*
Lady Eloise Surreywas quite convinced she had not been this nervous since she had stepped in front of the queen twelve years ago. Certainly the stakes were almost as high: her reputation, her family, her future. But at the time of her debut, no one’s life lay at her feet. She perched on the edge of the settee in the Ashton House drawing room, trying not to think about everything that could go awry. She was an unmarried lady—albeit a spinster of some thirty years of age—who had come alone, requesting a meeting with an unmarried gentleman.An exceptionally handsome and kind man she had been watching from behind for several weeks.
She blinked away that thought. What she might feel about the man was entirely irrelevant. This could ruin her if Lord Robert was true to his rumored reputation instead of her own impression of him.
Worse... he could say no, that he would not help her.What will I do then?
Eloise twisted her fingers together, causing her gloves to bunch and twist. She snarled and tried to straighten them, only making the situation worse, and she slapped them against her lap in frustration. Eloise felt rather than heard Delie arrive at her side.
“Allow me, my lady?”
Eloise stood and held out her hands, shaking them in irritation. “I hate these bloody things. They are in the way of everything important I want to do.”
“Now you sound like a bluestocking,” Delie chided, her voice kind. She tugged the gloves back into place and smoothed them up over Eloise’s forearms.
“I should be so fortunate. At least if I were a true bluestocking, I would have an excuse for my outlandish behavior.”
“Now you sound like your mother.”
Eloise huffed. “Bite your tongue.”
Delie took a breath as if to speak, but the drawing room door opened, and she retreated quickly to a spot near the fireplace, her head down, the very model of a discreet lady’s maid. Eloise almost smiled at the illusion, but turned to face her host.
Hosts. Her eyes widened as Lady Rose—correction, Lady Newbury—entered the room first, followed by Lord Robert Ashton. She gave a quick curtsey, as Rose now outranked her. “Um... Lady Newbury.”
Rose gripped her forearms and gave Eloise a quick kiss on the cheek. “Rose. Please. Especially under the circumstances.” She gestured for Eloise to sit, then sat in a wingback chair across to the settee. “Lord Robert asked me to come along... for propriety’s sake. And because of your note this morning.”
Eloise felt her cheeks heat up as she slowly returned to the settee. “I do apologize for intruding. I know this is a difficult time. But I am rather desperate.” She glanced up at Robert, who remained standing behind Rose’s chair. “And you did offer.”
Rose looked startled, turning to her brother-in-law, who scowled for a moment. Then his face relaxed, and a smile flitted across his features, vanishing quickly. “So I did.” He cleared his throat as he looked at Rose. “She did—she suggested—” He sniffed. “It’s a long story. I will explain later.” He turned his attention back to Eloise, his expression a shade warm. “But, Lady Eloise, I’m afraid—”
Rose interrupted. “Have you heard anything from Lord Timothy’s friends?”
Eloise bit back several words of exasperation and drew in a steadying breath. “Yes. The constable who promised to look into this talked to both boys and their parents. The young men arrived home just before dawn, filthy, drunk, bruised, and penniless, but alive.”
“Robbed?” Robert asked.
Eloise nodded, recalling the scant details the constable had shared on his return visit. “It seems they were leaving a gambling salon when they were accosted by a group of urchins from within the rookeries. They were battered and all their money taken, and it took them several hours to make their way home.”
Robert frowned. “Your brother was not with them?”
Eloise shook her head. “Earlier in the evening they had found”—her face grew warm again—“paid companionship. They agreed to meet after at one of the gaming tables in the gambling salon, to place a few wagers, then return home. Only Timothy never joined them. One of the floor guards quickly spotted them as mere boys and tossed them out.”
“Rightfully so,” Robert muttered.
Eloise shifted on the settee. “Yes, but, Lord Robert, that is why I am here. Why I am appealing to you. The gambling establishment where they lost Timothy was Campion’s Gentlemen’s Emporium.”
Chapter Seven
Sunday, 17 July 1825
Shortly after noon
Robert stared atLady Eloise, a vise closing around his middle. “That is impossible.”
She scowled. “But that is what his friends said.”
“They do not allow younger people to gamble on the floor. That is why his friends were tossed so quickly. The likelihood is that Timothy arrived first and was ejected just as his friends were.” He shook his head, then looked down at Rose, whose face held a thunderous expression. “It is not just about—what we discussed earlier. We do hire some of the boys, but for jobs not involving the gambling. Children on the floor are both in danger and dangerous themselves. We do not usually see children of the aristocracy there until they are older. The children who do manage to weasel past the guards usually run with the gangs out of the rookeries. They are cutpurses and pickpockets. They are there to rob our members, and the hells that allow them either employ them or suffer the consequences. It’s better for everyone for them to be kept out.”
