"When the Danvers first appeared on the London scene they claimed to be the distant cousins of the Danvers that own that townhouse. Marcus and his wife are usually on safari in Africa and rarely come back to London. It was just assumed that the family home had been left open for the family visiting and no one questioned their claim since there was no one to ask. The house isn't opened though; it's closed up as it would be if the family was off continent."
Quinn knew that Archer was thinking along the lines that she was when she asked, "You don't think they're really Danvers."
"No, I don't."
Thaddeus asked what the others were thinking. "Then who the hell are they?"
Archer sounded positively wicked when he replied, "I don't know but let's find out."
The following night Quinn had to sit through another dinner with the dreaded Danvers, though the Scarcliff women were in attendance for this meal. Quinn was eager to see how Katherine and Gertrude would behave since as far as they knew, Thaddeus and she were unaware of the veiled threats that tied these families together.
As expected the Scarcliff ladies were on edge, all of them very quiet and eager for the meal to end. They didn't initiate any discussions and when asked something directly they answered with an economy of words that Quinn found very impressive. It was obvious that they were all uncomfortable and it was because of this that Quinn found Katherine's behavior rather odd.
She was sitting to the right of Archer but it was her performance, and Quinn couldn't think of a better word to describe her behavior, which she found intriguing. She was completely unfazed to be sitting at a table with women she openly blackmailed and intimidated. Katherine looked as if she didn't have a care in the world.
Hadn't she been doing the same with Archer? Looking back on it, Archer was angry all the time and, at first, Quinn thought that his anger was directed at her but now she was beginning to think it was directed at Katherine. A powerful and proud man being forced into something through coercion and blackmail, yeah, that would certainly piss him off, yet Katherine was completely immune to the dynamic. She either had ice water for blood, or she had one hell of a poker face.
Even Lady Danvers was off, not monopolizing the conversation as she usually did. So when she said, "You are awfully quiet this evening, Miss Shaughnessy," her voice was like nails down a chalkboard. Quinn flinched at the sound before glancing over at the older woman.
"I was just thinking about the theatre and how it has been so very long since I actually attended a play. Acting has always fascinated me, how someone can step outside of their own life and so easily assume another and be so believable in the role." Quinn was watching Katherine as she spoke and saw her fingers tightened noticeably on her fork. What are you hiding Katherine?
When Edwyn chimed in from next to her, his slurring made it obvious that he was partaking rather heavily in Archer's wine. Quinn looked over at Archer and wasn't surprised to see anger in his expression but when they locked eyes, anger turned into lust. She pulled her gaze from his heated one in time to catch the tail end of Edwyn's comments.
"And then there was the production ofMacbeththat I thought was rather brilliant."
He leaned over to rest his hand on top of Quinn's, as his blood-shot eyes sought hers. "Perhaps you and I should take in a show while we're in London?"
Quinn tried to pull her hand away but he tightened his grasp with enough force that Quinn involuntarily gasped from the pain. In a flash of movement, Archer was up and pulling Edwyn from his chair. Her focus was completely on Edwyn and in that moment, before Archer physically removed him from the table, she saw two things that he was wordlessly communicating to her. One, he was Derek and he knew that she knew it and two; he was giving her a silent warning to back off.
"I think perhaps it's time for you to retire for the evening." Archer's voice was so very soft but there was rage burning through his words just as the butler, Finley, appeared in the dining room.
"Call for the coach, Lord Danvers was just leaving." Archer met Katherine's glare levelly before he added, "It would probably be best that you and your mother accompany him home since he isn't in full use of his facilities. My men will ensure you all arrive safely at your residence. And for the sake of propriety we shouldn't be living under the same roof until we're married. I'll have your things brought over to you first thing in the morning."
Katherine's face had turned such a shade of red that Quinn wouldn't have been at all surprised to see steam coming from her ears. With the dignity of royalty, Katherine pushed back from the table and when she spoke her voice was even, not at all betraying the fury she was clearly feeling.
"Perhaps that is for the best. After all, we certainly don't want to find ourselves in the midst of a scandal."
There was no mistaking that veiled threat but Archer didn't even blink as he held her gaze. Maybe she was imagining it but for just a second, Quinn thought she saw fear on the other woman's face. Katherine started from the room with her head held high but then turned back and shot Quinn such a look of malevolence that it leveled her. There was a promise of retribution in that glare but there was something else there, too, something that looked very much like insanity. A moment later she was gone, her mother following behind her.
Quinn remembered the warnings issued by the staff declaring that Katherine wasn't right in the head and that caused a shiver of dread to skirt along her nerve endings. She could handle bitchy babes but insane ones were another story altogether. Since no one else seemed to notice the look, Quinn pushed it from her thoughts but a seed of fear planted itself firmly in her gut.
Everyone was silent until they heard the coach pulling away and then Thaddeus called for champagne. "Well done, Arch, well done."
"Why did you do that? Not that I didn't enjoy watching you throw them from the house, but why?" Lady Scarcliff worried.
Archer walked over to his mother and hunched down before her gently taking her hands into his.
"We're not convinced the Danvers are who they say they are."
"What?!" Her shock couldn't have been any more evident.
"They aren't staying in the Danvers' residence. Well, they are but the place is closed up and there is no staff to attend them. They're using it as their base while in London and with the real Danvers off continent no one is the wiser."
"But even if what you say is true, they could still ruin Cecilia with one word," Lady Scarcliff said with despair.
"Yes, but if they have been lying about who they are, and we can certainly prove that, then their credibility is ruined and no one will be inclined to believe anything they say," Archer revealed.
"Why would they lie? What are they after?" Rosalind asked.