Page 35 of More or Less a Countess
He saw at once she had a destination in mind, and he was half afraid to find out where it was. “A drive? Yes, I could be persuaded into a drive. But where shall we go, Miss Somerset? Hyde Park, perhaps?”
“No, no. Not Hyde Park.”
“No? Duck Island, then, at St. James’s Park? We can go and see the pelicans.”
She frowned. “I’d rather not. Pelicans are such unpleasant birds.”
“I thought they were meant to be quite gregarious, but we won’t go if you don’t like it. We could stroll along the Serpentine, if you prefer, or drive in Richmond Park, or—”
“I want to go to Wapping Old Stairs.”
After the cemetery and the headless ghost on Cockpit Steps, Nick was amazed he could be surprised by anything Miss Somerset said, but he nearly fell off Lady Chase’s settee. “You, ah…you want me to take you to Execution Dock?”
She nodded, her face eager. “Yes, where the convicted pirates are hung. Captain Kidd was executed there. Did you know? They had to hang him twice, because the rope broke the first time. I want to take a sketch of the gibbet.”
And just like that, the madness reared its ugly head.
Nick let out a hollow laugh. “Of course you do. It makes perfect sense. Why limit yourself to Tower Hill when there are so many other charming execution sites in London?”
“Why, indeed? You understand perfectly, my lord.” She beamed at him. “One can hardly stroll through London without stumbling over one gibbet or another, but you see how perfect Wapping Old Stairs is to follow the bit about Cockpit Steps. They’re both stairways, and they’re both haunted, so in terms of the progression of the book, it’s—”
She was animated, her words tumbling over each other and her eyes bright with excitement, but now she slapped a hand over her mouth, and her eyes widened with horror.
Nick went still as her words sank in, then relief rushed over him, so profound every one of his taut muscles went instantly loose, as if he’d downed a bottle of whiskey in one long swallow. He sagged back against the settee, a foolish smile curling his lips.
A book. Of course.
He was amazed he hadn’t thought of it at once. His chest swelled with hope as all of Miss Somerset’s oddly shaped pieces fell into place.
She wasn’t mad at all. No, she suffered from an entirely different malady.
Acute intelligence.
Nick didn’t admire bluestockings, but compared to madness, a powerful intellect was a minor affliction. “I must be dim indeed not to have deduced you’re writing a book after rifling through your sketchbook. Tell me about it, won’t you?”
She shook her head, her eyes still wide blue pools above her hand.
“In terms of the progression of the book, it’s what? Please do go on, Miss Somerset.” If he was truly going to court her, he may as well have the whole of it. There should be no secrets between them.
That is, no secrets buthis.
Her eyebrows pinched together as she struggled to keep her secret for a moment longer, but then she gave it up as lost and lowered her hand from her mouth. “Very well. Iamwriting a book.” Her tone was defiant, as if she expected him to either scold her or laugh at her. “Go ahead, my lord, and say whatever you wish to say about it, so we can have it over with.”
“Very well, then. I think the bit about Execution Dock should precede Cockpit Steps, not follow it.”
Whatever Miss Somerset had expected him to say, it wasn’tthat. Her mouth fell open in shock, and when she did manage to speak, her voice was faint. “Why should it precede it?”
“Why do you need the sketch of Execution Dock? Is it for a particular chapter? One about hanged pirates, perhaps?”
“Not just pirates, but criminals in general. It’s for a chapter entitled ‘The Grim Faces of Justice.’”
“I see. But Cockpit Steps must be for another chapter, since the steps are more noteworthy for the ghost than for the crime committed there. Is it for a chapter about hauntings, or some such thing?”
Miss Somerset was staring at him as if she’d never seen him before. “Haunted London, yes.”
“Ah. And which chapter comes first?”
“Justice comes first, and then the ghosts. It makes more sense that way, you see, since for the most part one doesn’t have the ghosts until after the executions.”
