Wizards Daughter

He pulled his attention from Rosalind and her unfortunate gown as Ryder introduced him to Nicholas Vail.

The young man bowed, looked him straight in the eye. Be-damned, Nicholas Vail was as dark as he was, his eyes as black, and his swarthy skin wasn't entirely due to his months at sea.

Nicholas Vail could be my son, Douglas thought, and isn't that a kick to the head?

"My lord," Nicholas said. "It is my pleasure and honor to meet you."

Before Douglas could bear him off to seclusion in the estate room to pry every past sin out of him, Willicombe glided into the drawing room and a

The Countess of Northcliffe asked, "Is there perhaps something not quite so unambiguous she is also serving?"

"Fortunately yes, my lady. Not to be overlooked is her famous hailed bacon-cheek, garnished with spoonfuls of spinach followed by a compote of gooseberries, and cauliflower with cream sauce, all blessedly prepared in the English way."

"My dreams have come true," Sophie said.

"I do not see Master Grayson," Willicombe said.

"He is dining at his club," Ryder said.

Willicombe bowed and walked from the drawing room, head tilted back, assuming, rightfully, that his betters would quickly follow, which they did.

"He is amazing," Nicholas said.

"That is what he told me when he became our London butler," Douglas said.

Alexandra had placed Nicholas and Rosalind across the table from each other, as Rosalind had asked her to. One of Nicholas's black eyebrows shot up, but he said nothing. Douglas spoke about his twin sons' own sets of twins, how they were the pictures of their respective fathers, which meant they were so fine looking it curdled his i

"I wish to a

There was perhaps three seconds of stu

"I fear I must say it-she isn't being noble, she is being a knot-head, as a recent acquaintance of mine remarked. There is no one at this table who believes she is not worthy of me, that is, not worthy to be a peer's wife. Otherwise, I daresay Mr. Ryder Sherbrooke would not have made her his legai ward and brought her to London for her season. Am I correct, sir?"

Ryder was betwixt and between. He had to hand it to Nicholas Vail, he'd pi

"Even today, ten years later, who is to say the motives for this deed aren't still valid in this person's mind? No, we have kept quiet and we will continue to keep all our inquiries to ourselves. She will continue to be Rosalind de La Fontaine until she regains her memory, something our physician doubts will happen, given that she's remembered nothing at all over the years."

Douglas focused his dark eyes on Nicholas Vail's face. "Understand, my lord, we are her family now and we will keep her safe."

"As will I," Nicholas said. "I swear it to all of you. No one will harm her in my care."

Rosalind leaned toward Nicholas. "Listen to me, Nicholas Vail. I am no more real than Shakespeare's Rosalind. I found my name in As You Like It, but I had preferred Ganymede-you remember, Rosalind disguised herself as a shepherd and called herself Ganymede-since I was living a sort of disguise myself, but Uncle Ryder and Aunt Sophie felt the name was perhaps a bit too unconventional. You must realize I could be the descendant of Attila the Hun or Ivan the Terrible, an alarming thought, don't you agree?"

Sophie ignored her. "When you began speaking, Rosalind, your English was clearly that of a well-bred young English girl and we knew that you were wellborn. Your Italian was equally good, perhaps the result of an Italian na

"It was obvious there were evil persons in your background, evil persons who saw you as some sort of threat and acted on it. That is all we know for sure. Please don't embroider yourself into the Devil's spawn, else I must consider boxing your ears."

Ryder said, "My love, remember some of the pranks Rosalind pulled the children into in her younger years?"

Sophie nodded. "Yes, you're right. Upon reflection, perhaps the Devil's spawn might apply."

There was a spot of laughter, but not much. Ryder continued, "And your singing voice, my dear girl-the voice teacher we brought in to instruct you said you had received excellent instruction for at least the previous two years. To be honest here, I do not wish to know who you really are because I would fear for you. I want you safe. Naturally we discussed fully the chance we were taking with your safety bringing you to London for a season. Who's to say someone wouldn't recognize you? I will admit that sometimes I feel a certain foreboding about it, but no matter. Now, unless you remember someday, you will remain Rosalind. We are your family and we love you."