Clandestine by Julia Ross Page B

I.”
    â€œGod, no! She’s an exotic orchid, of course. I already told her that, much to her consternation.”
    Ryder laughed again. “Why, for God’s sake?”
    â€œBecause of that bloody spark that so interested Miracle and Jack. In order to discover what’s really happening, I must uncover the details of Rachel’s genuine past. If I’m to protect Sarah Callaway from the more uncomfortable parts of that, I’d better drive her away as soon as possible.”
    â€œBy complimenting her?”
    â€œShe’s not a natural flirt. A little interest from a man like me only makes her uncomfortable, whatever passions she keeps buried.”
    â€œSo Sarah Callaway need never know the whole truth about her cousin.”
    â€œLet Rachel tell her the truth, if she likes.”
    â€œBecause gentlemen don’t kiss and tell. God, it’s almost day! I don’t question your ability to handle this, Guy, but—”
    â€œI won’t hesitate to call on you, if need be. Meanwhile, there’s no need for Miracle to know all these details, when the truth is anyway nothing but shadows.”
    â€œAnd is yours to confide or not, as you wish.” Ryder rose to his feet and set his cup on the tray. “Though sometimes I think that we try to protect the fair sex far too much. Ladies aren’t really the frail vessels our society would have us believe.”
    Guy folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. In spite of the coffee, fatigue swam in waves through his blood.
    â€œThen Miracle’s changed your view of women quite a bit in the last eleven months.”
    â€œNot only Miracle. Anne may have seemed unworldly, but she’s as strongly rooted as any mountain. She didn’t hesitate to take off for the Himalayas with Jack last summer.”
    His nerves jangled as if exhaustion were jerking them. “And let’s not forget the duchess. So tell your wife what you will, Ryder. I have absolute faith in Miracle’s common sense, her wisdom, and her strength.”
    â€œThank you,” Ryder said. “Though, as it happens, I see no need to distress her with any of this. Not because she couldn’t handle it, but because it would only make her worry unnecessarily about you.”
    â€œMiracle, Anne, and your mother are each exceptional females,” Guy said, “with the fortitude to marry one of you St. Georges. But unfortunately in the last ten years I’ve known quite a few frail vessels, and Rachel Mansard is one of them.”
    â€œThough it’s Jack’s considered opinion that Sarah Callaway has the backbone of a queen.”
    â€œThat remains to be seen,” Guy said. “Though I certainly hope so.”
    â€œSo do I, because—for all your good intentions—it seems highly unlikely that you can pursue the truth about Rachel without Sarah Callaway discovering that her cousin was your mistress.”
    His muscles felt as if he had been swimming for three days without rest. The temptation to let the ocean swallow him was almost overwhelming, but he laughed.
    â€œDevilish, isn’t it?”
    Ryder stalked across the room to jerk the cloth from the parrot’s cage. Eight opened his eyes, then closed them again to huddle down into an avian sulk.
    â€œYou do realize,” Ryder said, “that if there was ever a formula for disaster, this is it.”
    â€œQuite so,” Guy replied. “I’ve been entertaining that delightful conclusion all night.”

    S ARAH opened her eyes. A vision of pink orchids, sensual and lush, danced on the bed canopy. She blinked. Not orchids. Just the patterned fabric, dazzling where light poured into her room.
    The maids must have folded back the shutters without waking her.
    Iron-shod wheels rumbled and clanked somewhere outside, the sound muffled by the walls of Blackdown House. The clock hands formed a neat crook, like the crotch of a tree. Two