you did to me the other night.” She pulled her hand away and kissed his rough cheek. “I also know that we are a world apart.” Sorrow tightened in her chest and spilled out into her last words.
He smiled and stood.
She also rose from the bench and straightened the top of her dress.
“Time may have created some distance between us, Bella, but we will come together. I will have my answers and so shall you. I am not the same boy who left you to fight four years ago, yet you are so self-absorbed you might not have noticed the change.”
She opened her mouth to deny his claim, but then closed it again. She really couldn’t argue with what he said. She’d asked him nothing about his experience in France. Never once had it occurred to her that he might have changed as well. She would give the matter some thought. She inclined her head. “Will you call tomorrow then?”
With a nod, he took her hand and kissed the palm. His tongue slipped out and traced a circle there. Belinda gasped and tugged her hand away.
“Good-night, Bella.”
She turned without another word and went to the house.
Chapter 4
Thoughts of Belinda’s firm rounded bottom nestled on his lap haunted his night and kept sleep at bay. The way she had touched his cock had kept him hard long after he’d returned to his own townhome and tucked himself in to bed. Two glasses of brandy had eventually pushed him into a fitful slumber, which had not lasted very long.
It seemed only polite to wait until late in the morning to call on his fiancée, since he knew she had been up until nearly dawn. At shortly before noon, the butler admitted him to the parlor of the Clayton townhouse.
“Lady Belinda has not yet come down this morning, my lord.”
The butler was quite young for the post. It was uncommon for a butler in an earl’s home to be less than a curmudgeon. The man was probably in his late twenties. His shoulders were broad and the livery strained across his chest and back. He looked more the part of a street thug or a bodyguard than a butler. “It is Faust, correct?” Gabriel asked.
The young man’s eyes widened. Perhaps he was surprised an earl would bother to remember his name. “Yes, my lord.”
“Were you still about last evening when Lady Belinda arrived home?”
Faust’s wide eyes narrowed and he pulled his shoulders back. At his full height, he towered over Gabriel.
The butler knew what Bella was up to at night.
After a pause, Faust responded as any seasoned servant might have done. “I always wait for my lady to arrive home before retiring.”
“A very well thought out answer.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
Whatever Faust’s purpose beyond managing the other servants might be, and he suspected he had other duties. Gabriel liked the butler. “You’re not going to tell me anything, are you, Faust?”
The butler’s face changed once again to the staid mask of his profession. “It would not be my place to offer information outside the family, my lord. I hope you will forgive me.”
“Of course. Will you have the maid alert Lady Belinda of my arrival?” He couldn’t fault the butler for loyalty. He wanted to know what his beloved was up to until the pre-dawn hours, but he admired the servant for his devotion.
“She has already been informed, my lord.”
“Thank you.”
Faust slipped from the parlor.
Gabriel studied the books that lined the shelves. Most were of little interest, tomes common in almost every fine home in London. An ancient volume with faded gold lettering, stuck out from the rest. Perhaps it had been put away hastily. Guide to the Underworld.
He touched the rough binding. “What in the world?”
The door creaked. He smiled and turned.
Unfortunately, his grin was wasted. Belinda was not in the room, and her mother wavered on her feet. The countess was already in her cups even at that early hour. It was quite sad that a woman of her rank, beauty, and advantages had needed to turn to the bottle.
“Lord Gabriel, how wonderful to see you again. It is rather early for a call.”
Gabriel bowed. “It is nearly luncheon, my lady.”
She giggled girlishly. “Is it? How silly of me.” She waved her hand in dismissal of the notion. The motion of her own fingers grabbed her attention and she stared at them while continuing to wave her hand in front of her face. Her eyes became distant and empty.
More than just drink, opium perhaps.
Gabriel stepped forward and offered the lady his arm. It wouldn’t do for her ladyship to collapse and injure herself in the parlor. “Lady Clayton, it is good to see you again.”
She turned and smiled as if seeing him for the first time. “I’m so glad you’re here, my lord. I want to speak to you about Belinda. She seems to have fallen into some kind of trouble. I think she is in need of help. You must help her.”
His heart pounded. Was it even possible, in her current state, Belinda’s mother knew what was happening with her daughter? He didn’t think so, but any lead into Belinda’s nocturnal actions might help. He led her to a chair and handed her into it. “Why do you say such a thing, ma’am?”
“I know you will think I am mad, but I know what I know.” Lady Clayton’s face was pale and her eyes too large. Belinda was the image of her mother, but time and bad habits had taken their toll on the older woman.
“What do you know?” He kept his voice even and calm.
“It was not my fault. Her father should have been here.” A tear spilled and she clutched the edge of the chair.
“Yes, of course.” He had no idea what she was rambling about, but agreeing that it was his lordship’s fault seemed the best response.
“When she disappeared I thought I’d go mad. I called the runners, but they could not find her.” Her words were stringing together rapidly. A flood of tears ran down her cheeks while her breath came in short gasps.
Gabriel touched her shoulder. “Who disappeared?”
“Belinda.”
His first instinct was to rush out and find his fiancée, but he already knew from the butler that she was still above. Even knowing that fact, his heart raced and a sheen of sweat formed on his brow.
He kept his voice soft trying to sooth her. “When was this, my lady?”
Confusion flushed her face.
“It was a long time ago,” Belinda said from the doorway. She glided into the room in a light blue day dress and sat down next to her mother. “I came home and all was well, Mother.
