A Fine Caprice - A Regency Romance (9 page)

Caprice
, recovering in small measure
from her shock
, tried to think. Whatever she had been imagining, th
e
man before her
was undoubtedly a gentleman, so much was obvious from his vo
ice
although he was dressed rather casually in breeches, a shirt that was minus a neckcloth and unfastened at the neck and a jacket, hanging open to reveal the man’s sartorial disarray. But if he had heard her arrive and
had left his bed to investigate then
such
disarray was only to be expected. He wasn’t all that old – in his
late
twentie
s somewhere, she guessed
–
and was
a
remarkably handsome
specimen
. That this fact should register at all, considering her current circumstances, was quite miraculous for being caught trespassing by an exceedingly good looking stranger was surely no better than being caught by a
n
ugly one.
As quickly as she could, she shuffled through various stories
and opted for something that held at least a trace of
the truth.

‘Uh… sorry, sir.
I didn’t mean to disturb you. But I
became
lost
– that is to say, I think I’m lost – and I… I panicked
.
I thought you were
a… a…
’
She hesitated. Monster, lunatic, demented housekeeper all sounded rather ridiculous faced with a real flesh and blood man.

‘A what?’ he demanded, still looming over her in a most unpleasant manner.

Caprice
gave an inward sigh. Clearly this man was not a monster, but there was no getting away from the fact that he
was
threatening. ‘I was frightened,’ she told him frankly, ‘I don’t know what I thought!’

‘What the devil do you mean by hitting me with a plate?’

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it! I was panicking and I just grabbed the first thing that came to hand.’
Caprice
hesitated. ‘Did I hurt you very much?’

‘I daresay I’ll survive. And I suppose I should be grateful that you didn’t lay your hands on anything heavier.’ He considered her for a moment longer,
then
took a step back. ‘You say that you are l
ost? What the hell
is that supposed to mean
?’

Well at least he couldn’t possibly have guessed her gender, for no gentleman would talk in such a way before a lady. Her
outfit had done a sterling job of disguising the figure beneath,
even when she was hanging in the air,
which was all to the good under the circumstances.

‘I was looking for Steadman Hall,’ she confessed, deciding to stick to her story of taking up a position in Angelique’s household. ‘But I got delayed and then I got lost
. I mean, I thought I was here. But when I came in the back it didn’t look right.
This isn’t Steadman Hall, is it?’

‘You’re at Abbey Cross,’ the man told her curtly
, moving across to drop into the armchair she had so recently occupied
.
He continued to study her narrowly.
‘You’re just a lad,’ he observed and for some reason he sounded relieved.

‘
Stableboy,’ she agreed, supplementing the lie
. ‘Can you tell me how far it is to Steadman Hall?’

‘Seven miles or so, I should imagine
. I’ve never be
en there myself but I fancy it would be
around that. When were you expected?’

Never
, she thought glumly. Seven miles… it would take her forever on a night like this with no light to help her along.
If she weren’t careful then Ulysses would come up lame from some pothole in the road.
The wind had picked up and was shaking the walls enthusiastically.
And
it was raining!

‘
This afternoon, tomorrow afternoon
,’ she said
vaguely
,
feeling the heavy weight of weariness settle upon her
.
‘
When I ge
t there, re
ally.
I thought I would have arrived
by now but a
s I said… I got lost several times.’

‘I see.’ There was a pause as the gentleman continued to study her. ‘You don’t sound like a stableboy,’ he said, after a moment.

Caprice
blinked. She
didn’t
sound like a stableboy, he was right. On her journey into Dorset she had kept conversation to a minimum for her cultured accents crept out
to overwhelm her words
when she spoke too much. Most of the time she contented herself with ordering food and requesting a bed in the most abbreviated manner possible. But the unexpectedness of this encounter had made her forget herself entirely.

‘I… that is to say… I was brought up in a
gentleman’s household,’ she temporized.

‘I daresay. So were many of my own servants and yet I doubt any of them sound like you.’ He
leaned back in the
chair,
stretching out his long
legs and
crossing them at the ankles. He
arched an
interrogative
eyebrow. ‘You’ve been educated. How does an educated lad like yourself come to be a stableboy?’

Caprice
cast around for an answer to this perfectly reasonable question. How
did
a stableboy sound more upstairs than downstairs? ‘I’m a bastard,’ she said baldly. ‘My father was a lord and I was educated by way of the schoolroom with his other children.’

That
eyebrow, which was really very expressive, rose again. ‘How very enlightened of him.’

‘Yes, well… he was very eccentric. Her ladyship didn’t like it at all, however and when he died a month or so ago she said I had to leave.
She found me another situation.
’

‘A
little harsh, if not entirely unexpected,’ her host observed thoughtfully. He was,
Caprice
reflected, really
very
good looking indeed. Dark hair, those penetrating grey eyes and a firm, well moulded mouth. He was well built, too. Broad shouldered, with the straight, hard body that did not suggest a soft life but one filled with activity. She wondered if he were the owner of this dolorous place.
It seemed like an unlikely match.
‘
So, as I understand it, you departed your home to take up a new position – where was your home, exactly?’

‘Warwickshire
.’

‘Warwick
shire. Ind
eed. So you have come from Warwick
shire to take up a position as stableboy. You’re very young. It was fortunate that no mishap befell you. How did you travel?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘By coach?’

‘Oh. No, I rode.’

‘You have your own mount?’

‘It was a present from his lordship,’
Caprice
told him, knowing full well that if this man saw Ulysses that eyebrow would come into play again
and with good reason
. Her horse was
an
Arabian and as fine a beast as one would find anywhere. It had been a birthday present two years before
from her parents
. ‘I wasn’t supposed to take him but he was mine and so we just sort of… slipped away.’

‘Which would make you a thief?’ her host suggested softly.

Caprice
frowned.
‘Not at all.
I told you… my horse belongs to me. He was given to me by… by my father.’ Really, he w
as asking a lot of questions, especially when
she had given him a perfectly reasonable explanation.
She was rather proud of her story, actually, especially as she continued to find him intimidating
, whic
h rather limited her creative flair
.
It was far easier to be creative when one was relaxed.
Quick thinking under such circumstances was to be applauded.
‘It’s a long way to go back to Steadman Hall. I was wondering if I could sleep in the stable and set off in the morning?’ The stable would not be the delightfully comfortable bed she had been imagining but she
knew she was
too tired to continue her journey tonight.
If he said no then she would try her luck anyway.

‘I think we can probably do better than that. The place is practically empty.
There are two servants already in residence but they are staying close to their employers and the third floor is empty. You can get a bed up there, I daresay
.’

‘Tha
nk you sir.
I am in your debt,’ she said with
genuine gratitude. ‘May I ask your name?’

‘Lord Cassius Merridew. And yours, boy?’

‘
Morris, your lordship.
Jem Morris.’ It came out readily enough as she had been using it since leaving home
so had plenty of practice
. Even as she gave it to him, she was going through her memory, searching for the name of Merridew. She was certain that she had never met this gentleman before – for he was certainly
unforgettable
– and nor could she remember ever meeting a Merridew
, which probably meant
that his home county was not Warwick
shire
.
It was a blessing for, while she had every confidence in her disguise, generating a sense of familiarity in possible acquaintances would be disastrous. Still, this man, in this very unpleasant house, was intriguing.
When she saw Angelique tomorrow she wou
ld ask for further information. Surely she would know something about Abbey Cross? Angelique always made it her business to know everything
about those in her neighbourhood
.
She was generally allowed to be a font of knowledge.

‘You look done in. Go and find a bed, then,’ his lordship said, rising to his feet. He stood there for a moment, looking dow
n at her. He was a tall man and,
once again,
it felt as if he were looming over her
although that disconcerting air of dangerous intent had left him
. ‘When did you say you were expected?’

‘I didn’t
.
I mean, they know I am coming. Just not exactly when I’ll be arriving. It was
a
… a
loose arrangement. I daresay nobody will fret if I’m late.’ Especially as nobody knew she
was
coming.

‘Indeed,’ Lord Merridew said thoughtfully.

Caprice
rose to her feet and looked up at him. T
hey were not standing particularly close but it seemed
as if she could feel the heat radiating off him from several feet away. It wa
s probably radiating off
her own
body
, however. Her former chill, created by damp clothes and
a cold night had quite disapp
eared. It was odd, but her altercation seemed to have warmed her up nicely
.

‘Right, well… I’ll be off to bed then.
And thank you again for your kindness.
’

‘Indeed
.
Third floor.
Y
ou can
take you pick of beds although God knows what the state the rooms will be in
.
Disastrous, I daresay.
’

She
nodded, wondering why there were so few
servants. What
kind of place only had two servants
, anyway?
‘I’ll manage.’

She
had taken three steps towards the door when he spoke again, voice abrupt. ‘
Jem?
If you’re not in any hurry to take up your new position, perhaps you wouldn’t mind working for me for a few days?’

Caprice
turned around slowl
y, fighting an urge to raise an eyebrow of her own
. ‘You need a stableboy?’ Actually, from the look
of the stables, he probably needed several
.

‘Not a stableboy, no. I nee
d an
extra set of eyes. Intelligent ones.’ He tilted his head, regarding her with that same intensity that had brought on that
initial
rush of bodily heat.
What a very…
focussed
gentleman he was. She had caught an underlying sense of tension from him
ben
eath that polished
,
nonchalant ve
neer
and wondered what his situation was.
‘You certainly seem intelligent enough. Would you like to make some coin?’