Page 48

‘I knew he was vengeful but didn’t think he was personally so full of malice. I fear he’s up to something.’

She dropped her head. She knew she would have to tell Mr Asprey everything but was ashamed of the bargain Lord Rackham had offered her. ‘He would only allow my father to leave if I agreed to meet him tomorrow afternoon and consent to become his…’ Angelica hesitated, finding it hard to say the word, but Mr Asprey understood full well, interrupting her with an explosive exclamation as he leapt to his feet.

‘The devil he will! I knew Cato Rackham was without principle but didn’t expect him to stoop so low.’ He was pacing, his blue eyes colder and harder than Angelica had ever seen before. ‘Goddammit! I should call him out for this. Avenge your honour and rid the world of his malignancy!’ he stormed. ‘I have long abhorred him. An old wound for sure, but hatred is by far the most enduring pleasure.’ He stopped in front of Angelica, his hair disordered and eyes blazing. ‘I cannot allow Rackham to ruin another young woman’s life. To prey on someone as defenceless as you. By God! I’ll have to call him out.’

In panic, Angelica too sprang to her feet. ‘No! No. Just think of the scandal. Two parliamentarians fighting over an actress! Your reputation would be sullied, the ridicule, the satirists and lampooners would have a heyday!’

Her reason did not mollify his outrage as he continued his pacing. ‘How dare Rackham treat you so!’ Despite her own fear and distress, Angelica was surprised at how gratifying it was to have Mr Asprey so exercised on her behalf. No one had ever before shown such concern for her reputation and welfare. She was even more taken aback when he grasped her hands and said with feeling, ‘I and my family have also treated you ill. I apologise and want you to know I will not stand in your way should you choose to accept my nephew’s hand in marriage. I consider him a lucky man if you should have him.’ He turned away, moved by emotions Angelica could not fathom. She too found herself confused by her heart. She should have felt delight at having his blessing for her union with his nephew but instead felt a hollowness settle in the pit of her stomach. But she had no time to think. Mr Asprey had returned to pacing.

Angelica watched him, astonished at how this usually self-contained man seemed energised by his own boldness and struggled to regain his usual cool, businesslike demeanour. Turning back to his desk, Ivor Asprey said in an emphatic voice, ‘This is all for the future. We have now to get your father away to France tomorrow.’

‘But your name cannot be linked to a criminal escaping justice. I believe my father is a debtor whose sentence is still outstanding. You have to remain beyond reproach.’

He was serious. ‘You seem overconcerned with my reputation, Miss Leigh. I do have the redoubtable Mr Digby, you know. But you’re right, it is scandal indeed for a member of His Majesty’s Government to assist in an evasion of the law, but it is also a scandal that another member of that same Government is prepared to blackmail you for his own libidinous ends.’ He came to stand beside her, his body tense with muscular energy. ‘It’s occurred to me, I have a friend who moors his yacht in a hidden cove on his land that runs to the sea, near Cuckmere Haven in Sussex. I can send a courier now to alert him to make ready his captain and crew. We’ll have to get your father there tomorrow at the latest.’

‘Mr Asprey, this shouldn’t be your problem, it’s mine. I am ashamed to involve you at all.’ Angelica met his gaze and noticed the liveliness in his eyes which had replaced his usual cool regard.

His young reckless self was in the ascendant again. ‘It would be a pleasure to frustrate the devilish plans of Lord Rackham.’ He took her hand. ‘And having already been involved in saving your life, Miss Leigh, I’m not about to abandon that life to a villain like Cato Rackham.’ His eyes were so intense and alive Angelica found it hard to look away, her emotions in tumult. No longer was Mr Asprey the self-controlled patrician that she held in some awe; now this youthful, devil-may-care side of him energetically matched her warm impulsive heart.

Ivor Asprey strode to the door, calling for Nicholas Digby. ‘Could you discover the whereabouts of Miss Leigh’s father, Mr Crowe? He’ll be in a tavern or club where Miss Leigh cannot enter. Please ask him to visit her at Berkeley Square. Impress on him the urgency.’

Angelica followed him to the door and collected Mary from her seat by the window. ‘I don’t know how to thank you, Mr Asprey, or you too, Mr Digby.’ She bowed.

‘Thank us when we’ve completed our task. I’m hoping we can outwit Lord Rackham and the authorities, but we’re running out of time.’

Angelica pulled the hood of her cloak over her hair and she and Mary hurried out, escorted by Nicholas Digby who hailed a Hackney carriage to take them back to Berkeley Square.

Now that she had time to think, Angelica began to worry. After an hour had passed she started to walk from the window to the fireplace and back; her father should be here by now. Afraid that Nicholas Digby had been unable to locate him, she felt desperation begin to rise; she must see him; he had to leave London at dawn the following day to stand a chance of evading the border and customs defence forces and there were questions she still needed to ask him.

As the light was failing and the candles were lit, there was a loud rap on the front door. Angelica jumped and ran to the window. A smart curricle and a pair of black horses were pulled up outside. The door into the small sitting room opened and Martin’s rouged face appeared. ‘Lord Latimer to see you, Miss Angelica. Shall I show him in?’

She nodded and her heart skipped a beat as Charles Latimer came through the door, dusty and dishevelled from his drive back from Newmarket. She ran towards him and clasped his hands. ‘Oh my lord, how good to see you. I’m so worried about my father.’

He held onto her hands and pulled her close, his eyes dark. Angelica gave a little gasp. Although they were the same age, it had become a habit to dismiss him as merely a susceptible boy; now she saw him for the first time as a man. His hair was windblown, his face grimy from the road and she was disconcerted to find him so attractive. With some shame, Angelica wondered if her equanimity had been so shaken by her close brush with death, followed by the arrival of her father and his uncertain fate, that her febrile emotions alighted on any likely recipient. Now Mr Asprey’s blessing on her union with his nephew merely increased her confusion. To find herself within such a short time attracted to two men, so differing in age and experience, made her mistrust her heart.

Just at that moment the door opened and Mary slipped into the room to sit quietly in the window seat. For all his theatrical unconventionality, Martin was as protective of Angelica as a mother hen and had summoned Mary from the kitchens as chaperone.

Angelica pulled her hands away and stepped back. ‘I sent for you at Grosvenor Square, but you had left for Newmarket. I did not know what to do for the best.’

Lord Latimer threw himself into the chair by the fire and stretched out his legs in their dusty boots. ‘Why? What has happened to distress you so?’

‘Do you remember meeting Lord Rackham by chance in the Park as we walked there with my father?’

‘I do, indeed. His lordship always disturbs the air he passes through.’

‘Apparently, he recognised my father. He told me as his arrest warrant is still active he has given orders to the coastal patrol and the ports to prevent him boarding any ship to France.’ She was disinclined to add the shaming caveat that he would only call off the law if she was compliant with his desire to set her up as his mistress.

Forgetting his fatigue after the day’s drive, Lord Latimer was on his feet, his fists clenched. ‘Goddamn the man! Apologies, Miss Leigh, no wonder he’s called Black Cat, he works his mischief wherever he goes. What’s to be done?’

‘When I couldn’t find you, I went to your uncle for help.’

Lord Latimer’s whole manner relaxed again. ‘Wisest thing to do. The most capable and trustworthy man I know to get anyone out of a scrape. Lord knows he’s rescued me many a time. As long as he wasn’t nose in the air and riding his high horse.’

Despite her anxiety, Angelica laughed. ‘No indeed. He was most accommodating. I’m just waiting to see my father. To say goodbye. Mr Asprey’s secretary will accompany him in your uncle’s fast chaise to a secret yacht owned by a friend.’

Lord Latimer slapped his thigh in mirth. ‘He was accommodating, was he! That’s a first. Miss Leigh, you’ve been weaving your witchy wiles!’ He looked up at her with mischief in his eyes, the thrill of this pending adventure exciting his boyish spirit. ‘He’s thinking of Porky’s yacht, beautiful sloop moored in a smugglers’ cove. Well I never. And my uncle a lawmaker too, breaking the law! He’s playing with fire. Must think very highly of you, Miss Leigh.’

‘That was exactly my concern. For his reputation. He owes me nothing and yet his generosity humbles me.’ She glanced up to see Lord Latimer’s eyes on her face, a speculative gleam making her wonder exactly what thoughts so animated his handsome countenance.