Deception (35 page)

“What happened to your mother?”

Gifford looked down at his tightly knotted hand. “She died when I was born.”

“And now you have no one but your sister.”

Gifford’s eyes narrowed. “And she has no one but me. I trust you can understand why I was consumed with rage when Chillhurst ended the engagement. She had worked so hard to secure his interest. She had pawned the last of my mother’s jewelry to buy the gowns she needed to impress him that summer.”

Olympia touched his sleeve. “Mr. Seaton, I am very saddened to learn of your unfortunate family situation. But please do not blame my husband for what happened. I know him well enough to be quite certain that he did not end the engagement because he learned of your sister’s financial circumstances.”

“Demetria told me the truth and I prefer to believe her, not Chillhurst.” Gifford turned abruptly away from the table. “It is all so damnably unfair.”

“But your sister has made a financially secure marriage and seems content. You have the advantages of a connection with Lord Beaumont. Why are you not content, also?”

Gifford swung around to face her, his face tight with
anger and despair. “Because it is not right. Don’t you understand? It is not fair that Chillhurst has it all and we have nothing.
Nothing.”

“Mr. Seaton, I do not understand. It seems to me that you have everything you wanted.”

Gifford made an obvious effort to regain control of himself. He closed his eyes briefly and drew a deep breath. “I beg your pardon, Lady Chillhurst. I do not know what came over me.”

Olympia smiled uncertainly. “Perhaps we should change the subject. Shall we study this chart together?”

“Some other time, perhaps.” Gifford drew his watch out of its pocket and glanced at the face. “I have another appointment.”

“Yes, of course.” Olympia looked at his watch, thinking of the one Jared had used to ransom Robert. “That is a very handsome watch. Can you tell me where I might buy one like it?”

Gifford frowned briefly. “I purchased it at a small shop in Bond Street. I had it and the fobs specially designed for me.”

“I see.” Intrigued, Olympia took a step closer. “That is a most unusual motif on the plaques and on the case. Is it some sort of serpent?”

“A sea serpent.” Gifford slipped the watch back into his pocket. “A creature of myth and legend, you understand.” His smile was not reflected in his eyes. “It is a symbol of a time when my family held its rightful place in the world. Now, if you will excuse me, I must be off.”

“Good day to you, Mr. Seaton.”

Olympia watched thoughtfully as Gifford strode from the room. When she was alone she turned back to the old chart on the table. But her mind was no longer on the poorly drawn map.

She was preoccupied with the elaborate design that decorated Gifford’s watch and the attached fobs.

It was a strangely familiar motif.

  “Welcome home, madam.” Graves held the door of the Flamecrest mansion open as Olympia hurried up the steps. “We have guests.”

“We do?” Olympia came to a halt in the hall and turned to look at the new butler. “Does Mrs. Bird know?”

“Yes, madam, she does.” Graves chuckled. “And she’s in a fine taking on account of it.”

Mrs. Bird hove into view. “Is that you, Miss Olympia? About time you got home. His lordship tells me there’s going to be two extra for dinner this evening. And on top of that, I’m expected to get two of the bedchambers ready. I’d like to know if this sort of thing is going to become a regular occurrence around here.”

“Well, I really cannot answer that,” Olympia said. “I have no notion of how many friends his lordship will be entertaining.”

“These ain’t friends,” Mrs. Bird said ominously. “They’re relations. His lordship’s papa and his uncle.” She lowered her voice and glanced around to ensure that the hall was empty. “His lordship’s papa is an
earl.”

“Yes, I know.” Olympia untied her bonnet strings. “I’m certain you can handle the problem of guests in the household, Mrs. Bird.”

Graves smiled at Mrs. Bird with an infatuated expression. “Of course she can, madam. In the short time I have worked in this household, it has become clear to me that Mrs. Bird is a woman of great ability.”

Mrs. Bird blushed a fiery shade of red. “I was just wantin’ to know how often I’m going to be expected to
handle this son of thing, is all. Got to make plans, you know.”

“Feel free to call upon me for assistance, Mrs. Bird,” Graves intoned. “I stand ready to aid you in any way I can. Together, I feel sure we shall manage.”

Mrs. Bird fluttered her lashes. “I suppose we’ll get by somehow, then.”

“Never doubt it,” Graves said.

Olympia looked from one to the other. “Where is his lordship and our guests?”

“His lordship is in the library, madam,” Graves said. “His guests are upstairs with the young gentlemen. I believe the Earl and his brother are telling stories to Masters Robert, Ethan, and Hugh.”

Olympia paused in the act of turning toward the library. “Stories?”

“About an individual known as Captain Jack, I believe, madam.”

“Oh, well, I’m sure my nephews will be vastly entertained by those tales.” Olympia reached for the knob of the library door.

“Allow me, madam.” Graves sprang forward to open the door.

“Thank you,” Olympia said politely, a little taken back by the unfamiliar service. “Do you do that all the time?”

“Yes, madam, I do. Part of my duties.” Graves inclined his head and ushered her into the library.

Jared was sitting at his desk. He glanced up as Olympia entered the room. “Good day, my dear.” He got to his feet. “I am glad to see you are home. We have visitors. My father and uncle have arrived.”

“So I understand.”

Jared waited until the door had closed behind her. Then he smiled invitingly.

Olympia hurled herself across the room and straight into his arms. She lifted her face for his kiss.

“I believe I rather like this business of being married,” Jared mused when he finally raised his head.

“So do I.” Olympia took a reluctant step back. “Jared, I have just had the most unusual conversation with Gifford Seaton. There are one or two points that I … ”

Jared’s sensual smile vanished in a flash of anger. “What did you say?”

Olympia frowned. “There is no need to raise your voice, my lord. I can hear very well. I was just saying that I have come from a rather strange conversation with Mr. Seaton.”

“Seaton talked to you?”

“Yes, that is what I am trying to tell you. We met in the society’s library at the Musgrave Institution. It is the most amazing thing, sir, but it transpires that Mr. Seaton and I are both interested in the West Indies.”

“That bastard,” Jared said in a dangerously soft voice. “I told him to stay away from you.”

Olympia glowered. “I do not think that you should call him such unpleasant names. Mr. Seaton is a troubled man. He has had a very difficult life.”

“Seaton is a conniving, bloody-minded young scoundrel who is bent on mischief. I gave him strict orders to keep away from you.”

“For heavens sake, Jared, it is not Mr. Seaton’s fault that we encountered each other in the society’s library.”

“Do not be so certain of that. Seaton probably learned that you are in the habit of spending a great deal of time there and deliberately planned his own visit to coincide with yours.”

“Really, Jared, you go too far. Mr. Seaton appeared to have a genuine scholarly interest in the West Indies.
Indeed, he even allowed me to view a map that he has discovered in the library.”

“I’ll wager he had an ulterior motive for doing so.” Jared sat down behind his desk, his expression grim. “Be that as it may, I shall handle the matter. In the meantime, you are to avoid any further contact with Seaton. Is that clear, madam?”

Olympia stared at him in shock. “That is quite enough, sir.”

“Enough? I have not even begun. I will teach young Seaton a lesson he will not soon forget.”

“Jared, I will not permit this sort of talk. Surely you do not think you can start issuing irrational orders and making wild statements like that simply because you are now my husband.”

Jared eyed her coldly. “I am well aware that you prefer not to concern yourself with the pesky little details of day-to-day life, madam. For the most part that is neither here nor there. However, in regard to our marriage, there is one small detail which I fear you will have to note well.”

Olympia narrowed her eyes. “And what is that small detail?”

Jared leaned back in his chair, rested his elbows on the arms and placed his fingertips together. “I am the master of this household. I will do what I think best and I will make decisions accordingly. You will obey those decisions, madam.”

Olympia’s mouth fell open. “I will do no such thing. Not unless I happen to agree with those decisions and I do not happen to agree with your edict regarding Mr. Seaton.”

“Damnation, Olympia, I am your husband. You will do as I tell you.”

“I will do as I bloody well please, just as I have always done,” Olympia stormed. She heard the library
door open behind her but she paid no attention. “You will listen to me, Mr. Chillhurst, and you will pay close attention. Do not forget that I took you on as a tutor in this household. When all is said and done, it seems obvious to me that you are still in my employ.”

“That’s a nonsensical thing to say,” Jared shot back. “You are my wife, not my employer.”

“That, sir, is a matter of opinion. As far as I am concerned, nothing has changed regarding our original arrangement.”

“Everything has changed,” Jared said between set teeth. “And that, madam, is not a matter of opinion. It is a matter of legal record.”

“What, ho.” An unfamiliar voice broke into the argument before Olympia could respond.

“I say, what is going on around here?” another voice said from the door. “Are we interfering in a domestic quarrel, do y’ think, Thaddeus?”

“It certainly appears that way,” the first speaker said cheerfully. “Never saw your son in a temper, Magnus. Mayhap marriage is good for him.”

“Bloody hell,” Jared muttered. He glanced toward the door. “Madam, allow me to present my father, the Earl of Flamecrest and my uncle, Thaddeus Ryder. Gentlemen, my wife.”

Olympia turned around and found herself confronting two extremely dashing men of mature years. Handsome, silver-haired, and dressed to the nines, they smiled at her with a wicked charm that had no doubt captivated many a female heart.

“Flamecrest, at your service,” the taller of the two men said as he made an elegant bow. “It is a pleasure to meet you, madam.”

“Thaddeus Ryder.” The second man grinned cheerfully. “Glad to see Jared’s finally done his duty by the
family. Don’t suppose you’ve had time to find the key to Captain Jack’s treasure yet, have ye?”

Jared gave an exclamation of sheer disgust. “Damnation, Uncle. Have you no sense of discretion?”

Thaddeus looked at him in surprise. “No need to be discreet now, lad. She’s one of the family.”

“Best of all possible situations, if ye ask me,” Magnus said with a gleaming smile for Olympia. “No need to sneak about like a thief in the night trying to worm the secret out of her. She’ll be glad to tell us everything she learns about the treasure, won’t ye, m’dear?”

Olympia studied both men with great interest. “I will be happy to share whatever I can with all of you, but I think you should both know that someone else is after the treasure.”

“God’s teeth.” Magnus’s grin became a snarl of outrage. “I was afraid of that.” He looked at his brother. “Did I not say that I had a chill in me bones, Thaddeus?”

Thaddeus looked grave. “Aye, so ye did, Magnus. So ye did. And premonitions are always to be respected in our clan. We all know that.” He studied Olympia. “Any notion of who might be after the family treasure, m’dear?”

Olympia realized with a great sense of relief that she was at last in the company of people who understood her concerns and who would not mock her fears. “Well, my idea of who is behind the threats may strike you as unlikely, sir. Chillhurst has certainly refused to give it any credence.”

Magnus wrinkled his nose. “My son is smart enough about some things, but he’s got no imagination. Do not pay him any heed. Tell us your thoughts, girl.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Olympia saw Jared’s mouth tighten. She ignored it. “I believe that something
or someone known as the Guardian is after Captain Jack’s treasure.”

“The
Guardian
.” Magnus stared at her in amazement.

Thaddeus appeared equally dumbfounded as well as slightly confused. “Guardian, eh?”

Olympia nodded quickly. “The diary contains a clear warning about a Guardian of some sort.”

Magnus and Thaddeus looked at each other and then they both looked at Olympia.

“Well, if that’s the case, ye got nothing to worry about, do ye, m’dear?” Magnus explained with an air of great patience.

Thaddeus beamed. “Precisely.”

Jared spoke up in an ominous tone. “I would prefer that this subject be abandoned at once.”

“Why? What do you know of this Guardian?” Olympia asked Magnus.

Magnus arched one bushy brow in a hauntingly familiar gesture. “The Guardian is your husband, m’dear. Has my son failed to tell ye that he has borne the great honor and responsibility of that title since he was nineteen?”

“Family’s called him the Guardian since the night he rescued my two lads from a bit of a scrape with a smuggler,” Thaddeus said.

Olympia could not believe her ears. For a moment she was speechless. She recovered and whirled around to confront Jared. “No, he did not bother to mention that small fact.”

Jared put his hands on the arms of the chair and started to rise. “Now, Olympia, I can explain … ”

Olympia was furious. “Mr. Chillhurst, you have deceived me from the very beginning of our association. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. I have made allowances for your fierce passions and emotions all
along, but in this, sir, you go too far. How could you not tell me that you were the Guardian?”

“Damn it, Olympia, it is nonsense. You have been concerned about some legendary ghost who is after the secret of the diary. I am neither a legend nor a ghost and I could not care less about the damned treasure.”