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“Leave him there for now and send someone for Mr. Royal. He should still be at his offices at this time of day. But don’t send one of the other footmen,” she added. “I want you all to remain here. In fact, have one go up to guard the nursery. I also want someone watching the servants’ entrance and the back of the house.”
She was probably being overcautious, but if her nemesis had come all the way to Glasgow, God only knew what he would do—especially if her mother had finally told him about Tira.
Neither Henderson nor the footman blinked at her odd instructions.
“Aye, my lady, I’ll take care of it,” said William before dashing out.
“I’m going up to the drawing room,” Ainsley said. “Please bring his lordship to me in five minutes.”
“You don’t wish to wait for Mr. Royal?” Henderson asked, clearly worried.
Indeed, she was tempted to wait. But before Royal arrived, she needed to know exactly what Cringlewood intended to hold over her head. “As long as you and William are nearby, I’ll come to no harm.”
The butler didn’t look happy, but he nodded and held the door for her.
Surprised at how calm she felt after her initial panic, Ainsley made her way to the formal drawing room. But after catching a glance of herself in the pier glass over the fireplace, she grimaced.
Not so calm, after all.
She pinched some color into her dead-white cheeks and blinked several times to clear her anxious gaze. Then she straightened her collar and turned her back to the fireplace, taking comfort in the coal fire that seeped heat into her chilled bones.
When the door opened, Ainsley called on all the arrogance of her upbringing to face the brute who’d shredded the fabric of her life. If she couldn’t stare down the devil for herself, she could and would do it for her daughter.
“Lord Cringlewood, my lady,” Henderson announced in a blighting tone.
The marquess threw the butler an amused glance as he strolled into the room. “You seem to have a servant problem, my dear. I was forced to wait in that dreary room for an appalling amount of time, and your butler’s manner leaves much to be desired.”
Henderson ignored him. “Shall I leave the door open, my lady?”
Ainsley forced a smile. “That won’t be necessary, Henderson.”
“William and I will be just outside if you need us, madam.”
“Thank you.”
Though the thought of being alone with Cringlewood was deeply disturbing, she had no wish to expose her situation in front of the servants. Still, she couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief when Henderson left the door fractionally ajar.
The person she truly needed was her husband, although she felt sick at the thought of how Royal would react to what was about to unfold.
Can’t be helped, old girl.
The Marquess of Cringlewood was a handsome man, although not as brawny as Royal or the other Kendrick men. Lean and fit, he was both an accomplished horseman and fencer. His wheat-colored hair was arranged in the latest style, and his classically aristocratic features and sky-blue eyes held a trace of arrogant amusement. As always, he was dressed in the height of fashion, as spotless as if he’d just left the careful ministrations of his valet.
Then again, he probably had. Her former fiancé never traveled anywhere without a large complement of servants and massive amounts of baggage.
Gracefully, he flipped open his snuffbox and took a leisurely sniff. After he put it away, he lifted a golden brow in an ironic arch.
“Nothing to say, my dear girl? Are we simply going to stare at each other, daggers drawn? Perhaps you could at least offer some refreshments. After all, I’ve come such a long way to throw myself at your lovely little feet.”
He punctuated his nonsense with the smile that had charmed so many young women and their matchmaking mammas. But it had never charmed her, she now realized.
“You won’t be staying long enough to take refreshments,” she coolly replied.
He let out a gentle sigh, his smile turning rueful. Really, it was too bad he’d never taken up amateur theatricals.
“May I at least sit down, so we can converse like civilized people?”
“Civilized people don’t go around assaulting defenseless women, but suit yourself.” She waved a hand at the chaise opposite the fireplace.
