Guardian Angel (13 page)

She leaned back against her chair. “Where are Lyon and Christina, do you suppose?”

“Are you avoiding my question?”

She shook her head. “I just don't want to have to tell it twice,” she explained. Even as she gave that lie her mind was racing for another plausible story.

“Lyon went out for a bit,” he answered. “And Christina is tending to Dakota. Answer me, please.”

Her eyes widened.

“Now what's the matter?”

“You just said please,” she whispered. She sounded awestruck. “If you're not careful, you'll soon be giving me the apologies you owe me.”

He knew better than to ask her why he should apologize, guessing she had her list of his faults memorized. Besides, the smile she just gave him was so dazzling, he could barely hold his concentration.

“They pitched him from the roof.”

Caine was jarred back to their topic when she made that announcement. “You were on a roof?” he asked her, trying to imagine what in God's name she'd been up to.

“Of course not,” she replied. “Why would I be on a roof?”

“Jade . . .”

“Yes?” she asked, looking expectant again.

“You weren't on a roof but you saw “them” throw this man . . .”

“He was a finely dressed gentleman,” she interrupted.

“All right,” he began again. “You weren't on the roof but you saw several men throw this finely dressed gentleman from the roof? Is that it?”

“There were three of them.”

“You're certain?”

She nodded. “I was frightened, Caine, but I could still count.”

“Where were you when this happened?”

“On the ground.”

“I gathered that much,” he muttered. “If you weren't on the roof, I did assume . . .”

“I could have been inside another building, or perhaps riding Nathan's fine horse, or even . . .”

“Jade, stop rambling,” he demanded. “Just tell me where you were and what you saw.”

“What I heard is just as significant, Caine.”

“Are you deliberately trying to make me angry?”

She gave him a disgruntled look. “I was just about to walk into the church when I heard all the commotion. They weren't actually on top of the church. No, they were dragging this poor man across the rectory's roof. It's a bit lower. From my position, I could see the gentleman was trying to get away from them. He was struggling and shouting for help. That's how I knew, Caine. I wasn't just imagining it.”

“And?” he prodded when she suddenly quit her explanation.

“They tossed him over. If I'd been just a foot to the left, well sir, you wouldn't be having to protect me now. I'd be as dead as the poor gentleman is.”

“Where is this church?”

“In Nathan's parish.”

“And where is that?” he asked.

“Three hours north of here,” she answered.

“Am I interrupting?” Christina asked from the doorway.

Jade turned to smile at her.

“Of course not,” Jade answered. “Thank you for the lovely breakfast, and for loaning me your beautiful riding clothes. I shall take good care of them,” she added.

Lyon came up behind his wife and put his arms around her. While Caine and Jade watched, Christina's husband nuzzled the top of his wife's head.

“Miss me?” he asked.

“Of course,” Christina answered. She smiled up at her husband, then turned back to Jade. “I went into your room . . .”

“Nothing happened,” Jade rushed out. “It's all his fault, really. But nothing happened, Christina. I tried to use my knife on him. That's all. He took exception, of course,” she added as she waved her hand in Caine's direction. “He was so bloody furious, he dragged me into his room. Oh Lord, I'm making a muddle out of this, aren't I?”

She turned to Caine. “Will you say something, please? My new friend is going to think I'm ...”

She quit her explanation when she noticed Caine's astonished expression. He wasn't going to be any help at all, she realized. He was back to thinking she was daft.

She could feel herself burning with embarrassment.

“I went into your room to fetch your knife,” Christina explained. “You actually tried to cut him with that dull blade?”

Jade wanted to find a place to hide. “No,” she answered with a sigh.

“But you just said . . .”

“At first, I did try to cut him,” she explained. “He woke me up trying to put my nightgown back on . . .”

“You did?” Lyon asked Caine. His grin was downright shameful.

“Lyon, stay out of this,” Caine ordered.

“Well, as soon as I realized who it was, I quit trying to stab him. He gave me a startle. I thought he was a thief.”

Lyon looked like he was dying to say something more. Caine glared him into keeping silent.

“Did you find out anything?” Caine called out.

Lyon nodded. He started into the room. “Christina? Take Jade into the drawing room, would you?”

“She'll have to go in there on her own,” Christina answered. “I promised to sharpen her knife for her. Jade? I couldn't find it under your pillow. That's what I've been trying to explain.”

“He took it,” Jade answered with a wave in Caine's direction. “I believe I saw him put it on the mantle, though I'm not absolutely certain. Would you like me to help you look for it?”

“No, I'll find it. You go and keep Dakota company. He's playing on his blanket inside. I'll join you in just a few minutes.”

Jade hurriedly followed Christina out of the room. She paused at the drawing room doors when she heard Lyon's booming laughter. She smiled then, guessing Caine had just told his friend what an imbecile he thought she was.

She was feeling quite smug now. It took a certain concentration to be able to ramble on and on so convincingly, and she thought she'd pulled it off quite nicely. She had no idea she was so talented. Still, she was honest enough to admit to herself that there had been a moment when she hadn't really been pretending. Jade straightened her shoulders. Pretense or not, rambling was definitely a plus when dealing with Caine.

She went inside the room then and closed the door behind her. She spotted the quilted blanket in front of the settee right away. Christina's son, however, was quite another matter. She couldn't find him anywhere.

She was about to shout an alarm when she noticed a tiny foot protruding from the back of the settee. She hurried over and knelt down, briefly thought about pulling him out by his one foot, and then decided she'd better find the rest of him first. With her backside in the air, she leaned down until the side of her face rested on the carpet.

The most magnificent blue eyes she'd ever seen were just inches away from her now. Dakota. Jade thought she might have startled him by her sudden appearance. His eyes did widen. He didn't cry, though. No, he stared at her a long, drooling moment, and then gave her a wide, toothless grin.

She thought he was the most amazing infant. Once he'd finished smiling at her, he went back to his main interest. He seemed determined to gum his way through the ornately carved wooden leg of the settee.

“Oh, that can't be at all good for you, little boy,” Jade announced.

He didn't spare her a glance as he continued to chew on the wood. “Stop that now, Dakota,” she commanded. “Your mama will be unhappy if she sees you eating the furniture. Come out here, please.”

It was obvious that she had no experience handling children. It was also a fact that she didn't realize she had an audience watching her either.

Both Caine and Lyon leaned against opposite door frames observing the pair. They were both trying not to laugh.

“You aren't going to cooperate, are you, Dakota?” Jade asked.

The baby gurgled happily in answer to that remark.

“She's innovative, I'll give her that,” Lyon whispered to Caine when Jade lifted the edge of the settee and moved it to the side.

She then sat down on the floor next to the little one. He immediately wiggled his way toward her. She wasn't at all certain how to lift a baby. She'd heard that their little necks weren't strong enough to hold their heads up until they were at least a year or so. Dakota, however, had lifted his chest off the carpet and seemed to be strong enough on his own.

He made the most delightful sounds. He was such a happy little boy. She couldn't resist touching him. She gingerly patted the top of his head, then eased her hands under his arms and slowly dragged him up onto her lap.

She wanted to cuddle him against her bosom.

He wanted something else. Dakota grabbed hold of a clump of her hair, pulled on it, hard, while he tried to find his supper.

It didn't take her any time at all to realize what he was trying to do.

“No, no, Dakota,” she whispered when he arched up against her and started to fret. “Your mama's going to have to feed you. Shall we go and find her, love?”

Jade slowly gained her feet, keeping the baby close against her. His grip on her hair stung, but she didn't mind.

The baby smelled so wonderful. He was beautiful, too. He had his mother's blue eyes, but his dark curls came from his father. Jade stroked the baby's back and softly crooned to him. She was in awe of him.

She turned and noticed the men then. Jade could feel herself blush. “You have a fine son,” she told Lyon in a stammer.

Caine stayed by the door while Lyon went to claim Dakota. He had to pry his son's hands away from Jade's hair. She stared at Caine, wondering over the odd expression on his face now. There was tenderness there, but something else as well. She didn't have any idea what he was thinking.

“He's the first baby I've ever held,” she told Lyon after he'd lifted his son into his arms.

“I'd say that you are a natural,” Lyon replied. “Wouldn't you agree, Dakota?” he asked. He held the baby up until they were eye level. Dakota immediately grinned.

Christina breezed into the room, drawing Jade's attention. She hurried over and handed her friend the sharpened knife. The dagger was inside a soft leather carrier. “It's sharp enough now,” she told Jade. “I made the pouch so you wouldn't accidentally prick yourself.”

“Thank you,” Jade replied.

“You aren't going to need a knife,” Caine announced. He moved away from his lazy repose and walked over to Jade's side. “Let me keep it for you, sweet. You'll hurt yourself.”

“I will not give it to you,” she announced. “It was a gift from my uncle and I promised him I'd always have it with me.”

He gave in when she backed away from him. “We have to get going,” he told her then. “Lyon, you'll . . .”

“I will,” Lyon returned. “Just as soon as I've . . .”

“Right,” Caine interrupted.

“They seem to be speaking in a different language, don't they?” Christina said to Jade.

“They don't want me to worry,” Jade explained.

“Then you understood what they were saying?”

“Of course. Lyon is suppose to start his investigation. Caine's obviously given him a few suggestions. As soon as he's found out anything of consequence, he'll get in touch with Caine.”

Lyon and Caine were staring intently at her. “You deducted all that from . . .”

She interrupted Caine with a nod. Then she turned to Lyon. “You're going to try to find out if there's anyone gone missing of late, aren't you?”

“Yes,” Lyon admitted.

“You'll need a description, won't you? Of course, the poor man's nose was a bit scrunched from the fall. Still, I could tell he was quite old, almost forty, I would guess. He had gray hair, bushy eyebrows, and cold brown eyes. He didn't look at all peaceful in death, either. He'd gone to fat, too, around the middle. That's yet another reason to suppose he was a member of the
ton.
”

“Why is that?” Caine asked.

“Because he had more than enough to eat for one,” she countered. “There weren't any callouses on his hands, either. No, he certainly wasn't a working man. I can tell you that much.”

“Come and sit down,” Lyon suggested. “We'd like to have descriptions of the other men as well.”

“I fear there isn't much to tell,” she said. “I barely saw them. I don't know if they were tall or short, fat or thin . . .” She stopped to sigh. “There were three of them and that's all I had time to notice.”

She looked distressed. Caine thought she was still frightened of the ordeal she'd gone through. She had seen a man fall to his death, after all, and she was such a gentle woman, she couldn't be used to such horrors.

Jade was upset, yes, and when Caine put his arm around her shoulders, she felt all the more guilty. For the first time in her life, she actually disliked lying. She kept trying to tell herself that her motives were pure. The reminder didn't help at all, though. She was deceiving three very nice people.

“We have to leave,” she blurted out. “The longer we stay, the more danger we put this family in, Caine. Yes, we must leave now.”

She didn't give anyone time to argue with her but rushed over to the entrance.

“Caine? Do you have a home in the country somewhere?” she asked, knowing full well that he did.

“Yes.”

“I think we should go there. You can keep me safe away from London.”

“We aren't going to Harwythe, Jade.”

“Harwythe?”

“The name of my country estate,” he answered. “I'm taking you to my parents' home. Their property borders mine. You might not be concerned about your reputation, but I am. I'll come and see you every day to make certain you're doing all right. I'll place guards around . . . now why are you shaking your head at me?”