Diamonds and Dreams (9 page)

Quite unable to help himself, Lord Marion
Westbrook Saberfield Tremayne, eleventh Duke of Ravenhurst, threw
back his head and laughed.

A soft breeze mussed Winston Alders’ thick
brown hair. “I wonder where Saber has gotten off to?” he asked,
slowing his horse as they entered the woods.

David Clarkston leaned sideways in his
saddle and peered into the underbrush. “He’s hiding, no doubt. He
knows very well that he’s to clean our tack and polish our boots
after we finish our ride, and he’s trying to escape the chore.”

Kenneth Lynnly pushed a lock of red hair out
of his eyes, and chuckled. “Just as he’s tried avoiding everything
else we’ve commanded him to do. It’s really a good thing he was
born into the aristocracy. He’d starve if forced to be someone’s
servant.”

“He
has
been rather stroppy since our
arrival yesterday, hasn’t he?” Addison agreed with a smile. “And
there’s really no earthly reason for such irritation. I didn’t
think asking him to prepare us for bed last night was anything out
of the ordinary for a slave. Why, you’d have thought I was asking
for the world when I ordered him to fluff my pillow.”

“And what of him shaving us this morning?”
Kenneth reminded his friends. “I must admit I was a bit on the
nervous side when he came at me with that gleam in his eyes and
that razor in his hands.”

“He nicked my chin,” David said. “And you
know, although he denied it, I believe he did it on purpose.”

“He refused to butter my toast this
morning,” Winston added, swatting at a branch with his riding crop.
“I was forced to remind him about a certain trip to Paris before I
could induce him to obey my instructions. And then he smashed a
great blob of butter on my bread, but refused to spread it. I asked
him what I was supposed to do with such an ill-prepared piece of
toast. His answer does not bear repeating.”

Addison grinned. “Yes, I believe it is safe
to say that the Duke of Ravenhurst is being well and truly ruffled.
And his resentment will more than likely rise with each day we are
here. Why, even now, he’s probably sulking in some hiding place
and—”

“What was that noise?” Kenneth asked
abruptly, sitting straighter in the saddle as he listened. “Do you
hear it?”

“It sounds like someone talking,” David
said.

Addison listened intently. “That’s Saber’s
voice.”

“Who do you suppose he’s speaking to out
here in the middle of the woods?” David asked.

“I think a bit of spying is in order,”
Kenneth said, smiling.

Winston nodded. “But let’s go afoot so our
presence won’t be noticed.”

The men dismounted and secured their horses.
Tiptoeing through the woods, they soon came upon a pond and hid
behind the scraggly hedgerow surrounding it.

“There he is,” Addison whispered. “My God,
look how dirty and wet he is!”

“Who’s that girl?” David asked, parting the
branches of the shrubbery so he could see better. “My, but she’s a
dainty bit, isn’t she?”

“Be quiet,” Addison ordered. “Let’s
listen.”

“His shirtsleeve is torn,” Kenneth
commented. “It appears as though he’s been fighting.”

“Shhh!” Addison begged for silence.

“Good heavens, she’s kissing him!” Winston
exclaimed.

“What’s that about bashing people over the
heads with canes?” David asked.

“Quiet!” Addison whispered loudly.

“She wants him to be Duke Marion,” Kenneth
mused quietly. “
Duke Marion.
Good God. Only an American
would use such a term.”

Impatiently, Addison glared at his friends,
waving his hand to quiet them. Turning back to the pond, he
continued to listen. Soon, rich, deep laughter hit his ears, a
sound so foreign, he almost didn’t recognize it for what it was. He
was astonished. It was a moment before he could speak. “Saber,” he
whispered. “Good heavens, our Saber is
laughing
!”

“He is at that,” Kenneth concurred. “And if
I wasn’t hearing it with my own ears, I’d never—”

“I wonder who that girl is?” Addison asked
softly, more to himself than his friends. Whoever she was, he
mused, Saber was enjoying her company. Addison decided then and
there she couldn’t be allowed to get away.

Winston wiped tears of merriment from his
eyes. “Can you believe it?” he whispered. “The little chit wants
Saber to impersonate
himself
!” Kenneth chuckled. “And she
offered to pay him!” David held his belly, silent laughter shaking
him. “Imagine putting the Duke of Ravenhurst—one of England’s
wealthiest men—on
salary
!”

Winston peered through the bushes again. “I
wonder what the little American would do if she learned she’d just
offered duke lessons to the one and only...uh,
Duke Marion
?
Shall we tell her?”

“Wait,” Addison whispered when his friends
prepared to emerge from behind the hedgerow. He stared at Saber and
the girl again, his mind spinning with a newborn scheme. “Boys,
when we show ourselves, let me do all the talking. However strange
it is, agree with everything I say.”

“What are you going to do?” Winston
asked.

Addison only grinned in answer. The men
shrugged and followed him into the clearing. “What have we here?”
Addison cried. Goldie scrambled to her feet, reaching for her
claymore. Addison smiled at her. “You’ve no need to fear me. I only
came to see what happened to...to my cousin. Saber, what are you
doing here with this girl?”

Goldie looked down at Saber, who was pulling
on his boots. “Your name’s
Saber
? What the hell kind of name
is that?”

Swiping sand from his wet breeches, Saber
rose. He frowned at Addison. “My real name is—”

Addison thought fast. “He’s Saber West,” he
blurted, borrowing the “West” from Saber’s second name,
‘Westbrook.’”

“I’m Addison Gage, and Saber is my fourth
and misfortunate cousin. He and I—Uh...Although he and I are of the
same age, I don’t believe it would be erroneous to say I’m
something of a guardian to him. You see, it recently came to my
attention that he was in dire straits. When I met Saber I believed
it my duty to assist him financially and otherwise. As his
blood-cousin I could do no less.”

Saber rolled his eyes. “Addison, that’s
ridic—”

“And these men are Winston Alders, Kenneth
Lynnly, and David Clarkston,” Addison broke in smoothly, pointing
to the three men standing beside him.

Goldie nodded and smiled at each of them.
“Does one of you own this estate? Y’see, we got a rabbit, and even
though Saber says it’s all right, I still want to say I’m sorry. I
don’t want anybody to get mad at me.”

Saber laid his hand on her shoulder,
deciding the charade had gone on long enough. “Goldie, I—”

Winston coughed loudly. “Another friend of
ours owns Leighwood.”

“Winston,” Saber said, a note of warning in
his voice.

“Quite right,” David agreed with Winston.
“But he’s a dreadfully boring man.”

“Positively the dullest man in all of
England,” Addison added, removing his gloves and slapping his palm
with them. “He rarely ventures out of London. With his permission
we are enjoying his estate for as long as it pleases us to
stay.”

Goldie stared at him. His mannerisms were
kind of fancy to her way of thinking. “Are you some sort of dukish
man?” she asked anxiously.

“No,” Addison hurried to say. “I am only a
mister.” He realized he couldn’t tell her he and his friends were
earls. If she knew, she’d have a more correct idea of aristocratic
behavior. And
her
plans for Saber were much more amusing.
“Mr. Addison Gage, at your service.”

Groaning, Saber glanced at the treetops.
“Goldie, allow me to introduce myself properly. I’m—”

“He’s Saber West,” Addison said again,
glaring hard at his old friend. “Saber, have you given any more
thought to that trip to Paris? The last time I spoke to you about
it, you were unwilling to go. Have you changed your mind?”

Remembering that his defiance would send him
to France with the aunties and their friends, Saber returned
Addison’s glare. “No, I have not,” he snapped. He suddenly
understood that Addison was adamant that he not reveal his true
identity. Why, Saber didn’t know. But he had the uneasy feeling
Addison was hatching some obnoxious scheme. And since he had no
idea what that scheme entailed, he couldn’t very well thwart it. He
became silent and wary.

“While the boys and I neared this pond,”
Addison addressed Goldie, “we couldn’t help but overhear you
talking about your problem. You say our Saber resembles Lord
Tremayne?”

“Spittin’ image,” Goldie replied. “At least
I’m almost sure he is. You ever seen the real Duke Marion?”

Addison closed his eyes as if in deep
thought. “You know, I believe I have. It was many years ago. And if
my memory serves me correctly, Saber here does indeed resemble him.
The real duke, though, is much more handsome.”

Saber exhaled angrily. “Addison, I don’t
know what you think you’re doing, but—”

“It doesn’t matter that the real Duke
Marion’s better-lookin’ than you, Saber,” Goldie cooed. “Folks in
Hallensham won’t know that, and it’ll be our secret.” She looked up
at him. Was it possible the real duke was more handsome than Saber
West? She found that hard to believe.

Saber saw the sympathy in her eyes and
watched her gaze touch his every feature. He felt caressed, like
she was really touching him. It was a moment before the feeling
passed. “Goldie,” he said softly, “I don’t recall agreeing to
accept your proposal.”

At the downcast expression on Goldie’s face,
Addison took her hand. “Saber, you are without a doubt the most
coldhearted man walking this earth. How could you let this sweet
girl down? She’s obviously in dire need of your help. Her Uncle Asa
is in a spot of trouble, she’s trying to get him out of it, and you
refuse to cooperate with what could possibly be the answer to her
prayers. Have you no shame? Have you no compassion? Have you some
desire to see Paris?”

“With a group of fascinating women?” Kenneth
added.

“Alone with them,” Winston reminded him.

“At their mercy,” David speculated.

“Well?” Addison asked. “Will you be Lord
Tremayne, or won’t you? It wouldn’t hurt you to learn what Goldie
is proposing to teach you, you know. I realize you’re ignorant of
the social graces because of the lowly, wretched existence you led
before I so graciously offered to assist you, cousin. But now you
have a splendid opportunity to acquire knowledge of them. Do you
not wish to better yourself? Have you no dream of becoming a...a
dukish
man? You may most certainly borrow my cane. After
all, you never know when some commoner might dare to insult
you.”

Saber saw his friends were all on the verge
of hysterical laughter. It pleased them enormously to see him so
thoroughly caught in such an absurd state of affairs. He looked at
the ground and rubbed the back of his neck.

God, how he would relish getting back at
them for this.

The thought made him snap up his head. They
obviously believed that practicing to be Goldie’s duke would
aggravate him to no end. That it would be the worst predicament
they’d ever gotten him into, and that it would be a hilarious thing
to watch.

So why not turn the tables on them? Not only
would he agree to be Goldie’s duke, he would give the impression
that he was having the time of his life doing it! While Addison and
the boys waited for him to become maddened, he would love every
minute of it. At least he would pretend he did.

It would only be for thirteen days anyway,
he reminded himself. And if he acted the part of Goldie’s duke, he
would be spending all his time with her and have none left for
playing servant to Addison and his three cohorts. Then the time at
Leighwood would be over, and he could return to London.

“Saber?” Goldie prompted. “I really need to
know your answer. I don’t have much time, y’see. I’ll swannee,
there’s no tellin’ what sorta trouble Uncle Asa’s gonna get into
while I’m gone, so I gotta get back to Hallensham as soon as I have
my Duke Marion.”

He looked down at her. She was staring up at
him, a mixture of anxiety and hope pouring from her golden eyes. He
felt a pang of guilt. Her plans were ludicrous to him and the boys,
but they were very important to her.

He remembered she’d traveled for days to
find her Duke Marion. Her Uncle Asa was a drunk. Her horse was a
thousand years old. A dwarf and an ugly gray mongrel were her only
companions. By the looks of her dress, she was destitute. She’d
never had a home. Now that she had finally found one in Hallensham,
she was willing to do anything to be able to stay.

“Saber?” she pressed.

“Well...” he began lamely, his guilt
worsening when he saw the desperation in her amber eyes again.

It wouldn’t be right to humor her and then
cast her away when the game was over, he realized. But if he saw
her plans for him all the way to the end, he’d have to go to
Hallensham, which was situated on Ravenhurst—and nothing, no one,
would get him back to that godforsaken place.

Perhaps he could write a letter to the
villagers of Hallensham, he mused. She could take it back with her
as proof that she’d spoken to him. He could even give her some
little trinket with the Tremayne coat of arms engraved upon it. She
could show it to everyone there. And he could give her enough money
to be able to finance a festival in the village. It would be a sign
of his goodwill.

Yes, all that would work nicely, he decided.
She’d achieve her goal, he’d achieve his, and everyone would be
content.

“So what’s your decision to be?” Addison
asked, noticing Saber’s deep contemplation.

Saber took Goldie’s hand and tucked it into
the crook of his arm. “I believe that’s roast rabbit I smell,” he
said to her. “Shall we go see how long it will be before it’s ready
to eat? And I do solemnly swear to sniff each bite before I put it
into my mouth. You can explain more...uh,
dukish stuff
to me
while we dine.” Smiling, he led her in the direction Big had
taken.