The Rakehell Regency(49)

"He'll have no one to protect him now."



Clifford sat down and took another drink."I'm not so sure. His cousins, perhaps? His aunt?"



Dr. Gold looked uneasy. "Let's not let our suspicions run away with us completely."



"I'm telling you, John, I have a very bad feeling about all this. My instincts have always stood me in good stead. Got me out of quite a few scrapes in the Army, I can tell you."



"What do you suggest then, apart from exercising the utmost vigilance where Vanessa is concerned?"



"We have to get some sort of proof as to what Gerald has done. Persuade the servants to report him. Get anyone who might have been working at the house at the time of Vanessa's parents' deaths to come forward with what they know."



John sighed and nervously tried to light his pipe. "All of this takes time."



"I'm prepared to marry her immediately, if that's what you're worried about," Clifford declared.



"I'm worried as much for you as for her, Clifford, and not least because of Gerald. Marriage is such a drastic step."



"But John, you have as much as agreed with me that she's in danger."



"But you're concerned for her social reputation as well, whereas I would say the devil take it, and get her safely out of harm's way as quickly as possible."



Clifford stared at his friend in consternation. "What, you mean drag her off? Elope?"



"It is drastic, I admit, but-"



One part of Clifford was sorely tempted to do exactly as the Doctor suggested. Yet the more practical side of his nature warned him that there were too many arguments against such an impetuous course of action. She was not well enough to travel, and would probably never forgive him for what would seem little better than kidnapping to her when she was still so unsure of him.



"You don't have to go far. Bath--"



Clifford paced for a few more moments, and then sat down heavily. "No, I can't do it. I just can't. Much as it would be a solution to many of our problems, she would never forgive me.



"Besides, Vanessa won't be safe anywhere if Gerald is as monstrous as we believe. He can follow her, even to the Continent, if he so chooses. What is to stop him from doing anything untoward to her whenever he likes the minute our guard is down?"



Both men stared at the crackling fire in silence for a time.



Finally Clifford said, "There might be one way to ensure her safety, at least until we get enough proof to lock him up or blackmail him into never misbehaving again. We assign Gerald a generous allowance, which will continue only so long as she is alive and in good health."



The doctor sighed. "It will work only for so long, before he squanders it all and then gets desperate again."



"Or gets caught committing depredations on someone's estate, or robbing a coach. In which case I will not be the one who pointed the finger at my wife's husband."



"Damn, this is the Devil's own bargain," the doctor muttered.



"I like it no more than you do, John," Clifford rasped, his voice ragged with barely suppressed emotion. He took a steadying breath to relieve the choking sensation in the back of his throat.



"But we have few choices. I will not have Vanessa harmed, or ruined. Even if Gerald is caught red-handed, it cannot reflect badly upon her, since she will safely be my wife, and was living in Dorset when all of the trouble here and in London began."



"Clifford, it is most admirable of you to want to protect her, but what if we are wrong? What if she too is mad?"



His candid blue gaze remained steady. "I'm prepared to take that risk. Mad or not, she will become my wife by the end of the month. Then we shall began to engineer Gerald's downfall."



"Just so long as he doesn't engineer yours first."





CHAPTER EIGHTEEN





After Clifford's discussion with Dr. Gold about what was to be done with the mad Gerald Hawkesworth, he ascended the stairs to check on Vanessa.



His brother Henry rose from the chair he had been keeping vigil in, and motioned him outside.



"I didn't get a chance to speak with you before alone. I just wanted to tell you that I managed to glean some pertinent information from the servants when I went back to Hawkesworth House before."



"Go on, Henry, out with it," Clifford said impatiently.



"Two things. One of the Cavendish servants arrived with a message to Vanessa saying Gerald had started up to London, but got taken ill on the way."



Clifford scowled. "It could just be a feint, a ruse to throw off suspicion."



"Aye, except for the fact that the servants told me that Gerald and Vanessa had guests for tea that afternoon. Peter and Toby Stephens."