Taming the Wild Captain Read online

  "I have only been on leave a day or so. I intended to call upon you tomorrow morning, as it happens."

  "Where are you staying? I think you do not have a house in London?"

  "At a lodging-house. It is perfectly sufficient."

  "Absolutely not! You must come and stay here at Amberley House. We have plenty of room. Cathy and I will be delighted to have you. My aunt is visiting too, and you know she is fond of you. It will lift her spirits enormously to have you around the house."

  Alice thought she detected a faint frown of resignation cross Kirby's features at the mention of the Dowager Duchess. Ever since the death of her son – the death which had brought Harry Marsden the Dukedom – the Duchess had been a fractious and difficult woman. All the same, Alice happened to like her enormously. They shared a taste for gossip and pretty dresses, and the Duchess's advice had been instrumental in Alice's success at a number of balls.

  "How can I refuse?" said Kirby, concealing his irritation with a smile. The Duke clapped him on the shoulder.

  "I'll send my man to collect your things in the morning. For now, let's do as we did in my bachelor days and have a good chin-wag in the library. I've just tonight opened an excellent bottle of port. Miss Sharp?"

  "Yes, Your Grace." She would have liked very much to be included in the gentlemen's late night conversation – it was certain to be much more interesting than the shallow chatter preferred by the ladies of the ton – but Alice was wise enough to know when to push her luck, and this was not the moment. "I'll go to my sister and confess my escapades to her at once. I would not like to keep her in the dark."

  As she went up the stairs, Alice should have been full of trepidation for the thought of another scolding from her sister. Anxiety was far from her mind, however.

  She felt... She did not know how she felt. A little frustrated at the abrupt end to her schemes, true, but she could not help but think that she had made an overall gain that evening.

  Captain Kirby had lied for her! Not only that, but they would be living under the same roof in Amberley House!

  It was a good thing he was not in uniform that evening, else her head would have been quite turned by all the excitement.

  CHAPTER THREE

  The following morning, Alice was disappointed to find the same old faces around the breakfast table. James had been dispatched to the Westbourne estate in Larksley following his misadventure in Hyde Park, so it was only the Dowager Duchess, the Duke, and Catherine who sat down at ten o'clock to indulge themselves with coffee and generous helpings of jam on their toast.

  "Where is Captain Kirby?" she asked, so directly that it caused the Dowager Duchess to choke upon her mouthful. "I thought you invited him to stay, Your Grace."

  "Alice, behave yourself," murmured Catherine. Marriage had made her tranquil as a still lake in summer, but in light of the previous night's events, her care for her sister's manners had reawakened.

  "Kirby won't rise till gone noon," said the Duke, yawning. "And to be perfectly honest I envy him. Such is the bachelor's prerogative." He smiled at his wife to show that he was speaking in jest.

  "Breakfast at Amberley House has always been at ten o'clock sharp," said the Dowager Duchess querulously. "We have never kept the loose hours which are so favoured in Society these days."

  Catherine patted her hand. "Quite right too, Aunt."

  "I myself have been up since nine," said Alice primly. "And I have completed three letters already."

  "It is very proper for a young lady to be an assiduous correspondent," smiled the Dowager Duchess. "I hope there were one or two young admirers among them, Miss Sharp?"

  "Please, Aunt, do not encourage her," groaned the Duke. "It is clear enough, after what transpired yesterday, that Miss Sharp requires stricter guidance in her activities."

  Alice bowed her head, the image of repentance. The only response the Dowager Duchess made was a small glimmer of alarm as she caught Alice's eye.

  Alice had hoped to tell the Duchess in person that their plan had come to nothing. It must have been a very hard blow for her to suffer publicly, where her response must be hidden for propriety's sake. The Duchess covered her disappointment admirably.

  Alice's other goal for that morning had been to speak to Kirby and discover his motive for lying to the Duke about her whereabouts the previous evening. If she played it right, she might even gain an ally in the quest she had undertaken for the Duchess. But Kirby, it seemed, would not make an appearance until Alice's duties to her sister took her out of the house.

  That morning they had an appointment with the dressmaker – as a new Duchess, Catherine was still growing accustomed to her extensive budget, and was assembling a wardrobe befitting her status. She relied heavily upon Alice's opinion, never having been interested in fashion herself. Following that, the afternoon would see them making calls upon several eminent ladies of the ton. This was as much for Alice's benefit as Catherine's – or so she was constantly reminded. Good connections were essential in ensuring a young Miss's success in her first Season. Too often, Alice felt as much a bauble strung up for sale as any of the ribbons on display at the dressmaker's shop.

  Oh, she benefited from her new relation in ways too numerous to count – it would be churlish to deny it. But now that Catherine had made such an incandescent match as the Duke, it fell to Alice to hold up her end of the family and aim to top her. A near-impossible task, and one not at all to her taste.

  Society gentlemen were too often bland, boring creatures in the company of ladies. They would pay a pretty young girl a compliment and, if she did not immediately fall at their feet, they would move swiftly on to the next. Alice had no dowry to speak of to hold anyone's attention for long. She was forced to rely on her wits, her relatives, and however much natural charm she was fortunate enough to possess.

  Once breakfast was concluded, Alice was tying her bonnet in preparation for the morning's outing when she was called back by the Dowager Duchess.

  "One moment, Miss Sharp! Do come and speak to me before you go. I have a thousand little errands that I do not feel at all up to performing. Perhaps you will be good enough to attend to one or two of them for me?"

  Alice rolled her eyes at Catherine, who tutted, and ran into the drawing room where she found the Duchess alone.

  "Close the door, my dear," said the Duchess. Alice made sure there was no-one standing in the corridor to overhear them. She pushed the door shut.

  "Your Grace, I am so sorry," she whispered, coming across the room to take hold of the Duchess's wrinkled hands. "It did not go at all to plan."

  "Child, I do not know whether it is right to be unhappy that you did not succeed at so dangerous a task. I regretted asking you to help me the moment you left." The Duchess shook her head from side to side in distress. "Foolish woman that I am!"

  "Don't say such things," Alice told her fondly. "None of this is your fault. Come, sit with me a moment and I shall tell you what happened. I believe that all may yet come good."

  She relayed the story of how Kirby had accosted her just as she was entering Mallory's, and how he had not told the Duke of her attempt to get inside the gaming hell.

  "So you see, all is not lost. My brother-in-law has no idea where I was going. And better still..." She hesitated. "What is your opinion of Captain Kirby?"

  "Oh! A charming man! Always so assiduous! And what a lively life he leads. He always has a story or two to tell." A shadow of worry crossed the Duchess's face. "But it strikes me, Miss Sharp, that in light of my recent...misfortune, it would be better by far if I refrained from enjoying the company of dashing young gentlemen. I can no longer pretend to be a good judge of character."

  "You are too harsh on yourself," said Alice. "What happened to you might as easily have happened to anyone, no matter how quick-witted."

  She was not speaking entirely truthfully. In fact, she thought the Duchess had been abominably foolish. But the old lady's anguish was already plain to see. It would do n
o good to add to it.

  The Dowager Duchess of Westbourne would never again make the fatal error of entertaining a young, handsome gentleman who called upon her without any family connection. She had been burned by that particular fire, and was forced to accept that the days of gentleman calling for the pleasure of her company were long past. What a cruel awakening it had been!

  "He was so charming," the Duchess murmured, as though speaking the words any louder would reveal the extent of her mistake to all the household. "So kind to me. I would never have imagined –"

  "Such men as those often are very charming," said Alice, with all the conviction of a girl of eighteen who had never suffered misfortune.

  "When I think of my dear Westbourne's family heirloom in that man's hands! Oh! It makes me shudder! My nerves, my dear – they cannot stand it!"

  "They will not have to withstand it for long," Alice assured her. "Listen to the scheme I have concocted. Now, I know that you did not wish to speak of the theft to anyone else –"

  "It is the shame of it, my dear! The awful shame, to think that I behaved so inappropriately – and that I was so horribly taken in!"

  "We will not speak of that. You must no longer think of it. The fact is, the necklace was stolen. You are lucky in that you have a very good idea of who the thief must be. Now, I cannot force you to go to the Bow Street Runners –"

  "And have my shame spread all through Society like a rash! Oh, never!"

  "But I think I have found an ally for you nonetheless. Someone much more suitable than I. What we need is a gentleman."

  The Duchess froze with her hands caught mid-flutter beside her face. "A gentleman? Absolutely not! My dear, I have sworn you to secrecy."

  "But we already know that the gentleman I have in mind is able to keep a secret. And that he is known to frequent Mallory's gaming hell."

  "You cannot mean Captain Kirby!"

  "Indeed I do, and I think him a very good sort of person to confide in. I am sure he has made many mistakes of his own, and will not hold yours against you."

  The Duchess resumed her hand-flapping, rolling her eyes about as if about to faint. Alice pressed on patiently.

  "Besides, we cannot go on as we have been. It took all my wits and all your connections for us to match the description of your gentleman caller to Lord Farham's acquaintance, Mr Mallory. We cannot hope for a stroke of luck from a talkative Baron again. We must take the investigation into our own hands, and as women, that is too difficult. Captain Kirby's help will open up many avenues of investigation which are currently barred to us."

  "Oh, my dear... My dear Miss Sharp... I do not know that I have the nerve –"

  "Alice!" came Catherine's voice from outside the door. "Alice, please hurry along! We are late."

  "Leave it all to me," said Alice, rising. "There is nothing for you to concern yourself with at all. Coming, Cathy!"

  The Duchess gripped her hand as she made to leave. "Wait – are you calling at Lady Radley's today?"

  "Yes, I believe we are expected."

  "You will more than likely find Mrs Davidson there. Engage her in conversation. Her brother, you know, is Colonel Moore, and he will surely dance with you at Almack's if you befriend his sister."

  "Thank you," said Alice sincerely. The Duchess was in many ways a very silly woman, but her knowledge of the inner workings of the ton was second to none.

  She had been a great beauty in her day, and the touch of her vanity was evident in the care she took over the cut of her dresses and the beautiful scarlet silk of her favoured scarves. It took no great leap of the imagination to suppose that the ill-intentioned young gentleman who had enticed her into a friendship had found an easy avenue of approach through flattery and charm.

  Alice found she could not bring herself to blame the Duchess for her folly. She herself could not imagine the boredom of a life without handsome gentlemen, without dancing, without the thousand small intrigues of youth. It was only the Duchess's misfortune that she had sought excitement in the friendship of a man entirely without morals. A man who had stolen one of the lady's most precious mementos of her late husband.

  Still, Alice meant to see all put right. No sooner had the Duchess confided in her than she had vowed to return the stolen necklace to its rightful owner. It was an heirloom of the Westbourne line, and as such had been a theft as much from Alice's own family as from the Duchess. She would get it back – she knew not how, but she felt in her soul she would find a way – and all the gaming hells and fearsome gentlemen in London would not stop her.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The day turned out a tolerable success. The dresses Cathy had ordered needed only a few alterations to be absolutely to Alice's taste, and overall the ladies were very pleased with their purchases. The afternoon bore fruit in the form of an introduction and budding friendship with Mrs Davidson, she who possessed the decorated Colonel of a brother, and despite the banality which too often saturated polite conversation, Alice confessed to enjoying their visits to London's finest houses. It was all part of the delicate play-acting that Society expected during the Season, and Alice was learning her part in it and playing it well.

  A young debutante such as herself could not help but attract attention from the older, married ladies of Catherine's acquaintance. That attention came in the form of speculation over which of the young gentlemen she preferred and whether she had yet received any proposals. Catherine's crowd were not yet old enough to be seeking matches for their own children, and so Alice had become a sort of favoured pet among the married ladies; just pretty enough and just poor enough to be considered an amusement rather than a threat.

  It was all rounded off by the pleasure of Captain Kirby at the family dinner table. He always made an interesting dinner guest. Even when he did not engage in conversation, something about his manner suggested any number of outrageous stories which edged too far into scandal to be repeated. A thrill of excitement ran through her every time their eyes met across the table.

  Alice was aware that her imagination had somewhat run away with her when it came to Kirby, but she saw no reason to reign herself in. If she wanted to consider him a desperate, romantic figure, then she would entertain herself with the fantasy without fear of consequence.

  Her mind was kept in the present, however, by the necessity of finding a way to catch the Captain privately and intimate to him the nature of the Duchess's grievance. The fact that the idea of a private conversation made her heart thump with anticipation was beside the point.

  After dinner was finished and the family were gathered in the drawing room, the Duke began setting up a game of whist at his aunt's request. Catherine, knowing that Alice was not fond of cards, asked her for a little music.

  Alice had some skill at the pianoforte of which she was disproportionately proud. In a life which had required very little hard work or effort, she had worked very hard at her music. It was one of her chief accomplishments, and she delighted in performing.

  "I will play from my new book," she said, running her fingers lovingly over the cover of the new collection of sonatas her brother-in-law had gifted her a few days earlier. Seizing the opportunity, she glanced invitingly at Captain Kirby. "It will go much better if I can prevail on someone to turn the pages for me."

  Kirby cast one regretful glance at the card table. "Certainly," he grunted. Alice concealed a smile of triumph. Poor Kirby, caught between his love of gambling and his desire to act the gentleman! No matter. He would soon find the experience made worthwhile by the discovery of a delectable scandal.

  She began to play a little louder than the piece strictly called for. Kirby stood at her side and turned the pages each time she nodded her head. The quiet conversation between her sister, the Duke, and the Dowager Duchess was entirely overwhelmed by the sound of her playing.

  Alice took care to angle her head so that her pretty profile was displayed at its best from Kirby's point of view. This was how she was accustomed to playing while gentl
emen assisted her: with enticing smiles and coquettishly lowered eyes. Her fingers flew over the keys with accomplished ease. She felt secure that Kirby could not fail to notice how very well she looked sitting at the pianoforte. Indeed, every one of Catherine's friends had remarked upon her good posture and delightful manner at the piano. They were all certain that no gentleman could observe her playing and remain unmoved.

  Kirby remained a stubbornly silent enigma. He appeared to read music well, and listened to her interpretation of the notes with an attention that left no opportunity for chatter. It was left to Alice to take the lead.

  "I owe you a debt of gratitude, Captain," she began, deliberately timing it to coincide with a particularly difficult part of the piece, that he might better appreciate her skill. "I am very much obliged to you for keeping the true nature of my...little excursion yesterday from my brother-in-law."

  "Far be it from me to heap troubles on the head of a lady," he answered. Was she imagining it, or had he become quite the cold fish since their encounter outside Mallory's? If she had not already had ample opportunity to observe the flirtatious warmth which was his habit, she might have thought him quite reserved.

  "I must admit that I was glad to hear you accept the Duke's invitation to stay here at Amberley House."

  Kirby looked at her as though he sensed some hidden danger approaching. "I am pleased to hear it," he said finally. How very careful he was with her! Careful in a way he had never been before her sister had married his best friend.

  "I was glad," she pressed on, "because I find myself in need of your assistance on a private matter. You will understand that I only speak of this to you because the circumstance is very dire, and I will rely upon you not to share it with anyone but myself and – and the other person involved." She nodded, and after a moment's hesitation he turned the page. "Do I have your word?"

  "Any assistance I can render you I will give without question. But I cannot swear to keep a secret from those responsible for your care."