As he realized what conclusion she must have drawn Gavin his in horror and self218

DARING DIECEPTION.

loathing. How could he have been so stupid? And now she was gone, hiding somewhere in the vastness of London, without a farthing, so far as he knew.

She had not even received her regular wages as yet.

He opened the other drawers, but found nothing else. Finally he gave it up and went down to the dining-room, where his own dinner awaited him. He had no appet.i.te, but picked at the excellent meal before him, unwilling to go into the library, where so many memories of Cherry lurked. Instead, he had his customary port brought to him at the table.

Swirling the wine in his gla.s.s, he stared into the ruby depths and reviewed what he had accomplished that day. Surely he could have done more, perhaps question the other servants in the homes in which Cherry had claimed previous employment.

At that thought, he sat up straighter. Of course! What a dolt he had been!

Here he sat, one of the military's best agents for ferreting out information, sending formally worded notes about Town through his footman. If ever his skills and experience in intelligence could prove useful, surely it was now!

Instantly translating thought into motion, he rose from the table and called for his coat and gloves. Major Alexander was ready for action again.

UPON LF_~VINO Sea brooke House, Frederica had at once attempted to hail a hackney. Depositing her awkward trunk beside her on the curb, she had looked up and down Upper Brook Street without seeing one. Some short distance away, a group of young men were laughing and singing together, their arms linked.

Frederica had never before been on the streets of London so late at night, and she wondered nervously if her decision to leave, which had seemed so inarguable when she made it, had in fact been wise. The rowdy group was heading slowly in her direction, hampered by occasional stumbles and lurches.

Just as she was considering the advisability of swallowing her pride and returning to the house, she saw a hackney coming up the street from the opposite direction. Praying that it might be empty, she waved her hand.

Mercifully, the hackney stopped, and the driver was obliging enough to help her with the trunk.

"Where to, miss?" he asked cheerily, once it was safely stowed.

Frederica gave him the direction of the house where Thomas had taken lodgings, and they moved on just as the band of young bucks reached the spot where she had been standing.

Sir Thomas was just returning from Sea brooke's a.s.sembly as the hackney drew up in front of his lodgings.

"Thomas!" cried Frederica out of the window, causing him to stop and stare.

"Freddie? What the devil" -- "I'll explain in a moment. Do help me with this trunk, there's a dear," she said briskly, her spirits reviving now that she no longer had to fear being locked out, which disturbing thought had occurred to her during the short drive.

A few minutes later, the jarvey had been paid and Frederiea and her trunk were safely ensconced in Thomas's rooms on the third floor. "Now, suppose you tell me what necessitated your coming here in the dead of night rather than waiting till tomorrow, when I shall have the keys to the house on Audley Square. I shall't have to call Sea brooke out, shall I?" Thomas's tone was teasing, but Frederica could see the wariness in his eyes.

"Of course not!" she exclaimed quickly, horrified at the idea of Thomas and Lord Sea brooke fighting. Now that it came to it, she found that she had no desire to tell her brother the truth-especially after his last remark!

"It was just that during the ... the a.s.sembly tonight, I realized how odd my position was and decided to leave before any more damage was done. Suppose any of the people I met there should recognize me when I enter Society?"

To her relief, Thomas seemed to consider that explanation plausible enough.

"Well, I suppose you can stay here the night. I was going to go out again--stop into a new club down on Jermyn Street--but I suppose that can wait. You take the bedroom and I shall camp out here on the sofa."

Frederica gave him a quick hug.

"Thank you, Thomas. And this way, I shall be here to take care of moving into the house you have let. I am most eager to see it!" she lied, determinedly keeping her tone cheerful.

"Tomorrow I'll send a note round to Milly, and she can join us at Audley Square. She has promised to play chaperone for a few weeks."

"I shall leave all that in your hands, Freddie. You will know what to do better than I." He gave her a crooked but genuine smile and went to find an extra blanket for the sofa.

The next morning, Frederica rose somewhat later than she was accustomed to doing, and discovered her brother still soundly asleep. Rather than wake him, she went back to her room to prepare. herself for the day ahead.

A small mirror hung on the wall above the washstand, and she glanced into it, automatically straightening the brown wig, which, out of habit and fatigue, she had worn to bed. Then she stopped.

Miss Cherrystone no longer existed, she suddenly real'tzed. From this moment on, she must again be Miss Frederica Chesterton of Maple Hill. She pulled off the wig and regarded it wistfully for a moment before carefully placing it in her trunk, along with the gla.s.ses. She was going to miss

"Cherry." She had a sudden vision of Lord Sea brooke's face, and Christabel's, and her eyes misted over. Fiercely, she shook her head. That phase of her life was done with!

To distract herself, Frederica scrubbed her face nearly raw, removing all traces of her false freckles, and brushed out her copper curls. Her own things, along with her abigail and a few other servants from Maple Hill, would arrive at Audley Square later that day. Until theat, she would have to wear one of the plain gowns from the trunk.

While she dressed, Frederica began the thinking and planning she had been too tired--and too uuscttled--to do the night before. Now, in the sober light of day, she could consider things a bit more dispa.s.sionately.

The recollection of Lord Sea brooke's caresses still had the power to make her giddy, she discovered.

Firmly, she pushed away the memory and attempted to concentrate instead on possible motives for his actions. The one she wished with all her heart to believe was that he cared for her. That he considered her a friend, she had not doubted--until last night. But was it more than that?

Recalling the liberties that he had taken, that she had allowed him to take, she decided it seemed far more likely that he wished her to be his mistress.

Did gentlemen love their mistresses?

She did not think they did, as a rule, though she was woefully ignorant about the subject. But neither did they necessarily love their wives. It occurred to her that she would far rather be loved as a mistress than merely tolerated as a wife. Her cheeks growing pink at the scandalous thought, she tried again to think rationally.

Had his actions been indicative of love? She had fallen head over ears for the earl in the brief time she'd known him, but she couldn't quite believe that he had done likewise for the plain Miss Cherrystone. Perhaps the kiss had merely been an expression of grat.i.tude, an attempt to convince her that he really wished her to accept the bonus he'd given he rand which she'd tried to refuse. It might well have been her own shameless response that allowed it to become so much more. That seemed a depressingly reasonable explanation.

And what now? Now that she knew what it was to love, could she endure being married to a man who had her heart in his keeping while his own was free?

Could she hide her feelings for him, pretending only friendship, while he pursued his own pleasures elsewhere? No, she could not!

Her dress fastened, Frederica turned to regard herself critically in the mirror. The scrubbing had left a rosy glow in her cheeks, and she realized with a start, seeing her undisguised face as though for the first time, that she was really quite pretty. Perhaps the btamfaced, bespectacled Miss Cherrystone had not been able to win the earl's heart, but as Miss Chesterton, properly gowned and coiffed, in fashionable surroundings, she might have a chance.

Certainly it was worth a By the time Thomas stirred, it was past eleven.

Frederica had tidied the entire apartment and packed his belongings in preparation for the move to Audley Square.

She was more than ready to be on her way, and to set her plans into motion.

The majority of the day was spent settling in to their temporary home. All Frederiea's manage merit skills were brought to bear as she hired servants, wrote letters and dealt with the details

I.

22~ attendant on moving into the house for the remainder of the Little Season.

Miss Milliken came at once upon receiving Frederica's message and was installed in the room next to hers. As they worked side by side for the rest of the day, setting the house in order, the former governess sent many a questioning look Frederica's way. Their conversation was limited, however, to the number of housemaids they would require or the rearrangement of the furniture.

Not until they finally found themselves alone for a belated cup of tea in the late afternoon did they give voice to the topic occupying both their thoughts.

"Well, my dear, does all this mean that you finally managed to tell Lord Sea brooke the truth?" Miss Milliken asked, after waiting a few moments in vain for Frederica to broach the subject.

"Not... not precisely, Milly," Frederica admitted, refusing to meet her companion's eye.

"But I felt it was high time I left Sea brooke House."

Miss Milliken knowingly regarded the girl before her.