Lord Melvedere's Ghost (33 page)

“
Get the doctor,” Jamie snapped, fumbling with the ties around
Cecily’s ankles.

“
Here, let me,” Hugo said gently, using his knife to quickly
slice through the bindings. He had never seen Jamie so shaken, and
understood now just how deeply his affection for the brave young
woman in the chair really went.

“
Ease forward,” Jamie murmured to Cecily, bracing an arm across
her shoulders as she leaned against him to allow Hugo to cut the
bonds on her wrists as well.

She
gasped at the pain that exploded in her shoulders as her arms were
suddenly freed. She found that she couldn’t sit up again, and
didn’t want to. The reassuring width of Jamie’s shoulder was
wonderful and she couldn’t break contact. Despite the discomfort,
and the fact that she was smearing him with blood from her face,
she wound one arm around his neck and clung to him.

Not that
Jamie cared. He hauled her unceremoniously into his arms and held
on for dear life. Just to feel her safe and alive was more than he
dared to hope. He closed his mind to the possibility of what could
have happened had he remained away from the house any longer than
he had, and was blessedly grateful to Hugo and Simon for turning up
when they had.

Once
again, the cool logic and calm ruthlessness of the Star Elite had
ensured that yet another criminal was off the streets, and another
catastrophe was diverted with as little fanfare as
possible.

Taking a
deep breath, Jamie hauled her off her feet and into his arms, not
bothering to even glance at the unconscious Miss Emstridge as he
strode from the library.

Once in
his study he didn’t bother to lie her down on the chaise before the
fire, merely slumped down in the chair next to the fire, holding
her tightly against him when she curled up on his lap.

Cecily
wearily rested her head on his shoulder again, grateful beyond
words when his arms wrapped comfortingly around her.

Neither
of them said anything for several long moments, seemingly content
to simply savour all of them being safe and well.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Their
silence didn’t last long.

Only a
few minutes later, the bang of the front door heralded the arrival
of Jonathan, clearly disgruntled and glowering mightily. He stalked
into the library, marched over to the brandy and took one long slug
straight from the decanter.

“
Are you alright?” Jamie asked unconcernedly. Cecily had been
sitting still for the last several minutes, and he wasn’t sure
whether she had gone to sleep or not, but made no attempt to move
her to find out. He could spend the rest of his life sitting where
he was with Cecily on his lap.

“
Got the b -” Jonathan glanced at Cecily and frowned, “him. He
is tied like a chicken and in the barn waiting for removal. Where
was she?”

“
I don’t know,” Jamie sighed, knowing there was a lot to catch
up on.

“
Attics,” Cecily mumbled. She lifted her head and peered at
Jamie. She took the goblet that Jonathan handed her with a smile of
thanks, and took a sip of the brandy before handing it to Jamie,
who downed the rest with shaking hands.

Jamie
stared at her. Cecily paused as two men came into the library and
looked askance at Jonathan.

“
He owes me,” Jonathan grumbled, shooting a dour look at Jamie
that belied the rueful look in his eye.

“
The next time you fall in love and need help capturing the
strange woman who agrees to become your wife, I will be there to
help her don’t you worry,” Jamie mused, smiling down at Cecily
tenderly.

Cecily
felt her cheeks blush but made no attempt to find her own
seat.

Jamie
waved a casual hand toward the new arrivals.

“
Darling, this is Hugo, my boss and Simon, my other boss.” He
smiled down at Cecily.

The men
nodded and helped themselves to liberal shots from the decanter
that was moved to the small table closer to them.

“
This is Cecily Tinsdale, Portia’s sister, and my future
wife.”

Cecily
knew she should remind him that he had yet to ask her properly, but
couldn’t find the heart. The men chorused gruff congratulations,
carefully remaining seated rather than trying to shake Jamie’s
hand. She wanted to nod at them but her head was pounding, so she
smiled instead.

She knew
that they all must look like a really odd group of people. Jonathan
was dressed entirely in black, and had a huge lump on his head and
a grumpy expression on his face. Hugo and Simon looked dapper, and
were casually lounging around as though they had decided to drop in
for a quick chat. She was half covered in blood and sat inelegantly
on Jamie’s lap while he merely smiled at everyone and
anything.

“
You’ll get used to us,” Jonathan remarked, honing in on
Cecily’s wry look. Cecily smiled a conspiratorial smile at him but
remained quiet.

Jamie’s
gaze locked with Hugo’s, and a silent exchange was held. “Yes, she
knows about her father,” Jamie replied out aloud and told them
about Cecily’s upbringing.

A small
part of her balked at having Jamie speak for her, but she simply
couldn’t find the heart, or the energy, to protest.

“
We weren’t planning on stopping,” Simon announced wryly. “We
only came to ask Cecily a few questions on our way through, but now
that we have two new convicts to ensure meet justice, then I think
we will deal with them before we go on our way.”

“
We will take them with us,” Hugo added, sharing a look with
Simon who nodded in agreement. “We will see to them, unless you
would prefer to do the honours yourself?”

Jamie
shook his head. “As long as they go to jail, I don’t care how they
get there or who takes them.”

“
Emstridge is in the pantry being guarded by Warren with a
gun,” Simon reported, smiling when Jamie choked on his swig of
brandy.

“
Warren? With a gun?” He glanced in horror at Cecily who merely
smiled. The thought of the staid and rather proper looking butler
standing on sentry duty outside the pantry door was really rather
funny.

“
I didn’t load it though,” Simon added with a chuckle. “Miss
Emstridge is out for the count and also,” he glanced at Jonathan,
“what was it? Trussed like a chicken?”

“
Good enough,” Jamie replied, staring at Cecily thoughtfully.
“I think you need to go and lie down for a while.”

“
I am fine,” Cecily argued, ignoring Jamie’s doubtful look.
“Don’t you want to know what I have been up to while you were
gone?”

“
I think I know what you were up to while I was gone,” Jamie
replied dourly. “Rather too well, I am afraid.”

“
But you don’t know all of it,” Cecily persisted, pushing at
his arms until he reluctantly allowed her to wriggle off his lap.
She waved him back down when he moved to assist her and walked on
slightly unsteady legs toward the drawer of his desk. Returning
moments later, she gasped at the speed in which she was swept off
her feet and drawn unceremoniously back onto Jamie’s
lap.

“
I made a list of some of the books in the library that have
been stolen. The fake copies are still on the shelves,” she added
unrolling the parchment. “I don’t know much about the books, but
Miss Emstridge let slip that the ones she had taken were rare and
had a good market value. These are the titles of some of
them.”

Jamie
stared at her in shock before carefully removing the parchment from
her fingers. He studied it for several moments before handing it
over to Hugo.

Simon
whistled when he read several of the titles over Hugo’s shoulder.
“God, they are rare. This one I have only ever heard of,” he
pointed to one at the top of the page and stared at Hugo who was
studying the list with a frown.

“
I will question Emstridge and Potter, was it?” Hugo announced
flatly, his tone cold and hard. “By finding their buyer, we should
be able to find the chain back to the new owner. Buying stolen
goods is illegal. Leave it with me. I will see what I can
do.”

“
Thanks,” Jamie muttered, watching the parchment disappear into
Hugo’s jacket. He had no doubt that at some point he would be
seeing his books back. Although he had never been one to read much,
they were part of his father’s private collection and Jamie’s link
to the memory of his late sire.

“
We will let Cecily get some rest and then I need to ask a few
questions, I am afraid,” Hugo said after several moments of
thoughtful silence.

“
Ask now,” Cecily offered, feeling Jamie shift uneasily beneath
her. “I am fine,” she sighed, and looked at him ruefully. “I would
rather get this over with and then we don’t need to take up any
more of Hugo’s time. I would rather answer the questions so they
can take Emstridge and Potter off to where they need to be,” she
turned apologetic eyes on Hugo and Simon. “Oh, I am sorry, I didn’t
mean that I was trying to get rid of you or anything, please
forgive me.”

“
Not a problem,” Simon replied with a smile. “I have a wife
with a teething baby at home. She will chew my ears if I leave her
holding the fort for too long, and Hugo here has to get back to his
growing brood.”

“
Hugo has three children and a forth on the way,” Jamie
informed Cecily.

“
Not personally, you understand. My wife does all the work,”
Hugo added with an unrepentant grin. “But we do need to get back
before the children take over the house and we can’t get back
in.”

Cecily
chuckled and tried valiantly to hide the instinctive wince against
the sharp stab of pain in her forehead.

“
If you are sure you feel up to it, we will leave you to your
recovery,” Simon suggested, including Jamie in his remark. They
both looked as though they had been through their own fair share of
trauma. He knew from personal experience just how long it took to
recover from such an ordeal. The memories of his own personal
ordeal with his wife Francesca were still raw and, despite the fact
that she lay beside him each night in bed, he often woke up in a
cold sweat at the nightmares that still plagued him.

Cecily
nodded, and made no protest when Jamie drew her protectively
against him. She answered the questions as best as she could
although was unable to provide them with much information at all.
She realised then just how little she had known the man who had
called himself their father.

“
I want you to promise me one thing, Cecily,” Hugo warned, his
voice as dark as his expression.

Cecily
froze and turned toward him.

“
I know you are not likely to discuss your father with anyone,
but this has to remain strictly confidential. Nobody is to mention
him at all, or the Star Elite. As far as anyone knows, if they ask
who your father was, tell them he was a businessman in Scotland who
passed away several years back. Your real father, from this point
onwards in your life, ceases to exist. It is imperative for the
protection of the men who work within the Star Elite.”

Cecily
stared at him for several long moments and nodded solemnly. “He has
ceased to exist in my life for the last several weeks. We weren’t
in his house in Tissington through choice,” she replied. “He really
was a stranger to us, wasn’t he?”

“
I think he was a stranger to everyone,” Simon replied. “He was
loyal to nobody except his money box. It’s a long and lonely life
to take and he will find from now on that his allies have deserted
him. But that’s his problem, not yours. You have a future now, and
one that takes you far away from him and his problems. He won’t
find out where you are, so you need never worry that he will ever
reappear in your life.”

“
Good,” she replied, smiling gratefully at Simon. “How is
Portia? Have you heard anything else?”

Hugo
looked at her warily. “Yes, we have already been to interview her.
She is safe and well, and has told us pretty much the same thing as
you, my dear.” Hugo sighed at Cecily’s excited look. He hated to
disappoint her when she had already been through so much but, until
matters were concluded, they had to remain in their respective
hiding places. “I cannot tell you where she is just yet and,
unfortunately, it may be several weeks before it is clear for you
to meet her.”

“
Why? Surely we cannot be in any danger here?”

Simon
and Hugo shared a look. “We have to make sure your father’s fate is
decided, and he is in jail, or whatever. As soon as he has been
dealt with, and we can be sure that the French have disappeared
back into the woodwork, you will be free to meet with your sister
as often as you please.”

Cecily
didn’t need to ask but knew from the look they had shared that her
father was going to hang. They were waiting for the trial, and the
sentence to be carried out, before they allowed life to carry on as
normal. Cecily shivered and cuddled close to Jamie, relieved to be
able to close the door on her cold past forever.

“
Oh God,” she burst out, ignoring Jamie’s startled
jump.

“
What’s the matter? What is it?” Jamie demanded, glaring around
the room in search of the reason why Cecily had suddenly gone rigid
on his lap.