Beddoe nodded. “She thinks Geoffrey knows that she’s turned against him. He’s a monster, and she’s afraid of her own brother. I keep telling her it’s Diana who needs protection—and she agrees—but she’s frightened, and I can’t say as I blame her.”
“Any attack is terrifying. She will calm down in time.”
“I hope so, but I wondered…” Beddoe toyed with his empty brandy glass. “You’ve got men here protecting Diana, and I approve. But do you have a few more? Some who might stand guard over us?”
Lucas’s brows rose up in surprise. “You have servants, yes? Large footmen—”
“But they’re not military men like you. Like the footmen you’ve added here. Do you know of a few more who would like to earn money? Just until this business with Geoffrey is settled once and for all.”
“I do. But this business may take a while. And good men don’t come cheap.”
Beddoe nodded. “I’m well-heeled enough to afford it. And it would give me an extra measure of rest. Penelope’s increasing, you see. It’s not good for the baby for her to be anxious like this. We want to go back to my estate in Staffordshire, but I won’t risk another ride. Not without extra men who know what they’re about.”
“I know just the men you want,” he said. “He’s been with me through the war, and there’s not a steadier hand in all of England.”
“But will he be loyal? Will he protect Penelope, even if Geoffrey promises him more than I can pay?”
And right there was the problem for Beddoe. Any man he might hire would be vulnerable to bribery from another source. Lucas smiled. “Caleb will not betray you. I’d stake my life on it.”
“Then, we’ll leave for Staffordshire as soon as it can be arranged.”
“I’ll get Caleb started on the details. Don’t worry. You and Lady Beddoe will be safe.”
Beddoe stood, then abruptly held out his hand to shake. “I didn’t trust you at first. Who goes by the name Mr. Lucifer? But now that I know you’re Chellam, I’ve got better respect for you. Elliott swears you’re the best, and you’ve done well by Diana. If you do well by Penelope and me, then I know a few others who might need a steady hand with a gun now and again.”
Lucas shook Beddoe’s hand with a firm grip. “You’ll be safe with us,” he said firmly. “Lucifer’s men won’t betray you.” And just like that, he and Caleb had a new business venture.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Exhaustion dogged Dianaeven as she sat in the upstairs parlor and drank tea. She never understood how sitting in a carriage for hours could be so tiring, but it was. Or maybe it was her thoughts that had worn her down. She could not stop thinking about her argument with Lucas. It had happened three weeks ago back when they were still in Ireland, and still, she wondered if she’d erred.
It wasn’t wrong for her to want to be independent. There were sound financial reasons for her to stay free of a man’s control. For her entire life, others had the final say over her decisions, but no longer. And yet, independence came with loneliness.
Since the night Lucas had touched her so intimately, he had kept himself scrupulously apart from her. They spoke as needed, but he remained well out of arm’s reach no matter how she tried to entice him. She hadn’t been blatant, but they’d had several very frustrating conversations in her bedroom. She’d worn her thinnest dressing gown and even once had appeared to him only in her nightrail.
Nothing.
Certainly, his eyes had raked her from top to bottom. His gaze had narrowed, and she thought he would break when her hair tumbled down out of her pins. He didn’t. He watched her intently throughout the day, his expression dark and hungry. But he never acted on it, and she was not brazen enough to demand he touch her. She doubted it would work anyway. The man was as immovable as a mountain when he wanted to be.
They stayed apart while she questioned her decision to remain a wealthy widow. And now, after weeks of frustration, she was ready to do something brazen, but it couldn’t be tonight. This evening she was fully dressed, and she’d called Lucas to her parlor for an entirely different reason.
She had just poured herself another cup of tea when he knocked on the door. She motioned him inside and then failed to hide her grimace when he kept himself on the opposite side of the room from her.
“Oh, leave off,” she snapped. “Just sit down, take some tea, and answer my question. Please.”
His eyes widened in surprise, but he was gentlemanly enough to sketch a bow to her before taking the chair opposite her. “Are you feeling well?” he asked as he scanned her face.
“Tired and restless, which is an annoying contradiction.”
“I understand the feeling, well.”
She looked at him, seeing that exhaustion hung on him, too. Whereas she had spent today’s travel dozing in a carriage, he had ridden ahead and was likely sore from top to bottom. “I’m sorry, Lucas. I have only a single question, and then you may seek your bed.”
He nodded and didn’t respond, which she took to mean that he would head for rest when he deemed it safe. Damn him for being the one man in her household she couldn’t order to bed for his own good.
“Fine. Keep your own counsel. I just want to know…” She looked up at him, needing to judge his reaction. “Did Geoffrey attack Penelope and Walter? Are they all right?”
He nodded, his expression grave. “Lord and Lady Beddoe were attacked on their way back from Ireland. The thieves killed their coachman and robbed them. But Diana, they were expressly looking for you.”
