“After my mother died four years ago, he gave up any pretense at all of affection for her.
“Three months ago, I realized that if he found out how much I loved Georgie he would use her against me in an instant to force me to marry Lord Rye. I made it a point to speak of her in his presence with complete indifference, even occasional contempt. One night she had a nightmare and her screaming woke him. He was so angry that he sent her to his younger sister in York.
“I couldn’t say anything, else he’d know how much I loved her. The last thing I wanted was for her to be punished because of what I refused to do. When I escaped from Carlisle Manor, I went immediately to Featherstone, to Maude and Mathilda. They made plans. That’s when I became Mad Jack.
“Mathilda told me just after we came to you here in London that my stepfather’s younger sister had brought Georgie back to Carlisle Manor. Their housekeeper had sent a message by one of the stable lads. I couldn’t bear it. My stepfather isn’t stupid. It’s just a matter of time before he realizes he’s got a gold mine. I waited four days, then I had to go get her away from him.”
His fingers steepled again. “I see. You were going to steal Durban, ride to Carlisle Manor, sneak away with a five-year-old little girl, and then do what? She would be a valet-in-training? I assure you, Jack, I would have remarked upon a child in my house. Come, tell me, what did you plan to do with her if you did manage to get her away from your stepfather?”
All of it, she thought. He deserved to know everything, otherwise her actions could endanger him. “I have money. When my grandfather died—my mother’s father—he left all his money to me, not to my mother because he detested my stepfather. Nor is my stepfather my guardian. Lord Burleigh is. My grandfather’s been dead for nearly ten years now, and Lord Burleigh has managed to keep my stepfather from touching a single sou of that money. I would have brought Georgie to London, seen Lord Burleigh, and he would have given me my inheritance, or at least an income. I wasn’t planning on starving in a ditch, Gray. My plan still stands. As soon as I can get Georgie, I’m going to Lord Burleigh. He’ll protect Georgie and me from Sir Henry. Don’t doubt that.”
“Normally females aren’t privy to financial affairs,” Gray said slowly. “This is particularly true, strangely enough, when the one most directly involved is the female in question. So, how do you know all of this?”
“I eavesdropped on my stepfather speaking to Lord Rye. He told Lord Rye how my grandfather, the devious old bastard, had my money so tied up that he, Sir Henry, wasn’t able to use it. Sir Henry said the only way the inheritance would come to me is when I turned twenty-five or if I married.
“Sir Henry roundly cursed Lord Burleigh, my legal guardian. He also told Lord Rye that if I died, the money wouldn’t go to Georgie, it would go to the Royal Naturalist Society.
“Naturally, when I married, my husband would take control. Lord Rye knew my stepfather was leading up to this, and so they quickly struck a deal. If I married Lord Rye, then my stepfather would gain twenty thousand pounds and Lord Rye would keep the other forty thousand. I watched them shake hands through the keyhole.”
Gray, who had heard quite enough about Lord Rye, said easily, “I gather then that this gentleman doesn’t appeal to you as husband material?”
“He’s a dissolute lecher who very probably beat his first wife to death in a drunken rage—at least that’s the local gossip, whispered behind cupped hands. His other two wives both died in childbirth. He has six children from the three different wives. He’s rich—don’t get me wrong—but he has a son who’s following in his footsteps. He’s the type of man who pilfers two coins from the collection plate after he puts one in.
“That is doubtless why my stepfather approached him. He can sniff out baseness in others quite easily.”
Gray had heard quite a lot more about Cadmon Kelburn, Viscount Rye, none of it remotely pleasant. It was a pity that three of his children were sons. They didn’t stand a chance of becoming honorable men. The thought of Lord Rye having control over Jack, actually having her in his power, repelled Gray to the core.
He sat forward in his chair, his hands clasped between his knees. He studied her face, then said, “What’s your name, Jack? Your full name?”
“Winifrede Levering Bascombe. My father was Thomas Levering Bascombe, Baron Yorke.”
“My God, you’re Bascombe’s daughter?” Gray collapsed in his chair, utterly taken aback.
“You knew my father?”
Gray shook his head. Then he began to laugh. He laughed and laughed.
“Come, my lord, what is this? What is it about my father?”
“Ah, Jack—”
“My father called me Levering.”
“If you don’t mind, I will stay with Jack for the moment.”
“Georgie calls me Freddie.”
He leaned over and lightly placed his palm over her mouth. He said very close to her face, looking clearly into her very lovely blue eyes, “Your guardian, Lord Burleigh, is also my godfather.”
“Oh, goodness. Surely, that can’t be right. Oh, dear—” She stared at him a moment, then said, “Life is really strange, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It appears there are a lot of ties bringing us together that neither of us knew anything about. Also I believe that my father hated your father, for what reason I don’t know. You and I have a history, Jack, even though the two of us have just begun to appear in it.”
“I never heard my father speak of yours. I wonder why your father would hate mine. Do Maude and Mathilda know any of this?”
“We can ask them.”
“Is it very late, Gray?”