Gail Ranstrom - A Rake by Midnight

Bella frowned. “I am certain Cook has enough—”

“They are not for cook, silly girl.” Mama sighed as she sank into a comfortable chair. “They are for us to take home. So difficult to find the finer things in Belfast, you know. Why, Belgian lace costs twice as much in the shops there! I confess, I delight in knowing I shall be the envy of all my friends.”

Gina smiled. These were the sure signs that Mama was beginning to heal from Cora’s death. “Surely there will be time enough to find everything you want.”

“Time enough? Why, there’s scarcely any time left at all! We shall be returning to Ireland within the fortnight.”

Gina could only stare at her mother in disbelief. She’d said nothing about returning to Ireland so soon! Not even a hint!

Bella intervened. “I thought you’d stay longer. With Lilly just wed, she may need you.”

Mama gave her a jaded look. “I believe the Farrells have no need for me at all. Mr. Farrell seems to have Lilly well in hand.” She turned to spare Andrew a glimpse. “As does Mr. Hunter seem to suit you well. No, you and Lilly have no need of me. Eugenia and I shall leave within a fortnight.”

Fortnight? She could not possibly be ready so soon! Mr. Renquist had indicated it could take months to find Mr. Henley. She stood in her agitation, acutely aware that James Hunter was watching her with marked curiosity. “Could we not stay until Christmas?”

“Christmas? Good heavens, Eugenia!” Mama put her hat aside and accepted a teacup from Bella. “Why, we cannot leave our house in Belfast unattended so long. Was it not always our intent to give you girls a season and leave for home afterward? You will recall I originally let the house in St. James until September. Just because we removed here and have been in mourning does not mean I changed our plans.”

“Mrs. O’Rourke, you are welcome here as long as you wish to stay,” Andrew told her. Gina wondered how much that offer had cost him.

“Kind of you, I am sure,” Mama said. “But I’ve already made arrangements. I decided that traveling overland is far too tedious and booked our berths yesterday, and today I ordered crates to be delivered for our goods.” She spread her arms wide as if she dared anyone to argue. “’Tis a fait accompli.”

“Excuse me.” Gina prayed she could keep her composure until she exited the sitting room.

Gina breathed deeply of the fresh air, her mind whirling with the news. So this is what Mama had been “giddy” about—the prospect of returning to Ireland! She needed to think. To plan. This new development changed everything.

If she was to have any chance of learning what happened in those lost hours, of finally being free of the past, she would have to act quickly. Indeed, she would not be able to wait for Mr. Renquist to make progress. As much as she dreaded mixing in society, she would have to enter the search herself, just as Lady Sarah had suggested.

She found a quiet spot in the garden and sat on a bench balanced between two stone lions. The late afternoon breeze made her shiver, a reminder of oncoming autumn, and she hugged herself as she focused on the toes of her slippers, trying to unravel the problem at hand.

Lady Sarah had already made arrangements to call for her tomorrow evening and accompany her to the Auberville Ball. The Thayer twins would be in attendance and, if all went well, Lady Sarah would arrange for more invitations, and Gina would join their circle.

She would not ask Mr. Renquist to investigate what she’d overheard in the library. She’d leave him to his sources and she would seek out Mr. Henley’s family and friends in society. The only thing she could not do was return to Belfast with this matter unresolved. To never know the truth. Never feel safe again so long as Mr. Henley roamed the earth.

The toes of two highly polished Wellingtons appeared before her. “Chilly, Miss O’Rourke?”

She looked up to find James Hunter standing before her. The familiar uneasy heat rose in her but she controlled it with a deep breath before she spoke. “A bit, Mr. Hunter. I should not have come out without my shawl.”

“Shall I fetch it?”

She shook her head. She did not intend to stay a moment longer than necessary.

He sat beside her, close enough for her to feel his heat, but not close enough to touch. “I gather your mother’s announcement was a surprise to you?”

“Completely. I had no idea she wanted to leave so soon.”

“And you do not?”

“Yes. No! I mean, I want to go home, but this is so sudden, and there were things that I still wanted to do.”

“Things, Miss O’Rourke? For instance?”

“I…I have not been much out in society due to…well, circumstances. I would like to experience a bit of the excitement of London.”

He gave a chortle that made her shiver. “I would think you’d have had enough excitement to last for one season.”

She looked sideways at him. There was nothing sarcastic in his countenance, and nothing chiding. Just a simple statement of fact. “A different sort of excitement than being abducted, Mr. Hunter.”

His eyes caught hers and held them. “I understand. I shall be sorry to see you go. I would have liked to waltz just once with you. Have you been to Vauxhall, or the museums?”

She shook her head. “Cora was killed not long after we arrived. And everything since then has conspired to keep us otherwise occupied.”

He laughed outright this time. “That would be a bit of an understatement, Miss O’Rourke. Your family has been the talk of the town. I must say, the O’Rourkes have collided with London in a most forceful manner.”

“And yet your sister has offered to sponsor me. At great risk to her reputation, I surmise.”

“Has she?” He looked surprised, and Gina realized he was thinking such a sponsorship was risky. “Well, Sarah knows best. She is an excellent judge of character. With her as your sponsor, your success is assured.”

She didn’t care a whit for social success. She only wanted to meet the people who could lead her to Mr. Henley, but given the conversation she’d overheard earlier in the library, she imagined all the brothers would forbid such a thing. Thank heavens they would be too busy with their own business to meddle in hers.

She shivered again and Mr. Hunter shrugged out of his jacket to drape it over her shoulders. Still warm from his body, it smelled of lime shaving soap and something clean. Starch? Very comforting, yet provocative. And once again, it conjured memories of that night. “Thank you,” she managed, suspecting she should have refused and gone inside.

“My pleasure, Miss O’Rourke.” He stretched his legs out and crossed his ankles. “One never knows how to dress for the weather this time of year.”

“Is…is there a reason you followed me, Mr. Hunter?”

“I wanted to thank you for not running the moment you saw me, as is your custom. Indeed, I think our truce will work admirably well.”

“My dislike of you has been nothing personal, Mr. Hunter.”

“You dislike me?”

Mortified by her gaucherie, Gina winced. “Oh, forgive me. I did not mean that the way it sounded. What I meant to say is that you make me uncomfortable…I mean—”

“Please do not explain further, Miss O’Rourke. I do not think my tender ego is up to it.” He grinned and her stomach did an odd little flip-flop.

The sound of laughter preceded the arrival of others, and Gina slipped James’s jacket off her shoulders and shivered in the sudden chill. She gave it back and watched as he stood and shrugged it on moments before Bella and Charles appeared around the hedge. Why did she feel as if they had done something wrong?