Raven (Gentlemen of the Order #2) - Adele Clee Page 0,57

were going to stay with Mr Sloane in Chelsea. I’ve spent two days trying to find the house.”

Sophia’s cheeks flamed when Finlay’s irate gaze shot in her direction. “But we were alone in Jessica’s chamber. How did—” Recognition dawned. “Ah, you crept up the servants’ stairs to her room.”

Blent looked unashamed. “I had to know she was safe.”

“Because you’re in love with her,” Finlay stated calmly. “You’ve grown close to her over the years. And you’re aware she’s in danger.”

Blent heaved a sigh. “Yes.”

Finlay leant forward and gripped the arms of the chair, his face mere inches from Blent’s. “I swear, if you’ve taken her virtue, I shall rip you limb from bloody limb.”

Blent hissed in disgust. “I’m the son of a gentleman, not a tavern whore. I was hired to protect her, not ruin her reputation.”

“And what is a gentleman with an exceptional talent for design doing playing nursemaid and working in a damn kennel?”

“That’s my business.”

Finlay straightened. “You own the first English translation of Wieland’s Oberon. A hundred-year-old copy of Julius Caesar. Your card table is worth more than you could earn at Blackborne in two years. You must see how suspicious it looks.” He turned to Sophia. “How did you come to hire him?”

“I didn’t. My father hired Mr Blent a month before he died.” And she trusted his judgement implicitly. “He conducted the interviews, said Mr Blent was the best candidate for the position.”

While William Adair had provided the funds to purchase Blackborne, he’d refused to have any involvement in managing the property.

Finlay glanced at Mr Ashwood. A look passed between the gentlemen—a silent instruction. Mr Ashwood sauntered over to Blent, whispered in his ear, and set about untying the ropes.

Perhaps Mr Ashwood knew a truth spell because Blent suddenly said, “Mr Draper knew my father. They were at school together. He supported my mother when my father went to debtors’ prison.”

Finlay tapped his finger to his lips and gave a curious hum. “Your father went to debtors’ prison, yet you didn’t sell his books to pay his debts?”

Blent squirmed in the seat as Mr Ashwood unfastened the knots in his bindings. “Clarence Draper paid the debts, but was still negotiating terms with the creditors when my father died in the Fleet.”

In all the years Sophia had known Blent, he had never mentioned the connection, never mentioned her father’s benevolence.

“You’re an educated man,” Finlay said. “Skilled in design. I’ve seen your drawings. Could Clarence Draper not have found a landscape architect willing to give you a position as an apprentice?”

Blent hesitated before saying, “After Miss Draper’s accident, her father feared Mr Archer would return from India and make a nuisance of himself. He paid me handsomely to remain at Blackborne for three years. After which time, I could gain access to the funds and pursue my chosen career.”

“Only three years?” Sophia interjected. “But you’ve been at Blackborne for five.”

Mr Ashwood finished untying the ropes and stepped away. “He remains at Blackborne because he’s in love with Miss Draper.”

Blent rubbed his arms and wrists vigorously to get the blood circulating but made no reply. His silence acted as confirmation.

Mr Sloane crossed the room and thrust a tumbler of amber liquid at Blent. “Drink this. You must have been waiting out in the cold for a few hours. What the devil did you hope to achieve by lingering in the garden? You’d have caught your death had Mrs Brogan not noticed the flickering light outside.”

“Flickering light?” Finlay spoke as if the words were important. “You communicate with Jessica. She shines a light in Blackborne’s upper window to let you know she’s free to come to your cottage.” He didn’t wait for Blent’s admission. “You were hoping to get her attention so she would come to the garden.”

“We signal to each other,” the man confessed. “She knows if we’re ever parted, I shall come to her. She knows to shine a light in her bedchamber window until we are reunited. When she worries, it eases her fears.”

Sophia gaped.

How had she missed the signs?

Yes, Blent was the only one who knew how to calm Jessica when she was agitated. He was the one to carry her upstairs after a bout of sleepwalking. The one who accompanied her on long walks, read to her, played chess. Blent was a strong, reliable influence in Jessica’s world of chaos.

“Clarence Draper trusted me with the care of his daughter,” Blent added. “Nothing else matters.”

A shadow of sadness passed across Finlay’s features. He glanced at