Page 104 of His Improper Lady

TOM AND DESIREE were in the public dining room the next morning, eating breakfast, when Gregory strode into the room. Seeing them, he came to a stop, then walked over to their table. Desiree had the feeling he’d had to force himself to do so.

Physically, Gregory looked like himself. His expression was cool and calm, with just a hint of hauteur. His cravat was perfectly tied, his black boots polished to a gleam. But up close, his eyes still carried the remains of the lost and grieving man from last night.

He greeted them politely, and when Desiree invited him to join them, he hesitated only a barely discernible instant before he sat down at their table. “I must beg your pardon again for last night,” he said in a stilted voice. “I wanted as well to assure you that I had no part in it. I didn’t know what Mother was doing. It was reprehensibly careless of me. I should have paid more attention. I... I assume that my father was indeed, um, that is, that we are related.”

“Yes, I guess we are.” Desiree wasn’t sure what to say. She couldn’t imagine that this model of an English nobleman across from her wanted to get to know his embarrassing half siblings, but she couldn’t keep from trying to give him some comfort. “You needn’t keep apologizing for Lady Moreland. It is good of you, and I believe you. And, trust me, we are grateful that you came to our rescue.”

“I’m glad I got there in time,” Gregory responded. “I only wish I’d realized sooner...”

“How did you know to come here?” Tom asked.

“I had no idea what she was up to—it’s been that way all my life, apparently. Mother has been acting strangely ever since I told her I was going to have my father declared dead. She was most upset. But I had to, you see. I am engaged now. We couldn’t go on forever in this sort of limbo. But when our attorney told us that his father had sent off an envelope to the Moreland businessman, Mother became hysterical. I thought it was because of—” He glanced at Desiree. “Well, you know.”

“Because she told you we were trying to cheat you.”

Gregory nodded, a little shamefacedly. “That must have been a lie, too—telling me that Alistair wasn’t your father.”

“Yes. The body lying beside him is my mother.”

“I...” He lowered his gaze. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s not your fault. Go on.”

He nodded gratefully and said, “Last night, Mother received some sort of note. She was furious, absolutely beside herself. I couldn’t get her to tell me why. She went up to her room and refused to talk to me, so I went out. I had a commitment, you see, and I didn’t realize...”

“You couldn’t have known what would happen,” Desiree said. Tom gave her a sardonic look, but she ignored him. Obviously, Gregory should have paid more attention to what his mother was doing. After all, he’d had to whisk the woman away the afternoon she accosted Desiree. But it must be hard for anyone, let alone a proud aristocrat, to accept that one’s mother was stark staring mad.

Gregory continued, “This morning, right after I awoke, I looked out the window, and I saw Mother coming into the house. At that hour! So I dressed and went to talk to her, but she wasn’t in her room. Nor was she downstairs. Then the coachman came to me and told me she had taken the carriage and was driving to Sea Gift. By herself. She enjoyed driving and often did so at the country house, but to drive all that way! It alarmed me, and I could see that the coachman was quite worried, so I questioned him further.

“He confessed everything to me. How she would sit outside your house at night for hours. She even had him follow you one day. Then she’d hired some ruffians to ‘scare you off.’ The man was very loyal to her, you see, came with her when they married, but finally he became so concerned about her he had to tell me. He wasn’t certain what she was about to do, but he knew it involved you and Sea Gift, and he knew she had her father’s revolver with her.” Gregory stopped and shrugged. “I could scarcely believe it. But I realized it was urgent, so I went after her.”

“We’re glad you did,” Tom assured him. Another awkward silence fell. Tom cleared his throat and said, “We’re returning to London this morning. Will you be going there, as well?”

Gregory shook his head. “I’ll stay, at least a few days. I’m hiring some of the locals from Redham to sail out and see if they can find her. Then, of course, there’s...that cave. I don’t even know how to go about that. Um, I suppose the first thing I must do is go to the police. I can’t imagine what people will say about Mother. God, what a nightmare.” His voice roughened, and he suddenly seemed to take great interest in a small scar on the table. Sliding his thumbnail over it, he went on quietly, “I thought all my life that my father abandoned me.”

Desiree reached out and covered his hand with hers, and he raised his head, surprised. She suspected he thought she was being terribly inappropriate. But Gregory would just have to deal with it. “I know. I understand exactly what you mean.”

“Yes. I guess you do. I’m sorry. I must seem quite selfish and shallow, thinking about gossip at a time like this. It’s just that Mother was always so afraid of scandal, so worried about her name.” He let out a short, harsh laugh. “I guess she had every reason to be afraid, given what she’d done.”

“We three are the only ones who know what happened yesterday,” Desiree said significantly.

Tom added, “I have no reason to spread this story around. Nor will the Morelands.”

“Nor the Malones,” Desiree added.

Gregory stared. “But... I mean, after what she did...”

“Lady Moreland’s dead. There’s no one to charge,” Tom said. “What good would it do?”

“I hate that she took my parents from me,” Desiree told him. “I have no liking for her. But he was my father, too, and I don’t want the Moreland name dragged through the mud. No one in either of our families would like that.”

“The police will have to be told,” Tom said. “I mean, you can’t just leave them there.”

“God, no,” Gregory said in a horrified voice.

Desiree shuddered at the thought of the two bodies remaining in their watery grave. “But while you must tell them, I think this could all be dealt with quietly. My brother could help.”

“The gambler?” Gregory’s eyebrows shot up. “How?”