‘You have not asked me how matters went in Switzerland, my dear,’ Anthony said. He attempted to take Violet’s hand but she snatched it from his grasp. He looked surprised, but didn’t press the issue. ‘I am pleased to tell you that the negotiations with the purchasers were satisfactorily concluded after a great deal of hard bargaining on my part.’ He grasped his labels and rocked back on his heels as though he had achieved something remarkable. ‘Most satisfactorily. We will go home today and you can sign the papers, then we can turn our attention to more pleasant matters, like our upcoming nuptials.’

  He appeared to think that she would congratulate him and comply without question. The Violet he was accustomed to handling likely would have done so, but that person no longer existed, thanks in no small measure to her brief yet highly instructive friendship with Flora.

  ‘What are the terms of the deal?’ Violet asked.

  ‘The terms?’ Ellen looked astounded. ‘That is none of your concern. Anthony has handled the negotiations and you don’t need to concern yourself with the particulars.’

  ‘I disagree. I would like to know what it is that I will be signing.’

  ‘You have never concerned yourself with business matters before, and rightly so,’ Anthony said. ‘It is men’s work.’

  ‘I was not of age before so no one would have listened to me. Now I am and I will not sign anything until I know what it is that I am signing. I have not lost sight of the fact that Papa didn’t want to sell. I know that you and he argued about the matter and I will not go against his wishes just because he is no longer here.’ Violet eyed each of them with steely determination. ‘Especially because he is not.’

  Anthony sent her a patronising smile that showed evidence of strain. It was clear that he was holding on to his temper by the sheer force of will. She hadn’t seen him lose it very often in the past, and never with her, but she could see now that his character was volatile. ‘You don’t know what you are saying, my dear.’

  ‘On the contrary, my mind has never been clearer.’ How dare he patronise her! ‘Papa did not want to sell and I feel that I would be disgracing his memory if I went against his wishes without first understanding all the facts.’

  Ellen clucked her tongue against her teeth. ‘But that’s just the point. How can you possibly understand such a complex business? Leave it to Anthony to know what is best for us all. He can be depended upon to be loyal and keep his word.’

  Ellen spoke with such bitterness that Violet briefly wondered why she felt so much resentment. And why Violet exerting her independence had met with such vicious opposition from that quarter.

  ‘We will speak about this when we reach home,’ Anthony said, smiling at Violet. ‘If we go now, we will arrive in daylight.’

  Violet folded her arms, thinking it was madness to have let herself be drawn into this discussion out here in the open. Lord Swindon had warned her not to be separated from his party, or to allow Anthony to get her alone without anyone to protect her.

  She would be better advised to invite Anthony back to Beranger Court and thrash matters out with him there. But something inside of her had snapped. Every time she looked at him, images of her father clinging to that ledge for dear life and Anthony calmly pushing him from it flooded her mind. She’d had more than enough of being browbeaten and would make a stand here. Now. Today. In this muddy field. They were surrounded by a swirling crowd and Anthony wouldn’t be foolish enough to attack her in the midst of it, would he?

  A darkness had invaded his expression that was at odds with his brittle smile, and she was no longer sure about anything. The man she had agreed to marry was a stranger to her, but she refused to show her fear.

  ‘I am not going anywhere, and I would prefer to speak about it now.’

  ‘Violet, I really must insist…’ Anthony took her forearm in a firm hold, causing her to wince with pain as his fingers dug into her flesh.

  ‘Let go of me!’

  She spoke loudly enough to draw the attention of people close to her, all of whom scowled at Anthony, who immediately released her.

  ‘My dear, you fail to comprehend, and I didn’t wish to labour the point for fear of oversetting you, that your father’s death has devalued his life’s work. Without a Baxter at the helm of Baxter’s timepieces, the company’s reputation will flounder, unless we have rich investors ready to bolster the name. Our buyers are offering a generous price and require me to remain on the board as an expert consultant.’ He preened at the implied compliment. ‘That way, I can ensure that your father’s standards are maintained and we will be wealthy beyond imagination. It is our future I am considering.’

  Violet sent him a vitriolic look. ‘Is that why your murdered my father?’ she asked.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The announcement that the balloon was about to make its first ascent resulted in a swarm of excited people rushing in that direction, keen to be the first to experience the questionable delights of floating above the earth in a flimsy basket kept aloft by little more than hot air and a wish and a prayer. If the weather had been kinder, Flora conceded that she herself would have been tempted to take her life in her hands. But with dark clouds threatening yet more rain and more pressing matters to attend to, she definitely wouldn’t be queueing for her turn.

  She turned to dare Archie to share the experience with her at a later time but discovered that they had become separated. Presumably it had happened when she stood back to avoid being trampled by the crowd as they forged a path in the opposite direction to Flora and Archie. She stood on her toes, fighting against the tide of bodies, hoping to catch a glimpse of his tall form, hoping too that the surge hadn’t knocked him from his feet.

  Her upper arm was caught in a firm grasp, preventing her from being toppled over by an umbrella-wielding overweight man. She smiled with relief, thinking it typical of Archie to put her safety ahead of his own. A swirl of wind past her ear warned her that she had not been saved by Archie and to be on her guard.

  ‘You!’ she said accusingly, glaring at Yardley. ‘Let go of me. I have absolutely nothing to say to you.’

  ‘No need to thank me for preventing you from being trampled underfoot.’

  Her impolite reply was drowned out by a whoosh of hydrogen as the pilot fired up the balloon and the crowd cried out in alarmed fascination, watching as it lifted from the ground. The first of the passengers waved from within the basket with varying degrees of bravado. One or two already looked as though they regretted their impulsive decision to take to the skies.

  ‘Deucedly difficult things to control once they leave terra firma,’ Yardley remarked. ‘I do hope you aren’t tempted to try. If God had meant us to fly, He would have given us wings.’

  ‘What I do is no business of yours,’ Flora said crossly, snatching her arm from his grasp. She glanced around, still unable to see any sign of Archie, more concerned about his welfare than her own situation. Yardley might be annoyingly persistent, but there was nothing he could do to harm her—especially if he was attempting to win her respect. He was destined to fail in that endeavour since there was absolutely nothing to admire or respect in the behaviour of such a dissolute rake.

  ‘We need to talk,’ he said, treating her to a disarming smile that lit up his handsome features and was probably supposed to ensure her immediate capitulation. No doubt it worked with the majority of females, but it left Flora totally unmoved.

  ‘We have nothing to talk about.’ She gave an impatient sigh. ‘Just leave me alone. My friends will wonder where I am and will coming to look for me.’

  ‘We have got off on the wrong foot,’ he said, looking a little bemused by her continued resistance. ‘You don’t understand my character and have gained a completely false impression. Please give me the chance to rectify that situation.’

  Flora was about to reiterate her refusal but Remus manifested over Yardley’s shoulder, shaking his translucent head. She reached out to him with her mind.

  Is Archie all right?

  He’s perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Deal with this delicious scoundrel once and for all while you have the chance.

  Flora shook her head. Only Remus could make other-worldly gooey-eyed faces at Yardley under such circumstances. She wondered how Yardley would react if she told him that the sight of him had made a Roman demigod’s heart flutter. Flora was both amused and exasperated by her spirit guide’s inability to take any situation seriously. But then again, she assumed that if she was in any real danger, he would remember his duties and warn her.

  Probably.

  She thought of Violet and worried about her ability to outwit Walker. She thought too of Archie, and despite Remus’s reassurances she worried about his wellbeing. She reminded herself that Luke had gone to find Violet and Pawson was already watching over her. Archie might be lame, but with the aid of his stick, he was perfectly capable of remaining on his feet. Remus was right, loath as she was to make the admission. His expression had turned smug, so she knew he had been stalking her thoughts. She made a face at him, causing Yardley to look at her in confusion, probably thinking she was a few farthings short of a shilling. Even so, he didn’t excuse himself and walk away.

  All things considered, she supposed it would be better to hear Yardley out and then politely and emphatically decline his proposal, if he intended to make one. Even someone as thick-skinned as Yardley would then have to withdraw and lick his wounds. Flora knew he was acting at his uncle’s behest, and that left to his own devices he wouldn’t have spared her a second glance. She wasn’t nearly sophisticated enough to satisfy his exotic tastes.

  Her father and the bishop had joined forces, she knew, but what was less clear to her was why. Her father was a bully who insisted upon having his way in all things and a disobedient daughter forging her own path would not sit comfortably with him. But even he couldn’t coerce the bishop into doing his will, could he? She shuddered when the possibility refused to be dislodged from her brain, and realised that she would not feel secure from her father’s machinations until she found some answers.

  ‘Very well,’ she said ungraciously. ‘Tell me whatever it is that you have to say and be done with it.’

  Yardley bestowed an engaging smile upon her that was surprisingly lacking in his usual smug superiority, and took a gentle hold on her elbow. He led her to a quieter patch of ground at the side of the children’s amusement area.

  ‘Why are you so determined to fight against my interest in you?’ he asked, looking genuinely bewildered.

  ‘Why are you so determined to pursue it when I have made it clear to you on several occasions that it is unwelcome?’ She shook her head. ‘I simply do not understand it. There is nothing out of the ordinary about me. Our characters are very different and I cannot see us ever agreeing about anything.’

  ‘You do yourself a disservice,’ he replied softly. ‘You are compelling, and I suspect that since leaving your father’s controlling influence you are starting to realise it. Your determination to live by your own standards demonstrates a huge strength of will. I am not in religious orders myself but am closely associated with the life and know how hard it must have been for you to break free from your father’s clutches. I admire that and so much more about you.’

  ‘That is no reason to pursue me.’ Flora paused, her words temporarily drowned out by a shriek of delight from the children riding the merry-go-round. ‘Besides,’ she continued when she was reasonably sure of being heard, ‘if you came here with that intention, encouraged for some reason by the bishop, it was an error of judgement to bring your mistress along with you.’

  Yardley looked momentarily taken aback. ‘Ah, I see that you know—’

  ‘It’s a small village. Did you really imagine that anyone would be deceived by your pretence at being related?’

  ‘Magda is an irrelevance. We are friends, and when she mentioned her intention to come here and I realised we were bound for the same place, I offered her a ride in my carriage.’ Flora snorted, aware that she herself had accepted a similar offer from Archie, but for very different reasons. ‘Friends who both had good reasons for coming to this parochial gathering.’

  ‘I am sorry you find so little to interest you here. I myself am charmed by it. A further demonstration of the differences between us.’

  He chuckled. ‘You have not yet seen enough of the world for such gatherings to lose their appeal.’

  Flora lifted her chin. ‘If you mean to make an impression upon me by being patronising, then you are unlikely to succeed. Not that you will succeed, no matter what approach you adopt,’ she added as an afterthought.

  ‘Foolish child,’ he muttered.

  ‘Tell me why the bishop is so keen to see us united.’

  He flexed a brow. ‘You imagine I act on my uncle’s orders?’

  She stared defiantly up at him. ‘Well, don’t you?’

  ‘Flora, I am ready to settle down and put my wild ways behind me, and you are more than capable of keeping me on the straight and narrow.’

  She laughed aloud. ‘Not a chance. Besides, if that was intended as a proposal, it lacks both passion and the ability to convince. Thank you, Mr Yardley, but we would not suit. You can tell your uncle that you did the very best, but failed. Now please have the goodness to leave me alone from this point on.’

  Before she realised what his intentions were or noticed the frantic waving of Remus’s translucent hands, Yardley snaked out an arm and snagged it around her waist. She toppled towards him with a startled exclamation and was forced to place her hands on his chest to prevent herself from falling.

  ‘If you require convincing, I find actions speak louder than words,’ he said in a seductive drawl, his facing looming over hers, his eyes dark and predatory. She smelt brandy on his breath and his cloying cologne made her sneeze.

  ‘Let go of me!’ She struggled but in vain. His arms tightened around her and her only recourse was to avert her face at the last minute to avoid his kiss. There was too much noise for anyone to realise she was in distress if she cried out. Her resistance only seemed to encourage him and he laughed at her pathetic attempts to free herself from his hold.

  ‘The more you struggle, the more likely people are to see us embracing. Then you will be compromised and you will have no choice.’

  ‘Ha! You make the mistake of assuming I care about such things.’

  ‘You may not,’ he said, sighing. ‘But think of the effect it will have on your family. Now stop being difficult and give me a little kiss.’

  Flora felt the air being squeezed from her lungs as his arms closed tighter and was at a loss to know what to do. Her strength ebbed from her body and Remus, gesticulating wildly, was no help whatsoever. Perhaps it would be better to pretend to give in to him, even though his close proximity disgusted her. If she wilted it would make him less vigilant, and then she would be able to escape when he relaxed his guard. Not that it really mattered if he did succeed in kissing her, or if they were seen and their behaviour disapproved of. Nothing on this earth would compel her to marry the man.

  Even so, the thought of his lips touching hers made her feel physically sick. Before she could decide what best to do, Yardley surprised her by letting out a startled oath. She heard the sound of something solid hitting against bone and he released her seconds before he collapsed to the ground, yelping and cursing fit to turn the air blue. A strong hand on her shoulder prevented Flora from falling on top of him. She looked up at her rescuer with a grateful smile. Archie winked at her as he pressed the tip of the cane he’d used to whack the back of Yardley’s knees none too gently into his chest.

  ‘The lady said no,’ he told the writhing young man, who no longer looked quite so suave and self-assured.

  ‘Go to hell, Felsham!’ Yardley seethed.

  ‘I very likely shall, but not by your hand, you spineless excuse for a man.’

  ‘Oh, Archie, thank God!’ Flora felt tears of gratitude welling, aware how much effort it must have cost him to strike Yardley. That he had troubled to come and find her, when walking on uneven ground caused him considerable pain even when not fighting against surges of people who were not looking where they were going touched her vulnerable heart. ‘We got separated. I couldn’t find you and then Yardley grabbed me and I couldn’t get away and…Is Violet all right?’

  ‘Shush now.’ His reassuring tone calmed her. Then he smiled that devastatingly wicked smile of his that caused his dark eyes to soften, smoulder and glow, and the intimacy of the gesture took her breath away. ‘Always putting the welfare of others ahead of your own,’ he said, taking her hand and leading her away from the cowering and still cursing Yardley, who seemed to be having trouble getting back to his feet. Flora hoped that his injuries were not of a trivial nature. Men of his ilk, who assumed they had some God-given right to take whatever liberties they pleased, were an abomination. ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘No lasting harm has been done, but I’m furious with myself for being caught by him.’ She resisted the urge to kick at Yardley’s torso. ‘And still no wiser as to why he wants me so desperately.’

  ‘Oh, Flora.’ Archie shook his head and gently touched his fingers to her cheek. ‘What am I to do with you?’

  ‘Thank you for rescuing me,’ she said primly.

  ‘You are entirely welcome.’ He chuckled. ‘It felt good.’

  ‘I can imagine.’

  And she could. Archie would probably have preferred to punch Yardley’s face but clouting him with his stick hard enough to almost shatter his knees from behind was probably almost as satisfying, and went some way to restoring his masculine pride.

  ‘Get out of here,’ he said in a mordant tone to Yardley when he eventually staggered to his feet, wincing with pain. There wasn’t an ounce of sympathy in Archie’s expression and even Flora felt a little afraid of him when he was in such an uncompromising mood. ‘Keep away from Miss Latimer or it will be the worse for you. She has made it clear that she has no interest in your advances and if you call yourself a gentleman, you would be advised to respect her wishes.’

 

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