Gideon shrugged again although he already knew his careless act didn’t convince the younger Farrell. “I assumed she’d gone to her aunt.”
“But she hasn’t got an aunt in Portsmouth,” Burkett repeated, as if the fact made some difference.
“She told me she did. She was most adamant that Portsmouth was her destination.”
“Because she thought to disappear there,” Felix said between his teeth. “It’s a port city. Nobody would pay her attention.”
Gideon raised his eyebrows again. “That’s a clever scheme for someone who’s feebleminded. Devil take me if it’s not.”
“That’s not at issue,” Felix snapped. “What is at issue is that we are her legal guardians, and if you harbor her, Sir Gideon, you break the law and will pay the penalty.”
“Steady on, Lord Felix!” Sir John protested, rising from his seat.
Gideon ignored the slur on his honor. His voice turned silky. “Which I’m sure is why I have the inestimable pleasure not only of your company but of the magistrate’s. I’m surprised you didn’t invite the militia along to infest the front hall.”
“If circumstances compel us to use force, we will,” Felix said steadily. He sent a meaningful glance to Sir John, who looked increasingly uncomfortable at the conversation’s prickly turn. “As a representative of the law, you’ll back us, Sir John.”
Sir John cleared his throat and cast a nervous glance at Gideon. Gideon guessed what went through his mind. He’d known the Trevithicks all his life and recognized their local influence. The Farrells might be powerful men on the nation’s stage, but they didn’t live on his doorstep.
“There’s no need for unpleasantness, gentlemen.” Sir John directed a pleading stare at Gideon. “If Sir Gideon gives us his word that the girl you believe to be Lady Charis ran away in Portsmouth, we must be satisfied.”
“Be damned to that,” Burkett objected, taking a threatening step in Gideon’s direction. His hands opened and closed at his sides as if he restrained himself from grabbing Gideon and beating the truth from him. Poor Charis, at this brute’s mercy. Gideon could hardly bear imagining it. “She’s the richest heiress in England. He’s keeping her for his own gain.”
The richest heiress in England? Hell and damnation, what had he got himself mixed up with?
The blasted girl had hidden a lot from him. None of which shook his determination to help her. He wouldn’t hand a stray cat over to the Farrells, let alone a woman he admired and…cared for.
“Do you doubt my bond, sir?” Gideon rose to his full height.
Burkett was big and brawny, but Gideon topped him by several inches. Gideon also had the steel lent by years of living with endless danger. Burkett didn’t frighten him in the least. He could break the overweening bully without a thought.
As Gideon had expected, Burkett backed down. “You haven’t given us your word.” He sounded sulky.
Gideon’s voice was firm. “I give you my word the girl I knew as Sarah Watson ran away in Portsmouth. There’s no guarantee the chit I encountered is even your sister.”
“What did she look like?” Lord Felix asked.
“Small. Skinny. Bruised. Light brown hair. Spoke with a rough accent.” It was possible someone had got a close look at Charis. He couldn’t stray too far from the truth without awakening suspicion. “I can’t for the life of me imagine she’s an heiress. Her clothing was poor and her manners deplorable.”
“She played a part,” Felix insisted.
“I have no idea. What I do know is she took off after the brawl, and I haven’t seen her since. If you believe this girl really is your sister—which I take leave to doubt—you’d be better concentrating your search in Portsmouth.”
“Can we check the house?” Burkett asked stubbornly.
“No, by God,” Gideon snapped. “I’ll be damned if I let a pair of strangers march through my private rooms on a wild-goose chase after some featherbrained bit of muslin.”
Burkett puffed out his impressive chest. “You insult my sister, sir.”
“I do no such thing. Confound it, I don’t know your sister. The world has come to a pretty pass when a man is harassed on his own property for offering aid to a distressed maidservant.”
“Sir Gideon has given us his word,” Sir John said placatingly. “Surely that’s g
ood enough.”
Felix spread his hands to indicate his benevolent intentions. “Sir John, we act purely from brotherly concern. If we satisfy ourselves she’s never been in this house, we’ll leave Sir Gideon in peace, with our gratitude and apologies.”
Good God, but the younger Farrell was a slimy customer. He sounded so reasonable. If Gideon hadn’t seen the marks on Charis’s face, he’d almost believe the weasel’s protestations.