Rescue Me Please (10 page)

***

Granville
’s
peccadillos ran to women and men.  He wasn’t particular.  He
took pleasure from
whoever
was at the ready when he was.

Which was rather often.

He took out his ir
rational frustrations on them.

Then he took their souls
and paid them for their time.

It was a good life.

And more important, he was above the law.  He was an earl after all. 
It
wasn’t arrogance, it was fact.

After
she had disappeared he had hidden his indulgences away for
a couple of weeks, but found he needed this feelin
g of power to feel truly alive.

He returned his attention to the unclothed man
whose arms were stretched high
above his head
in thick leather restraints.

A flicker of a smile touched his lips
as he moved closer eyeing the
huge erection
jutting out from the man’s body and
slowly stroked his finger down his cheek, his gaze intent upon his handsome face.
  With a thumb under the man’s chin, Granville tilted his prisoner’s
head up, and the smile faded from his face.  “I said scream.”

Baa
baa
black sheep, have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full!

One for the master, one for the dame,

And one for the lit
tle boy who lives down the lane

D
eclan
Trenowyth
,
the Duke of
Hawksley
, the brother-in-law to Parker Peregrine
,
looked up
from the letter
he was just delivered
from his butler, Archibald,
with the rest of the morning post
.  He
turned to his wife, Poppy, with a raised brow
, amusement glinting in his eyes
.

“He sent no regards for my person
or that of his unborn nephew
?” 
She gave a little huff of irritation which seemed to be commonplace the closer she came to the birth of their first child.  “The
unmitigated
nerve of him.  I cannot believe Parker sent you a note and not me. 
Have I nothing in the morning post
?”
  She
caught the amusement in his eyes and
glared at him.

“You are sure our child is going to be a boy?”

Poppy let out an exaggerated sigh.  “Absolutely.”

“Of course,
my
darling.”  His emerald green eyes twinkled with mischief.  “He asks specifically of your health.”

Poppy tossed her head, laying her hands over her rotund belly
, she knew she was acting spoiled
, but she was so uncomfortable, she did not care
.
  She winced, squirming
unpleasantly
in her chair
, her blonde curls bouncing as she moved into a more comfortable position
.

“He
’s asking for
my assistance
in an urgent matter
.”

“Why?”
  She groaned.

His eyes narrowed for a moment. 
“Do you remember the rumors you asked about last year?”

She nodded, worry furrowed her brow.  “
Of course, I’ve been so worried about Parker
.”

“A girl with a babe was found practically starved to death in the field behind the garden and he needs help finding out more about her.”  He stared down at a drawing that accompanied the message.  “This looks familiar,” he murmured
, rubbing his chin
.

Poppy leaned forward as far as her belly would allow
in an attempt to see what he was studying.  “What is it a sketch of?” 
Her waning energy improved by the mention of the girl and her baby.

He held it up for her to view.  “A signet he found in the gi
rls belongings.  He sent me a drawing
of it to see if I can uncover
to what family it belongs
.”

“Does he mention the girls’ name?”

“Persephone Smith and the baby’s name i
s…” 
He gl
anced back down at the letter. 
“
Matillda
.”

Hawksley
didn’t like the look
that appeared in wife’s
eyes.  “Poppy,” he drawle
d, his attention narrowing on her
.

“What?”
She attempted to tame the conspiratorial gleam in her eye
s
.

“I can see the cog
wheels
working in your brain,” he said
, firming his jaw
.

“It’s not as if I c
an do a
thing, darling.”  Her shoulders slumped.  “You’ve made me a prisoner in my own house.”
  She crossed her arms in defiance over her burgeoning belly.

“It
i
s for your own good.”  His tone held a note of exasperation.  “Just last week you were caught in a thunderstorm for nearly an hour before I found you.”
  He would be damned before he would allow that to occur again.

“It was just a little rain, darling.”  She reached over to pat his hand.  “The babe and I were perfectly fine.”

Declan’s eyes held a glazed look for a moment before he responded with a husky voice, “I would not be able
to make it if I lost you or our
babe, Poppy.”

“You have nothing to worry about.”  Her eyes held an inordinate amount of sympathy.  She knew he thought of his brother’s death of a fever after being out in a similar storm.

“I swear, Poppy,” he growled.  “I will tie you to the bed if you do not obey me.”

She slanted a heavy-lidded look his way.  “We’ve not done that before
, Your Grace
.”

“Minx.”  He shook his head, casting a roguish glance her way before standing.  He reached for her hand and tugged her from her chair where he proceeded to drag h
er towards the stairs and lifted
her in his arms.

“You’ll hurt yo
ur back, Declan.”  Poppy giggled
.  “I’m the size of a hog about to be sent to slaughter.”

“Perfect.”  He licked his lips.  “Because I’m going to eat you up.”  He began nibbling on her neck as he trudged up the stairs with h
er snuggled against his chest.

***

Granville’s
smile was tight, hard, as he looked from Cooper to Johnson.  His jaw flexed as he thought of all of his hard work gone with one girl.  An exclusive club for he and a few other gentlemen who needed a place to relieve their aggressions.  No rules.  No prying eyes.   No judgment.  Private.

“I’m sure you’ll catch up to her eventually.”  He kept his expression calm
as he stood and walked around his desk to stand in front of Johnson
,
a flicker of a smile touched his lips and faded
.

“Of c-c-course, my lord,” Johnson stammered
,
heat rolling up into hi
s face until he felt as if he were
standing in front of a raging inferno.

Granville could feel the saliva pooling in his mouth at the palpable fear emanating
from Johnson.  When this is all over perhaps he would sample his fear?

Bye baby bunting

Daddy’s gone a hunting

Gone to get a rabbit skin

To wrap his baby bunting in

T
he next day
,
Parker sat in his study wi
th his secretary
, C
ecil
F
othergil
, making arrangements to search out where Miss Persephone Smith came from and taking a moment to
collect himself sufficiently.

“My lord?”

Parker looked up into
Fothergil’s
questioning gaze realizing he had been woolgathering and swallowed some brandy.  He never had issues
with concentrating in the past, but he was daydreaming about a bedraggled girl
.  How had he gotten lost in her large, sad green eyes?  Mesmerized by her fiery red hair?  He sighed heavily.
 
He was older, more world-weary, yet there was
something in her eyes that made
him pause.

Fothergil
tilted his head towards
Parker. 
“Is there anything else?”
  He had seen Lord Ashford dedicated to a task before, that was nothing new, but he had never seen him distracted by the same-said task.

“I
know nothing else at this time,”
Parker’s
reply succinct and not at all like
himself; his body radiating
an unusual tension
.

Fothergil
glanced down at his notes and looked up again
.  “My lord, how will I be able to search for a girl with nothing but these mere scraps of information and…this?”  He held up the ring.

“Th
is seal
is
a familiar one
.”  Parker
scowled.  “But I cannot seem to place it.” 
He
s
crubbed a hand over his jaw glancing
at the ring held between
Fothergil’s
thin fingers which he had found among Miss Smiths belonging while she slept.  “Go to London and
research the seals.  The ring is
quite clear and the sapphire is exquisite.
”

Fothergil
glanced back down at the ring.

“
Someone will know to whom it belongs.
  A man’s signet is significant
Fothergil
, you are fully aware of its importance.
” 
He looked at his secretary
,
lifted his eyebrow and waited. 
“She was guarding it with her life,” he murmured.  Then he took back the ring and replaced
it with an excellent drawing.

Fothergil
picked up the paper
and studied the drawing
. 
“Of course, my lord.”

“It is obviously of great import,” Parker said as he leaned back and crossed his arms.  “Why else would
n’t
a starving girl have sold it for food and shelter?”  He was silent for a moment.  “It is important,” he spoke softly.  “It is the key.”  He looked up.
  Christ, bu
t this was a complicated mess.

Fothergil
stood and bowed.  “I will send a report as soon as I have any
thing of
significan
ce
.”

After
Fothergil’s
departure,
Parker sat in deep thought when from the study door came a hesitant scratching. 
Blast.
 
“Come in!”

Dobbins opened the door.  “Forgive my intrusion, my lord, but a note has arrived from His Grace, the Duke of
Hawksley
and I felt you might want to learn its contents immediately.” 
Dobbins’
eyes twinkled a
s he handed over the letter.

Parker raised an eyebrow at Dobbins, but released an audible sigh.  “Thank you, Dobbins.  I’m quite sure it is of momentous
import
.”

“Of course, my lord, will that be all?”

Parker’s mouth lifted in a shadow of smile.  “If there is information of great significance, you will be the first to know.”

“Of course, my lord.”

Parker broke the seal and couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face.  “Gabriel Ashford
Trenowyth
, the Earl of
Foxworth
.”  He read aloud with a laugh.

A son.

An heir.

Immense joy.

Par
ker pushed away from his desk and stood
.
  There was much to celebrate.

***

“A ragged young girl and a baby were spotted in
Bracknell
at the
Thorny Rose
no more than a fortnight ago, my lord.”