Lord Lowell put his wineglass down and squared his shoulders. “Lady Allen, I swear on my honor that I had no knowledge of my daughter’s actions before today. You are within your rights to demand a retraction, but I request that my daughter’s name be kept out of the papers.”
Mrs. Quill huffed. “The girl must learn a lesson.”
“Constance didn’t write these,” Olivia said.
The other two occupants of the room stared at her as if she had unsheathed a sword from behind her back.
“Why do you think that?” Lord Lowell asked.
“Has Constance been distracted lately? Showing less interest in activities she once enjoyed? Staying in her room more often?”
Mrs. Quill shifted in her seat. “She is at a difficult age.”
It was the same pattern of behavior Olivia’s parents had noticed and remarked upon during Olivia’s tumultuous firstseason. What they had not known was that the Earl of Allen had inserted himself into her life long before he’d begun publicly courting her. He had preyed on her loneliness, undermining her shaky relationship with her parents, until he’d been the only person she trusted.
It wasn’t until years later that she understood that alienating her, manipulating her, torturing her, were the things the earl had loved most. That was why he had caused such chaos in her life rather than simply present his suit to her parents properly.
He had not wanted a wife. He’d wanted a victim.
She took a deep breath. She might be wrong, but there were too many similarities to remain silent. “I believe the articles were written by a man who has cultivated a relationship with Constance as part of a scheme to exact revenge against me.”
The silence was interrupted by a loud crash elsewhere in the house, followed by screeching laughter. Mrs. Quill leaped to her feet with a muttered curse and raced out, leaving them alone.
Olivia carefully tucked the sheets of paper into their respective envelopes and then held out the stack to Lord Lowell. “Put these back where you found them before she notices.”
He frowned. “Why would I do that?”
She lowered her arm. “Think about it. First, the articles accuse me of murder. Then every matchmaker in London refuses you, leading you to me. Now we discover Constance is involved with those same articles. It cannot be a coincidence.” She paused to swallow the saliva that had accumulated in her mouth. This next part was awkward, but it was necessary to make him understand. “I believe someone is using the same techniques the Earl of Allen used against me before our marriage to manipulate Constance into destroying my reputation.”
It was a cruel manner of revenge, which suggested a personal motive. That meant she could rule out any mamas whomight have been angry at her for rejecting their daughters. She could not imagine a mother being willing to sacrifice another young woman for something so petty. The new earl was also unlikely to be the culprit. He had only appeared in London briefly for the funeral and had expressed little interest in his new title.
“Why Constance?” Lord Lowell asked, his voice breaking. “Why my daughter?”
His dismay stabbed at her heart. She’d been so furious with him for feigning innocence when it hadn’t been an act at all.
She dropped her gaze to the floor. “I’m sorry, my lord. Perhaps she was simply an easy target. The only thing I am certain of is that I am at fault. Someone wants to hurt me and is using Constance to do it.”
Olivia could not summon any anger toward the girl. They had too much in common, having both been ensnared by the worst kind of man. If anything, the blame for Constance’s current situation fell on her father, for allowing her to stumble into a trap.
He sighed. “I am as much at fault as you. If I had been paying more attention, I would have noticed the change in her behavior. I was too focused on fulfilling the promise I made to her mother.” He poured the rest of the wine bottle into his glass. “I will speak to Constance and put an end to the articles.”
“No.”
He paused in the process of picking up his glass. “You would have her continue?”
She remembered what her parents had done after they had discovered her connection to the earl. They had locked her in her room and deprived her of food. She’d told them what they’d wanted to hear, then ran back to the earl the first chance she’d gotten. Her relationship with them had never improved.They had gone to their graves before she’d had a chance to repair the damage the earl had done.
“If we interfere, we tip our hand. Whoever is manipulating Constance will know they’ve been discovered and might find another way of using her to get to me. I can’t…” She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. A lifetime of pain whirled within her and demanded she act. “I won’t let a girl under my care fall victim to a man like that.” She held the envelopes out again. “Trust me. Constance doesn’t know what she’s doing. You must let her come to me on her own.”
“I don’t like this.” He slammed his glass down on the sideboard and snatched the envelopes so quickly and with such a stormy expression that her instincts kicked in. She flung her hands in front of her face to blunt the blows that would come next.
But nothing happened.
Of course nothing happened. He was not her late husband. He didn’t throw fists at a woman simply because she said something he disliked.
She tucked her arms behind her back and met his gaze. The confusion and hurt she saw there made her heart leap into her throat. He was so close that if she puffed out her chest, her bodice would brush his jacket, but she could not make herself move.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
