So intent were they upon their quarrel that they had failed to hear Lieutenant Morris, who came down the main stairs pulling on his gauntlets and humming to himself. He saw them, heard Rossiter’s last few words, and froze, then started to turn about. The stair creaked under his foot. In an agony of embarrassment he checked again, dreading lest he be discovered and judged to have been listening.
Rossiter’s entire attention was on Naomi. Perhaps she was simply overwrought… In years past he had always been able to win her from anger or sadness. He said gently, “My dear, I am very sorry. I know I’ve handled this badly. An you will but listen…”
Although she said nothing, it seemed to him that she swayed to him a little. Releasing her wrist, he tried to see her face, but it was concealed by the brim of her hat. Carefully, he removed the offending article. She raised no objection, and he drew her closer and touched her averted cheek. “I should not have said such things. Forgive me, I beg you. Rumour is such a vicious thing, Naomi. We must not let it come between us and destroy all our dreams.”
She said in a voice that trembled, “It—has been so long, Gideon.”
“Yes, beloved. But a whole glorious future stretches before us. I will try very hard to make you happy always. I swear it.”
Her head was bowed still, but one hand crept up to rest on his cravat. “When I had no word from you, I thought perhaps… you had found—another love.”
“What rubbish! You are the only lady I ever have, or ever will love. I thought you knew that!”
Burying her face against his chest she said a muffled, “Then you always meant to—to come back to me?”
“Be assured of it! These six years I have counted the moments ’til I can call you Mrs. Gideon Rossiter.” It was going to be all right, after all! Blissfully enveloped in a glow of happiness, he pressed his cheek against her fragrant hair. “My Naomi,” he murmured. “Did you but know how I have longed to hold you like this! How very much I worship—”
And he stopped, because she was laughing.
Lifting her head she revealed a merry countenance. “Oh,” she gasped. “How very well you do it, Captain! My apologies. I should not laugh, I know. But did you think word of your liaison with your little Dutch—er, lady would not reach our ears?”
Stunned, he corrected, “Belgian. I fancy I deserved that. But—”
“Lud, dear sir, you must not fancy I mean to chastise you. Ladies only pretend to be blind to these littleaffaires,you know. And one cannot expect gentlemen—especially military gentlemen—to be saints. Though,” she waved her whip under his nose reprovingly, “itwasrather naughty in you to abandon the poor lady with—’tis a little girl… no?”
His hands clenched. He said tautly, “No. A boy and two girls. A set of twins this year, you see.”
For a moment her eyes were very wide, but she made a fast recover, and, pouting, said rather breathlessly, “Out upon you, sirrah! You spoil Papa’s scenario. He wagered you would have a thousand excuses, and swear to me that the talk was all lies, and you loved only me.” Again, her rippling laugh rang out. She turned away, and said, “You will think me a perfect quiz, but I told him that since you had not come nor sent any word, you must surely have been wounded.” From under the dark screen of her lashes, she watched him intently. “I even sent a friend to enquire of Sir Mark if your Commanding Officer had been in touch with him.”
Rossiter took a slow breath. His pride again! His damnable pride that had rushed him into the army in the first place, then forbidden that his father be notified of the likelihood of his death!
He said, “No doubt the earl told you what the answer would be; that my father had heard nothing.”
“Oh, yes, and he thought me such a great silly, and said I must be prepared lest you should claim youhadbeen brought down, and use it as an excuse for having stayed with yourchère—or is itchères?amies.”
Rossiter looked at her innocent face steadily, and she trilled, “La, la! But I have angered the gentleman once more! Did I perchance spoil some carefully planned little speech? I shall make amends.” She dimpled, and fluttered her eyelashes at him, then said with exaggerated naivete, “You are so much changed, Captain Rossiter. Did army life not agree with you?”
Gideon flushed, and his nails dug into the palms of his hands. How contemptuous she was; how willing to believe the worst of him. His Achilles heel mastered him yet again, and all prideful hauteur he drawled, “’Tis a life of many facets, ma’am. But, alas, I have no palliative speeches for you.”
“Palliative,” she echoed musingly, patting her firm little chin with her riding crop. “Such a big word, and I but a simple girl. Could it perchance mean… begging forgiveness?” On the last word her lovely eyes, hard and scornful now, met his squarely.
He suggested, “Perhaps you should discover the meaning from your papa, ma’am, since you rely so heavily on his wisdom.”
She nodded. “In truth, he is exceeding shrewd, my dear Papa. You will scarce believe, but only last month he predicted that due to recent—er, events, you would now come racing home. That you would assure me your sudden return had nothing, butnothingto do with the fact that your father has been so silly as to ruin himself, so that ’tis vital you secure a rich wife!”
At this, a gasp escaped him. For an instant the hurt was so intense as to be a physical pain. Then, something inside him seemed to turn to ice.
With infinite care, Morris had been tiptoeing back up the stairs. At this point, having reached the landing, he gave a muffled groan of relief, and crept from earshot, still unobserved by the two people in the hall.
Naomi’s eyes were glittering—with malice, no doubt, thought Rossiter. Yet even now she was so heart-rendingly beautiful. And so very far removed from her counterpart in Tranquillity Terrace. Determined not to let her see how deeply she had wounded him, he managed somehow to say coldly, “You are vulgar. But then, as you said—no respectable single lady would call at the home of a bachelor.”
She started a furious rejoinder, then closed her lips and walked a few paces away. With a little giggle, she spun around and said brightly, “Touché.And I must not forget the reason for my call. It is that I have lost quite a valuable antique chess piece. ’Twas accidentally broken, and my father had sent it away to be repaired. I collected it from the jeweller in Stour Street yesterday.”
“Indeed? And the highwaymen stole it from you, ma’am?”
“No. They got nothing. Only, it is gone from my reticule, and—”
Rossiter’s head tossed an inch higher. “But of course. You thought I had stolen it.” His eyes narrowed with rage. “A logical assumption when dealing with so dastardly a villain.”
