DD-Michaels-END.rtf (10 page)

"Morgan? We're talking about my sister Morgan?"

"Indeed, we are. And now, please give my excuses to the ladies as, doubting a dinner invitation to be forthcoming, I wish to ascertain if my valet has as yet arrived in Grosvenor Square to warn my chef that I'm in very distinct danger of starving."

"Then you'd better go, because you're right. At the moment
,
Aylesford, I am not disposed to offer you so much as a crust of stale bread."

Here was Ethan's chance to poke at the sore spot that appeared to
be Ainsley Becket, and watch for Chance's reaction. "No London milksop, are you? Interesting. You make me wonder, sir, how you and Morgan can be unrelated by blood, yet seemingly cut of much the same cloth. Your father must be an interesting man. A very interesting man."

Chance said nothing.

Which said very much, indeed. Ainsley Becket had his son's loyalty, definitely. The question that begged
,
however, was why the man needed such fierce protection. Ethan loved puzzles.

"Yes, well, I've outstayed my welcome, if there ever was one offered. Tomorrow, Becket? If you'd inform your sister that I should be pleased if she will deign to allow me to drive her in the Promenade. Good evening."

Chance simply stood and watched as the
Earl left the drawing room, holding his breath until he heard the footman close the front door on Aylesford's back. He then went to the drinks table to pour himself another glass of wine.

"Honest? Morgan is honest? Only to a point, my lord, only to a poin
t
—
s
traight up to the line you'll never be allowed to cross." He lifted his glass in a mock salute to what he believed was the condemned man who'd just been in his presence. "Good luck to
you, Aylesford. You're going to need it."

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Morgan, I would greatly appreciate it if you would stop prowling about like a caged beast, and explain to me what on earth you were thinking when you allowed the earl to accompany you here."

Morgan had
been hugging her arms around her waist as she paced inside her assigned bedchamber, if only to attempt to hold in all the pent-up energy instigated by the kiss that hadn't happened, and the thought of how it could have been. She felt such a tension in her body, from her head down to her toes.

And no release. Just more tension.

When would she see him again?

What would she say? What would
he
say?

Would he still look at her the same way? Would she respond the same way?

She would ask Julia, but her sister-in-law surely couldn't know. Julia had Chance, and they might love each other, but they could never feel the way Morgan felt right now. No one had ever felt this way before, not since the beginning of time.

Did he feel the same way?

He had to.

What would she do if he didn't?

Morgan dropped her arms to her sides as she stopped pacing and turned to smile at her sister-in-law. "I already told you, Julia. I simply wanted to give Berengaria a run. Poor thing, once the outriders left us she was going to be tied to the back of the coach and
dragged
into London. I couldn't allow that."

Julia Becket looked at Morgan levelly. "So, of course, the
mare would need to have her
run
all the way to your brother's front door. Has it been so long, Morgan, that you've forgotten you know me, or that I know you? Has it been so long that you've convinced yourself I've just come down in the last rain, and would believe that obvious clunker?"

Morgan hopped up onto the high tester bed. "Apparently I should have taken the time to make up a more plausible story," she said, grinning at Julia. "All right
,
I give over. / wanted a run. Do you know how stul
t
ifying
l
y
boring
it is to be stuck inside a stuffy, bumping traveling coach for days on end?"

'Two days, and yes, I know, and can tell you honestly that two days inside a coach with a young child may not be boring, but they definitely are no more pleasant," Julia said, smiling at an old memory.

"But there was more than being bored, wasn't there? You wanted to prove to Chance and to me that you might be here, but being under our roof and obeying ou
r
strictures would be two entirely different things. I can understand that, Morgan. You are used to having your own way at Becket Hall."

"Except when Eleanor
talks
to me," Morgan interrupted, making a face. They'd speak about Eleanor. Much better to speak about Eleanor than "strictures"—at least until Morgan could get herself under control. "She's so little, so quiet, and yet she rules us all. How does she do that?"

Julia laughed. "I don't know. But she does, doesn't she. Now, let me finish. I understand that you don't much care for taking orders or following rules, and I was prepared to deal with that. However, I will be damned if I'll stand by and let you ruin yourself, then be forced to explain that ruination to your papa. Not if I have to strap you on my back and
carry
you back to Becket Hall. Am I making myself clear here?"

"As the bell in the church tower on Sunday morning, yes. But it wasn't my fault, Julia. He's the one who insisted on accompanying me. I didn't hold a pistol to his head."

Julia looked at her sister-in-law, now stripped down to her white cotton shift, but still wearing her riding boots, her night-dark hair hanging more than halfway down her back. "You hold a pistol to the head of every man who looks at you," she said, not without humor.

Morgan didn't bother to deny Julia's words.

"What's worse is that you know you do. Look at that smile on your face right now, for pity's sake. But this isn't Becket Hall or the village, Morgan, where everyone knows you, and where every last man jack knows what would happen if he dared too much. This, Morgan, my dear, is London, and when you play the flirt here, someone might take you very seriously."

Morgan braced her palms against the bedspread as she swung her booted legs back and forth over the side of the bed. "The Earl of Aylesford. That's who you mean. Don't worry, I already warned him."

"You already...
o
h, Lord." Julia subsided into the cushioned chair in front of the dressing table. She'd already fainted once, two days ago, luckily with her maid close by to catch her, but she'd rather not have to tell Chance he was going to be a father only after he'd picked her up off the floor. "You
warned
him? For God's sake, Morgan, what did you say to the man?"

"In a moment, Julia." Morgan hopped down from the bed as a maid entered from the dressing room and held out a dressing gown for her. "And what's your name? Louise? Isn't that a lovely name. I'm Morgan. I'll take that, Louise," she said, then did so, never realizing that the surprised maid was prepared to help her into the gown. Morgan would have pointed out that she didn't have two broken arms and could dress herself, thank you, if she had.

"I didn't
say
anything to him, Julia
,
" Morgan said once the maid was gone.

"I suppose I should be comforted that you are for the most part conscious of your possible audience," Julia said. "Louise is fairly safe, but there's no one outside of Becket Hall who is ever to be considered entirely safe. You also remember that, don't you? Now, what do you mean, you didn't say anything to him?"

"Because I didn't. I merely admired his horse in the inn yard. He then introduced himself, graciously invited me to his castle, and then we came here."

"His castle. Oh, dear, it's even worse than I'd imagined." Julia lowered her head, rubbed at her forehead. Perhaps she should tell Chance now about the baby, while there was still time to send Morgan back to Becket Ha
l
l.

Because, what with being horribly sick every morning, these odd dizzy spells during the day, and the time she spent with their daughter, Alice, she might not be the best person to be riding herd on his sister. Wellington and his entire staff might not be enough to successfully ride herd on her.

Morgan sighed audibly. "Oh, don't say
oh, dear
that way, Julia. His
mother
met me there. I'm not a complete fool. I listened to Ell
y
's lectures about proper behavior." She grinned. "Some of them. Enough, at least, to know that neither of us should be saying
damn
in public."

"Now you're correcting me?" Julia asked, wishing she could hold back her smile. She really did love Chance's sister. She was so..
.
so
alive.

"I'd never do that. I know how awful that can be for the person being lectured."

Now Julia laughed out loud. "I suppose I'm supposed to apologize for lecturing you?"

"Apology accepted, thank you," Morgan said, enjoying herself immensely, yet never quite able to forget for more than a few moments that Ethan had nearly kissed her. She tied the satin ribbons on her dressing gown, turning her back to Julia so that the other woman didn't see that her hands were shaking slightly. "Besides, I can handle the earl. He's only a man."

Julia was about to say
oh, dear
again, then realized that not only would she be redundant, but she'd appear weak. And nobody could afford to appear weak around Morgan. "I don't think your brother is delighted."

"Yes, I rather sensed that," Morgan said as she turned to her sister-in-law once more, smiling, hoping that Julia hadn't noticed that her careful facade was beginning to show a few cracks. She really needed to be alone. Very much needed to be alone. To think, to plan, to remember, to anticipate. "The earl says he's tolerated in society, but that's all. Because of his mother being a..
.
a very nice woman."

"Because she's a very nice woman? I'm afraid I don't understand."

Morgan shook her head. "Oh, what's the point. Chance will just ask somebody, and they'll tell
him, and then you'll both ring a
peal over my head, and then I'll tell you that I don't care, I'll see the man if I want to, and Chance will try to
reason
with me, an
d
—
w
e don't need to do all of that, do we? It seems such a waste of time, when we all know that, in the end, I'll do what I want to do."

"Yes, and the devil take the hindmost. As when you rode out on the marsh with Courtland and the others, without their knowledge. Chance threatened to turn you over his knee when you tried it with him. I know. And don't look so shocked, Morgan. Your brother and I have no secrets from each other. I'm a Becket now, too, remember?"

Morgan was surprised, although she immediately realized that she shouldn't be. "He's told you everything? About the Black Ghost? About us? About the
island?"

"Everything," Julia said, looking at her levelly. "Nothing good, or lasting, can be built on a lie."

Morgan's smile bordered on triumphant, as she believed she was about to trump Julia's ace. "Becket Hall seems to be standing fairly well for over a dozen years now."

"And it will continue to stand. We all will, unless some one of us brings the wrong person into our midst. Do you understand me, Morgan? You don't know this Earl of Aylesford. I saw him downstairs. I saw the way he looked at you, and the way you looked at him. He's dazzled you, hasn't he?"

"
Dazzled me?
"
Morgan rolled her eyes dramatically, even as her stomach clenched at how clearly Julia saw what was happening to her. "As if I'm the sort to be dazzled. That's actually rather insulting, Julia. Either you think me competent enough for a Season, or
send
me home
now, to
play Snakes and Ladders with Cassandra."

"I'm sorry, Morgan. I apologize. Perhaps I'm being overly cautious. Neither Chance nor I ever dreamed that you'd have your own beau your first day in Londo
n
—
a
nd we most certainly never dreamed you'd discover him on your own."

Morgan grinned, rather pleased with herself. "I did, didn't I?"

It was now Julia's turn to roll her eyes, and she topped that with a long-suffering sigh.
"
All I ask
is that you don't rush to judgment, either for him or against him. Too many depend on who you choose to trust now that you're here, away from Becket Hall."

Morgan sat down on the carpet and began unlacing her boots, pulling them off and tossing them toward the corner of the room. "Well, and now
that's
the most insulting thing I've ever heard you say to me, Julia. That I'm a starry-eyed looby who'd whisper our secrets into my lover's ear."

"You
r
—
y
our
lover?
You've only just met the man! First a castle, and now your
lover?"
Julia looked at the girl through narrowed eyelids. "Have you been reading novels? Oh, never mind. Morgan, I know. I saw him. He's definitely..
.
dashing. But he's one man. You can't judge him against the men you know from the village. London has handsome titled men stacked up like cordwood
,
waiting for someone like you. You were sent here to have a Season, not a day."