Chapter Thirty-Four
Eve was proud of herself.She didn’t cry in the carriage on the way home to Dover Street.She made it through dinner with her parents and still managed to smile.By the time she, Francis, and Caroline headed out to a late evening party she was positively beaming.
From the moment she had left Freddie sitting alone in the garden at St John’s, an old biblical quote from the book of John had been rolling around in her head.
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Her uncle Hugh, the Bishop of London, would be proud of her.She had had a life-changing revelation in the middle of a church garden.
The note had not contained the heartbreak she had so feared when Freddie first handed it to her.It had given her the gift of knowledge she so desperately craved.She understood why Freddie had ended their relationship.She should be thanking him for having spared her the rest of her life with him.
Yet, for all her self-reassurance, she could not escape the undeniable fact Freddie’s unexpected honesty had cut her to the core. Damn you, Freddie Rosemount. You couldn’t make it simple, could you?
After a restless night, she rose early the following morning.She was dressed and ready to leave the house long before anyone else from the family had come into the breakfast room.She downed a hurried cup of coffee and half a piece of toast before calling for the family town carriage.She had considered walking, but the streets that led to St Giles passed by Will and Hattie’s house, and she couldn’t risk bumping into either of them.
Her mother would have a fit when she discovered Eve had left home without a maid or footman.Eve was in too much of a hurry this morning to bother with the niceties; she had to see Freddie.
She cursed him for his honesty.It would have made things so much easier if he had simply lied to her or kept the whole of the truth to himself.Instead, he had opened a Pandora’s box of questions, all of which she badly needed answered.
After reaching St John’s Parish, she made her way in through the garden gate.She found Freddie in the kitchen, busy washing potatoes.
“Good morning.”
He looked up.She quickly stifled her enjoyment at the look of shock on his face.
I don’t expect you ever thought to see me again.
“Eve?”
She pulled the note he had given her the previous day from her reticule and waved it in front of her.“I think it is time you and I had an honest conversation about the Bachelor Board.After what you did to me, I would suggest you owe me that much.”
He stopped washing the potatoes and wiped his hands on his apron.His movements were slow, guarded.She sensed he was trying to control his emotions.“Very well.Though I must say I am surprised to see you here today.After you read that note, I didn’t expect to see you again.Ididhalf expect to see Francis, mind you.”
They stepped back out into the garden and resumed the same seats as the previous morning.When Freddie offered to make Eve another cup of tea, she waved him away.“If I don’t throttle you after we have talked, then perhaps you can make me a cup of tea.I understand thewhatof Osmont Firebrace’s letter, but I don’t under thewhy.I thought perhaps you might be able to shed some light on the subject,” she said.
He nodded.“Yes, of course.I should have expected you would have questions.Where to begin?Well, firstly can I say it was never my intention for things to end the way they did.I didn’t set out to hurt you.You played the game brilliantly.Even before we left for Rosemount Abbey, I was well ahead of Mewburton and Embry.”
She ignored the remark about the other players.She couldn’t care less about the result of the game.
“You always knew that the aim of the game was to secure a seat on the Bachelor Board.What you didn’t know, was that the Bachelor Board is a secret society of men who hold great power in London.The reason why someone like me would want to join, is because as a second son I will never inherit a title or lands from my father.I will be gifted a small living, nothing more.The Bachelor Board offered me a priceless opportunity to be something more than merely my father’s second son.”
His words made sense.A position among men of power and influence was one worth winning.But the one thing that had kept her up most of the previous night was the question of why the game included having to break the heart of a woman who loved you.All the rest of the challenges were foolish pranks; breaking someone’s heart spoke of an evil agenda.“Why the need for you to break my heart?What could that possibly achieve?”
He closed his eyes and sighed.“It achieved exactly what it was meant to.It showed them I would do anything to gain a seat on the Bachelor Board—that I had no scruples.It was only after I returned to London that I began to discover the price of your broken heart was only a down payment on what they wanted from me.Even if I had possessed the money to buy my way onto the board, they would have had me in their web.Suffice to say, Osmont Firebrace is an evil man who enjoys destroying the lives of others.The price to join the board is far more than simply money.As the gatekeeper to the board, he demands not just your dignity, but your very soul.”
“And you decided you were not prepared to pay that?”
“Yes, but too late to realize I had already paid a heavy price by jilting you.I just wish I could do something to stop the likes of Osmont from continuing with their twisted corruption of young men.I am certain I am not the first, nor the last, man they will ruin.”
Eve got to her feet and began to pace up and down the garden path.She was oddly proud of Freddie.He was now looking beyond himself and thinking of how he could set a better future for others.When she walked back to where he sat, she stopped.“What about Will?Have you considered talking to my brother?He might be able to give you some advice in your quest to bring down Osmont.He may tell you to leave it well enough alone but knowing him, I doubt it.At least this way you won’t spend the rest of your life wondering what you could have done about saving other men from a fate similar to yours,” she said.
Freddie met her gaze.It was so typical of their relationship, that while Eve was thinking clearly about trying to deal with the Bachelor Board, his own mind was focused on wanting to pull her into his arms.
He rose from the step.“Excuse me for a moment.I need to check on the soup.”
Freddie walked back inside the kitchen, his heart racing.Dealing with Osmont Firebrace was something he hadn’t truly considered until now, but Eve’s words rang true.What if he could do something to stop Osmont?
He walked over to the large pot of soup, simmering over a low heat.He picked up a wooden spoon and was about to plunge it into the liquid when he stopped.
