Page 104 of Silver Angel

Bloody hell. What did that tell him? Just that he had deluded himself too long. He was marrying the wrong woman, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it except hope that Caroline would call it off herself. He couldn’t. He had tied her up for nearly a year with this engagement. And at twenty-five, she was considered quite on the shelf. He couldn’t hurt her like that, even for the sake of his own future happiness.

Four days later Aunt Ellen arrived, thanks to the efforts of a dozen servants sent out to locate her. Chantelle was so happy to see her she cried for twenty minutes without getting a single word out. Ellen was only half as emotional. She managed to tell her news first, that their cousin Charles was dead, challenged to a duel after having been discovered cheating at cards. The bad news was that his son, Aaron, now had guardianship of Chantelle.

“And if you felt the need to hide from Charles, you can be sure it is much more imperative that you stay out of Aaron’s hands. He wouldn’t marry you off, my dear. He would keep you an old maid and permanently under his protection, if you know what I mean.”

Chantelle did, and that left her in the same predicament, exchanging one rotten apple for another. But she wouldn’t think of that now. Derek had promised to help her, and she would wait and see what he had to say after he finished his investigation into the American Burke’s affairs.

Right now Chantelle had her own story to relate, and she did so with a lot of missing pieces that she couldn’t bring herself to confess to her aunt. Unfortunately, her abridged story left Derek smelling like a rose. Ellen saw him as nothing less than a glowing hero, and after she met him, she couldn’t sing his praises loud enough. It made Chantelle positively sick.

She met Derek’s good friend Marshall Fielding that evening, but when Caroline showed up for dinner, too, Chantelle managed to drag Ellen away shortly afterward with the excuse that they hadn’t caught up yet on everything that had happened over the summer. Ellen knew Chantelle well enough to discern immediately what was wrong, and when they got upstairs and Chantelle pleaded tiredness suddenly, that confirmed it. But she also knew Chantelle wouldn’t talk about it until she was ready. She wouldn’t press her.

Downstairs, Marshall rudely requested a private word with Derek, leaving Caroline abandoned to the Marquis’s company in the drawing room. That he and Marshall hadn’t had a chance to talk since his return wasn’t the only reason Derek agreed. He was uncomfortable in Caroline’s presence now. It was absurd, but nonetheless true.

Derek filled two snifters with brandy before taking the chair opposite Marshall in the small library. “Did Miss Woods get back to her people all right?”

“Yes, and is giving out some ridiculous story about having escaped from the corsairs and finding succor from some Christians until you rescued her.”

Derek chuckled. “If that’s what she says…”

Marshall made a face. “She’s not a very pleasant young woman, is she? Too prim and starched for my tastes.”

“You should have met her before she found out she was going home. A more charming and agreeable girl you couldn’t ask for.”

“And your guest? What’s her background?”

“The same as Miss Woods’.” Derek grinned. “After all, I found them together.”

“Beautiful girl,” Marshall remarked. “Stunning, really.”

“Yes,” Derek agreed tightly. He thought so, but damned if he liked Marshall’s noticing.

“And you traveled all that way with her?”

“You could say she was as unpleasant as Miss Woods once she realized she was free.”

“Really? Strange reaction, that. But you’ve done your part, more than was asked of you. I’ll take her off your hands, if you like.”

Derek sat forward, his humor gone. “Chantelle Burke is not your concern, Marshall, so stay out of it.”

“Touchy, aren’t you?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“I beg to differ. Caroline can’t be too happy that you’ve brought another woman home with you.”

“Caroline understands perfectly, and what the hell has this got to do with you?”

Marshall backed down. He hadn’t expected to get into an argument with Derek over it. He thought he would be relieving a ticklish situation by offering to help. What the devilwasDerek so touchy about?

And then it occurred to him. “Is there something going on between you and this girl?” But at the storm gathering in Derek’s expression, he again backed down. “Forget it. I just don’t want to see Caroline hurt, is all.”

“She won’t be,” Derek replied curtly.

“Good, good, delighted to hear it.” A change of subject was definitely in order. “Now, about your activities in Barikah—”

“Didn’t you read my report?”

“Come on, Derek, you call those two sketchy pages you sent round to me a report?”