Tenacious Trents 03 - A Reluctant Rake (27 page)

“Of course I mean Jordan,” Audrey
practically cried.

“Sit and tell me
everything.”

Audrey sank onto the settee and Grace
joined her, grinning.

“Has he said anything to your
husband?”

Grace shook her head.

Oh dear. Audrey bit her bottom lip.
What should she do or say. Bugger that, she needed to speak with
someone and Grace was the only person she trusted completely. “Is
it right that I tell you when he hasn’t told his
brothers?”

“If you don’t tell me I will throttle
you.” Grace insisted. “Besides, Matthew was summoned by Bentley and
won’t return for a bit.”

Thank goodness he wasn’t home because
Grace wasn’t certain she could speak openly if she thought he would
overhear. She quickly told Grace about the day before and the
discussion that they shared in the carriage, omitting the part of
the kissing. Especially the part about all the different
kissing.

“Why do you think your uncle or father
will deny his request?”

“Uncle said it would depend on how
Jordan answers the questions.”

Grace giggled. “That simply means that
he wants to insure that you will be taken care of and that Jordan
can provide for you.”

She hoped it was as simple as that,
though she really had no idea what his financial situation was.
Could he support a wife and future children? Where did he live? Did
he have his own home, estate, or did he live with one of his
brothers when not in London? Oh dear, she would hate to be a
houseguest, but if Jordan couldn’t afford a home what was she to
do?

“Audrey, you look worried again,” Grace
interrupted her thoughts.

“Can he afford to be married?” she
asked slowly.

Grace threw back her head and laughed.
“According to Matthew, Jordan could never work a day in his life
and have more money than he knows what to do with.”

“He is a second son, how is that
possible.”

“His father,” Grace added with a slight
bitterness to her tone. “I don’t hold it against Jordan, but their
father was a bit controlling in dictating what his sons would
become.”

Audrey nodded. She already knew this.
At least she knew what had been expected of Jordan.

“So that Jordan could have the life
that he couldn’t, his father made sure his second son had an
allowance that rivaled a prince. It was more than his brothers
allowances combined. And since Jordan never became a gambler, or
truly wasted his funds, his bank account continued to
grow.”

The relief of knowing that she would
not have to live with his relatives began to sink in. It wasn’t as
if they would have been destitute anyway. She did have a dowry and
as she was her father’s only child, she would inherit the stables
upon his death. She hoped that didn’t happen for a very long time,
but it would be there in the future if needed. Apparently, it would
not be needed.

She tilted her head in thought. Was he
rich enough to start a stable of their own? She was certain papa
would sell her, or maybe give her, a few mares and maybe she could
mate them with Midnight Majesty and they could have their own
racers.

Audrey shook the thoughts away. She was
getting ahead of herself. “Where does he live in London?” How was
it that she knew so little about him? Shouldn’t a bride know more
about her future husband?

“He rents a townhouse in
Mayfair.”

“What of when he is away from London,
or does he reside here all year round?”

“He usually stays with Bentley if not
in Town. He does not have an estate of his own.”

She dearly hoped he wished to buy
property. Certainly Jordan would want a house and land now that he
was to be married. Perhaps he would be willing to settle in or near
Grosmont. Besides her own family and Shadley Farms, Grace and her
husband lived there, as did his sister, part of the year, now that
Madeline had married Lord Brachton last winter. If they were close
to Shadley Farm, she could still help her father with the horses.
She assumed Jordan wouldn’t object after yesterday. Papa could
teach Jordan all he knew about breeding and racing.

But would he wish to? Jordan was a
solicitor and wished to be a barrister. He may want to always
reside in or near London so he could be close to the courts. If
that were the case, she would simply have to accept it. There were
places outside of London they could live and she could still have
horses. At least she hoped that were the case.

“Audrey, what are you
thinking?”

Grace’s words interrupted her thoughts.
“I hope he doesn’t mind owning horses.”

Her friend chuckled. “I am sure you
will have a stable. Matt told me Jordan spent a good part of his
youth riding.”

The butler stepped into the room
drawing their attention. “Lady Lydell has come to call.”

Audrey grimaced. She knew she would not
be able to avoid Millicent but she really didn’t wish to see her
today. “Please don’t mention my news to her.”

“I won’t,” Grace assured her before
turning toward the butler. “Please show her in.”

A moment later Millicent sailed into
the room and barely nodded to Grace. “Thank goodness I found you
here, Audrey. I went to your home and was told you had gone out.”
She settled on the settee beside Audrey.

“Did you need something?” She couldn’t
imagine what Millicent would want her for.

“You haven’t heard the terrible
news?”

Audrey looked at Grace and they both
shook their head.

“Everton was murdered,” Millicent
cried. “Last night. He was stabbed just like Dalton.”

“Who would kill both men?”

“I have no idea.” She dismissed. “And
that isn’t the issue.”

“It’s not?” Grace asked.

“He was fitting in so well with my
plans.”

Audrey’s stomach churned. A man was
dead and all Millicent could think about was that her life had been
disrupted somehow.

She turned toward Audrey. “He was such
a fine match for you.”

“What?” She and Grace asked at the same
time.

“He wasn’t the gentlemen I needed to
make Jordan jealous but I thought he was perfect for you. If Jordan
realized you were taken then he would return to me.”

“That is why he danced with me and took
me into the garden?” Her anger began to build. Millicent had gone
too far in her quest for Jordan.

“Of course,” she smiled. “I knew that
once you experienced his passion you would marry him and Jordan
wouldn’t feel like he had to court you.”

Millicent had truly lost her
mind.

“He is only courting you because he
thinks he can’t have me but with you married to someone else then
he would come back to me.”

“You are married also,” Grace pointed
out.

Millicent sighed and gave a wave of her
hand as if that fact was inconsequential. “It is a shame Jordan
came across you before it was too late.”

Audrey gaped at her. “Everton was set
to ruin me. He ignored my protests.”

“If ladies weren’t ruined they wouldn’t
be married.” She gestured to Grace. “It happened to the two of us.
Why shouldn’t it happen to you?”

“Millicent, I do believe you have lost
your mind.”

She laughed. “Audrey, you are so
innocent. One day you will understand.”

“I will never understand setting up
another lady to be ruined. Especially if the gentleman is someone
she does not wish to be with.”

She simply tisked and shook her
head.

“Why did you need Audrey’s help, if not
to deliver news?” Grace asked.

Of course Audrey had no intention of
helping Millicent but she had to hear it so the woman would
leave.

“Now that Dalton and Everton are
unavailable; I need to find another gentleman to make Jordan
jealous enough to realize how much he still wants me.”

No longer available? They were dead and
not simply involved with someone else.

“I was thinking Mr. Victor would be a
good choice. Perhaps I should have started with him.”

Grace choked on her tea but Millicent
didn’t seem to notice and turned more fully to Audrey. “The two of
you do make a handsome couple. I noticed that day you came to call
when my wonderful court was there.”

“Court?” Grace asked.

“Oh yes,” Millicent laughed. “The most
handsome young men come to call on me every day. I simply cannot go
a day without being surrounded by them. Of course I won’t need any
of them once I have Jordan back again.”

Audrey set her teacup on the table,
afraid she might be ill. Millicent needed to face a few truths and
she was ready to deliver them.

Jordan stepped into Clay’s library only
to find his other two brothers, John and Matthew, also already
present.

“We have been looking for you,” Clay
announced from his chair by the fireplace.

“Why? Has something
happened?”

“I think Adele and Julia must be in
Covent Garden somewhere,” John announced. “I’ve seen a woman who
looks like she could be Julia. At least she resembled the painting
of Adele at Bentley Manor but I couldn’t get close enough to speak
with her and then she disappeared.”

“I thought so too.”

His brothers looked at him.

“That is why I came here. I just left
the flower market where I met a Genevieve.”

Clay came to his feet. “Was it
Julia?”

Jordan shook his head and quickly
explained the encounter. “She knows something, though I am not sure
what. After I mentioned Adele and Julia she became agitated and
could not wait to be away from me.”

“Could it have been Julia and she
simply changed her name?” Matthew asked.

“No. I think she is at least a few
years younger, but I could be incorrect.”

“You’ve never been good at judging a
lady’s age,” Clayton reminded him with a half-smile.

Jordan ignored him. “Her hair was the
right color, but her eyes were grey, not green.”

“Maybe Adele remarried, or took a lover
when she arrived in Paris and this Genevieve was the result,” John
offered.

Clayton and Matthew nodded. It was a
thought that had also crossed Jordan’s mind while he rode here from
the flower market.

“I’ll have some men watch for her. If
she is spotted they can follow to see where she lives.”

“I have no doubt that is where we will
find Adele and Julia. This young woman has to be another daughter
of Adele,” Jordan insisted.

“Was there anything else you remember
about her appearance to help the men locate her out of the dozens
of ladies?” John asked.

Jordan brought forth the vision of
Genevieve. “Her hair is blonde with hints of red, just like
Adele’s. It always reminded me of the sunrise. Her eyes were light
grey with a hint of blue. Her lips were a pale pink with a slightly
fuller lower lip. They weren’t thin but not overly plump either.
There were a few freckles across the bridge of her small nose, but
you would have to be close enough to notice them.”

Clayton started to laugh and Jordan
focused on him. “John asked me to describe her.”

“And only a rake would go into such
detail. Had it been Matt who encountered the young woman he would
have described her as grey eyes, reddish blonde hair and some
freckles.”

Matthew shrugged in
agreement.

Jordan decided to ignore them and
continue. “She came about to my shoulder and had a slight frame.
Not well endowed, but pleasantly enough formed that gentlemen would
take notice.”

“Did she have a nicely turned ankle as
well,” John asked with a laugh.

Jordan glared at him. “I didn’t look at
her feet or ankles.”

“You seemed to look at everything
else,” Clayton said.

“I was studying her before I
approached,” Jordan defended. “I was trying to decide if she was
Julia and looking for resemblances to Adele. I certainly was not
attracted to her. Good God that could have been my
sister.”