Make-Believe Wife by Anne Herries

Author:Anne Herries
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-09-01T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Luke paused in the act of tying his cravat before dinner that evening. His talk with Higgins had elicited no more information than Roxanne had given him earlier—apart from one thing.

‘There was a strong smell,’ Higgins said. ‘Just before I was hit I smelled perfume—not the kind Miss Roxanne uses, but something heavy and exotic. Nothing I’ve ever smelled before. I forgot when I was telling her about it, but then it came back to me. One of my men found a length of cloth in the tower and it had the same smell about it.’

‘Might the cloth have been used for a turban, do you think?’

‘Yes, sir. As you know, my son is an army sergeant and he sent me a tinted drawing of an Indian soldier he served with when he was in India. The cloth that was found could easily be from a turban.’ Higgins seemed puzzled. ‘What do you think a person like that would be doing in the tower, sir?’

Luke was thoughtful. ‘I think it best we keep this to ourselves, Higgins. At the moment we cannot be sure of anything.’

‘Yes, sir. I understand. The men will keep a sharp eye out for any strangers. Do you think there is something odd going on, my lord?’

‘At the moment I am not certain,’ Luke replied. ‘It may just have been a vagrant who saw an opportunity and then panicked when you arrived. Or it may be more sinister. We shall employ more men and patrol the grounds day and night.’

‘Right you are, sir. May I say how happy everyone is that you are spending more time here, sir. Mr Tonkins is a good man and I’ve done my best, but there are times the earl just does not want to listen.’

‘He has always been stubborn, but he is frailer than I like, Higgins. Any problems regarding this business should come to me, not my grandfather.’

‘You’ll be staying here now then, sir?’

‘At least until after the wedding. What happened may be just an isolated incident. Unfortunate for you, but over. However, if anything else happens I may have to rethink my plans.’

Now, as he tied his snowy white cravat into intricate folds, Luke was remembering the dusky-skinned gentleman who had followed him into the London jeweller’s. He had noticed a rather exotic perfume that day, though of course it could all be a coincidence. Yet Brandon had disliked the ruby, implying that there was something dangerous or sinister about it.

It could be that there was something significant about that ruby, something that made it worth sending people to England to search for it—but why now?

Luke had told Roxanne not to worry, dismissing her fears that her ruby might have brought the intruder here, but he could not help wondering if he had been too hasty. The ruby might have more worth to someone than the amount it would fetch in a jeweller’s shop. Luke had not considered it important at first, but now several threads were running through his mind.

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