and would be away for at least a few days.” Baron Stanhope looked on the verge of tears as he signaled the bar girl to bring him another ale.
Harold Jameson could only have been more pleased at the smooth turn of events if he had manipulated them himself. But then he had always possessed the very luck of the devil. He’d recognized a formidable foe in the shapely form of Maura Fitzgerald when it came to claiming the future Earl of Clancare. He thanked providence, divine or otherwise, for leading her to throw the baron over for the likes of Garrett Lynch, a card-playing wastrel.
“In my experience, women are fickle. Fickle and weak, my lord.” Harold took a long pull on his cheroot and let the words sink in. “They do not know what is best for them. They depend on us for guidance, for steady vision, a firm hand. In all things, but particularly the calls of the flesh.”
Stanhope’s jaw worked. “So, you are saying I lost Maura because I let her wishes hold too much sway?”
“You still are. After all you have done for her, all you have given her, look how she repays your generosity. There is no man who could repay such loyalty, such selfless devotion by giving his loyalty to another, not if he has any claim to conscience.”
The bar girl delivered the ale. Jameson grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap. He grabbed her chin between his fingers and turned her lips to his. She resisted, the position was certainly uncomfortable enough to warrant a struggle, but he dragged her around for a thorough kiss complete with a twisting grope for her breast while he held her fast.
After a few seconds, her struggles ceased and her nipple hardened from his deliberately brutal plundering of her charms. When he released her, she stayed in his arms breathing hard and looking dazed. He slid a coin from the table to her. “There’s more for you later if you keep up such service.”
She scooted off his lap clutching the coin with a speculative gleam in her eye.
“See that? Whore or maiden, it matters little; all a woman really wants is to be shown what is expected from her and she will comply. Her first reward should come from pleasing the man claiming her. Anything else she gains is secondary to the pleasure she must give him first.”
“What if she is unwilling to give . . . to give in?”
“Then that is where the man’s guidance, his vision, takes over. He must show her how foolish she is being whether it is for a night or for a lifetime. Pleasure is fluid—it passes from one to the other, like the tide turning.”
Another satisfying pull on his cheroot sufficed while the younger man absorbed the lesson. “Remember, a man’s desire is by far the stronger, more true compass than a woman’s. Go where you want and the woman flows with you.”
“That is not . . . that is not—”
“Not the way your father talked to you about sharing a bed?” Jameson chuckled. “None of our fathers talked of such beyond respecting the woman and begetting heirs. Trust me, sir. The wisdom I have is hard-won through experience.”
He leaned forward, pouncing on the uncertainty he detected in the young baron’s dazed look. Watching his mistress ride away with another man had shaken him to his core. He was ripe for the picking.
“If you do not mind my boldness, my lord—when was the last time you and the lovely Mrs. Fitzgerald were . . . intimate?” He knew he had just gone way beyond the bounds, but he was hoping for a big payout.
Stanhope looked shocked. Then guilty. A flush of pink streaked his neck above his collar. He swallowed hard. “Nearly a month.”
No wonder a woman as lush and ripe as Maura Fitzgerald had jumped so readily into the arms of another, even one such as Lynch. If he’d only known.
“There you are, Stanhope. No wonder you can barely think. She has had you to heel for too long. Imagine a woman denying you for a month so she can take a new lover. You have definitely got to change your outlook on the fairer half of our race and their role in your life. In your bed.”
Stanhope looked absolutely miserable. He’d reached a low point. Time to build up his new protégé. He almost chuckled aloud at the dual meaning. “If you might allow me to prescribe a cure, I know just the place to show you exactly what I mean. Help you find yourself so you can guide your next woman.”
Make a man of you,
was his implied message. By the time Maura Fitzgerald came to her senses and realized how little Lynch had to offer, her baron would be immune to her charms. Perhaps he could persuade the lad they should share her for a night or two, just to humble her. The possibility tantalized.
He’d not take Stanhope to the Devil’s Club this night. But he did know a discreet place that specialized in biddable girls adept at a number of skills to open up the baron’s taste for dominance, for being the leader in pursuing pleasure. That should go a long way toward enticing him to participate in the initiation scheduled for next week. Hell, he might even move the date up, depending on how readily the lad took to his tutelage.
Stanhope took a deep swallow from his glass. He put it down with a loud slam. “Why not? Lead on, Jameson. I have been celibate too long.”
“Good man, Stanhope. Good man.” He clapped a hand on the baron’s shoulder. “You are in for a rewarding night. A real eye opener.”
“There is a sight.”
Maura pointed to a group of children cheering in a circle as a fierce cricket match took place in the center of the field they approached at the edge of the city. The batmen for either side stood head and shoulders above the rest of the boys at play. Sean and Liam.
Garrett whistled the redstart’s call, and both turned their attention immediately to the road. They handed their bats off to other players and headed over at easy paces.
Sean arrived first. He kept his surprise at seeing Maura sitting on a horse beside Garrett’s to himself, pretending to be winded.
“Good day to you, ma’am.” He tugged his cap in between gulping air. “Garrett.”
Liam puffed up just then. “What did I miss?”
Garrett could have gladly strangled his two men for the speculative gleam in both their eyes, but he wanted to get started before any more of the day was lost and he wouldn’t have time to seek replacements. “Mrs. Ea . . . Fitzgerald, may I introduce The Honorable Sean Talbot and Mr. William Murphy.”
“Good afternoon, ma’am.” Liam touched his cap. “Most folks call me Liam.”
“I answer most readily to Sean.”
“Then you must call me Maura. I am pleased to meet you both and grateful you were available on such short notice to join our quest.”
The smile she gave the men chased some of the haunted look from her eyes, a look he’d put there last night when he spoke on the earl’s behalf. That she conversed so easily with Sean and Liam grated on his guilt, especially since she had hardly spoken to him at all during the hour they’d negotiated their way out of Dublin.
“Get your horses and gear.” Garrett brought the exchange of pleasantries to a halt. “We have a ways to go before nightfall.”
He didn’t blame Liam or Sean for being surprised at his including her in this trip. As far as he knew, no woman had ever joined the Green Dragon on an actual mission. But she had been so determined to go in search of the Devil’s Mountain, he could not dissuade her.
“Exactly where are we going? And why is the lovely Maura Fitzgerald in our company?” Sean edged his chestnut gelding up to pace beside Garrett as they headed south.
“We are in search of Devil’s Mountain. There are four such mountains on the island. The nearest seems to be in the Wicklow range.”
“So your visit to the school paid off?”
He nodded. “There was one girl at the school who may have provided a clue. She fit the description of Miss Fuller’s maid.”
He hesitated, searching for the right way to prepare his friend without adding too much to his anxiety level. They each would need to have clear heads to deal with what they might find.
“Did she mention Jane . . . Miss Fuller?” Sean’s sharp question spoke volumes. “Is she all right? Is she at this Devil’s Mountain?”
“Easy, lad.” Garrett shook his head. “The girl has not had a good time of it. She was found hysterical and wandering near Bray, where we are heading first. Won’t let a man near her. She’s been sadly used and could only speak a few words as yet.”
“Sadly used, you say?” Sean’s jaw worked, his lips set in a grim line. “What did she say?”
“
Devil’s Mountain.
” He hesitated just a moment and decided to tell him the whole of it. “And,
Jane.
She said Jane saved her.”
Garrett allowed his friend a few minutes to chew on what they might find if they managed to locate Jane Fuller before answering the other part of his question. “Mrs. Fitzgerald travels with us so we can prevent her from blundering into our investigation and rescue.”
Sean shot him a puzzled frown.
“The realization others girls might be in danger struck a chord in her.” Garrett shrugged. “She was very set on hiring men and setting off on her own.”
“So you persuaded her to hire us?”
Garrett nodded. “At least this way we have the means to keep some control over her activities. Matters with Stanhope seem to have come to an abrupt end and mayhap she is seeking some diversion by concentrating on the other aspect of her life.”
“And it would not pay to have her drawing attention to our inquiries by being reckless.” Sean finished the line of logic that had led to the formation of this particular company. “Plus, it is the best way to keep her from getting into trouble herself.”
“Exactly.”
A quick hoot of laughter showed Liam was doing a fine job of occupying their guest while his two compatriots talked business. Coming from a large family, Liam had a gift for evoking laughter with his tales of their various antics.
“Think he has gotten to the one about his gaffer and the wolfhound yet?” Sean asked, his own mood lightening just a tad.
Another peal of laughter carried up to them.
“I would say so.” Garrett picked his pace up enough to put a few more yards length between Sean and himself and Liam and Maura.
“How did you make out at St Michan’s?”
“Just as you predicted. The admiral agreed to all the terms and left immediately for Newgate Gaol. Seamus is keeping an eye on things at that end, but I imagine our men should be free even now.”
“Good work. This gives us even more reason to restore his daughter to him.”
“I have to say, her disappearance has taken a visible toll on him. Even for a craggy-faced old sailor he looked haggard.”
Relief that at least part of the load they were carrying would be lifted soon eased some of the tension in Garrett’s gut. The key men would be free and could be whisked into protection. They had yet to fulfill their end of the exchange, but he felt certain they were on the right course now. He seemed to have managed to separate Stanhope and Maura as the earl had wished, but he was afraid the action would provide the lad with impetus to seek far worse company.
He glanced over his shoulder at Maura and Liam. In her deep blue riding jacket and skirt with a pert blue bonnet on her dark hair and the breeze putting roses on her cheeks, she was a lovely sight. But it was her loveliness of spirit that called to him. The genuine concern and care she showed to those less fortunate was rare in any circle and far beyond expectation for women who were considered fallen by ordinary standards.
That she had been able to confess her history so openly, accept the consequences of her choices, and then turn them toward helping others was beyond remarkable. It was a pity the earl and society judged her based on one aspect of her life alone. Stanhope would have been lucky indeed to have her for a wife. Any man would.
He dropped back and signaled Liam to join him.
“Sean will fill you in. We head to Bray first.”
“If that’s our destination, I know a shorter way than the regular roads. My cousin Raymond runs an inn just below Bray.”
“Is there anyone on the island that either you or Seamus are not related to?” He shook his head and laughed. “Lead the way, but have a care. She is a city-bred lady, probably not up to much in the way of jumping hedges and streams. Keep the path smooth and the pace slow.”
“Aye, city folk are not much fer riding neck or nothing. ’Tho there’s something to be said for learning ta ride dodging passersby and leaping over the greengrocer’s cart.” Liam winked.
“What was that about city-bred riders?” Maura joined them. “I will have you know I nearly grew up on the back of my father’s horses. He was a breeder and we could ill-afford lads to exercise the stock. I imagine I could take either of you in a race.”
“Ye’re on Maura.” Liam’s eyes danced with anticipation. He’d been horse-mad since birth to hear any of his relatives tell it. That’s how Seamus had found him, hanging on the railing at a race meet. “First open pasture we find.”
Garrett caught Liam’s eye and gestured with his chin for him to ride up to the front with Sean.
He dropped back to keep pace with Maura and make sure they maintained a discreet enough distance to allow Sean to let Liam know the details of what they planned.
“Mr. Lynch?” she inquired. She had a firm grip on the reins and certainly had the seat of an experienced horsewoman.
“Garrett.” he corrected. “Don’t you think that if the rest of you use Christian names, we should as well?”
It surprised him how very much he wanted her to use his first name again—as if that would signal a measure of forgiveness for how badly he had hurt her last night in the aftermath of their kiss. It was a kiss that had promised, and very nearly delivered, so much more. Never had he come so near to mindless passion, so lost to control. He did not regret the kiss so much as the consequences for her. Those may have worked toward his goal, but he had not intended to act so directly and cause her unnecessary pain and doubt. A bigger part of him than he cared to admit wished they had not been interrupted.