“No,” Navan contradicted his father. “She should sleep in her own bed at Dutton Hall. I will stay with her until Alexander arrives. She should be with someone she trusts, and the lady trusts me.” He thought such was a miracle though he knew it was true.
“I will send a rider to Marksman Abbey with a message for Alexander and my daughter,” Duncan said. “I will explain that I have left the lady’s disposition with you. Meanwhile, I will see if we can discover where Mr. Stark is hiding.”
“Also try to discern how Mr. Stark is still in possession of Honfleur’s coach. How did Liverpool’s men permit such to be true? The woman inside the coach also shot at Lady Annalise. I suspect it was the housekeeper, Mrs. Sable. She and Honfleur had some sort of relationship. Remember, I saw him kiss her once outside his front door.”
Rheem instructed, “Permit Mrs. Dove-Lyon time to see the young lady is properly dressed. I will call upon her at Dun…”
“At Dutton Hall,” Navan corrected. “I will stay with her there.”
The surgeon’s eyebrow rose in curiosity, but he made no comment other than to say, “Tell whoever is to take charge of her ladyship not to permit Lady Annalise to dress in anything other than a nightgown and robe until I double check the stitches and the injury tomorrow.”
Within minutes, Duncan had departed, as had Rheem. Navan let himself into the room where Mrs. Dove-Lyon rearranged the furniture. Lady Annalise was laid out on an ornately carved table. In Navan’s opinion, she was very beautiful in repose.
“Where is the lady’s brother?” Mrs. Dove-Lyon asked as she reset the order of the chairs.
“In Derbyshire with Lady Marksman,” Navan responded as he lifted several pieces back into place.
“Very much as I assumed,” the lady responded. “Mr. Rheem attempted to explain how Lord Marksman left his sister behind, but none of it made much sense. It was just words. Unless one has been left alone to find his or her own way in the world, a person does not understand that excuses are meaningless.” She stopped her housekeeping to say, “Where would I be today if I had not inherited Lyon’s Gate Manor? Out on my proverbial arse. When Colonel Sandstrom Lyonspassed, ironically there was no money left, only a debt-ridden family living on their ancestors’ reputation. No one cares that those debts landed solidly on my shoulders. It is the Lyon’s Den or the poor house.”
“I was not aware of all the details,” Navan said in sympathy.
“Few are,” the woman admitted. “My point is that, from what I have learned of Lady Annalise, she has been left behind to fend for herself. Lord Marksman has left her in a city of which she is unfamiliar. She supposedly recognized the Lyon’s Den from a tale told to her by Lady Orson. The pale-blue paint was all she knew, but she risked everything to be away from the danger in which she found herself. I assuredly know sympathy.”
“As do I,” Navan said as he studied the lady’s form. “When Lord Duncan brought me to Derbyshire to live upon his English estate, I was so frightened that sometimes I thought of running away. I never want that for Lady Annalise.”
Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s regard turned towards him behind her veil. “You hold feelings for the lady?”
Navan sighed heavily. “She deserves someone better than me, but I have told Marksman that when I return to England for the next season of Parliament, I intend to court the lady.”
“Why must you wait until your return?” Mrs. Dove-Lyon asked.
“In my absence from England, I must tend to my maternal grandparents’ estate. It will take all my efforts to right the estate again. Long days. Stubborn Irishmen. A new bride deserves better,” he argued.
“Better than a man who loves and adores her?” Mrs. Dove-Lyon countered.
“I would not use the wordlove.”
“Men never do,” the lady said with a slight chuckle. “May I ask, my lord, how you will feel if those who attacked the lady today return while you are in the wilds of Ireland and cannot protect her? Most assuredly, her brother’s interests are elsewhere. Do you not believethose in Ireland will not be charmed by the lady? From what Mr. Rheem said, Lady Annalise is not as polished as an English lady might be. I can say with some confidence, my Irish staff would take one look at her and consider her one of them.”
Navan smiled easily. “I considered something similar in regards to the lady.”
“She would be in your bed sooner, rather than later,” the woman said with what he interpreted as a large smile in her voice, for her veil hid her expression. “You do desire her, do you not, my lord?”
“I shan’t answer that question.”
Mrs. Dove-Lyon barked a laugh. “Take the lady home. See she is healed. Propose and… well you know what comes next.”
“Permit me to arrange for a coach,” he said without responding to the woman’s taunt.
“I will have Titan call around a hack. I must return to the floor. When you leave, take her out through the musicians’ entrance. Fewer will see you in that manner. Likewise, at her brother’s house, enter through the mews,” she instructed.
“What do I owe you, ma’am?” he asked.
“Whatever you think the lady is worth.”
“I could put no such number on Lady Annalise’s head. Some things have no monetary value. They are simply intrinsic to a man’s existence, but I will send my man around tomorrow afternoon with a token of my appreciation.”
An hour later,he led Annalise carefully down the back staircase in order to exit the rear door of the establishment. “Just a few more steps, my girl, and then I will carry you. The carriage isnot so far removed.”
