The Hidden Heart by Candace Camp Page B

Jessica as if amazed to find that she could talk. “Indeed? Well, perhaps I can pay my respects to her after we eat.”
    “She will be asleep.”
    “Never knew you to be so familial, Vesey,” Richard commented as the footman whisked away the now-cold fish platter.
    “Well, you know…I’m the only relative she’s got now.”
    “Sad,” Richard murmured.
    “Yes,” Vesey went on, unaware of the irony of the duke’s comment. “No one on her father’s side.”
    “Of course, Lady Vesey and I would have been happy to take the girl ourselves. No children of our own, you see.”
    “Not, of course,” Leona put in, “that I am old enough to be her mother. But, still, I would enjoy helping her navigate the shoals of the season, when it comes time.”
    “Oh, but I am sure that is too much trouble for a woman as lovely as yourself, Lady Vesey,” Richard said. “I shall take care of it when the time comes.”
    Leona’s full lips curved up in a seductive smile. “It would be no trouble, Richard. I place myself entirely at your disposal.” There was little mistaking the double entendre of her words, but Cleybourne blandly ignored it, turning his attention to his plate.
    The conversation continued in the same way throughout the seemingly interminable meal, with Vesey bringing it around at every opportunity to the matter of Richard’s ward and Leona flirting madly with Richard, and neither of them addressing a remark to Jessica. If the Duke had hoped to use her to deflect the Veseys, Jessica thought to herself, he had failed miserably. As far as that couple was concerned, she didn’t exist.
    Leona found every possible opportunity to touch Cleybourne’s arm, and she frequently put her hand on her chest as she exclaimed about one thing or another, thus drawing attention to the lush curve of her bosom. At one point, Jessica was sure that she saw the woman surreptitiously tug down her neckline even farther. Richard, she saw, with amusement welling up inside her, seemed not to notice any of Lady Vesey’s little ploys. By the end of the meal, Jessica could see that Leona’s luscious mouth was growing tighter and tighter with irritation. It was a sight that made sitting through the meal almost worthwhile.
    “Good of you to put us up,” Vesey commented at one point.
    “Am I? Good of you to tell me.”
    Vesey let out a little chuckle. “You were always fond of a jest, Cleybourne.”
    “And exactly why would I put you up, Lord Vesey?” Richard went on.
    “Well, we are lost, you know.”
    “I’ll be happy to set you on the right path.”
    “We can hardly travel now. It’s dark.”
    “There is an inn in Hedby.”
    “Full up.”
    “I see.”
    “Yes. ’Fraid we’re stuck here.”
    “Apparently.” Richard glanced over at Jessica, who was gazing at him in dismay. He gave her a slight shrug.
    When the meal was finally over, Cleybourne turned the Veseys over to his butler, smoothly suggesting that they would no doubt like to rest now. Leona, with a significant look at Richard, opined that she doubted she would go to sleep any time soon, and Vesey once again asked about Gabriela. Richard, however, smiled and blankly ignored their hints, directing Baxter to care for them.
    “You cannot let them stay here!” Jessica snapped as soon as the Veseys left the room, swinging around to face Cleybourne.
    Richard lifted his eyebrows. “I cannot?”
    “Oh, I know you’re the lord of all you survey and all that, so you can do whatever you please. But it’s foolish. It’s dangerous. You should not allow that man anywhere around Gabriela.”
    “I don’t know what Vesey hopes to accomplish here. But I can assure you that he is not going to go up against me,” Richard said, a faint smile on his lips. “Vesey is a well-known coward. Besides, what could he do? Kidnap her? From under my own roof?”
    “I wouldn’t put anything past him. General Streathern didn’t trust him, and he was his own nephew. That is why he had me