“It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“And now?”
“Perhaps not so much.” Merritt grinned. “But at least she didn’t shoot me. Maybe she possesses a growing fondness for me after all and just isn’t quite ready to embrace it.”
“And how do you propose to compete with the memory of her beloved husband?” Nash decided not to mention the age difference between the two. The dowager countess had to be almost two decades older than them both. “You cannot battle a ghost, old friend. Especially not one as cherished as Sophie’s father.”
“I have always loved a challenge. You know that.” Merritt rolled his shoulders and tugged on his jacket to resettle it. “I saw the look in her eyes when I told her that if she insisted on leaving for Calais, I would be traveling with her.”
“I still do not understand her need to return to France.” Nash turned back to the window as if the street outside might provide him with an answer.
“About that,” Merritt said as he joined him. “I believe I caught her in either a lie or a confession she did not wish to make.”
“Go on.”
“She said she needed to speak to someone in Calais and tell them if they did not cease, she would not be responsible for her actions.” Merritt narrowed his eyes as he pursed his lips. “And then she jerked as if startled by the words she had just uttered and bellowed for me to get out, or shewouldshoot me.”
“If they did not ceasewhat?” An uneasiness rolled across Nash like a heavy, wet blanket smothering a fire. Suspicion filled him. “Surely she is not the one behind the assassination attempts on her own daughter.” He shook his head at the silly notion. “No. She adores Sophie and would kill anyone who dared threaten her.”
Merritt gave a doubtful shrug. “All I know is what she said, and how she reacted after she said it.”
“Will you be able to stay close to her and watch her without getting shot?” Nash was dead serious this time. If Lady Nia knew the assassin or knew who sent the assassin, why hadn’t she shared that important bit of information before now? He would be speaking to his mother-in-law after his outing with Sophie.
“I will stay close to her because Iwishto stay close to her,” Merritt said in a tone that spoke far louder than his words. “She is a woman worth getting shot for.”
“Even though she told you to go to the devil?”
Merritt smiled. “It wasn’t what she said, old friend, it was how she said it.” He dipped a self-assured nod. “You know exactly what I mean. I’ve seen how you look at your wife. You are as besotted with her as I am with Lady Nia.”
Nash snorted a laugh. “It appears we are a pair of fools.”
“It would seem so.” Merritt nudged him. “But better a happy fool than a miserable old sage, eh?”
“Most definitely.” Nash glanced back at the door. “I am taking Sophie riding to get her mind off this miserable situation, even if only for a little while. Stay here and watch her mother.Lady Nia was not exaggerating when she said she was not a woman without resources. I would not be surprised if she attempted to steal off to France this very day.”
Merritt arched a brow. “It also has not escaped my notice that the staff here are more devoted than most. That makes keeping her here more of a challenge.” He tipped his head to one side while eyeing the stairs. “Perhaps I should stand guard at the door to her suite. I would not put it past the lady to try to escape by way of the servants’ passages.”
Nash clapped him on the back. “Good man.”
Sophie appeared on the stairs resplendent in a dark blue riding habit.
He dismissed himself with a nod to his friend and met her in the hallway. She did not need to know Merritt’s fears about her mother. He placed her hand in the crook of his arm and ushered her to the drawing room and out into the garden.
“One moment, my lady,” he said as opened the back gate. “Do not think me rude. I merely wish to keep you safe.” He stepped through first and scanned the mews for anything that might be amiss. When all appeared as it should be, he held out his hand and smiled. “All clear. Come. Let us escape for a little while.”
She took his hand and skipped along beside him like an excited young girl. “I so needed this. What a fortunate lady I am to have such a thoughtful husband.”
He couldn’t resist giving her a teasing wink. “That is exactly what I have been telling you, my swan.”
As soon as they entered the stable, they halted to avoid being run over by a trio of young cats racing after something only the felines could see.
“So, these are the kittens you spoke of?” Nash laughed as one of them skittered up a wooden post, danced across the wall separating the stalls, then leapt onto its unsuspecting siblings as they rounded the corner.
“When did I tell you about the kittens?” she asked, while leading him to the stalls at the rear of the stable.
“During your laudanum sleep after your injury.” Inwardly, he flinched. He should not have brought that up. This outing was to make her forget about the trials, not relive them. A sense of relief washed across him when she didn’t seem at all troubled by his answer.
“Such nasty stuff that was. For future reference, I would rather be in pain.” Then she tantalized him with a sultry smile and a slow wetting of her lips, making him contemplate finding an empty stall filled with an inviting bed of clean hay. “I do remember you resting your head beside me and refusing to join me in bed because you didn’t wish to jostle me.” She licked her lips again and lowered her voice to a seductive purr. “I am quite healed now, dear husband, and more than a little ready to bejostled.”
