Teresa Medeiros - Once An Angel

"Would you care to explain how it got into my tea?"

"I haven't a clue." Penfeld lifted the lid off the teapot and peeped into it as if afraid an entire trousseau

of women's underwear might leap out at him.

A timid knock sounded on the door.

"Come in," Justin barked.

A gardener crept in, holding a rake at arm's length with such trepidation that Justin expected to see a snake twirled around its prongs. It was not a serpent, but a rumpled crinoline that dangled in his face. "Sorry to trouble ye, master, but I found this stuffed into one of the flower pots in the shed. Shall I

burn it?"

Justin's face was grim as he plucked the crinoline off the rake. "No, Will. I'll take care of it."

Breathing a sigh of relief to be rid of the offensive diing, the gardener left. Justin smoothed the rich

linen, over his palms. The pure, sweet fragrance of vanilla wafted to his nostrils.

He shook his head ruefully. "If Emily keeps shedding garments at this alarming rate, she'll be naked by night-fell." Groaning at his own words, he dropped his face into the soft folds of the garment. "Where

is she?" he growled.

* * *

They found Emily wandering the gilt cavern of the ballroom, her hands tucked at the small of her back.

A sparkling wall of French doors fronted the long room. Justin hovered behind the translucent panel of

a lace curtain, his hunger to watch her smothering his flare of guilt for spying on her so blatantly.

"Looks a bit out of pocket, doesn't she?" Penfeld said.

Justin gave a noncommittal grunt. She did look tiny beneath the vaulted ceiling. How did she feel in this strange house, surrounded by strangers? he wondered. He remembered how desolate his own childhood had been. The enormous house had seemed a maze of endless doors, dusty corners, and gloomy attics. Every table and chair had rested on carved talons or claws, and he'd been half afraid to sit for fear they'd lurch into motion and carry him off. His mother and sisters had whispered their own language while his father remained safely cordoned behind the unrelenting oak of his study door. Just as he had done today.

"She might be bored, sir. Perhaps if you spent some time with her . . . ?"

Justin dug his fingers into the curtain, unable to hide his horror at that suggestion. He didn't trust himself enough to eat breakfast with her. How long would it take before he reached over to correct a wayward curl? Smooth a puckered ruffle? Lick the sugary muffin crumbs from her lips?

As they watched, Emily stood on tiptoe to run her curious fingers over the medallioned wall. Without the crinoline her skirt clung to the curve of her hips. He almost grinned to see her bare toes peeping out from beneath it. Gracie would be fortunate not to find one of her slippers floating in the soup tonight.

She cast the double doors at the end of the ballroom a furtive glance. What was she going to do now? Justin wondered. Peel off her dress and frolic like a wanton nymph beneath the gasoliers? His throat tightened.

Emily flung out her arms and spun around. The dimity skirt ballooned around her ankles. She danced in silence, but Justin heard another melody, marked by the stamp of Maori feet, beguiling in its wailing simplicity. He wanted to march in there and take her in his arms. To sweep her around the room until

the swells and hollows of their bodies made music like the bow and strings of a finely tuned violin.

Groaning back his despair, he caught Penfeld by his starched lapels and shoved him against the nearest wall. An Oriental vase rattled in protest. "Take her, Penfeld. Take her out for the afternoon. She's your charge. Amuse her."

"B-b-but, sir," the valet sputtered. "I fear I'm not very amusing. The rest of the staff find me hopelessly dull. However shall I entertain her?"

"How the hell should I know? Take her to the 200. Walk her in the park. Buy her a bloody puppy. Just get her out of my sight." He freed Penfeld and raked his hair into nervous spikes, forgetting it wasn't

long anymore. "Just make sure she wears a cloak. And a hat. And shoes- two of them."

As Justin strode away, still muttering under his breath, Penfeld tugged thoughtfully at his whiskers.

"A puppy. I do say, a splendid suggestion."

Eight hours later Justin was pacing the parlor, trying not to flinch at each incisive tick of the black

marble clock on the mantel. His mother and Edith kept vigil with him, their ringleted heads inclined toward their embroidery. Lily and Millicent had retired at a respectable hour with all the dreary

husbands, even Edith's, in tow.

The long-case clock in the foyer gonged. Once. Twice. Ten times. Justin's oath shattered its echo.

Edith stabbed herself with her needle, but the duchess didn't even flinch.

He paced to the window and braced his weight on the sill with both hands. The night's chill seeped through the frosted panes. Was he going to have to hire a detective to return Emily from a simple shopping expedition? he wondered. He must have been mad to send her out with Penfeld. But these weren't the teeming streets of Auckland. London was Penfeld's orderly domain. Justin fought despair, refusing to give in to his fear that Emily might have taken this opportunity to flee from him yet again.

He should have taken her out himself. Even if it meant being trapped in the confines of a carriage with

her ethereal scent. Even if it meant sitting for hours with her warm thigh pressed to his own. His torment was nothing compared to her safety.

He turned around and leaned against the windowsill. His mother was watching him beneath hooded lids, her eyes sharpened to a lively glint. Justin knew she hadn't always been stupid. Olivia Connor had chosen long ago to veil her intelligence behind insipid vaguery, but at times he still caught a glimpse of the Fleet Street shopgirl who had memorized Debrett's Peerage to land not one of the many impoverished dukes haunting London, but the only peer of the realm with a thriving shipping empire. To hold the affections

of her rigid husband, she had learned to betray everything else she held dear-even her son. Especially her son.

She stabbed the thick linen with the needle. "You care for the girl, don't you?"

"Of course I care for her. She's my ward. Her father was a dear friend."

"Yet you've never laid eyes on her in all these years?"

His gaze was caught by the hypnotic flick of her needle. She sewed the way he played the piano, all

grace and no hesitation. Justin wondered what she would do if he told her he'd laid far more than his

eyes on Emily.

He was spared from answering by the discordant clang of bells. His mother's hands froze in their motion. Edith jerked her head up to meet Justin's puzzled gaze. Hooves clattered on the drive, adding to the ear-shattering cacophony of the bells.

As Justin sprinted through the foyer, Herbert, Harold, and Harvey came flying down the stairs in their long nightgowns and caps. Lily and Millicent trailed behind, their candles casting wavering shadows on

the wallpaper.

Harold rubbed his eyes. "I do say, can't a chap get a decent night's sleep in this mausoleum?"

"What the devil is it?" Herbert bellowed, tripping over Harvey's hem. "Is the house afire?"

They spilled onto the lawn as a closed police wagon rolled to a halt in the drive. Rusty bars blocked the windows. The Winthrop carriage clattered to a halt behind the wagon, the driver hanging his head in sheepish defeat.

Justin stared as a uniformed bobby climbed off the driver's seat, tipped his tall hat in a crisp greeting,

and moved to swing open the barred door at the back of the wagon.

A demure, white-gloved hand emerged. At least Emily had worn her gloves, Justin thought crazily. The bobby took her hand with obvious deference and Emily descended, favoring him with a regal smile.

Justin started for her, determined to wring an explanation from her charming little neck.

Before he could reach her, a snarling, fanged monster exploded from the back of the wagon and lunged straight for his throat.

Justin backed away from the slavering beast, instinctively drawing it away from Emily. The deafening shrill of his sisters' screams was almost drowned out by its bass-throated rumble. Something had come flying out of the wagon behind the creature. It stumbled along for a few steps before Justin realized it

was Penfeld, and he was attached to the monster by Emily's blue velvet sash. The dog's massive spiked collar might as well have been around the valet's neck. The beast dragged him across the slick lawn, eyeing Justin hungrily. The horses whinnied and tossed their heads in terror.

"What is the meaning of this, Penfeld?" Justin said, his voice soft enough not to spook the animal but lethal enough to be heard by them all.

Penfeld dug his heels into the ground and strained against the dog's squat weight. His whiskers stuck

out in matted tufts. His immaculate jacket was torn and his white shirt smeared with mud.

His brown eyes were entreating. "You told me to buy her a puppy, sir."

Justin eyed the thing. White foam dripped from its bared fangs. "That's not a puppy. It's a bull."

As if offended by his words, the dog lunged again, dragging Penfeld flat. The monster's snapping teeth missed Justin's crotch by half an inch.

"A bulldog to be precise," Emily said, waltzing between Penfeld and the dog. She patted the creature's massive head and scratched behind his ears. "There, now. That's a nice Pudding. Down, boy."

The dog sank to its stocky haunches at her feet, drooling adoringly on her slippers. Justin was surprised

it didn't purr.

"Pudding?" he echoed ominously.

"What did you want me to call him? Fluffy?" Her smile was angelic. Justin's stomach spasmed a warning.

The bobby stepped between them, pulling off his hat. Another policeman lurked in his shadow.

He twirled his bushy mustache. "I'm turribly sorry for the disturbance, sir, but I thought it best if we escorted the young lady home. After we arrested her the first time-"

"The first time?" Justin bit off, glowering at Emily.

"It weren't really her fault, Your Grace. The dog got away from your man and the door to the crystal shop was open." He brightened visibly. "Once she assured the shopkeeper the Duke of Winthrop would pay for all the damages, he turned out to be quite a reasonable chap."

Behind him, one of the husbands moaned. Justin closed his eyes and counted slowly under his breath.

"And the second time, sir . . ."

His eyes flew open.

The other policeman chimed in helpfully. "That would have been the elephant, wouldn't it, Clarence?"

Justin swallowed. "She let an elephant run through the crystal shop?"

"Oh, no, sir," the bobby reassured him. "The elephant ran through the zoo. After she slipped the latch

on its cage."

Justin narrowed his eyes. He would like to see her caged. And chained. Preferably to his bed.

Her smile faded an inkling beneath his glare. "I was simply trying to feed him a peanut. I couldn't reach his trunk."

The second policeman chuckled. "I didn't know those old nannies could move so fast. You should have seen the perambulators flying!"

The bobby rubbed the back of his neck. Justin could have sworn he was blushing. "Of course, the last time we were more concerned with her own health. Hyde Park's a bit cold to be swimming this time of year, especially without-" He stopped dead and looked over his shoulder, aware for the first time of