The Dashing Thief of Her Dreams Read online

  “Lady Deborah, I understand you are better acquainted with my son, Miles,” he addressed Deborah and gestured to the chair beside Miles. Bridget felt her sister relax significantly, and then happily went to sit beside Miles. Lord Philip continued, “And since you have such a fondness for our library, Lady Bridget, why don’t you and Lord Geoffrey discuss the merits of Shakespeare beside each other? Geoffrey has already discussed them with each of us quite enough.” Lord Philip looked knowingly to Miles and Henry, both of whom nodded in agreement, then smiled.

  Bridget was thrilled to be offered the seat next to Lord Geoffrey, and when she looked at him as she walked towards the seat, he appeared to be quite taken with the idea too.

  Lord Geoffrey pulled out her chair for her, and once both ladies were seated, the gentlemen all sat down. “I do apologise for my seated position this entire time, ladies,” Lord Philip apologised. Bridget quickly took away his worries.

  “You have nothing to worry about, Lord Philip,” Bridget reassured him. “I imagine that if I had a chair as comfortable as yours, I should very much like to stay in it for as long as I could.” Lord Philip immediately chuckled with his hand on his chest. The first course of soup was brought out for the party, and as they all began to eat, Geoffrey leaned over to Bridget.

  “I feel the same way that my mother did about the play we were discussing before, Lady Bridget,” Geoffrey whispered. When she turned to him, it delighted her to see that a lock of Geoffrey’s hair had fallen out of place and was now dangling in front of his forehead. It made him look more endearing. Bridget also enjoyed the way Lord Geoffrey said her name. Many men pronounced it with emphasis on the two syllables, ‘Bridg-et’. It sounded whole when it was in Geoffrey’s mouth.

  “You do? And why is that, Lord Geoffrey?” Bridget so enjoyed hearing her name in his mouth that she decided to try his out for herself. She enjoyed the way the ‘j’ sound at the beginning of his name bounded off her tongue, and that his name ended with the word ‘free’. It made her feel like she could be whoever she wanted when she was with him. Geoffrey finished his soup, brushed the errant hair back into place and placed his elbows on the table so that his chin could rest on his crossed hands.

  “I’ve always enjoyed stories that have taken me to far-off lands. I’ve enjoyed the idea of travelling since I was a young man, and was very lucky to have recently had the chance to explore some of Europe.” As Geoffrey spoke, Bridget’s eyes lit up.

  “You enjoy travelling stories as well?” she cried excitedly. Lord Geoffrey looked at her earnestly and nodded emphatically. “And you’ve been able to travel Europe; that must have been such an adventure. Where did you go? What did you see?” Bridget’s excitement and interest enchanted Geoffrey.

  “A great many things in a myriad of places... what country interests you the most?” Geoffrey asked. Bridget looked off into the middle distance and thought about where in Europe she would most like to go. After a moment of thoughtful silence, she responded,

  “I suppose the place I should like to start is not all that ‘adventurous,’” Bridget prefaced. “But I suppose it would be France.” At the mention of the country’s name, Geoffrey looked taken aback.

  “Not adventurous?” Geoffrey asked her in disbelief. “France is where I had some of my best adventures! If you would like, I would be thrilled to tell you my tales of my time in France when I got lost on a hike and ended up being taken in by a hermit who hadn’t seen another human being in fifteen years.” Bridget let out a sound of elation that was much louder than she intended it to be. She found herself being given odd looks by all of the others seated at the table, but Geoffrey quickly covered for her.

  “I apologise everyone,” Geoffrey began, “Lady Bridget was humoring me by laughing at one of my ever popular, ever terrible jokes. Do continue with your conversations.” At this reassurance everyone resumed their discussions, and Bridget giggled softly. When she looked back at Geoffrey, she said, “I should like that very much. I would love to hear any and every tale of your adventures, for I long to go on a great many of them myself!” Geoffrey began telling Bridget the story as the second course was brought out, and as he spoke, she thought about how taken with him she was.

  Geoffrey had an exciting air to him that appealed to her, and she loved hearing of his adventures abroad. She was very grateful that her sister was occupying Lord Miles (and that she was so happy with doing so) and that her father was discussing heavier matters with Lord Philip and Henry. She was so happy to have Lord Geoffrey to herself; she only hoped that he was as happy talking to her as she was to him. When he finished speaking, Bridget asked him a few engaging questions more about it, then decided to give him the opportunity to speak with someone else should he feel the desire to leave their discussion.

  “I wouldn’t want to take up all of your attention this evening, Lord Geoffrey,” Bridget began, but she noticed that as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Geoffrey’s face fell. She pushed on, though, not wanting to make anything feel forced. “If you would like to converse with my sister instead, I should have no problem with it.” Now, the look on Geoffrey’s face turned from disappointed to irritated.

  “Lady Bridget, I have just spent the last ten minutes blathering on to you about my travels in France. If there is anyone you should be offering an escape from this conversation to, it should be you!” Bridget looked taken aback, but then laughed.

  “I asked you to tell me about your travels!” Bridget protested. “Did you not hear all of the pestering questions I asked you about them once you were finished talking? I certainly do not wish for a way out of this conversation.” Geoffrey nodded his head decidedly.

  “That is that, then. You do not wish to leave this discussion, and I would be hopelessly bored if I did not have you to speak to this evening. The gentlemen in my family are fine enough company, but every one of them must be bored to tears by now after having heard about my excursions so many times.” Bridget felt her face flush at Geoffrey’s admission of utter enjoyment from their conversation.

  “There is nothing in the world that I hate more than boredom,” Bridget admitted.

  “I can most certainly discern that,” Lord Geoffrey concurred. “You are just as engaging as your sister, if not more so. You seem to exude life and imagination. I assume that I shall never be bored with you.” Geoffrey froze as soon as he had spoken. Bridget’s heart seemed to stop entirely. She had never heard a gentleman speak so candidly about his feelings, and she was so glad that those feelings were being spoken by a man who she felt such strong feelings for.

  “I apologise for my candour, Lady Bridget,” Lord Geoffrey said apologetically. Bridget tried to interject, but he continued. “I had no right speaking to you in such a frank manner. If you would like to excuse yourself and be seated elsewhere, I will not be offended.” Bridget stared at Lord Geoffrey in disbelief. Was he really asking her if she would like to leave the conversation, after they had just reassured each other that neither of them wanted to do that? Bridget’s laughter started out very quietly, then grew a little louder, and then was almost audible to those around the table. Lord Geoffrey began looking humiliated, however, and so she explained herself.

  “I am not laughing at what you said, Lord Geoffrey, I apologise,” Bridget said earnestly. “I took such delight in your apology because you sounded just like me when I tried to release you from this conversation. I think that the outcome of all of this might be that we may well both be enjoying each other’s company, and should we wish to no longer be in it, I think we can be perfectly blunt!” Geoffrey let out a relieved sigh, and went back to finishing his dessert. Bridget was sailing in the clouds; she could not have imagined that this night would unfold as pleasantly as it did, but now that it had, she felt so incredibly lucky to have met a man like Lord Geoffrey.

  In the back of her mind, however, she couldn’t get the handsome thief out of her thoughts. She knew it was utterly ridiculous to be focusing on such a man as he when she
had a man of good character and fine face like Lord Geoffrey in front of her, but she could not help herself.

  He had been so alluring and dangerous, even though she had only seen him for mere moments. But as she sat in front of Lord Geoffrey, she did her very best to push thought of him from her mind and focus on the handsome gentleman in front of her.

  Right when Bridget thought the night could not get any better, Geoffrey leaned back over to her and said, “Lady Bridget. I have a secret that I should like to reveal to you, if you’d have me.” Bridget whipped her head around to look at him, and gave her his full attention.

  “A secret?” she asked excitedly. “Does it have anything to do with your travels or adventures?” Geoffrey thought for a moment, then responded,

  “Adventures, yes. Travels, no. But I think you would be very intrigued by it...” Bridget leaned in to him further.

  “I am all ears.” Geoffrey gave her a sly smile, but just as he opened his mouth to reveal his secret, Lord Alymer called to her, “Bridget, did you hear me? It is getting late, and we must return to the estate. Thank Lord Philip for an enjoyable evening.” Bridget looked to her father in horror, but then realised that there was nothing she could do to get out of the situation and so, giving Geoffrey a sad smile that said ‘to be continued’, she thanked Lord Philip for his hospitality and company, and the three Stanhopes left the dining room and set off for their home.

  Chapter 10

  At some point in the night, Miles came and woke Geoffrey abruptly from his slumber. He was about to give him a piece of his mind for disturbing his sleep, until Miles said urgently, “You need to fetch the doctor. Father is having difficulty breathing.” For once, neither brother had any interest in bickering or trying to best the other. Geoffrey looked at his brother seriously for a moment and then, seeing how concerned Miles was, he leapt into action.

  Geoffrey immediately bolted out of bed, pulled on his riding clothes and ran to get Lightning from the stables. He and the horse tore off into the night, much like they had a few nights prior, but this time there was far more at stake. The cool wind nipped at Geoffrey’s cheeks as he rode through the darkness, and his thoughts seemed to race as quickly as his heart and his horse were.

  His chief concerns were his father’s condition. Lord Philip had been battling cancer for as long as Geoffrey could remember. They’d had doctors of all varieties visiting the house, and there were a good many of them who had offered treatments that did make his father better... even if only temporarily. There were others who promised ‘miracle cures’, or swore that if all of the members of the family bought their herbal remedies, Lord Philip would be healthy once more.

  Geoffrey had a great deal of difficulty controlling his anger around individuals like those. He’d known since he was a little boy that his father was going to leave him someday because of his illness. Anyone who came in pedalling anything that clearly wasn’t possible was quickly kicked out of the door.

  For the last year especially, Lord Philip had been having his good days and his bad days. There were no longer any treatments that were working, and so his sons had endeavoured to make their father as comfortable and as happy as they could. The day that Geoffrey had been called to London while Lord Philip and Miles visited the Stanhopes, for example, had been Lord Philip’s best day in a long time.

  He seemed to be feeling so good in the morning when Geoffrey departed that Geoffrey swore for a moment that he seemed like himself before all the illness happened. It gave him a false sense of hope; one that was being lost more and more by the second as Geoffrey tore through the night to alert the doctor.

  Geoffrey had been feeling his father’s illness more keenly since the passing of his mother, Lady Agnes Nott. His mother was closer with Miles, to be honest, but Lady Agnes and Geoffrey did always have an understanding of and respect for each other that the rest of their family didn’t quite understand. Geoffrey’s mother had been like him in many ways: she treasured books, reading and learning, she craved adventure and travel, she was outgoing and brave, and she fiercely loved and protected her family.

  Geoffrey’s favourite time of day as a young man had been when the two of them would retire to the library to get lost in a good book; separately, yet together. When Lady Agnes passed away suddenly from a heart attack two years ago, the Nott family was left fractured. Geoffrey now found it very difficult to enter the room, let alone take up his usual spot in the large, comfortable chair by the window and get lost in a good book.

  His mother’s loss had been such a great one that Geoffrey was petrified of having to experience anything like it again anytime soon. And so, as he reached the edge of the town that the doctor was in, he did something very unusual: he prayed. He prayed the doctor would be at home, he prayed that they would make it back to the estate in time to assist his father, and he prayed that the doctor would be able to assist his father in some way. Geoffrey Nott may have been a strong, independent young man, but he was not ready to be an orphan just yet.

  When he banged on the doctor’s door, the small, bleary eyed, white-haired older man came to the door quite quickly. Geoffrey didn’t even have to say anything: as soon as the doctor saw his frantic face, he rushed inside to grab his instruments. Moments later, the two men raced through the night once more to go to the aide of Lord Philip.

  By the time they got back to the estate the sun was just starting to peek over the hills, and so Geoffrey figured it had to be sometime close to six. The two men ran through the quickly brightening halls of the estate to Lord Philip’s room, and when they reached the door, Geoffrey didn’t hear any noise coming from inside the room. When they burst inside, Geoffrey saw why: his brother and his father’s butler were both sitting by his bedside, tending to him silently as he breathed very quietly.

  Immediately, the doctor went to his work. “How long has he been like this?” Doctor Collins asked Miles.

  “About ninety minutes, sir. His butler, Charles here, awoke me because Father wasn’t strong enough to take the s pills he has to take in the middle of the night,” Miles explained calmly and clearly. No matter what sort of disagreement the brothers had going on between them, Geoffrey was very grateful for Miles’ ability to keep his head clear in stressful situations. It was something that Geoffrey struggled with a great deal.

  Doctor Collins nodded in response to Miles’ report. He began listening to Lord Philip’s heart and checking his pulse. Geoffrey watched, frozen, as Doctor Collins continued checking his father over. He looked to Miles, who he saw was already staring at him, as if asking him what they should do next. Geoffrey realised there was nothing either boy could do, except be there by their father’s side just as he had been for them all their lives.

  When Doctor Collins was finished looking over Lord Philip, he looked very sadly to each son in turn. “I’m very sorry, boys,” Doctor Collins said gravely, “but I’m afraid there’s nothing more I can do for your father.”

  With that conclusion given, Geoffrey began to panic. “Surely there must be something, anything you can do to alleviate his breathing difficulties at least, Doctor Collins,” Geoffrey said. Every time their father had a bad spell like this one, there had always been one more treatment option and one more thing to try to help his father with. This time, however, there seemed to be no way out of it.

  “I’m sorry, Lord Geoffrey, but we’ve tried everything we can,” Doctor Collins said apologetically. “The only thing we can do now is to make him as comfortable as possible.”

  It was as though a gate had come down over Geoffrey’s head and didn’t allow for the information that Doctor Collins was giving him to get in. He couldn’t consider the possibility, let alone the certainty, that his father was going to die. There was just something in him that refused to believe it could be real. Geoffrey stood, unable to move or think properly, for a few moments, until he shook himself out of his shocked daze. He went to his father’s side with Miles and began speaking to him. “Father, can you hear me?” He
asked Lord Philip. The older gentleman did not move. Geoffrey looked to Miles, who shook his head sadly, and then to Doctor Collins. “How long do you think he has, Doctor?”

  Doctor Collins looked once more at Lord Philip and whispered sadly, “I believe it will be any time now.” Geoffrey felt a wave of emotion and panic once again wash over him as he looked away from the doctor. His hands began to shake and feel clammy as he tried to hold his father’s hand. He knew it wouldn’t make any difference; Lord Philip was already in a coma and so he would have no memory of either of his sons being there when he died. And yet Geoffrey wouldn’t be moved from his spot.