"I don't want any woman, but a particular one." Dominick settled into a chair and regarded his brandy glass, his manner utterly at odds with his appearances "Remember the family I asked you to gather information about? TheMayfields?"
Renfrew thought back. It had been over a year since he had made his quiet investigation and sent the results halfway around the world to his friend. "Ah, yes, the eccentric baronet and his spinster daughter. I wondered why you were interested in them." "Not them. Her," Dominick saidsuccinctly.
"You want to court Miss Mayfield?" Renfrew said with surprise. "I've never met her myself, but by all reports she's a dry stick of a female. Hardlyyourtype."
Dominick's eyes flashed. "Roxanne wasn't always a dry stick, Ipromiseyou!"
More and more interesting. Beginning to understand, Renfrew remarked, "Sir William is some sort of authority on primitive cultures,isn'the?"
"Exactly." Dominick swirled the brandy in his goblet. "From your report, Miss Mayfield never leaves the estate except in the company of her father. You also found that all letters go to Sir William, and he has long since discouraged her friends from calling." An edge of anger sounded in his voice. "She sounds very near to being aprisoner."
"I wouldn't say that," Renfrew objected. "She is merely a quiet woman who is devoted to herfather."
"No," Dominick said flatly. "She's not really like that, but her father has given her nochoice."
Obviously there was a story here, but it didn't look like Renfrew would hear it today. "What do you intendtodo?"
His friend looked up. "Remember the strange case of Princess Caraboo, about ten or elevenyearsago?"
It took Renfrew a moment to place the reference. "As I recall, she was some sort of East Indian princess who had been kidnapped by pirates, then escaped near the coast of England and swam ashore, where she was taken in by a vicar and his wife. But she turned out to be a fraud,didn'tshe?"
"Correct. In fact, she was a poor Devonshire girl who spent time with the Gypsies, then married a sailor and picked up some Arabic and Malay from him. When he left her, she went off her head and started thinking she was a displaced Asiaticprincess."
"An interesting tale, but what has that to dowithyou?"
Dominick grinned wickedly. "She became quite famous. Experts on primitive cultures came to study her and try to deduce her origins. People would have paid to see her, Iimagine."
Renfrew's brows shot up. "You're hoping to lure Sir William Mayfield out toseeyou?"
"Exactly. From what you learned about the Mayfields, it would be almost impossible to communicate with Roxanne while she is at home, but Sir William would take her with him to investigate an interesting savage." Dryness entered his voice. "I gather that he needs her to take his notes and bringhimtea."
"So you're going to walk into the middle of Plymouth dressed like that, and hope that Sir William and his daughter will come racing to meet you," Renfrew said with heavysarcasm.
"Actually, I have a Polynesian canoe in the hold, and I'm going to paddle it onto a nearby beach." Dominick chuckled. "Let people think that I sailed her all the way from the Pacific. That will bring my quarry in a hurry. Sir William is particularly interested in ancient navigators, I believe. He had a variety of theories, most of themwrong."
"You don't look like any Polynesian I ever met. They don't usually run to beards, their features are shaped differently, and I certainly never saw one withgrayeyes."
"How many Britons would know that? No one can prove that I didn't come from an island that hasn't been discovered yet." His eyes gleamed with mischief. "I'll give the experts a dash of Tahiti, a dollop of Sandwich Islands, perhaps a pinch of Samoa, and have them gibbering withconfusion. "
"It might work," Renfrew admitted, "though you'll freeze if you prance around in a loincloth in thisclimate."
"I'll wear my feather cloak if I feel cold," the other man said blithely. "It's mostimpressive."
Renfrew's eyes narrowed. "'Fess up, Dominick. You didn't invite me here merely so I could admire yourcleverplan."
"Quite right." Dominick smiled wickedly. "There will be a stir when I'm discovered. Since you live in the area and have traveled widely, it would be quite reasonable for you to come see the wild man. I'll speak a garble of Polynesian languages, and you will profess to be able to understand some of what I say. With the distinguished Sir George Renfrew to certify my savage self, no one will doubt me." He stroked his wild black beard. "In fact, I shall become greatly attached to you and refuse to leave your side. You will become my keeper andprotector."
Renfrew's jaw dropped. "Damnation, Dominick, I've turned respectable! Don't try to draw me into one of your mad starts. We're not at Cambridgeanymore."
Dominick looked down his aquiline, un-Polynesian nose. "Not respectable. Stuffy. Hard to believe you're the same man who drove a herd of wild pigs through a Jamaican ball after the governorsnubbedyou."
"He deserved it." Renfrew tried vainly to repress a smile. "It was a most juvenileprank."
"But amusing." Dominick's face became serious. "This is truly important to me, George. I will be eternally grateful if you help. You're the only man I can trust in such ascheme."
Suddenly uncomfortable, Renfrew stared down at his glass, swirling the brandy. He'd been in a bad spot once in Hong Kong, and Dominick had pulled him through it. His friend would not mention that. He didn'thaveto.
"Very well, I'll help if you wish," Renfrew said slowly. "But are you really sure about doing this? I gather that you fell in love with Miss Mayfield before you left England, but that was a long time ago. You're not the same person now. You may be setting yourself up for a crushingdisappointment.''
